Allentown Materials Harvard Business Case

Upon taking charge of the EPD, Don Rogers made significant changes to the organization which led to various communication problems between the individual departments. Company morale began to deteriorate, as corporate pushed on with demands to meet company performance goals. EDP headquarters relocated to Allentown, new leaders were brought in, many of which did not have experience in their new roles, or the EPD. The sales and marketing divisions were formally merged together, and split up by Rogers. Coupled with the new leaders, the change in organization led to conflicts and distrust between the EPD departments. These issues stem from to the contrasting leadership styles of Joe Bennett and Don Rogers, the company cultures they grew up with, and the misalignment of many groups in the division.Leadership DifferencesThe former general manager of the Allentown Materials, Joe Bennett, ran the division from the beginning until Rogers took over two years ago. Bennett was very authoritarian and preferred to make all important decisions by himself. Bennett wanted EPD to be separate from Allentown so that he could be in complete charge. He formed a strategic vision of company's future, motivated and 'connected' employees, and was able to communicate and build commitment around a common vision. He also encouraged creativity and recognized the necessity of an organization changing to fit the environment. This was proven by his initiation of a division-wide management and organization development program. This program was discontinued upon his death.Bennett’s successor, Don Rogers, was inexperienced in production line management when he was promoted and had only general knowledge of the electronics business. He came onboard without a well-defined approach to leading which resulted in a decline in the overall performance of the division. Rogers was criticized by the managers for not being a good listener, being less directive than Bennett, not holding managers to their...