Martha McCaskey The Seleris Associates Industry Analysis Case Study

For the past 18 months Martha McCaskey has been an exemplary per causality with mellowed integrity and been assigned as a project leader to a crucial high write project named te 6. Upon undefeated completion of silicon 6, McCaskey has been promised a promotion to multitude manager. McCaskey is being pressured by senior focal point to sack the project and pack an workion plan to subject to the lymph gland. Now she has whatever options to weigh in graze to completed the project. What McCaskey must decide is where she draws the line on compromising her values in order to complete atomic number 14 6.She go forth train to decide what constitutes proprietary information or is she engaging in valets industrial espionage McCaskey has also realized she might have to pay slightly(prenominal) angiotensin converting enzyme off to covering her project in order to attain her promised promotion. She felt she has al way of lifes maintained a high detail of integrity until now. in that respect were some word of advice flags McCaskey should have noniced. The focus this news report is to examine specific reasons rudimentary McCaskeys situation, what the warning flags were and what tactics she should employ concerning her involvement in the silicon 6 project and her upcoming with Seleris.Martha McCaskey Seleris Associates Industry Analysis Division Case Study Martha McCaskey has been assigned as the Project Leader of the Silicon 6 Project with Seleris Associates Industry Analysis Division (IAD). She is facing some real tough decisions that goat be career threatening and possibly have legal ramifications. Silicon 6 has be light a crucial project for IAD. Silicon 6 will account for 20% of IADs revenues. If successful for IADs client therefore more lucrative projects would follow. This should have been a warning sign to McCaskey, a high profile project given to a new hire would not happen.McCaskey has been promised a promotion to theme Manager with a su bstantial increase in pay if she performs well. This was a warning sign. How could McCaskey be promoted to root Manager? There were only 2 aggroups who was going to go? Was it just lip-service to entice her further to stupefy the call for information on Silicon 6? Selersiss client is a semiconductor manufacturer based in California. The client has retained IAD to observe cost structure and manufacturing processes for a new splintering being manufactured by a competitor. Selersiss client has offered to double the consulting fees if the required information could be controled.McCaskey has been tasked by her management to formulate an action plan to present to senior management of the client and IAD. McCaskey is attempt with how she must decide what constitutes proprietary information and what is public surviveledge. McCaskey wonders if she is engaging in gentlemans industrial espionage. She has always maintained a high degree of integrity, until now. McCaskey now has some di fferent approaches for finishing the Silicon 6 project to ponder. The Events Leading Up To Marthas Situation Martha McCaskey has the right pedigree Electrical engineer science (EE) degree from CalTech, and Harvard MBA.Shortly after finishing her MBA she became an associate with Seleris Associates Industry Analysis Division. This region specializes in clients in the computer component manufacturing industry. McCaskeys offer was generous plus she received a good character reference from a fountain CalTech associate who was employed there. The division was divided into 2 wholes. One unit was to a lower place Group Manager Bud Hackert c all in alled the Old Guard which move arounded mainly on indep final stageent projects and the other unit downstairs Group Manger Bill Davies comprised of newer associates or New Guard where McCaskey was assigned.The New Guard group worked predominately on team projects. McCaskeys first project received high praise from Tom Malone the divisions v ice president stating her performance was the outgo the division had ever seen. The second project was genuinely challenging. Under heavy pressure McCaskey was successful. by and by presenting successfully to the client, the president of IAD Ty Richardson asked McCaskey what her delay was on this project in writing the clients report. McCaskey was so outraged she finished the report in 10 days. Malone established her report as the new benchmark for IAD projects.This behavior by Malone should have been a warning sign as well. McCaskey had been with IAD a short time and already her work was a bench mark? There is no easier way to gain loyalty thence by praise. McCaskey felt Richardson and Malone disapproved of her handling of the project. It was during this period that Malone suggested McCaskey ask advice of 2 members of the Hackerts group Dan Randall and Chuck Kaufmann concerning obtaining sources of information. Hackerts group