Team:

Arpit(010)
Geetika(023)
Meenakshi(036)
Shahal(049)
Vikas(062)

Thomas Green: Power, Office Politics and a Career in Crisis

1. What are the work styles and personalities of Thomas Green and Frank Davis?

Working Styles
Frank Davis Thomas Green
Values Team Work Values autonomy, prefers individualistic work
culture
Emphasizes good communication, status Apathetic towards effective workplace
updates, quick responses communication
Detail and procedure-oriented Ideation mindset and result oriented
Reflects ‘Transactional Leadership’; focuses on Chaotic Approach and less structured work
supervision, organization and performance flow
Personality
Frank Davis Thomas Green
Systematic, methodical Unstructured but street-smart
Collaborative and team player Individualistic but result-oriented
Intolerant and lacks patience Stubborn and rebellious
Machiavellian Politically ignorant

2. How do the expectations of Green differ from the expectations of Frank Davis?

Expectations of Thomas Green

 Autonomous work culture

 Result oriented workflow rather than process oriented
 No micromanagement and surveillance
 Ideas should be valued above established approaches

Expectations of Frank Davis

 Roles and responsibilities to be understood

 Strategic intent and tactical approach
 Seamless flow of ideas and communication in structured way
  Deliverables to be given due importance
 Respect for corporate hierarchy

3. What is your analysis of Thomas Green’s actions and job performance in his first five
months?

Thomas Green, as attributed by Mc Donald was a street-smart, charismatic and ambitious

person who had a great rapport with his clients. However, post promotion to market
specialist he experienced few hiccups in his performance owing to change in his roles and
responsibilities.

As per our analysis, the problems faced by Green were due to the following reasons:

 Non-alignment with company’s workflow

 Lacked managerial experience in coordinating among different corporate functions
 Though street-smart and unconventional in approach, Green’s work style was largely
unstructured and chaotic
 Unresponsive and indifferent to feedbacks by higher authority
 Considered deliverables low in priority
 Lacked basic understanding of communication, context and collaboration at
workplace

4. What are the possible underlying agendas of Davis and McDonald ?

Possible underlying agendas of Davis and McDonald

Davis:
To establish the fact that Thomas Green was not worthy enough for the position he held
due to lack of his corporate management experience and skill sets required in a market
specialist.

McDonald:
To provide a platform and direction to ambitious and charismatic talent who has proven
his worth in past and exceeded everyone’s expectations in a very short duration.
McDonald believed that Thomas with his unconventional approach and client rapport
could bring in freshness to the role and subsequent success to the company.
5. What actions, if any, would you take if you were Thomas Green to solve the conflict and
why?

 Have a meaningful one to one discussion with Davis and identify the grey areas.
 Evaluate the root cause of conflict (conflict management) including difference in
communication, context and collaboration styles and identify the steps to re-establish
the rapport.
 Align my ideas and unconventional approach with company’s processes in order to bring
substantial outcomes.
 Bring more adaptability and flexibility in work style in order to accommodate team work
culture.
 Provide deliverables with due diligence.
 Respect organization hierarchy and give importance to effective communication.