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The Kingston Company
The following example is called a sequential case study. It is presented in several stages, you will answer the questions
individually, you will consult with your friends and then we will discuss the answers together.
Instructions
• Read the text and the questions at the end of each part
• Do not read the next part without finishing the previous one
• Write your answers on a sheet of paper
• Discuss your answers with your friends.
• Discuss the answers with the whole group
The first part
The Kingston Company was a medium-sized company located in Ontario, Canada. Harold Kingston, the
President, held an MBA and was a strong supporter of Business education.
As a result, he had a staff of four young people, all with MBA degrees, whom he called “the 'think group' or
'troubleshooters'.
The four members of the group ranged in age from 23 to 35. They all came from different universities with
different backgrounds - Marketing, Organizational Behaviour, Operations Research and Finance. All were hired
at the same time, As Mr. Kingston claimed, With their different knowledge and intelligence, they would be able
to solve any problem of the company.' The group acted in the role of staff
except when required to assist any manager, and submit their reports to the President and Executive Committee.
From the beginning, members of the group worked long hours and could be found in the plant when all offices
were closed, discussing the latest news, customer opinions and necessary solutions.
The technique they used to solve the problem was to analyze the problem in a group and then discuss the ideas.
Mike Norton, the finance specialist and the youngest of the group, Jim Thorne, the operations research man and
Dave Knight, the man of organizational behavior, spent a lot of time together outside of work. They had common
interests, playing golf and tennis together and attending football games and plays
on the ice. The third member, Cy Gittinger, who was the oldest, did not have the same interests as the other
three and joined them outside of work only occasionally. Meanwhile, compared to the others, he spent more
time with Harold Kingston.
,
From the beginning the group
was purposely built as an unstructured group. All members felt equal and had a
table in each corner of the room with a common space in the center. Decisions were made by the four informed
While consensus was not required for group decisions, it was found that in most cases they agreed on a course
of action. If they failed, they presented their opinions to Harold Kingston, who made the decision.
The group understood that working in close contact would also lead to strained relationships, so they decided to
be careful in expressing opinions and try to see problems from the perspective of other group members. In
response to the behavior of individuals within the group, attempts were made to control discussions, or to
establish a leadership position.
question
1 How effective are such groups?
2 Do you see any strain in group relations?
3 Do you think this group will have a long life?
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The second part
As the months passed, it seemed that the relationship between the three members Norton, Thorne and Knight
and the fourth member, Gittinger did not seem easy. The day after they had played golf together, at Norton,
Thorne and Knight's. They began to criticize Gittinger for spending too much time with Harold Kingston. The
four members spent a lot of time outside the office, gathering data, talking to managers and plant employees.
However, Thorne commented that Gittinger tried to limit his activities to upper management levels. While the
other three did not see fit to consult the president so often, Gittinger claimed that getting information from the
president or senior management was a more successful and efficient indirect method.
After eight months of running the group, Harold Kingston called the group into an executive committee meeting..
he said he was extremely pleased with what the group had achieved, that he felt the performance achieved
justified his belief that the knowledge gained at the school they were of great value. Executive committee
members added some congratulations of their own.
After this Harold Kingston pointed out that he had been working with Cy Gittinger for over six weeks - that one
of the group members should be appointed as a coordinator, who would liaise with the Executive Committee
and lead the group in setting priorities in the areas different where the problems appeared.
The Executive Committee accepted the suggestion, but Jim Thorne cautioned that this did not seem necessary,
as long as the group had been successful. He went on to explain that this change will disrupt the group's
structure. Kingston interrupted him saying he had another engagement, and left the room adding, “We'll leave
the details to you sir. We would not like to impose on you. You are the one who will design and implement this
plan"
question
1 Who would most like to be the coordinator?
2 What do you think the reaction of the other three would be?
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The third part
When the group was walking back to the office, Cy Gittinger was the only one talking. He wondered aloud
who would be the most suitable person to be the coordinator, and repeated Kingston's words, citing the
advantages the company would have from appointing him to such a position. It was 4:45 p.m., they all
cleared their desks and left work together, each to his home.
At 6:00 p.m., Thorne calls Norton to ask what he thinks. Norton felt surprised, angry
and offended that the decision had been made without consulting the group and pointed out that Knight,
with whom he had just spoken, felt the same way. The three decided to meet to have dinner together and
discuss the situation in the meantime.
question
1 Why were Thorne, Norton and Knight so angry?
2 Do you think the group will work better or worse with a coordinator?
3 Do you think there is a way Kingston should have acted in order not to create these emotions
and problems within the group?