Case Study:Please read the following case study after reading chapter 7 and respond to the questions at the end.

Anita Douglass was the regional sales manager for a national chain of tness centers. Her job was to direct a sales force that sold tness center franchises to operators. The salesperson's job was to recruit responsible, ambitious people who would invest their own time and money in operating a center. Each operator would pay a franchise fee to the company. The company, in turn, would lease the building, supply all the equipment, and help with the nancing, if needed. Sales throughout the nation were very strong, as there was a heavy demand for tness training. Douglass's sales territory was second best in the nation. All her salespeople were doing very well, except two. Marty Crane and Julie Forester consistently failed to meet their sales goals. Both were running out of excuses and Douglass was running out of patience. Douglass was angry and embarrassed about their poor performance. She gured the only reason her boss hadn't inquired about Crane and Forester was because she could "bury" their performance in the overall performance of her sales territory. If these two salespeople had been at the top of the pile instead of the bottom, her sales territory would be number one in the nation.

Despite their common substandard performance, Douglass viewed the two salespeople somewhat differently. After Crane's rst bad performance evaluation, she undertook additional training. Even though the extra training didn't seem to help, at least she tried. Crane seemed to be working hard but getting nowheredescribed in her last performance review as "an ineffectual diffusion of energy," otherwise known as "spinning your wheels." Crane had a pleasing demeanor, which may have been part of her problem. Douglass thought that perhaps Crane was more concerned with having people approve of her than making a sale. Maybe Crane would perform better for the company in a job outside of sales, she thought.

Forester, on the other hand, seemed indifferent about failing to meet her sales goals and attributed her poor performance to everyone other than herself. If Forester ever worked up a sweat, it went unnoticed by Douglass. Forester conveyed the impression that the company was lucky to have her, although the reasons for this privilege were indiscernible. None of the other salespeople wanted to have anything to do with Forester. They wouldn't trade sales territories with her, and they didn't want Forester covering for them when they went on vacation.

Douglass thumbed through the personnel les of Crane and Forester. It was becoming increasingly difficult to justify not ring them. If only one of them got the axe, Douglass decided it would be Forester. Then Douglass caught herself in midthought. The performance of both these salespeople was equally bad. How could she justify keeping one and ring the other? Douglass surmised that the only difference between Crane and Forester was that she liked one more than the other. Douglass had the reputation of being tough but fair. She couldn't understand why this was becoming a difficult decision for her, and why she was considering being more charitable to Crane than to Forester.

1. 1. What is it about Crane that makes Douglass view her differently from Forester?
2. 2. Are these issues relevant in judging job performance? Should they matter?
3. 3. If you were Douglass, what would you do with Crane and Forester?
4. 4. Do you think Douglass's boss would be critical of Douglass for tolerating poor performance, or admire her for being patient with members of her staff?
5. 5. What other information would you like to have before deciding whether Crane and Forester should be retained or red?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

1 Douglass views Crane differently from Forester because Crane shows effort and willingness to impro... View the full answer