This case displays a situation in which Parsons is up for a new promotion. The student has to discover if he should be eligible or if he should be looked over. He is a do it kind of guy and does not follow the chain of command. However, it is this innititive that I admired. He did not graduate from Harvard and does not act as properly as others from these types of elite schools. Should this be frowned upon or admired due to his ability to take risks. What do you think, should he get it or not? Read to see what I thought.
Rob Parson at Morgan Stanley
Rob Parson joined Morgan Stanley as a market coverage professional in the Capital Markets division focusing on financial institutions with ten years of experience in the banking and insurance industries. He has built strong relationships within these industries along the way.
English: Morgan Stanley Building
Mixed organization
Parsons HG06PARAs principal of his divisions, a position with a reputation for being notoriously difficult to perform has seen a tremendous amount of turnover. Parson has performed generally better than anyone else before him. He exhibits good marketing skills and shows great initiative in pursuing business. He is one of the hardest workers in Capital Markets and has made consistent efforts over the past year on improving his working relationships inside the firm. Parson's strongest skill is his ability and willingness to know his clients and their interests within a particular deal. He always shows good judgment in his client approaches by playing to Morgan Stanley's strengths. His willingness to contact clients and get feedback on a particular inquiry has also given the organization a better understanding of the customers' true desires and opinions. The areas in need of further development include his team player skills, traditional management skills, and decision making. The performance evaluations indicated that many of Parson's co-workers feel that he should work at integrating his efforts more effectively with the broader team, and also improve his interpersonal skills. Parson recognized in his self-evaluations the need for better communication, the need to develop more patience and to be less aggressive internally. He also needs to work on planning and organizing his coverage effort with consistent follow ups. Parson is weakest at strategically plotting turnaround of a client in long-term pursuit of a prospect or business opportunity. He must also develop better self-control. Sometimes he exhibits a volatile personality, characterized by bad moods, temper, or lack of respect for others. If Parson continues to improve his working relationship inside the firm while holding a positive attitude, he would make great progress in this business.
The Mission statement states, "We will distinguish ourselves by creating an environment that fosters teamwork and innovation, by developing and utilizing our employee's abilities to the fullest, and by treating each other with dignity and respect". The question lies if whether the mission statement outweighs the organizations commitment to productivity and profit maximization. The goal of every corporation is to maximize shareholder wealth. However, where is the line drawn? Parson has the ability to cross-sell, while doing anything to move a project forward, and has done a better job in covering financial institutions than anyone before him. His ability to communicate with others within the organization is improving, but is sometimes pushed to the backburner in order to command over his deals. He is bringing in numerous clients and the profit is backed by his name. The managing director as stated in the job description is highly developed in planning and organizational skills, is able to persuade and influence others at the highest level, and has complete client confidence. We feel that Parson is the man for the job. He has quickly moved up the corporate ladder, and truly possesses a unique work style that is beneficial to Morgan Stanley. Parson is good with senior client management and knows how to ask the hard questions. It is important to note that successful managers utilize 48% of their time networking which includes socializing, politicking, and interacting with outsiders. Parson devotes as much time as needed to network with "his players" in the financial market. This is Parson's most valuable asset and is recognized by this board as truly admirable. Based on research, a successful manager only has to devote on average 13% of their time to traditional management responsibilities. This is one of Parson's flaws that can be overlooked because of his improvement within this field over the past six months. His communication and networking skills seem far more valuable to the scope of managing director.
However, we feel that he is surrounded by numerous projects occurring simultaneously. This is too much of a workload for him to handle and still be able to be professional at every moment of the day within the organization. This board feels that the organization does not need to hold his hand in every deal he concerns himself with. His competence is highly intuitive and we need to recognize he is not from the Ivey League schools we came from. His unique background should be innovative for our company that has been doing business the same way since 1935.
Parson is a very aggressive self starter who uses initiative to close a deal. There was a comment made that he was too aggressive for his own good. This board feels that a managing director can never be too aggressive in the confines of business, especially if it means keeping a deal intact. This organization needs mangers that are able to go outside the confines that this organization sets. A self starter does not totally rely on others to produce the results that would be characterized as beneficial. Parson relies on his own intellect to guide him through a deal from start to finish. This in our opinion is truly what this organization needs to be innovative and on the fast track. We do note that fast decision making can reap grave consequences, but in the business world today time is of the essence. We do not have time to sit around and ponder on decisions that will be flying in the wind by the end of the day. Risk is the absolute reason why we are able to obtain a profit. If we do not take risks then we are doomed for failure. Parson has the ability to make fast decisions that will allow the organization to be cutting edge.
There is one more subject that needs to be addressed in regards to our decision in allowing this promotion. Parson has an exceptional ability in understanding the products and markets which he uses in evaluating which sales he decides to push. His commercial instincts are impeccable, and he is able to intuitively know which deals to avoid. When he asks for a sale, he makes it almost impossible for clients to say no. His people skills are the best, especially when it deals with the big players on Wall Street. He sometimes even introduces people internally to accounts where he believes an investment bank opportunity exists. This is a sign that he works for the common good of the company and will strive for excellence.