ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

UV2995 Rev. Aug.16, 2011

This case was originally prepared by R. Jack Weber. It was updated by Tom Cross, Senior Director of Executive Education and written as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. Copyright  1981 by the University of Virginia Darden School Foundation, Charlottesville, VA. All rights reserved. To order copies, send an e-mail to [email protected]. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of the Darden School Foundation.

JOHN WOLFORD (A)

John Wolford, a vice president and general manager for Eurotech-USA, awoke with a start and looked at his iPhone. “Damn it!” he exclaimed angrily. He had carefully set its alarm for 5:00 a.m., and it was now well past 6:00 a.m.

It was Wednesday morning, and Wolford’s mind raced as he thought about all the details he had to attend to that day: a meeting with his boss, a funeral, a briefing from the CFO, and preparation for a three-day trip to London, which required packing bags, confirming plane reservations, and paying personal bills. To complicate matters, he would be attending a six-week residential management-development program almost immediately after his return. He was overwhelmed. Wolford’s Background

Wolford was 41 years old. He had been born and raised in Los Angeles. After graduating from the California Institute of Technology with a degree in mechanical engineering, Wolford accepted a position with Hewlett-Packard, a technology company in Silicon Valley.

After working for Hewlett-Packard in design engineering for five years, Wolford got married, bought a house in Los Altos Hills, California, and began attending management courses in the evening. Shortly thereafter, he accepted an engineering management position with Precision Instruments, Inc., (PI). During the next 10 years, he held various engineering management positions at PI, and when the company was acquired by Eurotech, Ltd., a European multinational, he was named vice president and general manager of the PI division.

In that position, Wolford was responsible for over 800 people and $600 million in annual sales. His division consisted of one plant and six regional sales offices and was organized along simple functional lines with the heads of manufacturing, sales, engineering, human resources, quality assurance, and finance and administration reporting to him. In addition, he had the help

For the exclusive use of Y. Wang, 2015.

This document is authorized for use only by Yangyin Wang in Organizational Behavior 300-002 taught by Ken Mawritz, Drexel University from June 2015 to December 2015.

-2- UV2995

of a business analyst, Jack Short, a recent MBA graduate from a prestigious Eastern business school.

Wolford formally reported to Lutz Boehm, president of Eurotech-USA, located in nearby

San Francisco, but he felt a stronger sense of responsibility to the managing director of the parent company in London with whom he negotiated the annual objectives for his division. Beyond an annual estimate meeting every December and a periodic profit review at corporate headquarters, however, Wolford was able to function quite autonomously.

Outside of work, Wolford had numerous interests, although his 12-hour days and full e- mail inbox every evening left him little time to pursue any of them. He frequently described himself as an engineer at heart and loved to tinker with mechanical devices, especially vintage cars. What little spare time he had was devoted to working on restoring a 1958 Austin Healey roadster.

Wolford was proud of his three children and wished he had more time to spend with them. Since they had become teenagers, however, he rarely saw his two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. And he found it increasingly difficult to communicate with his 10-year-old son, Frank, who was going through what Wolford thought of as a rebellious phase. Wednesday Morning

Wolford, his heart racing, jumped out of bed and grabbed his iPhone to read his overnight e-mails while he brushed his teeth. He was to meet his boss at nine o’clock and had planned to use the extra hour preparing the answers to his potential questions. But he started skimming a report showing that his division had fallen short of its quarterly profit plan by more than $14 million. “I’ll never get through this by nine o’clock,” he thought.

Although Wolford had demonstrated his mettle as a hands-on manager, he decided earlier in the year to remove himself from the daily operating decisions. He had done so partly because of complaints from his subordinates about his constant involvement and partly because he wanted to devote more time to new product development. While he had thoroughly enjoyed spending more time in the engineering laboratory, the manufacturing area had experienced substantially decreased profitability. “What a jerk I was to have given them so much freedom,” he said to himself, reflecting on the operating-management team he had entrusted with the day- to-day operating authority only months before.

