DEGREE PROGRAMMES

TAKE HOME EXAMINATION

JAN SEMESTER 2021

MODULE NAME : ORGANISATIONAL STUDIES

MODULE CODE : OBM60204
EXAM DURATION : 8 HOURS
This paper consists of SIX (6) printed pages, inclusive of this page.

Instruction to Candidates:

1. This is a take-home examination. You are required to work independently on your

examination paper. Two or more students working together on the take home examination
is called collusion and is an inappropriate collaboration. Once you have the exam
questions you are not allowed to discuss with anyone else.

2. Collecting your exam paper

 You have 8 hours to complete the task given in the paper. The paper will be made
available on TIMES on the 26 February, 8.00am to 4.00pm, Malaysian Time. By
assessing the paper via TiMes, you will be effectively confirming that you are attending
the examination.

3. Returning your completed exam paper

 Your answers should be submitted to the Turn-it-in link on the TIMES page on the 26
February, 8.00am to 4.00pm no later than 4.00pm. Please make sure you have read
through your final submission before you electronically submit your paper.

 The answers should be word processed. Please ensure that the document you submit is in
the form of an MS Word document.

 Your attention is drawn to University regulations and School guidelines regarding

plagiarism. These do apply in examination situations and will be enforced. Please note
that your work will be submitted to the Academic Integrity Committee if your work is
found to be in violation of the plagiarism requirements.

Organisational Studies
OBM60204
Dr Lee Kim Lian
202101FE
 Page 1 of 6
 If you fail to submit your written work at the end of the examination period (without
a good cause, which will need to be certified in the usual way to be considered), you
will be deemed to have failed to complete the exam and will be awarded a mark of
zero.

4. Technical difficulties with computers will not be accepted as a reason for late
submission.

 You are responsible for ensuring that you save your written work on a regular
basis and that you keep backups in separate locations to protect against hardware
failures. You are also responsible for ensuring that you have adequate time and
access to Wi-Fi facilities.

 In the event you have difficulties submitting your work through Turnitin through
TIMES, please send an email to kimlian.lee@taylors.edu.my for assistance.

5. Additional Information

Questions Marks

Section A: Case Study

Answer ALL Questions 100 Marks

6. Module Learning Outcomes

 This examination is aligned with OBM60204 module learning outcomes.

MLO 1: Analyse and synthesise the different theories and perspectives

MLO 2: Evaluate the different perspectives in terms of their effects and relevance in
organisations
MLO 3: Assess complex ideas and coherent arguments effectively with regards to
organisational issues
MLO 4: Use the multiple perspectives approach to make sense of organisational situations
and functions

Page 2 of 6

Organisational Studies
OBM60204
Dr Lee Kim Lian
202101FE
SECTION A

Read the case study and answer ALL questions.

The Paradoxical Twins: Acme and Omega Electronics

(Morgan, G, 1989, Creative Organisation Theory: A Resource Book, Sage)

In 1955, Technological Products of Erie, Pa., was bought out by a Cleveland manufacturer.
The Cleveland firm had no interest in the electronics division of Technological Products and
subsequently sold to different investors two plants which manufactured printed circuit
boards. One of the plants, located in nearby Waterford, Pa., was renamed Acme Electronics
and the other plant, within the city limits of Erie, was renamed Omega Electronics Inc.

In July 1966, one of the major photocopier manufacturers was looking for a subcontractor to
assemble the memory unit for their new experimental copier. The projected contract for the
job was estimated to be $5 to $7 million in annual sales. Both Acme and Omega were
geographically close to this manufacturer and both had submitted highly competitive bids for
the production of one hundred prototypes. Acme’s bid was slightly lower than Omega’s;
however, both firms were asked to produce one hundred units. The photocopy manufacturer
told both firms that speed was critical because their president has boasted to other
manufacturers that they would have a finished copier available by Christmas. This boast,
much to the designer’s dismay, required pressure on all subcontractors to begin prototype
production before final design of the copier was complete. This meant that Acme and
Omega would have at most two weeks to produce the prototypes or delay the final copier
production.

Inside Acme

The president of Acme, John Tyler, credited his firm’s greater effectiveness to his managers’
abilities to run a “tight ship”. He explained that he had retained the basic structure
developed by Technological Products because it was most efficient for high volume
manufacture of printed circuits and their subsequent assembly. Tyler was confident that had
the demand not been so great, its competitor would not have survived. “In fact,” he said, “we
have been able to beat Omega regularly for the most profitable contracts thereby increasing
our profits”. People were generally satisfied with their work at Acme; however, some of the
managers voiced the desire to have a little more latitude in their jobs. One manager
characterized the president as a “one-man band”. He said, “while I respect John’s ability,
there are times when I wish I had a little more information about what is going on”.

As soon as John Tyler was given the blueprints (Monday, July 11, 1966), he sent a memo to
the Purchasing Department requesting them to move forward on the purchase of all
necessary materials. At the same time, he sent the blueprints to the Drafting Departments
and asked that they prepare manufacturing prints. The Industrial Engineering Department
was told to begin methods design work for use by the Production Department foremen.
Tyler also sent a memo to all department heads and executives indicating the critical time
constraints of this job and how he expected that everyone would perform efficiently as they
had in the past.

Page 3 of 6
Organisational Studies
OBM60204
Dr Lee Kim Lian
202101FE
On Wednesday, July 13, Purchasing discovered that a particular component used in the
memory unit could not be purchased or shipped for two weeks because the manufacturer
had shut down for summer vacations. The Head of Purchasing was not overly concerned by
this obstacle because he knew that Omega would face the same problem. He advised Tyler
of this predicament who in turn decided that Acme would build the memory unit except for
the one component and then add that component in two weeks. Industrial Engineering was
told to build this constraint into their assembly methods.

