Reference no: EM133899985

Assignment:

Pelle, a company specialized in manufacturing leather clothing, recently opted to change the raw material used to produce its different items. Up to now, the company has mainly used lamb leather to produce its coats, jackets, skirts and pants. However, with competition growing and the cost of lamb leather escalating, Pelle began looking for alternatives. The president of the company delegated the task of making this decision to the managers of the company's four units.

The production manager takes the lead and calls a meeting to discuss the new changes in the production process. He unilaterally decides to switch from lamb leather to pig leather, which is a lot cheaper. At the beginning of the meeting, the production manager presents a few possibilities and makes his choice very clear to his colleagues. He is immediately backed by the finance manager. The human resource manager and the marketing manager look at each other in disbelief at how fast the production manager has made his decision without taking the time to consult his colleagues and consider the pros and the cons of his option.

The marketing manager, who is also responsible for procurement and purchasing, argues that resorting to pig skin would create aa problem for sales personnel, as it is easier to sell a $150 pair of pants made of lamb leather than a $50 pair of pants made of pig leather! Additionally, the human resource manager, who is involved in employee training, raises issues such as providing workshops and orientation sessions to employees to familiarize them with the new raw material as well as the impact of such a decision on the sales personnel's motivation to sell.

Question and Discussion

Discuss the production manager's decision-making process.