...Morgan Stanley, a leading U.S. Investment Bank, was attempting to transform its work environment to one that fosters teamwork but promotes innovation as well. This vision was developed under the leadership of the new president John Mack and his executive team. President Mack was looking for people to “shake up the culture.” With heavy resistance, he recruited Paul Nasr to be the Senior Managing Director in Capital Market Services. Paul was a highly regarded banker with over twenty years of experience. He knew that one of Morgan Stanley’s weak areas was Capital Market Services, an area where he had been successful in the past. Paul also knew that it would take more than a traditional corporate banker to penetrate this market. The Capital Markets Services(CMS) division, which has established as an interdisciplinary concern to address the issues of focused client attention and cross-divisional collaboration, required professionals who not only had domain specific industry knowledge but were also skilled at responding to client needs by designing products in collaboration with product specialists within Morgan Stanley. Market coverage professional to be compatible with the staff of other departments, but can't rely entirely on product designers, because they do not understand markets and customers, do not know the customer's needs. It is important to fully understand the market, product, and customer information in three areas and needs. That person must be energetic, aggressive and...
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...1.Evaluate the effectiveness of the Morgan Stanley performance assessment and mgmt system. The strategic goal at Morgan Stanley is to transform the company’s work environment into one that promotes teamwork, innovation and absolute integrity. In order to achieve this goal, President John Mack and his executive team recognized that a culture change in the way staff were evaluated and compensated would be necessary. They instituted a 360-degree performance evaluation system two years ago allowing professionals in the firm to be evaluated by superiors, subordinates and peers. According to the textbook, the advantages of such a system are numerous when compared to traditional assessment systems. The authors state that “supervisors, peers, subordinates and employees themselves differ in their ability to appraise various dimensions of performance” and that “these raters observe different behaviors and may interpret them with divergent standards.” Therefore, the purpose of 360-degree feedback is to give staff a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses which, in turn, allows them to better identify aspects of their work needing professional development. The fact that Morgan Stanley introduced a 360-degree performance assessment tool is commendable. However, the effectiveness of this tool in its current state has not yet been optimized. In particular, the company’s vision statement appears to be very solid as it clearly articulates how employee abilities should...
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...Paul Nasr, a senior MD in Capital Market Services at Morgan Stanley (hereafter referred to as MS) is facing the challenging question of how to effectively handle Parson’s annual performance review without creating a vacancy in an irreplaceable area that was difficult to perform and had seen a tremendous amount of turnover at MS. Nasr had the fear of losing Parson, his valuable employee and a star producer if he was not promoted to Managing Director as promised by Nasr during his hiring. Rob Parson, Principal, Capital Market Services (CMS) had played a critical role in making significant gains in building MS’s revenue and reputation. Parson was an outstanding individual contributor, who in his sincere, relentless attempt to generate more business, had created a hostile environment around him by going against the norms and culture of the organization. MS’s environment and mission statement was of teamwork, innovation, building consensus and treating employees with dignity and respect. However, there was no formal training for new employees regarding MS’s culture, expectations and performance evaluation (PE) process. Next, there were several biases and blind spots in the PE process. The 360° performance evaluation appeared to be a very shallow process, and there was no consensus on how to implement a decision based on PE and how to use the PE under various circumstances. Instructions and training on how to make effective performance assessment was not provided to the managers...
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...MGT-500 Leading people and Organizations Case write-up Taran Swan at Nickelodeon, Latin America By: Sher Khan Nassery ID: 003757 March 10, 2015 Summary of the Case: This case is about “Nickelodeon” an American Cable Channel for kids with an intention to launch its new branch in Latin America. Nickelodeon was launched in the United States in 1979. The establisher of Latin America’s branch was Ms. Taran Swan the Nickelodeon’s managing director. Ms. Swan had served as Launch Director and General Manager of Nickelodeon in Latin America since its inception in 1998. More specifically in this case, we read about the challenges that Ms. Swan had faced while launching the Latin America’s branch. We have also discussed about her leadership style and how she had managed the team through decisions she made and the subsequent results as part of her leadership in the Nickelodeon. Questions and Answer: 1- Describe the culture at Nickelodeon Latin America. Be specific. In Nickelodeon, the work environment is very comfortable where employees do not hesitate to share ideas and critique each other. All employees in Nickelodeon feel themselves responsible in a self-driven way. They appear to be creative and goal oriented who can find solutions to any problems that may occur. Application of different guidelines through established focus groups in order to strengthen the high energy work culture, high accountability, reliable and effective communication system including the sense of responsibility...
