Case Analysis: “Ramrod” Stockwell

Case: The Benson Metal Company

 Benson: Leading firm in the steel industry. Employee strength – 1500 people.
 Had an established technology but faced stringent competition from other firms.
 Benson Metal Company and its competitors were advancing to more sophisticated
and technically detailed products, largely for aerospace industry.

The Organization: Structure & Problems

 A clearly defined hierarchy. But the structure appeared to be centralized in nature.

 It was Production Vs Sales. Due to shift in the product demand for aerospace
industry more research and metallurgical analysis was required. Hence, there was a
large emphasis on the production department. Production had an upper hand.
 Ramrod Stockwell, VP-Production does not want to delegate the authority to the
subordinates. They have to ask each and every thing from him. This led to the
concentration of authority in one hand. He sometimes goes and directly ask
supervisor for some work leading to the violation of the chain of command.
 In spite of the differential treatment to his department the production subunit
admired the team lead: Stockwell.
 But eventually, the initial latent conflict between production and sales department
materialized into a polarized “us-versus-them” mentality.

Recommendations:

 The first step should be to undertake conflict resolution between the two subunits.
 This can be achieved by balancing the power between the two conflicting subunits:
Sales & Production department.
 Considering the Crisis, A negotiator should be appointed to bridge the gap between
the subunits. Ensuring implementation of T-group sessions would also help.
 Since the production department has the power of non substitutability, due credit
and recognition should be given to them. This would ensure that the employees
remain motivated and thereby produce desired results.
 It is important to ensure that the organization and thereby the varied subunits have
a common goal and vision.
 Use of unobtrusive power can be put to practice here. If the two subunits strive to
achieve a single goal the VP’s can join in coalition to increase their power.