Wolford made himself a cup of coffee and dressed quickly. He knew his family would be waking up soon, and he wanted to spend some uninterrupted time analyzing the quarterly results. He looked at his watch. It was already 6:30 a.m.

At 7:00 a.m. he woke his wife Pat and his three children, poured another cup of coffee, and returned to his study to analyze the report. At 7:50 a.m. his wife opened the door to his study, and the following conversation ensued:

For the exclusive use of Y. Wang, 2015.

This document is authorized for use only by Yangyin Wang in Organizational Behavior 300-002 taught by Ken Mawritz, Drexel University from June 2015 to December 2015.

-3- UV2995

Pat: Well, Frankie missed the school bus.

John: So what else is new? I already yelled at him 20 times this morning. I told him he’d be late if he didn’t hurry up. What am I supposed to do about it?

Pat: I thought you could take him to school on your way to work.

John: I’ve got too much to do to drive him.

Pat: But you’re dressed.

John: So what! You can take him, or he can walk. I used to walk much further than that when I was in fifth grade.

Pat: You never do anything around here! Come on Frank, Mommy will drive you.

Wolford felt guilty and wished he hadn’t been so abrupt. But he didn’t have time to apologize, and he certainly didn’t have time to drive his son to school. The plant was nearly 30 miles away, and it would be a close call even without a detour. On the way to the plant, Wolford stopped at McDonald’s to get an Egg McMuffin and a large coffee to go. This was a morning ritual. He also managed to return several phone calls and IMs while driving over the San Mateo Bridge, and he made a silent vow to check his iPhone alarm every day.

As he pulled into the company parking lot, Wolford was surprised that several of his hourly people were handing out leaflets to fellow employees leaving after the third shift. After snagging a flyer, Wolford was surprised to read that it urged hourly employees to boycott the employee attitude survey that was being conducted that very morning under his direction. He had initiated the survey, at the president’s request, as a way of maintaining contact with his people. And yet, the flyer alleged that the survey data would be used against the union in forthcoming contract negotiations. Wolford was furious. He had worked hard to involve the union officers in the design of the survey, and he suspected that this was a power ploy on the part of a dissident faction to undermine the authority of the elected leadership.

He thought to himself, “How dare they impugn my motives!” At times like this, he was convinced he would have been better off staying in engineering.

As he entered the plant, he was cornered by Jim Kerns, one of his top salespeople. After exchanging pleasantries, Kerns asked Wolford to prevail on the plant manager to alter the production schedule in order to get out an order of test equipment for a preferred customer.

Wolford said he would look into it and headed for his office. He resented Kerns at times and reminded himself to review Kerns’s sales compensation plan. With sales commissions, Kerns earned more than anyone in the company, including Wolford.

The meeting with Lutz Boehm in Wolford’s office went smoothly. Wolford was going to England that evening to review the quarterly results with the managing director and his staff, and Boehm wanted to be briefed.

For the exclusive use of Y. Wang, 2015.

This document is authorized for use only by Yangyin Wang in Organizational Behavior 300-002 taught by Ken Mawritz, Drexel University from June 2015 to December 2015.

-4- UV2995

As he was leaving, Boehm asked Wolford to prepare a brief report on the preliminary results of the employee attitude survey. Boehm explained that he was meeting with the company’s legal counsel and a visitor from the corporate personnel staff on Monday morning to review some EEO discrimination charges and expressed his hope that there would be “some data in the survey that would be relevant.”

Wolford reminded Boehm that he would only be in the office for a couple of hours on Monday morning after which he would be leaving almost immediately for a four-week management-development program at the University of Virginia. He told Boehm that if he could get one of his staff members to analyze the data, he would have Jack Short prepare a written report for their joint review on Monday morning.

