...In the case of The Dim Lighting Company is a subsidiary of a major producer of electrical products. The company is faced with several macro-level problems. Low cash flow and decreasing profit margins are not the only problems they are having but they are primarily the major ones. The management staff consists of Dr. Spinks, Newell, Preston, and Boswell, (Woolfe, 2002, pg. 83). Adding to their list of problems, they continue to be in a constant limbo about the company’s future innovations. West is very worried about the overall state of the company. Due to the company’s history of poor performance in previous years, his despair about the future of The Dim Lightning Company is necessary. This potential future failure is threating his personal life as he is worried about his job security, (Woolfe, 2002, pg. 82) . The director of Research & Development (R&D), is known to be “autocratic, strong-willed, and impatient,” and resigned at previous industry competitor’s firms due to their lack of innovation. Spinks proposal of the “Lamp of the Future” proposal seems to put them in a difficult position that could threaten the company’s overall health. The new proposal has a long-term ability to stabilize the company and provide them with income; however, time is not on their side as they are already in a financial crisis, (Woolfe, 2002, pg. 83). The staff has to ultimately make the decision whether to try or deny the new proposal, as it is not a guarantee that it will be a successful...
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...I. Problems A. Macro There are many problems that The Dim Lighting Company and Jim West the general manager are facing. While West has been running the company for five years successfully last year the division failed to realize its operating targets and profit margins dropped by 15 percent. With such a major drop something must be changed to get the company back on the correct path. The proposal is to create a new type of light with a 70 percent of success and would be the successor to LED lights. If The Dim Lighting Company wants to stay relevant it has to move with new technology and stop selling their old products, and create something new instead. However if they decide to go into this research this it would cost the company a lot of funds and time to create this new product. The first two years of the project only breakeven which might not give them enough to even keep the business operating. After the second year profits are expected to rise substantially. “Recognize that large-scale change takes time. It may take three to five years for significant, organization-wide cultural change” (Brown, 2011, pg. 68). If they want to become a leader and create a new product they must consider that it will take a good amount of time, effort and funds from the company. B. Other problems that arise are the status of the leaders of The Dim Lighting Company. Jim West had a bad year last year, and if he has another bad year it might not prove well for his advancement and he may...
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... 2013 Chapter 3 Case Study: The Dim Lighting Co. I. Problems a. Macro i. Company strategy – they cannot agree on whether they want to be innovative or constantly behind the trend. They are slow to adapt to change, and are reluctant to be ahead of the change. ii. Financing – they are in a bit of a financial squeeze, which hence places reluctance on going ahead with the new project. However, it “takes money to make money” so if they decide to not go through with the project due to lack of financing I foresee financing continuing to be an issue long into their future, and a potential second bad year in a row. b. Micro iii. Spinks leaving – it’s been brought up that if his new project is denied, the Director of Research and Development will leave the company in search of other employment. He left his last job because of a lack of creativity and innovation, so chances are he would leave again if forced to work under the same circumstances. iv. Broken production equipment – the broken production equipment is inhibiting their current operations. If fixed, this would provide an instant, although smaller, source of income. If they go ahead with the new project this broken equipment will be put on the backburner, causing the company to be low on cash for quite some time. II. Causes c. Lack of product development – because of this in the past, the company is low on cash, and if they don’t pursue product...
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...The Dim Lighting Company Case Analysis Angela Buford Organizational Change – MGT311 Dr. Edward M. Slover September 29, 2011 The Dim Lighting Case Analysis The Dim Lighting Company, as with many companies over the past couple of years has seen a drop in their profit margins. They were down 155 compared to last year’s budget. The General Manager, Jim West is facing a tough decision this year, although he wants to take on the new projects presented before him by Robert Spinks, he needs to weigh his options. Macro: Dim Lighting Company is faced with deciding to be proactive or reactive. The Project that Spinks proposes can produce good benefits to the company but it is very expensive and it is a high risk. Micro: Jim is under pressure to meet his targets for the upcoming year. The decision that Jim’s make can ultimately affect his career in the long run. Spinks is has received several awards from the scientific societies and Jim is feels pressure to make a decision to satisfy Spinks. Spinks is very knowledgeable and losing him may hurt the company. Although the Company needs to keep up with technology they really don’t have the funds to gamble with. Causes: Some possible cause that may affect the decision for change in the company is the fact that Dim Lighting had previous years that were not profitable. There is also a need for more funds to be able to finance the project. With Spinks having a record of living companies when he didn’t get his way this is also...
