Institute of Rural Management Anand

PGDM-RM42 – Term I – Mid Term Examination

Individual and Group Behavior
14-09-2021
Tom David K J, Roll Number: P42165

ASHISH TORAN: The Case

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

James Joseph joined as an associate at Adelwise with great interest in that field and firm. He
believed he will get more opportunities here. He was happy and enthusiastic in working with the firm
of his choice.

But during his journey at Adelwise, he had to work with Ashish Toran, one of the vice
presidents of the firm. Even though Ashish Toran had all the intellectual talents Joseph admired of,
he was very low on emotional intelligence. All the subordinates who worked under him had the same
experience. He was working against the basic nine principle of the firm which lead to the success of
the firm.

Therefore, this must be reported to the higher officials which will lead to better job
satisfaction and involvement among employees and ultimately lead the firm to be successful.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

James Joseph, an associate at the investment bank Adelwise has to deal with a challenging and hard
to work with superior officer Ashish Toran, (Vice President, Adelwise). What should James do in
order to tackle this challenge in order to continue his dream job in a firm he was convinced would
offer more opportunities.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

James Joseph is a conscientious person because he was always responsible and dependable,
he listened to his boss even though the boss was humiliating him. He also maintained his emotions
and is self-confident in the adverse situations this shows he is high on emotional stability. He is an
extravert, easily socialize with people and make them talk openly about the humiliations they faced.
He had worked successfully with other heads; this shows that he is talented in his work. He is a
person who expresses his concerns openly.

Ashish Toran even though is highly intellectually talented in his work shows undesirable traits
(the dark triad). He is highly arrogant and always considers himself superior. He never admits other’s
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 Institute of Rural Management Anand
PGDM-RM42 – Term I – Mid Term Examination
Individual and Group Behavior
14-09-2021
Tom David K J, Roll Number: P42165

creativity. This shows he is high on Narcissism. He never feels guilty of his humiliating behaviour
and does not give any concern to his subordinates. He even lies about the deadlines and meetings,
which shows he is a psychopath. He always tries to manipulate his subordinates and always
maintained emotional distance which shows he is high Machiavellianism. This proves that he not fit
as a leader and he is working against the policies (navaratna) which ultimately lead to the success of
the firm. Ashish since always wore a mask in front of his superiors and was intellectually talented
had a good image in front of the president, Vinod Nagpal.

Vinod Nagpal, is highly admired even between the dismissed employees. He had also brought
profit to the firm, maintained good connections with high value costumers and very good at numbers.
This shows he is both intellectually and emotionally efficient. It is told that Ashish had a very good
image in front of Vinod, which shows the inability of Vinod to deeply understand about Ashish
(availability bias). The lower-level subordinates merely got chances to meet him, which shows that
he does not keep close connections with associates.

These undesirable traits in Ashish Toran are admitted by most of the employees who have
worked with him. This shows that these are his personality traits. He has been same even when his
promotion was delayed. This shows that Ashish has an innate nature of being high on these dark
triads. Such a person is very difficult to change.

CRITERIA FOR DECISION:

• Job satisfaction
• Growth and opportunities in career
• Job involvement
• Employee Engagement

ALTERNATIVES

The alternative solutions in front of James Joseph are:

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 Institute of Rural Management Anand
PGDM-RM42 – Term I – Mid Term Examination
Individual and Group Behavior
14-09-2021
Tom David K J, Roll Number: P42165

Alternative 1: To continue in the job without taking any actions against the behaviour of Ashish.

Alternative 2: To continue in the job and report the problems faced by him from Ashish to Vinod
Nagpal, the President (operations).

Alternative 3: To quit the job and search for a better firm.

EVALUATION OF THE ALTERNATIVES:

Alternative 1: To continue in the job without taking any actions against the behaviour of Ashish.

Pros: This will not create or lead to worse reactions from Ashish, even though he may continue to
behave the same. This will also do not put Joseph into repeated trials by the higher officials.

Cons: This will ultimately reduce the job satisfaction of Joseph and there by deteriorate his working
efficiencies and finally end up being not successful in his dream job.

Alternative 2: To continue in the job and report the problems faced by him from Ashish to Vinod
Nagpal, the President (operations).

Pros: if the problems are proved in front of the management, it may lead to strict actions by the
management against Ashish or allocate Joseph to another vice president. This may also improve the
acceptability of him among his colleagues since most of them had problem working with Ashish.

Cons: If he fails to prove his complaint against him, he may be on the bad books of the company.
This may also become a constraint to his further promotions.

Alternative 3: To quit the job and search for a better firm.

Pros: This will relieve him from high stress in the company and troubles in dealing with the
managerial processes after giving a complaint against his superior officer. From the exhibits we can
see that the firm is now not doing much investments and running on cash, thereby losing client trust.
He can find a better firm giving him more opportunities and a better working environment.

Cons: he may take time to find a better firm of his choice and the working environment can only be
evaluated once he joins the firm. Thereby the job satisfaction can never be guaranteed.

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 Institute of Rural Management Anand
PGDM-RM42 – Term I – Mid Term Examination
Individual and Group Behavior
14-09-2021
Tom David K J, Roll Number: P42165

DECISION:

To continue in the job and report the problems faced by him from Ashish to Vinod Nagpal, the
President (operations).

Contingency: To quit the job and search for a better firm

ACTION AND CONTIGENCY PLAN:

Action Plan:

It is clear that Ashish is not working according to the principles (navaratna) of the firm.
Everyone who worked with Ashish has dealt with similar problems with him.

Joseph should take lead and sort the comments told by the employees to work under Ashish.
Most of his humiliating behaviours has never been put in front of the management. This must be
informed to the management formally with everyone’s consent. It should be convinced that Ashish
is working against the principles of the firm and there by in long run it can adversely affect the
goodwill and profits of the firm.

If management fails to listen and take appropriate actions against the complaint. It is better
Ashish quit the job an find a better firm. He is highly talented and has proved that he can successfully
work with all the other heads in the firm.

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