LISA BENTON

HBR Case Study Briefing

Arundhathi B
 rd
Age Housewo
re
27 Home Ca
Division

Boss
Harvard
MBA Deborah
Linton

LISA
uct
BENTON o c i ate Prod
Role Ass
ger
tant Mana
Assis t
uc Ron
Prod er le
Mana
g Scovil
THE STORY…
Between I & II years at the HBS Job Choice
● Assistant to the President (Scott Director of Marketing at Right-Away
Kingston) ● Substantially higher salary; scope for
● Right-Away Stores - a premier chain of quick promotion
convenience food stores, Chicago ● Not glamorous: small company
● Supervised a project from concept to Assistant Product Manager at
execution Houseworld’s Home Care Division
● Classical marketing training;
structured environment

Turns down the offer at RA, interviews at HW

OFFER November 2015

● Full-time position upon graduation Translate written text from English or
German to Arabic with the click of a camera
● Part-time consulting during her second year at HBS
 ● Warm & down-to-earth
interview panel
● Richard Clark, the
Group Product
Manager had a high
impression

April 7
Offer accepted

June 15
Day 1 at Houseworld

Source: theguardian.com
DAY 1
➔ Linton
Not expecting Benton for another week;
office was not set up yet
➔ “I don’t like Harvard MBA”; "MBAs act like
they know a lot more than they do”
Called Scoville to help her settle
Cold welcome
➔ Richard Clark
Barely remembered her; did not stop to
welcome her aboard
➔ Scoville
Did not have an MBA
Unkempt called himself a “corporate misfit”
Not impressed by MBAs especially those
from HBS
DAY 1

MIXED EMOTIONS
First two months ...
● Scoville was sitting very close to Linton
discussing some aspect of the brand review.
Benton thought they seemed somewhat
intimate, and she felt like an intruder.

● Friendly and warm colleagues at cafeteria

from other divisions

● Previously, new assistant product managers

were selected from a mix of MBA and
non-MBA candidates; the emphasis now was
on recruiting MBAs from top-notch schools
for entry-level marketing positions.
First two months ...
● Scoville answered her queries but made her do the
clerical works

● Maintain the “learning mode”

● Act like a learner

● Did not give opinions even if she wanted to

● Felt like a fifth wheel

First two months ...
● Appreciated for her analysis by the group
product manager, Jack Vernon

● However not satisfied with JUST ANALYSIS;

wanted to develop & recommend strategies

● Friendly, cordial and supportive approach

from all other colleagues at all levels [but
not Scoville & Linton]
First two months ...

6 WEEKS DONE:

● No objectives set

● No lunch / time for her by Linton

● Last minute works by Scoville

3 EPISODES
The
Typing Performance
Copying
Evaluation
Incident Episode

Quotes for illustration purposes only

TYPING INCIDENT
● Lisa - word processing in the absence of her secretary

● Vernon:
○ “I never want to see you doing word processing in this company again. We have secretaries
to do that kind of work ……... It destroys your credibility ……….”

● Linton was furious - Vernon had gone over her head and approached Benton directly
● Linton:
○ “"You know, there are times and places when we have to do things like word
processing."

Lisa decided to follow the instructions of Vernon as he was more senior in the department
THE COPYING EPISODE
● Lisa rushing with her project deadlines
● Scoville repeatedly insisted to do some last minute copying works
○ Lisa: "Ron, why don’t you plan your time better and do your own copying?"
○ Scoville: “Oh, I see, you’re too good for copying,"

● Linton summoned Lisa to her office: “I understand you’re too good for copying”
● Lisa: “That is patently false. … I was getting tired of his patronizing attitude..In fact, when I was
at Right-Away last summer, I counted inventory, I dusted the shelves, I . . .”
● Linton cut her off, shouting: “.... Copying is a part of your job, even if you are a Harvard MBA.”

