Answer 4 questions (ATTACHED BELOW) from a case study (attached down below). Each answer to the four questions needs to be one page length. so a total of 4 pages.
Eagle Smelting
The Eagle Smelting Company has a number of Holt is responsible for all engineering‑related
smelting and refining operations in various sites activities at Northtown, and is therefore in
across North America. The firm usually ships volved in a variety of tasks, both at the plant
its finished product‑aluminum ingot of various and the nearby town site. Sometimes his work
qualities‑directly from its smelters to its cus‑ takes him even farther afield. One of his re
tomers, heavy industry manufacturers around sponsibilities is the plant's machine shop, but
the world. only a fraction of his time is actually spent
Eagle's Northtown smelter is just outside a there.
small port town on the Pacific coast. Raw Ed Smith, a master mechanic, is foreman of
materials are brought in by ship to the all‑ the machine shop. under him are three
weather harbor and unloaded at the company trainees, a half dozen semi‑skilled workers, and
dock, which is linked to the smelter by a private five fully qualified mechanics. The machine
railroad. The railroad relays the raw materials shop operates regular daytime hours, except
to the smelter, where they are processed, when overtime work becomes necessary. Job
returned to the dock as finished product, and requests are usually submitted to the shop by
shipped out. Any breakdown in the railway is section heads, and requests are often sup
a very serious matter, as it can disrupt both ported by drawings or lists of specifications.
production and shipping schedules. Also impor‑ Smith assigns tasks each day, but usually the
tant to the smelter's operation is the firm's fleet work itself requires only a minimum of super
of land vehicles, which are, for the most part, vision.
maintained on‑site. To keep all this machinery One sunny Friday morning in June, events
in repair, the company has a full‑time crew of at Northtown got off to a bad start. The
mechanics and a well‑equipped machine shop, smelter's locomotive broke down while carry
capable of fabricating most needed parts. ing a "rush order" to the dock. The breakdown
Don Macrae, a professional engineer, is the was reported to dock captain Luke Hardy just
plant manager. Macrae, 53, has been with the as he was leaving for the "morning conference,"
company for 24 years. He was plant engineer
for four years before being named plant manager a short daily meeting with the plant engineer
and the plant manager, held to discuss and deal
The current plant engineer is John Holt, also with routine operational problems. Hardy
a professional engineer. Holt, 36, has been with raised the matter immediately when the
Eagle for 13 years. He was transferred to the meeting began. Holt, after hearing details,
Northtown smelter when Macrae became plant realized a part would have to be fabricated, and
manager 18 months ago. promised delivery of it by 1:45 that afternoon.
ISOURCE: Adapted from a case "The Highlands and Islands company" of unknown origin by an anonymous author.
268
Allowing for proper installation, this timing specified that the machining should be done at
meant that the locomotive would be running. a low speed. Curtis knew the machine well and
again in time to catch the final shipment of the had in fact reported the problems in operating
day. the lathe just two weeks before. Holt was thus
The arrangement called for swift action, but quite confident that Curtis could do a high
Holt was confident that his target could be quality job, as he had on so many other "rescue
achieved even though special problems were operations" in the past.
involved in the fabrication of the required part. After giving Curtis his directions, Holt left the
The special lathe needed for the job had re‑ machine shop to attend to his other duties.
cently become unreliable While still function-
Most Friday mornings these took him to North‑
ing well at low RPMs, it tended to vibrate badly town, where it was his custom to stop by his
when operated at normal or high speeds. This bank to deposit his weekly paycheck, and
vibration made precision work difficult and sometimes do a little shopping for the weekend.
would, Holt feared, soon ruin the machine He felt free to do this as he often started early
itself. The service representative from the and worked late into the evening without over
manufacturer was due to visit the smelter to time when his job required.
repair this lathe the following week, and Holt in the late morning, Macrae, on one of his
had hoped to keep it out of service until then. frequent walks through the smelter, happened
The present emergency, of course, made its use to stop by the machine shop. Seeing that Curtis
unavoidable. He felt however that job was at work on the locomotive part, he stopped
could be done satisfactorily at low speed, with‑ at his work station, where he discovered that
out risk to the machine and thus did not raise Curtis was operating his machinery at low
the problem for fear of lengthening the meeting speed.
"Where's your foreman?" asked Macrae.
As the job was urgent, Holt decided to leave Curtis said he didn't know.
the meeting early, and went straight to the "How about Mr. Holt?"
machine shop to get work on it started. Fore‑ Curtis replied that he didn't know where he
man Smith, having made his daily work assign‑ was either. Macrae muttered to himself, told
ments, was over at the payroll department Curtis to speed the job up, and hurriedly took
looking into a complaint by his mechanics that off for his office.
too much was being deducted from their Holt returned to the machine shop a little
paychecks for the company's pension plan. after noon, and dropped in on Smith, who,
Knowing that Smith was likely to be there a after returning from the Payroll Department
while, Holt decided that the work being done and making a rapid tour of the machine shop,
by Lee Curtis, one of the senior mechanics, was had gone straight to his office to deal with a
not urgent, and assigned Curtis to the job. backlog of paperwork. Holt explained the trou-
Curtis, a fully qualified mechanic and one of ble with the locomotive, and after a brief con-
the most experienced and skilled men in the versation they decided to visit Curtis's work
shop, had at one time been considered for the station to check on progress. The lathe was
post of machine shop foreman. However, vibrating badly, and making an unpleasant
Macrae and Holt both preferred Ed Smith, whining sound. The part being tooled by Curtis
another excellent mechanic who, at 48, was just was obviously not going to meet the required
a few years younger than Curtis. At first, Curtis specifications.
had taken the missed promotion badly, but he "You knew the lathe shouldn't be run at this
soon seemed to settle down and accept the speed," said Holt in a fury. "You've messed up
situation. this job on purpose. You're fired." Turning to
In assigning the priority job to Curtis, Holt the foreman he told him to make arrangements
270 CASES AND EXERCISES
for Curtis's severance pay and to see that some‑ locomotive part and probably scrapped an ex.
one else took over the priority job. He then pensive lathe to boot. If that's the way you run
returned to his office. things here, then I quit."
A few minutes later, Smith sought him out "You're right," Macrae shouted back. "That
there and told him that he was not justified in locomotive job was a top priority, so why
firing Curtis. weren't you or Smith overseeing it? Was it in
"He speeded up the job because Macrae danger of interfering with your personal busi
ordered him to," explained the foreman. "He ness? I know your Friday morning routine! I
says Macrae is the boss, and he did what he accept your resignation."
was told."
Holt, on hearing this explanation, strode over
to Macrae's office and burst in without knock‑ Discussion Question
ing. "The machine shop's my area of respon‑ How would you explain the situation de
sibility," he shouted. "By sticking your nose in scribed in this case?
this morning you've ruined the rush job on the
