ABSTRACT
HSC Limited was a concern in the electrical engineering industry. The company produced two major types of switchgear. Both product types were manufactured and sold according to contract. The design and production of switchgear were carried out by HSC on fairly standard lines. Every contract, however, required some special units. There was a constant flow of design improvements. Design and production on standard lines was a principal endeavour of HSC's management, and were main factors in the commercial success of the company. HSC was commercially successful and expanding fairly quickly on the basis of improvements in well-established switchgear design, and the low costs achieved by extremely proficient production engineering and factory management. Due to the nature of the market for switchgear and developments in switchgear design the expectations of HSC's management were constantly subject to alteration. The framework of management's decisions was continually being reset. There were frequent episodes in which changes in the scale or kind of operations being performed by one manager repercussed through the company's organisation structure.