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...The Dim Lighting Company I. Problems A. Macro 1. There definitely needs to be a change made. The company needs to make a decision, but do they want to go with a high risk product like micro-miniaturization? 2. The risk involved with making the decision towards innovation will have a high cost and will put a damper on production of revenue bringing current technology. 3. Numerous products The Dim Lighting Company are currently manufacturing are in the declining period. B. Micro 1. Jim West needs to have a successful year, his career virtually depends on it. 2. Robert Spinks needs to open up to more than just his opinion. The mentioning of him leaving his former company for their lack or creativity leads me to believe he left because they didn’t let him have his way. II. Causes 1. Profit margin dropped 15% in the previous year. 2. Products currently manufactured products are on their way out. 3. The technology curve calls for continuous innovations. III. Systems affected 1. Structural – They would have to restructure their current business around the new product development. Manufacturing speeds and locations of current products will change. They will have to find how to do this to maximum efficiency. 2. Psychosocial –.Jim West is worried that if he doesn’t go forth with the new idea, he may lose all the hard work of assembling his Research and Development department. 3. Technical – The technological aspect of this case is in the fore-front. The Dim Lighting...
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...Case 3: The Dim Lighting Co. The Dim Lighting Co. (heretofore known as Dim) is challenged with several macro-level problems. Primarily, low cash flow and decreasing profit margins are an important concern. Also, the management team (i.e., Dr. Spinks, P. Newell, B. Boswell, and C. Preston) seems prone to in-fighting and name calling. For example, Preston refers to scientists (i.e., Spinks) as “prima donnas.” At the micro-level, Dim’s General Manager, West, is quite concerned about his tenure at the company due to his company’s performance during the previous year. He is worried about what will happen to his job security if the coming year is unsuccessful as well. Also, Spinks, director of R&D, is reported to be “autocratic, strong-willed, and impatient,” and he seems to be quick to resign when dissatisfied with the degree of innovation present within his location. Now, with Spinks’s new project as a possible panacea for Dim’s dilemmas, there is much resistance to going forward with development due to extant monetary worries. Also, the new project is not a guaranteed success, and it is difficult to determine if the payoffs are worth the risk in investment. The causes for the problems at Dim are multiple and varied. First, the organizational culture seems to be split. Some management primarily focuses on the “bottom line”, while others focus on innovation competitiveness. This creates great conflict when new ideas and change and proposed. Dim’s culture (with the exception...
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...The Dim Lightning Case Analysis In this week’s case analysis, we are presented with the tough decision for Jim West, General Manager for Dim Lighting. Jim West is presented with an opportunity by his Research and Development Director Robert Spinks to develop new technology. There is much to this case other than just whether or not to fund this expenditure. There is competing input from Accounting and Manufacturing, with support from the Marketing department. Complicating the manners is Mr. West’s own personal desires and considerations. Leading up to this occurrence, there was much that occurred within the confines of the company that has lead to the current situation. In the previous year, Mr. West’s group had failed to meet their operating targets, and profits dropped by 15 percent. This has lead to concern on the part of Mr. West in regards to this year’s performance, and meeting this year’s numbers is paramount to the long term potential for Mr. West. Adding to this dilemma, Mr. Spinks has brought a proposal to Mr. West that involves development of new lighting technology. This program would cost $2.5 million over the next 2 years. The marketing department backs the plan to develop this new technology. However, the accounting department feels that there is no room in the budget for this R&D. The manufacturing department adds to the mix that they desire to put those expenditures into new machinery for the current production line, which will contribute to immediate...
