Business Communication

Individual Assignment No. 1

Case Analysis Report on

Dashman Company


Submitted by:
Name: Harshit Bhayani
Roll No: BE17A16
Section: A





Page 2 of 2

Situation Analysis

The Dashman Company was a large decentralized concern with over 20 plants, making various
types of equipments for the armed forces of the United States. In Late 1940 (The period of
World War II) when the United States was entering the war, supplying the goods on time was the
critical factor. The company faced the problem of procurement raw materials.
Mr. Manson the president of the company and a hands-off manager who motivated the plants to
function independently and take their own decisions, appointed Mr. Post as the vice president of
purchase department giving him freedom to make the decisions.
Mr. Post an experienced purchasing executive with all his analytical and decision making skills
started by centralizing the companies purchasing procedures and coordinating any purchases
made in excess of $10,000 by each plant with the head office. Making use of his organizing
skills he implemented a system where he should be notified about the contracts at least a week in
advance before they are to be signed so as to improve the coordination between plants and the
head office.
Being optimistic and impatient Mr. Post decided to implement the plan despite the peak season
just three weeks away and decided to send a letter to the 20 purchasing executives of the
company. The letter which Mr. Post had prepared clearly showed the lack of communication
skills. The tone of the letter was in We and you instead of Our and Us this shows the lack
of unity in the organization also the decision was conveyed first and the reasons were given later.
Mr. Post is an Autocratic leader as we can see when Mr. Larson gave his suggestion of
personally meeting the purchasing executives he did not listen to the suggestion. The replies of
the letter were also not encouraging. Six weeks into the plan the head office does not receive any
notice and when they crossed checked the plants were running at usual routine, this shows that
there was some gap in the communication process.

Problem Statement
There is a problem of the medium of communication that Mr. Post has selected and also that he
was going against the autonomy enjoyed by the plant managers.