1A. Getting Along with the Boss
Quick quiz: How important is it for you to have a good relationship with your boss at work? (Circle your response on the following scale.)

Not at all important 1 2 3 4 5 Extremely important

Comparative survey results: In one survey, 77 percent of the women and 63 percent of the men said "extremely important."

Source: Data from "What Makes a Job OK," USA Today (May 15, 2000): 1B.

Question: Is "quality of supervision" a major quality of life issue for you? Why or why not?

For further information about the interactive annotations in this chapter, visit our Web site (/business/kreitner/management/9e/students/annotations).

Author Notes 1-A: Getting Along with the Boss You can use the commute test to determine whether the people side of your job is working for you. How do you feel on your way to work--looking forward to it or dreading it? If the answer is negative, chances are that's because of the people issues, not the work itself. You can have a great job that includes a problem boss. Sometimes, what happens is the "Hogan's Heroes" effect--you and your coworkers share the same prison camp, and the camaraderie builds from that. On the other hand, a boss can affect the entire group's working relationships, creating tension and conflict due to lack of proper management. What constitutes a good "working relationship" for you? For me, I like a boss who tells me what needs to be done, leaves me alone to do it, and then praises the good work and points out the areas for improvement clearly. Personally, it's the job more than the boss that makes me enjoy my work.

1B. Got a Flashlight? I Can't See My Productivity Report!
Situation: When telecommunications equipment maker Lucent Technologies was struggling through bad times in 2001, three out of four of the fluorescent bulbs in some of its office cubicles were darkened in a cost-cutting move.

Source: Based on Matthew Boyle, "What We Learned," Fortune (December 24, 2001): 179.

Question: Why was this a good (or bad) idea?

Author Notes 1-B: Got a Flashlight? I Can't See My Productivity Report! Efficiency involves the wise use of resources. It is not the same as being cheap, or even frugal. If your employees are having trouble seeing their work, or their energy level drops in the darkened offices, the cost is much higher than the savings of a few watts of, let's face it, fairly efficient energy users such as fluorescent bulbs. Note also that it mentions only "office cubicles." Were the corner offices darkened too? Or just the offices of the "little people"? Was it a case of "the higher you are the brighter it is"? Finally--how is morale going to be when you aren't sure your company can afford its electric bill? How soon before payroll goes the way of the lights? On the plus side--maybe office romances went up as the lights went down, and certainly no one could get aggravated with you if you took a quick nap in the afternoon.

1C. It's a Wired, Wired World
Strip away the highfalutin talk, and at bottom, the Internet is a tool that dramatically lowers the cost of communication. That means it can radically alter any industry or activity that depends heavily on the flow of information.

Source: Michael J. Mandel and Robert D. Hof, "Rethinking the Internet," Business Week (March 26, 2001): 118.

Questions: In what ways is the Internet affecting your work and leisure activities these days? What do you see ten years down the road for the Internet?

Author Notes 1-C: It's a Wired, Wired World The U.S. Postal Service is in trouble. Much of their "bread and butter" business has been taken over by the Internet. When I was in college, I actually wrote real letters to my family and friends, and the after-dinner stop at the post office to pick up the mail (small town, no delivery) was often the highlight of every student's day. (I still remember one day I went to the post office early and got four letters and two boxes and was disappointed that no one else was there to see my "postal wealth" and be envious.) Twenty-five-plus years later, I still have a collection of those letters, from friends I've lost touch with and family long gone now. Are you using letters at all to keep in touch? Or is it all e-mail and e-cards? If you're using the transitory medium of the Internet to let people know what you're doing, I suggest keeping a file of favorite e-mail communications--from you and to you--to remind you in the future of where you are right now, and those people who are important to you. I know I would have taken full advantage of e-mail in college if it had been available to me. However, I like to think my grandmother would have still sent her letters on pink stationery, with a couple of dollars tucked in and the admonition "Don't spend it all in one place."

