There are several problems facing the Wallace Group, the most important one seems to involve a breakdown in communication. Most of the problems have arisen over responsibilities and relationships between corporate and group positions. There is a union in place that is insistent on a no-layoff clause that is delaying the equipment on order that would ultimately eliminate 20% of the assembly positions. Burt Williams, Director of Operations stated "one of the biggest problems stems from corporate policy regarding transfer pricing" (p. 2-9). Mr. Williams continues to state that they are "encouraged" to purchase plastics and chemicals from sister Wallace groups but, at the expense of an unprofitable price. Frank Campbell, Vice President of Industrial relations stated the Wallace group has been "sued by a rejected candidate for a position on the basis of discrimination?she claimed our entrance qualifications are excessive because we require shorthand" (p. 2-7). Matthew Smith, Director of Advanced Systems states that Corporate keeps making demands for"...information they need to satisfy corporate planning and operations review requirements, but they don't seem to recognize how time and effort is required to provide this information" (p. 2-9). There is a standing recruiting backlog due to the pay scales that are too low to attractive appropriate candidates, especially for the engineering positions.
There are several recommendations that could help most mainly focused around the integration of marketing planning efforts between group and corporate positions. A Groups/Marketing/Sales Function needs to be created to help with the business expansion effort. A change in supplier choices will aid in meeting v ...