Apply Your Skills: Case for Critical Analysis
Elektra Products, Inc.62 Top management assigned selected managers to several
Barbara Russell, a manufacturing vice president, walked into problem-solving teams to come up with ideas for imple-
the monthly companywide meeting with a light step and a menting the empowerment campaign. Barbara loved her
hopefulness she hadn’t felt in a long time. The company’s assignment as team leader of the manufacturing team,
new, dynamic CEO was going to announce a new era of em- working on ideas to improve how retail stores got the
ployee involvement and empowerment at Elektra Products, merchandise they needed when they needed it. The team
an 80-year-old, publicly held company that had once been a thrived, and trust blossomed among the members. They
leading manufacturer and retailer of electrical products and even spent nights and weekends working to complete their
supplies. In recent years, the company experienced a host of report. They were proud of their ideas, which they believed
problems: market share was declining in the face of increased were innovative but easily achievable: permit a manager to
foreign and domestic competition; new product ideas were few follow a product from design through sales to customers;
and far between; departments such as manufacturing and sales allow salespeople to refund up to $500 worth of merchan-
barely spoke to one another; morale was at an all-time low, and dise on the spot; make information available to salespeople
many employees were actively seeking other jobs. Everyone about future products; and swap sales and manufacturing
needed a dose of hope. personnel for short periods to let them get to know one
Martin Griffin, who had been hired to revive the failing another’s jobs.
company, briskly opened the meeting with a challenge: “As we When the team presented its report to department heads,
face increasing competition, we need new ideas, new energy, Martin Griffin was enthusiastic. But shortly into the meet-
new spirit to make this company great. And the source for this ing he had to excuse himself because of a late-breaking deal
change is you—each one of you.” He then went on to explain with a major hardware store chain. With Martin absent, the
that under the new empowerment campaign, employees would department heads rapidly formed a wall of resistance. The
be getting more information about how the company was run director of human resources complained that the ideas for
and would be able to work with their fellow employees in new personnel changes would destroy the carefully crafted job cat-
and creative ways. Martin proclaimed a new era of trust and egories that had just been completed. The finance department
cooperation at Elektra Products. Barbara felt the excitement argued that allowing salespeople to make $500 refunds would
stirring within her; but as she looked around the room, she saw create a gold mine for unethical customers and salespeople.
many of the other employees, including her friend Simon, roll- The legal department warned that providing information to
ing their eyes. “Just another pile of corporate crap,” Simon said salespeople about future products would invite industrial
later. “One minute they try downsizing, the next reengineering. spying.
Then they dabble in restructuring. Now Martin wants to push The team members were stunned. As Barbara mulled over
empowerment. Garbage like empowerment isn’t a substitute for the latest turn of events, she considered her options: keep her
hard work and a little faith in the people who have been with mouth shut; take a chance and confront Martin about her sin-
this company for years. We made it great once, and we can do cerity in making empowerment work; push slowly for reform
it again. Just get out of our way.” Simon had been a manufac- and work for gradual support from the other teams; or look
turing engineer with Elektra Products for more than 20 years. for another job and leave a company she really cares about.
Barbara knew he was extremely loyal to the company, but he— Barbara realized she was looking at no easy choices and no easy
and a lot of others like him—were going to be an obstacle to answers.
the empowerment efforts.
Questions
1. How might top management have done a 2. Can you think of ways Barbara could have avoided the
1
better job chang-ing Elektra Products into a problems her team faced in the meeting with department heads?
new kind of organization? What might they do 3. If you were Barbara Russell, what would you do now?Why?
now to get the empowerment process back on
track?
