dolution

A case study of understanding communications Tom Ellery was vice president of sales and Steve Watson was a regional sales manager in charge of four district managers. Steve reported to one of three area managers who, in turn, reported to Tom. Tom had followed Steve’s career with interest and considered him one of the best sales managers in the company. It was not surprising, then, that Steve’s name came immediately to mind when Tom received a memo from the marketing vice president asking for recommendations for someone to take over the marketing services department. Marketing services employed about 400 people and provided promotional support and special services to the sales division. In terms of salary grade, the position was one level higher than regional sales manager so it would offer Steve a promotion. Tom felt Steve was the ideal candidate for the job for several reasons. First, people in both the marketing and sales divisions felt marketing services had become unresponsive to sales division needs. The department was now more of a bottleneck than a service, and Steve’s extensive experience as a sales manager would give him a clear idea of what kind of support the department ought to be giving. Second, the department had begun to suffer from an “image problem,” which Steve’s transfer could do much to correct. Marketing services had developed a reputation for being a place where people were assigned when they ceased being effective in product management or in field sales. Putting an acknowledged “comer” like Steve in charge of the department would go far in dispelling that image. The position would also provide Steve with an opportunity for wider corporate exposure, one in which he cou1d influence total company marketing and sales efforts. After consulting with the marketing vice president, Tom sent Steve a copy of the original memo with the added note, “Are you interested? 1think you’re the best person for the job. Come by and let’s talk about it.” Tom was pleased that his own division was finally strong enough to allow him the flexibility to offer one of his best men to another division. It had taken three years of systematically identifying weak spots and moving strong new people like Steve into them to provide this luxury, and he planned to make the most of it. A few days later, Steve came by to discuss the memo. Tom was surprised to find Steve both uninterested in the transfer, and a little curt and ill-at-ease as well. Steve began by saying he didn’t think he had the background in do the job and that he still had a lot to do in the region before he felt he could move on to another job. Sensing that Steve might be a little anxious about moving into the marketing division, Tom went into more detail on the reasons why he thought Steve could handle the job and do it well. Steve, however, remained unconvinced. As a last resort, Tom suggested that Steve talk with the marketing vice president before making a final decision. Tom couldn’t help feeling a little annoyed at the end of the conversation. He found himself questioning his original judgments about Steve’s flexibility and adaptability. To Tom’s continued disappointment, Steve’s talk with the marketing vice president failed to change his mind, and Tom began to feel his relationship with Steve become strained. Soon afterwards Tom noticed Steve was avoiding him in the company cafeteria and seemed especially silent in his presence. About a month later, Tom received a call from Steve’s area manager saying that Steve had resigned to take a position with a competitor. Tom later learned from a mutual friend that Steve had left because he had concluded that his career with the company was finished when Tom offered him the marketing services job.

What went wrong? Why? What should Tom have done more effectively? What should Steve have done more effectively? What lessons can you learn from this?