Case Analysis Report

ORBR Case 1: Jensen Shoes: Jane Kravitzs Story

Group AE2, Section 6
Primary Issue
There was lack of proper communication and feedback between Lyndon and his superiors.
Also Lyndon was not motivated enough to do his work because of the leadership style of his
superiors.
Reasons or justifications
The quality of communication missing here is proper feedback for Lyndons behaviour and
accomplishments. Lyndon is receiving mixed feedback from his superiors. Rather than
providing positive reinforcement for his accomplishment, Chuck said that anyone could have
done that project. Similarly, Jane could have given him feedback about his negative
behaviour but she is constantly rewarding Lyndon by taking him out to lunch and throwing
him a birthday party.
Problem Statement
In what ways can Jane help and convince Lyndon to complete his strategic performance
objectives before deadline?
Reasons
Jenson shoes was facing a slight decline from previous years, casual wear sales had begun to
flatten. To increase sales, employees were assigned the task to define opportunities for new
markets and new products. Janes strategic performance objectives (s.o.s) included the
completion of a comprehensive marketing plan for several vertical markets- out of which she
assigned 2 markets to Lyndon Brooks. If he does not complete his strategic performance
objectives before deadline, then it will impact Janes s.o.s as well which may ultimately lead
to failure of marketing strategy. It will eventually not help to boost sales of Jenson shoes
which were the primary concern of the company at that moment.
Contextual and culture analysis
The problem he is facing is that he feels that the companys culture is driven by politics
within the employees and his work, by coincidence or by misfortune, is not recognized. As a
result he feels his chances of progressing in his career goals were diminishing.
The problem begins when Director of Strategic Marketing Chuck Taylor provides negative
information to Jane about one of her new staff membersLyndon Brooksby stating that he
had not received very good performance reviews over the last three years that he had been
with the company. Jane had worked with Lyndon in the past and she thought that he was a
very charming African-American businessman who had a way about him that suggested he

could be a star if given the right situation and motivation. Chucks negative comments about
Lyndon influence her thought process regarding Lyndons ability to perform well and meet
expectations.
Areas of concerns and Evaluation
When Lyndon finally discloses to Jane that he plans to visit his brother during his trip to the
trade show in San Diego, she assumes that he simply does not want to do his job. However,
Jane should have thought about why Lyndon wanted to visit his brother (e.g., Is there some
type of an emergency?). It is possible that Lyndon is unable to focus on work because of
external factors at home that are occupying his mind, and Jane should have considered these
things before jumping to conclusions about Lyndons behaviour. In this situation, Jane is
committing a fundamental attribution errorthe tendency to attribute others actions to
internal causes (e.g., their traits) while largely ignoring external factors that also may have
influenced behaviour by assuming that Lyndon simply does not want to do his job.
Recommendations
Short term Recommendations
In order for Chuck and Jane to become effective leaders, they must have high expectations
and continue to be committed to Lyndons professional growthsomething Chuck has
clearly given up on. Although Jane tries to be positive towards Lyndon, she fails to do so
appropriately by repeatedly treating him like a child (monitoring him and giving him small
rewards).
It is possible that Lyndon sees this type of work as beneath his status and is, therefore,
refusing to complete itan indirect way of calling for higher expectations. Chuck and Jane
need to point out to Lyndon that he has potential to be successful, while motivating him to
believe that he can achieve more. Raising expectations and Lyndons self-efficacy will surely
push him into providing his superiors with his best effort.
Medium term Recommendations
There are a few things that Chuck and Jane may be able to do to rid themselves of any
stereotypes against Lyndon. Primarily, they should consider that their behaviours toward
Lyndon could be prejudiced, and realize that having a prejudice about other people ruins their
images of themselves. An obvious fix to the problem would be to consciously suppress such
thoughts.
Long term Recommendations
Open communication and Proper feedback among these individuals would shorten the gap
between conflicting perspectives and curb any stereotypical thinking. This strategy would
promote more openness in the workplace by encouraging each individual to express
themselves openly, and in turn understand what they might have been doing to aggravate the
situation, allowing them to avoid similar problems in the future.