Corning Glass Works' Productivity and Yields

Arbitrate to resolve conflict

The main problem is that Corning Glass Works' productivity and yields have dropped significantly. This can be improved by finding a common ground between the two parties, Manufacturing & Engineering (M&E) and the production plant, as they are both involved in a conflict. I have analyzed various other options which have the desired effect and will go onto explain them in the paragraphs below but after weighing the pros and cons I believe that the best option is to arbitrate. Arbitration can be used to solve this conflict as the third person involved in this case, Leibson, is in a position to use his/her power to achieve the desired result as he/she is the Vice-President.

Backward integration & loss of valuable staff

The causes of this decline are, firstly, the opening of a new plant by RCA which has hired several experienced employees of Corning Glass Works. Secondly, the new staff which was used to replace these vacant spots was inexperienced in comparison to those that were working in Corning's since the prototypes of the products were being developed. So not only were they far more experienced but were also involved with the product since its prototype stage. Since Corning Glass Works is in the business of producing glass and ceramic products where technical knowledge is highly important, any new staff that is taken onboard would require experience or have access to the defined processes and operations of the company. Unfortunately, until the decline in production levels such resources were not available. Lastly, RCA's decision to set-up its own production plant had a great impact on Corning's sales and production as RCA was one of its major clients.

For effective results involve the concerned

Corrective measures which have been tried by Corning have not worked so far because the staff in the production plant feels that they have not been involved in this effort and thus are not cooperative. The process required a very high level of cooperation from the workers at the production plant but due to lack of it no favorable result is seen. Corning has a decentralized culture within its organization and is therefore, reluctant to have someone supervise it without its consent. MacTavish, the plant manager, who worked his way up the corporate ladder and who had the last say in his department enjoyed being in control of things. He preferred keeping external parties outside his department citing that the problems that arise can be solved by the people themselves. He also believed that if his workers are given adequate time and space the problem can be resolved as is seen in the past few months. They believe that the problem belongs to their department and they do not require the guidance of a set of new and untrained staff to resolve their issues.

To resolve the issue of declining production Corning's assigned the production plant to its Manufacturing & Engineering (M&E) department. The department was responsible for installing new processes and equipment in the past. However, this was a new task for the department as the whole production plant required a complete make-over and David Leibson, VP of M&E, believed that the department was ready to take on such a project and too that in an industry where it had never taken any assignment before.

MacTavish did not think that such a department could fix any problems as they were related to his department and only his workers had a solution to it. He argued that if given time and space his workers were capable of increasing production as was seen in the recent months since right now his previous employees have been replaced with a bunch of inexperienced workers who are still learning the process gradually. It was only after MacTavish and his production plant not only failed to monitor and control the variance in production as well as increase production that M&E was asked to step in. Had MacTavish been successful in identifying the problems in advance, the process could have been tweaked to minimize the variance if not eradicate it completely.

The Harrisburg plant where the production of Z-Glass took place was previously devoted to the production of headlights and other auto products. It was here where the M&E department sought to figure out the issues and the causes behind them. One of the reasons why M&E's project had not gone well was because the project required intense cooperation with the workers at the plant. However, the staff was reluctant in helping M&E and at times even in acknowledging them because they felt that they were not involved in coming up with a solution to a problem that related to them.

Conflict Management

In conflict management, one of the best ways to solve a problem is to involve those whom the issue pertains as they have first-hand experience and can provide valuable input to the experts who are responsible for implementing new processes.Clearly there's a conflict between Eric and MacTavish which is causing a delay in installation projects since they are not able to communicate effectively to each other. It was Also, at Corning's a decentralized culture existed whereby department's felt they were responsible for the problems that involved them only. To have another department supervise them as seniors without their consent and involvement was an idea that was new and unfavorable to them. Hence, they were reluctant to help and cooperate. Also, they were wary of the concept of process documentation and definition. The staff felt that they were being investigated by "outsiders" for a fall in production numbers.

MacTavish in the past had failed in monitoring and controlling the production processeslevels. Besides