A Day that Changed Everything

Jessica walked into the office at 7:00 a.m., an hour and half earlier than usual. She was very concerned about having time to put the finishing touches on a market analysis in time for the executive meeting at 11:00 a.m. At 7:15, one of her seven team members poked his head in her doorway for a "quick question". As he left at 7:35, she asked him to close the office door on the way out. At 7:45, the phone rang. She was prepared to let it go to voice message when she noticed it was her boss, Harry. So she picked it up. He asked her about something that, in her mind was not urgent. As she ended the call at 7:55 she thought to herself, "That was totally unnecessary. He could have waited to talk to me after the executive meeting."

Through her door, Jessica could hear her office coming alive as the other six staff members trickled in between 8:00 and 8:30. She knew she needed to talk to her two Supplier Liaisons, Jayme and Alicia before noon that day. So she keyed in a quick reminder in her laptop to alert her at 10:30.

By 9:00 a.m., Jessica was barely half way through completing the report when she got a knock at the door. It was Jeremy, her assistant marketing manager. He handed her new information that arrived overnight in his e-mail. Unfortunately, this information had a huge impact on the very report she was working on. In order to integrate this information, she had to completely revise the first part of the analysis adding to her frustration and irritability.

At 10:30, just as her laptop reminder went off, Jessica finished the analysis and sent the 10-page report to the printer, which she figured she would grab and photocopy on her way to the boardroom for her presentation. She then went out to summon Jayme and Alicia. Unfortunately only Alicia was there. Jayme was still out at a supplier meeting and wasn't due to return until noon. A frustrated Jessica sat down with Alicia and told her that she wanted to move each of them out of their roles and into market research as a way for them to broaden their knowledge and skills. The urgency was that there was a major research project that needed to begin within the next few days and she needed them both to agree to the lateral moves. But each would have to continue in their current roles until she could secure the budget to hire one extra team member. (Based on the previous six months, she was certain that she didn't need two people in that role and felt that there was more of a chance to get the budget for one person than for two).

This would be her first request for a new employee since being promoted to her middle management job more than two years ago. She inherited the team that she was working with and got along well enough with most of them. The only one whom she found challenging was Jayme, who was also a candidate for the job when Jessica (who came in to Harmony from one of its competitors) got it.

Alicia was somewhat happy about switching roles. But she said that she knew of Jayme's ambitions and life circumstances and based on that, Jayme would not want to do this. Jessica, fuming inside, had no time to process this as she was getting anxious to get to her executive meeting on time so that she could present her report calmly and professionally. Jessica told Alicia that she wanted to continue this conversation with both Jayme and Alicia at the end of the day.

The Executive Meeting

Jessica arrived at the boardroom door at 10:55 a.m. anxious and stressed. This just added to the frustration she felt with all the morning interruptions, the photocopier jammed when she was copying the eight sets she needed for the executive meeting. So here she was, a frustrated and anxious middle manager with plenty on her mind needing to "wow" the executive team who based on past comments, didn't think well of the Marketing Department whom they referred to as "prima donnas". Her own boss Harry, the VP of External Relations, was in the room and should have given Jessica some comfort - she liked and got along well with him. However, at this time Harry looked stressed out and his greeting to Jessica was not accompanied by a smile or a "good luck".

It seems that Harry was under a great deal of pressure from the CEO and Board to find an average of 10% savings within his portfolio of departments. This had to happen within the next 60 days. He had just come from a meeting with his boss, the president of Harmony Technology Inc., who told Harry that the place to start was in the Marketing Department. Jessica had no idea of this as she began her presentation.

Jessica's presentation was attacked with interruptions and questions every few minutes. At the beginning of her presentation, she asked everyone to hold all questions until the end. But that request was ignored, even after she reminded them of it again after the third interruption. It was clear that the executive team had made up their minds about what they were about to hear long before Jessica walked in the room.

