The Dim Lighting Co. Case

Case: The Dim Lighting Co.

Dim Lighting is facing several major problems. The company is in need of organizational development that would provide a renewal process that enables managers to adapt their style and goals to meet the changing demands of their environment. (Brown, p.4). Before a program can be implemented, the organization is in a state of disequilibrium or needs improvement. (Brown, p.15). Dim Lighting disequilibrium is due to lack of new innovation and not keeping up with the technological changes that will keep a company from keeping its competitive edge. There is a felt need, and it is Jim West, the General Manager’s obligation to convince everyone to adopt new ways. As the General Manager, it is his responsibility to be aware of the changes in the competitive environment, to “what’s going on out there.” (Brown, p.15). It is up to the manager to influence these changes, and Jim, has a lot of convincing to do to corporate and his management team, in order to implement these changes.

First and foremost the division failed to realize its operating targets. The failure to realize its operating targets are an indicative result of low cash flow, and the decreasing profit margins. As the general manager, Jim’s major responsibility is to show profits, and that the company is progressing in a positive and long-term direction.

Although, the company has been doing well in the past several years, it has become too complacent in its management which has created a dilemma with renewal that stability is necessary but is also the major obstruction to change. For most organizations, it seems, the more effective they have been in the past, the more likely they are to resist change. (Brown, p.34). Dim Lighting has developed entropy, which is a principle of physics according to which everything that is organized will break down or run down unless it is maintained. In regards to Dim Lighting, organization renewal is an approach to preventing corporate entropy....