Running head: DICK SPENCER’S CASE 1

Dick Spencer’s Case

Institution

Name

Date

Dick Spencer’s Case

Dick Spencer used to be a manager in Canada of Modrow Company whose parent

company was Tri- American Corporation in America. The company mainly deals with the

manufacture of aluminum and related products. The organization mined bauxite in Jamaica and

shipped it to Louisiana then manufactured it into alumina. There were conversion firms where

the manufactured alumina would be sent for reduction to the primary aluminum. The following

research is an analysis of Dick Spencer’s case.

Analysis of critical issues

Even though Tri-American Company had a board of management which saw its

operations, all the subsidiaries operated independently from the parent company. The board of

management set the general guidelines under which the subsidiaries based their operation. The

different branches competed against each other as independent organizations. The primary

concern of the plant managers was profitability. Otherwise, they had the freedom to make

internal decisions as they deemed fit.

Dick Spencer’s plant had a workforce of one thousand with the significant function of

fabricating. The branch mainly concentrated in the manufacture of foil and other building

materials such as roofing. The increase in the use of aluminum products in the architectural

products in Canada raised their demand and thus great earnings. The subsidiary had a

competitive advantage over its competitors with a strategic location and efficient workforce.

Modrow Company prepared for the anticipated rise in the use of aluminum products in

the building sector by expanding and modernizing. The subsidiary encouraged the art and

research department to combine their different talents in coming up with unique and better

designs. The department invented the twelve types of patterns for siding which were different

from the ones in the market. The process of modernization and expansion was costly though the
DICK SPENCER’S CASE 3

returns made the project worth. In the attempts to minimize expenses, the vice president of Tri-

American Company started a campaign which was to be a personal goal.

As a new employee in the English branch of the company, Dick had issues sharing his

opinions. The primary role that Dick had been assigned to do in the subsidiary became

challenging to accomplish. Dick was to improve and upgrade the performance of the individuals

in the new plant. The branch in London experienced poor employee-employee rapport (Karnes,

2009). The superiors did not give their juniors a chance to express their ideas. The weak

relationship between the employee and the employer is a barrier to the development of the

company. It interferes with the ability of the members of the organization to carry out their

assigned roles. For instance, Dick Spencer could not carry out the purpose of improving the plant

when he couldn’t air his ideas. The supervisors should give their subordinates a chance to

contribute to the management of the organization.

Also, when Dick became the manager of the newly acquired plant in England, he had

issues making a profit. Dick experienced various cultural shifts from relocating to London and

then to Birmingham after the new assignment. The cultural change affected his management

abilities (Shrader et al., 1997). Having adapted to the way of life in London, it became

challenging to adjust to living in a new place. Dick’s managerial skills could be traced to

observing his supervisors in the previous plants. Applying the same techniques learned of the

prior culture could not work well; hence the slow rate of returns.

It was a challenge to shift from the different roles within such a short period. Initially,

Dick moved from working in the United States to England. In England he had three different

functions, there was the plant he was to upgrade performance then he became a plant manager in

a newly acquired plant. Eventually, he becomes the manager of the Modrow plant. The sudden
DICK SPENCER’S CASE 4

movements affected the stability of Dick Spencer and made it challenging to master managerial

skills. It is essential that for any individual expected to take a managerial role to acquire prior

skills. The experience will help the individual successfully lead the team assigned. Dick Spencer

did not adequately acquire these skills due to the continuous movement from one role to the

other.

Spencer’s Success as a Salesman

The success of Spencer as a salesman could be attributed to his ambitions and goals

towards being the best. During his first year as a salesman, Dick landed the company a huge

contract. Most of his colleagues thought that the success of Spencer had something to do with his

looks and charming nature. However, in his second year, he proved them wrong by continuing to

rise in his career as a salesman.

