DRW Technologies

Ed Claiborne is a newly hired corporate vice president of procurement for DRW Technologies, a company that produces advanced military systems with 21 plants in the United States. Claiborne was hired from another company from within the industry, and the news of his arrival was announced in an email to corporate executives and plant managers and in the company newsletter. Before he has even met the procurement team, Claiborne is assigned his first task of cutting procurement costs and messaging the news to the company. Claiborne decides to send the message via email, and the message is met with unexpected results. This case is appropriate in courses in leadership, human resource management, organizational behavior, general management, and management communication. The short length and plain language make this case suitable for students who are new to the case method.