Plastico Case Study Summary

1. Plastico’s key problems are the lack of a proper communication system, management conflict with Ackerman, failure to coordinate and no synergy among departments. Futhermore, they lack of a company intranet to share information, human capital is not effectively managed. Johnson had an issue with budget allocation among each department causing dissatisfaction. Next, there is no Human Resource Department to manage hiring in order to meet make sure candidates “fit” the company, the hiring process should be in black and white to avoid incidents like Johnson pulling Smith into the company based on personal relationship. Also, the company lack of a proper incentive and reward system to motivate its managers to work hard. As the VP, Johnson did

Coherence in strategic direction will improve Plastico’s effectiveness in various ways. This is done through expressing priorities through vision, mission and strategic objectives in the hierarchy of goals. A clear vision will evoke powerful and compelling images to a common goal. They will provide values and aspirations to capture hearts of the managers. In this way, managers would work on good terms and help Plastico to achieve success. Next, the mission statement will remind the company its basis of competition and competitive advantage. This will benefit Plastico as it incorporates stakeholder management and primary stakeholders aiding the company to effectively respond to multiple constituencies ensuring a common understanding of purpose and commitment. Lastly, strategic objectives will help the company to operationalize the mission statement. This will help to channel all employee’s efforts towards a common goal. Plastico will be able to concentrate valuable resources and motivate employees to higher levels of commitment and resolve interpersonal conflicts for the company goals. With this, Plastico will be able to quickly come up with a solution when threats outside the company arises and resolve internal conflict easily as each interrelating departments have

A cross functional team will include an expertise from different departments towards a common goal. This will improve communication among the departments as the representative of each department in the team and update each other on the current plans and work process, speeding up the work process. This will prevent communication breakdown when an emergency occurs. Also, it will improve integration and working relationships among the various departments as they get a clear understanding of what each other is working on and support each other ensuring a smooth work process. The four managers will then decrease misunderstanding of each other and work effectively in their own roles fostering team spirit. A cross functional team might also devise a contingency plan in time of crisis. This is especially effective when there is diversity and different resources in the team. It is also important to set a common goal for the functional team as this will dissolve any potential conflict that arises within the