Q1)

Thomas Green and Frank Davis use different work styles and their personalities are also very different, as
a result they did not get along well at work. Frank Davis who was 45 years old and the Marketing
Director of the company with 17 years of experience at Dynamic Displays. On the other hand, Thomas
Green was recently promoted as senior market specialist and had 6 years of prior work experience.
Frank Davis seems to be a serious man with a clear vision and goal for the betterment of the company,
moreover he seems to be direct and to the point, as well as being very well adjusted to the bureaucracy at
this level of management. Frank uses a personal power manager approach to his management and his
focus is on making the targets for the company. Frank feels that his juniors should be loyal to him and
responsive to his tasks to get the job done. Frank is an efficient manager with great analytical skills, and
he knows exactly how to get things done the way he wants them to. Franks work style is more detailed
and data driven in which he prepares ahead of time, and he is more of a strategic thinker and planner.
Franks style of work and personality also indicates that he likes to have a sense of control of things
around him. Frank is highly respected amongst his colleagues, but may not be the most likeable person.
Thomas Green on the other hand is a hard working young man with big ambitions as well as the well-
being of Dynamic Displays. Since Thomas is new to his role he is not adjusted himself to the work style
out here. He has got an independent style of working and does not rely on others to get his work done. He
is a doer and an achiever without relying on others to get things done. Thomas is more of an expressive
person and relies on his instincts to get things done. While Frank used memos and datas to back up his
proposals, Thomas delivers ideas to his customers and expects them to trust him. While Thomas is a hard
worker, it seems like he has troubles following directions from others. Additionally, Thomas Green is a
true salesman and that is reflected in his personality of being more of a communicator of ideas without
much apprehension.

Q2)
According to McShane, Frank Davis uses coercive power as he is not entirely comfortable with the way
Thomas is conducting his duties and is somewhat resentful of Green because of the way Green was hired,
but also because Frank feels that Thomas does not deserve this position and that he is hired because of his
influence over McDonald. (Organizational Behavior, 5
th
Edition, pg.301). Frank wants to make a point to
Green by proving who is boss and wants to exert his coercive powers to make Thomas comply with his
standards. Frank also uses legitimate powers, since he is the direct superior of Thomas and that he has the
formal rights to make demands, and to expect compliance and obedience from Thomas. Daviss
frustration with Green was growing with each passing day and hence he decided to wield his coercive
power by becoming more authoritative.
In addition, Frank also possesses Expert and Referent power since he is the Marketing Director of the
company and possesses the skill and knowledge to handle the companys order. He has the expert power
because he can understand a particular situation of the company, use solid judgement from 17 years of
experience and has the potential to outperform others. It mentioned in the case, that his colleagues trust
him with his work and have utmost respect for him because of his goal to make Dynamic Displays
successful in the long-run.
On the other hand, Thomas Green operates in both the referent and expert power at different times.
However, he also uses McDonalds legitimate power to disrespect Davis and uses his relationship with
McDonald. When he is dealing with McDonald he uses referent power and he uses expert power when
dealing with Davis. Green was an efficient salesman and that is reflected by his growth in the division and
hence the promotion. He is respected and liked by his colleagues in the sales division, while on the same
hand he has the expertise in his field of work with which he tries to influence others even after his
promotion. McDonald likes and respects Greens work and hence gave him the promotion to the
corporate office as she could strongly identify with Green in some way, hence proving that Green uses
referent power while dealing with McDonald. However, Green tries to exert his expert power over Davis
by taking his confidence, decisiveness and reputation for rational thinking.
Q3)
Thomas Green was promoted to the role of ____________________, but after his first five months into
his position, he has not met the expectations of his superiors. Davis, in particular is unhappy with his
performance and Green has no substantial proof of his achievements as well. Green was most effective a
few weeks into his promotion as he was able to accomplish a lot before the Budget Plan Meeting on
October 8, 2008. During the first few weeks, Green was able to impress Davis when it came to selling his
ideas to the clients. Thomas worked independently for the first few months of his new role and was
successful in meeting new clients and getting orders which were of good value. He was used to working
in this kind of environment and hence was at ease with what he accomplished in a short time. Thomas
was complimented by his fellow colleagues and they were happy with the way he was conducting
business, one of the market specialists even went on to say that Thomas was great when it came to selling
the client on his ideas and that he was charismatic and a quick thinker.
However, things went downhill for Green post the meeting with Frank when he publicly disagreed with
Franks sales growth projections, this was his biggest mistake which led to his downfall at Dynamic
Displays. Greens performance reduced drastically post this meeting and Davis was particularly unhappy
with the way he was doing his job and pin-pointed a few tasks which was unsatisfactory: not keeping an
updated schedule, not following up on information, and a serious lack of enthusiasm. Furthermore,
Thomas was unable to adapt himself to his new role and he received feedback from several of his sales
associate that hard data was necessary for closing sales with many prospective clients which was initially
requested by Frank during his performance review, however Thomas was reluctant to do what his boss
had suggested.
Q4)

Q5)
The first thing that I would do if I were Thomas Green would be to complete the self-evaluation process
which Davis had asked for. Feedback is the most valuable tool available for an employee in any work
environment, and taking the feedback and implementing it is important for a successful career. It is
common for managers to give performance evaluations for new and current employees and it is important
for an employee to understand the value of this evaluation. Personally it would give me the right direction
to work in, understanding the culture of the company and more importantly understanding the nature of
my boss. Post the evaluation it would give me an understanding on Davis expectations, his strengths and
weaknesses and his working style and I would make sure that I incorporate those characteristics into my
work. Although I have my own style of working independently and doing things which I feel are right, I
would evaluate and alter my attitude according to my managers expectations and the companys culture. I
would talk to Davis and make sure that I am clear of the goals I need to achieve and what expectations
does he have from me for the growth of the company.
The manager has the authority and it only makes sense to satisfy his needs early on in your new position,
thus it is important for me to work on my weaknesses and make a short term and a long term plan on how
I would make the changes to my attitude and weaknesses and work on the learning project, evaluating it
biweekly with constant feedback from Davis on my performance. I would be more strategic in my
decisions and look at the bigger picture rather than satisfy my own pleasures to work in my own way.
Following what Davis wants will only provide me with more insight towards my role and eventually help
the overall development of the company. It is important that Davis likes me and











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