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...Introduction Morgan Staley was founded in 1935, by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley. Today Morgan Stanley is one of the world's top financial services companies and a leader in investment banking, private wealth management, bonds and stock trading. In 1993 a new president was named in Morgan Stanly, John Mack. He had a vision of transforming Morgan Stanly into a “One-FirmFirm”. From this vision came out the firm’s mission statement, Our goal is to be the world’s best investment bank and the Firm of choice for our clients, our people, our shareholders. Another important innovation in Morgan Stanly brought by John Mack was the 360-degree performance evaluation process. He wanted to create a team of people inside the Firm who would “Shake up the culture”. One of his most important recruits was Paul Nasr, very highly regarded baker, with more than 20 years of experience. He was placed to be senior manager to a newly created Capital Market Services department. Nasr has already experience with this kind of services, and Morgan Stanley was lacking behind other similar competitor banks. After acquiring the job, John Mack started creating his team for increasing the market share of Stanley Morgan which obviously was a major goal for the firm. To achieve that goal, he needed energetic, aggressive and employees who are not afraid to pursuit customers and develop a long term relationship with them. With clearly set attributes for the job position, he recruited Rob Parsons, a young baker...
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...Rob Parson at Morgan Stanley Performance Evaluation Process Write Up What is your assessment of Rob Parson’s performance? Should he be promoted? You can’t make an omelet without breaking an egg….This seems to be the Rob Parson approach to handling business. While there is certainly no denying that Parson is unparalleled in his ability to deliver results; his overall demeanor and approach to others contradict everything that Morgan Stanley is trying to stand for. Morgan Stanley aims to establish an environment that fosters teamwork and innovation. Parson has certainly succeeded in the latter of the two helping Morgan Stanley move from the tenth ranked position to third and expanding the market share from 2% to 12.2%. Despite these results, Parson’s actions compromise the internal culture of Morgan Stanley. Being described as “cocky”, “abrasive”, and “volatile” are words that aren’t typically associated with somebody meriting a promotion. With a promotion comes further unchecked power. There has to be real trepidation with the notion of giving somebody who has already created a “hostile environment” in his current capacity. If Morgan Stanley was merely a results based company then Parson should be promoted. But Morgan Stanley has explicitly highlighted and placed an emphasis on consensus, interpersonal teamwork, and treating each other with dignity and respect. Parson’s fundamental failure to coexist with in the guidelines of Morgan Stanley make him a poor candidate...
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...by designing products in collaboration with product specialists within Morgan Stanley. It was these requirements that led to the appointment of Rob Parson, a managing director at a smaller firm with connections to some of the important players in the banking and insurance industries, as a market coverage professional The financial services industry is characterized by firms where individual professionals attract business and the ability of the firm to retain clients is solely dependent on the entrepreneurial skills of professionals. Thus, in a market typified by clients demanding immediate solutions, Morgan Stanley’s attempt at creating a consensus-based interface can be seen as a process projecting the firm – and not the individual – as the business facilitator; this necessitates the appointment of skilled executives who not only possess the ability to market and sell but also display the willingness to obtain approval through franchise and collaboration. The nature of Rob Parson’s responsibilities, though challenging, involved resurrecting Morgan Stanley’s capital markets’ business and had witnessed a high turnover rate in the past. This position within the CMS division not only requires a conceptual understanding of investment banking procedures, but also mandates an ability to create business opportunities through persuasion and negotiation, in addition to sensitivity to client objectives. Rob Parson, despite his unconventional education, has been acknowledged for his ability...
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...Rob Parson at Morgan Stanley Rob Parson was a market coverage professional in the Capital Markets division. He had been hired by Paul Nasr and had generated substantial revenues since joining the firm. Unfortunately, Parson's reviews from the 360º feedback said that he was having difficulty adapting to the firm's culture. So Nasr faces the difficult decision to promote Parson to Managing Director. Nasr must complete Parson's performance evaluation summary and conduct Parson's performance review. Question 1 What are the advantages and disadvantages of the 360º feedback system at Morgan Stanley? When John Mack became President of Morgan Stanley in 1993, he brought a new vision to the bank named “One-Firm Firm”. That vision focused on performance which can be translated in creating value for the clients, the employees and the shareholders. Mack thought that could only be achieved through a culture that promoted teamwork and innovation and never sacrificed the firm’s integrity. The 360º performance evaluation process was brought by Mack to Morgan Stanley with the intention to “encourage employees to conform to a new way of doing business that emphasized team-work, cooperation, and cross-selling”. It also intended to “provide comprehensive development feedback so that employees could continue to improve their skills in four areas: Market/Professional skills, Management and Leadership effectiveness; commercial Orientation; and Teamwork/One Firm Contribution”. These...