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...Accounting and the Production Manager are against the proposal because of the high risk, the uncertain results, and the need for new machinery for the current production line. Without all the management in agreement it can prevent the company from remaining competitive or adapting to a changing environment. 2. The Organization needs to remove the fear of failure and provide a climate that supports the risk that is being taken. B. Micro 1. The management team is questioning Mr. Spinks because the feel he is often autocratic, strong-willed, and impatient. Mr. Spinks has to show he has the same ethical and value as the organization. 2. Determining the Priority of the Goals – Is Mr. West looking for Mr. Spinks to just make him look better after having a bad couple of years or is the goal the Mr. West really have in mind is for the better of the company. II. Causes: 1. Dim Lighting Company has not produced new products or set them apart from the competition. In order to be successful the company needs to standout from their competitors. 2. With changing technology Dim Lighting Company needs to come up with innovated ideas to make them stand out. They need to keep the customers coming back and not going to the competitors. 3. All companies have to look at change to continue to grow and stay competitive. Without change profits can become stagnant and can this could be the demise of the organization. III. Systems affected: 1. Marketing will have to change in the way they...
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...Problems A. Macro 1. The Dim Lighting Co. has to decide whether or not to invest in a major R&D project for new technology. The reason for looking into pursing this is due to the fact of declining profits and not meeting the companies operating capacity targets. The margins and operating targets dropped by 15 percent last year. Jim West has to look into all of the pros and cons of the project that Robert Spinks has presented at the staff meeting. 2. One issue is the company has been underperforming the last two years. It would be an easier decision to invest the $1.2 million for the next two years and $500,000 for the third year. The Mr. West knows that his career at the company depends on the next year profit margin. Without a strong performance he could be no longer employed at Dim Lighting Co. The other idea brought up by Bills Boswell is to purchase newer equipment for the production line which he feels would create an immediate impact on the financial profits for the company, instead of investing in a project that could fail completely. Mr. Sparks stated that it only as a 70% chance of success. B. Micro 1. The last two years had declining profits and operating targets were not met for the last couple years. Mr. West knows that he has to make this trend end and start to make the company profits increase. If the performance doesn’t change he feels that it could lead to himself being released from his services from the company and end any chance for career...
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...Hollie Adleberg 1/22/13 MGT 311: Case Analysis THE DIM LIGHTING CO. CASE ANALYSIS Problems Macro 1) The Dim Lighting CO has a major decision to make. The facts and the numbers are saying that they are not realizing their operating targets and their profit margins have declined. The first thing that Mr. West should do is to evaluate all the pros and cons of the project. 2) The other side of the problem is that at this moment, they are not in the greatest financial situation. Mr. West knows that his business position is heavily weighed on the financial success of the coming year. Micro 1) Mr. West has to have a profitable year. Two years in a row with poor performance could lead to his dismissal from the company, and will not look good for future career advancements. The director of marketing is stating that new machinery is needed in order for any profit to be made. The downside being that it will take two years to complete, and during those two years, only break-even will be met, no profits until the third year. 2) Mr. Spinks has stated that he left his previous company because they lacked creativity and innovation in research and development. He has the tendency to be impatient if his project does not get approved. There is a threat that Mr. Spinks will leave the company and shatter the whole R&D department. Causes 1) Previous unprofitable year 2) Mr. Spinks history of leaving former company for lack of creativity and innovations 3) The organizational...
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...Carl Vitale MG350 Case Analysis: The Dim Lighting Co. I. Problems a. Macro – the problems for this organization on a large scale are pretty easy to see from the case. The company failed to meet its operating targets. This has caused them to decline financially, but also limits their ability to take risks that would help them to research and design new technology to get them back into the market. That means that when Mr. Spinks has an idea that would normally be a great opportunity for the company to jump out in front of its competitors, instead of immediately jumping into that project, they must first consider all options. Their situation makes the endeavor, and ones like it, far more risky than they should be. b. Micro – on a smaller scale, the companies head of R&D, Mr. Spinks, faces a problem of his own when he comes up with an idea for a new type of lamp that he believes could be the next step up from LED lighting. This is obviously a huge idea, and a big risk to any company. This company however, also happens to be struggling, making it necessary for the organization to discuss all possible risks before agreeing that it is the right idea. This is a typical high-risk, high-reward situation. If Dim Lighting decided to take a risk and put money into developing and producing this new product, they have to be confident that it will in fact be the next big thing. If not, the organization could lose all the money they had put into the project, which at...
