Case 2. R. E.

CONSTRUCTION: It's Now or Never

When Engineer Romeo Estabillo finished his Civil Engineering course at Mapua Institute of
Technology, he took the board examination and passed it in 1981. Wanting to start
independently, he went back to his hometown (Santiago City) to organize his own
construction firm. In his first few years of operation, he accepted contracts for the
construction of residential houses. As he gained experience, his clients grew in number, and
even the most prominent persons in the province of Isabela availed of his services.

At the start, he hired two assistants to help him in his daily routine as a contractor. One of
the two assistants, Mr. Silvino Santiago, was a third-year civil engineering student who had
stopped schooling due to financial difficulties. His main task was as draftsman. His duty was
to produce all documents relating to the physical requirements of the various contracts
entered into by his boss. Among these documents are the building plan, specifications, bill
of materials, building permit, etc. His additional duty was to assist Engineer Estabillo in
supervising the foremen and workers at the various construction sites.

The second assistant, Mr. Romulo Mamaril, was assigned to coordinate purchasing,
bookkeeping, and other related administrative activities.

At the third year of operations, Engineer Estabillo was already directing operations in his
newly constructed office inside his residential compound. By this time, two more female
employees were hired to assist in the various tasks performed in the office.

By 1994, Engineer Estabillo reviewed his company's payroll. It indicated that he has in his
employ six full. time civil engineers, two draftsmen, ten administrative personnel, one
messenger and one security guard. The foremen and laborers working at the various projects
were contractual

By June 1996, Engineer Estabillo felt that business was continuously growing, so he will have
to secure the services of four additional civil engineers on a full-time basis. As he was directly
supervising all operations, he now feels that he may not be able to perform his functions
effectively if he will push through with the plan. He wants to make a decision, but he is
apprehensive. He thinks operations are now more complex that decision-making must be a
little scientific. With these thoughts, he pondered on how he will go about solving the
problem.