The New General Manager

THE NEW GENERAL MANAGER

Nancy Munn, Wilfrid Laurier University Robert Ellis, University of Northern British Columbia

Case Objectives and Use

This case was designed to illustrate managerial misconduct and abuse, and the difficulties faced by individuals and companies in dealing with it. This case would be appropriate for undergraduate and graduate courses in Human Resources, Organizational Behaviour, and Business Law. The specific objectives of the case are:

1. To facilitate discussion on what managerial misconduct and abuse are. 2. To illustrate the dilemma managers face in dealing with or reporting the inappropriate or abusive behaviour of another manager. 3. To facilitate discussion on the legal and business ramifications of managerial To facilitate discussion on the possible measures for preventing managerial misconduct and abuse.

Case Synopsis

The case describes the dilemma confronting a manager, Vivian Jones, surrounding a complaint of inappropriate behaviour with a major customer by the General Manager of the new Canadian office, Robert Smith. The complaint is considered in the conjunction with a previous customer complaint regarding Smith, and more broadly, in the context of Smith’s controlling and intimidating management style. Indeed, whereas Smith seemed somewhat eccentric when he started with the Canadian office, over the next several months his behavior became increasingly strange toward staff. Jones began to fear for the damage this was doing to relationships with customers and to the well-being of her staff. Despite these problems, the Canadian office was very successful; in fact it appeared to be exceeding the expectations of Head Office in the United States. Jones must decide how to handle the situation with the GM.

______The authors developed the case for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of the situation. The case, instructor’s manual, and synopsis were anonymously peer reviewed and accepted by the North American Case Research Association (NACRA) for its annual meeting, October 27-29, 2005, North Falmouth, MA. All rights are reserved to the authors and NACRA. © 2005 by Nancy Munn and Robert Ellis. Contact person: Nancy Munn, School of Business and Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University, 75 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3C5, 519-578-0839, [email protected]