Consulting Team: Pat Lettner
4 Pages Posted: 21 Oct 2008
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Consulting Team: Pat Lettner
Abstract
This set of three cases represents a mediation involving three professionals at a consulting firm: two disputants (a new MBA consultant and the manager of a group of programmers) both working on a client team, and an "interested" mediator with his own pressures and agenda, who would prefer to focus on business issues and resolve the dispute quickly. The dimensions of the dispute are both professional (whether changes should be made to a computer system being installed by the team) and personal (issues of respect and authority). The cases are designed to be used as part of a unit on mediation. We use the cases in a series of cases that permits each student to serve in disputant and mediator roles. Class discussion (see Teaching Note) focuses on skills, the process of mediation, resolutions reached, and the role of the "interested mediator," a role in which MBA graduates frequently find themselves.
Excerpt
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CONSULTING TEAM: PAT LETTNER
Omni Consulting, a large American IT-services provider, has contracted to perform a systems-implementation project for a large Canadian telecom company. In particular, Omni is responsible for customizing, installing, and testing software that supports the client's new Web-enabled supply-chain initiative. Thus, Omni's off-the-shelf client-server software needs to be extensively customized to meet the client's needs.
These systems-implementation projects tend to be massive: many subteams working in different areas of the company. Subteams include professionals with a variety of skills. Consultants (typically, MBAs) work with client staff to ensure that the completed system will meet the company's business requirements. Programmers customize the software accordingly. Projects are large and the work is complex. Coordination between groups is essential.
The Canadian telecom project started four months ago. Subteams have completed their work in several areas of the company, and new teams have been formed to work in new areas. One subteam was formed three weeks ago to serve the client's order-processing department, which handles everything from when an order is placed until the service is provided and the customer pays.
You, Pat Lettner, a Canadian national, head the programmers for the order-processing subteam. You've worked at Omni Canada for five years, since graduating from college with a computer-science degree. Your group of programmers has worked together at this client for four months on a variety of subteams.
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Keywords: negotiation, teams
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