Daylight Case (Background)

Daylight, a (fictitious) company based out of Perth specialises in manufacturing and selling solar energy
products, including solar water heaters and solar energy panels.
The company is having problems reaching their financial goals, and they are unsure where exactly the
problems lie. They have a great staff of 87 employees. Some of the more well-known employees are:
Homer, the manufacturing manager. Homer has been with the business since it opened, and is particularly
skilled at operating the manufacturing equipment. However, Homer is infamous in the company for
telling people off. The manufacturing team often complain that he is too strict with his requirements, and
there has been rather high turnover in his department since he took over. He is the first-hand-man
responsible with motivating the manufacturing team towards their individual line jobs, as well as handling
conflicts between manufacturing staff and negotiations with labour unions.
Elaine, one of the accountants, just started with the company 6 months ago. Elaine is very skilled with the
accounts with 2 years previous accounting experience, and she also has a Bachelor’s degree in
Management. Part of her job is allocating money into departments according to the annual budget. Even
though this is a position that is usually unpopular, somehow Elaine is well-liked across the departments.
She gets things done through people quite well, always explaining the ‘big picture’ for why the budget is
how it is.
Elaine has become a good connector between the accounting department and Daylight’s other
departments. Recently she has begun speaking up at accounting department meetings and always has
helpful comments. Elaine recently expressed concern that even though there were great plans and clear
organisation of the company’s resources, something is missing between that point and getting real results.
She also mentioned her personal frustration with not really knowing how she is going in the position,
expressing that she gets no feedback, whether formally or informally.
Bob is the founder and current CEO of Daylight. Bob is known for his strategic planning ability and
brilliant ideas. He always seems to set the best goals and outline how we’re going to achieve them. It
was his big picture skills that created Daylight’s current success: often you over-hear him explaining to
someone how each department fits into the business, how the business fits into the industry, and how the
industry fits into the community.
Bob is really bright – and gives the best motivational talks to Daylight employees, not to mention to the
public. Bob’s only downside is that he isn’t skilled with the manufacturing equipment, but no one really
expects him to be. He’s many years away from his beginnings as a line manager. Honestly, Bob is the
true face of Daylight. People like and respect him because he is a good, principled man.
Questions
1. According to their expressed management skills, at which vertical management
levels would Homer, Elaine, and Bob each be best placed? Why?
2. Where are Fayol’s Four Functions seen in the case?
3. Using Mintzberg’s 10 Management Roles, list which ones are represented in the
case, by whom, and why.