Kenworth Motors

Case Study: Kenworth Motors

Introduction
This case is a narrative recount of an organizational development (OD) consultant on his business
trip to Kenworth Motors’ Seattle truck manufacturing plant.
Question 1
How well did the OD consultant prepares for the meeting with Denton? Would you have done
anything differently?
I think the OD consultant didn’t well prepared for the meeting with Denton because he didn’t put
some times to do research about the Kenworth Motors background and it’s current situation as well
as make some research about Denton through internet or work network. I would do more research
about the company and Denton to ensure that I know the situation that I am dealing with and it helps
to provide Denton with more accurate consultant as i would have more knowledge about the
company works. Robert Denton whose the plant manager of Kenworth Motors is having issue with
his two new managers which one of them handle the purchasing and inventory and the other handle
personnel. Both managers are coping with Denton very much but somehow Denton still feel like they
aren’t jelled together as a team quite like what he’d hoped therefore making doubt on Denton mind
on what he should do to make the team relationship stronger and more focus on the overall benefit
of Kenworth Motors. Denton appointed the OD consultant for a meeting to talk it out about his issue
and hopefully come up with an answer to his problem. The cause of his problem is most likely from
the way they interact with each other, Denton might have not spend enough time to learn and
understand his new managers therefore create a gap in his team work. The other possibility is that
the two managers are still new and still trying to cope with the new working environment, which
create a distraction in their work.
Question 2
In the discussion between the OD consultant and Denton, what was effective and ineffective about
the consultant’s behavior?
During the initial contact, the OD consultant was effective in establishing empathy and trust. Creating
rapport and trust helps building up mutual understanding and improving engagement of both parties
in during the consultation process. Because of consultant’s intrapersonal and interpersonal skills, the
consultation progressed effectively and the manager was soon willing to disclose organizational
information. The OD consultant tried to identify any problems in relation to the manufacturing
operations by questioning. As the answers were provided by internal personnel, Danton, who was an
internal agent from the organization, the consultant soon realized that the initial inquiry process was
ineffective in identifying possible problems in the operations. Lastly, the consultant was effective in
explaining the pros and cons of having an external agent in the OD investigation.
Question 3
How effective was the contracting process described in the last part of the case? What is the scope
and clarity of the agreement?
The contracting process was effective as described in the last part of the case. The initial contracting
only took a brief time to be done. The agreement covered an idea of a retreat weekend, the ultimate
purpose of the idea, the time and venue of the retreat, the schedule outline of the weekend, and the
cost associated with the event and the OD consultation service. The initial contract planning was
relatively insufficient in terms of clarity. The consultant failed to explain clearly on his role and
responsibility in this event. He did not explicitly define his actions to achieve the goal of the weekend
retreat. He failed to establish a comprehensive action research plan and result measuring method of
the proposed event.
Question 4
How would you design the upcoming retreat?
I would plan to find somewhere far away from the company, I think the OD consultant, Bob Denton
should have a dinner with his managers at first, because the OD consultant and Denton need to
understand and learn more about these managers. The OD consultant needs to know more about
Denton as well. Dinner always helps people to get closer and interact more. And then they can have
a meeting to learn and understand their personalities and thoughts about the current job and their
future plans.
References
1. ANDERSON, D. L. 2009. Organization Development: The Process of Leading Organizational
Change, SAGE Publication Ltd.
2. CUMMINGS, T. G. & WORLEY, C. G. 2008. Organization Development and Change,
SOUTHWESTERN CENGAGE Learning.
3. GALLOS, J. V. & SCHEIN, E. H. 2006. Organization Development: A Jossey-Bass
Reader Jossey-Bass Business and Management
4. ROTHWELL, W. J., STAVORS, J. M. & SULLIVAN, R. L. 2009. Practicing Organization
Development: A Guide for Leading Change, Pfeiffer.