Case 1.

STATE UNIVERSITY BOARD OF REGENTS: What Am

I Living For?

Mr. Francisco Bundoc is a successful businessman who operates a chain of restaurant in

Central Luzon. He resides in the capital city of his province and is the current president of the
local chapter of a civic organization. He has been recently appointed member of the board of
regents of a state university representing the community as prominent citizen. The university has
campuses in various towns of the province where he lives.
In the meetings held monthly by the board of regents, Mr. Bundoc acted as the champion
of the students’ cause. When the university president, Dr. H.C. Agao, proposed an increase in
tuition, Mr. Bundoc opposed it, even tried to personally convince the other members of the board
to do the same. The proposal was rejected by a majority vote.
Not accustomed to accepting defeat, Dr. Agao devised a way to make Mr. Bundoc submit
to his wishes. He befriended the wife of Mr. Bundoc and insinuated to her that she can do
business with the university through catering services. Mrs. Bundoc agreed and soon she became
the sole food caterer to most of the meetings and parties held at the university. The arrangement
proved to be a lucrative source of income for Mrs. Bundoc.
Every time that she had the opportunity, she told her husband the importance of
maintaining good relationship with Dr. Agao.
Soon, Mr. Bundoc’s stand as opposition in the board softened. He became more
accommodating to the proposals presented by Dr. Agao.

Question:
Is there anything wrong with actions of the three personalities in this case?
Elaborate your answer.

ANSWER:

I think there is something wrong with the actions of the three personalities-
Mr.Bondoc,his wife and Dr. Agao.
Mr.Bondoc acted as the champion of the student’s cause therefore it’s his
responsibility to fight for the own good and rights of the students. He should be the one who will
voice out their stands and if possible disagree to the proposals that may greatly affect them like
increasing of their tuition fee. It's great that he has the attitude of convincing others in personal
way for them to agree of opposing the proposals of Dr. Agao because of this they can stop his
proposals. He must maintain and assure that he is doing his job and must not allow others to
control him or stop him to do his obligation but stated on the case study his wife wished him to
maintain good relationship with Dr.Agao which unfortunately leads him to suddenly accept his
proposals. It showed that he let others dictate him what to do and failed to do his job.
The wife of Mr.Bondoc, on the other hand, she was carried away by the good actions
showed by Dr. Agao without knowing his real intentions of befriending her. She can be easily
manipulated like what Dr. Agao wanted her to do through doing special treatments and helped
with her business. Like what she did to his husband, she requested him to treat Dr. Agao well
because she believes that he can support them and give them a lot of benefits.
Dr. H.C. Agao on the other side is the main reason of the action of the
other characters. We can’t deny that he is smart person and will do anything just
to make his plan possible. He didn’t accept the rejection of his proposals so he worked it out and
make sure that nobody is in contrast to or against it and then after he can now manage it with
ease without anyone or anything intervening. And that’s what he did to Mr. Bondoc by the use of
his wife.

CASE 4. PONCIANO RETAILING COMPANY: Yesterday

Mr. Ponciano Samonte was 25 years old when he organized his business firm, Ponciano
Retailling Company. He asked Danny, the younger brother of his high school classmate, to join
him in his newly formed business.

As the years passed, the firm made good in the grocery retail business. Together, Ponciano and
Danny established one branch after another. Within the span of 20 years, 19 branches were
established throughout Central Luzon and Cagayan Valley.

The total number of employees reached 405 and everyone showed much respect to the leadership
abilities of the two pioneers. Ponciano and Danny worked in a mutual trust with each other.
Ponciano always consulted Danny on several important aspects of running the business. Danny
was always busy training personnel on several aspects of managing a branch so there has never
been a shortage of managers.

Because of his loyalty and ability, Danny was well taken care of by Ponciano. He receives an
executive salary that was above industry standard, plus allowances and medical benefits. He is
provided with an executive car. He is authorized to make decisions on operational matters. To
assist him in his task, Danny trained two junior executives

All went well until Ponciano died and full ownership and control passed to Ponciano’s oldest
son, Patrick. What Patrick did was to slowly introduce measures to centralize decision-making.
Previously, the story managers had the authority to determine the types of merchandise to carry,
the quantity, and the timing of purchase. The recruitment and training of store personnel were
functions exercised by the store managers. The above functions, as well as some other
tasks, are now performed by top management through a staff in the central office. The
changes introduced effectively reduced the authority and influence of the store managers.
Danny’s authority was also greatly reduced.

Just a month after the centralization order was implemented, Danny felt the demoralizing effect
on the managers and employees assigned to the branches. Sales dropped by two percent and a
number of key employees started to make moves to look for suitable jobs elsewhere. The rate of
absences and tardiness also began to go up. Danny was alarmed by the situation and he informed
Patrick about the strong possibility of negative growth for the company. Patrick told Danny not
to worry because he thinks it is easy to replace those who will leave.

Questions:
• What do you think of the reaction of the employees regarding the centralization
policy of Patrick?

Answer:
Change is stressful for employees on this case as they have been working on a very functional
decentralized organizational structure for several years already. However, the employees must
also open their minds to the changes being presented by Patrick, as the latter was slowly
introducing measures to centralize decision-making. It is also necessary for the employees to be
receptive of those changes. In many cases, employees and the company must move forward with
the current changes and demands at hand.
Since most of Patrick's employees have worked in the former structure, it is uncomfortable and
very difficult for them to adjust to the new system of management. I think proper communication
should be done by top management and employees through the help of Danny in order to give
Patrick proper way to explain new policy and also for the employees to express their thoughts
and opinions on the new policy versus the policy they have been used to.
• Do you consider the centralization policy as a big mistake? Why or why not.

