CASE FOR CRITICAL ANALYSIS

E-mail Adventure

The toy industry is highly competitive and can be as cutthroat as any pirate adventure.Yo-ho-ho!Snooping, corporate espionage, and efforts to keep emerging ideas under wraps are all part of life in the toy industry. A certain level of managerial paranoia is expected. But when the private e-mail of an industry CEO was discovered and began making the rounds, it unleashed a firestorm and brought disastrous results on company morale, unwanted media attention, and public embarrassment.

Howard Tannenbaum is the longtime CEO of a major toy company. Over the past few years, his

Chapter 13 Managing Communication587

culture. Besides, she felt a personal sense of obligation to help a hard-working, promising employee realize his potential. What will she advise Cathy to do now that Firoz's probationary period is drawing to a close?

What Would You Do?

1. Agree with Cathy Putnam. Despite your per- sonal feelings, accept that Firoz Bahmani is not capable of carrying out the accountant assis- tant's responsibilities. Make the break now, and give him his notice on the grounds that he can- not carry out one of the key stated job require- ments. Advise him that a position that primarily involves paperwork would be a better fit for him if he doesn't improve his speaking skills.

2. Place Firoz with a more sympathetic account manager who is open to finding ways to help him improve his English and has the time to help him develop his assertiveness and tel- ephone skills. Send Cathy Putnam to diversity awareness training.

3. Create a new position at the firm that will allow Firoz to do the reports and reconciliations for several account managers, freeing the account assistants to concentrate on public contact work. Make it clear that he will have little chance of future promotion unless his English improves markedly.

company worked to develop a new product line, called Brainchild, that all concerned believed would be a blockbuster. The passion of Tannenbaum, this new line of toys was so top secret that portions of the line were created and produced piecemeal among the various divisions. In the beginning, it was all very hush-hush. But as the line moved closer to comple- tion, with the expected Christmas season launch date more than a year away, press and industry rumors gained momentum.

At 8:00 a.m. on a June morning, Barry Paine, Tannenbaum's attorney and longtime friend and con- fidante, arrived at his office, opened his e-mail, and saw a flagged message from Howard:

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Barry:

We have a disaster in the making here. Looks like I'm going to have to come down hard on all of my man- agers. Somebody will goperhaps several people before this situation is over. They're obviously getting EXTREMELY slack on design security. I won't say now how I discovered the breach or what was stolen with regard to the new product designs, but suffice it to say that at this point, EVERYONE is suspect. Needless to say, I am FURIOUS! When I find out who it isand it could be anyonebelieve me, heads will roll!!! I'll call you later this morning. WE NEED TO MEET. Thanks for letting me vent. Now, I can compose the REAL e-mail to managers.

Howard

Later that same morning, managers throughout the company received the following:

TO ALL MANAGERS:

We have a situation here in which product design information on the new line, information that should have been under the HIGHEST SECURITY, has been breached. Let me make it clear that each of you is responsible for investigating your division and find- ing the source of the leak. Please be thorough in your investigation and be TOTALLY HONEST with me in presenting your f indings in this matter. Some- one will pay for this. THIS IS TOP PRIORIT Y!

Howard Tannenbaum, CEO

Many recipients of the e-mail felt personally attacked and threatened. Before day's end, e-mail, phone calls, and rumors were flying. By the following day, Tannenbaum felt pressured into trying to defuse the anger by issuing a second, apologetic e-mail. However, events were already spiraling out of hand, as somehow the contents of the original e-mail to Barry.

Paine began circulating throughout management and beyondto employees and at least one member of the press, who dubbed the debacleToy-Gate.The perception of a CEO and a company out of control increased, and the stock price took a minor hit.

"The first e-mail left me stunned," one longtime manager said. "But when I saw the e-mail to Paine about how Howardreallyfelt and the level of con- tempt he showed for all of us, making usallappear incompetent and dishonestthat, for me, is the last straw. Even if I stay, it has destroyed my relationship with Howard forever."

Now Tannenbaum sat, head in hands, in Paine's office. "Barry, I was simply trying to find the truth."

Paine walked over to a bookshelf and pulled an old, well-used volume. "Do you remember your Sophocles from school, Howard? In one Greek trag- edy, Oedipus the King and his persistent search for truth in the murder of his predecessor, King Laius, followed a path that abandoned reason and led to his own undoing. My friend, in your case, it's not the search for truth, but it's the path you takewhat you say, how you say it, and to whom you say itthat is important."

"OKwhat do you think I should do next?"

Questions

1. What is the underlying communication mistake in this case? Why do you think Howard Tannen- baum sent those e-mails?

2. How do you think Tannenbaum should have communicated his concerns about the informa- tion link? Why?

3. What should Tannenbaum do now to try to recover from the negative impact of his e-mails? Suggest specific steps.