The Rockmont Case
Rockmont Precision Tooling
Rockmont Precision Tooling has proven to be very successful in the last few years due to its high productive capacity. Despite the fact they are a relatively small southern manufacturer of farm machinery, with 1,600 employees, they have been competing well in its domestic as well as the international markets.
Jack Early was recently hired to be one of the higher-level managers. Jack had completed his M.B.A at one of the more well-known universities, and applied his knowledge and training, that he gained in school, to his work at Rockmont. He made such a good impression in a relatively short period of time, that he received many commendations and an early salary adjustment.
Jack had been asked to assess the performance of all of his first-level managers and supervisors for performance-related pay purposes. The use of performance-related pay was strongly preferred by Jack because it would rewards those who made a greater contribution to the organization than their colleagues. After assessing six employees and providing them with regular feedback concerning their performance, he came up with recommendations to show his boss, Chester Carson.
Chester Carson joined the company immediately after it was founded, and had experience in working in different capacities. He wanted to change the merit pay/performance-related pay for every employee that Jack had assessed. Jack strongly disagreed with this decision and asked the HR Manager, Bud Daily, for advice.
Problem Statement
The root of the problem lies in the type of organization. Rockmont Precision Tooling is a conservative, “old-school” organization – as it is referred to in the case. Changes are hardly made, and if things change, they do so slowly. Having such an inflexible organization can result in inefficiency and eventually, a decrease in competitiveness. Since there isn’t much room for development and innovation, Rockmont might eventually not be able to compete sufficiently
Rockmont Precision Tooling has proven to be very successful in the last few years due to its high productive capacity. Despite the fact they are a relatively small southern manufacturer of farm machinery, with 1,600 employees, they have been competing well in its domestic as well as the international markets.
Jack Early was recently hired to be one of the higher-level managers. Jack had completed his M.B.A at one of the more well-known universities, and applied his knowledge and training, that he gained in school, to his work at Rockmont. He made such a good impression in a relatively short period of time, that he received many commendations and an early salary adjustment.
Jack had been asked to assess the performance of all of his first-level managers and supervisors for performance-related pay purposes. The use of performance-related pay was strongly preferred by Jack because it would rewards those who made a greater contribution to the organization than their colleagues. After assessing six employees and providing them with regular feedback concerning their performance, he came up with recommendations to show his boss, Chester Carson.
Chester Carson joined the company immediately after it was founded, and had experience in working in different capacities. He wanted to change the merit pay/performance-related pay for every employee that Jack had assessed. Jack strongly disagreed with this decision and asked the HR Manager, Bud Daily, for advice.
Problem Statement
The root of the problem lies in the type of organization. Rockmont Precision Tooling is a conservative, “old-school” organization – as it is referred to in the case. Changes are hardly made, and if things change, they do so slowly. Having such an inflexible organization can result in inefficiency and eventually, a decrease in competitiveness. Since there isn’t much room for development and innovation, Rockmont might eventually not be able to compete sufficiently