ROB PANCO

Faculty : Prof. B. Pattanayak

Robert Panco is thirty-seven years old. He is now a management consultant. Along the
way to his current position, Rob's had some interesting work experiences, and he's been
kind enough to share some of them with us. Specifically, he reflects on his career path
the challenges and problems related to OB that he encountered in his career.
Exhibit 1-1 provides a brief description of Rob Panco's background and career
progression. But resumes leave a lot out. So let's begin by learning a bit about Rob's
early life and career experiences.
If you had asked Rob during his senior year in high school what he planned on doing
with his life, he'd have answered: "I am going to be a professional musician." Toward
that end, he had trained as a string bass player. When he went off to college - Duquesne
University in Pittsburgh - it was with the intention to pursue his music interests. But
things don't always work out as planned. During his first year, Rob came face to face
with reality: There were lots of string bass players more talented than he was. If he
pursued his passion, he could be a music teacher at best. Rob wanted more. So he
decided to change majors. He chose to work toward a degree in business, with
specialization in marketing and management.
Why pursue a career in business? Rob wasn't sure. It might have been the influence of
his father, who opened a State Farm insurance agency after spending 22 years in the U.S.
Navy. Or it might have been the positive experience he'd had working part time in high
school. From the age of 14 to 18, Rob worked evenings, weekends, and summers at a
weekly newspaper. "I took the job initially to make money. I wanted to buy $1400
string bass." He started by sweeping floors and washing presses. But, over time, he
learned most of the jobs at the paper. For instance, he set type, pasted up ads, and
perfected the skills of maintaining complex printing equipment. After graduating from
high school, Rob continued working summers at the newspaper.
During his undergraduate college years, Rob gained experience-selling shoes at Tom
McAn, working in a Hallmark card store, and in similar jobs. It wasn't unusual for him
to carry 18 units and work 30 hours a week during the school year (he needed the
money, but he also enjoyed working). Rob also assumed leadership roles in campus
activities. He was on the Student Activity Board (SAB) and single-handedly fought to
bring jazz concerts to campus. These concerts eventually became one of the SAB's few
profit making enterprises. But Rob's heavy schedule had a price. "My grades were never
as high as they should have been", says Rob. "I was a B student when I should have been
making A's."

After earning his undergraduate degree, and facing a weak job market, Rob entered
graduate school to work on an MBA. Again, he combined studying with an outside job.
In his first year, he spent 20 hours a week supervising students at the University's
Student Union. In his second year, he spent 30 hours a week working in the University's
Small Business Development Centre. Both these jobs were valuable because they
allowed Rob to apply what he was learning in his MBA programme. Clearly, a pattern
was emerging. This was a guy who wasn't happy unless he was keeping very busy.
Rob stayed at the Small Business Development Centre for two years after earning his
MBA. Then he left for a job at AT&T in New Jersey. In his first job there, he did market
research on new products. After six months, he got his first promotion. A year later,
he was chosen to head a temporary market-research project team made up of five peers.
"This was a very challenging job," says Rob. "These people worked under my direction
but reported to their departmental bosses. I had no real authority, yet I was responsible
for the project. Ironically, it was a lot like my experience in running concerts in college.
The people I oversaw were all volunteers. Managing peers and volunteers is very
similar".
Rob's success in managing this project team led to his nomination and selection to AT &
T's Leadership Continuity Programme. This is a select group of individuals who show
promise for significantly higher managerial responsibilities. As part of this programme,
Rob linked up with a senior executive who would become an informal mentor,
participated in two continuing education programmes a year, and gained favoured
status on future job assignments. In May 1989, Rob was transferred to Maryland as a
senior marketing manager. Eighteen months later he returned to New Jersey as a project
manager.
Exhibit 1.1
Robert Panco, JR.
446 Sheridon Avenue
New Brunswick NJ 07114
(908) 792-1722
Education
M.B.A., Duquesne University (Pittsburgh, PA), 1984
B.S., Business Administration, Duquesne University,
Major: Marketing Management; Minor: Economics, 1982
Professional Experience
1/97 till date - Independent Management Consultant
5/93 12/96 - General Manager, M.E. Aslett Corp., New Jersey
10/92 - 4/93 - Business Manager, M.E. Asiett Corp

9/90 9/92 5/89 9/90 10/88 - 4/89 5/87 9/88 6/86 4/87 6/83 6/86 Personal
Birthdate :
Martial Status:

