I have a study case, looking for the answers
Caught in a Bind: Exploring Corporate Culture in a Promotion Decision Caught in a Bind: Exploring Corporate Culture in a Promotion Decision Case Author: Tracy R. Blasdel, Jeremy J. O’Connor & Kelly A. Phipps Online Pub Date: January 15, 2020 | Original Pub. Date: 2017 Subject: Organizational Behavior, Organizational Culture, Talent Management Level: | Type: Experience case | Length: 4119 Copyright: © 2017 NeilsonJournals Publishing Organization: | Organization size: Region: Global | State: Industry: Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities Originally Published in: Blasdel, T. R. , O’Connor, J. J. , & Phipps, K. A. ( 2017). Caught in a bind: Exploring corporate culture in a promotion decision. Journal of Organizational Behavior Education, 10 (1), 29– 38. JOBE10-0CS2. Publisher: NeilsonJournals Publishing DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781529707915 | Online ISBN: 9781529707915 javascript: void(0); javascript: void(0); javascript: void(0); javascript: void(0); http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781529707915 © 2017 NeilsonJournals Publishing This case was prepared for inclusion in SAGE Business Cases primarily as a basis for classroom discussion or self-study, and is not meant to illustrate either effective or ineffective management styles. Nothing herein shall be deemed to be an endorsement of any kind. This case is for scholarly, educational, or personal use only within your university, and cannot be forwarded outside the university or used for other commercial purposes. 2021 SAGE Publications Ltd. All Rights Reserved. The case studies on SAGE Business Cases are designed and optimized for online learning. Please refer to the online version of this case to fully experience any video, data embeds, spreadsheets, slides, or other resources that may be included. This content may only be distributed for use within George Brown College. http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781529707915 SAGE © 2017 NeilsonJournals Publishing SAGE Business Cases Page 2 of 9 Caught in a Bind: Exploring Corporate Culture in a Promotion Decision http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781529707915 Abstract This case places students in the role of the founders and leaders of a fast-growing consulting firm as they wrestle with the costs and benefits of promoting a high-performing yet counter- culture associate to a prominent leadership position. The candidate is strong on paper. He has the skills and experience required for the job. Clients like working with him. However, associates within the firm do not like working for or with him because of his communication and management styles. This is a serious concern for the firm founders because they pride themselves on having a positive corporate culture that sets them apart from competitors. This case offers students an excellent opportunity to explore concepts related to corporate culture, morale, communication, poor management, and leadership as they grapple with the issues presented in this case. Students are challenged to consider the importance, or not, of soft skills to successful management. Case Keywords: organizational culture, leadership, communication, organizational behavior, promotion decisions. 1. Introduction Scott Walsh and Grady Barrett 1 are wrestling with a tough staffing decision for the high-tech consulting firm they founded together seven years ago. One of the firm’s client accounts has grown large enough to justify a vice president to lead it. In fact, the clients told Walsh and Barrett they expect a vice president to be on-site at their facility on a regular basis. Walsh and Barrett know the firm’s five vice presidents are already stretched thinly. They do not want to ask any of them to take on another piece of business that requires weekly visits to the client site. Walsh and Barrett made a promise to their employees to promote from within whenever possible. They have an internal candidate in mind, but the decision to promote him is not an easy one. Roger Willis, the highest-ranking associate working at that client site, is a candidate for a promotion to vice president. On paper, this promotion makes sense. Willis has more than a decade of consulting experience. Clients like working with him because he gets results on their behalf. He leads a project team that meets deadlines and stays within budget. Even when clients make a tough request of him, he says “yes” and finds a way to deliver. Willis provides clients with smart, well-informed recommendations, and clients trust his experience and expertise. The promotion would coincide with his annual review, and Willis has been actively campaigning for a promotion to vice president. However, Willis has one serious strike against him: other associates in the firm object to working with him or for him because of his lack of interpersonal skill. They complain he is condescending, inconsiderate, and short-tempered. They cite examples of him losing his temper and cursing at associates. Associates also feel disrespected when Willis says “yes” to a client’s request, to meet a deadline for example, despite associates voicing concerns about their ability to do so. In this way, they feel that Willis does not “have their backs,” a phrase used consistently among members of the firm. Associates generally accept him as the top project manager at the client site because he is ultimately not any associates’ direct reporting supervisor. He is not responsible for annual professional coaching, performance evaluations, or pay increase awards. The possible promotion of Willis presents a problem for a firm that prides itself on its strong collegial culture made up of people who like and respect one another. While Barrett believes Willis should be given the promotion, Walsh is hesitant. The two founders need to make a joint decision about how to handle filling the vice president position. 2. Overview of Walsh, Barrett, and Associates SAGE © 2017 NeilsonJournals Publishing SAGE Business Cases Page 3 of 9 Caught in a Bind: Exploring Corporate Culture in a Promotion Decision Walsh, Barrett, and Associates (WBA) is a high-tech consulting firm. Firm associates travel weekly to client sites across the country to consult on large-scale information technology projects. Engagements typically last one to two years. Walsh and Barrett founded the firm with only a handful of employees and the firm quickly grew to more than 100 associates. