Name Madhusmita Das

Question 1

Lisa got disappointed from the very first day at Houseworld.3 of such instances which made
her feel so are listed below –

1.Richard Clark, the group product manager who impressed Lisa during the interview process
hardly remembered her. He did not even stop to welcome her aboard.

2.Benton was disappointed with the cool and disinterested reception by her new boss. Linton
invited Benton into her office and this initial conversation itself, she was criticizing how she
does not like the people with MBA degree. She also let Benton know how busy her schedule
is, and she won’t be able to sit with Benton soon.

3.Scoville, another associate product manager also disappointed Lisa with his condescending
in their first few conversations. He was acting like overbearing big brother. He was telling
how he too does not like the MBA’s. In her first day, at around 4pm, he handed her a large
stack of reports to copy which she completed till 7pm.This inefficient, unkempt nature of
Scoville left Benton furious.
Question 2

2A.

Trait Level: High/Low Example supporting the answer

Openness to High Scoville was flexible and he proved it by

Experience moving from operating to marketing when he
was not having an MBA degree

He sometimes looks sensitive too as he once

pulled the chair for Lisa in restaurant, he once
asked sorry for his behavior in the copying
incident.

Conscientiousness Low He is not at all self-disciplined and dependable.

He never finished work in time, he gives his
last moment work to Lisa. He is not at all
dependable with this attitude. carefulness, self-
discipline, and dependability. In the copying
episode we saw, he made last minute changes in
the marketing plan and wanted Lisa to finish it.

Extraversion Low Scoville had always trouble getting other to do

his bidding and finally ended up doing those
tasks himself or asking Benton to them. He is
not social at all. Many of other colleagues, after
data analysis incident mentioned it to Benton
that many of other management staff feel the
same about Scoville.
Agreeableness Low He is not at all well-mannered. Many times, he
misbehaved with Lisa, in the copying episode,
data analysis episode. Many of other
colleagues also had the same opinion about
Scoville. In the analysis of Pure and Fresh
pricing episode also he showed the same
behavior

Neuroticism High Many times, Scoville made Lisa furious,

embarrassed and humiliated with his behavior
the analysis of Pure and Fresh pricing. He
shouted at Lisa as he is not under his own
control sometimes
2B. As Scoville’s score in Conscientiousness and Extraversion is very low, Lisa can use this as
opportunity. She can use her network in other department and make the work easier for
Scoville’s. This will increase dependency of Lisa and he has to keep a good relationship with
Lisa. She can user intellectual capacity to make his work finish in time. They both can have a
good conversation over a cup of coffee and share their thoughts on the project they are
working. Lisa can offer a helping hand in some of his analytical work in a friendly manner.
Thus, he will not feel inferior to MBAs and will feel secure in his job. Thus, this will improve
their relation slowly.
Question 3

3A. This is hidden area/Façade in Johari window.

3B. Linton already mentioned in her introductory conversation with Lisa that she will report
to Linton not Scoville. So, if there is hidden area for Lisa for which Linton did not even
recognize her core strength, Lisa should work on it and make sure to reduce the hidden area.
Lisa should be showing her true self and not as imposed one. As for example, in meetings she
should not be silent and behaving like a learner. She has opinions, she would keep them on the
table confidently. Next, she has good analytical skill, for which Lisa has got appreciation from
Vernon. She should have used that opportunity to talk to Vernon and get quality work in
Analytics, after which she would have got more recognition from everyone including Linton.
She should have been more vocal in front of Vernon and in front of Linton about her
aspirations. This would have improved her relationship with Linton.

Question 4

The first mistake in this performance management was, Linton had not given time for setting
Goals for Lisa. Please find two improvements below ->

1.When Benton asked Linton about review comments, Linton wanted to do an informal
review. There will be no documentation of the review comments. Lisa pointed out some
positive feedback, but while giving negative feedback she would have framed the sentences
differently. Linton mentioned that she thought Benton to be intelligent, but she lacked
confidence. She would have said, I wonder being so intelligent why you seem low in
confidence in some of the meetings. She would have given proper given examples. She would
have tried to know, is there any reason or any difficulty she is facing due to which she was
not able to take initiative and unassertive.
 2.When Benton tried explaining what difficulty she was facing, instead of empowering her,
Linton was defending Scoville. She should have been neutral and assured Benton that she is
going to talk about the same with Scoville and resolve it soon. She should have encouraged
her to perform well next time and be confident.

Question 5

Three engagement tactics that could have helped Lisa in feeling more motivated to work in
Houseworld are below –

1. Encourage employees to speak their mind without any fear of criticism or judgement
2. Recognize employees for a job done well
3. Develop a sense of affiliation among employees to keep them connected
4. Provide a progress road map for them.

Question 6

6A. Lisa can use the below 2 soft tactics

1.Exchange – As Scoville is a guy who is not at all social, he does not have good relationship
with other department staffs, Lisa can use this as advantage, she can make the work easy for
Scoville by utilizing her network. In exchange she can influence him to listen to her point of
view as well in any situation. This will in return help make a good impression on Linton as
well, as Linton believes Scoville and has a good bonding with him.

2.Impression Management - Lisa already had good impression on Vernon due to her
analytical skill. He also approached her many times to understand if she is under any
 pressure. Lisa would have utilized that opportunity and turn it to her favor to get quality work
and different project. Vernon could have influences Linton as well as he is senior to Linton.

6B. Lisa can use the below 2 hard tactics –

1.Assertiveness: Being an MBA graduate Harvard, Lisa would have been more assertive in
front of Scoville and Linton. He is not her supervisor, and Benton is already helping him with
all his last-minute work. Benton would have let him feel that she is hiding his inefficiency by
helping him in last minute work. She should be more confident with her level of skills while
conversing with Scoville.

2.Information Control: Benton already had an upper hand, where she knows Scoville’s
inefficiency in managing work and relationship with other department staff. Benton helped
him in all these tasks, so she would have controlled his behavior in her favor in return.

Question 7

Yes, there has been a breach of ethics by Lisa's coworkers. It started from the beginning.
Please find below the examples –

1.In the first day itself, Linton made Lisa uncomfortable by disclosing her perception about
MBAs disrespectfully.

2.Lisa always felt she was treated like servant by Scoville. His condescending behavior hurt
 her dignity many ties.

3.In the copying episode, he misbehaved with Lisa mentioning “Oh you are too good for
copying” and without her knowledge he complained to Linton. And Linton on the other hand
without knowing the truth from both sides humiliated Lisa.

4.Linton was always biased and so Benton never got the opportunity to let her know how she
was mentally disturbed. Even when in the performance evaluation Benton tried to speak her
mind, Linton defended Scoville.

We can not see any ethical values like Fairness or Justice, Rights in these scenarios

Question 8

Lisa should not switch her job. Please find the reasons below –

1.Lisa is a fresher and her background is very strong. She is a Harvard MBA degree holder.
She performed so well in her internship in Right away and they were offering her a good
position. This is a real-life situation. In everyone’s career it’s not possible that always he/she
will get to work with only easy-going people. If she can apply her intellectual capacity,
management skill properly she will learn to handle any kind of people in any situation going
forward. She should not give up.

2.Lisa found everyone welcoming from other departments. Even Vernon appreciated her for
her skill and even approached her to know if she is facing any difficulty. She can use her
networking skill. She can change project, she can get better work. It will give her more
confidence understanding she can survive and even come out as winner in any situation with
any kind of people.

3.Lisa could have used her skill appropriately from initial days itself. After her appraisal she
understood her hidden area, so she should work on all of those. She should be confident,
assertive and reduce her hidden area and should come back as winner. Sometimes being
fresher people get intimidated, but this situation only will make one grow in career.