Case Study Analysis

Knowing what actually happened before submitting your written case study analysis makes this assignment a bit different that the rest of the case studies assigned in this course.  Instead of explaining what the protagonist should do, in this assignment you will need to explain what Erik Peterson should have done to apply the leadership principles we studied to have achieved a successful outcome.

Thoughtfully consider what Richard Jenkins expected Erik Peterson to do when he promoted him to acting general manager (GM) with overall authority for Biometra's operations.   The "vice president who would have overseen the catheter product launched had left abruptly to join a startup device company."  "A number of key Biometra managers had departed as well."  Even though there were "many other SciMat product launches in progress," this was an urgent, "high profile" product launch for Biometra.  For Erik Peterson, this was an opportunity of a lifetime and he was "both excited and daunted by this opportunity to have general management experience so early in his career."

One caution as you approach this assignment.  Please do not fall into the trap of blaming others for Erik Peterson's failure.  This is a course in managing people and organizations and in each module we study how to become a better manager and leader.  Unexpected things do happen - key people leave, problems arise, personality conflicts surface, competition changes, etc.  It's true that that personnel issues and problems throughout the company resulted in Erik Peterson not having the mentoring he expected. However, there was so much more that Erik Peterson could have done. He could have at least picked up the phone and asked Richard Jenkins for help.