...Summary: Some might feel Bob Knowlton acted irrational without voicing his feelings to Dr Jerrold. Some might feel that his EQ, is weak, in terms of Fester, making him feel inferior, doubt his capabilities and also allowing Fester to take over as leader in the meetings. Dr Jerrold lacked open communication and transparency therefore as a result; he lost a good employee, Bob Knowlton. Bob is a team player and believes in using each other as resources through collaboration. “Bob Knowlton calls a meeting, however Fester, voices his opinion that he is not at all averse to meetings…” Fester is not a team player, and one can assume he likes the credit and wants to be centre of attention. Fester was very sharp and competent and had solved some old problems. He felt that Fester was slowly taking over leadership. Very confident about himself and his ideas. Aggressive in his approach to solve a problem and well as put forth his ideas Problems: Organisational culture seems work orientated with little focus of interpersonal relationships and communication. No feelings are discussed openly, therefore the assumption that the team is functioning well is false. Unable to discuss his opinions/feelings/conflicts with Jerrold and teammates a) although Jerrold and Bob share an open relationship, Bob has not indicated to Jerrold that he is having a problem. Because of this Jerrold also does not have a hint what is going on in Bob’s mind Fester posed a threat to Bob Knowlton ...
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...confident, brilliant and aggressive with his work approach. Knowlton reports to Dr. Jerrold who is the Director of research. The first thing that went wrong in this scenario was the way Fester was introduced to Knowlton. Dr. Jerrold failed to properly introduce the two gentlemen. Knowlton had no clue regarding what this new guy was doing in his group who seems to be challenging the thinking pattern of his team and Fester seems to be all over the place looking into things. This behavior of Fester alarmed Knowlton and threatened him and made him feel insecure. Simon was a guy who made an impression of “the genius guys” who was too confident and did not fear to challenge the traditional way of team work. At the end Knowlton resigns from his post in an unprofessional manner and joins a new company. While Fester was busy pinpointing the things that could be improved for better results, Knowlton’s insecurities kept on increasing day by day. Knowlton was not confident enough to voice his opinion and concerns to Dr. Jerrold. He kept on building his own story in his mind that Fester might be a probable candidate to replace him in near future. The way Fester interfered in Knowlton’s team meeting and the way Fester made statements like “the way the problem had been analyzed was really typical of group thinking,” gave a sense of inferiority to Knowlton and he started questioning his own intellects. Dr. Jerrold also seemed to be very impressed with how Fester conducted these team meeting. He...
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...The Bob Knowlton Case University of Maryland University College Europe Table of Contents Introduction 1 The Organization’s Diagnosis 1 Proposed Strategies and Interventions 2 Evaluation of Interventions 6 Conclusion 7 Bibliography 8 Introduction This paper will be discussing the Bob Knowlton case. First will be a discussion about what is going on in the organization. How the organization is run and the possible problems of lack of leadership and poor communication. Secondly, how to address the problems as an organizational development (OD) practitioner. This paper will discuss the different strategies of change and how to adjust them to meet the organization’s needs. The strategies discussed are structural and behavioral and how to change these in order to get the most out of the organization. Discussed are the interventions that would be utilized like employee empowerment, team building, role analysis/negotiation, stress management and third party intervention and how they will affect the organization. Finally, how to determine the success or failure of the proposed intervention. This is determined by utilizing anonymous surveys, and team meeting where they can share their results with other departments. The Organization’s Diagnosis The first area analyzed was how the organization was divided and what their relationship was to each other. Simmons Laboratories is divided up by main project heads who then oversee several projects...
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...Case Analysis: Bob Knowlton Kristen Onkka 1. DESCRIPTION. Bob Knowlton is a successful new project head for the photon unit. Things had been going well for him under the direction of Jerrold up until a new man by the name of Fester entered the story. Fester turned out to be more capable than Knowlton had anticipated and quickly overshadowed the team. The dynamic he brought to the group distanced the team and made Knowlton feel unappreciated. In the end, Knowlton quit his job for a new one and Fester left the switched projects to become a project head. 2. DIAGNOSIS. This case demonstrates the power of groupthink. The photon unit group had been making progress but not nearly to the degree as when Fester joined the group. Fester’s way of thinking challenged group norms and helped further the project along. This case also illustrates the influence ...
