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ch17: Apply Your Skills: 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 long-time CEO of a major
toy company. Over the past few years, his company worked
to develop a new product line, called Brainchild, that all
concerned believed would be a blockbuster. The passion of
Tannenbaum, the new line of toys was so top-secret that
portions of the line were created and produced, piecemeal,
590 Part 5 Leading
among the various divisions. In the beginning, it was all
very hush-hush. But as the line moved closer to completion
and 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 confidante, arrived
at his office, opened his e-mail and saw a flagged message
from Howard:
Barry:
We have a disaster in the making here. Looks like I’m going
to have to come down hard on all of my managers. Somebody
will go—perhaps 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 is—and it
could be anyone—believe 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 finding the source of the leak. Please be thorough in your
investigation and be TOTALLY HONEST with me in presenting
your findings in this matter. Someone will pay for this. THIS IS
TOP PRIORITY!
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 beyond—to employees and at least one
member of the press, who dubbed the debacle Toy-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 long-time
manager said. “But when I saw the e-mail to Paine about
how Howard really felt and the level of contempt he
showed for all of us, making us all appear incompetent and
dishonest—that, for me, is the last straw. Even if I stay, it
has destroyed the 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 tragedy, 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 take—what you say,
how you say it, and to whom you say it—that is important.”
“OK—what do you think I should do next?”
Questions
1. What is the underlying communication mistake in this
case? Why do you think Howard Tannenbaum sent
those e-mails?
2. How do you think Tannenbaum should have communicated
his concerns about the information link? Why?
3. What should Tannenbaum do now to try to recover
from the negative impact of his e-mails? Suggest
specific steps.
The post Apply Your Skills: Case for Critical Analysis appeared first on Infinite Essays.
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