Air Of Confidence Among The Board Members example essay topic

Grover Robinson peered over the top of his half-rimmed reading glasses at the older faces around the teak table. He was alarmed by the remarks he was hearing in the boardroom that afternoon, but didn't know how to react. Grover's agitation grew as the meeting continued. But why wasn't anyone else bothered? This was only his third meeting as a board member, and he was still trying to learn the lay of the land. Should he say anything, or keep quiet?

The situation was sticky, he thought, and it would have to handled delicately. But how? Only thirty years old, Grover was on the board of Outland Company as a representative of the venture capital fund he was affiliated with, Southern Sun Venture, the fund that had given Outland its first round of financing. Still in its early years, Outland was an electronics company experiencing the usual pains and organizational hurdles that many growing organizations go through. But there was an air of confidence among the board members. They knew that the tough-minded leadership of Outland's president, John Walker, would keep the company effectively focused on its ambitious growth plan for its new cellular phone products.

John Walker was a strong, forceful man. But he had a breezy quality that usually kept board members light-hearted, even in the midst of fervent debates. Grover greatly admired John's ability to handle conflict, but he had wondered whether John's style hadn't caused the board to give rather scant attention to some important issues. But pressing John on an issue just wasn't the board's style, Grover had observed. His fellow board members were extremely loyal to John. They had confidence in him.

Anyone attempting to challenge him would surely risk being viewed as an obstructionist, Grover thought. Silence broke the buzz of the board meeting. The discussion was over, and board members were looking to John for the final word. Outland Company was being sued by an employee, Janice Jorgenson, who was charging an Outland manager, Billy Joe Smith, with sexual harassment. John Walker, in his usual, relaxed manner, looked around the room. "I've known Billy Joe for years", he said, "and he assures me that he wasn't involved in anything like that".

With a wry smile, he added: "You know, it getting so bad that if you so much as look at some of those 'libber girls,' you " re in trouble. I guess Janice fits that bill". John continued: "Our attorneys aren't worried". Grover knew he lacked management experience in dealing with personnel problems, but he couldn't help thinking something was a miss. There has to be a better way to handle this, he thought. But was it his place to bring it up?

No one else seemed to be concerned, and they had all been on the board much longer than Grover. An after all, wasn't Grover's primary responsibility to look out for the financial interests of his venture capital company, Southern Sun? Still, he wondered, didn't he have some responsibility for the value tone set by the organization? But if he raised a stink now, he thought, it might not accomplish any thing anyway, and it might misdirect valuable energy away from managing the company's tight growth schedule.

Besides, he argued to himself, board members shouldn't micro manage; personnel issues are management's responsibility. But why did he have that sinking feeling in his gut? And what could he do about it? Directions: Use the case study format and address the issues of this case and submit the form in Microsoft Word in the Assignment Drop Box. Please follow the format. You will be grade on how well you completed the case study and your resolutions.