Kingston Company Case Analysis

Obviously, the central problem in the situation involving the "Big Four" is Cy Gittinger, who as a man with a keen interest in croquet and shuffleboard, must be at least 85 years old rather than the 35 years old that he claims, and the heyday of the popularity of those games ended in the 1920s. Further, as a man who abstains from alcohol, Gittinger simply must be subversive who is intent on undermining North American culture generally and the corporate culture of the Kingston more specifically. As he does not drink beer after work, does not appear to be interested in the CFL, and shuns hockey, Gittinger simply cannot be a Canadian and really should not be working for a firm in Ontario.

Putting aside the case drivel upon which the above assessment was based, however, there is a serious problem involved in the functioning of the "Big Four" group of troubleshooters. The symptoms of this problem are as follows:

1. Norton, Thorne, and Knight formed a clique within which they shared information and ideas among themselves, as well as drawing conclusions about the functioning of the troubleshooters organization without either including Gittinger in these deliberations or informing of him of their thinking on the issue of how the troubleshooters organization was functioning.

2. Gittinger, in the process of his "indirect" approach in eliciting information from Mr. Kingston, went well beyond the "small talk" stage to discuss th

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e troubleshooting organization could inform Mr. Knight and the members of the executive committee that, as the appointment of a coordinator was not going to be imposed upon them, that a decision had been made (either by consensus or because of an absence of consensus) to leave the structure of the organization unchanged. 2. Second, the four members of the troubleshooting organization could inform Mr. Knight that, in the absence of a consensus among themselves, they would prefer that Mr. Kingston and the members of the executive committee make the decision on (a) the appointment of a coordinator and (2) the individual among the four members of the organization to be appointed as coordinator should a decision be made to appoint a coordinator. 3. Third, the four members of the troubleshooting team could decide among themselves to add some structure to their organization to provide for (a) a consensus development of a set of guidelines within which the troubleshooting organization would function (b) consensus development of a set of organizational objectives which provides a focus for the functioning of the organization, and (c) the development of a recommendation for the appointment of a coordinator (team leader) on the basis of

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