Personal Case Study

1. Describe your organization.

BC Constructing, LLC was started in May of 2005 in Arizona. The owner of the company had over twenty (20) years of experience in civil construction. The company provided civil and wastewater construction services, pipeline installation and excavation, earthwork, above-ground storage tank installation, and many other construction services. The company was started to meet the demand of an abundance of public works projects. The company secured work through public bids. During this time the housing market had experienced a large influx in demand and many of the company’s jobs were related to that type of work. Over the next few years, the work expanded into larger jobs with larger price tags. The employee base of the company was still relatively small. Only three people in the office, the owner, project manager and myself, the office administrator when it started. We wanted the employees to all have input on projects. Values and a culture of honesty were very important. The company would grow slowly and build respect and open communication with owners. Establishing a foundation for longevity through learning and seizing unique opportunities.

2. Describe your role in the organization. 

My role in the organization was Office Administrator and co-owner. My responsibilities involved onboarding and human resource responsibilities, assisting with estimates, bids and project schedules, payroll, billing and invoicing, banking and customer relations. As a new company there was a lot of initiating processes and procedures. Many meetings and trainings for both administrative and construction work. The company was treated like a family to some extent with close relationships and alignment of what the needs were within the group.

3. Describe the situation.

In 2008 the housing market crashed. The business had been driven by public works projects that were often not even awarded because of the amount of work in the state from the rapid growth, but when the market crashed, things seemed to change overnight. The number of jobs decreased and now large companies who had never looked at smaller, low dollar jobs, were bidding on everything in sight. Work was scarce and companies were scrambling to cover payroll and keep employees working. BC Constructing had been bidding on jobs but were often losing projects to larger companies with deeper reserves who could bid for cost. This was a stressful time and the company really started to feel the squeeze of not having jobs lined up. The political frame was more the feel of a jungle. Companies were fighting for work to stay afloat and we had to reframe how we were looking at work. Choosing to bid on more types of work than we had previously. The strategies and goals of the company had to adapt to a shifting economy. Within BC Constructing leadership had to strategically plan how to keep employees working. The company generally worked one job at a time with small overlaps to keep overhead costs low. This strategy was proving to be problematic in an environment of economic chaos.
 
The company process was that all jobs were started after the contract was signed with the owner. Then subsequent contracts were signed between BC Constructing and each sub-contractor. This insured that timelines, materials and specifications were in writing and agreed upon. The project BC Constructing was working on was for a city and had timelines for completion. This was currently the only job in que and work began on time and as planned. As scheduled, dirt work began as other parts of the project were in full swing. The subcontract with the pump supplier specified specific dates for delivery and installation. As the delivery date for the vertical turbine pump was due, we were notified that the subcontractor would not be able to uphold their delivery date as was agreed upon in the subcontract. This created a situation with a domino effect on the schedule. The other trades that followed could not perform their part sequentially and in a timely manner causing the project to be in breach of contract with the owner. As a co-owner, we were faced with having to determine to hold payment from the subcontractor and face litigation or move forward and deal with penalties for breach of contract with the owner/city. This was coupled with a tanking economy and full-blown recession so decisions on this project affected the company and had downstream ramifications for its future and that of the employees. We needed to act quickly but sought advice and guidance from the company liability insurance representative and that helped guide us through the decision process. The owner needed to learn different frames to succeed in the changing market. The structural framework had seemed solid setting out the important aspects of being driven by honesty and transparent practices. Placing employees in the roles that seemed appropriate knowing their strengths and abilities and a unified desire within the company. The political view was naïve to think that the economy would continue to hold. Even in a favorable climate there is always competition and the fight for power. This had been a hard lesson to learn. The company had only started to write its story. The purpose of the company being to create something that would grow and expand to new markets needed to reframe the company to move forward.

Reference 
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership (7th ed.). John Wiley & Sons.