ANALYSIS OF JOHNSONVILLE SAUSAGE CO. (A) CASE STUDY
IN THE ASPECT OF STRATEGIC DESIGN
Prepared by USANUS SIRITARARATN, 2012

The Johnsonville Sausage Co. (A) case study from Harvard Business School is about Johnsonville Sausage Co, a sausage manufacturer and wholesaler in Johnsonville, Wisconsin. As the company grew over time, the president of Johnsonville Sausage Co., Ralph Stayer, faced many big problems in his organization. After Stayer listened to a lecture about how managers could change their philosophy and style of management from Dr. Lee Thayer, a professor at the University of Wisconsin, Stayer thought about his organization and found out that the problems in his organization were the result of the way he managed his …show more content…

(Roberts, 1986: 8) 3. Product Development Team
Similar to the “Beer ‘n Bratwurst” development team which originated from a brainstorming session in summer 1984. Then the sales and research people tested and refined the product the product was introduced to the market. (Roberts, 1986: 12) 4. “Pride Team” who solved the problem of package leakers
A group of volunteer first-line workers and manufacturing specialists that teamed up to investigate plastic package leaks. (Roberts, 1986:13) 5. Case-by-Case Problem Solving Key Managers
As Stayer said at the end of the case study, “When we have an issue that involves several different areas, I try to get together the key functional managers and let them work on it” (Roberts, 1986:13).

Alignment The most extreme difference in Johnsonville between pre and post organizational transition can be seen in the Alignment aspect of Strategic Design lens. The cause of this extreme shifting was from Stayer’s decision to change his management style. The changes in Johnsonville Sausage can be categorized into all 5 sub-categories in the Three Lenses on Organizational Analysis and Action. These sub-categories are Resource Allocation, Individual Rewards and Incentives, Organizational Performance Measurement System, Human Resource Development, and Informal System and Processes (Ancona, et al., 2005: