Aston Blair Case Study
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Aston – Blair Inc.
1. Starting up the task force
Bacon did not seem to have any input on the creation of the task force. Casey and Trott were the ones who gave all suggestions around which members should be a part of the task force. Bacon, could have provided his input, based on his knowledge and experience with his fellow co-workers and could have recommended some of them to be a part of the task force along with him. This would have helped his situation in guiding the task force in a better way.
Bacon took Caseys and Trotts inputs on the problem at hand and never tried to dig into areas surrounding the same. There could have been other potential issues that could have led Aston-Blair into this loss situation, and Bacon, could have made a point that the task force alone might not be able to address all the issues. He also should have tried to understand the goal of the task force rather than just accepting it as placed in front of him. Bacon should have tried to gain more information on the purpose of the task force and the tasks it is trying to achieve.
2. Conducting the first meeting
The article mentions that first meeting had a slow and awkward beginning. This reflects that Bacon who was leading the meeting did not take necessary steps to get the meeting going. He should have made a formal introduction of everyone and let everyone know each other -formally and informally. This would have put the members of the team at ease while interacting with each other.
The meeting agenda also was not well laid out. Bacon should have explained the team the problem they were trying to resolve and the corresponding tasks they would need to perform for the same. He should have conveyed the common purpose they are trying to achieve here. Also, a fixed agenda would have helped. That would not have Meir digress the meeting onto steps for creation of a forecasting model. Also, Bacon should not have let subgroups form on its own, but should have had his say while doing so. He singled out Meir on perform his task alone, which could have let Meir think as not a part of the team.
3. Running the task force
Bacon worked with Holt and three other product managers in a sub-group, similarly Reiss and Bodin worked together in a subgroup. This led to a lack of cohesiveness among all the members of the task force. One was unaware what the other was doing. For example, Meirs task would have become easier had he interacted with Reiss and Bodin. This would have helped the three of them to come to their report conclusions much more better and faster.