Thomas Green: Power, office Politics, and a Career in Crisis

What is Thomas Green's situation?

Thomas Green is a young senior market specialist that was fast tracked to the position by the Travel Division Vice President Shannon McDonald after successful sales performance in his first four months on the job. McDonald warned Green that his promotion was done without the consent of his direct supervisor and that he would "have to deal with any fallout that might result from that" (Sasser & Beckham, 2008, p. 3). Green received negative feedback on his performance after his first month in the new position and after four months on the job he was in jeopardy of termination.

What are the different work styles, personalities and expectations of Davis and Green?

* Thomas Green personality traits

o Green would probably score high on the openness to experience/intellect scale since he was eager to take a chance on a new job that was two steps up the ladder from his current position. He is also very creative with the solutions he offers his clients. (Potter, 1996-2011)

o On the disorganized/conscientious scale Green might score more toward the disorganized part of the scale. I would rate him this way because he is negligent in following through with things such as communication and documentation and is not dependable to his boss. (Potter, 1996-2011)

o Green would rate high on extraversion and agreeableness. He is not afraid to meet new people and put himself out there and even stated "I made it my mission to get noticed" (Sasser & Beckham, 2008, p. 2). Both of these traits would be something his chosen career field would require. (Potter, 1996-2011)

o The neuroticism scale is a difficult one to rate Green on. I think as a general rule he would be a low scorer but the circumstances of his relationship with Davis probably move him more toward the neurotic side. (Potter, 1996-2011)

* Frank Davis personality traits

o Davis would rate more toward the openness to experience end of the scale based on the fact that his career field has been sales and marketing and this career choice would require that a person be original and creative to survive but I would not rate him extremely high in this scale since he also displays the trait of being conventional. Davis is set on having things done his way and is not open to letting Green run free with his own idea of how to do his job. (Potter, 1996-2011)

o Davis would rate high on conscientiousness since he seems to be well organized. Davis carefully documented all of the issues he had with Green and used facts to back up his complaints. He also informed Green that he expected him to "spend a significant amount of time preparing for client meetings" (Sasser & Beckham, 2008, p. 3).

o On the extraversion/introversion scale I would rate Davis on the high side since he is not afraid to voice his opinions to Green and addresses them proactively instead of avoiding the situation. (Potter, 1996-2011)

o Davis would rate low on the agreeableness scale where Green is concerned. He is very critical of Green and is not very forgiving of his missteps. (Potter, 1996-2011)

* Work styles and expectations - Davis and Green differ widely in the areas of work style and expectations. When it comes to dealing with customers Davis is focused on providing customers with all of the documentation and research necessary for them to make an educated choice where Green relies on his charisma and ability to think quickly on his feet. The importance of reporting and documentation is something a person learns with work experience and maturity which Davis has and Green does not. Davis expects Green to follow the company norms and Green expects to be allowed the freedom to make his own decisions and not to have to follow a set of rules if they do not make sense to him.

What is your analysis of Green's actions and job performance to date?

* Irresponsible - When Green received feedback from Davis on his lack of performance he did not take responsibility for the criticism and exhibited the traits of an external locus of control. Instead, Green focused on where he thought Davis was at fault for the situation. He blamed the issues on the fact that he questioned the validity of his forecasts. If he had an internal locus of control Green would have acknowledged that he could have done a better job of communicating to Davis. He also would have apologized for not responding to Davis' request for a brief report on the kiosk opportunity in Tampa and not responding to his bosses' calls.

* Negligent - Green relied on his intellect and ability to get clients to respond well to him but did not seem to want to do the tedious part of the job even when directed to. In his second week Davis told Green "I expect you to spend a significant amount of time preparing for client meetings and developing supporting detail for your proposals." (Sasser & Beckham, 2008, p. 3). Davis also directed him to develop marketing strategies. Green did not do either of these things. According to one of his marketing specialists "He is very charismatic and can think quickly on his feet" but followed this with "the clients are starting to ask me for hard data to back up his claims of cost savings. They are also requiring memos and presentations to bring to their superiors that justify the expenditure. Thomas doesn't really work that way." (Sasser & Beckham, 2008, p. 5). This statement from his subordinate shows that Green ignored Davis' expectations of developing supporting detail for his proposals.

* Disrespectful and arrogant - When Davis asked Green for organizational charts, Green replied with "What's the value of charts like that? I have that information in my head" and failed to provide the charts to Davis (Sasser & Beckham, 2008, p. 5). Green publically disputed his bosses' projections at the 2008 Budget Plan meeting instead of taking the time to discuss them with Davis. When Davis did speak with him about the market opportunities; Green discounted his opinions.

* Not enough skills for the job - Green lacked the interpersonal skills needed to navigate the political minefield he was placed in by McDonald. Green did not have the relevant skills needed for his position and Davis felt the need to "monitor and supervise" or as Green put it "micromanage" him. (Sasser & Beckham, 2008)

* No vision - Throughout the case study Green's only customer focus was on the airline industry even though he had already established that the airline industry was a mature market. Davis pointed out that the hotel and car-rental markets were virtually