Two of the main objectives of Victoria Heavy Equipment are to remain flexible (not develop into the same kind of organization as the big U. S. firms do) and also to get a president who would arbitrate among the line general managers. The high turnover rate (with four VPs in the engineering group since 1998) was a major concern to Walters. In order to achieve both the goals, we would recommend for the company to proceed with their decentralized, semi-autonomous operating structure, however, in the meanwhile, strict centralized decisions need to be held by the top executive, Brian Walters.
One of the executives pointed out that If we had the right Victoria heavy Equipment president, we wouldn’t need all the divisional presidents. (p. 383) A new President should be the focus, which could greatly contribute to increasing the success of the business. Rationale: When the company was overly centralized in 1994, work was piled up and things were not getting done. (p. 380). By decentralizing each department, it would help to identify the true performance and results of each division.
Functional managers should report to each department representative and they should coordinate with the related department representatives to combine their decision and report to the executive meetings. To enhance motivation among employees, each department should also reward based on each divisions operation and profits. Since Brian Walters children are not yet ready to run the company themselves, Walters should hire someone who possesses qualities such as: Dedication: In order for the company to continue succeeding and growing, the company needs someone who will stay devoted to see it through.
This person needs to accommodate Walters presence and role in the firm and the existence of his two children. Innovative vision: The market and demands keep changing, therefore someone who will be able to come up with new ways to set the company apart from all of it competitors would be ideal. Some of the company’s success comes from differentiation, including: ? Single product line that was built to order offered and a 60-day delivery period ? Fly in customers on their executive jet ? Manufactures 85% of its crane components in house
Active Leadership: The company needs someone who is able to manage the company so that worker morale goes up and there is no conflict between line managers. Since lay offs occurred in 2001, worker morale was suffering because no bonuses would be paid for the year. The president should give the employees the opportunity to grow and developed without any hindrance from other functional executives. The communication and culture of the company needs to be settled and since Brian Walters has less power as president now, the company is not being controlled effectively by the whole structure of the organization.
Slightly Aggressive: It would be important for the person to be able to go after the goals that are set for the company and be able to compete with its biggest competitors and not just settle for the average. Someone who is not part of the family would be a better candidate, as family values and the traditional way of running the business may interfere with taking the appropriate risks in the business. As the executives viewed the situation, the company can drive itself, but the president needs to steer it in the right direction.
Good business skills: The one taking the position of president should know what ideas will work and what actions to take, such as what contracts to go after and what markets to go into. They need considerable knowledge of the market and demand in the industry. In 2001, over spending resulted in over-expenditures by several of the profit and cost centres. The organization resulted in considerable dissention. The president needs to centrally control the budgets and pricing of the cost centres. The president needs to develop a strategic plan/goal, since the only thing guiding the business now is the marketplace.
