Educational Pension Investment located in New York, invests pension funds for educational institutions. It employs approximately 75 people, 25 of whom are responsible for actual investment activities. The company manages about $5 billion assets and derived an income of about 10 million.
The firm was incorporated almost 30 years ago by a group of academic professionals who wanted to control the destiny of their retirement years by pursuing investments that would be consistent and safe. The firm has weathered rapid technological change and economic volatility. Leadership has consistently resisted opportunities to "make it big" and instead stayed with less profitable but relatively secure investments.
Dan Richardson has an MBA from Wharton and is one of the founders of EPI. He started out working in the research department and has worked in every department since then. The other partners, comfortable with Dan's conservative yet flexible nature, elected him to the position of CEO 13 years ago. After that, Dan became known as "the great equalizer." He works hard to make sure that all partners are included in decisions. Over the years, he has become the confidant of the other seniors and mentor of the next generation. EPI's employees look to DAn for leadership and direction. Dan's management philosophy is built on the concept of loyalty. As he is fond of saying, "My dad was a small town banker. He told me, "Look out for the other guys and they'll look out for you." Sounds corny, I know, but I firmly believe in this philosophy."
Given Dan's practice of consistent and safe investing, EPI's growth has not kept pace with other investment opportunities. As a result, Dan has reluctantly begun to consider the merits of a more aggressive investment approach. Part of Dan's reconsideration is that several of the younger analysts are beginning to refer to EPI as "stodgy". Some are leaving EPI for positions in more aggressive firms.
One evening, Dan talked about his concern with his racquetball partner and longtime friend, Mike Roth. Mike also happened to be an investment broker in another firm. An MVA graduate of the University of Illinois, Mike's accomplishments in research had brought him widespread recognition. Everyone respected him for his knowledge, his work ethic, and his uncanny ability to predict trends.
When Mike heard Dan's
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Educational Pension Investments at the end of Chapter 7. Answer the questions in complete paragraphs to earn credit.
1. What is the difference in resolving a single-cause conflict versus a multiple-cause conflict? Discuss whether the relationship between causes is additive or multiplicative. That is, as you take on one more source of conflict, does it simply add to the previous pressure or exponentially increase the problem? (4 - 5 Sentences)
2. What are the sources of conflict in this case? (4 - 5 Sentences)
3. What approaches to conflict management are used by the actors in the situation? How effective was each? (4 - 5 Sentences)
4. Based on the behavioral guidelines for the collaborative approach, how could Dan have managed this conflict more effectively? (4 - 5 Sentences)