Bob Knowlton Case analysis Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Bob Knowlton analysis - Case Study Example Knowlton felt threatened because Fester was quick to spot problems, knew about things that he had barely studied at the lab, and could single handedly solve huge problems- some of which had been abandoned long time back. Fester was intelligent, confident and secure but what Bob failed to see was that he was a poor team player. How Fester Threatened Knowlton: From day one, Fester made it clear that he had immense knowledge. He told Knowlton he could tell what his project was about by simply looking at the graphs. Knowlton was quick to acknowledge this when he met Jerrold the next day. Fester was introduced to other members of the team and went right ahead to tell Link, the mathematician, what he was doing wrong. Fester challenged the group thinking, believing it only led to mediocrity. Knowlton had always believed in group-thinking and Fester had suddenly come up with solutions single handedly which made Knowlton question the efficacy of group thinking. Fester would often come up with analysis and scientific knowledge that Knowlton was unaware of. Instead of helping Knowlton understand what he was talking about, Fester would enthusiastically go on explaining his theories expecting everyone to already know what he was talking about. This gave him a superior status while everyone else felt inferior to him. During one meeting, he challenged Link's way of thinking and offered solution to a problem that Link had long abandoned feeling that it could not be solved. Fester also pointed out the weaknesses in various experiments and experimenting method and claimed that if this method were followed, resulted would be inconclusive. Fester's... This paper presents Bob Knowlton’s strengths. Bob Knowlton had been working with Simmons Laboratories for two years and had been made project head only recently. He was a leader whom people loved and respected. He had a good relationship with company’s head, Mr. Jerrold. He was a capable leader who would enjoy developing relationships with others and encouraged group thinking. He felt that while there were some problems that could not be solved by group thinking, in most cases, the ideas that emerged from such an approach were helpful. Knowlton had been promoted when he had accidentally stumbled on the idea of photon reactor. Knowlton was hardworking and enjoyed staying late in the office. This helped him find some quiet time to think over various problems and to assess project’s progress. He was a man with a traditional yet highly admired style of leadership. The paper also demonstrated Knowlton’s mistake. Knowlton was felt so threatened by Fester that he totally blinded himself to his obvious flaws. Had Knowlton been more secure and sure of himself, he would have talked to Jerrold and pointed those flaws. It would have then become easier to see that Fester could never replace Knowlton as the leader because Knowlton was a true team player- a key trait of a good leader and a pre-requisite for becoming a leader in the first place. Bob Knowlton should have focused on his own strengths as a leader. He already knew that he couldn’t possibly know about everything but he was a good leader who could use his people’s strengths to his advantage.