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...Millenium derivative. He liked to stay after the others had gone. His appointment as project head was still new enough to give him a deep sense of pleasure. His eyes were on the graphs before him, but in his mind, he could hear Dr. Alan Jerrold, the director of research, saying again, "There's one thing about this place you can bank on. The sky is the limit for a person who can produce!" Knowlton felt again the tingle of happiness and embarrassment. Well, dammit, he said to himself, he had produced. He wasn't kidding anybody. He had come to Simmons Securities two years ago. While testing some proposed derivatives, he had stumbled on the idea behind the Millenium family of derivatives, and the rest just happened. Jerrold had been enthusiastic: A separate project had been set up for further research and development of these derivatives, and he had gotten the job of managing it. The whole sequence of events still seemed a little miraculous to Knowlton. He shrugged out of the reverie and bent determinedly over the sheets of paper when he heard someone come into the room behind him. He looked up expectantly; Jerrold often stayed late himself and now and then dropped in for a chat. This always made the day's end especially pleasant for Bob. It wasn't Jerrold. The man who had come in was a stranger. He was tall, thin, and rather dark. He wore steel-rimmed glasses and had a very wide leather belt with a large brass buckle. Lucy remarked later that...
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...Bob Knowlton’s work group. Fester demonstrated that his skills as a photon manager were, perhaps better than Bob’s. Jerrold, Bob and Fester’s boss, was extremely impressed with Fester and also was expressing that openly with the team. This made Bob feel intimidated that Fester was very sharp and competent and had solved some old problems, which were considered unsolvable by his team. He felt that Fester was slowly taking over leadership informal control of the team. As a result of this Bob may have lost some self-esteem and the respect of his team members. Bob Knowlton’s problem was that he was unable to discuss his opinions, feelings and conflicts with his boss Jerrold and teammates. Although Jerrold and Bob shared an open relationship, Bob did not indicate to Jerrold that he was having a problem and felt threatened by Fester’s brilliance and challenge to his leadership. Because of this Jerrold did not have a clue what was going on in Bob’s mind. Bob did not respond in the manner in which the leader of the team should have done. This demonstrated Bob’s inability to exercise authority and control when parity in team is disturbed. As a result his self-confidence in his capabilities reduced. Instead, Bob decided to quit his job as photon manager and left the lab, giving Jerrold a false explanation. The If Bob would have communicated his thoughts to Jerrold, he would have found out that Fester was being assigned to a different project and not there to take over his job...
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...Such developments may lead to increased burnout and dissatisfaction, which reduce employees’ morale. As a result, such organizations are likely to report increased turnover rates and high costs involved in hiring and training new employees. In the Bob Knowlton case, various issues are evidently undermining the performance of the organization. Acting as Jerrold, I would seek to address and control such issues in order to achieve optimal output from the Photon Lab. This paper examines the various issues presented in the case and recommends interventions to rectify the situation. Findings of Fact Faulted due process The introduction of a newcomer in the Photon Lab was the main reason that led to the exit of Knowlton. When introducing a new employee, it is essential to ensure that such individual is introduced to other team members in an official manner. Bob Knowlton was threatened by the entry of Fester without prior knowledge (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011). Changes in the workplace are likely to have considerable effects on employees, especially if the employees are not involved in the decision to introduce such change. Jerrold ought to have involved Knowlton in his plans to introduce an...
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...But, Jerrold and Fester felt shocked on Knowlton’s decision. No one knew that why Knowlton wanted to leave. • Bob Knowlton was an introvert. He did not discuss his opinions/feelings/conflicts with his teammates. • He could not become an effective leader. He could not exercise authority and control when the unity in the team was disturbed. As a result, his self-confidence in his capabilities reduced. • He lacked communication skills. He should have communicated his roles and responsibilities. • The was an alliance between Jerrold and Fester – negative impact a. This lead to the resignation of Bob Knowlton – felt threatened by Fester. b. Bob taught that Jarrod has placed in him in his department to see Bob fail in his position. c. The alliance was not only work related but personal as well. d. The alliance between Jerrold and Fester grew stronger as the problem grew bigger. • The was an alliance between Jerrold and Fester – Positive impact a. By Jerrold placing Fester in the lab his intensions was good and to see the lab grow. b. Jerrold knew that Fraser was and expert and will boost the department. c. Fester was there to perform and not to play the political game and his intensions was not to make Bob feel bad but to do his work to the best of his ability. d. Fester impressed many people both internally and externally. Mistakes by Jerrold • The first mistake was putting Fraser in the lab department where the lab was performing extremely well. • Jerrold knew...