was involved in gathering detailed information well-n igh competitors.This McCaskey quick as accrediteded that Kaufmann and Randall were the real producers of this group. Before she was make on her current project McCaskey was asked by Richardson to talk with the time out of the members of Davies Old Guard group on the Silicon 6 Project. Randall was cold and unapproachable and Kaufmann was unavailable. McCaskey did work posterior with Kaufmann on some team projects and she found him to be approachable and fun to work with. The Atmosphere At IAD Several senior associates had go away the firm in the last few months. McCaskey over the months has find was that IAD had some severe morals issues.The president Ty Richardson is very sharp as well as a convert salesperson with plenty of charm and charisma. He was very driven, mostly by money. The defacto Chief Operating officeholder (COO) Tom Malone was the grammatical case of leader who was another great talker and salesman who once verbalize to Kauffman that he did not care about th e roundover at IAD beca white plague he could just put an ad in the paper and hire all the staff he needed. Richardson and Malone stated to the staff about being part of the management team. However two would go on a client visit without involving the staff. The staff felt left out and perceived themselves as being non-contributors.McCaskey had been given the freedom by Richardson to perform her work as she wished and her work was also recognized by Richardson. Her bonus that year was $25,000 while the other associates bonuses were much smaller. This should have been a warning sign to McCaskey, special attention by senior management, to include a capacious bonus in excess of co-workers share. McCaskey And Silicon 6 McCaskey had been asked to work on Silicon 6 because of her EE degree and coursework on chip design. Richardson had stated the project was behind schedule and her expertness would be valuable.McCaskey was certified she would be working with Chuck Kauffman. Kaufmann wa s hard working but was taken advantage of by some(prenominal) Richardson and Malone. He was paid less than whatever other associate and felt the play along needed his expertise to run the business. Kaufmann could not step back and see his situation. When trying to obtain information from industry sources McCaskey would identify herself as a representative of a trade journal. McCaskey thought that was a little more to a higher place board than visiting a position company and pretending to be intervie larng for a job, as a consulting friend of hers does.Richardson spends more time with Randall, McCaskey and Kaufmann often making impromptu visits to see McCaskey and Kaufmann. McCaskey was still struggling with obtaining credible information on the target company. Seleris client had also placed a stipulation that the target company was not to be contacted, to avoid the appearance of price fixing. Malone had queried McCaskey on whether she had been able to contact any former employ ees of the target company. On other projects she had found former employees of target companies a valuable source of information.Kaufmann had confided in McCaskey he had paid a former employee of a target company a $5,000 consulting fee for spreadsheets and a business plan for a new product line. He mentioned Randall had done this on a level(p) basis on Seleris projects. IAD had no written formal policies concerning solicitation guidelines and rules of engagement working for a client. McCaskey substantiate with a coworker that members of Hackerts Old Guard group routinely paid off ex employees of target companies to obtain sensitive and proprietary information for Seleris clients and the Group Manager Hackert condoned and encouraged this behavior.Desperate for information McCaskey considered using former employees of the target company to complete Silicon 6. When she learned of the bribes McCaskey should have known what Seleris was all about, ethics not being an attribute. This wa s another warning sign she chose to ignore. Enter Phil Devon McCaskeys best lead came via some ergodic events. During her research she came across a prof at a small east coast engineering school who actively consulted with European semiconductor manufacturers. After contacting him McCaskey discovered he could not provide her with any information.Malone then suggested McCaskey vanish out and interview him in person indicating he might have some gossip on the new chip. The expression to pillow slip interview provided no new information that McCaskey could use. The professor suggested she contact Phil Devon a consultant in southern California who had been involved in the design and first up of one of the European chip manufacturers. The lead for Devon came about under such obscure circumstances. Malone told her to fly out to see the professor for gossip and then she discovered Devon? Did he know of Devon and intended to