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...DATE OF SUBMISSION 4/9/2012 | [Type the company name] | ROB PARSON AT MORGAN STANLEY | WAC ASSIGNMENT 2 | SUBMITTED TO – PROF DANESH GOJER SUBMITTED BY – DHAIVAT NANDA (65936) YASH PAREKH (60489) LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL To, Paul Nasr, Senior Managing Director, Morgan Stanley. Subject- Report on decision concerning Rob Parson's promotion according to the performance evaluation. Herewith enclosed is a report on the decision to be taken whether to promote Rob Parson. The decision is based on the performance evaluation of Rob Parson and effects it would have on the organisation. I have addressed all the potential problems followed by the recommendation based on the evaluation of the options. The report is submitted for your consideration and necessary action. Regards, Andrew Felton, Management trainee. Executive Summary The internal environment at Morgan Stanley is one of teamwork, employee development, dignity and respect. Rob Parson's external performance has been noticeable. The rate at which he has been getting business for the firm is avid by the fact that his efforts were instrumental in helping this company reach from the 10th position...
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...This is a case of a young banker by the name Rob Parson who had just joined Morgan Stanley. Parson who was a managing director of a small firm is having difficulty adjusting to the culture of a large financial firm like Morgan Stanley. Key Issues Analysis: 1) Adopting the Company Culture: Rob Parson who is new to Morgan Stanley was unable to adapt to the firm’s culture which fosters integrity, teamwork, innovation, dignity and respect. Despite being one the firm’s division’s star performers and an outstanding producer, Parson was seen as sharp-tongued, impatient and often difficult to work with. His team player skills’ rating was low. He was perceived as occasionally aggressive, temperamental, lacked respect and possesses traits that did not fit the profile of a Morgan Stanley’s managing director. 2) 360 Degree Performance Evaluation: No doubt the 360 degrees evaluation is a valuable tool to help employees improve their performance however due to its limitations it may not be as effective when it comes to decide on employees’ promotion. Morgan Stanley’s 360 degree performance evaluation did not include clients’ valuation, developmental opportunities such as coaching and training. Furthermore, there were no performance standards that measured the individual in comparison to the performance of the group and it failed to take into consideration job functions, performance standards and departmental goals. Recommendation: Rob Parson may not be ready to be immediately promoted...
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...1. What are the key elements of Morgan Stanley’s 360ο performance evaluation process? The first key element, which is also the name giver for the new evaluation process, is the 360 degree feedback. The new system is based on the idea that a professional should be evaluated by colleagues from all levels of hierarchy, be it superiors, peers or subordinates. This is an innovation, compared to the previous system, according to which the evaluation of a professional was performed by a group of professionals, superior to him/her in the hierarchy. The 360 degree title refers to the periphery of a circle that encompasses the individual, which is exactly the sum of professionals, of all ranks, who can provide constructive feedback to the professional, as opposed to just their supervisors’ opinions which only makes up for a portion of their surrounding professionals, which can thus be described as “part of a circle, but not all”. The aim of 360 degree feedback is that the one-sided perspective of the supervisors is eliminated. This perspective is usually formed by the special nature of the relationship of a given professional to their supervisors. That relationship is usually similar to that of a parent to a child or an authority to the people. The relationship between a parent and a child is characterized by the child’s tendency to execute to its parent’s orders, either out of respect or out of love. It is also characterized by a child’s tendency to ask perks from its parent, and...
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...This paper is about the complexity of managing organizations. As theoretical groundwork the book Organising and Managing Work by Tony Watson will be used. The book by Tony Watson covers issues about organizational, managerial and strategic behavior. In particular, the author argues for a critical common sense and the use of philosophical pragmatism (Watson, 2006). He also questions the way work is organized and managed. Finally, the process-relation perspective, a critical perspective of how to think about organizations and their relations and interactions with people, is taken by Watson (2006). This paper will start with a description of the two theories “System-control framing” and “Process-relational framing”. Afterwards the three concepts strategic exchange, negotiated order and double control will be defined and exemplified by different cases from the course. Finally, the paper will look into the complexity of managing knowledge at organizations supported by examples from Danone and McKinsey. In the field of leadership and management studies, there are two main perspectives “System-control framing” and “Process-relational framing”, which can help to analyze and make sense of complex organizations. The system-control perspective recognizes organizations as an entity that is “a system of managerially designed rules and roles existing on its own terms […] based on an organization design with a set of structural and cultural characteristics” (Watson, 2006, p.30). According...
