Discussion of young plants MBA manager that improves the small General Motors plant components in Fredericksburg, Virginia. In 29 years, Joe Hinrichs is the youngest plant manager at GM, and in his new assignment, he is faced with the difficult task of developing and implementing significant production procedures, which will significantly improve the plant and remove it from its current unprofitable and inefficient state. With the introduction of new technology of carbon fiber, which has revolutionized the plant's output (clutch torque converter, a component of an automatic transmission in a car), Hinrichs hopes to keep the plant open by streamlining operations, reducing inventory, review of employee jobs, increasing the commitment of employees and other improvements. In the process, he has to deal with an unexpected union strike, equipment failure, and other problems that threaten the success of the process improvement. He did, however, have found unusual ways to overcome these barriers without undermining the confidence of workers. At the end of the case, Hinrichs is facing a serious dilemma of what to do with a broken 1500-ton press, one of the most important machines in the production process. Three options are described, each of the technical and management compromises. "Hide
by Amy C. Edmondson, Mikelle F. Eastley Source: Harvard Business School 19 pages. Publication Date: June 30, 1998. Prod. #: 698008-PDF-ENG
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