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A Day in the Life of Alex Sander

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SITUATION Alex Sander is a young and promising product manager in the Toiletries Division of Landon Care Products Inc. Over the past year, he has successfully rebranded two of Landon’s skin care products in the United States. Alex has created a winning enviornment at the Toiletries Division by applying very high standards to everyone, and often pushing his staff to the limits. A recent 360 degree review has revealed that Alex’s strong drive to succeed has come at a cost, as his staff are highly disenchanted by his iron-fisted ways. (Alex has since discounted the importance of the these findings.) Sam Glass, Alex’s direct manager, is one of the three Product Group supervisors and is coordinating the 360 degree Performance/Feedback …show more content…

46) description of a Bully. With reference to the Guide, it must be understood that bullying is prevalent in all social settings, such as at the playground, at school as well as at the workplace. A 2010 Workplace Bullying Institute survey performed by Zogby International (Workplace Bullying Institute 2010) revealed that approximately 35% of Americans have reported being bullied at work, and that people and organisations put up with it due to fear of confronting or penalising the bullies. To Alex Sanders’ peers, as divulged in the 360 degree feedback process, Alex “exudes an attitude of being better than everyone else” and “continually ruffles people’s feelings”. It is also clearly established in the case that Alex has a competitive streak. Hence, Alex is what Harvard Business Review Guide to Office Politics (Dillon 2013, p. 38) describes as the Hypercompetitive Peer. With reference to the Guide, two key reasons are identified. Firstly, Alex might feel that he has to fight for limited resources, such as manpower and his department’s share of the company’s budget. Secondly, Alex might view his fellow managers as competitors for promotions. Notwithstanding Alex’s personality flaws, Alex is brilliant at producing results. The firm is rightly concerned and should manage his performance at the firm effectively. With reference to Managing Performance (Gabarro 1995, p.1), management needs to take time to systematically review Alex’s performance. There are three key

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