Project Manager/Consultant, AT & T Bell Laboratories, New Jersey

Senior Marketing Manager, AT&T Network Systems Regional
Marketing Maryland
Marketing Manager, AT &T Network Systems Regional Marketing
Market Planner, AT&T Network Systems Network Market
Planning, New Jersey
Associate Market Planner, AT&T Network Systems Network
Market Planning
Senior Consultant, Small business Development Center: Duquesne
University, Division of Continuing Education
January 20, 1960
Married, no children

In October 1992, Rob Joined M.E. Aslett Corporation as the company's business
manager. Aslett is a small New Jersey-based packager of educational and professional
reference books. It handles book projects from conception all the way up to, but
excluding, the printing stage. Aslett's clients include Grolier Encyclopedia, World book
International, Prentice hall, Harcourt Brace, and McGraw Hill. Seven months later, he
took over as general manager where he saw the firm's operations - the production
manager, network administrator, copy editors, proofreaders, desktop publishers and
color separators all reported directly to him.
When asked about his philosophy toward managing people, Rob says, "You can't take
honesty away. Don't mislead people. Be open and tell the truth." But he also mentions
something that occasionally gets him into trouble: " I assume that other people love their
work as much as I do. I like to learn, to keep moving forward. For instance, I set selfimprovement goals for myself every quarter. I sometimes forget that other people aren't
like me."
The comment that "other people aren't like me" prompted questions about workforce
diversity at Aslett. "We had more women working there than men," Rob said, " and
several of our people were single parents. In addition, we employed a couple of people
from Great Britain, an African-American, and a Jamaican. For a company with only 20
people, I think we had a pretty diverse group."
Before you can understand others, you need to understand yourself. With that in mind, Rob
Panco was asked to describe his strengths and weaknesses. "On the positive side, I am
very opportunistic, I'm good at exploiting opportunities. I am a positive person. I'm
realistic, broad-minded. I can deal with different opinions and change my mind when I
need to. I'm also driven to succeed. When asked to identify what he thought his faults

might be, Rob said, "I take too much responsibility for other people's performance and
happiness.
When I was a full-time manager, I wanted to provide my people with safety nets.
Sometimes people perform best when they work without a net. Nurturing is good, but
too much isn't. This tendency created problems when I delegated assignments. On one
side, sometimes I didn't provide enough instructions with my delegation. This was
particularly a problem with younger project leaders. On the other side, I was frequently
paranoid when I delegated something. I'd be afraid that it would get screwed up. I
worry a lot. I think this reflects the fact that I'm not always 100 percent sure of myself. I
go through phases of insecurity. I feel overly responsible for people. Friends describe
me as having confidence without arrogance. But when I was General Manager at Aslett,
I had a lot of responsibility, and I probably worried too much about people making
mistakes and screwing things up."
The discussion with Rob then turned to his experiences at Aslett and the topics of
selecting new employees, his decision-making style, his views on motivation, the
importance he places on measuring employee attitudes, and ethical dilemmas he may
have faced.
"In 1993 and 1994, business was very good. Sales were increasing and we needed to
expand our staff. To find an ideal job candidate, I always started by looking at the
specific job to be done. Essentially, I'd break jobs into one of two categories. For entrylevel jobs, I looked for people who showed promise and were trainable. I could then
mold them into the type of employee I wanted. For experienced workers and managers,
I was more concerned with the fit between them and us. Their attitudes and ways of
doing things were established, so I needed to be sure that they'd fit well with our
organization. For example, I had been interviewing candidates to fill the position of
production manager. I was looking for four things in this position. First, they had to
have the ability to do the functional task. Second, they needed raw talent. By that I
mean they had to show me evidence that they could successfully apply their ability.
Third, I wanted some evidence of professional ambition. And fourth, I looked at their
personal dynamics. Would they fit into our culture? Personality wise, the kind of people
I wanted were those with enthusiasm, team players - I didn't want any heroes - and
individuals committed to growth.
"Of course, like everyone, I've made some mistakes in hiring," Rob admitted. "For
instance, I had to let one person go. He was late a lot. He lacked motivation. I had hired
Dan right out of high school and I thought I could shape him into a real good employee.
He was OK for about six months. Then the problems started. He wanted to leave at
exactly 5 P.M. to be with his friends. He was resistant to new technologies. I encouraged
him to take advantage of our training opportunities, but he wasn't interested. I talked

