Dynica Technologies recently announced plans to construct a new

production facility in River Woods. The new facility would replace the

company$$s original production facility, which is adjacent to the company

headquarters in Edgemont. In announcing the new facility, the company

stated that, to the extent possible, it would be staffed by Edgemont plant

personnel and that the excess personnel would be transferred to other

Dynica plants in neighboring states.

Dynica management views the River Woods facility as the plant of the

future, featuring lower processing costs and staffing requirements, as well

as state$-$of$-$the art environmental standards. In a recent press release, the

Dynica CEO noted they were replacing one of the least environmentally

friendly plants in the industry with a facility that will be $$greener$$ than any of

their competitors$$ production plants.

Dynica is also using the River Woods plant to pilot a new decentralized

management structure. In the past, the firm$$s marketing activities were

directed from the home office by a vice president. Manufacturing operations

and certain other departments were under the control of the company$$s

senior vice president. In this centralized, functional arrangement none of

the company$$s four production facilities had a general manager. Instead,

each department in a plant reported on a line basis to its functional

counterpart at the home office $($e$.$g$.,$ director of production, director of

engineering$).$ In contrast, the new River Woods plant manager will be

responsible for the management of all functions and personnel, except

marketing and sales.

There is general consensus among the top management team that the

long$-$term viability of the firm depends on the success of this initiative.

However, some have expressed concerns about the difficulty of the task

facing the River Woods general manager. They point to the shift from

functional lines of communication and accountability to a plant$-$level focus,

as well as the challenges of upgrading the skills of the Edgemont plant

personnel, working out the bugs in new applications of advanced

manufacturing processes to design and production, and dealing with the

inevitable complaints from employees in a small company town who are not

satisfied with their new assignments and who might serve as the catalyst

for unionizing the facility.

Discussion Questions

$5\mathrm{.}1$

If you were part of the selection committee for the River Woods plant

manager position, based on what you$$ve learned about the sources of

personal power, describe what you$$d consider to be the ideal candidate$$s

qualifications.

$5\mathrm{.}2$

If you were offered the new River Woods plant manager position, based on

what you$$ve learned about the sources of positional power, what actions

would you take to ensure that as the company$$s first general manager you

have the necessary clout to accomplish your assigned duties?

$5\mathrm{.}3$

Using the information on influence strategies in the second half of this

chapter as your guide, strategize how you would address the challenges

you are likely to encounter if you were to accept the position of River

Woods plant manager.