Juicy Red Tomato Company and Decision Making
Not what you're looking for?
You have just been hired by Juicy Red Tomato Company as a human resources consultant. Juicy Red Tomato Company (JRT), a tomato grower operating in Florida, hired you to investigate (1) the effectiveness and efficiency of its organizational structure, and (2) the selection and maintenance of managerial personnel. The reason why? Internal costs are rising, key personnel are leaving, and the company is considering expanding its operations.
You are not the first consultant; your predecessor had started to develop a proposal, but left suddenly. Review the proposal in progress, then add what is needed to complete this initial stage of problem definition. (Use the first five steps of the Research Process for Basic and Applied Research, Figure 4.1, on the Sekaran, p. 56, for formulating a full research design).
Following is your predecessor's work:
Juicy Red Tomato Company is a tomato grower, operating in Florida. The company has been in operation for 15 years, during which it has grown at a rate of about 5% per year. Costs have remained steady for the first 10 years of the company's existence, but have grown by 2.5 - 4% over the past 3 years. Reasons cited by the company include unexpected temperature drops, pests, and increased labor costs. Management has tended to come from within the company, as long-term employees "rise through the ranks". Over the past year, several long-term, key personnel have left, citing that they had "no future" with JRT. On the bright side, JRT is poised for an increased rate of growth, through possible expansion of the business.
JRT has retained this consultant to investigate (1) the effectiveness and efficiency of its organizational structure, and (2) the selection and maintenance of managerial personnel. We will conduct internal and external research on the causes of the issues and present recommendations.
After preliminary interviews within the organization and research of the produce industry, and business cases with similar challenges, we have formed a hypothesis; that Juicy Red Tomato Company needs to invest in retention not only of its managerial personnel, but also front-line production employees. In addition, JRT needs to improve communication between production and operations, possibly by enhancing technology used by the company as a whole.
Purchase this Solution
Solution Summary
Referring to communication and decision making, this solution analyzes aspects of the Case of the Juicy Red Tomato Company. Supplemented with an informative article on techniques related to participatory management.
Purchase this Solution
Free BrainMass Quizzes
Accounting: Statement of Cash flows
This quiz tests your knowledge of the components of the statements of cash flows and the methods used to determine cash flows.
Business Processes
This quiz is intended to help business students better understand business processes, including those related to manufacturing and marketing. The questions focus on terms used to describe business processes and marketing activities.
IPOs
This Quiz is compiled of questions that pertain to IPOs (Initial Public Offerings)
Transformational Leadership
This quiz covers the topic of transformational leadership. Specifically, this quiz covers the theories proposed by James MacGregor Burns and Bernard Bass. Students familiar with transformational leadership should easily be able to answer the questions detailed below.
Paradigms and Frameworks of Management Research
This quiz evaluates your understanding of the paradigm-based and epistimological frameworks of research. It is intended for advanced students.