After the meeting, Wolford sent Short an e-mail requesting the report by Monday and rushed across the Bay to a funeral for the wife of one of his first-line supervisors. Ever since he had turned 40, funerals reminded him of his own mortality and made him uncomfortable. On his way back to the plant after the funeral, Wolford stopped at Taco Bell and ordered two beef burritos and a large coffee to go. He ate as he drove.

As he passed his favorite men’s store, he wished he had time to stop and shop. He needed some new business casual clothes for the upcoming executive program. He had put on so much weight in the past few years, however, that he just didn’t enjoy shopping as much as he used to when he had a 32-inch waist back when he graduated from Cal Tech. Now his waist measured nearly 38 inches. Although he still wore size 42 suits and slacks with a 36-inch waist, he had to admit that he felt like a sausage when he wore them, so he had been jogging sporadically. Wolford vowed to lose some weight during the four weeks at the management-development program.

Thinking about the coming four weeks of school reminded him that he had been asked to complete an advance assignment for the program. He was directed to have someone who knew him well at work write a one-page description of him as a manager and as a person. When he returned to his office, he asked Ann Marshall, his secretary, to write that confidential description and mail it to the management-development program staff. Marshall’s response is shown in Exhibit 1.

The rest of Wolford’s day was filled with meetings and fighting fires. He had a conversation with the sales manager on the burgeoning accounts receivable, a discussion with the plant manager on his plans for handling employee turnover on the third shift, a brief appearance in the company training room during an orientation program for new employees, and a two-hour meeting with some outside consultants who were designing a new scheduling system.

When the first shift had left for the day, Wolford began responding to the 200 e-mails that had accumulated in his inbox during the past few weeks. But before he was a quarter of the way through, it was seven o’clock, and he realized that he only had three hours to drive home to Los Altos, pack his bags, and get back up to San Francisco for his flight to London.

For the exclusive use of Y. Wang, 2015.

This document is authorized for use only by Yangyin Wang in Organizational Behavior 300-002 taught by Ken Mawritz, Drexel University from June 2015 to December 2015.

-5- UV2995

The Trip to London

Wolford arrived in London on Thursday morning at 9:00 a.m. local time. He had not gotten much sleep because the company required its executives to fly coach class, and he had been seated in the very last row of the Boeing 777 next to a family with restless and noisy children. He was met at Heathrow by a driver and taken to Eurotech’s International Management Centre in Wimbledon, a suburb of London.

While in London, Wolford averaged only two or three hours of sleep each night due to the time change. He usually went to bed at midnight at home, but midnight in London was only 4:00 p.m. San Francisco time. As a result, he would toss and turn for hours before getting up at 6:00 a.m. local time to work on his presentations. It was an exhausting few days, and the trip ended with a talk by the chairman on Saturday afternoon. Although top management asked a lot of tough questions, Wolford’s presentations went well. Because there were no flights to San Francisco that evening, he got a ticket to a theater near Covent Garden and rewarded himself with dinner and a play in London before returning to his room in Wimbledon around midnight. Sunday Morning

As usual, Wolford had a sleepless night. Nevertheless, he got up when his iPhone alarm rang at 7:00 a.m. to give himself time for a jog in Wimbledon Common and a quick swim in the indoor swimming pool. But even though he completed his morning exercise routine by 8:00 a.m., he still hurried as he showered and packed his bags for the trip home. He had a lot to do before his car arrived at ten o’clock: expenses to submit, thank-you notes to write and distribute to the housekeeping staff, a travel plug adapter to return to the house steward, and several phone calls to make to friends in London. Wolford completed most of these tasks and was stuffing a book into the outside compartment of his suitcase when his doorbell rang. A moment later the steward announced through the closed door, “Mr. Wolford, your car is here.”

“Damn it!” Wolford said to himself. “What’s he doing here 20 minutes early?”

“Tell the driver I’ll be down at 10:00,” he shouted through the door. Then he opened the door and added, “Thanks, Cliff. I ordered the car for 10:00 because my flight leaves at 12:30.”

