Sherry Johns is one frustrated project manager. Before accepting her current position at ABC Construction, Inc.,...

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Sherry Johns is one frustrated project manager. Before accepting her current position at ABC Construction, Inc., she had been a project manager at a competing firm, Construction Cor- poration, LLC. ABC Construction had given Johns a substantial salary increase and better benefits to make the jump. Her former colleagues at Construction Corporation think Sherry Johns made a wise career move, but Johns doesn't feel that way. In fact, she is beginning to regret the move and think it was a mistake. Her problem is that the members of ABC Con- struction's higher management team think differently than their counterparts at Construction Corporation. Her problem is that ABC Construction is structured as a matrix organization. Johns is beginning to think she does not fit in at ABC Construction. At Construction Corporation, Johns had earned a well-deserved reputation for "looking out for the company" when problems arose in her projects. She had an uncanny ability to find solutions that pinned the blame and the corresponding cost on the owner, architect, engineer, or one of the subcontractors. Since coming to ABC Construction, she has applied this ability quite effectively. However, when owners and other stakeholders have com- plained to ABC's higher management, they have had a different attitude about her abilities than did her former superiors. In fact, she has even been reprimanded for undermining the trust that existed between an owner and ABC Construction. In a counseling session with her supervisor recently, Johns was told: "When dealing with stakeholders, you need to learn to look for win-win solutions." Frankly, Johns did not understand what her supervisor meant by this recommendation but she did not want to appear ignorant. Consequently, she did not ask. However, she did intend to find someone who could explain what he meant, and the sooner the better. Discussion Questions In this scenario, Sherry Johns is accustomed to finding "one-way" solutions to problems that arise with her projects. She is adept at pinning the blame for problems on any stakeholder other than her construction firm. Her former employer admired this ability but her current employer does not. If Sherry Johns approached you and asked what her supervisor meant by "win-win solutions, what would you tell her? What would you tell her about why win- win solutions are the best approach when they can be found? Sherry Johns is one frustrated project manager. Before accepting her current position at ABC Construction, Inc., she had been a project manager at a competing firm, Construction Cor- poration, LLC. ABC Construction had given Johns a substantial salary increase and better benefits to make the jump. Her former colleagues at Construction Corporation think Sherry Johns made a wise career move, but Johns doesn't feel that way. In fact, she is beginning to regret the move and think it was a mistake. Her problem is that the members of ABC Con- struction's higher management team think differently than their counterparts at Construction Corporation. Her problem is that ABC Construction is structured as a matrix organization. Johns is beginning to think she does not fit in at ABC Construction. At Construction Corporation, Johns had earned a well-deserved reputation for "looking out for the company" when problems arose in her projects. She had an uncanny ability to find solutions that pinned the blame and the corresponding cost on the owner, architect, engineer, or one of the subcontractors. Since coming to ABC Construction, she has applied this ability quite effectively. However, when owners and other stakeholders have com- plained to ABC's higher management, they have had a different attitude about her abilities than did her former superiors. In fact, she has even been reprimanded for undermining the trust that existed between an owner and ABC Construction. In a counseling session with her supervisor recently, Johns was told: "When dealing with stakeholders, you need to learn to look for win-win solutions." Frankly, Johns did not understand what her supervisor meant by this recommendation but she did not want to appear ignorant. Consequently, she did not ask. However, she did intend to find someone who could explain what he meant, and the sooner the better. Discussion Questions In this scenario, Sherry Johns is accustomed to finding "one-way" solutions to problems that arise with her projects. She is adept at pinning the blame for problems on any stakeholder other than her construction firm. Her former employer admired this ability but her current employer does not. If Sherry Johns approached you and asked what her supervisor meant by "win-win solutions, what would you tell her? What would you tell her about why win- win solutions are the best approach when they can be found?