Dashman Company

This case study is based on the situation that prevailed in a company during the II world war. It was the period when America entered the war. The Dashman Company was one of the major suppliers of equipments to the US. Armed Forces. As a result of forecast in the purchase made by the20 units which worked as an autonomous body, Mr. Post was appointed to coordinate the purchasing activity by Mr. Mason, the president of the company.

Mr. Post with the support of his assistant Mr. Larson centralized all the purchase made over $10000. He informed the units about this through letter even though he was asked to visit the units rather than mailing them. It was also asserted by most of the units unwillingly.

Later to bridge the communication gap between the employees and the unit, Mr. Larson decided to ask Mr. Post to take a tour to the plants which are situated near by and to hold a meeting with the employees of the units to become familiar among them. Thus the employees of the units can also understand that he is also one among the employee like him which facilitate in bridging the communication gap and ultimately result in the betterment of the company.

As the communication being the basic problem, Mr. Post can make a courtesy visit to some of the closely located units. This may help him a bit familiar among the employees.

In the case of peak purchasing period then Mr. Post can have conversation with the managers of the individual units through telephone. He can try to make them understand that he is also one among the employees and any development in the company is possible only with their support.

The top level management of the company can arrange for a meeting with the human resource manager of all the units and clarify them about the companys current position and seek their help in bridging the gap between the employees of the company and the management.

SOLUTION:When we take into consideration of all the factors that influence the company with the possible options that can be implemented in order to solve the problem of the company then it is better that Mr. Post can make a courtesy visit to some of the closely located plants.

(Refer appendix 1)ACTION PLAN:In order to implement the above mentioned solution the company have to decide on the best method by which the solution can be achieved. To start with Mr. Larson can call for a meeting with Mr. Post and persuade him to make a trip to some of the nearest units.

Later he can inform the units about this and explain the other units which he is not visiting shall be visited in the near future.

CONTINGENCY PLAN:In case if the plan fails then management can ask Mr. Larson to accompany Mr. Post to the unit and can hold a meeting with the employee. Because as Mr. Larson is a known person to them and when he accompanies Mr. Post it would be easy for Mr. Post to get closer to them.

Note: Both in the action plan and the contingency plan it would be difficult for Mr. Post to hold a one-to-one meeting with the employees. There fore it would be like addressing a large gathering as an initial step.

Bibliography:Dashman Company case is copyrighted by the president and fellows of Harvard College, was prepared by the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration, as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation.