Name Digvijay Singh Rajput

Question 1 Lisa felt disappointed during her first few weeks at Houseworld. What, according to you,
caused friction between her and her team members: Linton and Scoville? Mention at least 2 instances.

Write your answer here.

Instance 1 The first instance where the friction between Lisa and Linton was during her first
day in the office. When Linton remarked that ‘I have known some Harvard MBAs and I don’t
Like them . Over and above it she was warned by her boss that she would have to prove
herself like anyone. This remark along with the cool and disinterested welcome she got from
her boss was a primary friction point

Instance 2 - Richard Clark, the group product manager who had impressed her during the
recruitment process barely recognized her nor welcomed her into the organization. He had
given her a cold welcome

Instance 3 - Scoville’s condescending manner in which he spoke to her, and he was acting
like an overbearing big brother. He assigned her menial tasks like copying reports. This was
another friction point during her first few weeks

Question 2 Scoville displayed erratic behavior while interacting with Lisa throughout the case.
Q2A : Analyse Scoville’s personality using the OCEAN framework. What, according to you,
would he score in each of the OCEAN traits? Cite examples or instances to support your
answer. Note: You can mention either a 'high' or a 'low' for each of the 5 traits. Answer based
on the information given in the case study.

Write your answer for Part A here.

Trait Level: High/Low Example supporting the answer

Openness to High He was competent and smarter than most

Experience people at Homecare. Also he moved from
operations field to marketing field showing his
creativity, preference for variety and intellect

Conscientiousness Low He was not organized as he had a problem with

personal style and managing task as he gave
last minute task to Benton (copying incident
where he changed last minute planning)

Extraversion Low He does not work well with people and

considers himself smarter than most people in
the company, he also mentions himself as no
nonsense guy, and he has no room for office
politics

Agreeableness Low He is low on agreeableness as he doesn’t get

along with most of his colleagues, he rarely has
lunch with them

Neuroticism High Scoville was nice to Lisa in the beginning by

answering her questions and doubts. But he
 threw a temper tantrum during his disagreement
with Lisa on the assumptions on Pure and
Fresh’s pricing strategy.

He also Insulted and humiliated his colleague in

copying incident

Due to this emotional instability his neuroticism

score is High

Q2B:Using the results of the OCEAN framework analysis, suggest two ways in which Lisa
can improve her relationship with Scoville.

Write your answer for Part B here.

1.As both Lisa and Scoville are both high on openness, they both are creative in their own
ways and both are ambitions, they can work together on a single project and take different
responsibilities in the project, which would help them complement each other.

2.As both are opposite on extraversion, Lisa can handle the parts which involves teamwork
and people while Scoville can handle the internal parts of the projects such as analysis. Thus,
they can complement each other without competing

Question 3 Linton failed to recognise Lisa’s core strengths during Lisa’s performance
evaluation. This left Lisa disappointed.
 Q3A: Which area of the Johari window does this situation represent?

Write your answer for Part A here

It is the hidden area/ facade

Q3B: What can Lisa do to reduce this area and improve her relationship with Linton? Give at
least two relevant examples.

Write your answer for Part B here.

Lisa should use her conversational skills with Linton and develop a relationship with her. The
drivers for both Linton and Lisa are that they are both women who are ambitious. Developing
a camaraderie with Linton should be easier if Lisa connected with her using this driver. Lisa
can make herself more visible by getting onto interesting projects that increases her visibility
to Scoville and Linton. This would make other colleagues mention good things about her, this
creates a network of influence for Lisa. Lisa should stop acting like a learner in the future and
be assertive with her recommendations and pitch relevant ideas during staff meetings.

Question 4 In Lisa's performance review, Linton described Lisa as "unassertive" and "lacking in
initiative and confidence". What could Linton have done differently while giving the feedback?
Suggest two improvements.

Write your answer here.

In Lisa's performance review, Linton described Lisa as "unassertive" and "lacking in initiative
and confidence". What could Linton have done differently while giving the feedback? Suggest
two improvements. Instead of coming across and telling the negatives directly, Linton could
have presented the opportunities to Lisa where she can present herself assertively and
 empower her shine. When Linton heard of how abhorrent Scoville’s management was, she
could have given Lisa her word that she would counsel him to alter his behavior.

Question 5 Suggest three engagement tactics that could have helped Lisa in feeling more
motivated to work in Houseworld.

Write your answer here.

1. Linton should appreciate Benton on small victories thus motivating her to work harder,like
Vernon appreciated her work, but she never got any applause from Linton.

2. Benton should have been in a role which compliments her skills and strengths in the
organization.

3. Linton should have encouraged Benton to speak her mind without any fear of criticism or
judgment. Example Linton should have encouraged Benton to speak while she was giving her
performance review.

4. Linton should have provided a road map or her objectives to Benton, while motivating her
that she is an integral part of the organization in the first week

Question 6 Lisa can improve her relationship with Linton and Scoville using certain power
tactics. Based on this, answer the following questions.Note: Answer based on your learnings
from the Organisational Behaviour module.
 Q6A: Mention 2 soft tactics that Lisa can use. Suggest relevant ways in which these can be
implemented.

Write your answer for Part A here.

1. Lisa can use soft skills with Scoville such as persuasion that is emotionally opening up
as we have seen that Scoville is open to feedback, when Benton took Scoville to drinks
they discussed serious matters such as Scoville frustrations with the organization.
2. Benton can use impression management technique with Linton, as Linton believes that
Benton does not take any initiative and she is not assertive, Benton can appear likeable
and trustworthy by taking responsibility by taking initiative in project and speaking up
in meeting giving her point of view.

Q6B: Mention 2 hard tactics that Lisa can use. Suggest relevant ways in which these can be
implemented.

Write your answer for Part B here.

1. As Linton’s boss Vernon adores Benton and he’s also an MBA from Harvard Benton
can use hard tactic of Coalition formation to get more responsibility on the project and
from there she can show her talents to Linton.
2. Benton can use Assertiveness with Scoville as Scoville is a collogue and not her boss,
she can assertively say no to menial jobs that Scoville wants her to do.

Question 7 Do you think there has been a breach of ethics by Lisa's coworkers? Justify your
answer by giving reasons and mentioning instances from the case study

Write your answer here.

Yes, there has been a breach of ethics from Lisa’s coworkers

 1. Scoville was forcing Lisa to do his copying work. Lisa was busy on her task and she
denied. Then she got furious stating ‘Oh, I see, you’re too good at copying”
Scoville immediately complained to Linton stating the exact same words. This was
going behind her back and a clear breach of trust.
2. Linton was responsible for the growth of her subordinates, but she is always
preoccupied with herself thus neglecting her team members as it can been shown that
Linton was supposed to take Benton for lunch on the first day and she took her to lunch
after three months on her first performance evaluation.

Question 8 Should Lisa quit her job at Houseworld? Support your answer with at least 3 relevant
arguments.

Write your answer here.

1. The foremost reason for Benton to join Houseworld was that she would receive
classical marketing training in a structured environment from an industry leader.
2. Rather than running from problems should think of conflict resolution methods as this
would help her grow for bigger challenges. She can take help of Linton’s boss Vernon
and she should learn to work with Scoville making her better at working with teams.
3. As Benton already gets along with her peers and the management has increased the
number of Harvard and Management recruits she has a better opportunity to advance in
her career at Houseworld.