Preview

Challange the Boss or Stand Down

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
3689 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Challange the Boss or Stand Down
[pic]

Harvard Business Review
Top of Form
[pic][pic]
Bottom of Form
Sponsored by • Cart • My Account • Downloads • Explore • Today on HBR • Blogs • Magazine • Books • Authors • Store • Harvard Business School • Topics • Change Management • Competition • Innovation • Leadership • Strategy • Skills • Emotional Intelligence • Managing Yourself • Measuring Business Performance • Project Management • Strategy Execution • Industries • Finance & Insurance • Health Care Services • Manufacturing • Media & Telecommunications • Professional Services • Vladimir Martinenko • Sign out ›
Magazine

May 2011
Subscribe or activate your subscription to read the full article

• Buy Reprint • Idea in Brief
HBR.org > May 2011
HBR Case Study: Challenge the Boss or Stand Down? by W. Earl Sasser
A rising-star executive calculates his response to a hypercritical superior.
HBR’s fictionalized case studies present dilemmas faced by leaders in real companies and offer solutions from experts. This one is based on the HBS Case Study “Thomas Green: Power, Office Politics, and a Career in Crisis” (case no. 2095), by W. Earl Sasser and Heather Beckham. It is available at hbr.org.

Thomas Green winced as he reread an e-mail message from his new boss, Frank Davis, marketing director for the travel and hospitality group at D7 Displays. “Tom, this week’s client meetings went well, but they would have gone better if you had been on top of the market data,” it read. “When you’re on your own, I expect you to be better prepared. It’s essential for your new responsibilities in developing market strategies for your region.”

Tom looked up from his paper-strewn desk and glumly surveyed the view from his new 20th-floor office in midtown Atlanta. Just a few months ago he was the company’s fastest-rising star, promoted, he

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Management and Leadership Xmgt-230 By Gregory Lewis Manager vs. Leader “When you’re a manager, you work for your company. When you’re a leader, your company works for you.” -Stan Slap Manager Leader System and Structure People Plans Directions Stability Change…

    • 857 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Paul Levy - Beth Isreal

    • 4099 Words
    • 17 Pages

    We first must analyze the decision process and execution of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) to hire Paul Levy as CEO. The hospital was in desperate need of a competent leader who possessed the qualities that would turn around and save the not-for-profit company. In comparing the situation faced by BIDMC with Groysberg’s “Are Leaders Portable?” article, it becomes clear Levy possesses many “portable” qualities. Through the political frame we can see Levy has many political ties within the Boston area which making him a well respected and recognizable figure. The numerous connections he has within the area along with being familiar with Boston policies and practices gives him a high level of experience that will be helpful in revitalizing the hospital. This can be seen in the initial stages of the hiring process when Levy uses his relationship with the Attorney General to convey his feelings towards keeping the hospital a not-for-profit organization.…

    • 4099 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Bernard Howroyd Interview

    • 1850 Words
    • 8 Pages

    I had the honor of interviewing Mr. Bernard Howroyd, who has had more than forty-eight years of leadership experience in the staffing industry. The interview ended up taking much longer than I expected because I was so influenced by what he had to say, I did not want to miss anything. Bernard, who is known to his employees as Bernie, has made a career out of making the impossible come true. He has transformed himself from a poor young butcher’s apprentice into a multimillion-dollar businessman and founder of the North America’s largest, privately held full-service employment company. Bernie was born…

    • 1850 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Bibliography: legre, P. (NO DATE) Space Tourism Business Model. Retrieved 18 July 2008, fromhttp://www.geocities.com/innovating_competitively/aerospace/Virgin-Galactic.pdfBexley (NO DATE) Customer Focus Strategy. Retrieved 22 July 2008, fromhttp://www.bexley.gov.uk/contact/customerfocus/customersfirst_strategy.pdfBusinessTown (NO DATE) Customer-Focused Selling. Retrieved 22 July 2008, fromhttp://www.businesstown.com/sales/face-customer.aspCarolina Newswire (2006) To Sell More, Avoid Cognitive Dissonance in Your Communications. Retrieved 26 July 2008, fromhttp://carolinanewswire.com/news/News.cgi?database=headlines.db&command=viewone&id=7568&op=tDay, G. S. (1999) The Market Driven Organization. First Edition. The Free Press. ISBN 0-684-86467-3Encyclopedia of Psychology (NO DATE) Cognitive Dissonance (L. Festinger). Retrieved 25 July 2008, from http://tip.psychology.org/festinge.htmlFutron Corp. (2002) Space Tourism Market Study. Retrieved 16 July 2008, fromhttp://www.spaceportassociates.com/pdf/tourism.pdfGreiner, D. (2000) Customer-Focused Creativity. Retrieved 22 July 2008, fromhttp://www.winstonbrill.com/bril001/html/article_index/articles/451-500/article483_body.htmlKotler, P., Keller, K. L. (2007) A Framework for Marketing Management. Third Edition. Pearson Education. ISBN 0-13-230142-3.…

