Global Mobile Corporation

Case Analysis

Akshat Maheshwari | H21065

Ashita Agarwal | H21073
Aryan Tomar | H21072
Gayatri Kapoor | H21079
Karam Ibadat Singh|H21084
Rahul Sharma | H21099
Q1. What are the reasons for the various challenges faced by Charlie and his department (as mentioned in the
case)? Do you think that the successor of Charlie will be able to overcome these problems? Why?

Ans. Reasons for the challenges faced by charlie and his department are as follows:
a. There is no way for departments to communicate with one another, notably product division, manufacturing, and
engineering services. The factory manager has a wide range of control, and production is directly connected to the
product division, rendering ESD obsolete. Furthermore, instead of bureaucratizing the process, there is a lack of
motivation for production to engage in ESD or to work proactively with product engineers to fix difficulties.
b. Employees expect managerial positions to be filled organically, and it is difficult for an outsider to acquire the trust of
others in this environment. There are two types of people: 'insiders' and 'outsiders.
c. Formal and informal power systems, as well as subcultures, exist in diverse ways.
d. Processes are not well-established or followed, and there is minimal uniformity.
e. Customers are promised new items, and some are even put into production before they are completely developed.
In the current situation, the engineering services division is disorganised and ineffectual.
Charlie's successor will not be able to solve the problem because-
a. The president wanted to employ someone else to make the dispute "go away," but he was not interested in
interdepartmental cooperation solutions.
b. There is no acknowledgement or receptivity to the presence of a systemic and structural problem, and if this trend
continues, Charlie's replacement will not be very helpful.
Q2. Go through the structure mentioned in the case. Is it working properly? What are the reasons? Are you familiar
with any other organization (commercial/noncommercial) wherein structure performs in similar manner?

Ans. Reasons for the challenges faced by charlie and his

department are as follows:
a. There are differences between formal and informal authority
arrangements.
b. On paper, Product Development Director "Doc" Brown
reports to Engineering Director Charlie Newburg, although in
fact, this is not the case.
c. Tyson Wang, the factory manager, reports to Ralph Simon
but has complete autonomy and authority over production
choices, preventing Ralph from functioning as a liaison.
Due to their social and financial capital, as well as informal
networks, subordinates in the hierarchy are sometimes far
more powerful than those they report to in governance
structures
Q3. Will power and hierarchical level go hand in hand? What are the ways in which important characters in the
case d3velop power in Global Mobile corporation?

Ans.
a. Don Brown is the visionary in product design and the most powerful person in the organization. He helped the
organization build its USP and expand. But to maintain his post of "Director of production development", Doc Brown
rejected the promotion to the post of "Director of Engineering".
b. Therefore, even though he is reporting to someone, he has more power than hs reporting manager. Due to his
importannce in the organization, his decisions are hardly opposed and he is in fact his own person.
c. On the other hand, Hoover, due to her technical expertise and customer relation skills, exercises both political and
hierarchical powers.
d. Tyson Wang uncovered some wringdoings in the production department when he entered the firm. This helped him
gain power and influence within the firm. In his position, Tyson Wang is more powerful than the new hire Charlie.
e. As the culture is build on informality, power is mostly developed the experience gained and time spent in the
organization.
Q4.Whom will you rate as most political in this organization? Reasons.

Ans. Tyson Wang, the factory manager, is the most political person in the organization because of the following
reasons:
a. Wang's actions cause conflicts and disagreements between departments, caused due to his perceptions. For
example, he believes that most of the manufacturing problems are caused by engineers and his department delegates
all the problem solvings to the engineering team.
b. Wang's production workforce does not cooperate and is bureaucratic. According to an ESD technician supervisor in
the case, “They pick on every little detail instead of using their heads and making the minor changes that have to be
made”. Even senior and experiecned ESD employees have to defend themselves from Wang and his workforce. This
leads to iefficientcy and conflict.
c. Wang's team culture is very different from the organizational culture. Wang
d. Tyson Wang uncovered some wringdoings in the production department when he entered the firm. This helped him
gain power and influence within the firm. In his position, Tyson Wang is more powerful than the new hire Charlie.
e. As the culture is build on informality, power is mostly developed the experience gained and time spent in the
organization.
Q5. Based on the article, ‘how to design a high performing job’ suggest modifications in the design of Engineering
Service Department.

Ans.

The X test was conducted on the department, which

showed that the job was imbalanced.
The following suggestions can be utilized to overcome
the imbalance of the department.
a. An increase in the span of control increases the
number of employees since there aren’t enough
employees to discharge all functions, leading to
inefficiency.
b. There is a need to increase the decision rights to
the director of ESD to increase the span of control,
allowing him to resolve issues.
c. There is a lack of help provided to the department
while influencing multiple people to discharge its
function; there must be an increase in the span of
support through shared purpose and building trust.
Q6. If you are in Charlie’s position, what will you do to ensure a different ending for this case (wherein Engineering
Service will be able to make significant and expected contribution to the firm)

Ans. Charlie faced a dual issue; he could not be as aggressive as Brady, who eventually was fired, whereas his soft
stance wasn't taken seriously, and his decision wasn't practical.
Main challenges: getting support, getting practical influence to discharge functions, being accepted by other people
Take help from Hoover: the rationalization of job description and systems should be effectively formulated for ESD's
discharge of functions. ESD must be well informed of matters he is responsible for, and formalized strategy should be
implied.
• Charlie should concentrate on streamlining the ESD and making its processes more effective: ensure timely
information flow, define job requirements for everyone, make bold decisions, and provide assistance to his
subordinates.
• Charlie should work closely with the manufacturing department on quality control, purchasing, and inventory to keep
them informed and avoid alienation. When assistance is required, it should be requested.
• Charlie should use his background and technical skills to obtain respect and influence among his coworkers; he
should stand firm and express his views without being domineering.