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Perceived management problems/issues

Management of Technology & Innovation BUSI 4607 Improving the Product Development Process at Kirkham Instruments Corp.: Problems, alternatives and recommendations March 3, 2008 John Callahan. Perceived management problems/issues.

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Perceived management problems/issues

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  1. Management of Technology & InnovationBUSI 4607Improving the Product Development Process at Kirkham Instruments Corp.: Problems, alternatives and recommendationsMarch 3, 2008John Callahan

  2. Perceived management problems/issues • Company having a tough time supplying customers customers looking for systems that integrate functions of multiple pieces of lab equipment • Each business unit (Mass Spectrometer, Chromatography, Optical Equipment, Waterloo Instruments) working on too many projects • No universally accepted definitions for project types • Strategy does not help prioritize resource allocation Kirkham

  3. Time line of developments Nov 15-19 1995 – New product development seminar with Harvard profs Feb 16 1996 – One day crash course with Derrick Feb 17 1996 – Bad meeting of Executive Committee with Derrick Apr 1 1996 – Hoole presents diagrams, etc. at Quarterly Executive Conference Sep 1996 – Review and audit by Derrick, Fetzer-Woolley to present report soon Kirkham

  4. Mistakes that were made • Education and training • Done by external people, too early in advance of any action • Delegation to Quinn • She had responsibility but no real power, Donaldson not interested in actual details • Hiring Fetzer-Woolley • Just avoiding decisions, will feed back what they are told • Documents for communication rather than decision-making • Really hard to produce, for very little or no result • Started by trying to cut projects from total list • Managers were given incentive to hide projects Kirkham

  5. The situation now – as of Sep 1996 • Exhibit 9 • Derrick’s audit Kirkham

  6. Core issues • Role of Donaldson in the management of the company • Incentive structure for managers of separate business units • Allocation of resources within the company Kirkham

  7. Alternatives – what they can do now? • Short term • Try the approach that Derrick champions within one or more individual units • Long term • Go to one business unit (get rid of separate business units each with a profit-loss statement) or start a business unit that produces systems with integrated functionality • Develop a useful strategy • Allocate resources (funds for R&D, overhead, margins for products) according to a real strategy • What would that strategy be? • Develop consistent integrated information system for both communication and planning Kirkham

  8. Recommendations – what they should do now • Short term • Try the approach that Derrick champions within one or more individual units • Long term • Start a business unit that produces systems with integrated functionality • Develop consistent integrated information system for both communication and planning • Start this with individual units that try Derrick’s approach and with the new unit Kirkham

  9. References • Wheelwright, S.C. & K.B. Clark (1992). Creating project plans to focus product development. Harvard Business Review, Mar-Apr, 70-82. Kirkham

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