The Rapid Corporation is a refrigeration service organization in a large city. It has about 70 employees, mostly refrigeration service representatives. For many years the company’s policies have been dominated by its president and principal owner, Otto Blumberg, who takes pride in being a “self-made man.” Recently Otto and his office manager attended an organizational behavior seminar in which the value of a written corporate philosophy for employees was discussed. Both men agreed to draft one and compare their efforts.

1. Divide the class into three types of groups. One set of groups should draft statements for the Rapid Corporation based on the autocratic model; the second set should create comparable statements of philosophy using the supportive model as a basis; the third set should use the system model.

2. Ask representatives of each group (autocratic, supportive, and system) to read their statements to the class. Discuss their major differences. Have the class debate the usefulness of philosophy statements for guiding the organizational behavior system in a firm of this type.