Crispin Chocolates Case Study

1. Identify Major Mistakes made by new boss.

Previous boss made wrong choice for leadership.

He rocked the boat (It wasn’t necessary at this time to reach outside the company for new leadership)

Introduced radical changes too quickly.

Misread upper management and misunderstood “The Crispin Dream”.

Is there a cultural issue? German engineered cholocate vs Swiss handmade chocolates?

Never earned the confidence of upper management. Lost his temper. Made a marginal situation escalate to something bad.

Not collaborative. (He didn’t ask people what they thought.)

Proposed solutions before problems were identified/discussed.

2. What actions can new boss make to correct the course that the company is on?

Change course: open things for discussion, but don’t apologize (he’s still the boss)

Examine why Crispin is successful in the present day, and discuss concerns for the future.

Promote Klaus.

Focus on product development and production (HR and accouting seem to be more-or-less “in-line” with the new boss)

Comments for section 1:

Stein didn’t understand the market or mission of Crispin. Crispin was successful in its niche market as a producer of hand made, quality chocolates. Stein wanted to change the company’s focus entirely from niche market leader to mass-production competitor.

Stein failed to value craftmanship at all, focused only on automation and efficiency. Completely disregarded qualitative values in favor of quantitative goals.

For section 2:

Re-examine why Crispin has been a market leader in hand-made chocolate industry. Take the successful formula already established (quality chocolates, valued employees) and see where to expand into new markets. Recognize the core competency of the company and look for new ways to bring their quality goods to market. Don’t reinvent the company, just find new ways to bring the company’s goods to market.

Instead of just talking with upper management, talk with...