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, high-tech consulting is predicted to be one of the fastest-growing careers, with an estimated growth of 83 percent between 2010 and 2018 (U.S. Department of Labor 2010). In many cases, consultants do the same type of work no matter who actually employs them. They are highly compensated, with the average technology consultant earning a salary of between $97,000 and $114,000 with the potential for bonuses. The most experienced consultants are paid even more (U.S. Department of Labor 2010). Associates at WBA say they are compensated well above industry averages. This handsome compensation often comes with a price. Associates at WBA are expected to meet short deadlines, frequently requiring them to put in long hours in stressful environments. “We deal with a wide range of complex issues,” explains Walsh. “The pace of what we are doing is tough, but it’s challenging, interesting, meaningful work.” WBA consultants generally spend three or four nights each week in a hotel room, away from home. Associates of WBA typically work at least 10 hours at the client site each day and have one to two hours of additional work, such as catching up on email and other administrative tasks, that they do from their hotel rooms Monday through Thursday. They are expected to forgo a lunch break and eat at their desks. Many associates work partial or full days from their homes on Fridays catching up on email and administrative tasks such as expense reports and time logs. For comparison, the U.S. national average is approximately 33 working hours per week (U.S. Department of Labor 2010). Barrett said: I don’t work 40-hour work weeks, that’s for sure. I don’t think anyone at our company really does. We all work really hard. We are all very driven and motivated and passionate about what we do. During the week, associates often have dinner together, although this varies by project team. In cities in which there are multiple teams working at various client sites, the firm arranges monthly or quarterly dinners for associates to socialize. 2.1 Firm Leadership WBA is run jointly by Walsh and Barrett, the founders of the firm. The founders went into business for themselves after decades working for large consulting firms. They founded the firm with a goal to make their firm different from “the billable hours sweatshops” they believe other consulting firms to be. Walsh holds the title Chief Executive Officer. Barrett holds the title President. They make decisions about the firm jointly. The firm’s leadership team includes the founders and 5 vice presidents who meet monthly by conference call and in-person quarterly to set strategic direction and review the budget. The people who make up this group provide mentorship and coaching to other associates. In addition to technical skills and knowledge, vice presidents are expected to demonstrate the firm’s core values of integrity, passion, and caring, and to demonstrate outstanding leadership within the firm and with clients. Each vice president was hired in at that level with the expectation of providing leadership and mentorship. Barrett describes the important role of the coaching done by the vice presidents: That person is going to help with the transition to consulting and really be a sounding board and coach and mentor for [employees]. Not just for the annual review but we really try to instill a sense of career coaching. We’re trying to build a place where people want to end their career so we’re actually looking at 10 years out not just six months out. And that coach is responsible for driving what that professional development program looks like, what their work experience looks like, and really helps them facilitate their career. By their own accounts, the members of the leadership team maintained collegial relationships with one another. As Walsh explains: “Our leadership team is very collegial, very like-minded about what we want to SAGE © 2017 NeilsonJournals Publishing SAGE Business Cases Page 4 of 9 Caught in a Bind: Exploring Corporate Culture in a Promotion Decision do. It’s so incredibly important that we all work as a team.” Barrett said about the five-person leadership team: They are experts at what they do so they have a really relevant skill set. They provide direction to themselves, their teams and their client. They show empathy. They show genuine caring. Those are really the basic qualities so it all translates to attitude, aptitude and work ethic. They model good behavior. They are professional. Julie Marshall, a vice president, describes the working relationship of the vice presidents as open, candid, and accepting. She sees the role of the vice presidents as “setting an example and communicating. Being open about what expectations are about professionalism and having each other’s backs.” 2.2 Firm Culture Barrett and Walsh take great pride in the firm’s culture. They believe the culture of their firm is different and considerably better than the cultures of their competitors. Companies and their leaders are increasingly recognizing the importance of corporate culture to the organization’s success. In his book on corporate culture, James Heskett posits that as much as half of the difference in operating profit between organizations could be attributed to effective cultures (2011). Flamholtz and Randle refer to corporate culture as the “ultimate strategic asset” (2011, p. vii). A strategic asset can create a sustained competitive advantage for a firm when the asset is valuable, rare, difficult to imitate, and difficult to substitute (Barney 1991). Walsh and Barrett believe the culture of their firm is its ultimate strategic asset. Barrett says he and Walsh are “obsessed with firm culture.” He explains: Companies, in general, are very fragile, and especially in today’s age, they’re very, very fragile. You’ve seen examples of these huge companies go out of business very quickly. You’ve seen in our industry. The only asset we have is … we don’t make anything, we don’t have inventory. It’s people, and people can leave very quickly. We’ve seen a lot of examples on our consultant space where literally firms evaporate in very short time. The only thing we have is an opportunity to give people a good place to work where they want to stay. Within its industry, WBA is recognized as a great place to work. The company has earned several prestigious industry awards. The company has been named to various industry trade magazines’ “Best Places to Work” lists, which are created based on input from current employees. In the consulting industry where turnover is high, Walsh said they work hard to “create a company that people really want to come to work for and want to stay with us.” This focus on culture-building had a positive effect on employee retention. The company has a stellar retention record with