use McCaskey as a patsy? This was another set of warning sign s for McCaskey.McCaskey set up an interview with Devon and discovered he was a former employee of the target company at the vice president level. This was large warning sign for McCaskey. You should never approach an executive of a target company, they are not ignorant. Your true intentions will be figured out in no time. McCaskey felt uneasy with Devon from the start. Devon was almost too approaching with information. McCaskey felt certain that Devon could provide her with all the information she needed to complete Silicon 6. She felt he might be leading her on in order to find out who she was working for.This should have been a red flag warning for McCaskey. Devon was way too anxious to give up information. What were his motives? on the button a nice guy who wanted to help for the right price? A disgruntled ex-employee? Was he working for the target company? Was he part of a sting operation ? She did not see to her gut on this one. McCaskey was an intelligent person she should have gone with what she felt (Welch Jack Straight From The Gut) When McCaskey debriefed Malone she communicate him of her jibeing with Devon and how she felt Devon could have provided her with all the information she required had she just asked.She then informed Malone she had come away empty handed with the needed information. She also informed him about how uneasy she felt about Devons demeanor to the point that he might call the authorities or inform the target companys plant Silicon 6 of her interest if she pressed him for the target companys information. Malone told her not to contact Devon anymore and just go through her client presentation with him. Malone informed McCaskey that Seleris would present the data as though it represented the actual Silicon 6 plant. When McCaskey objected Malone informed her no one would notice when they presented.Another warning sign, Malone was going to lie to the client. What McCaskey thought was to be a dry-run of her presentation off out to be held in front of the clients senior plant management. The plant managers s elapse her within 15 minutes of her presentation stating it provided no new information. In a closed opening session with Malone and McCaskey the client plant management stated their displeasure in Seleriss handling of the Silicon 6 project stating how much business they had given Seleris and how they hope to continue the trend. However, given what they had just witnessed they had doubts.Malone then brought up how Seleris had just made contact with an former employee of the Silicon 6 plant who could provide them all the information required given the proper incentives were provided. The attitude with the client senior management immediately changed. The client senior management doubled the consulting fee for IAD stating the additional funds could be used for incentives. The client stated they did not care how IAD obtained the information as long as they got it. Malone was entranced in the turn of events and how delighted Richardson would be.When Malone briefed Hackert, he suggested that the consulting fee paid to Devon should be $7,000 not the usual $4,000 or whatever would make it worthwhile. Malone then informed McCaskey to think about how she handle Devon and not rule out the idea of using Kaufmann to meet with Devon. McCaskey realized she was in the middle of paying Devon off to complete Silicon 6 and receive her promised promotion. This was a huge warning sign. Malone was shooting from the hip and he succeeded. Plus he had the perfect patsy McCaskey or Kaufmann. Strategies Martha McCaskey Could Have TakenOne strategy McCaskey could have taken was to stand up and define herself as a person and an employee (Jack Welch Video Define Yourself or Others allow for). If you allow people to think that you condone certain behavior, as in McCaskey stating to Malone Youre Amazing after the presentation she and Malone made to the Silicon 6 client. She seemed to value him for his dishon esty. When she learned that Seleris was bribing former employees of target companies she further failed to define herself in not speaking up for ethics and distancing herself form the situation.Her co-workers could only assume she approved of such behavior. Being new McCaskey desired to excel and research approval of her management however bribery to succeed is not the way to differentiate or realize yourself. Differentiation is a way to manage your people and your business. Its about getting the best players on your team in order to have everyone pull together and win. (Jack Welch Winning Chapter 3) You do not win by being dishonest. When McCaskey discovered her management was basically unethical she needed to have a face to face meeting with them immediately.McCaskey was not in a situation of good honcho vs. bad boss (Welch Podcast Good Boss vs. Bad Boss) with someone who was just a jerk or a bully, she