MBA+521-+Erik+Peterson

 __Case Assignment Questions:__

What are the problems facing Erik Peterson?

PH Comments: - Peterson is charged with being the general manager of Green Mountain Cellular and he has no practical experience with the cellular industry. Without an appreciation or insight to the industry; you cannot properly lead your team to success.

- Peterson has a poor supervisor who is insecure about his skills and ability to lead; relationship was “ambiguous and awkward in the beginning…” and Hardy failed in giving clear direction or support to Peterson.

- Peterson does not have the right team in place; key positions are not equipped to handle all aspects of their charge (Curt Andrews, Chief Engineer).

- A lack of clear definition of authority for Peterson vs. headquarters.

- Lack of insight, experience or guidance on how to really approach and deal with problems. Peterson never created a team; he managed the people and the situations.

Lena __Inability of handling his job__ - No prior experience of constructing a cellular mobile telephone system - Hardy (immediate supervisor) also inexperienced in the industry - Relationship between Hardy and Peterson difficult to define - Difficult time managing the team - Did not delegate: attempted to tackle every problem by himself instead of looking to the employees for help with this - Morale is low

GA Comments:

1.) Peterson thought he would be reporting to Jenkins instead it is Hardy but he was never officially told. Hardy has no system operating experience. He was unable to offer initial advice or helpful guidance. He starts his job behind on the first day due to management. There is lack of support from corp throughout the process. He has a title but not all the power. Hardy visits but instead of offering advice he nit-picks at non operating things. He has no support from him to work with localities. 2.) He then finds out on his first day that construction is 3 weeks behind due to the subcontractor. He decides to let that sub go but his decision was met with resistance from corp. 3.) Curt Andrews, lead engineer, is having planning problems. Andrews has support of upper management and as a result Peterson has no support to deal effectively with Curt’s inabilities. Curt has no experience building new systems. He has resisted Peterson’s efforts to help him. 4.) Employee conflicts 5.) Problems with local government and utilities

What are the underlying causes of these problems?

PH Comments: - Lack of clear communication/direction between/from the staff in headquarters and GMCC. - Lack of clear definition of authority for Peterson (staff hires/firings and wages) - Non-committal boss (Hardy) - Poor decision tree making with respect to Hanover schedule/needs (Dual radios, power supplies) - Poor/lack of Hanover team structure and relationships between staff - Lack of leadership skills between Hardy and Peterson.

Lena - Lack of experience on both Hardy’s and Peterson’s part - Because of lack of expertise, Peterson does not have a lot of confidence in his managing - Morale is low because salary information was disclosed - A lot of issues within the company, such as variance from the vision (concentrating on high margins but also trying to gain a large number of customers) - Issues with equipment and inventory arriving on time

How effective has Peterson been in taking charge of the Hanover start-up?

PH Comments: Poor to Good. Peterson has been managing the situation, but was not leading it. Solving problems in a reactive mode; never putting people or himself in front of the issues. He has fallen into the trap, like so many of us do; you are so focused on trying to get to the finish line with the project, you never realize or deal with the “dead weight” or issues that are really slowing you down; you just accept them and keep trying to move forward.

Lena __Curt__ - Tried counseling him - Encouraged him to speak at weekly meetings - Put inventory system in place - Added an assistant to help Curt Conclusion: Ineffective. It seemed as if he tried all of these approaches with Curt but never asked him why they didn’t seem to be working.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">__Changes in management roles__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">- Todd, Melissa Conclusion: Effective. Should continue with this.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">__Other__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">- Changed subcontractor - Added weekly meetings Conclusion: Effective.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">GA Comments: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Peterson has laid out appropriate plans and steps to reach target date but he keeps hitting walls. Without the support of senior management he won’t be able to get over the hurdles. Peterson has the right ideas but no support. He could be effective if he had the ammo.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What actions should he take now? Please be specific.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #134f5c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">PH Comments: Peterson is too close to the finish line to start all over. He needs to document the specifics with the problems and issues that got him where he is; this is not to CYA, but rather to be able to define them and understand specifically what he will need to do to overcome and resolve. I would recommend that Peterson step back, review where the project is, and pull together the team to define where they are, not focus on the past or people’s weaknesses, and together define a plan, defining tasks, responsible parties, timeliness of what needs to be done to get the system up and running.

Peterson should also pull Andrews aside and have a real discussion with him. Put it all out there, but focus on what Andrews needs to do to get the job done. Peterson needs to show/convince Andrews that he supports him and that Andrews is critical and a valuable member of the team in getting the project done. Peterson needs to ask Andrews what are his weaknesses and what help does he need to get the job done right. Peterson has to get Andrews to admit to these issues, otherwise, Andrews will not accept help in an area that he does not see a problem with. Important to compliment and discuss Andrew's strengths and how they will help the team get the project finished.

The plan should include a task structure with resources, finances, potential issues, approaches, and a real delivery date. The team should meet daily, first thing, review what was accomplished yesterday, define the day’s activities and resolve problems together.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Lena - Work on the problem with utility and pick-up truck - Find a way to replace Curt - Work on who he should be reporting to - Help Curt by finding a construction coordinator - Work on zoning problem (reaction) and government agreements <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">GA Comments: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Peterson should out his plans, what he needs to succeed and how he plans to meet the go live date. He should present this to Knight. He should also explain in this presentation what the hurdles have been and what they will be in the future. He should not point fingers just present his plan.

He should bring all employees into a room lay out the facts and talk about the hurdles. Get agreement as a team on how to move forward and succeed. They all need to agree to work together and put aside their differences. If they miss another go live date they will be at risk of upper management replacing them and the area of services not trusting them.