but every time we formed up teams we would be reorganized. I was to learn that we meet any new situation by reorganizing. And a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency and demoralization."1 Petronius Arbiter made this interesting perspective of organizational change in 210 B.C., likely with a little translation from the language of the day. Even after over two thousand years to work on it, there are present day examples that have not changed much. It is not inevitable however. Monolithic companies can be successfully reorganized to meet today's requirement for instantaneous responsiveness to customer demands.
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The automotive industry is known for large, traditional organizations as well as environments of constant change. Automotive part suppliers are forever faced with imposed cost reductions that require innovative solutions just to remain in the game. The Meritor Chatham facility is no different. Although already impacted by years of change, the organization faces new challenges to meet current requirements. .
The Chatham facility is one part of the Light Vehicle Systems division. The factory manufactures torsion bars and stabilizer bars for light cars, trucks and sport utilities. The Plant and line managers report to the Operations Director in Troy. Staff functions such as Human Resources, Finance and Information Technology have a "dotted line" or informal reporting relationship to the Plant Manager, but formally report to respective Directors in Troy. This gives the worldwide staff functions a unified direction, but causes a functional gap for the daily needs of the plant. Often, time is spent meeting the needs of corporate directives while the immediate needs of the plant are put off. The essence of why the functions exist is missed, which is to support the making of product.
Since there are two main product lines produced at the facility, scheduling and problem solving efforts are often required simultaneously in both areas.