Lisa Benton: Case Study Review
Assignment 3:
Lisa Benton Case Analysis
Katherine Torkelson
Jack Welch Management Institute
JWI 510 Leadership in the 21st Century
March 10, 2013
Executive Summary
This paper will discuss and analyze Lisa Benton, a recent Harvard Business School graduate. She is now an assistant product manager at a company called Houseworld. Lisa has a poor relationship with her new boss and coworker and she recently received a poor performance review. She is worried about her future with the company, and if she chose the right company to begin her career after receiving her MBA.
Introduction
Lisa had a tough decision to make. During her time in school working towards her MBA, she worked as the assistant to the president of Right-Away stores which is a premier convenience food store chain based in Chicago. When she had completed her MBA program, she had the choice between becoming the director of marketing at Right-Away or be assistant product manager at Houseworld’s Home Care Division (Weber, 1994). The position at Right-Away was very desirable to Lisa. It had many bonuses including a nice salary and upward advancement within a few years. In comparison, industry leader Houseworld would offer her training that she desired. When Lisa interviewed at Houseworld she was impressed by who she interviewed with and the company’s headquarter building. (Weber, 1994). When she decided to take the job with Household, her superior at Right-Away was disappointed. Even though Lisa had thoroughly investigated Houseworld, she started her position not knowing who her boss was going to be or where she was going to be assigned. During her investigation she learned that “Houseworld used an MBO evaluation process (conducted annually in January using very specific objectives) and that promotion occurred from within. It was the product manager’s responsibility to groom his or her associate to be ‘promotable’” (Weber, 1994, p. 2). When Lisa showed up for work she stunned her boss,
Lisa Benton Case Analysis
Katherine Torkelson
Jack Welch Management Institute
JWI 510 Leadership in the 21st Century
March 10, 2013
Executive Summary
This paper will discuss and analyze Lisa Benton, a recent Harvard Business School graduate. She is now an assistant product manager at a company called Houseworld. Lisa has a poor relationship with her new boss and coworker and she recently received a poor performance review. She is worried about her future with the company, and if she chose the right company to begin her career after receiving her MBA.
Introduction
Lisa had a tough decision to make. During her time in school working towards her MBA, she worked as the assistant to the president of Right-Away stores which is a premier convenience food store chain based in Chicago. When she had completed her MBA program, she had the choice between becoming the director of marketing at Right-Away or be assistant product manager at Houseworld’s Home Care Division (Weber, 1994). The position at Right-Away was very desirable to Lisa. It had many bonuses including a nice salary and upward advancement within a few years. In comparison, industry leader Houseworld would offer her training that she desired. When Lisa interviewed at Houseworld she was impressed by who she interviewed with and the company’s headquarter building. (Weber, 1994). When she decided to take the job with Household, her superior at Right-Away was disappointed. Even though Lisa had thoroughly investigated Houseworld, she started her position not knowing who her boss was going to be or where she was going to be assigned. During her investigation she learned that “Houseworld used an MBO evaluation process (conducted annually in January using very specific objectives) and that promotion occurred from within. It was the product manager’s responsibility to groom his or her associate to be ‘promotable’” (Weber, 1994, p. 2). When Lisa showed up for work she stunned her boss,
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