Product details

The case centers around the differences in time / goal perspectives between AstroTech''s marketing and production departments (line) and its engineering and quality department (staff), headed by a manager who emphasized product quality over quantity and new product design. The engineering manager''s number one priority was to put processes in place that would ensure that the division passed an upcoming FAA audit; the goal of the marketing and production departments was to bring a continuous stream of new, innovative products to market in a timely manner. Both the general manager and plant manager emphasized quantity over quality. The engineering department manager saw two long-term goals: (1) to bring forth product designs that meet or exceed quality standards; and (2) to bring existing product lines up to these same quality standards. The general manager and plant manager were convinced that the division''s failure to show a profit was due to engineering''s insistence on meeting and exceeding quality standards for all products.