Wolford hastily finished one of his uncompleted calls. Then he grabbed his bags and rushed down the stairs to the waiting car.

It was a beautiful, crisp, sunny day, and he wished he could stay. One of Eurotech’s sales executives from Wales had offered him tickets to the New Zealand-Wales rugby match at Cardiff Arms Park. It was like getting a chance to go to the Super Bowl. But he knew he had to get home that evening to California to get ready for his trip to the University of Virginia on Monday afternoon. Then he noticed that the car waiting to take him to Heathrow Airport was a dented 1993 Mondeo instead of the Mercedes usually provided for company executives visiting London. Still he handed his bags to the driver, walked around to the right-front side of the car, and started

For the exclusive use of Y. Wang, 2015.

This document is authorized for use only by Yangyin Wang in Organizational Behavior 300-002 taught by Ken Mawritz, Drexel University from June 2015 to December 2015.

-6- UV2995

to open the passenger door, forgetting the English convention on the placement of the steering wheel. “Are you going to drive, sir?” the driver asked. Wolford, embarrassed, shook his head as he climbed into the back seat. He looked nervously at his watch. It was 10:06 a.m. He had 45 minutes for the trip and 90 minutes to clear customs and security. It was going to be very close. The Taxi Ride

As the Mondeo left the manicured lawns and gardens of Eurotech’s International Management Centre behind, the following conversation took place between the driver and Wolford:

Driver: I’ve never made this trip before.

Wolford: You mean out here to the Management Centre?

Driver: No, I mean the airport.

Wolford: (incredulous) You’ve never been to Heathrow?

Driver: A long time ago but not from Wimbledon. I only started driving two days ago.

Wolford: (leans forward in his seat and notices the driver’s shaking hands) You’ve only been driving for two days?

Driver: No, I’ve been driving for 40 years.

Wolford: (reassured but confused) Looks like a lot of traffic today.

Driver: Yeah. Something is going on in London. By the way, do they usually take you over the Kingston-Thames Bridge?

Wolford: (Looking at his watch and wondering, “What in the hell is he asking me for?”) Yes, I think so.

Driver: Does this look familiar? (as the car crosses the bridge)

Wolford: (reassured by the familiarity of the round-about) Yes, it does. You said you’ve only been driving two days?

Driver: Yes. I’ve been repairing radios and tellies since the war.

Wolford: Why did you change jobs?

Driver: I had a nervous breakdown. Do you know where we are?

Wolford: (trying to contain his anxiety) No, I’ve never seen this road before.

Driver: (looking at a map and almost running into a garbage truck) I wrote the names of the streets on the inside cover.

Wolford: (taking the map from the driver) Here, I’ll read the names to you: “London Road to Queen’s Way to Ravenswood Drive to Uxbridge Road.”

Driver: What road are we on?

For the exclusive use of Y. Wang, 2015.

This document is authorized for use only by Yangyin Wang in Organizational Behavior 300-002 taught by Ken Mawritz, Drexel University from June 2015 to December 2015.

-7- UV2995

Wolford: (looking for a street sign as they drive at least two miles along a long wall enclosing a park on one side) Yes! There’s a sign. We’re on Warren Road.

Wolford: (looking in the map index and seeing three Warren Roads and four Queen’s Ways in Greater London, Wolford is angry) I don’t know where in the hell we are! Stop and ask that man walking his dog.

Driver: (stops) Excuse me, but how do we get to Uxbridge Road?

(Note: The stranger gives directions three times, and each time the driver repeats them incorrectly.)

Wolford: (looking at his watch and noting that it is 10 minutes until 11:00, Wolford begins to get an upset stomach.)

Driver: (turns left and starts heading back on the other side of the park in the direction they had just come from)

Wolford: (Thinking, “This jerk is driving us around in circles!”) Could we radio Wimbledon Cars and order another car? I really have to make this flight.

Driver: Yes, sir. But they haven’t installed a radio yet…you’re nervous, aren’t you?

