CASE 3: JONA CAR RENTAL: Before the Next Teardrop Falls

For fourteen months, Mr. Jose Naguimbing acted as general manager of Jona Car Rental. The
company had branches in Angeles City, Olongapo City, and Baguio City. The main office is located in Makati
City.

Jose succeeded his brother Pedro who founded the company and was well-liked by his
subordinates. The car rental company was very lucrative when Pedro left it to establish another business.

Jose was very enthusiastic during the first few months of his stewardship. At the fifth month, his
staff members began losing confidence in his abilities to run the firm. One time, when a purchase order
for three units of Toyota car was presented to him by the office manager for his signature, he signed it
immediately. The manager filed the order with a dealer on the same day. The next morning, however,
Jose instructed the office manager to cancel the order. He also directed the manager to buy three units
of Mitsubishi cars from a dealer.

When the position of branch manager for Angeles City became vacant, he appointed someone
whom his immediate staff thought to be the least deserving of the three candidates. After three months,
his staff members were proven right: the revenues of the branch was drastically reduced. Compared with
a competitor in the area, the performance of the branch was dismal.

When Jose decided to establish another branch he asked is staff to identify three potential sites
for him to choose from. He picked Laoag City. It turned out that Laoag has the weakest potential. In
contrast, the competitor who put up a branch in Santiago City in the same year was registering substantial
revenues. Santiago City was one of the potential sites forwarded to Jose for consideration.