NOW WHAT DO I DO WITH BRAD AND KERRY

NOW WHAT DO I DO WITH BRAD AND KERRY - CASE STUDY 2
Now What Do I Do with Brad and Kerry - Case Study
For this assignment, we need to discuss the case of Jason, a project manager who had to
make a choice of which of his two most recently hired engineers, Brad or Kerry, would be
assigned to the next big construction project. I’ll define the problem in human resources terms,
diagnose the cause and prescribe possible alternatives while evaluating the pros and cons of
each. I’ll recommend which employee should be promoted. In addition, I’ll explain why this case
is important and relevant to a study of business.
Introduction
NewBuild was founded in 1909 and it has enjoyed conservative and steady growth since
its establishment. The company had no long-term debt and it held substantial cash reserves with
which to withstand a long-term economic decline. A severe recession began in 2008 and was
impacting the commercial construction industry dramatically. NewBuild planned to spend a
significant portion of its cash reserves in order to prevent layoffs, but if the economy doesn’t
recover, the company would struggle to break even due to its high overhead expenses.
Jason is a project manager at NewBuild who has faced with a staffing dilemma. He had
to decide whom to promote among his two most recently hired engineers to the next big
construction project. Unfortunately, there was a strong possibility that the one not chosen to be
on the new project team would be terminated due to lack of work (Mento, Cougnet & De Vader,
2012).
Problem Identification and Root Cause
The problem that Jason is facing is that he has to make a decision that is best for
everyone based on a finite amount of information. From the human resources perspective, this
study focuses on issues such as the psychological contract between the company and the new
NOW WHAT DO I DO WITH BRAD AND KERRY - CASE STUDY 3
employees. To do this, Jason needs to consider Brad’s and Kerry’s engagement in the important
skill, identify their important values, assumptions, beliefs, and expectations, that nevertheless
direct employee behavior. Jason can also use the written email communication of lessons learned
for understanding stylistic communication differences between two employees. Performance
appraisal data was also available as were observations of both engineers on a negotiation
simulation. Jason had to synthesize this information to form a clear picture about whom to
promote to the project team (Mento, Cougnet & De Vader, 2012).
The Alternatives
In this human resource dilemma that he is facing, Jason has only two options: to choose
Brad or to choose Karry. It is not an easy dilemma, because both of them have a similar
performance so far and no one is significantly better than the other. But there are some other
differences between those two employees.
Brad is an introvert who doesn’t speak much, so Jason has to actively questioned Brad for
any updates regarding his responsibilities. Brad has no idea about Jason’s goals and objectives,
and he doesn’t know how to best provide Jason with needed information (Mento, Cougnet & De
Vader, 2012). That is why Jason has concerns if Brad’s introverted personality and passive
behavior would prevent him from doing a better and more active job providing Jason with
important information when he needs it, and in the form that he needs it.
On the other hand, Kerry regularly provides Jason with updates on her unfinished tasks
and gave elaborate details of her important conversations. Jason also has a better understanding
of Kerry as a person. She acts like she intuitively knows what Jason needs to know and she is
acting in a way to facilitate a big picture perspective of the situation.
NOW WHAT DO I DO WITH BRAD AND KERRY - CASE STUDY 4
Based on their performance on negotiation, Brad passively went along with the situation
and with whom he aligned, while Kerry demonstrated thinking on her feet and manifest some
skills that are important for dealing with contractors. Also, Brad is more self-centered and focus
on him, while Kerry is centered on performance within a larger context.
From the email communication, Jason can conclude that Kerry manifested an ability to
reflect on own behavior and that she has developed insights on how to personally improve in the
future, while something like this cannot be seen from the Brad’s email.
The Recommended Plan of Action
Based on provided information, Jason has decided that Kerry is ready to be promoted.
For Jason, Kerry seems more compatible to work with, that she is better for managing and
leading. I would partially agree with this decision.
Based on all provided information, Brad has some qualities. First, he is not a poor
performer. But he requires more time to be devoted to him for coaching. He needs to start
learning from experience through refection. It is most likely that all this is a result of Brad’s
being introvert. And that is where I have some doubt about the recommended action. Society in
general tends to favor extroverts, sometimes to the detriment of introverts (Sarkis, 2019). But
introverts have some qualities that can be useful to the company, like there are great observers,
they don’t need external reinforcements and they don’t require other’ approval (Sarkis, 2019).
Introverts have strengths that are often seen as weaknesses in a world where the loud and bold
are lauded. Introvert employees can bring a lot to the table and they’ve been doing so for years
while being tagged as shy or unremarkable (Surban, 2017). That is why Brad should not be so
easily removed, especially in case when his rival, Kerry, is not so much better than him.
NOW WHAT DO I DO WITH BRAD AND KERRY - CASE STUDY 5
Importance for Business
Dealing with people is probably the most difficult thing, because people are very
complex creatures. This is even more true because the complexity and variety of people we met
in a workplace. At the same time, people are vital assets for the organization. Managers need to
understand that employees are valuable assets, not just numbers in a spreadsheet. In addition, no
employee should be favored, but employees should continually improve their knowledge. All
this is important for success of any business, which makes this subject and studying this case
essential part of it (Senyucel, 2009).
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References
Mento, A.J., Cougnet, J.E., De Vader, C.L. (2012). Now What Do I Do with Brad and Kerry?
Journal of Business Case Studies, 8(1), 51-66.
Sarkis, S. (2019, January 31). Introverts Can Be Your Most Valuable Employees. Forbes.
Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephaniesarkis/2019/01/30/introverts-canbe-
your-most-valuable-employees/#18465cc62400
Senyucel, Z. (2009). Managing the Human Resource in the 21st Century. Bookboon.com.
Surban, G. (2017, May 12). Palo Alto Software. Retrieved from https://articles.bplans.com/howto-
manage-quiet-introverted-employees/