Even though Jessica's analysis indicated that they should go into the southwest market, the executive rejected her recommendation saying - much to Jessica's unpleasant surprise - that nothing in the presentation convinced them otherwise. Moreover, this was a period of budget cuts and it was no time to enter new markets. (As a seasoned marketing analyst, Jessica felt that this was exactly when the company should enter new markets). At the end of the meeting Harry walked up to Jessica and asked her to come to his office at 3:00 p.m. She asked why, and he said he would answer that when they met. Jessica returned to her office annoyed and worried.

When Harry met Jessica

When Jessica walked into Harry's office at 3:00 p.m., his mind was racing. He was trying to figure out how he could keep Jessica motivated and at the same time cut her budget by more than the average of 10%. He agreed with Jessica's market assessment and also thought that Harmony should go into the southwestern market. But he couldn't express that during the presentation when he knew that everyone else, including the president was not happy with Jessica's department's expenditures. Rightly or wrongly, that affected both their response to anything that Jessica brought forward and Harry's ability to support her publicly.

Jessica was very irritated at Harry's lack of support that morning. She walked in and tried to be lighthearted when she sat down and looked at him saying "OK. What's up boss?" Harry began:

Jessica first of all, good presentation. Unfortunately our timing was way off. Sorry about that. But let's move on.

(Jessica was thinking that she had nothing to do with the timing. Harry was the one who set the agenda and the dates he wanted things done). Harry continued:

When we hired you into the role of Manager, Marketing and Supplier Relations, Harmony was doing really well; share value was climbing, sales were skyrocketing. All was well with the world. Now, two and half years later we find ourselves continuing to slump. In fact it's been going on for the last 16 months. This is no fault of your own. As your performance appraisals have indicated, you continue to be a valued team member. However, we cannot afford to maintain your department at its current staff and budget levels. You need to eliminate two full-time positions from your department within the next sixty days. That's your responsibility and your decision as to whom they will be. As this will definitely require some sensitivity, I suggest that you get help from our HR Department.

Jessica was blind-sided; she never saw this coming. So not only could she not add one person to her team, she had to release two. She responded.

This is a shock. You'd never even hinted at anything this drastic. I had other ideas that I was going to raise with you given the six projects you've tasked our department with this fiscal year. These included job rotations, combining the two supplier relations roles in one and hiring another body to fill that role. I need Alicia and Jayme on the major research project we were to start this week. This adds a layer of stress to our department that I don't need right now. So given this resource squeeze, what projects would you suggest I not do this year?

Although hoping otherwise, Jessica was expecting the response she received. Harry laid out the road ahead:

We absolutely must proceed with all projects as planned. You'll need to figure out a way to do more with less.

OK. So I've given you all the bad news. Here's a little ray of sunshine. I have not used my external consulting budget which I have full discretion over. So, I will authorize up to $150,000 from the budget for you to use to help you over the next 12 months. The only caveat is that prior to tendering, you must provide me with a request for approval stating what types of consultants you need, why you need them, what specific deliverables you will demand, how long you would need them for and the costs. You can spend the entire $150,000 on one type of consultant or, you can hire different types of consultants; i.e. with different specialties; your choice. You decide how to best make use of this gift I'm giving you.

On the one hand Jessica was relieved. But as she mulled it over, she got increasingly irritated wondering why the company was willing to spend on consultants, but not on extra resources for projects. However, as a middle manager she had to, as the saying goes, "suck it up". She left Harry's office in an entirely different state of mind - not good - than she had ever imagined.

1. Describe Jessica's personality in terms of both the "Big Five" model and "EI". State WHY. you answered the way you did use the facts in the case.

Big Five of Personality Traits

1. Conscientiousness

2. Emocional stability

3. Extraversion

4. Openness to experience

5. Agreeableness

Emotional Intelligence

1. emotional awareness

2. emotional regulation

3. social competence

4. emotional autonomy

5. competence for life and well-being

2. Referring to the Rokeach Value Survey, which terminal value and which instrumental value would you attribute to Jessica. Explain WHY you answered the way you did using the facts in the case.