1D. Back to the Opening Case
Question: What evidence of the eight managerial functions can you detect in the Andrea Jung/Avon case?

Author Notes 1-D: Back to the Opening Case A child who would work for a year for a set of 120 colored pencils has turned into an adult who knows how to go for what she wants, fortunately for Avon. Credit for the firm's remarkable turnaround can be placed squarely on Andrea Jung. Some examples of how she has successfully demonstrated the eight managerial functions are given below. Do you see any others? Planning: Laid out a turnaround plan four weeks into the job Decision making: Added 46 percent to Avon's research and development budget and moved product development deadlines from three to two years Organizing: Jung's plan is to stick to the plan. Staffing: Reviving the traditional "Avon Lady" Communicating: Effectively getting others to "buy into" her turnaround plan. Motivating: "I'm probably thinking that we need to be even bolder and faster." Leading: Trusted her own instincts about style and taste. Envisioning needed changes. Controlling: Goals of cutting product-to-market time from 88 weeks to less than 50, and mishandled orders cut from 32 percent to 10 percent, as well as cutting another $200 million in costs out of manufacturing and distribution.

1E. Back to the Opening Case
How many of Mintzberg's ten managerial roles can you find in the Andrea Jung case? Cite your evidence for each.

Author Notes 1-E: Back to the Opening Case Figurehead. As CEO of the company, she has to play this role, although it's not expressly discussed in the case. Leader. Her leadership role has resulted in a fast and dramatic turnaround at Avon. Liaison. Actually working as an Avon lady helped her understand this role, and the front-line experience with customers was eye-opening. Nerve center. All the new direction comes from her. Disseminator. Not expressly discussed in the case. Spokesperson. Created Avon's "Let's Talk" campaign. Entrepreneur. The new ideas, speed, and energy that Jung brings to the table are entrepreneurial behaviors. Disturbance handler. Not demonstrated in this case Resource allocator. Her handling of the R&D function--giving them more resources, but expecting a specific return on that investment. Negotiator. Not specifically demonstrated in the case.

1F. Managing "Up"
Young managers often have as much trouble managing "up"--getting their bosses to respect them--as managing "down."

Source: Dimitry Elias Léger, "Help! I'm the New Boss," Fortune (May 29, 2000): 282.

Question: Putting yourself in the place of a manager "fresh out of school," how would you handle this problem?

Author Notes 1-F: Managing "Up" When you left Junior High for High School, and then again when leaving High School for College, you moved instantly from someone "in the know" to the new kid in town. The same thing happens when you graduate and start your first job, with the added challenge of a completely different set of rules and expectations. As someone who has found herself in this position more than once, I offer the following suggestions for making the process easier. Learn the lay of the land. Don't jump in the first day with lots of suggestions and ideas for changes. You have a lot to learn. Spend the first few weeks asking questions, listening, and building your information network. The relationships you foster now will see you through the challenges of the future. Learning your job is more than the tasks. Learn the politics of the organization, the culture, and the unspoken rules that lead to success. Ask people for their war stories, with open-ended questions such as, "What is the most challenging thing about working here?" and "How do you measure your success?" Use this insight to build your own strategies. Communicate with your boss. Ask for what you need to succeed, and update him or her on your progress. Plan ahead to use the face time you have with your boss as efficiently as possible. Make sure you discover his or her specific expectations for you. Pay attention to visible success behaviors--dress well, be prompt for work and all meetings, and keep your work area neat and yourself and your employees focused and busy. Ask for regular feedback, and make the improvements suggested. Above all, be patient. You have to earn the respect of your boss. What other ideas can you come up with to gain the respect of your boss?

1G. Bouncing Back from a Hard Knock
Advice from management consultant Andrew Shatté, who teaches managers how to be resilient amid adversity:

Don't overreact.... it's also important to be sure you understand what's really going on.... Keep it in perspective. Ask yourself: What's the worst thing that can happen? What's the best outcome that we can hope for? And then keep pressing yourself about the accuracy of those scenarios.

