Aircraft Wengert

Seminar 5 - Case Study

Case: Wengart Aircraft

Introduction

The President Ralph Larsen realizes that Wengart has serious problems with quality, but his focus is on profitability, rather than the sustainability of the company. If Wengart doesn't do something about their quality problem, profits will drop even more. Larsen seeks help from an OD practitioner, who advises him to implement TQM. Thinking TQM should be easy to implement, he dumps the program into the lap of his subordinates; Larsen feels that "TQM was a matter of common sense" (Brown, 2011, p. 365). He is too busy to be bothered with it himself.

I. Problems

A. Macro

1. Wengart Aircraft is about to lose the support of their customers, who are seriously concerned about poor quality there.

2. The company is creating a bad reputation and seriously hurting their brand.

B. Micro

1. Profits do not match the present ranking of the company, and are in danger of decreasing.

2. Top management is focused on the profits the company can make for them.

II. Causes

1. There is a major quality problem. "Top management has identified quality as on of the major problems at Wengart" (Brown, 2011, p. 364)

2. Starting with the President, there is a lack of company-wide priority to adopt TQM into the culture of the company. There is no support from top management.

3. The directives for the TQM program aren't being clearly identified. The managers haven't had any real training nor received any guidance from above on what to do.

III. Systems affected

1. Structural - the company needs to flatten the lines of hierarchy and authority for better communication and more even control of the seven companies. There are no cross functional teams. MIS is sadly lacking.

2. Psychosocial - management fails to convey a clear vision of Wengart's objectives. Rather than rock the boat, the managers descending feel the need to follow and "not question" the authority above them. The company doesn't empower it's employees. There is not a bond of trust between the employees and management. The customers, both internal and external feel a lack of support. There doesn't seem to be the needed training, support, leadership, feedback, or reward system in place.

3. Technical - There is no real MIS system, so employees fail to network efficiently as teams. Bad quality is a reflection of poor training, outdated technology, improper quality inspections, and outdated measurement instruments.