Article

The last thing Eric Holt had expected to miss about New YorkCity was its sunrises. Seeing one usually meant he had pulledanother all-nighter at the consulting firm where, as a vicepresident, he had managed three teams of manufacturing specialists.But as he stood on the balcony of his new apartment in the smallIndiana city that was now his home, Eric suddenly felt a pang ofnostalgia for the way the dawn plays off the skyscrapers ofManhattan. In the next moment, though, he let out a sardonic laugh.The dawn light was not what he missed about New York. What hemissed was the feeling of accomplishment that usually accompaniedthose sunrises. An all-nighter in New York had meant hours ofintense work with a cadre of committed, enthusiastic colleagues.Give and take. Humor. Progress. Here, so far anyway, that wasunthinkable. As the director of strategy at FireArt, Inc., aregional glass manufacturer, Eric spent all his time trying to gethis new team to make it through a meeting without the tension levelbecoming unbearable. Six of the top-level managers involved seemeddetermined to turn the company around, but the seventh seemedequally determined to sabotage the process. Forget camaraderie.There had been three meetings so far, and Eric hadn't even beenable to get everyone on the same side of an issue. Eric steppedinside his apartment and checked the clock: only three more hoursbefore he had to watch as Randy Louderback, FireArt's charismaticdirector of sales and marketing, either dominated the group'sdiscussion or withdrew entirely, tapping his pen on the table toindicate his boredom. Sometimes he withheld information vital tothe group's debate; other times he coolly denigrated people'scomments. Still, Eric realized, Randy held the group togetherbecause of his dynamic personality, his almost legendary past, andhis close relationship with FireArt's CEO that he could not beignored. And at least once during each meeting, he offered aninsight about the industry or the company that was so perceptivethat Eric knew he shouldn't be ignored. As he prepared to leave forthe office, Eric felt the familiar frustration that had startedbuilding during the team's first meeting a month earlier. It wasthen that Randy had first insinuated, with what sounded like ajoke, that he wasn't cut out to be a team player. FireArt, Inc.,was in trouble- not deep trouble, but enough for its CEO, JackDerry, to make strategic repositioning Eric's top and only task.The company, a family-owned maker of wine goblets, beer steins,ashtrays, and other glass novelties had succeeded for nearly 80years as a high-quality, high-price producer, catering to hundredsof Midwestern clients. It traditionally did big business everyfootball season, selling commemorative knickknacks to the fans ofteams such as the Fighting Irish, the Wolverines, and the GoldenGophers. In the spring, there was always a rush of demand forsenior prom items -- champagne goblets emblazoned with a school'sname or beer mugs with a school's crest, for example. Fraternitiesand sororities were steady customers. Year after year, FireArtshowed respectable increases at the top and bottom lines, posting$86 million in revenues and $3 million in earnings three yearsbefore Eric arrived. In the last 18 months, though, sales andearnings had flattened. Jack, a grandnephew of the company'sfounder, thought he knew what was happening. Until recently, largenational glass companies had been able to make money only throughmass production. Now, however, thanks to new technologies in theglassmaking industry, those companies could execute short runsprofitably. They had begun to enter FireArt's niche, Jack had toldEric, and, with their superior resources, it was just a matter oftime before they would own it. "You have 1 responsibility asFireArt's new director of strategy," Jack had said to Eric on hisfirst day. "That's to put together a team of our top people, oneperson from each division, and have a plan for the company'sstrategic realignment up, running, and winning within 6 months."Eric had immediately compiled a list of the senior managers fromhuman resources, manufacturing, finance, distribution, design, andmarketing, and had set a date for the first meeting. Then, drawingon his years as a consultant who had worked almost solely in teamenvironments, Eric had carefully prepared a structure andguidelines for the group's discussions, disagreements, anddecisions, which he planned to propose to the members for theirinput before they began working together. Successful groups arepart art, part science, Eric knew, but he also believed that withevery member's full commitment, a team proved the adage that thewhole is greater than the sum of its parts. Knowing that managersat FireArt were unaccustomed to the team process, however, Ericimagined he might get some resistance from one or two members. Forone, he had been worried about Ray LaPierre of manufacturing. Raywas a giant of a man who