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Bob Knowlton Case Study
Bob Knowlton Case Study
Summary
Bob Knowlton is the head of the Photon Lab when a new member, Simon Fester, was
introduced to his lab. He begins to feel inferior to his new member and feels that he cannot
voice his concerns to his superior, Dr. Jerold. After a period of events and insecurities, he finds a
better position with more salary and takes the job immediately. Dr, Jerrold and Fester were
shocked by Knowlton’s decision. The lab took a large hit as Fester went on to work on another
project as planned. No one knew that Knowlton wanted to leave as he did so very suddenly
citing fictional 'personal' problems.
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The main characters in the Bob Knowlton case were:
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Bob Knowlton
Dr. Jerrold
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- not observant
- no instinctual perception
Simon Fester
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- confident
- aggressive
- competitive
- opportunist
- highly intelligent
- non paticipative
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The bringing in the newcomer:
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Bob Knowlton
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- was threatened by the newcomer that was not properly introduced to him
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- Fester just showed up without warning and began looking into things
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Dr. Jerold
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- did not even for mention or hint at Knowlton for possibly having someone new join his team
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Simon Fester
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- was too confident and arrogant to accept the way people do things and embrace it
Bob Knowlton
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- simply assumed that Fester was there to replace him
- did not consider speaking to his supervisor regarding his problem and started looking for
another job instead
Dr. Jerold
- did not indicate that Fester's place in Knowlton's team was temporary
- did not give earlier warning regarding Fester's transfer to another project
- did not make any intentions of caring for Knowlton's well being
Simon Fester
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- too much of an opportunist to work in a team with others
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- did not heed the advice of whom was rightfully his team leader
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- remained individualistic and closed off to the team until he left to work for another project
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Consider the personalities involved, especially those of Knowlton and Fester, and the
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organizational characteristics.
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Bob Knowlton was more of an introvert. He did not share his feelings, opinions and conflicts
with his team mates, Fester or Jerold. He lacked also lacked of strong of communication skills.
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He did not know how to voice his concerns to Jerold or properly inform an guide Fester on his
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responsibilities in the team, which lead to Fester doing his own thing most of the time, without
consulting with others.
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Simon Fester on the other hand was someone very self involved and confident. He had no
qualms speaking openly of his ideas and what he wanted to do. Fester was also aggressive in
his approach. He did not care for group work and was more individualistic, even to the point of
making others feel inferior.
Organizational characteristic:
Work Group
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Knowlton had regular morning meetings with his members as a way to keep up to date of what
was going on in the project, and discuss problems faced. However, Fester took over some of
these meetings plastering himself as the team leader, and spear heading discussions,
undermining Knowlton's authority and the intelligence of the team at many an occasion.
Open System
Jerrold and Knowlton shared a mostly open relationship, Knowlton even mentioned that he
enjoyed Jerold coming over to talk to him at the end of the day. However, Knowlton did not
share his problems with his superior when he had the chance of voicing them; mainly when he
felt threatened by Fester’s place in the team.
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Imagine yourself in the position of Dr. Jerrold at the end of the case, reflecting back over the
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events. Is there anything you could have done, on the basis of what you knew or could have
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known at the time, that would have led to a more favorable outcome? State your reasoning.
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Had she made clear that she was going to hire Simon Fester and taken into consideration Bob
Knowlton's personality, explaining her intentions to train him to lead another project, things
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might have worked out very differently. Knowlton could have been less insecure regarding his
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position and would probably been more willing to overlook Fester's lone ranger tendencies.
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Had Dr. Jerrold utilized interpersonal communication with Simon Fester as well, ensuring that
Fester should try to work under the conditions laid out by his team leader, Fester might have
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better understood where he stood within the team and made more of an effort to be a team
player as intelligent or talented as he may be.
Dr. Jerrold could have also been more involved with the meetings, and taken an initiative to
ensure that all employees were happy and satisfied.
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