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...Case Analysis The Dim Lighting Company Paula J Huggard Organizational Change I. Problems A. Macro 1. With the changes in the industry does the company sit back and wait for a better time within their company to develop new products or do they decide to become proactive? 2. Will the company become reactive and continue what they are currently doing and get the equipment necessary to have instant results? B. Micro 1. Jim West is faced with a big financial decision. Whatever he decides will most likely have an impact on his career. Current production, with some repairs and upgrading, would produce an immediate return. However, would this be just putting a band aid on a bigger problem? As far as Spinks’ proposal, although top management at headquarters are enthusiastic with the idea presented, they are not willing to put up the necessary capital required for a project that is estimated to have only a seventy percent chance of success and no profitability projected until the third year. 2. It is likely that Robert Spinks will not continue as Director of R&D with the Dim Lighting Company if headquarters refuses to move forward on the micro-miniaturization of lighting sources he has proposed. II. Causes 1. Spinks has won many awards from scientific societies and is a valuable asset to the R&D department, but he has made it known that he has left previous employers because of their inability to be creative and innovative. ...
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... and you’ll get the necessary expertise to actualise your vision. However, if you want to get the best results and achieve all that is possible within your budget, you should also help your designer help you. According to relocation and fit-out company Strategy Hat, a strong office design “needs to possess a careful balance of the creative and the practical”. Thus, business owners must take into special consideration the factors that make or break this so-called equilibrium all interior designers have been aiming for in order to meet the needs and requirements of...
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...THE DIM LIGHTING CO. CASE ANALYSIS Name: I. Problems: A. Macro: 1. The Dim Lighting Co. is facing a major decision. The facts and the numbers are saying that they are not realizing their operating targets, and their profit margins have dropped. The first thing the general manager has to do is evaluate and review all of the pros and cons of this project. In our always changing market, industry and competition if the company wants to be successful, they have to keep up with the changes. If they want to be the leader in the market, they cannot sit around and wait for better times to come. The general manager needs to decide if he is looking to increase profit margins for right now and possibly for the next couple of years, or is he looking for the future of the company in the long run. Is the company able to take this initiative? 2. The other side of this issue is that the company at the moment is not in the best financial position. The general manager knows that his business position is strongly relying on the financial success of the next coming year. The lack of the monetary power is a key factor in making important business decisions. Should they be passive in this project? B. Micro: 1. The general manager needs to have a profitable year. Two years in a row without the desired profit numbers, will not look good for his business advancement and his career. According to the director of marketing they need new machinery for their current production...
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...Although, the frequent long pauses seemed unnecessary to me. While being sucked in by the excellent acting and what was actually happening, it was difficult to notice the color scheme and lighting. However, some effects that grabbed my attention were the use of paint to give the illusion of a room blanketed with carpet to define the setting of each scene, and the way they incorporated the lighting to give the impression of the sunlight creating a window shadow upon the face of the actor as he was unveiling his knowledge of the betrayal between his wife and his best friend. In my opinion, the dim blue lights after particular scenes were used to signify a different time in the same setting. For example, the apartment setting was used for multiple time periods. The blackout (a period where after a particular scene they turned off all the lights) was used to signify a different setting and a different time period. For example, when the setting transitioned from Robert (Husband) and Emma (Wife) in Venice, Italy and back to New York City where Jerry and Robert were having lunch in a restaurant. I also noticed that when Emma and Jerry were happier early in their affair the light in the apartment was brighter to set the mood then their unhappier times at the end of the affair where the lighting was dimmer to...
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