Jensen Shoes

SUMMARY:

Jensen Shoes, is a well established (1943) footwear marketing company, with a reputation for employee welfare. The company has enjoyed a highly profitable position for many years but due to static sales growth in the casual wear division, executive management decided to develop a major marketing strategy over the next six months. The strategy is to define opportunities for new markets and new products and to report in time for the annual board of director's meeting.

The executive management charged Sally Briggs with developing this strategy, she then in turn assigned Chuck Taylor the project. Taylor set about the project by reorganising his group and establishing three Strategic Product Managers Kyle Hudson, Robert Murphy and Jane Kravitz. Each was assigned a market to develop. Jane Kravitz was assigned casual wear and her strategic performance objectives (s.o.'s) included marketing plans for several vertical markets: African-American, Latino, Mature College, Pre-teens, Men and Women. Jane Kravitz divided her s.o.'s between Larry Bunton, Cheryl Abbott and Lyndon Twitchell.

This assignment examines the conflict between a manager (Jane Kravitz) and an employee (Lyndon Twitchell), both of whom are responsible for preparing a comprehensive marketing plan for the Latino and African-American markets, as part of the overall marketing strategy for the casual footwear market.

FACTS:

LyndonTwitchell (employee) has been in management in Jenson Shoe's for over four years and prior to the reorganisation worked directly with Chuck Taylor, foe the ethnic market in the Special Promotions division. His fist assignment was 'fraught with difficulties' due to the inexperience of the team. Twitchell and his team failed to complete their s.o. At a meeting with Chuck Taylor, Twitchell learns he is to work for Jane Kravitz and will not be bringing his team with him, but rather will be working as part of her team. After this meeting Twitchell feels he has received little or no feedback from Taylor and also that he is being singled out for failing to achieve his s.o. as no other manager has lost their team for failing to achieve their s.o.'s, to the point that he feels he has been demoted.

Twitchell welcomes the opportunity to work with Jane Kravitz and her team and to prove himself in another area. Following a meeting with Kravitz, Twitchell is very disappointed to have been assigned to ethnic (Latino and African-American) markets again. He also feels that as he has a 'Special Environmental Project' to do for the Executive Vice President (assigned prior to the re-organisation), that he will not have enough time to complete his three s.o.'s and tells Kravitz so.

Twitchell is confused with the feedback he receives for the Environmental Project, as Kravitz praises him and Taylor is critical of him.

Following the meeting with Taylor, at which Twitchell receives some very negative feedback, he decides that he must get out from Taylor's Strategic Marketing division as Taylor is always going to stereotype him for ethnic markets.

Jane Kravitz (the manager) is well respected with twelve years experience as a manager. She is excited about the re-organisation and considers it important to further develop her career. She is happy to have this new team working for her, and thinks that it is the perfect mix for the assignment given. She prides herself on being 'sensitive to the needs of a diverse workforce'.

Chuck Taylor picks her new team for her and Lyndon Twitchell is placed on her team. After assessing each of her team members at meetings she assigns each team member the two s.o.'s she thinks to be most suitable for them.

Kravitz's first meetings with Twitchell go very well. However, following his assignment to the ethnic vertical markets Twitchell starts to raise concerns about time frames for his Special Environmental Project as well as the two s.o.'s she has given him.

Kravitz helps Twitchell with his Special project and when it is completed is highly impressed. She goes overboard with praise, however Taylor is less than happy with all the time spent on the special project and is concerned with the remaining time for the two s.o.'s that concern him. When Kravitz raises these concerns with Twitchell she is met with vague responses and a lack of concern for the ever-nearing deadline.

The working relationship between Kravitz and Twitchell deteriorates considerably when Twitchell suggests a weeklong trip away but Kravitz cannot see any benefits given the lack of time left before the deadline.

Kravitz is so concerned with Twitchell's performance on the two s.o.'s that she finally agrees to take one from him in the hopes that he will do the one s.o. properly. However she is now demanding written updates and is documenting his progress. She even has tried to get him a job in another division within the company.

The conflict between Twitchell and Kravitz has resulted in a failure to complete the two s.o.'s that they were working on. There is also an extremely demoralised and de-motivated employee and a manager that is at her wits end, resulting in performance documentation that can be used as part of disciplinary procedures and could lead to termination of employment.

CONCLUSIONS:

1) The complete lack of communication between all levels of management.

2) The need for motivation.

3) The importance of the psychological contract.

4) The behaviour of individuals is important to team success.

1) Right from the start it is clear that there is a breakdown in communication within the organisation as at no point was there round table talks between Chuck Taylor, Jane Kravitz and her team to discuss the project and its place in the overall strategy and how if s.o.'s are not met how they would impact on the division overall. While the feedback that Kavitz gave for the special environmental project was very positive and she 'wanted to reinforce anything that I considered positive' the feedback from Taylor to Twitchell over this special project could only have been negative as Taylor was only interested in the s.o.'s that affected the overall strategy 'anyone could have done that project, What I want to know is how he's doing on his s.o.'s'.

Feedback if non-judgemental can be motivating, while criticism can only have a de-motivating