Management- ART
Several major issues have been exposed in the case study, all touching on the issues that are brought about management and the decision making of the major shareholders. Not once has the major projects of the Filtration Unit of Applied Research Technologies failed. Although the management has always done its best to ensure that there is success at this unit, nothing successful has been recorded as originating from the unit. Despite having creative and good projects and ideas, and ending up spending a lot of money to popularize their products, the Filtration Unit has always been associated with making losses to the level that other manages are of the opinion that funding directed towards the unit was a waste of resources an should be stopped.
When Vyas took over, he had good plans and was very ambitious. As such, he promoted hardworking personnel such as Wagner to oversee the unit’s resurgence. The ITC sector, in most cases, succeeds in presenting good ideas that should be implemented. However, twice, the unit fails to launch the products that they had spent a lot of money on. The new boss, Cynthia Jackson, blames this on poor marketing. In essence, Vyas was a very hardworking young man, who, when promoted to be the manager of the unit, confronted the unit’s organizational problems. Up to his promotion, the Filtration unit faced two challenges: low morale among the workers and growing turnover. These are the issues and challenges that faced the filtration unit. However, the new boss was determined to curb them.
There are several stakeholders to the filtration unit and in most cases; they had different views and perspectives on the running of the unit. The overall CEO was David Hall, who was the president of the whole company. Hall did not interfere with the running of the various units of the ART since he played the oversight role to the many units that the company ran. The relevant position to the Filtration unit was the VP Water Management Division, which was chaired by Cynthia Jackson and the Managerial position, headed by Peter Vyas (Bartlett, 32). After the managerial position, there were other subdivisions in the Filtration Unit, which were tasked with policymaking, and generating ideas that were to push the unit forwards and ensure it had low turnover. This is where J. Wagner was classified. In this position, members were required to be hardworking and be creative.
Peter and Cynthia’s decision-making can be said to be better. In essence, they were tasked with the mandate to salvage a falling unit. As such, the decisions they made were relevant to ensure the future of the unit. Cynthia describes Peter as a very hardworking young man. Despite the fact that two projects had terribly failed, Peter still is of the opinion that they will succeed in the long run. Through backing Peter fully, Cynthia portrays that she has full confidence with the managers.
Despite the fact that there are several globalization challenges that face the unit, Vyas has handled them effectively. This is despite the fact that he has not succeeded. For instance, he still insists that designs should be flawless. That is what he takes as the first priority. Through this, product quality is emphasized. There are also some challenges such as facing stiff competition from some Chinese companies, which trade in the same products. This calls for patience. To ensure that the unit was global, they opened another centre in India. This would promote innovation through attracting some of the most creative and innovative talents in the world.
The management approach of the Applied Research Technology has a number of strengths and weaknesses. For instance, the fact that there is decision of roles is an essential to the running of the company. Through this, roles are well defined in the company, as every employee is aware of the things they are tasked to do. This prevents overlap of duties, which can cause bad blood among the members. For instance, Jackson is the VP of the filtration unit and is tasked with implementing the policies that are suggested by the managers. One weakness with this management approach, however, is the fact that various units are not independent. Resources can be channeled from one unit to be used in another. This hinders accountability. For instance, the filtration unit has been making losses for a number of years and despite this, the company still funds it. This is detrimental to the company.
Through proper planning, the Filtration unit can become a profit-making unit to the company. Despite the fact that two projects that were heavily funded have already failed, there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Through focusing on the weaknesses that facilitated their failure, amendments can be made to address the necessary issues. The unit, through their initiative to study the market requirements, will be in a better position to address the challenges that have always faced it.
The filtration unit already has a solution. For instance, through promoting hard-working individuals, there is an assurance that implementation of the policies will be effective. Their initiative to study the market requirements before embarking on producing products also plays a major role in ensuring the unit succeeds.
Works Cited
Bartlett, Christopher H. Applied Research Technologies, Inc: Global Innovation's Challenges. Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business Publishing, 2010. Print.