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...DESCRIPTION: DR. Jerrold hired Simon Fester to work at the lab with Bob Knowlton, project head. Fester was very experience, skillful and at times very assertive, which translated to Bob as been arrogant. With Fester’s mannerism and Bob’s insecurities, they found their working relationship challenging which ultimately resulted in Bob early resignation. DIAGNOSIS: Fester was a very smarter individual; he had extensive knowledge in data analysis and excellent problem solving skills. He brought exhaustive and rigorous research to the lab, but he had very poor people skills with the rest of the staffs. He undermined their previous work and indicated that their level of thoughts were inferior. The case quoted: Fester thought that the way the problem had been analyzed was typical of group thinking and, with an air of sophistication that made it difficult for a listener to dissent; he proceeded to comment on the American emphasis on team ideas, satirically describing the ways in which they led to a “high level of mediocrity.” He basically insulted the intelligence of the entire laboratory staffs. The synergy between Fester and the rest of the team was non-existence, because Fester’s criticisms were not constructive and sometimes came across as disrespectful. On the other hand, Bob felt insecure because Fester was very erudite and he elevated the scale of their work. Bob thought his leadership role had been compromised. Bob also felt inadequate and less of a leader when Fester presented...
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...Millenium derivative. He liked to stay after the others had gone. His appointment as project head was still new enough to give him a deep sense of pleasure. His eyes were on the graphs before him, but in his mind, he could hear Dr. Alan Jerrold, the director of research, saying again, "There's one thing about this place you can bank on. The sky is the limit for a person who can produce!" Knowlton felt again the tingle of happiness and embarrassment. Well, dammit, he said to himself, he had produced. He wasn't kidding anybody. He had come to Simmons Securities two years ago. While testing some proposed derivatives, he had stumbled on the idea behind the Millenium family of derivatives, and the rest just happened. Jerrold had been enthusiastic: A separate project had been set up for further research and development of these derivatives, and he had gotten the job of managing it. The whole sequence of events still seemed a little miraculous to Knowlton. He shrugged out of the reverie and bent determinedly over the sheets of paper when he heard someone come into the room behind him. He looked up expectantly; Jerrold often stayed late himself and now and then dropped in for a chat. This always made the day's end especially pleasant for Bob. It wasn't Jerrold. The man who had come in was a stranger. He was tall, thin, and rather dark. He wore steel-rimmed glasses and had a very wide leather belt with a large brass buckle. Lucy remarked later...
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...Presentation 2: Bob Knowlton Case Study Characteristics Bob Knowlton; - low self-esteem - insincere - untruthful - good leadership skill Simon Fester; - insensitive - straight forward - individualistic - intelligent Doctor Jerrold; - not an observer - ignorant Questions 1) Discuss the reasons why what happened happened. Low self-esteem; - Basically, what happened in this case is that Bob Knowlton resigned because he felt threatened by his own colleague which is Simon Fester. He felt that he can't perform his work good just because he feels that Fester is a bit more faster in getting the work done, spot some flaws and grabbing opportunities. Knowlton also tend to easily get annoyed whenever his boss, Jerrold, praises Fester on his work. The problem with Knowlton is that he has a very low self-esteem. He doubted his own abilities as a leader of a small group in that particular organization. It seems like he is the kind of person who would prefer if the boss praises him or as a group, since he is the leader. So that he'll be more motivated and enthusiastic in doing his job. I see that he is at the level where esteem and prestige is in need for him at that moment. Insensitive; - As we all know, Simon Fester is the "new guy" in that organization. There are a lot of times that we saw Bob Knowlton felt uncomfortable whenever he is around Fester. Simply because Knowlton knows the capabilities that fester can do, but of course he has his...
