1. To form an argument regarding the problems Datavision currently face, I looked back on the initial motive for Campbell to reach out to Brennan as an external consultant. Even though the company was financially successful for the past few years, Campbell was concerned about Datavision’s high turnover rate, lack of collaboration between functional areas, and the lack of vitality within the company. In April of 1993, Datavision had a very successful year financially, but by August, they realized they are slowly trailing their forecasts, and felt that without an intervention, this could be the turning point of the company. Timing wise, it seemed that the financial downturn was the trigger for Campbell and Leona to attend the executive education program at Harvard Business School. To define the problem, Datavision was not performing at a high level to compete with its competitors nor was it meeting its financial goals.
The financial problem was a result of several issues within Datavision. The various issues raised in the case can be sorted into two larger groups: interpersonal relationships and decision making. The interpersonal relationships issues were very obviously described within the case. There was very minimal trust between the different departments, particularly between marketing and engineering. Marketing blames engineering for their slow development time, while engineering blames marketing for their impossible delivery dates. Another issue within the interpersonal relationships group was the difference in management style, particularly between Bob Fowley and the rest of the executive members. These management style conflicts may have stemmed from the difference in personality type. Fowley had a typical Intuition personality type, while the rest of the management team, based off the case study, seemed to fit the profile of the sensing personality type. Though it is possible for people of different personality type to work together, more often than...