Personal goals contribute to not only own happiness but also career success. Findings

from research by the journal of happiness indicates that it is through career success whose basis

is on the individual objectives that one finds satisfaction in life (Abele, Hagmaier, & Spurk,

2016). Spencer was happy in life during the first year of his career as a salesperson due to the

achievement of the set goals in his life. Spencer was in a position to win one of the most

significant contracts in the company.

Through the use of the personality test model to predict the success of Spencer as a

salesperson, it is correct to say that his attributes made him successful (Avila, 2015). There is a

link connecting Spencer’s hard work to his success and his self-belief. After the second year,

Spencer started to doubt himself as a salesperson. When his wife divorced him, he blamed his

career for taking too much time and keeping him away from his family. Later, Spencer came to

accept the fact that it was best to stay without his family since his job required a lot of traveling.
DICK SPENCER’S CASE 5

There is a direct relationship between personal attributes and career success in sales.

Customers adnire good traits and persuasion techniques of the salesperson. It is crucial that

personal qualities such as effective communication, politeness be part of a salesperson. A polite

salesperson is likely to attract more clients and make sales in the process. Spencer was

hardworking since in his first year he managed to win the company a large and vital contract.

I attribute the success of Spencer as a salesperson to his personality due to various

reasons. When he started doubting his abilities in the salesperson career, his success deteriorated.

According to the case, after the self- doubt encounter the next contract he secured was not as

significant as the first one. However, after Spencer’s acceptance that his future was secure and

that he had to do every possible for that to happen, he regained momentum.

The ability to believe in oneself works in favor of the success of a career. Confidence is a

factor that is crucial in the salesperson career. For one to approach a client and convince them of

the need for the products, it requires significant amount of confidence. Spencer showed a

considerable amount of confidence in his first year as a salesperson. However, after the second

year, Spencer started developing doubts about his future. Ever since the drop in his belief,

Spencer did not manage to make a large sale in comparison to the first year contract. Spencer’s

doubtful nature about his life transferred to his career as a salesperson. The personality of

individual transfers to the way of carrying out activities in the field. Low confidence levels in an

individual seem to reflect in their career as well. Career success starts with an individual’s step to

embrace change.

Also, I could attribute the success of Spencer as a salesman to his ability to notice and

maintain essential contacts. Spencer had met the president of Tri-American during his first year

as a salesman in conferences and meetings. Spencer took the opportunity of knowing the
DICK SPENCER’S CASE 6

president of the company to his advantage. The two went on golfing for three days, socializing

and creating a meaningful relationship. Some of his friends advised him to make use of the

opportunity to benefit himself, but he brushed them off. However, the continuous relationship

built by Spencer and the company secretary paid off when Spencer needed a change in his

career. Spencer formally approached the president with a request to move out of the sales

division. The president was hesitant at first, but later on, Spencer got a transfer to an

administrative role.

Studies from the Chinese entrepreneurial culture attributes the success of an individual in

his or her career to the guanxi networks (Chen et al., 2015). Guanxi networks refer to those

relationships that an individual has with people from different backgrounds. Some of these

networks include family ties, government ties, business ties, and community ties. These networks

act as a secure method of accessing information and resources. Business ties improve the

accessibility of information thus are essential for the success of any career. Spencer developed

business ties with the president of the company. Through these ties, Spencer had access to the

necessary information about the organization. Some of this information includes the available

opportunities and the skills required. I believe the conversations that Spencer had with the

president over golfing pushed him to seek a job outside sales.

Also, the relationship between the president and Spencer acted as a source of resources.

The ties provided easy access to the resources needed for the success of the career of Spencer.

Spencer’s colleagues once asked him to use the opportunity of knowing the president of the

company to push his career upwards. These people saw the chance that Spencer had in regards to

his career. The president was a vital resource in ensuring the success of Spencer’s career. When

Spencer wanted a shift from sales, he approached the president to help him further his career.
DICK SPENCER’S CASE 7

Spenser as a Manager

Spencer had been working for Tri-American Company for the past fourteen years. Also,

he had a master’s degree in business administration from a well-known institution. Spencer had

been in the switch from being a salesperson for over three years when Spencer got the transfer to

being the manager of a plant in London. Later on, he got a transfer to another subsidiary. The

plant had been performing poorly, and Spencer instituted training and education for the

supervisors. The subsidiary’s performance rose slightly, and Spencer requested a transfer to

America. Nine months after the request, Spencer got the title of a junior vice-president and

became the manager of Modrow plant in Canada.

