ebra, 1994, p. 57). By adopting a team-oriented approach, the employees increased on-time delivery rates to 95 percent. In addition, they were able to cut inventories in half within the first two years after the reorganization, saving the company a total of $50 million. They also reduced waste by 75 percent and generated $40 million in cost reductions within the first two years without reducing the number of products produced. In fact, they increased productivity by 15 to 20 percent each year (Team Zebra, 1994, p. 57).
To meet the challenge given it by the parent company, the black-and-white film division led by a 15-member managerial team and the 1,500 employees reengineered their workplace from a traditional manufacturing process organized by functions to a team-driven process organized by work flow (Team Zebra, 1994, p. 57). This system flattened the organizational structure and broke down the traditional boundaries between functions. It eliminate
...