had run the furnaces for some 35 years,following in his father's footsteps. Although he was a former highschool football star who was known among factory workers for hishearty laugh and practical jokes, Ray usually didn't say mucharound FireArt's executives, citing his lack of higher education asthe reason. Eric had thought the team atmosphere might intimidatehim. Eric had also anticipated a bit of a fight from Maureen Turnerof the design division, who was known to complain that FireArtdidn't appreciate its six artists. Eric expected Maureen mighthesitate to collaborate with people who didn't understand thedesign process. Ironically, both those fears had proved groundless,but another, more difficult problem had arisen. The wild card hadturned out to be Randy. Eric had met Randy once before the teamstarted its work and had found him to be enormously intelligent,energetic, and good-humored. What's more, Jack Derry had confirmedhis impressions, telling him that Randy "had the best mind" atFireArt. It was also from Jack that Eric had first learned ofRandy's hardscrabble yet inspirational personal history. Poor as achild, he had worked as a security guard and short-order cook toput himself through the state college, from which he graduated withtop honors. Soon after, he started his own advertising and marketresearch firm in Indianapolis, and within the decade, he had builtit into a company employing 50 people to service some of theregion's most prestigious accounts. His success brought with it ameasure of fame: articles in the local media, invitations to thestatehouse, even an honorary degree from an Indiana businesscollege. But in the late 1980s, Randy's firm suffered the same fateas many other advertising shops, and he was forced to declare,bankruptcy. FireArt considered it a coup when it landed him asdirector of marketing, since he had let it be known that he wasoffered at least two dozen other jobs. "Randy is the future of thiscompany," Jack Derry had told Eric. "If he can't help you, no onecan. I look forward to hearing what a team with his kind ofhorsepower can come up with to steer us away from the mess we'rein." Those words echoed in Eric's mind as he sat, with increasinganxiety, through the team's first and second meetings. Though Erichad planned an agenda for each meeting and tried to keep thediscussions on track, Randy always seemed to find a way to disruptthe process. Time and time again, he shot down other people'sideas, or he simply didn't pay attention. He also answered mostquestions put to him with maddening vagueness. "I'll have myassistant look into it when he gets a moment," he replied when oneteam member asked him to list FireArt's five largest customers."Some days you eat the bear, and other days the bear eats you," hejoked another time, when asked why sales to fraternities hadrecently nosedived. Randy's negativism, however, was countered byoccasional comments so insightful that they stopped theconversation cold or turned it around entirely -- comments thatdemonstrated extraordinary knowledge about competitors or glasstechnology or customers' buying patterns. The help wouldn't last,though, Randy would quickly revert to his role as team renegade.The third meeting, last week, had ended in chaos. Ray LaPierre,Maureen Turner, and the distribution director, Carl Simmons, hadeach planned to present cost-cutting proposals, and at first itlooked as though the group were making good progress. Ray openedthe meeting, proposing a plan for FireArt to cut throughput time by3% and raw-materials costs by 2%, thereby positioning the companyto compete better on price. It was obvious from his detailedpresentation that he had put a lot of thought into his comments,and it was evident that he was fighting a certain amount ofnervousness as he made them. "I know I don't have the book smartsof most of you in this room," he had begun, "but here goes anyway."During his presentation, Ray stopped several times to answerquestions from the team, and as he went on, his nervousnesstransformed into his usual ebullience. "That wasn't so bad!" helaughed to himself as he sat down at the end, flashing a grin atEric. "Maybe we can turn this old ship around." Maureen Turner hadfollowed Ray. While not disagreeing with him -- she praised hiscomments, in fact -- she argued that FireArt also needed to investin new artists, pitching its competitive advantage in better designand wider variety. Unlike Ray, Maureen had made this case toFireArt's top executives many times, only to be rebuffed, and someof her frustration seeped through as she explained her reasoningyet again. At one point, her voice almost broke as she describedhow hard she had worked in her first ten years at FireArt, hopingthat someone in management would recognize the creativity of herdesigns. "But no one did," she recalled with a sad shake of herhead. "That's why when I was made director of the department, Imade sure all the artists were