Spencer’s Tribulation as a Manager

When Spencer moved to Canada as a subsidiary manager, he faced resistance from the

team members. The members of the Canadian branch watched him from a distance with doubt.

During his first year in the plant, Spencer developed a habit of moving around the organization

and appearing in different workplaces. During the initial days, his presence had an unintended

response from the team members. Spencer would observe and listen to the ideas and views of the

staff. Later on, Spencer would call the supervisors and foreman and enlighten them on

complaints of the team members. However, as time passed by the workers got used to Spencer

appearing at their workplaces unannounced.

The habit of Spencer strolling around the business hurt the activities of the personnel.

Workers have the habit of working when under the observation of the superiors. However, when

they are not watched closely, they tend to relax and be less productive. Therefore, the part-time

strolling of Spencer around the institution created a culture of pretense. The workers felt
DICK SPENCER’S CASE 8

intimidated by the presence of the boss. Thus, they just worked hard to please the manager and

not to their full potential.

On the other hand, the foremen and the supervisors were not happy about being

questioned by Spencer. They made rude comments about his strolling behavior around the

institution. For instance, according to the siding department manager, his role was to tend to

paperwork while seated in an office. The supervisors believed that the role of a plant manager

was to sit in his office and wait for them to bring out the issues in their department. The fact that

Spencer knew about all these, negatively affected him as a manager, I believe he kept wondering

whether he was carrying out his tasks well.

I believe that the rude comments made by the supervisors acted as a way to show their

frustration for the manager taking up their responsibility. Every person in an organization has a

role that they place. The supervisors and foreman from different departments were in charge of

their areas. By Spencer going around their various departments, he took up the role that they

were to be playing. It is crucial that the top level managers delegate their duties to their

subordinates (Kadiresan & Javed, 2015). A manager has a lot of activities that need to be taking

up his time rather than walking around the institution. On the delegation of duties, Spencer

would be carrying activities that demanded his authority and power as a plant manager.

Also, Spencer experienced pressure from the head offices of Tri-American in the United

States and from within the organization. Most of the people believed that he did not have the

necessary managerial skills to manage a plant. The reason being Spencer had always been a

salesperson throughout his career. Therefore, Spencer had to do everything possible to prove

them wrong and show them that he was capable of leading. Spencer sensed that the Canadians

workforce resented his moves and were waiting for his downfall. Thus, he had to work very hard
DICK SPENCER’S CASE 9

to prove them wrong and to earn his place amongst them. In the process, Spencer forgot about

his second wife and left his family in a new community.

The pressure from the workers and the head office negatively affected his way of

carrying out activities. He would let out the pressure on the employees who had no idea about its

source. I believe that Spencer put pressure on the workers to prove them wrong that he was not

capable of being a manager (Yang et al., 2015). Spencer badly wanted to be successful in his

new role as a manager that he forgot his place in the organization. Spencer failed in his position

as a manager by expecting too much from his employees. First, Spencer needed to create a

rapport with his employees and play the managerial roles to earn their respect.

On one of his strolling sessions, Spencer overheard some workers from the accounting

department making rude comments about him. They seemed to be unhappy with him spending

too much time around the workers. Spencer said that the incident encouraged him to spend less

time with the accounting department personnel. Spencer had several encounters where he

frustrated both his family and employees.

The fact that members whom he considered close to them saw his constant strolling a

nuisance means that he needed to spend less time with the workers. Spending too much time

amongst the workers created a bad image for Spencer as a manager. The workers had a culture

whereby every person concentrated on the activities of their department. Studies show that for a

manager to make satisfactory decisions on issues affecting an organization, they have to think

like a manager (White, 2019). By Spencer being too involved with the affairs of the workers in

the plant, it sets his mindset to act and think like the workers. As a result, the decisions requiring

a managerial perspective lack the necessary skills to be tackled.

