Shortage of Components
originally titled: The
Deadline
I
Ruskin Manufacturing has guaranteed Parker Products that it
will deliver the complete order of small machines by the 10th
of the month, a Friday. Parker had already extended its
deadline once. This time, it insists, the date must be met. Tim
Vinson, head of quality control, had been confident the
deadline would be met. But on the 8th he learns that a new
component of the machines is in short supply. He thinks of
several options:
- Approve breaking up and regrinding the remaining supply
of the old component that was being replaced. This could
probably be accomplished in time, but the speed at which it
would have to be done raises concerns about impurities in the
process.
- Approve using the old component in place of the new one.
The product would still function well, and it would be
unlikely that Parker would ever detect the difference.
Although Parker would not be getting exactly what it ordered,
the product would meet minimal safety and durability
standards.
- Discuss the problem with the design engineer and see what
he suggests. Which of these options would you recommend? Can
you think of any other options that might be preferable?
II
Tim decides to consult with Chuck Davidson, the chief design
engineer for this product. Chuck says, "I don't have a good
answer for you. There's no time to come up with a completely
satisfactory alternative. You could regrind, but given the time
frame you might get a lot of impurities. Or you could just use
the old components. But I'm not going to advise either of
those. I don't want this hanging over my head. Maybe you should
call Arnold." Arnold Peterson is Vice President of Product
Engineering. Years ago, like Tim Vinson, Arnold served as head
of quality control. Tim is somewhat uneasy about calling Arnold
for two reasons. First, Tim feels responsible for not seeing
the problem earlier, and he is reluctant to admit failure to
the Vice President of Product Engineering. Second, he wonders
if Arnold would really want to be bothered by something like
this. He might simply tell Tim that the problem is his to solve
-- somehow. Still, Tim is not comfortable with the idea of just
resolving the problem by himself. What should Tim do next?
III (Version 1)
Hesitant to take matters in his own hands, Tim calls Arnold.
Consider three possible scenarios:
- Arnold says, "You're supposed to take care of these
things yourself, Tim. I don't want to hear about stuff like
this. Just meet the deadline. I used to have to deal with
this kind of problem all the time. Management made it very
clear to me that it doesn't want bad news--it wants results."
What should Tim do now?
- Arnold says, "Look Tim, you haven't been at this very
long. Parker doesn't want to hear about this. If something
goes wrong with the product, they don't want to have to tell
their customers that they knew about the problem. They'll
want to point the finger at us. They also made it very clear
that we've had it if we don't meet the deadline this time. I
don't like this kind of situation, but we've got to take a
little risk here. Just get the stuff over there somehow."
What should Tim do now?
- Tim learns that Arnold is out of town until next week and
cannot be reached. What should Tim do now?
III (Version 2)
Tim decides not to call Arnold. He thinks Arnold would not
want to be bothered by this problem and would simply tell Tim
that it is up to him to resolve it in such a way that a major
customer is not disappointed. So, he approves substituting the
old component in place of the new one. Several weeks later
Arnold learns from an internal source that Tim substituted the
old component. He calls Tim into his office and asks for an
explanation. What should Tim say?
IV Following III (Version 1)
Tim approves substituting the old component, and the order
is met on time. However, several months later Parker returns to
Ruskin several of the machines from the order Tim completed.
Parker complains that the machines in this part of the order
are not functioning as efficiently as the others. When a Parker
technician dissembled several of the less efficient machines
and compared them with one that was working well, she
discovered that each of the less efficient ones has a key
component that differs from the well functioning machine.
Parker asks for an explanation. Word now comes to Tim that he
is expected to appear at a meeting with Arnold Peterson and a
Parker representative. What should he be prepared to say at the
meeting?
V
Suppose Tim substitutes the old component for the new one,
and neither Parker nor anyone else outside of Ruskin ever finds
out. All parties are satisfied. Does it follow that Tim acted
appropriately?