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AlienMachine, a boutique, high end, Gaming PC design-and-build shop…
AlienMachine, a boutique, high end, Gaming PC design-and-build shop hired you to help with a productivity
problem. AlienMachine needs to increase the rate of production to at least 46 computers per day in order to
continue to provide the short turnaround that is core to their brand. Their tag line is “You decide. We build. You
get it fast.” It is a guarantee that appeals to the impatient video gamer market, one that has grown the
company quickly. Equally important is that each computer is designed to the exact customer specifications
capitalizing on the “mass customization” movement and again letting gamers express their own individual
tastes with the seemingly endless variety of options for machine builds.
The manufacturing arm of AlienMachine uses four teams to assemble the computers: Valve, THQ, IonStorm,
and LookingGlass. Each team has a lead who manages the team and seven workers who assemble the
computers. Because each PC is unique, the team leads oversee the production process and make sure that
design parameters are followed. Because the particular combination of components integrated into a particular
machine are commonly untested, the leads also regularly have to troubleshoot and solve problems that
emerge in the final quality checks, such as when there are hardware or software conflicts.
The workers operate in an assembly line style: The PC frame starts at position #1, where the team member at
that station puts the first set of components together. The incipient computer then passes through all seven
stations (in order) until the machine is fully assembled at the end. Because each computer is slightly different,
all the employees know how to do all of the jobs required. Further, the jobs have been designed by efficiency
experts so that they are all equally difficult, and the technical aspects of the work (e.g., where the components
are located for assembly) have been optimized. Pay is hourly
The total number of computers built per day by each group are averaging below the desired minimum, which is
47 computers per day.
Group averages are as follows:
Valve: 12
THQ: 10
Ion Storm: 12
Looking Glass: 8
Total: 42
The executives came to talk to the team leads about the problem. At first, THQ’s lead thought he just needed to
bring the hammer down, and so he gave his team a stern lecture. This actually backfired as the team became
less productive (they had been assembling 12 per day, now they are at 10). The executive team believes THQ
will return to their previous rate (12 computers per day) if their lead apologizes and somehow makes amends,
but the real concern is LookingGlass. They have never produced more than 9 computers per day. The
LookingGlass lead has been trying to coach Max and Ed to work faster, but they have not been able to improve
their speed.
AlienMachine has had trouble recruiting qualified production people in the past. So, they are trying to solve the
production issues without replacing any of their current employees.
Executives who examined the LookingGlass team found that the work tends to pile up at the #3 station, which
is Max Franklin’s workstation. Efficiency experts analyzed how long each member of LookingGlass took to
complete their tasks. The results are shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Team Members and Their Average Piece Rate
PositionTeam member Time to incorporate a component into the
computer (min)
1. Arjun 30
2. Bob 35
3. Max 60
4. Danielle 30
5. Ed 50
6. Franziska 20
7. Gin-Fan 20
The team lead also talked to the people at the varying positions, and here is what information they gathered:
1) Arjun can easily do more work. He intentionally slows down so that the work does not totally pile up at Max’s station, which just draws attention to the fact that he is the weakest link. Arjun realizes that Max has been there for a while, but he thinks that maybe it is time that Max leaves and stops dragging LookingGlass down. He suggested that Max be moved to IonStorm. When asked if he wanted to help Max, Arjun said, “Are you going to pay me more?”
2) Bob and Max work together and have been friends for a while. That is probably why Bob usually waits for
Max to complete his work before sending him another machine. Bob noticed that Max’s delay is more
prevalent later in the day rather than earlier. To keep busy, Bob often helps Max out. Bob thinks that since Max
has been there for a while, he has “earned his place” on the team. Also, Bob sees the sense in Max’s complaint
that if management makes you speed up, they will do this again in the future, which offers no benefit when
people are paid hourly (see Max’s comment below).
3) Max works hard, but just is not as fast as the others. He is older now and just cannot work at the pace he
used to. Max knows he is holding things up, but cannot seem to keep from falling behind because everyone
else has more energy and speed. Max likes everyone else, and so his slowness makes him feel bad. Max is also
worried for himself because he needs this job. Max also worries about the team because he thinks that if
management succeeds in getting the group to speed up, they might try the same tactic again later. This just
makes people work harder without compensating them. Most of the other team members are too young to
have been taken in by that trick, so they do not think it can happen. But Max has been a line worker all his life
and has seen them do that before in many places, even ones he thought were good places to work.
4) For Danielle, or “Dani” as she prefers, the job is easy. Dani is young and ambitious and sees herself moving
to the team lead position, whether with this team or some other, soon. Dani does not like waiting on Max, and
further thinks that Max is purposefully being slow. She thinks he is intentionally resistant to anything
management suggests because he has a union-vs-management mentality. This bugs her because that mindset
seems so outdated. She would fire him if she could, but she keeps that opinion to herself because she knows
Max has many friends in the team and in the company.
5) Ed is able to keep up with the work, but not by much. Fortunately, Max is slower than Ed, so people never
really notice Ed’s work rate (except for maybe Dani, who often gives him sidelong glances when work starts to
accumulate at his station). Ed worries that if Max leaves AlienMachine, he will surely be next on the chopping
block. Ed realizes something has to be done to increase team productivity, but does not know what. He also
supports Max when he talks about not wanting to speed up the production rate without some kind of
incentive. But he wonders if others, like Dani, see this as a ruse to cover his own slowness.
6) Franziska gets bored doing the same tasks over and over again, so she inserts variety into her routine by
working quickly then relaxing or checking her phone. She made sure that whenever management came by, she
seemed to be ahead of the curve on production. One of the things that she does now because the parts are not
given to her fast enough is to go over and talk to Max while helping him move things along. Franziska likes
talking to Max, and so she does not really mind helping him. It gives her variety. The only problem is that Arjun,
Dani, and Gin-Fan find their chatter and her moving about distracting. They do not say anything, but she can
tell.
7) Gin-Fan hates this situation. There is not enough to do because Max is so slow, and so Gin-Fan has to act
busy. Gin-Fan keeps these thoughts mostly to himself because Max is older, and Gin-Fan comes from a culture
that is deferential to those who are older. But Gin-Fan is not blind to the problem, and sees it as a major failing
that company leadership does not step in. Lately, it has gotten bad enough that Gin-Fan and Dani frequently go
out for a drink after work to commiserate on the lack of leadership in the company and how it makes this
problem worse. It seems as though Arjun might join their little group as well.
Your solution to this problem must NOT make any changes to the following elements
– Keep the same employees
– Keep the company goal of 47 computers /day
– Keep the business model of making computers to custom specs
Your goal is to
– Improve motivation
– Increase production to a rate of more than 47 computers per day
– Give all employees a sense of fairness and pay equity
1) Summarize the problem in the AlienMachine case.
2) Propose one solution to this problem.
