Organizational behavior

Kateryna Turkot
Lisa Benton case notes
Core issues and causes: The core issue in the case is the fact that Lisa Benton is not
satisfied with her position as an assistant product manager. Things like lack of training
and guidance, underutilization, conflicts with her supervisors and co-worker contributed
to Lisas growing concern for her future career at the Home Care Division of
Houseworld.
Recommendations: Lisa Benton needs to focus on goals and need of the company
instead of her own. Once she does that, Lisa will be able to feel satisfaction with her
position, as well as use this job to learn more marketing skills that she feels are missing.
At the same time, Lisa needs autonomy. By requesting challenging work, she will show
initiative and make better progress on her current position. As for the relationship triad,
Lisa Benton should follow the general dependency postulate: the greater Bs resource
dependency on A, the greater the power A has over B. Lisa needs to follow professional
advice of the one who holds more decision power over her training and career in
Houseworld. In this case, we have a mix of both professional and personal powers. In my
opinion, she should stay true to her team and not complain about Deborah or Ron, but she
should seek more guidance from Jack Vernon.

Discussion points:
1. What are the positive and negative sides of Lisa reaching out to Scott Kingston?
Will trying to get the old offer back on the table be better for her?
2. As a recent MBA graduate, what tactics should Lisa use when starting a new job?
3. What are the benefits of maintaining true to her team at Houseworld?