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...BOB KNOWLTON LAS EMOCIONES - GESTION DE LAS EMOCIONES 1) CUALES SON LOS OBJETIVOS DE LA ORGANIZACION: Un grupo de científicos de LABORATORIOS SIMMONS, Los cuales deben desarrollar la idea del correlator del fotón. Los resultados de cada grupo de investigación debían presentarse a los patrocinadores, con la característica que solo el jefe de proyecto del grupo y su superior asistían a dichas reuniones. 2) CUAL ES EL PROBLEMA ? Mal manejo de emociones por parte de Bob cuando se le habla de algo que no sabe: problema de autoestima y/o liderazgo. Posible problema de manejo de personal que sabe más que el. Mal manejo de los conductos regulares por parte del Dr. Jerrold Mal manejo del tiempo por parte de B. Knowlton. Knowlton no es directo con las persona Bob Falto de Foco. Errático Falta de control de los miembros del equipo. El mal manejo al permitir de como una persona brillante e individualista, daña el ambiente del equipo, al tratar mal a sus compañeros (ignorantes). Aun sabiéndolo no toma decisiones, porque cree que al manifestar esto a él lo van a ver como débil, pero cuando su real debilidad era sentirse menos por no tener la mayor capacidad intelectual del equipo. comunicación diferencial, no igual con todos los miembros del equipo sobre todo al enfrentar problemas. Knowlton basaba su liderazgo solo en el conocimiento que el tenia (IQ), por eso acepto los atropellos de FESTER basado en que FESTR era más brillante que todos los miembros del equipo...
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...Interpersonal Dynamics Teams: Red Square & Maniacs Team assignment on case analysis of Bob Knowlton Identify the various factors that is contributing to the interpersonal dynamics between Knowlton and Fester in their team. Bob Knowlton - Felt that his leadership was at stake because a) Jerrold was extremely impressed with Fester and also was expressing that openly with the team b) Fester was very sharp and competent and had solved some old problems c) He felt that Fester was slowly taking over leadership informal control of the team - Unable to discuss his opinions/feelings/conflicts with Jerrold and teammates a) although Jerrold and Bob share an open relationship, Bob has not indicated to Jerrold that he is having a problem. Because of this Jerrold also does not have a hint what is going on in Bob’s mind b) Bob should have communicated to Fester his roles and responsibilities while he was working in Bob’s team c) ? - Reiterating the research lab’s and the team’s way of functioning when Fester confronted the team with his own philosophy of research. As a result of this Bob may have lost some self-esteem and the respect of his team members. - In the face of Fester’s brilliance and challenge to his leadership, Bob did not respond in the manner in which the leader of the team should have done inability to exercise authority and control when parity in team is disturbed. As a result his self-confidence in his capabilities reduced. Fester - In the first...
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...Knowlton’s departure is indeed problematic for the organization (Simmons Securities) and specifically the Millenium group. The most obvious is the lack of identity, mission and values with both Fester and Knowlton moving on. The millennium group’s identity was based on the existing values and leadership that Knowlton brought to the group which was undermined by Fester over a period of time. The case states rather directly that “The whole millenium group, following Jerrold's lead, talked, if not practiced, the theory that small teams were the basis for effective research.” Fester directly attacked this mode of operation, insisting that true creativity resulted from individual innovation. The case states that in “discussions he had been on the point of rudeness, refusing to pursue an argument when he claimed it was based on another person's ignorance of the facts involved.” In my experience, whenever a new team is assembled, be it a small working group or the formation of a new division or organization, one of the first and most important exercises is to determine the mission and values of the new team. This sets the standard for how the team operates and new members of the team are expected to embrace and adapt to these values. Fester not only did not embrace these values, he actively attacked them and was allowed to undermine them by Knowlton. While this issue is endemic when a leadership void exists, the fact remains that Fester is still with the organization...
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...Description The case “Bob Knowlton”, by Alex Bavelas explains what happens between Bob Knowlton head of the Photon Lab and new member, Simon Fester, when he is introduced into the lab. Bob Knowlton was the newly appointed head of the Photon Lab and he was still getting accustomed to leading the team when Bob Knowlton’s boss Dr. Jerrold added a bright up in comer to their team Simon Fester. Bob Knowlton feels inferior to Simon Fester and since Dr. Jerrold had some kind of relationship with Simon Fester he felt he could not tell him how he felt. As a result of this Bob Knowlton finds a better position with more salary and takes the job immediately shocking both Dr. Jerold and Simon Fester. Diagnosis During the entire case one thing stood out as the underlying reason for Bob Knowlton leaving the Photon Lab and that was lack of communication which ultimately led to Bob Knowlton perceiving that his position as team lead was in danger. Before Simon Fester was even introduced to the team Dr. Jerrold should have spoken to Bob Knowlton and informed of his plans and what Simon Festers duties are as it pertains to the team. This would have changed the outcome of the case tremendously. Theory After reading this case I believe that there are two main theories that ultimately caused Bod Knowlton to resign. The first one is that the Photon Lab Team was in the norming stage of their team development. Since Bob Knowlton was newly appointed the head of the Photon Lab but had been there...
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