    • 4538 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hiatt, J & Creasey, (2003). T. change management: the people side of change. Colorado. Prosci…

    • 2685 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In this essay I will undergo a critical argument that expresses there are practices of leadership which contribute to managing sustainability of a business in the post-bureaucratic era. ‘…The process of directing, controlling, motivating, and inspiring staff toward the realization of stated organizational goals…’ (Cleg, Kornberger & Pitsis 2011). The decisions that are made by management or leadership can have effects on the businesses reputation; hence whether the organization wants to maximise profits or place an emphasis on the ethical decisions made; portraying the idea the decisions made may be legal but is it ethical. In section one through Cameron,…

    • 2115 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    You are a Team Leader at Anders Consulting, a small but growing strategy consulting firm in Atlanta. For a little over three months, you have been supervising a team of junior-level Management Consultants, who just finished developing a strategic plan with a division of RGP Financial Services.…

    • 1124 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    I looked out the window of my office, gazing at the great city of Chicago spread out before me. I had risen quickly through the ranks of Quench Water Bottles, and now occupied the position of assistant CEO. That was pretty good, for only 24. I looked down at my computer screen. An email had just come in from the CEO, Jackson Swoland. I opened it. “Report to my office immediately. Urgent.- Jackson Swoland” I jumped up and headed out the door.…

    • 2531 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    My ‘career’ has always been surrounding the segment of ‘sales’ – and in my 12 years of practice, the last 10 years has been in the market segment of residential real estate. Throughout the last 10 years I’ve hit all four stages of my career, and ground this observation in the fact that I now run my own business as a consultant in the business. My leadership is located in my ability to provoke new thought in subordinates, hiring and organizational design (Ivancevich, 2010).…

    • 462 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the case of “Thomas Green: power, office politics, and a career in Crisis”, it describes the dilemma of Thomas Green who works in a company called Dynamic Display. Thomas was recruited as an account executive, and then five months later, he was promoted as a Senior Market Specialist directly by the President Shannon McDonald. Thomas’s boss Frank Davis hadn’t expected to choose Green as the new senior market specialist, and he was very dissatisfied with Green’s work style and performance three months after the promotion. After being informed that Frank Davis had emailed McDonald about his concerns about Green’s performance, Green was getting really worried about his situation and not sure how to explain his perspective to McDonald. I’m going to analyze the issue for Green and suggest solutions to solve the problem.…

    • 914 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Leadership Freak, (2013). Overcoming the Disempowerment of HR. [online] Available at: https://leadershipfreak.wordpress.com/2013/06/25/overcoming-the-disempowerment-of-hr/ [Accessed 16 Mar. 2015].…

    • 2592 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Spreitzer, Gretchen M., & Quinn, Robert E. 2001. A Company of Leaders: Five Disciplines for…

    • 438 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Joan Lloyd asks, “If I were to call you ‘politically savvy,’ would you feel complimented or insulted? For some people, being called "political" is akin to being called "manipulative."” She shares her own view about people who rise quickly in the Organization ladder. "It 's what you know, whom you know and who knows you." (Joan Lloyd, 2001). Leaders who are functionally strong and highly productive, but, do not know how to…

    • 2001 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    This case study is about a student Monroe davies who is in his second year at Harvard Business school and Jim Hummer who is the CEO of a company named Whole Health Management. Jim has met Monroe before and knows that Monore is interested in entering the whole health management.…

    • 940 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Nice Guy

    • 1332 Words
    • 6 Pages

    This case study begins with Paul Kennedy on a slow morning commute in Cleveland. During his drive, he’s worried about his wife and family, his boss, his associate, a stranger in a nearby vehicle, and even about the state of the Cleveland Browns. He is also excited about his plans to expand Daner Associates into the European market and his impending promotion to CEO. But when Paul meets with his boss, Larry, that afternoon, he discovers that he has been misreading signals. Larry is actually considering Paul for the number two role in the company and considering promoting another Daner executive, George, into the CEO position.…

    • 1332 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays