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i just need a summary of PDF The Purchasing Manager promotion was surprise. Joan Young, Director of Administrative Services, had left the Purchasing Manager position empty for four years, but decided to revive the position when she began having a difficult time handling all of her responsibilities. She promoted Pat Thomas, who had been in GenAdCo for four years but had not previously worked in purchasing. Pat reviewed purchasing procedures in preparation for the job, studied the organizational structure of the Purchasing Services operation (Exhibit A) and read the job description of those who would report directly to him. His lack of experience and knowledge in purchasing made him feel inadequately prepared to gain respect rapidly in his new position. Pat Thomas Pat was a 32-year-old Business Administration graduate with four years of experience in the Operations and Maintenance Department. During his four years in Operations, he had gained experience and exposure by sitting on organization-wide committees Pat's supervisors saw him as someone who had leadership potential and a real strength in interpersonal relationships. He had a solid track record as a consensus builder and a team- oriented manager. Joan, his direct supervisor, was aware that his only significant financial expertise came from his business studies. Because of his lack of purchasing experience, he would have to learn on the job. One of Pat's former employees described him as approachable "Pat is supportive of me and others and he works to ensure that our needs are met and I've never felt 'out on a limb' with him. He still gives me lots of autonomy while balancing his support. But I think that Pat's style as a supervisor is different for different people. He effective managed in the same way visp Ino "Perhaps his greatest strength is his integrity. He is always fair and respectful. Pat is accommodating-remarkably accommodating At times, this might make him scem weak." A former supervisor stated that Pat had an "uncanny" ability to communicate with his staff. "His superior listening skills make people feel comfortable approaching him and more importantly... they feel like they have been heard after they leave the conversation," she said. "Pat is an excellent analyst and is able to come up with efficient strategies to deal with situations. He often leads by example, which his staff finds admirable." GenAdCo and the Purchasing Services Department GenAdCo was a large organization with a commitment to tradition. Because of this, some people considered it bureaucratic and slow-moving. Admininstrative policies protected the permanent, non-contract workforce, despite its non-union status. Purchasing Services had operated within GenAdCo's traditional structures, but now faced environmental and industry changes. Procedures were becoming fully integrated and high-tech, management was demanding criteria other than "best price," and longer-term relationships were being developed with key suppliers. The department was working on several new projects: an on-line purchase order system called ExpressPurchase, a streamlined Special Operating Purchase System (SOPS) for rush purchases, and a new information technology project (TTP) to track items on the computer and replace them automatically. Purchasing Services encompassed two sections which operated somewhat independently. (See Exhibit A). General Purchasing had three full-time positions. This area handled regular purchasing with a heavy emphasis on predictable requirements. Because of the nature of GenADCo's business, there were clear seasonal variations in demand that led to staffing encompassed two sections which operated somewhat independently. (See Exhibit A). General Purchasing had three full-time positions. This area handled regalar purchasing with a heavy emphasis on predictable requirements. Because of the nature of GenADCo's business, there were clear seasonal variations in demand that led to staffing pressures and concerns. Dianne Blackburn headed this section. Special Order Purchasing, with two full-time and one contract employee, handled the frequent rush orders. It had high employee turnover and was plagued by inefficient processes and a lack of strategic direction. The reactive nature of the work meant that there was constant pressure to move quickly... and it was never fast enough! Two months before Pat accepted his new position, Joan hired Jane MacKenzie as the Special Order Buyer. This was a key hire, as Jane had fifteen years of experience in purchasing and was well-connected in the industry. Pat quickly learned through informal discussions with existing purchasing staff that they felt Joan, his boss, was considered a bit of a loose cannon who made impulsive strategic decisions. She would descend on the department, make a decision, and be gone. Dianne Blackburn was the first person to express these views to Pat. Dianne, 45, was the most senior person in Purchasing Services. In over eighteen years with GenAdCo, Dianne had worked as both Shipping/Receiving Coordinator and Buyer in Special Orders. Joan and Dianne came through the ranks together, but several years ago Joan's 2 omotion had elevated her to Dianne's supervisor. This new dynamic had caused several MC promotion had elevated her to Dianne's supervisor. This new dynamic had caused several conflicts over the years, including a legendary disagreement regarding a performance evaluation. A year ago, Joan transferred Dianne to her current position as Co-ordinator: General Buyer. Dianne replaced a recently retired friend, who by all accounts was a very "dictatorial, mean and confrontational" employee. The Early Going Pat met with each of his employees individually in the first week on the job and attempted to get to know them personally, as well as acquire some insight into their specific duties. These meetings proved congenial, if nothing else. Joan suggested that Pat should take the office directly in the centre of the purchasing area so he could learn as much about the operation as possible. One of Pat's first responsibilities was to supervise the two-week-long ExpressPurchase program, a process developed by Ralph Biggs, Information Technology Coordinator. Other departments would place purchase orders on-line during peak season. These would be linked directly to suppliers for standard-order product items and could avoid delays that would affect customer service. The monitoring of this process and handling of the technology "glitches" was labour- intensive, and Pat encouraged his staff to assist, hoping it would bring more cohesion to the department. The following email was sent out at the beginning of this process, when Pat had been in his position for two weeks: Subject: Meeting Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2000 17:03:05 -0400 From: Pat Thomas Organization: GenAdCo To: Purchasing Department Hi... Queness Adminis Human Resources. Centennial College Origin of the name. Tuition and Course. I would like to get together briefly on Friday morning at 9am to discuss a few things. We will try and keep this meeting to a half hour since it's busy for everyone. I will arrange coverage for emergency calls. If you have a problem, just let me know. Also, if anyone would like to put in an evening or help with the Express Purchase program, let me know...we'll make the time up to you. Thanks...Pat Pat considered the meeting a chance to set the tone for a new direction, and a way to convey his expectations for customer service and teamwork. The following day, the first response cache book: Subject: Re: Meeting Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2000 13:23:04 -0400 (EDT) From: Dianne Blackburn To: Pat Thomas CC: All Purchasing D 06 AlaNigm. Time & date are okay for the meeting with respect to using full time people in the evening... we have used part time help in the past full time people other than Ralph and George (Shipping Coordinator) are not involved at nights...also, we don't ask full time people from other departments to put in extra bours...it is unfair to expect anoth M department programm departments to put in extra hours.it is unfair to expect another department to work short-handed, however, since Special Order Purchasing has new employees, I guess that can be their call... Dianne Blackburn Co-ordinator, General Purchasing GenAdCo Pat was taken aback by the response. Asking for teamwork on this process was a very reasonable request, and he felt that Dianne was challenging his authority by this respolise. He was especially surprised that she had CC'd the response to the entire department. Because of his concerns, Pat talked to Dianne and explained the position Dianne had put him in He emphasized the "team" approach he was trying to develop and they agreed that perhaps email wasn't the best way to communicate. The Receiving Department Incident George Holden had been hired six months before Pat as Coordinator of the Shipping Receiving department for all of Administrative Services. Pat met with George during his first two weeks to assess what his role was in the operation and what factors influenced his job from Purchasing Services' perspective. George stated that Dianne had been a constant problem for him. Although he reported directly to Joan, it was crucial that George and Dianne communicate regularly and have a good working relationship: George knew that in previous years shipping and receiving had been part of purchasing. He considered her "uncooperative and difficult," and felt ber biggest problem was a lack of willingness to consider anything new or different. Pat encouraged George to keep him informed about this concern. At the same time as the ExpressPurchase project was instated, George and his staff became increasingly overwhelmed by their workload. This affected the ExpressPurchase project and increased the pressure on everyone to get materials received, processed and handled. While everyone realized the urgency of this matter, Dianne became more and more irritated with the Receiving department. Pat believed she thought they were incompetent. George reported she often approached him, told him what to do and made unreasonable requests. And, George said, Agos Pat met with Dianne again and asked her to go through him to make requests. He wanted Dianne to be patient and assured her that he knew problems existed and that he would try and improve the situation. As well, he asked her to use a more positive and cooperative approach with all coworkers. Special Orders Incident GenAdCo's Project Engineering Department was involved in a series of experimental modeling designs that required detailed purchasing orders. Martin White, manager of Project Engineering. talked to Pat about a special tracking of these orders. If General Purchasing could let Project Engineering know, the status of their orders it would make it easier for them to schedule their work. When Pat talked to Dianne about this tracking, Dianne said that it took too much effort to track these orders and wasn't worth it. As well, she had no budget to pay for the work. Pat suggested to her that this was central to her job - her relations with other departments were crucial. Later, Dianne yelled at an employee of Project Engineering. Jane sent a note to Pat outlining what had happened. The employee had come into the department and asked Jane, "Can you help me with the tracking of a special mini-hinge compressor?" Before Jane could reply, Dianne shouted from across the department, "No - I will help you here." Jane reported that she found this offensive and when she confronted Dianne about it, the latter had no memory of the event. Pat's Dilemma Pat wondered what to do. He was relatively new at the job and wanted to get things right. He felt that more emphasis on teamwork was needed. He also was aware of the expertise that Dianne had in purchasing and at GenAdCo. He wondered how he should proceed M Information Technology Coordinatoror Ralph Biggs Communications and Electronic Marketing Manager General Purchasing Coordinator General Buyer Dianne Blackburn lution and Counse Partial Organization Cavit Buyen Roger Hemphill. Tim Newman GC. Operations Administrative Services Joan Youne Admin Services Accounting Manager Purchasing Services Pat Thomas Special Order Purchasing General Buyer Jane MacKenzie Shipping Receiving Coordinator George Holden Compheneve la M General Buyer Nancy Carson DD Aka Nige Rework Manager