Wolford: You’re damn right I’m nervous! We’ve only got five minutes to get to the airport, and all the other flights are booked, and I’ve got to be in San Francisco by tonight!

Driver: There’s Uxbridge Road! (He turns right.)

Wolford: I’m pretty sure we should have gone left.

Driver: I think we’re going in the right direction, sir. Do you still want me to turn around?

Wolford: No, let’s drive on a bit…Isn’t this more nerve-racking than repairing television sets?

Driver: Aye. The last two days have been much worse, sir! I made a trip to the Royal Opera House last night and thought I would get killed.

Wolford: Did you get there on time?

Driver: No, but it wasn’t my fault.

Wolford: Were the people upset?

Driver: I didn’t have people. I was delivering some new curtains.

Wolford: There’s the sign for Heathrow Airport. Hang a left and step on it!

Driver: Oh, I feel so relieved.

Wolford: We have 83 minutes until flight time. (His heart is racing.)

For the exclusive use of Y. Wang, 2015.

This document is authorized for use only by Yangyin Wang in Organizational Behavior 300-002 taught by Ken Mawritz, Drexel University from June 2015 to December 2015.

-8- UV2995

It turned out that United Flight 125 was delayed for two hours while a spare part was flown in from Amsterdam. Wolford was so angry he spent nearly an hour composing a letter to the president of the airline. He finally settled down and began reading one of his management program advance assignments. “We are what we do…and may do what we choose,” the essay asserted. And Wolford said. “I sure as hell can’t ‘do what I choose’ right now.”

For the exclusive use of Y. Wang, 2015.

This document is authorized for use only by Yangyin Wang in Organizational Behavior 300-002 taught by Ken Mawritz, Drexel University from June 2015 to December 2015.

-9- UV2995

Exhibit 1

JOHN WOLFORD (A)

MEMO

Personal and Confidential TO: Executive Program Staff From: Ann Marshall, Assistant to John Wolford Subject: John Wolford

Mr. Wolford is a very intense manager. He is bright, perfectionistic, and driven. His office is a mess. I can’t keep it organized, although he is very organized. In fact, he is ruthless in his attention to details. He checks up on everything.

He is always in a hurry. Always. He sees himself as “accessible,” but others don’t see him that way at all. In fact, most of them feel guilty about bothering him. He likes to keep his door closed when he is working alone or in a conference. He has a conference table in his office, although most of his meetings are with individuals, not groups. He still has a cubicle in the engineering lab and spends quite a bit of time down there.

Mr. Wolford is somewhat introspective but doesn’t seem to have a very accurate self- image. He sees himself as warm and understanding. I see him that way, but most others view him as cold and impatient. He also sees himself as a good delegator. And while he doesn’t spend much time in the plant, others still feel he makes most of the decisions. Publicly, he encourages people to make decisions, but the fact is that he makes most of the important decisions himself. Or people do what they think he would do. It drives people nuts, especially the plant manager, when someone says, “Well, John said…”

Mr. Wolford is impatient and often harried. He walks fast, eats fast (frequently in his office), and talks fast. One quirk that annoys me is that he often interrupts me in the middle of a sentence or finishes sentences for me. I told him about it, and he’s doing better, but I still find it irritating when he multitasks by skimming a report or looking around while I’m talking to him. He always seems to be doing two things at once. For example, when he’s dictating a letter, he might also be skimming the Wall Street Journal or looking up a telephone number on his iPhone.

He eats an enormous amount of food and nibbles on snacks constantly. He also drinks eight to ten cups of coffee a day. He has been trying to quit smoking ever since I have known him. He smokes only outside company offices. He doesn’t smoke at home or in the plant. I guess he must feel guilty about it.

For the exclusive use of Y. Wang, 2015.

This document is authorized for use only by Yangyin Wang in Organizational Behavior 300-002 taught by Ken Mawritz, Drexel University from June 2015 to December 2015.