Problem: Cromwell Electronics

Dan Dalton was the marketing vice president (VP) for Cromwell Electronics. Ten months earlier he had appointed Ed Corelli as the manager of a newly formed marketing unit for the eastern region. The unit was responsible for developing marketing presentations, advertising campaigns, and promotions for the sale of Cromwell products in the eastern region. The unit had six marketing specialists; two were long-time employees, and the other four were newly hired. Ed was promoted to the position based on a good reputation as a marketing specialist. Even though the marketing unit was new, Dan expected its performance to be better by now. The marketing unit for the western region was formed at the same time, and it had higher performance. Dan reflected on the comments made by two of Ed's subordinates when asked how they liked working for him. Pat Posner had worked for the company for nearly 10 years. He commented that Ed was "a great manager." Pat especially liked the high level of autonomy he was allowed. Pat said, "Ed gives me complete discretion to plan the marketing campaigns for my set of products. If I have a problem, he encourages me to look at it from different perspectives, but he doesn't say what he wants me to do about it. He trusts me to solve my own problems. When I make a mistake, which seldom happens, he doesn't get upset. Instead, he expects me to learn from it."

Pat also noted that Ed showed sincere appreciation for good performance. "My marketing campaign for the new product was very successful, and I really appreciated the recognition Ed gave me in the monthly unit meeting. He also told me that he would try to get me a pay increase." Katie O'Toole, one of the new employees, was less satisfied with Ed as a manager. "Sometimes I wish Ed would give me more direction. He is always pushing me to make my own decisions. Maybe if I had more experience I would like it, but right now it makes me feel very insecure. I never really know if I am doing what he expects. When I go to him for help with a problem, he turns the question around and asks what I would do. He doesn't seem to understand that I wouldn't ask if I already knew the answer. And when I do something wrong, he doesn't seem to care. Ed likes to pretend that mistakes will go away if you don't talk about them." Katie had another complaint as well. She said, "He seems to favor the two employees who have been with the company longer. He gives them the most interesting assignments, he consults with them more about his plans for the unit, and he recommends them for larger pay increases." Katie noted that Sally and George, both new employees, agreed with her complaints about Ed.

At lunch later that day, Dan asked Ed how things were going in his unit. Ed replied that he was disappointed in some of the new marketing specialists. Only one of the new employees (Linda) was performing well. The others seemed to lack drive and initiative. Ed emphasized that he tried to avoid any favoritism, which had been a serious problem for a former boss. Although he gave the most complex assignments to the marketing specialists with more experience, everyone had challenging assignments and opportunities to excel. Ed had attended the company workshop on empowerment, and he was trying to give employees the autonomy they needed to learn and develop new skills on the job. He was careful not to supervise too closely or criticize mistakes. He provided recognition for outstanding achievements and recommended pay raises for good performance. Ed asked his boss, "What am I doing wrong?"

Questions: 1. What theories from this chapter are relevant for analyzing the case?

2. Evaluate Ed's behavior as a manager, and identify effective and ineffective actions.

3. What should Dan say or do now?