with him about these problems on a monthly basis. I even talked with Hank, who Dan
sort of modeled himself after. Hank told me that Dan lacked motivation and was hurting
company morale. This confirmed to me that Dan didn't fit in. So I let him go. In another
instance, I hired a woman as my financial assistant who did marvelously in the
interview, had good references, and exactly the experience I was looking for. But Anne
was just lethargic. She was slow, inaccurate, and her productivity was unsatisfactory. I
had to fire her. Interestingly, I went back to Anne's original file and reviewed her
application, references, and my interview notes. Nothing suggested that she wouldn't be
a top performer. Sometimes you just can't predict how an employee is going to turn
out!
"This discussion of hiring makes a good segue to the topic of decision making. I
consider myself very rational. I'm a fact-based decision-maker. Two-things I think
characterize my decision-making. First, I'm flexible. I listen to others. I may not agree
with you, but I'm open to letting you sell me on your position. I believe in others giving
me input. But I don't believe in decisions by committee. Second, I follow what I call my
"12 - hour rule." I never rush big decisions that have a lasting impact. When people
would ask me right after a proposal what I was going to do, I'd say 'I don't know yet.' I
like to sleep on decisions and then make a commitment."
Motivating employees is a key issue for most managers and Rob was no exception. " I
may be wrong, but I think money is less of a factor in the '90s than it was in the 1980s.
Now quality of work life is a prime motivator. At Aslett, no one earned less than
$25,000 a year. So everyone had his or her basic financial needs met. Let me qualify my
earlier comment. For people in the $25,000 to $35,000 ranges, money matters. It's less
important for people who make over $35,000. And today, with so many dual-career
couples, people just aren't going to jump through hoops in order to get an extra $1,000 or
$2,000 salary increase. Also keep in mind that times have changed. The 10 percent
annual cost-of-living raise is becoming extinct. At Aslett, we relied more on annual
bonuses based on company and personal performance. In 1994, for instance, bonuses
ranged from 1 to 10 percent of a person's salary. Additionally, I looked for creative ways
to motivate people. As an example, I gave one person two days off with pay as a reward
for an outstanding job. Most people appreciate recognition, so I used that. One
employee got a write-up in a local paper for her success in fund raising for charity. I put
that article up on the wall in the lunchroom. I also tried to modify work schedules to
reflect individual differences. I worked with the single parents to give them leaves and
schedules that helped them meet their personal needs. Oh yeah, and we gave all
employees ten holidays a year. Only six of them were universally taken by everybody.
The other four were floating days. Individuals could choose which holidays they wanted
to take. Some took Martin Luther King Day as their holiday. One former military guy
took Veteran's Day. Several of our Jewish employees took Rosh Hashanah and/ or Yom
Kippur."

Rob was asked whether the slowdown in business that Aslett faced in 1995 influenced
motivation. Sales flattened and profits turned to losses. In December 1994, Aslett
employed 16 full-time people. Two years later that number was down to nine. "It was
surprising to me how people adapted to the decline in business," Rob said. "Most of the
reductions in staff came through voluntary attrition. Those who couldn't handle the
increased workloads, insecurity, and ambiguity resigned. One guy, for instance, left for
a more traditional corporate job. In late 1995, when business picked up, a number of
employees complained because we didn't hire any new people. I explained that the new
equipment we'd installed allowed increases in productivity. But people didn't seem to
understand that, while they were producing more, it was due to technology rather than
them working harder.
"One of my more memorable problems was with Nick", Rob continued. "The Product
line that Nick worked on was going to be obsolete in a year or so. I made that clear to
Nick and told him he needed to retrain. He resisted and resisted. But I didn't threaten
him. I treated him like an adult. I just said, 'Nick, You may not have a job around here
if your product line goes away. Whether or not your retrain to handle the new
equipment is up to you.' That approach worked. He informally retrained himself by
taking several of the new machines home with him on weekends and learning how to
use them."
M.E. Aslett didn't use attitude surveys. Rob talked about three means by which he kept
track of employee attitudes. "I tapped employee attitudes informally. There were two
people who regularly came into my office, talked with me, and gave me feedback on
what people were thinking and saying. These people were very open with me. They
spoke their mind. And they were pretty accurate at tapping into the mood." Rob got
formal feedback on attitudes through project debriefings and performance reviews.
Most projects at Aslett were done in teams. At the completion of a project, he debriefed
the group. "I have to admit I didn't get that much out of those debriefings," says Rob,
"but it was a good motivating tool. It gave people a feeling of contributing." Finally, Rob
used the feedback from performance reviews and evaluations to monitor how
employees felt about factors such as supervision, their job, and the organization itself.
When Rob was asked to identify ethical dilemmas he'd faced, he mentioned two. A
publisher wanted him to publish a book that he felt was obviously outdated. Since he
would be the editor of record, he didn't want to be associated with such a project. A
second had to do with laying off a full-time employee and then rehiring someone to fill
that slot but on a temporary basis. He wasn't sure whether such a decision, which made
good business sense was ethically appropriate.
"I'm a big fan of teams", says Rob Panco. "When I came to Aslett, things were not as they
could have been. Of course, we were pretty small at the time. I decided to use teams as

