1 What are the effects of John’s time management for himself? What are the effects for the company?
2 Identify the tasks which John should have done himself and those which he should have delegated. How effective do you feel John’s ‘management by walking about’ is?
3 How could he improve his time planning? Would employing a personal assistant for John really ‘add value’ or just be another overhead cost on the company?

It was 7.30 on a Tuesday morning, when John Edwards, general manager of the Jenkins Company’s main factory, turned on to the M3 to drive to his office in Basingstoke. The journey took about twenty minutes and gave John an opportunity to reflect on the problems of the plant without interruptions.