A Matter of Degrees- Case Study
A Matter of Degrees: Intense Heat at Two Rivers Custom Fire and Rescue
PROBLEM AND SOLUTION
The current contract on schedule at Two Rivers Custom Fire and Rescue has been difficult to complete due to insufficient number of resources required by staff. Work-life imbalances have been stressing employees. Due to this, employees are feared to resign. Failure to perform on this contract might lead to bankruptcy. Successful delivery of this contract would enable the company sustain production in future. Personnel additions and capital improvements would resolve this threat, and enhance company competitiveness in the market.
BRIEF HISTORY
Business Key Points
- Increased demand on the company’s products by customers in the market
- Managerial confidence in decision making ability about hiring of new employees and meeting tight customer schedule demands
- Quality workforce whose values drive the outlined programs as per the budget
- Extensive networking among employees
- Successful contract delivery hence ability to sustain production for years to come
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Business Key Challenges
- Work-life imbalance issues to the workers due to increased job pressure
- Lack of proper number of resources in terms of employees and capital
- Stressed employees due to overworking as the project is understaffed
- Conflict of interest leading to poor decision making and difficulties in decision making by the Operations Director
- Reporting relationships between Operations Director and the boss have lost team value
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
Industry Overview
Two Rivers operates in the fire trucks and rescue vehicles manufacturing industry. Primarily, the leading customer base for Two Rivers has been North America. However, the company has firmly positioned itself internationally. Globally, Two Rivers competes with over 75 major companies in the fire trucks and rescue vehicles manufacturing industry. Examples of competitors include: SVI Trucks, Marion Fire & Emergency Products and KME Fire Apparatus.
COMPANY ANALYSIS
Two rivers manufacture rescue vehicles and fire trucks. The rescue vehicles transport fire fighters such as pumps, safety gear, and ladders. The company has been in the business for over 30 years. The company emphasizes on customs products and its leading market is North America. Two Rivers hire qualified machinists, designers, and engineers as a policy to help in achieving its present success. Competitors such as SVI trucks limit its market for products.
Key Success Factors
Customer Demands | Competitors’ Products | Key Success Factors |
High quality rescue vehicles and fire trucks at fair prices | Builds high quality emergency vehicles which short-cut customers | Large market base in North America and other global markets |
User friendly trucks and vehicles | Builds customized emergency trucks and vehicles | User friendly, user testing |
New designs for firefighting equipment such as safety gear and pumps | New innovations on the firefighting systems such as fire extinguishers and telematics solutions | Investment in modern designs technology |
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
· Diverse market base in North America and other global markets · Qualified Operations Director, machinists, engineers, and designers · Long period in the industry (30 years) |
Weaknesses
· Lack of enough personnel · Insufficient capital to purchase required resources · Conflict of interest in decision making |
Opportunities
· Grow to global markets · Increase profitability and hire more employees |
Threats
· Stiff competition from 75 major manufacturers · Bankruptcy |
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HUMAN PERFORMANCE
Human Performance Implications
- Professional networks among employees that imply career growth
- Stress and tiredness among employees imply being overworked by the company
- Threat to resign imply increased overworking, job pressure, and dissatisfaction among employees
- Work life imbalance is caused by job pressure given the limited number of employees undertaking the project
- Employee opinions and ideas are devalued by the boss during decision making even when the operations director defends them
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS
Key Issues/ Decision Criteria
- Conflicts in decision making processes as the boss (David), employees, and the operations director have varying opinions about if to disregard the budget and hire more employees or work on meeting customers’ demands
- Pushbacks in decision making manipulating decision making ability and confidence
- Trust issues between the operations manager and the boss
- Project success or failure uncertainty
Option #1: Shared/ Mutual decision making
Shared decision making involving valuing every stakeholder ideas in decision making to avoid any foreseen or unforeseen conflict
Pros
- This strategy solves the existing conflicts among employees and the management on projects to undertake and the resources required in terms of employees.
Cons
- The strategy is time consuming for it takes a lot of time in consulting and analyzing everyone’s idea.
Option #2: Cost versus Benefit Analysis
CVB analysis helps in projecting the profitability or loss of a contractual project before commencing and investing resources on it.
Pros
- Eliminates project success uncertainty
- No pushbacks in decision making- long term decisions are made
Cons
- CVB analysis does not solve the complications encountered in consultative decision making
- The method requires skilled experts to interpret, and this may add to the company’s budget
Recommendation
- Two Rivers should recruit more employees in order to create work life balance among employees hence project success
- Two Rivers should also meet all customer demands on a timely manner and within the set budgets
- Two Rivers should also consider all stakeholders opinions in project decision making in order to guarantee internal and external success
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