CASE ANALYSIS – N12

TECHNOLOGIES

SUBMITTED BY – SRISHTI BHATEJA (19021141116)

Introduction
N12 Technologies value proposition was NanoStitch, which lead to large improvements in
cost, shear resistance and fatigue life. The company constituted people who were highly
competent, brought diverse skill set to the company, were open to improvement, there was
open ended communication. Berkson and Flavin had diverse talents and different
approaches. One was humble and conservative and other was more of a risk taker and
impatient, always thinking how to move faster. Both were highly competent and divided
work areas based on their specialization. Berkson focused on business development, finance
and human resource whereas Flavin would focus on operations. David and Ryan used
historical data to figure things out. There was a horizontal and vertical expansion in the
organization
Problems
The problem started when the company started growing from 4 to 27 employees. There was
a shortage of finance, business development initiatives were to take place, lack of
documentation, shifting from doing work to leading the work, risk of losing the reputation of
business and at the same time shipping quality orders. As flavin explained “the biggest
challenge for them is to match our technical capabilities to demand. if we build our
capabilities too soon, we run the risk of burning money. if we build it too slowly, we will lose
the credibility in marketplace. either could be a death of startup”. There was a shift from
doing the work to managing the work. They had to learn how to navigate team dynamics
and set team priorities. They had to think about company’s culture and integration became
more of a challenge. Knowledge was less easily accessed. They were long on hope and short
on facts
Analysis
NanoStitch, which is based on nanotechnology had the scope of improvement. In this case
there was new discoveries every day and it was fast paced with lots of back and forth
between Jeff, David, Dina and William. There was a limited degree of production. Getting
new orders was very stressful but at the same time improved focus. As the production
increased, they collected more and more data on what worked and what did not. Happy
accidents lead to inform development.
Positives
Trust – Both flavin and Berkson had trust on each other’s capabilities and were open to
suggestions as both were good in giving constructive feedback and both knew each other’s
competencies as they went to same business school and had a long-term relationship. They
would contribute, criticize and build upon each other’s work.
Toyota based thinking – David and Ryan did amazing things, no written plan or timeline in
place. They used Toyota based thinking- when you are off track you pick up the pace to get
back on the track.
Isolated thinking –All the members had different views on how a particular problem can be
solved and also creative ways to solve the problem. In order to avoid the creative mess, they
isolated creative CEO from creative engineers. They focused on their priorities and built up
on consistency and stability.
No secret meetings – Whenever the members got time, they used it to stay connected and
have open and candid discussions about the workplace.
Diverse background – All the 27 employees had different backgrounds and competencies.
they all came from a different background and had diverse ideas. They knew how to work in
teams, respect each other’s opinions and ultimately increasing the production.
Different strategies -The company came up with different push and pull strategies as well as
pay as you go and build it and they will come. They used various strategies to cope up with
the growing demand.
Courage- All the employees believed in never say die attitude and were not scared of the
problems. they faced it as soon as they saw any loophole with team effort and positive
attitude.

Suggestions
1. Culture focus – As the organization was building up there was a high need to focus
on the cultural segment. In order to take care of the social needs of employees and
increase organizational effectiveness and efficiency is the key element.
2. Performance reviews – There was no systematic way to get performance review
done for all the 27 employees. Organization can use HR analytics and software to for
periodical feedback system and keep a check on the performance also focusing on
their career growth.
3. Customer engagement- Most of the customers wanted to try NanoStitch before its
application. There was no proper marketing mechanism and customer service
available. There is a need to create a value proposition for the customers and for
engaging them.
4. Documentation – As the organization is involved in experimentation and technology.
There is a need for proper documentation for future reference and to help the new
joiners for briefing and also documentation can also help for meeting the legal
requirements.
5. Standardization- In order to bring all the 27 employees on the same page and direct
them towards organization goal. Standards and parameters need to be established
and also documentation for the same is essential. Awareness of the rules and
standards is required.
6. Structuring – There is a need for clarity in the organization structure to ensure
delegation and allocation of work. The organization structure helps in knowing the
flow of information and decides the reporting mechanism
7. Building and adaptation – Employees should develop an adaptive attitude due to
changing organization structure. There should be an increase in flexibility and clarity
about the job role.
8. Proper application of leadership drumbeat- Leadership channel has been established
but its application is essential. a formal meeting to make employees aware and to
develop a feedback mechanism is a pre requisite for a successful organization.
9. Do not compromise quality – As the organization is growing at an exponential rate
the company should focus on its reputation and also balance the cost. Maintaining
the reputation while growing is a difficult task. Hence, in any case the company
should not compromise with quality and reputation.
10. Proactive approach – the company used a reactive approach which was the reason
for most of the difficulties. establishing leadership channel and proactive approach
 was very essential and could result in forecasting the problems and have a long-term
vision
11. Formal environment – There was a lack of formal environment and difficulty in
establishing responsibility, accountability and authority at all the levels of the
organization.
12. Clarity – There is a need of clarity of specific job description and the different areas
for which Berkson and flavin were responsible as their workload level is really high.
13. Work life balance – there is a need to establish the work life balance as all the
employees are working beyond their working hours. the company should also focus
on their leisure and this will ultimately increase efficiency of work.
14. Workforce architecture

Conclusion
The organization is doing well in case of product innovation and production but in
order to meet the future demand for increased production they need to implement
some recommendations. Organization can make its mark in the industry with
increasing clarity, improving performance appraisals and workforce architecture.