Managerial Issues
DICK SPENCER’S CASE 10

A major managerial issue present in this case is the lack of strategic planning. The

organization lacks a clear focus of its goals. Employees and the management do not have a

common viewpoint of the objective of the company. It is vital for any business to have a strategic

plan as it outlines the measurable aims and sets the direction. Through strategic planning, the

daily decision-making process is fast and efficient. For example, the sudden change of the

Modrow subsidiary manager brought about delays in the projects. The organization did not give

Dick Spencer time to get familiar with the new task. Spencer had to take up the managerial role

with all its previous issues which were unfamiliar. The company did not consider the

inefficiencies that the sudden change of the manager would bring to the personnel and the

subsidiaries goals. The company did not plan for possible changes in the management of the

Modrow plant in Canada.

There exist various issues resulting from a company lacking a strategic plan. One of the

problems is imposing unrealistic goals for the managers. The managers are likely to be pressured

to attain specific objectives which are beyond their abilities. For example, the vice president of

Tri-American Company started a campaign to lower expenses. The managers had to ensure that

individual personnel keeps up with the goals of the campaign. The staff at Modrow plant were in

the process of modernizing and expanding the plant for the sake of accommodating the rising

demand in the building sector. During the process, there were no real time returns; it was

anticipation. Thus, the expenses had to be more than the gains. The goals of the campaign to

reduce costs was unachievable in that period. The personnel was to experience a rise in costs, but

it would pay off in the future with the anticipated increase in demand.

New office managerial issues are present in the Dick Spencer case through the aspect of

co-working. (Leclercq-Vandelannoitte, & Isaac, 2016). Dick Spencer meets new faces in his
DICK SPENCER’S CASE 11

assignment as a plant manager in the Modrow plant. He has to work alongside them to gain

momentum of the projects in the subsidiary. The first year as the manager does not reflect his

managerial issues, on the contrary, it brings out Dick Spencer as a co-worker. The fact that

Spencer was not there when the original work began makes it difficult for him to exercise his

managerial role effectively.

Also, Dick Spencer had issues shifting his mindset to the Modrow subsidiary. The

members of the Modrow team keep staring at him with suspicious eyes. The team seems to doubt

his capability as the team leader. Spencer has to lean on his subordinates to catch up with the

activities of the organization. As a result, Spencer had to spend most of the time at work and

away from his family. There were conferences, meetings, and volumes of work to read. All these

activities were overwhelming to a new manager who did not have the proper preparation for the

new role. In the process of the catching up, the costs continued to rise resulting in poor

performance. The projects delayed their set time of completion, and the financial statements did

not bring out the best image to the shareholders.

Recommendations

Spencer had another encounter with the siding department. On one of his strolls through

the siding department, he noticed that the workers were using saws to cut materials to fit them in

the disposal bins. In his opinion, the method was time-consuming, and it was very costly.

Spencer took the material bent it with his hands and saw that it could easily fit in the barrel.

Spencer then asked one of the workers why he used the saw when the material could easily be

bent and fit in the barrel. The worker said they have never used that method and Spencer decided

to summon the foremen on the issue. Spencer forcibly had the saws removed, but the foreman

later introduced hand shears to cut the scraps.

The fact that Spencer did not lay out his ideas to the rest of the team members reflects

poorly on him. Making final decisions without consulting the supervisors and the foreman is one

thing he did wrong. Also, watching the activities of the workers in the scrap division without

their supervisors around was wrong. Spencer took up the role of the foreman and the supervisors.

Similarly, Spencer made a mistake by commanding the foreman on the implementation

of the cost reduction strategy. Spencer used his power and authority as a manager at the wrong

time. The use of the authoritative voice without giving the foreman a chance to express

themselves created the resistance. The foreman used the opportunity to show Spencer that they

did not fear his threats. The ignorance of his command was a way to express their disagreement

with the way Spencer was carrying out activities within the scrap division.

