Integrative Case Study: Custom Chip Inc.
Dwayne Leveret
Edwin Mercier
Joseph C. Thomas
Regent University Center for Leadership Studies
LEAD606 Strategic Vision and Organizational Effectiveness
14-Oct-2002
Integrative Case Study: Custom Chip Inc.
14-Oct-2002 Page 2 of 10
Introduction
This paper examines the basis for interdepartmental conflict and dependence as seen
in the case study for Custom Chip, Inc. (Daft, 2001, p. 543) and presents management
recommendations. Additionally, this paper identifies a biblical principle that the
recommendation illustrates and examines how the gifts and Meyers-Briggs type of the
participating group members contributed to the end result.
Departmental Conflict
There are two primary reasons for the conflicts that exist in Custom Chip. First, there is
goal incompatibility (Daft, 2001, p.443) between departments. Application Engineering s
goal of satisfying customer needs through innovative designs result in practical difficulties
for design and manufacture. Product Engineering s goal of maintaining adequate
yields result in a need for simple consistent designs and tightly controlled manufacturing
processes. Manufacturing s goals of productivity and schedule compliance result in
process and quality problems. Second, there is sequential task interdependence (Draft,
2001, p.446) as each department depends on the others for product designs and
problem resolution. The next section describes this interdependence.
Workflow Interdependence
Workflow between the Applications Engineering, Product Engineering, and Manufacturing
departments has deficient horizontal information linkages (Daft, 2001, p. 89). Exhibit
1 shows normal workflow progression through product order ...