Kenworth Case Study

Assessment of the Consultant’s Performance with Kenworth Motors

Alejandro Rodriguez

TEXAS A&M Corpus Christi

MGMT 3355-001

Introduction

Establishing itself in 1923 by brothers George T. and Louis Gerlinger, Jr., Kenworth Motors has propelled itself as a dominant force in in the creation and customization of Class 5-8 trucks with its main headquarters residing in Seattle, Washington. With over 90 years of operations, Kenworth has forced a legacy of grand “craftsmanship, durability, and engineering excellence that is unrivaled in the world today” and have garnered a variety of awards, including the coveted J.D. Powers award, for their brilliance in their respective field. Kenworth Motors is, without a doubt, a highly functioning and profitable company that can consistently perform.

Despite Kenworth Motor’s high functioning capabilities through the outside perspective, the current plant manager of only 8 months Robert Denton was experiencing perplexity at the suggestion that operations could perhaps not be functioning at its fullest optimal state. To alleviate the uncertainty, Denton had decided to recruit a consultant bestowed upon him through word of mouth by fellow sailing club mate Charlie Wright, OD manager of a major timber products company also in Seattle. This consultant was spoken of in high regards by Charlie Wright, and this has assured Denton that recruiting the consultant would be a very wise decision. Upon receiving a phone call from Denton, the consultant found himself in a flattered state and eager to close an opportunity at a consulting service for Robert Denton at Kenworth Motors thinking to himself “I always wanted to get behind the gate of the Kenworth plant” (Cummings & Worley, 2013, pg. 234). Due to distance and traveling constraints being that the consultant lives across the state of Washington in Spokane, they had mutually agreed upon a date set three weeks later of April 11th when the consultant had a planned trip to...