Both Green and Davis are employees of Dynamic Displays at the management level. However, it is worth noting that Davis is Green’s direct boss in the company’s management ladder. Both Green and Davis have been having hard times since Green was promoted to the position of senior marketing specialist against the wish of his boss Davis. Worst of all, Green’s behavior is contrary to the expectations of Davis and this has resulted to more crisis between the two with Green convinced that Davis is looking for an opportunity to get rid of him (Sasser & Beckham, 2008).
Like any other boss, Davis wanted Green to behave in a certain manner to avoid creating tension in the office. Bearing in mind that Davis was the immediate senior marketing specialist before promotion to his current position, he would wish his successor to follow his footsteps to ensure that the culture and politics of the company are observed. Davis expects Green to behave according to his directives and make marketing judgments as he advises his. On the other hand, Green believes in freedom of thoughts and he wants to act differently and make his own judgments (Sasser & Beckham, 2008).
Throughout the case study, Davis is complaining to his boss that Green does not update him on his schedules and plans. This shows that Davis feels down looked by his junior Green simply because he was promoted to his current position by their senior against the culture of the company (Sasser & Beckham, 2008). This is not in accordance to the internal politics of Dynamic Displays and Davis feel that his authority is not felt. Additionally, Green does not give information to Davis as requested and this is against the expectations of Davis.
The case study also indicates that Davis expected Green to be very enthusiastic in his marketing work. However, Davis feels that Green has failed to live up to this expectation. This is as a result of Green openly opposing his sales projections in the annual meeting. Davis expected his juniors to support his views in the meeting and Green was not exceptional. In his letter to their boss, Shannon McDonald, Davis points out that Green needs to show a more positive attitude both inside and outside the company (Sasser & Beckham, 2008).
Both Davis and McDonald have their individual agendas towards achieving the goals and objectives of the company. It is these individual agendas that seem to have contributed to the crisis witnessed in Dynamic Displays Company. Both Davis and McDonald did not consider common decision making although they both wanted to promote the objectives of the company though in different dimensions.
For instance, McDonald wanted to promote the objective of the company by ensuring that the right people are put in the office without considering the politics of the company. This is should be the reason why he promoted Green to a Marketing specialist other than leaving Davis to do so. However, he failed to involve him in making this vital decision although he was fully aware of the consequences of his actions (Sasser & Beckham, 2008).
On the other hand, the individual agenda of Davis was to promote the objectives, politics and culture of the organization. This is shown in the case study by his frequent complaints to McDonald, his senior, when Green fails to communicate with him on his progress frequently. Although it also appears from the first mail that he sent to McDonald that his individual agenda was to get rid of Green, it is evident from the case study that Davis was only but trying to follow the culture and traditions of the company. He believed that juniors should report to their seniors frequently and follow their directives accordingly.
Green did not want any interference from the workmates whether senior or junior. He never believed in teamwork and he did not want to be supervised or monitored while doing his job. He also wanted to be evaluated on the basis of his annual sales and not the relationship and communication that existed between him and his seniors. This is witnessed in the case study where Green hopes to launch his creative pet project that would make his seniors neglect his insubordination after the successful results (Sasser & Beckham, 2008). As for McDonald, It is not clear from the case study how she wishes to be treated.
However, she too expects to be treated with respect and formality. This is seen from her behavior to promote Green without expecting any questioning from other executives. She also requires Green to respond to the accusations made by Davis about his behavior in writing before they could meet and talk face to face. This shows that she wanted to be treated formally as the boss of that department. On the other hand, Davis wanted to be treated with respect, especially from his juniors. This is witnessed in his series of complaints to McDonald when Green fails to update him frequently (Sasser & Beckham, 2008).
The three executives, in this case study seem to have used their powers wrongly. The personal basis of the power used includes legitimate power, informational power and referent power. Davis uses legitimate power as his personal basis of power. This is witnessed throughout the case study as he tries to use his office and authority to administer things to Green. On the other hand, Green uses a counter veiling informational power personal basis to ignore all the directives given by Davis. He argues that he knows his customer base. McDonald uses referent power to handle the differences between Davis and Green. She does not approve the accusations and recommendations made by Davis against Green. She also did not decide on the Greens issue but requested him to hive his views about the accusation in writing.
Davis should have used rewards and punishment to motivate Green to work according to his directives. On the other hand, Green should have used his expertise in the area of marketing to prove to his seniors on his abilities and not keeping things to himself. The French and Raven’s informational power and legitimate power basis have been abused. Davis used his office to dictate directives to Green instead of promoting team work (Sasser & Beckham, 2008).
On the other hand, Green abused the informational personal power basis by using his customer base knowledge to avoid communication with other executives of the company. McDonald also seems to abuse the legitimate power basis by promoting Green to the position of marketing specialist without consulting other seniors within the department. She does this because she knows that no one will question her decisions. This is not only an abuse of office but also a blow to teamwork.
Reference
Sasser, E. W., & Beckham. H (2008). Thomas Green: Power, Office Politics, and a Career in Crisis. Brief Cases. Harvard business publishing.