Source: Rekha Balu, "How To Bounce Back from Setbacks." Fast Company, no. 45 (April 2001): 155.

Questions: What important life lessons have you learned from the school of hard knocks? How will the above advice help you better handle your next major hard knock?

Author Notes 1-G: Bouncing Back from a Hard Knock If you have experienced the worst the world can offer, failure doesn't look so scary. If you talk to people who have just been laid off for the first time, their reaction is anger and fear. However, if you talk to people who have just been laid off for the second or third time, the reaction is much milder--they generally know that they will bounce back. The best and most powerful lesson is that failure, and the fear that is attached to it, has only as much power as we give it. If you fail--and learn from it--every failure will make you a more successful person in the long run. However, if you dwell on the failure, looking for excuses, evidence of unfairness, etc., it will take longer to get over it, the fear of future failures will grow, and you will have learned nothing. It takes courage to look failure in the face, learn what you can, and move on.

1H. Got a Good Business Idea? You've Got 45 Seconds
According to new-venture expert Elton B. Sherwin Jr., entrepreneurs who are trying to raise venture capital should be able to answer these "Seven Sacred Questions" in 45 seconds:

1. What is your product?
   
   
2. Who is the customer?
   
   
3. Who will sell it?
   
   
4. How many people will buy it?
   
   
5. How much will it cost to design and build?
   
   
6. What is the sales price?
   
   
7. When will you break even?
   
   Marc Ballon, "Hot Tips," Inc., 21 (April 1999): 104.
   
   

Question: Can you pass this 45-second test with your new business idea? Give details

Author Notes 1-H: Got a Good Business Idea? You've Got 45 Seconds When answering those seven questions, how good is your information? If your product is new, how accurate can you really be about who the customers are and how likely they are to buy it at your price? Are your cost estimates based on manufacturing, sales, and distribution costs for similar products in a similar industry or just your best guess based on checking rental rates for industrial space and several key pieces of equipment? What about training employees, company infrastructure, the cost of a skilled sales team, and enough advertising or promotion to get people familiar enough with your product to be interested in buying it? Why do you suppose entrepreneurs who have successfully started a company before are the first choice of venture capitalists looking to invest their money? Because those people know that having quick answers to those seven questions isn't enough--you have to have good answers.

1I. Do You Have the X Factor?
Norm Brodsky, a successful entrepreneur who founded six businesses, describes what he calls the X Factor:

Call it passion, tenacity, stick-to-itiveness, true grit, or just plain stubbornness. Whatever it is and wherever it comes from, it's the most important quality an entrepreneur can have. Ultimately, it determines whether we succeed or fail.

Source: Norm Brodsky, "The X Factor," Inc., 23 (September 2001): 84.

Questions: How do you rate in terms of the X Factor? Do you dream of working for yourself some day? (If so, take the quiz in the Hands-On Exercise at the end of this chapter.) Is the X Factor also good for those willing to work for someone else?

Author Notes 1-I: Do You Have the X Factor? I think one of the keys to discovering your X factor is choosing a business that you can be passionate about. When someone says to me, "I want to work for myself because I want to make a lot of money," I don't anticipate much success for that person. If your primary drive is to make a lot of money, go work for someone else as a salesperson. Start a business because you believe in it, you love the product or the industry, and you want to make a difference. Money may come, but for the true passionate entrepreneur, money is a byproduct. Another important discovery is your ability to be self-motivated. Do you work hard only when the boss is in the office? Then forget working for yourself. Do you thrive on compliments and recognition? Forget your own business; generally no one notices when you do a good job. Does your energy come from the work itself, so that you actually feel more energized at the end of a good day? Then you may be a candidate for your own company. Remember that one type of person is not better than another, just different. Self-knowledge is the key to career success, whether that career involves working for yourself or someone else.