Nackawic Case Problem

The Case Problem

The problem here is that the residents of Nackawic must decide which assets of the community they think are the most important, and, that will flourish with further strategic planning and development. “NANY” helped some of the residents to determine which assets were important but they need to decide which assets are “more” important and worth working on.

The core cause of the problem was the downturn in the forestry industry coupled with labour unrest along with the town’s resulting rush to take action, ignoring its guiding principles which were outlined in its mission statement.

The difficulty for Nackawic was not in problem identification, as the town recognized the need to get people back to work and get the economy restarted, but management of the town struggled with the problem solution phase. It seems likely that the consultant hired did not have the necessary technical knowledge about solutions to be effective and come up with a workable resolution. It was more about problem identification.

By allowing the sale of the mill, which resulted from the consultant’s recommendations and led to the lack of rehiring of many of the workers from Nackawic, the town displayed an escalating commitment to their initial poor decision.

Ongoing issues were even recognized at the plant’s reopening in 2006, as forestry industry site ForestTalk.com noted, stating “The new owners still see difficulties on the horizon and may need more government help to cope. The rising Canadian dollar, the high cost of energy, and the high stumpage fees, are all issues facing the mill.”

Reference:

http://foresttalk.com/index.php/2006/06/15/av_nackawic_pulp_mill_re_opens/