Aston Blair Case Analysis

Problem and Issue Identification

The Aston-Blair was the third largest developer of children’s education products in the Unites States, which had always enjoyed its outstanding growth and profitability; however it currently faces many issues in almost every production line. The company had suffered significant losses in the first quarter of 2004. Wynn Aston,Ⅲ(chief executive officer and chairman of the board) cites the combination of decreasing in demand and poor forecasting problem as the two foremost concerns for the Aston-Blair.

In order to solve the improper sales forecasting problem, management attempted to form a Task Force. Unfortunately it only resulted in more problems. The main issue is conflict within the Task Force. The initial idea of forming Task Force is a sensible decision, but without proper job organization, it does not work at all.

During the first meeting, early disharmony and conflict was developed, all the team members almost said nothing. By contrast, Randy Meir was quite vocal and emphatic about the need to develop a model for the internal forecasting process, which caused an argument between Reiss and Meir.

Moreover, Bacon had also expressed difficulty in dealing with working relationship with Meir’s, as they had several arguments regarding different issues. In addition, Bacon suspected that Meir resented his more rapid progress within the company, especially Meir’s boss, Dr.Cornelius.

Furthermore, when the Task Force reported their findings and recommendations to the marketing managers, their recommendations were considered worthless. Marketing managers behaved an “Assertive verbal attacks” level of conflict, since one of the managers even insulted Holt for his recommendations. In addition, Meir was in an embarrass condition because of being laughed at and being criticized by the marketing managers. Meir was angry because he thought he had not won more support from others.

Ultimately, when Meir and Cornelius found out Bodin’s report,...