Spencer would have given the foreman the chance to express their views about the use of

hands instead of saws. There would have balanced communication between the foreman and the

manager. It is clear that from the moment Spencer discovered the use of saws in the scrap

division, his mind was set to practice the cost reduction strategy. Therefore, when the foreman

came to Spencer’s office, he just lectured the foreman on the cost reduction process. Even after

the foreman explained the drawback of his strategy, Spencer did not heed to the complaints.

A relationship exists between team proactivity and the innovation process of the team

members (Lantz Friedrich et al., 2016). Those managers who actively involve their team

members in the decision-making prove to have better results. The team members innovate ways

to solve issues affecting the organization. The best approach to the problems in the institution is

through the involvement of the team members. Spencer would have involved the team members

in the decision-making process. During the process of withdrawing the use of saws, he would

have asked the rest of the members of the scrap division on their view about the change.
DICK SPENCER’S CASE 13

Also, giving employees a chance to be part of the decision-making process acts as a

source of motivation (Menard et al., 2017). Appreciating the ideas of the team members makes

them feel like part of the team. In return, productivity increases the level of sales and profits.

Building a culture that embraces the ideas of employees is vital for the success of any manager.

The motivation of the employees emerges from various points of view. Spencer would have

involved the foreman and the supervisors in the process of getting rid of the saws. Their response

would have been different if they were part of the process.

Spencer experienced resistance to change from the scrap division after forcibly removing

the saws. A primary factor that contributes to resistance to change is a lack of basic knowledge

of the change that is under introduction. Studies indicate that incorporating employees in the

change process makes the transition successful and smooth. It is vital that during the presentation

of a new system, the employees understand the need and how the new system works. The

information will help in minimizing resistance because most people resist as a result of

inadequate knowledge. If Spencer had explained to the foreman the need for the conversion

process from the use of saws to hands, then he might have been more open. Also, elaborating the

importance of cost reduction would play a vital role in the reduction process.

Moreover, I would blame the siding incidents that Spencer faced in the workplace to the

inability to communicate effectively. Effective communication is a compulsory element for any

individual in the workplace. Managers should learn an effective method of passing information

around the institution. Studies indicate that the most successful institutions in the world have an

efficient system of communicating (Lazaroiu, 2015). Conveying messages at the right time and

through the appropriate channels improves the outcomes. Proper alignment of oral

communication with the business activities results in productivity (Brink & Costigan, 2015). The
DICK SPENCER’S CASE 14

use of an effective method of communication would have led in a better solution to the siding

department issue. If Spencer had given the foreman from the siding department, they would have

agreed on a fair settlement instead of acting against each other.

It is essential that a manager creates and defines the boundaries between the employee

and the employer. The manager has to ensure that the workers respect and obey the instructions

given. Using power and authority is one of the ways to define boundaries. However, authority

should be used at the right time and the right place (Holmes & Stubbe, 2015). Wrong application

of power brings out an unintended response from the workers. It is crucial for employers to listen

to the grievances of their employees. It is crucial for the managers to ensure that they do not

misuse their authority within the organization (Ponomareva, 2016). Spencer abused his authority

by forcibly guaranteeing the implementation of the cost reduction strategy. Spencer would have

asked the foreman kindly after explaining the essence of the two weeks trial. If the foreman of

the scarp division would have understood the importance of the process, then I believe he

wouldn’t have turned down the request of the manager.

Conclusion

The Spencer case is an essential article in understanding the concepts that are necessary

for the administration of an institution. Through the case, one is in a position to understand the

managerial issues affecting an organization. A proper analysis of the administrative issues will

help in recommending solutions. Understanding the various mistakes and success of Spencer as a

manager and salesperson help in bringing out the expectations of a workplace scenario.
DICK SPENCER’S CASE 15

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