respected for what they are --artists, not worker ants. There's a difference, you know." However,just as with Ray LaPierre, Maureen's comments lost theirdefensiveness as the group members, with the exception of Randy,who remained impassive, greeted her words with nods ofencouragement. By the time Carl Simmons of distribution started tospeak, the mood in the room was approaching buoyant. Carl, a quietand meticulous man, jumped from his seat and practically paced theroom as he described his ideas. FireArt, he said, should play toits strength as a service-oriented company and restructure itstrucking system to increase the speed of delivery. He described howa similar strategy had been adopted with excellent results at hislast job at a ceramics plant. Carl had joined FireArt just sixmonths earlier. It was when Carl began to describe those results indetail that Randy brought the meeting to an unpleasant halt byletting out a loud groan. "Let's just do everything, why don't we,including redesign the kitchen sink!" he cried with mockenthusiasm. That remark sent Carl back quickly to his seat, wherehe halfheartedly summed up his comments. A few minutes later, heexcused himself, saying he had another meeting. Soon the othersmade excuses to leave, too, and the room became empty. No wonderEric was apprehensive about the fourth meeting. He was thereforesurprised when he entered the room and found the whole group, saveRandy, already assembled. Ten minutes passed in awkward small talk,and, looking from face to face, Eric could see his own frustrationreflected. He also detected an edge of panic -- just what he hadhoped to avoid. He decided he had to raise the topic of Randy'sattitude openly, but just as he started, Randy ambled into theroom, smiling. "Sorry, folks," he said lightly, holding up a cup ofcoffee as if it were explanation enough for his tardiness. "Randy,I'm glad you're here," Eric began, "because I think today we shouldbegin by talking about the group itself -- " Randy cut Eric offwith a small, sarcastic laugh. "Uh-oh, I knew this was going tohappen," he said. Before Eric could answer, Ray LaPierre stood upand walked over to Randy, bending over to look him in the eye. "Youjust don't care, do you?" he began, his voice so angry it startledeveryone in the room. Everyone except Randy. "Quite the contrary --I care very much," he answered breezily. "I just don't believe thisis how change should be made. A brilliant idea never came out of ateam. Brilliant ideas come from brilliant individuals, who theninspire others in the organization to implement them." "That's alot of bull," Ray shot back. "You just want all the credit for thesuccess, and you don't want to share it with anyone." "That'sabsurd," Randy laughed again. "I'm not trying to impress anyonehere at FireArt. I don't need to. I want this company to succeed asmuch as you do, but I believe, and I believe passionately, thatgroups are useless. Consensus means mediocrity. I'm sorry, but itdoes." "But you haven't even tried to reach consensus with us,"Maureen interjected. "It's as if you don't care what we all have tosay. We can't work alone for a solution -- we need to understandeach other. Don't you see that?" The room was silent as Randyshrugged his shoulders noncommittally. He stared at the table, ablank expression on his face. It was Eric who broke the silence."Randy, this is a team. You are part of it," he said, trying tocatch Randy's eye without success. "Perhaps we should start again-- " Randy stopped him by holding up his cup, as if making a toast."Okay, look, I'll behave from now on," he said. The words heldpromise, but he was smirking as he spoke them -- something no oneat the table missed. Eric took a deep breath before he answered; asmuch as he wanted and needed Randy Louderback's help, he wassuddenly struck by the thought that perhaps Randy's personality andhis past experiences simply made it impossible for him toparticipate in the delicate process of ego surrender that any kindof teamwork requires. "Listen, everyone, I know this is achallenge," Eric began, but he was cut short by Randy'spencil-tapping on the table. A moment later, Ray LaPierre wasstanding again. "Forget it. This is never going to work. It's justa waste of time for all of us," he said, more resigned than gruff."We're all in this together, or there's no point." He headed forthe door, and before Eric could stop him, two others were at hisheels.

Please answer the following questions from the articleabove.

Questions:

1. What are the types and sources of conflict at FireArt? Whichconflict handling styles are present and absent among FireArtemployees? What are 2 ways Eric Holt can improve his conflictmanagement?

2.. Describe the organizational culture of FireArt? How doesthis culture affect Eric Holt’s experience and effectiveness as amanager? Based on the Model of Team Effectiveness, provide at least5 recommendations to help Eric Holt better build and manageteams.