an organizing device for three reasons. First, functional specialization made teaming
easy. I could take the separators or desk-top-publishing people and group them into
common teams very easily. Second, teams allowed me greater control, and third, teams
were good for the kind of work we did. We worked around projects. I thought crossfunctional teams would be an effective way for us to meet our project goals." When
asked if he had any people who weren't team players and, if so, how he handled it, Rob
said, "I inherited one guy, Nick, who couldn't work well with others. No one wanted to
work with him. I told him that he didn't have to be a team member but he had a
responsibility to respect other projects. I isolated him as a team of one! Nick was a high
maintenance person for me. He had a talent that I couldn't duplicate. He hurt morale
when he copped his attitude. But I needed him and he was respected for his job
competence."
On the subject of communication, Rob noted that he and his people at Aslett made
increased use of electronics during his last few years there. Employees used an internal
network to e-mail messages between each other. Rob worked with a consultant in the
United Kingdom and communicated regularly with him via fax and e-mail as well as the
telephone. But Rob is not an uncritical supporter of e-mail. "At AT&T I got so much email, I couldn't read it all. It can become a party line with a lot of noise. From my
standpoint, I think e-mail works well as a motivation tool. I could use it on Monday, for
instance, to summarize the previous week's performance and to set the current week's
goals." The UK example also reminded Rob of internal communication problems
created by employees who came from different cultures. One of his British employees at
Aslett, for example, had difficulty with the looseness and informality of his American
peers. He viewed them as behaving "less than proper."
On leadership, Rob had some insightful comparisons between his managerial roles at
AT&T versus Aslett. "At AT&-T, I had responsibility but no authority because I
managed peers. To be effective, I had to rely a lot on horse-trading. At Aslett I had real
authority." But he had some problems adjusting to his authority. "I'm friendly by
nature. I had trouble creating distance between myself and my staff. This apparently
confused people. They'd say, 'One minute Rob is my pal and then the next minute he's
asking me where the pages are or why I missed a deadline.' I never figured out how to
walk this tightrope very well." Rob also used the topic of leadership to explain his
philosophy on empowering employees. "Realistically, there were some people I just
couldn't delegate to. So I practiced selective empowerment. But overall, I wanted my
people to take the ball and run with it because I saw empowerment as necessary if we
were to grow. I looked at empowerment as an alternative to adding another level of
management."
Although Rob doesn't consider himself a political animal, he clearly understands the
importance of building a power base. For example, he noted that selection to the

Leadership Continuity Programme at AT&T gave him the clout to get the transfers he
wanted when he wanted them. It also gave him influence with managers above him. But
at a cost : Peers were jealous and it created conflicts with them. When asked if he did
anything to increase his power at AT&T, he quickly admitted to volunteering for
committees and visible assignments. "Early in my career at AT&T, a boss told me to
volunteer to work with upper managers. I asked 'why?' he said, "It'll help at
performance-appraisal time. The people who will be evaluating you and ranking you
against others will know who you are."
Rob made a point to contrast politicking at Aslett and AT&T. "Look, politics occur
everywhere. A certain amount is appropriate. At AT&T, however, it was individually
oriented. People kissed up to their boss to improve their personal status-to get a
promotion or a salary increase. At Aslett, politics is more team-directed. It's used to get
attention for a team or to protect the team's self interest." When asked how the decline
in business at Aslett in 1995 affected internal politics Rob replied, "I expected a lot of
kissing-up to protect jobs. I expected to see overt examples of self-serving behaviour.
Growth provides excess resources. In decline, when those reserves are gone, I thought
people would fight to get more of a shrinking resource pool. I was wrong. We
experienced increased solidarity. For six to ten weeks, we had to put all our operating
people on four-day workweeks and cut their pay by 20 percent. They didn't complain.
Instead of backbiting, people came together as a team. They helped each other out and
looked for ways to help management. They created an informal, cross-functional
support network. People seemed to be wanting to make concessions to help the
company survive."
On the topic of how Rob handles conflict, there was an obvious linkage back to his
decision-making style. " When I see conflicts bubbling up, I sit back and analyze them. I
don't do anything hastily. I want to think before I act. You can be too confrontational
and make a situation worse. I want to get all the facts. So I'd talk privately with each
individual involved in the conflict and ask him or her, 'What's going on?' Then I'd
validate the information. Only then would I bring the parties together and try to find a
resolution."

Source: Organizational Behavior by Stephen P. Robbins, Eighth Edition