There are 16 separate divisions of the National Products co., each having its own headquarters and officers. The divisions are not separate in a corporate sense but are divisions of National Products operating under a plan of decentralization---both in physical location and in management. Each division manufactures a line of products unrelated to the other. For example, one makes oil drilling equipment, another makes special metals, and a third has a line of chemicals. Total employment of National Products is over 9000, but there are no more than 225 employees at any one location, since each division has from two to eight manufacturing plants. The small size of manufacturing plants occurred largely through the parent company’s acquisition of small companies over the years.
The general offices of National Products are located in New York City and, in addition to corporate offices, comprise a number of staff departments, which act strictly in an advisory capacity to the divisions. For many years the president of National Products has been concerned about the problem of developing and maintaining adequate managerial personnel throughout the company. It has been common practice to transfer managerial personnel from one division to another, but the president could never be certain that the proper choices were being made.
Recently, the president hired Doris Gilbert to study the problem and gave her the title of assistant to the president. Ms. Gilbert had worked a number of years for a management consulting firm and had specialized in management appraisal problems. The president made clear to Ms. Gilbert that her first assignment was to develop methods for appraising the worth of persons in managerial positions, from foreman on up. Later Ms. Gilbert was to study the problem of identifying people with managerial potential and to recommend management development programs.