Name

Question 1

The reasons for Lisa’s Disappointment during the few week of work as below:

1, A very cold and uninterested welcome by her boss Linton: During the first day of
interaction Linton has commented she don’t like the MBAs with comment that MBAs acts that
they know a lot more than they do and also specially mentioned that she don’t like Harvard
MBAs. On the first day Linton warned Lisa she has to prove herself like anyone else
demoralizing her without knowing Lisa’s ability and strength. She has been told to assist Ron
Scoville and help in Brand review.

2. Ron Scoville’s condescending manner: During first comment meeting Lisa’s teammate Ron
also loosely commented that he don’t like MBAs and Lisa has to learn a lot and she need to to
be in learning mode next six month.

3. Disappointment about Brand: Lisa was not really happy with the ‘ Pure & Fresh’ brand
which she was assigned. To her opinion it is unnecessary consumer product instead she would
prefer furniture cleaning product as she like fine furniture product and maintenance.

4. Lisa is disappointed due to lack of responsibility and poor relationship her boss Linton as
well as her colleague Scoville.

Question 2

Q 1 – Part A

Trait Level: High/Low Example supporting the answer

Openness to Low Saying Lisa that he doesn’t like MBAs
Experience and asking her to be in learning mode
instead of exploring her strength of
analytical skill, intellectual capability
and allowing Lisa to perform well. It
seems Scoville doesn’t think out of box
and not ready to accept the changes.

Conscientiousness Low From the copying episode it can be

observed that Scoville have lack of
carefulness, self-discipline and
dedicated to work as he is doing last
moment correction on marketing plan
and asking Lisa to do copying for her.

Extraversion High Scoville is highly assertive and talkative. His

nature of getting patch up with Lisa on different
argument and asking her apology. Mostly out of
office time he seems very descent behaviour
showing with Lisa.

Agreeableness Low In copying episode asking Lisa to do copy for

himself with knowing that she is also working
on coupon test market booklet shows Scoville
don’t have any courtesy. Also without trying to
understand Lisa’s analysis on pricing of Pure
& Fresh, Scoville’s argument and yelling shows
he has low agreeableness.

Neuroticism High Disagree on ‘Pure & Fresh’ pricing profit

 figures resulted Scoville yelling on Lisa and
saying ‘ arrogant MBA & you don’t know
anything’ shows Scoville don’t have any control
on emotions.

Q 2 - Part B :

The way in which Lisa can improve her relationship with Scovelli:

1. As Lisa is also high on Neuroticism, she need to control emotions and build good
communications skill with Scoville and understand him her capabilities for easy and
fast way work done instead of last moment rush.
2. As it is the nature of Scoville of patronizing himself as a skilled and experienced
person, so Lisa can pretend herself that she is agreed and admirer of him and
gradually can get higher responsibility and come in lime light and can prove her
capabilities.

Question 3

Q 3- Part A

As Linton don’t aware of Lisa’s major strengths like analytical skills, intellectual capacity and
organizational ability – It represents the Hidden area / Facade in Johari window.

Q 3 - Part B

1. Lisa need to talk politely to Linton about her strengths like analytical skills, intellectual
capacity and organizational ability and ask her to give opportunity to work towards it.
She can give the reference of former company Right away stores president Scott
Kingston for her achievements. She should ask Linton to give freedom to work for new
 project to utilize her. She can speak to Group Product Manager Jack Vernon to.
2. By analysis it seems that Linton is a ‘bad manager or trainer’ to Lisa but a ‘good
performer’ to the Organization and performance evaluation philosophy in Houseworld
is management by objective. So Lisa needs to work towards the remark given by Linton
in performance evaluation and improve herself in the area mentioned by Linton. That
way she needs to tackle Linton.
.

Question 4

Linton needs to give the negative feedback about performance evaluation of Lisa in such a
way she should not feel insulted or disappointed. Here Linton can follow ‘I like’, I wish’ and ‘I
wonder’ technique as below.

I like your ability to go along with the staff groups and the marketing department, learning
quickly how the company “worked” & good written communication skills.

I wish, you should take initiative in structuring the project yourself, feel free in giving opinions
known and take active participation in discussion with Scoville and other team members.

I wonder, As you are intelligent, need to show you confidence in behaviour and work.

