RAMROD STOCKWELL(BENSON MEDAL COMPANY )

CASE STUDY ON

RAMROD STOCKWELL

CASE OVERVIEW

This case considers conflict and politics in organizational settings. Ramsey “‘Ramrod” Stockwell, vice president for Production at Benson Metals, is becoming very uncooperative and difficult. Ramrod is having frequent run-ins with sales, who are exasperated with his uncooperativeness and refusal to supply them with reliable information concerning delivery dates, and production scheduling. The problem is due to the internal power structure.

CASE OVERVIEW

More company revenues come from the production and specialty steels, only produced because of skills in manufacturing. Ramrod is fighting to protect the integrity of his department by being uncooperative and hoarding power to make others dependent on him. The case illustrates the difference between personal and institutional power. It highlights the need to analyze the context of behaviour, not just the behaviour itself.

5 VERTICAL SOURCES OF POWER

Formal position

Control of decision

Control on informatio

n

Vertical sources

of Power

Network centrality

Control over

people

: RAMSEY STOCKWELL’S VERTICAL POWER :

Control of people: Stockwell has the power to control the production of the plant.

Control of information : By not giving reliable information to the sales department and by continuing to make too many vague promises.

: RAMSEY STOCKWELL’S VERTICAL POWER :

Control decision premises : By not consistently empowering his employees to make decisions and act on them.

Stockwell manages to maintain power over his people by constantly fighting off pressure from the sales department for special orders, changes in scheduling, and the blaming of production for product defects.

5 HORIZONTAL SOURCES OF POWER

Ability to cope with uncertaint

y

Dependency

Non substituta

bility

Horizontal

sources of

Power

Centrality

Financial resources

The Benson Medal Company employees dependency, financial resources, and centrality were their horizontal sources of power.

Stockwell and the Production department exploit both dependency and centrality.

The entire company is dependent on the productivity and effectiveness of the production department.

: Benson Medal Company employees Horizontal Power :

Final output of the organization rests within production, this too gives his department more power.

But the recognition is directed toward the Sales department causing resentment between the two.

The power of financial resources rests in the hands of Sales as they are the ones that bring in the high revenues.

: Benson Medal Company employees Horizontal Power :

: HOW COULD EMPOWERMENT IMPROVE THIS SITUATION :

Empowering the employees at The Benson Medal Company would remove the barriers of communication that now exist giving everyone full access to operational information.

Providing knowledge and skills to the management team through leadership training would help them to contribute positively to organizational performance and hopefully, end the friction between sales and production.

: HOW COULD EMPOWERMENT IMPROVE THIS SITUATION :

Empowering employees to make significant decisions can directly influence work procedures and would allow them to exercise initiative which would free up Stockwell to handle the more pressing issues like to give reliable information to the sales department concerning delivery dates.

: WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND FOR THIS COMPANY : Empowerment could definitely be a

solution this firms problems. The right power needs to go to the right

people and if that is maintained well then many questions that lower workers have could be easily answered.

When the lines of authority voided by giving orders directly to a manager or even a head foreman, rather than working through the intermediate levels, it really does undermine the power that the managers in between have.

: WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND FOR THIS COMPANY : It makes the managers being left out

feel less important and not as valuable , which may affect their output.

Power needs to be given to the right people and made sure that they are using it to the best of the company's interests .

Power should be taken away from those who abuse it.