was dealing with 2 people who were blatantly dishonest and unethical who w ere condoning and encouraging bribery and industrial espionage. They were crossing a line that could land them or McCaskey or Kaufmann in jail. More than likely it would have not been Richardson and Malone as they were the know it all types of mangers who would let subordinates take the fall. (Welch Podcast Bosses Who Get It All Wrong).At this point McCaskey has realized both of her managers were dishonest. You cannot trust dishonest people. Trust is the fiber of good peer to peer relationships, once gone its hard to win back. Trust is like the stock market you can lose it overnight (Fiener Chapter 3 Law of Trust). McCaskey should have confronted both Richardson and Malone both with their behavior and asked to be moved off of the project. Better to be moved off or moved out than go to jail. McCaskey did not give herself a deal of options to improve her or change her situation as she went along with the status quo.She chose not to stand up and do her job the right way. She more than likely is going to be cannon fodder for her management. (Feiner Chapter 8 Law of Conscientious Objector). A culture change needed to take place at Seleris from top to bottom and bottom to top. However, the persons you had running the company Richardson and Malone were not about to inspire any change that would deputise with their personal cash flow. The main problem with Richardson and Malone is that while both were bright and charismatic, but they were the premature type of leaders, they were not inspiring the right attributes. Feiner Chapter 2). They were not taking control of the situation for the good of the company or employees, they were doing for themselves. The burning bridge technique might have worked (Fiener Chapter 9 The Law of the Burning Bridge). For change to end it right the process must start right. Malone and Richardson were not about to upset their empire by admitting they were wrong and begin a drastic change process. It is not in their moral fiber to do so. T here was no way for McCaskey to have changed their behavior. A painful end is waiting for them. Three Emails McCaskey Should WriteTy After some thought and soul searching I feel I should be detractd from the Silicon 6 Project. I realize I have not produced well on this project and I sincerely regret my less than stellar performance. I would like to stay on with Seleris IAD and perhaps work on less high profile projects in order to give myself a much needed break. I feel very stressed and overwhelmed at this point. I would like to meet face to face with you in your office to personally discuss my options with you. I would also like to take a 2 week vacation to recover from the last few months as well.I notice your calendar is absolved form 1300-1400 would that be convenient for you? Tom Due to the tremendous stress I have been under I will be taking a couple of weeks vacation to recover. I would like to remove myself form the project. I will let you decide who should meet with Phil Devon, as I know you know the right person to speak with Devon. I have cleared this with Ty Richardson and he agrees that I need some time off. I will be moving on to some less high profile projects. Head of Human Resources I have enjoyed my tenure Seleris IAD where I feel I have freehanded personally and professionally.I feel I have worked with some of the industrys best consultants. It is a decision that I have thought about for a while and I feel it is the best option for me at this point. I will be terminating my trade within 2 weeks from receipt of this email. A certified letter confirming the same will be coming to you forthwith. Conclusion Martha McCaskey has painted herself into a corner. She can pay Devon off take her promotion and hope for the best with her future. Her situation is this she is considering bribery and has engage in industrial espionage. McCaskey should run not walk away from this situation.She should run self terminate her employment and cut all ties wi th her co-workers. She should have seen the warning flags and listened to her gut. As soon as possible McCaskey should disown Seleris IAD and retain an attorney. She needs to provide him or her with complete details of her dealings on Silicon 6. McCaskey should act on the advice of her legal counsel to protect herself if Seleris IAD chooses to come after her if the dealings with Devon take a turn for the worse. Call it what you want incentive, consulting fee, gift, its still bribery and illegal. I wonder what Jack Welch would have done?ReferencesWelch, Jack with Suzy, (2005). Winning, Harper Collins. Welch, Jack with John A. Byrne. (2001). Jack Straight From The Gut, Warner Books Inc. Feiner, Michael, (2005) The Feiner Points of Leadership. Warner Business Books. Welch, J., Welch, S. (2009). Define Yourself or Others Will Retrieved from The Welch Way Website. http//www.welchway.com/