Justin Slesser
Case Analysis 3 (Shoe Corp.Ch 11)
Professor Hemphill
24 November 2008
This particular organization holds a wide array of problems. These problems range from the actual structure of the organization to the lack of innovation of products produced by the organization. The company is not a beacon of success when it comes to its innovation process. In fact this company is far from anything that is innovative or creative. SCI needs to become innovative if it wishes to increase profits and stay in business in the ever changing shoe industry.
The shoe corporation of Illinois or SCI has been conducting business for several years. The organization has two manufacturing plants in Centerville and Medowvale. Between the two plants the company produces roughly 12,500 pairs of shoes a day. Over the last ten years profit margins have shrank from 30 to 50 cents per pair to 25 to 30 cents a pair. There are several factors that have contributed to this downfall. The president states that the cost of materials and labor are the true effects of this loss in profit. Over a given year the company may produce any where from 100 to 120 different styles of shoes. This constant changing of the product line may be where the profits are being lost because of the constant time lost to change machines. The culture exhibited in this organization is relatively vague. The few things I picked up were that the company believed that it was normal to copy designs from the industry. To be a true innovative company you need to produce your own designs not replicate and tweak someone else’s. SCI strives to make profits from being the low cost provider of what appears to be designer knock off’s. The company must keep up with the changes in shoes in order to remain competitive in this market. This is where they run into many of their problems.
Challenges faced by the organization are almost to overwhelming to analyze. First the structure of the organization is not conducive...