Any topic (writer’s choice)

Capstone Case…Johnson International  Corporation.    A case analysis of 10 to 12 pages.  APA style please.Johnson International Corporation (JIC) is a global organization of 100 employees located largely in  the U.S., Europe, and the Far East.  It began in New Jersey and has been in business for 15 years, enjoying increasing profitability until the last two years.  Sales Revenue last year was $200 million with Net Income (after taxes) of $10 million.  70% of the business is military/DoD related.  Their principal focus is on providing logistical support to the military as well as the private sector.  They recently have developed a modest on-line presence.  Top leadership has given direction that an overall reengineering review of all aspects of the organization is to happen using a  systems approach.  The CEO had recently attended a seminar which included the handouts included in this material.  Downsizing is not necessarily the driving force behind the effort, although many suspect that it is.  It is rumored that a large contract will not be renewed.  The direction the CEO has given is to become more competitive and better serve customers.  Creative and constructive proposals are being sought.  The company has not had layoffs although several positions have been held open in the past year, except for those related to marketing and business development.  IT capital (not people) budgets have been cut by 10% each year for the past 2 years.  Travel and Training budgets for all employees have also seen cutbacks of 10%.  There has been a growing concern for Security matters in the all facilities in the US and abroad, but no plans have been put forth at this point, nor is there a central office to deal with these matters.The CEO and company founder is a retired AF 1 star General who spent most of his time in the field of logistics.  He is 55 and has expressed no plans to step aside.  He is key in orchestrating strategic planning.  The CFO, COO and Division Managers report to him, along with the Overall Forecasting, Legal, Military, and Nonmilitary Relations Offices.The CFO spent several years as CFO of FedEx.  He was been with JIC 5 years.  He is 50.The COO spent several years with Hewlett Packard.  She has been with JIC for 4 years and is 45.Case studies never include enough information, and to address that, you identify what your assumptions are.  Things like, I assume that ….  All you need to know about for the field of logistics is explained at the bottom of the Organization Chart.Each student should approach the case from their respective discipline; that is, they should examine this case from the perspective of an HRDevelopment, HRManagement,  Information Technology, Procurement and Acquisition, Management and Leadership or Security Management  perspective.  At the same time, you need to consider that a company is a living entity that has many parts and all tend to take on a life of their own.  Your answers/suggestions should include:  (1) The potential impact of what you suggest on the other company operating divisions to the extent you may be able to determine them. (those shown on the Org Chart).  Obviously, you all may not have detailed knowledge of what the other parts of the organization do, but (2), you can make certain assumptions that you state in paper.  For example, I assume that the Finance department will be affected by the kind of upgrades I recommend for the IT department., etc.    That is what Systems Thinking is about.  Solutions do not exist in a vacuum and there are often (3) unintended consequences elsewhere that you should try to include.  In some cases, what you are recommending may have a positive impact on other parts of the organization and that is good.Think of how you would approach getting the information you need to write a Systems solution; and that as the HR, etc, person, you probably have a certain amount of knowledge about the company already, although it may be pretty narrowly confined to your area of responsibility.  (4) Is there an overall organizational strategy you might recommend?  Is the structure as it should be?  (5) Should employee reductions be part of your solution?  If so, how would you decide on who is let go?  There are some are some articles on Systems Thinking that you are asked to consider for the case analysis.  You are, of course, invited to do additional research, and (6) you are expected to draw heavily from your course work in crafting a thoughtful response.  I am not expecting a Doctoral thesis…but a good graduate level response to the best of your ability.

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