On this case, yes. It is a big mistake because the management that they have been used to is very
effective which is the decentralization. There are a lot of implications I have seen in the
management style of Danny and here are the advantages of his management style
(decentralization):
• There are fewer burdens on the Chief Executive as in the case of centralization.
• In decentralization, the subordinates get a chance to decide and act independently which
develops skills and capabilities. This way the organization is able to process reserve of
talents in it.
• In decentralization, diversification and horizontal can be easily implanted.
• In decentralization, concern diversification of activities can place effectively since there
is more scope for creating new departments. Therefore, diversification growth is of a
degree.
 • In decentralization structure, operations can be coordinated at divisional level which is
not possible in the centralization set up.
• In the case of decentralization structure, there is greater motivation and morale of the
employees since they get more independence to act and decide.
• In a decentralization structure, co-ordination to some extent is difficult to maintain as
there are lot many department divisions and authority is delegated to maximum possible
extent, i.e., to the bottom most level delegation reaches.
• Centralization and decentralization are the categories by which the pattern of authority
relationships became clear. The degree of centralization and de-centralization can be
affected by many factors like nature of operation, volume of profits, number of
departments, size of a concern, etc. The larger the size of a concern, a decentralization set
up is suitable in it.

Case 7. HIT AND MISS MANUFACTURING. A Star is Born

The head of HR department, Atty. Mila Bravo was directed by the company president to act as
leader of a committee whose task is to revise and update the current compensation scheme of the
company.

The President designated the following as members of the committee:

1. the accountant
2. the executive secretary
3. an employee in one of the operating units
4. an officer of the labor union
5. the internal auditor
6. a representative from the public

During the first meeting, the seven members were all present. The president made a briefing
regarding the purpose of the group, the circumstances that lead to the formation of the group, and
his expectations about the group’s output.

The group proceeded to determine the various factors relevant to the determination of the rates of
the various jobs. Most of the members of the committee, however, cannot devote the time required
to finish the job within the time frame indicated by the committee’s effectiveness. The first two
meetings were held without much fuss. Everybody was given the opportunity to air his or her
views about the various matters forwarded for discussion.

For one reason or another, the accountant failed to appear in the succeeding meetings. He never
attempted to explain his position to the committee leader or to any member, but his body
language indicated that he was too busy doing more important concerns or the president and the
board of directors. He tried to communicate with the public representative asking for information
about developments in the committee’s work. Outside of the meetings, he indicated to one
member his objections to some of the matters that were deliberated and approved by the
committee. As the meetings progressed and without his active participation, he made piecemeal
reports to the president.

When the committee submitted its final report, the president was not satisfied and he voiced his
objections that were clearly objections of the accountant.

The other members of the group were dismayed about the actions of the accountant and they
vowed not to participate again in whatever committee work where the accountant is assigned as a
member.

Questions:

What errors have been committed by the committee members? By the President?

Answer:
Meeting regularly as required is the primary error committed by the committee to have an effective
output as expected by the President. Second, their failure to require the accountant to be present
during the deliberation for it is important that all the members should be available in every
meeting. Third, the committee leader which is the head of HR Department, failed to notify the
President of the status of the committee. there should be a dynamic interaction of each members in
a group problem solving and decision making. How could it be effectively done if there are absent?
Brainstorming is a group problem solving and how can it be interpreted to a better growth if
accountant is absent since he is in the first knows how to analyze figure. Teamwork is the best key
for the group to deliver output and they failed to have it. The President is also too reliant with the
accountant, having it knew that the accountant is always absent in the committee deliberation, he
must ordered the accountant to be there for his function is a must. The President may from time to
time checks the status of the committee tasks so as to be address the lapses occurred.

Who should be responsible for the errors?

Answer:
Atty. Mila Bravo whom was directed by the company president to act as leader of the committee is
the one accountable and responsible for the errors. As a leader, Atty. Mila from time to time update
the President of the real score of the committee, she should be honest with the President and report
that the Accountant is always absent so that the President can make orders or instructions to
address the issue.
Case 10. TSAR NICHOLAS TRADING and FINANCING: Let It Be
Me

Questions:
• What do you think of the organizational structure of the firm?

Answer:
Organizational structure of the firm is a matrix structure wherein it attempts to maximize
the strength and minimize the weaknesses of both departmentation by function and by the product.

• What difficulties may be anticipated if the current structure is maintained?

Answer:
The difficulties may be anticipated if this structure is maintained are, it will create dual-
authority confusion,it spawns power struggle, it is time consuming, it requires interpersonal skills
training, it generates high implementation cost and no black and white paper trail

Case 11. PERFECT TASTE BAKERY PRODUCTS: Run for Your

Life

Questions:
• Do you think a conflict is already existing?

Answer:
Yes, because of the personal attachment or favoritism of the dispatcher to the other five
delivery van drivers . The dispatcher knows the five of them personally, so the favor of the
dispatcher will obviously into the “favorites”. The general manager must either replace and hire a
new dispatcher or discipline him and give the appropriate sanction for the wrong doings of the
dispatcher.
• What should have been done by the dispatcher? By the general manager?

Answer:
First, the dispatcher should divide the routes evenly to the drivers. He must observe fairness
in dealing with his drivers and helpers, otherwise, it will root up the conflict in himself. Just
because he personally knows the other drivers that his favor is with them. He should respect all the
drivers that he has been tasked to manage.Performance appraisal must be taken not only on the
dispatcher but on the quality of output such as efficiency of the end result of their trips.
The General Managerm must inform the dispatcher about the complaints about him or give
him warning. He should act immediately after the complaint so as not to endure more jealousy and
tensions among its drivers and helpers. After which the problem was identified based on
investigation results, said arising conflict must be immediately settled. Let a harmonious
relationship among workers be attained, otherwise it will lead to a deeper or may threatened the
company’s, operational, reputational and legal risk.