Question 5
The engagement tactics that can be employed to feel Lisa more motivated as below:

1. Physical – Scoville and Linton need to extend their support to groom her capabilities
and engage her more and more on quality works to boost her moral and confidence.
They should not repeat their negative remarks against MBAs work ability.
2. Cognitive – Linton should interact Lisa frequently and understand her company’s
present development, vision and extend her knowledge about product and many other
things related to it.
3. Emotional – Scoville & Linton need to encourage Lisa as a team member and
understand her views and thoughts and should welcome her Ideas.

Question 6

Part A:

Soft tactics that can be used to improve relationship with Scoville and Linton as below-

1. Persuasion: Lisa needs to take active parts in discussion with team members and shall
give her opinion without any hesitation with logical arguments. Similarly she can help
the team members by extending the support in work as good team member. It will also
give the emotional appeal to the team members.
2. Impression Management: Lisa is having good written communication and analytical
skill. She needs to impress the Scoville and Linton though her hard work with extended
support in work to Scoville as well as teammate.

Part B:

Though Lisa is in subordinate position to Linton & Scoville, so she don’t have any Coercive or
Legitimate power. So to influence Linton & Scoville , she can use hard tactics in below
manner

1. Silent authority: As things are not going in favour of Lisa. Lisa is not getting the work
responsibility as per her organizational role. As she is less utilized and doing mostly
clerical jobs. She can approach to Group product manager as well as Vice president
for their interference to influence Linton and Scoville’s behaviour. In this case, she
may get shifted to work with other product manager.
2. Coalition formation: As it can be seen other organizational peoples like Jack Vernon,
Richard Clark and other assistant product manager understand the Lisa’s ability and
they know she is not getting proper training on right kind of jobs. They also knows
Scoville nature and Linton behaviour towards Lisa. Lisa shall ask them to influence
Linton to understand her abilities and give her good opportunity to get training and
utilize her abilities.

Question 7

There has been breach of ethics by Lisa’s co-worker specially by Linton and Scoville at many
occasions as per case study and are as below:

1. Discrimination of Employee: Linton’s statement on the first day of joining in

Houseword, “MBAs act like they know lot more than they do. The only way to learn is
on the job and your formal education won’t help you. I have known some Harvard
MBA and I don’t like them.” Similarly the same remark was given by Scoville that he
 doesn’t like MBAs. It shows nature of discrimination towards the qualified MBA
personal. By reading a case study it can be seen MBA education is the demand of job
of assistant product manager in Marketing department.
2. Non Transparency in communications: Under the direction of Vice president of
Marketing, Bob Mitchell, the recruitment of new assistant product manager has
changed and the empathises was on recruiting MBAs from top notch schools at the
entry level marketing position. Still Reaction of Linton and Scoville towards Lisa as a
MBA was discriminating. It seems there is lack of transparency in communication
between the Linton & Scoville from top management.
3. Fairness or justice approach: By not providing Lisa a freedom to work as per her
ability and engaging her only on clerical jobs, her major strengths like analytical
skills, intellectual capacity and organizational ability remained unaltered. Eventually
she has done a very good job in her summer Internship at Right- way store. It can be
seen here there is breech of ethics of right person at right job.
4. Non maintaining of office decorum: While discussion on pricing analysis of ‘Pure &
Fresh’, there is disagreement by Scoville upon assumptions made on profit calculation
by Lisa. By Frustrating the attitude of Scoville, Lisa muttered, “This is ridiculous”.
Upon which Scoville yelled at high pitch audible to entire floor saying her as a
arrogant and Cocky MBA. This is totally against the ethics and violation of office
decorum.

Question 8

Lisa should not quite the job at Houseworld with the following supporting arguments:

1. As it is just 4 months to join Lisa in Houseword. She should tackle the team politics
with patience and come out of it. At this early stage of leaving the organization will
give her bad image of inefficient and will lose the courage for working with such
 discriminating teammates.
2. As Houseworld is market leader in his product segment, while choosing the job in
houseword, Lisa has already noticed the strong future and prosperity. So by continuing
with Houseword she can groom herself. Alternate choice of Right away is now not opt
able as a limitations of small company where growth will be limited as well as the
President at Right away store will not be as happy as before when he has offered the
job upon the completion of MBA and Lisa turned it down.
3. Mostly it has been observed the discrimination and team politics at offices as well as
on shop floars of factories. By getting saddened or running away from such team
politics does not solve the problem and it impacts the carrier. The best way is to tackle
it. Apply all soft and hard tactics and come out of it. Once you have handled such
situations you will be come up as a strong participant in your team. As Lisa seems a
carrier oriented person, by keeping in view of above points, she should not leave the
organization.