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THE FRONT LINES. When business picked up, the knives came out. Charlene
Pedrolie had just introduced the latest management methods ...
... Paul, the main character, and his friends have just been relieved from the
front lines. They are members of the Second Company and ...
... In Paul’s case, Germany was under attack from many sides, and it was best for
him to head for the front lines and defend his fatherland. ...
... weeks of atrocious basic training at the hands of the small-minded, vindictive Corporal
Himmelstoss and the inconceivable cruelty of life on the front lines. ...
... It’s no surprise to men that women are becoming an important factor in the US military
and now occupy every position expect those on the front lines. ...
Submitted by bkagarwal on May 17, 2008
Category: Business
Words: 790 | Pages: 4
Views: 42
Popularity Rank: 110,169
Average Member Grade: N/A (Add a Comment / Grade this Paper)
When business picked up, the knives came out. Charlene Pedrolie had just introduced the latest management methods at the big, old flagship factory of Rowe Furniture Corp. Workers had been organized into "cells." Cross-training had been instituted. Four layers of supervision had been wiped out.
But when orders surged for the 1995 fall season, the cells couldn't keep up. Workers were pressured by stress under the new rules and frazzled by change; one had a nervous breakdown. Skeptics questioned not only the new processes but the new boss -- a 34-year-old Yankee female, a complete outsider in an old-line Dixie company.
Yet today, attitudes have changed 180 degrees. Output and earnings are surging, making Rowe a hot stock in the furniture group. How Ms. Pedrolie pulled it off teaches a valuable lesson not only in the management of change but also in the attainment of corporate power.
Rowe Furniture was stuck midway through a major transformation when it recruited her in April 1995 from a plant manager's job at General Electric. Rowe's research showed that people hate buying upholstered furniture. They want a much wider selection than any showroom can display, yet they refuse to wait months for a special order. So Rowe created a computer network on which customers could match fabrics and styles, promising speedy delivery and a midrange price.
The marketing solution, however, created problems upstream. Rowe's factory had to produce a much wider variety of products in much less time, all with no increase in cost. Making that happen was Ms. Pedrolie's assignment.
In her mind, there was a little mystery about the method. She would annihilate the inefficient old assembly line. Sewers, gluers, staplers and stuffers would be brought together in cells of roughly 35. Through cross training, everyone in the cell could do every job related to making a sofa, instead of doing one job on every piece. When...
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