CASE STUDY

Maureen works as an engineering manager in the Product Group for a leading computer systems company. She recently learned, through informal conversation with some of her colleagues, that the firms single-wipe hard-drive reconfiguration process is failing 5% of the time. This means that customers can be purchasing reconditioned hard-drives that still have the previous owners data on them. She and her colleagues speculate that it could cost upwards of $5 million to address this glitch with the reconfiguration process, so no one really wants to name or own the problem. After all, there have been no complaints outside the company and this has probably been going on for at least 6 months.

Still Maureen is uncomfortable. She is worried not only about meeting the expectations of customers who have paid for a clean system, but also about the violation of privacy of the previous owners of these systems. Its just not a product situation she can feel good about.

Ideally, Maureen would like to get her colleagues to take the concern up the organization together with her. She thinks it will have more impact that way. On the other hand, no one wants to be the one to break this news. Especially since there have been recent cutbacks, money is tight, and no one wants to have to charge more against their groups expenses. At least for now, it feels to folks in her group that ignorance is bliss. And no one expects to be thanked for calling attention to the problem. The question is: who will be blamed if it surfaces?

What should she say, to whom, when and how?

Discussion Questions

1) What are the main arguments you are trying to counter? That is, what are the reasons and rationalizations you need to address?

2) Whats at stake for the key parties, including those with whom you disagree?

3) What levers can you use to influence those with whom you disagree?

4) What is your most powerful and persuasive response to the reasons and rationalizations you need to address?