● Lisa: “You had a lot of gall going to Deborah when I’ve been doing a lot of tasks for you.
…………… but I expect you to ask me for favors without being so condescending.
● Scoville: "I’m sorry this happened …………. I’ll try to work on my behavior next time."
●
 BENTON FELT STUCK

If she performed clerical tasks, she would be criticized by Vernon; if she did not comply with
Scoville’s requests, she would be attacked for not being a team player.
_________________________________

VERNON’S CONCERN

_________________________________

Lisa defended Linton - Loyalty towards boss

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
It was customary for a performance review after 3 months
_______________________________________________________
Benton approached Linton for the evaluation.
“I’ll sit down with you in a few days and give you a performance review."
_______________________________________________________
Informal discussion at a nearby hotel - jotted down points to speak
_______________________________________________________
Benton listened and nodded, and tried not to get defensive, but on the inside she felt
disappointed and misunderstood
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
STRENGTHS WEAKNESS

● Commended on her ability to get along ● Not taking initiative in structuring

with the staff groups and the projects for herself
marketing department,
● Lack of assertiveness in
● Learning quickly how the company
"worked," ● Too quiet in meetings with Scoville and
● Her written communication skills. the staff groups.
● Lacked confidence

● She said that Benton was doing a "nice

job." ● Barely contribute your opinions.
● Always qualify your recommendations
with, ‘I’m not really familiar with. . . .’"
● Unassertive and lacking in initiative
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
Linton’s criticisms accurately described her behavior at Houseworld, but they were
inconsistent with what Benton felt her "true self" to be.

Benton was acutely upset that her superior had failed to recognize some of her major
strengths:
analytical skills | intellectual capacity | organizational abilities

Conflicting messages from the very beginning: she was warned not to act like an arrogant
MBA, and she was faulted for not being assertive enough.
Yelling Episode
Scoville challenged her assumptions w.r.t. profit
calculations:

● “You arrogant MBAs are all alike. You think you

know everything. You’re so cocky. When you’ve been
around for a while, you’ll see that your analysis is
wrong!”

● Linton still supported Scoville: “I know others don’t

like him, but I think he is misunderstood and that he
has a heart of gold."
HANG IN THERE??

OR

QUIT?
 Employee Orientation

1
● Pertaining to first few weeks

Lisa felt disappointed during her first few

weeks at Houseworld. What, according to
you, caused friction between her and her
team members: Linton and Scoville?
Mention at least 2 instances.
 ● OCEAN
○ Openness
○ Conscientiousness
○ Extraversion
○ Agreeableness

2A
○ Neuroticism

Analyse Scoville’s personality using the ● High / Low

OCEAN framework. What, according to
you, would he score in each of the OCEAN
traits? Cite examples or instances to
support your answer ● Reasons
 Using OCEAN Results

2B
● To improve relationship with
Scoville
Using the results of the OCEAN
framework analysis, suggest two
ways in which Lisa can improve her
relationship with Scoville.
 Johari Window

3 ● Name should be specified

A. Which area of the Johari window does

this situation represent ● Reasons to reduce this area
● Improve relationship
A. What can Lisa do to reduce this area
and improve her relationship with
Linton? Give at least two relevant
examples.
 Feedback Structure

● Ways to give better feedback

4 ● Things to consider when giving a

negative feedback
In Lisa's performance review, Linton
described Lisa as "unassertive" and "lacking
in initiative and confidence". What could
Linton have done differently while giving ● Not about before and after the
the feedback? Suggest two improvements. feedback session
 Employee Engagement

● From the company’s end

5 ● To keep employees motivated

Suggest three engagement tactics that
could have helped Lisa in feeling more
motivated to work in
Houseworld. ● NOT from Lisa’s end
 Power Tactics
6 ● Note: Answer based on your
learnings from the Organisational
Behaviour module
Lisa can improve her relationship with
Linton and Scoville using certain power
tactics. Based on this,
answer the following questions. ● 2 of the tactics should have been
stated.
Question 6A: Mention 2 soft tactics that
Lisa can use. Suggest relevant ways in
which these can be
implemented. (2 marks) ● The ways to implement them are
also to be detailed.
Question 6B: Mention 2 hard tactics that
Lisa can use. Suggest relevant ways in
which these can be
implemented. (2 marks)
 7 Ethics at the workplace

Do you think there has been a breach of

ethics by Lisa's coworkers? Justify your
answer by giving ● Yes/No
reasons and mentioning instances from
the case study.

● The justifications need to be

appropriate and specific
 Ethics at the workplace

8
● Yes/No
Should Lisa quit her job at Houseworld?
Support your answer with at least 3
relevant arguments.
● The justifications need to be
appropriate and specific

● Pertaining to situations at
Houseworld
Thank you!