Case: Tire Company Succession The Tire Company, founded in 1996 by George Nivers, has seen much success under George’s m

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Case: Tire Company Succession
The Tire Company, founded in 1996 by George Nivers, has seen
much success under George’s management. In 2020 George began
thinking about the succession of his company and hired Fred Mayhern
to join as CEO of Tire Company. Fred has many years of experience
in the manufacturing industry. Since hiring Fred in 2020, George
has removed himself from daily operations of the Tire Company,
relying on Fred to carry on George’s vision for the company.
The Tire Company manufactures and sells tires in mainly the
North America market, as it is a fairly small organization of 200
employees. The company sells in a niche tire market. They have a
Sales and Marketing Manager, Production Manager, Human Resources
Manager, Purchasing Manager, Operations Manager, Safety Manager,
and Accounting Manager. Prior to 2020 each department has 5 or
fewer staff, other than in the Production department there are 4
Floor Managers with 45 production staff assigned to each of
them.
The 2019 employee engagement survey results indicated a high
level of engagement and a feeling of empowerment among all
employees. They felt appreciated and involved in the entire
operations of the organization. They mentioned a strong connection
to management and felt a high level of trust in their leaders. They
enjoyed the company meals, and telling stories of past successes
and failures. They appreciated the clean work environment, and the
additional company perks that George supplied once in a while.
In late 2020 Fred hired an additional 5 Floor Managers, making
the total number of Floor Managers 9, with each responsible for 20
production employees. Fred felt that he could improve efficiency if
there was more leadership on the production floor managing the
employees. These new Floor Managers came from some of Fred’s
previously managed manufacturing facilities, as he believed these
leaders believed in Fred’s vision of increasing production
efficiency and reducing cost. Fred also reviewed previous employee
programs and expenditures on employee events and re-evaluated the
need for them.
The 2021 employee engagement survey provided mixed results. Only
about 50% of the employees felt empowered and engaged. And only 50%
felt they could trust their leader. And about 60% felt the work
environment and building was clean and maintained.
A long-term production employee Harv Middle decided to visit
George Nivers to share with him his concerns.
“Hi Harv! How are you doing! I’m so glad to see you! I miss
seeing you and the rest of the employees during my daily walks
through the shop.”
“Thanks Mr. Nivers, you are looking well!”
“You mentioned that you had something important you wanted to
tell me. Talk to me Harv, tell me what is on your mind.”
“Mr. Nivers, I always appreciated how you would visit us on the
shop floor every week, see how we are doing, listen to our ideas,
and concerns. I believed that you cared about us and felt our input
into making improvements was valued. The Floor Managers used to
check in with us and see how we were doing, see if we needed
anything, but generally they would trust us to do our jobs.
Now with the new Floor Managers, Fred has brought in, they are
wanting to implement Lean Manufacturing principles, and telling us
how to change our processes and what we are doing wrong. The Floor
Managers are on the floor watching us constantly. Feels like they
are just waiting for us to screw up! Just the other day Sarah was
going to get some tools and Bill just snapped at her and said get
back to your station! Most of us have been working at the Tire
Company for years so we are very familiar with our jobs and how to
do them. We don’t appreciate being snapped at. I don't even
remember the last time I was asked for my ideas or input.”
“Harv, thank you for being candid with me! I am very sorry to
hear you are not feeling valued. I know that without you and the
other employees our company wouldn’t be where it is today. What are
some suggestions you may have for us to get back to a place you
enjoy working?”
“I’m not sure. Can you give me some time to think about it a
bit, and get back to you?”
“No problem Harv! I look forward to hearing your
suggestions!”
Question:
Discuss the resisting forces at Tire Company and how Fred should
have implemented the changes he wanted to make to reduce the
resistance to change.