On Friday, July 15, Industrial Engineering notified Tyler that the missing component would
substantially increase the assembly time if it was not available from the start of assembly.
Mr. Tyler, anxious to get started suggested he would live with that problem and gave the
signal to go forward on the assembly plans.

On Monday, July 18, Mr. Tyler received word from the Shipping Department that most of the
components had arrived. The first chassis were sent to the Head of Production who began
immediately to set up an assembly area. On Tuesday, July 19, two Methods Engineers from
Industrial Engineering went out to the production floor to set up the methods to be used in
assembly. In his haste to get things going, the Production Foreman ignored the normal
procedure of contacting the Methods Engineers and set up what he thought would be an
efficient assembly process. The Methods Engineers were very upset to see assembly begin
before they had a chance to do a proper layout. They told the foreman they had spent the
entire weekend analyzing the motions needed and that his process was very inefficient and
not well balanced. The Methods Engineers ordered that work be stopped until they could
rearrange the assembly process. The Production Foreman refused to stop work. He said, “I
have to have these units produced by Friday and already I’m behind schedule”.

The Methods Engineers reported back to the Head of Industrial Engineering who
immediately complained to the plant manager. However, the Plant Manager sided with the
Production Foreman. As the two Method Engineers left the Head Industrial Engineer’s
office, one of them said to the other, “Just wait until they try to install those missing
components. Without our methods, they’ll have to tear down the units almost completely”.

Late afternoon on Friday, July 22, Tyler received a phone call from the head designer of the
photocopier manufacturer who told Tyler that there was an error in the design of the
connector cable and corrective action has been taken on their prototypes. He told Tyler the
design error would be rectified in a new blueprint he was sending over by messenger. Tyler,
a bit overwhelmed by this information, called the Production Foreman to assess the damage
since the alterations in the design would call for total disassembly and the unsoldering of
several connections. Tyler told the foreman to put extra people on the alterations first thing
on Monday morning and try to finish the job by Tuesday. Late Tuesday afternoon the
alterations were finished and the missing components were delivered. Wednesday morning,
the Production Foreman discovered that the units would have to be torn apart again to install
the missing components. When John Tyler was told this he “hit the roof”.

Page 4 of 6

Organisational Studies
OBM60204
Dr Lee Kim Lian
202101FE
Inside Omega

Omega’s president, Jim Rawls, did not believe in organization charts. He felt that his
organization had departments similar to Acme but he thought the plant was small enough
that things such as organization charts just put artificial barrier between specialists who
should be working together. Written memos were not allowed since, as Jim expressed it:
“The plant is small enough that if people want to communicate, they can just drop by and talk
things over”. A new member of the Industrial Engineering Department said, “When I first got
here, I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do. One day I worked with some mechanical
engineers and the next day I helped the shipping department design some packing cartons.
The first months on the job were hectic but at least I got a real feel for what makes Omega
tick”. Most decisions of any significance were made by the management team at Omega.

Jim Rawls called a meeting on Friday, July 8, that included department heads to tell them
about the potential contract they were to receive. He told them that as soon as he received
the blueprints, work could begin. On Monday, July 11, the prints arrived and again the
department heads met to discuss the project. At the end of the meeting, Drafting had
agreed to prepare manufacturing prints while Industrial Engineering and Production would
begin methods design.

On Wednesday, July 13, at a progress report session, Purchasing indicated a particular

component would not be available for two weeks until the manufacturer reopened from
summer vacation shutdown. The Head of Electrical Engineering suggested using a possible
substitute component, which was made in Japan, containing all the necessary
characteristics. The Head of Industrial Engineering promised to have the Methods
Engineers study the assembly methods to see if the unit could be produced in such a way
that the missing component could be installed last. On Friday, July 15, at another progress
report session, Industrial Engineering reported that the missing component would increase
the assembly time substantially. The Head of Electrical Engineering offered to have one of
his engineers examine the missing component specifications and said he was confident that
the Japanese component would work. At the end of the meeting, Purchasing was told to
order the Japanese components.

On Monday, July 18, a Methods Engineer and the production foreman formulated the
assembly plans and production was set to begin on Tuesday morning. On Monday
afternoon, people from Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Production and
Industrial Engineering got together to produce a prototype just to insure that there would be
no snags in production. While they were building the unit, they discovered an error in the
connector cable design. All the engineers agreed after checking and rechecking the
blueprints, that the cable was erroneously designed. People from Mechanical Engineering
and Electrical Engineering spent Monday night redesigning the cable and on Tuesday
morning, the Drafting Department finalized the changes in manufacturing prints. On
Tuesday morning, Jim Rawls was a bit apprehensive about the design changes and decided
to get formal approval. Rawls received word on Wednesday from the head designer of the
photocopier firm that he could proceed with the design changes as discussed on the phone.
On Friday, July 22, the final units were inspected by Quality Control and then they were
shipped.

Page 5 of 6

Organisational Studies
OBM60204
Dr Lee Kim Lian
202101FE
Questions:

1. Tyler, president of Acme commented that he liked his managers run the
company like a “tight ship”. Explain why this situation has caused a delay in
the production of the prototypes by Acme. Support your points with quality
explanations and illustrations/examples where applicable from the case.

(25 marks)

2. From organizational learning perspective, analyze how Acme can learn from
Omega in terms of managing towards a learning organization.
(25 marks)

3. To what extent do you think scientific management and corporate culture

have similarities and differences in creating a culture of excellence for both
organisations?
(25 marks)

4. “A bureaucratic organization that is well managed will have no need for

political behavior”. State your opinion on this proposition in relation to the
case.

(25 marks)

Page 6 of 6

THE END OF QUESTION PAPER

Organisational Studies
OBM60204
Dr Lee Kim Lian
202101FE