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...Rob Parson’s assessment is not an ordinary performance evaluation or promotion process when we look in to the Morgan Stanley’s perspective. Especially, Morgan Stanley describes their culture and people as an “environment that fosters teamwork and innovation, by developing and utilizing their employees’ abilities to the fullest, and by treating each other with dignity and respect.” Crucial statements are teamwork, dignity and respect. However, Parson defies Morgan Stanley’s missions and culture. At this point of view, promotion should not happen if someone obviously contradicts with Company Culture. Initially, Nasr promised a promotion but right now Parson is not fit to be managing director. Nasr should focus on developing Parson’s Skills so he will eliminate the risk of Parson leaving. It is going to be a fair evaluation so Nasr should briefly explain that Parson have to neutralize adaptation problems and if Parson reaches these goals, he will be promoted. Nasr should offer 6-9 month evaluation to improve some of the critical&downward skills such as Leadership and Management of People (2.5), Evaluation/Development&Coaching (2.0), Management of Diverse Workforce (2.0) and Team Player Skills (2.5). Also Nasr has to be direct and straightforward while he is talking with Parson. Guidance into unknown culture should be an important learning mechanism for Parson. Evaluation and Development Summary Performance Summary, Including Accomplishments Accomplishments: *...
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...Session No. & Date Case Group Number Article Presentation Group Number 1 (7/1) 2 (8/1) Sonoco Products 1, 7,13 A new Mandate for HRM All Groups 3 (11/1) Leisure Company 13 4 (12/1) VRS at SBI 2,8 Planning with People in Mind 12 5 (15/1) Turn the Job into the job you want 21st Job description 11 6 (18/1) Blinds to go 3,9 Recruitment Advertising 10 7 (21/1) Bit Stream* 4,10 Hiring without firing All Groups 8 (22/1) A Four step model for teaching …. 9 9 (24/1) Performance Management at Vitality* 5,11 An uneasy look at Performance Appraisal 8 10 (29/1) Gentleman’s three 11 (8/2) Rob Parson at Morgan Stanley (A) 6,12 When workers rate the boss 7 12 (11/2) Sales force training at Arrow Electronics 13,1 Breakthrough in on-the-job training 6 13 (16/2) Alex Montana at ESH 2,8 How to hang on to your high potential The talent innovation imperative All Groups 14 (19/2) Zensar 3,7 How to cultivate engaged employees 5 15 (22/2) When Salaries aren’t secret 4 16 (26/2) 17 (28/2) WrapItup: Developing a new compensation plan 4,9 Why incentive plans cannot work 3 18 (4/3) Workers strike thrice in five months 5,10 Discipline without punishment 2 19 (8/3) Leading Change at Simmons 6,11,12 Change for Change’s sake 1 20 (12/3) Student led...
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...In Praise Of An Incomplete Leader(8/27/15) CONCEPT OVERVIEW CASE SUMMARY • • • • • Tech Notes from 8/27/15 Class Sensemaking – interpreting developments in business environment Relating – building relationships Visioning – communicating a compelling image in the future Inventing – coming up with new ways doing things PRACTICAL APPLICATION • • There are great leaders in the world who are super successful. Yet they lack one or a few of these traits. To complement their weaknesses, they find other people in their organization to balance them out. We see this application in the case where Taran Swan lacked relating and sensemaking but has inventory and visioning. Taran Swan at Nickelodeon(8/27/15) CONCEPT OVERVIEW CASE SUMMARY This case describes the launch of Nickelodeon in Latin America and its first 18 months. Swan is shown putting together a team and adjusting the culture of the company. After 18 months, Swan must leave the company because of complications with her pregnancy. On bedrest for 6 months, she must decide if she can continue to run the organization from New York. Other options include placing an interim lead or quitting altogether. If she stays, how will she need to adjust her leadership style and working relationships? This case provides perspective on the pros and cons of an incomplete leader. In addition, this case showcases the effects a new and driven leader can have on the culture of an organization...
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