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Participant Name Case Title

Nida Naseer CM VIII 016 - 2012 Smith Financial Corporation (SFC) This case discusses Frank Millers short tenure at Smith Financial Corporation as the VP of Data Management Dept. SFC had an opening for a Data Manager and was able to acquire Frank Miller for this post. Frank Miller, entered the organization with high hopes and a lot of valour, complemented by his 20 yr career. He tried to turn things around as much as he could and was given all the freedom to do so. There werent as such any highlighted expectations from Millers role, but SFC was looking for a change, and thought they had the right person to do so. Miller exploited this freedom since he was also made the AVP and Director of DM, and made sure he exercised these roles with his words. With regards to his experienced background, Miller was able to convince higher management to invest in a $45,000 push technology in vain, which they ended up developing in-house as the external developer Interpush got sold before they could acquire after sales services. In the end, after a small brawl with one of his colleagues, Smith Financial Corp realized Millers orthodox approach was not what they had bargained for. Frank Miller The lead of the case, a seasoned Data Management expert and hired as Smith Financial Corps AVP/Dir Data Management Brian Jones VP, S&P Mike Campbell SVP,IS Tom Bradley Lead Programmer, Internet activities The core business problem surrounding this case was SFCs lack of onboarding plan for its new hires, as well as Frank Millers self-fulfilling prophecy usurping SFCs gains over his personal. Initially, Miller was given too much liberty to turn things around his arena, which created a sense of disownment among his colleagues. Miller clearly failed to establish his credibility as the new Dir of the Data Management dept. assisted by his acrid tone over email communications, and his arrow approach towards turning things upside down. Statements such as sun setting' on Lotus Notes, a platform SFC had recently invested in, highlights his tuned-out drive for organizations welfare. SFC clearly failed to accommodate Millers expectations involving his new role and conduct in the company. This was highlighted when Miller showed acrimony against his peers opinions in meetings and regarded them as excuses. He refused to appreciate the diversity of the

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company as compared to his point of view and experience. Miller not only failed to build his own network, in fact dispersed a colligated team too. Millers lack of business conduct and ethical lapse was eminent when he recanted company policies for a Senior System Manager, without putting a justifiable reason for his exception to the rest of the employees. At another instant, Miller kept a conflicting issue regarding external vendor, Interpushs future, and agreed to acknowledge it after SVP Mike Campbell showed concern. In the end, Frank Millers and Smith Financial Corporations prospects for each other were poles apart, and resulted in Millers dismissal. The first thing SFC could have implemented was to assign a person currently performing the duties assigned to Miller work alongside him for a short time. This would have allowed Miller to understand rules and ways to interact that need to be deployed by the company. Another method of integration could have been to take Miller to a meeting with his reporting organization, so they could get to know each other and help build Miller his credibility. By outlining guidelines about Smith Corporation's business conditions, such as the use of certain platforms, Miller may not have voiced opinions against business. Frank Miller should have been made to work in association with Brian Jones, whom had looked after Millers dept. prior to his joining. For the first few months, Jones and Miller could have met once every week to set Millers expectation from the companys perspective, as well as to know how he was getting along his on-boarding as its new employee. A frequent feedback session between the two could have established the required credibility for Miller, as well as examined his development. A precise work and development plan for Frank Miller could have established SFCs grounds to on-board a proficient employee with 20 years of experience, at the same time provided Frank Miller a stimulating environment where he could have enjoyed imparting his knowledge and experience to the company that was looking forward to gain from him.

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