Subject category:
Ethics and Social Responsibility
Published by:
Harvard Kennedy School
Abstract
This human resource management case focuses on the problem posed by a technically brilliant employee who - whether because of a tempestuous personal life or even more basic character flaws - was occasionally given to ''lapses'' in which he was impolitic and inappropriate in speaking with important superiors. ''Tom'', a computer whiz whose skills were of great importance to the US Navy''s Office of Electronic Communication, had a tendency to tell ranking officials - including an admiral - that they were not only wrong in their judgement but less than capable or intelligent. The case frames Tom''s situation as a dilemma for the human resource team, which must find the right assignment and setting such that Tom can do the top-notch work of which he was capable - and which the country needed - without sabotaging himself and his projects.
About
Abstract
This human resource management case focuses on the problem posed by a technically brilliant employee who - whether because of a tempestuous personal life or even more basic character flaws - was occasionally given to ''lapses'' in which he was impolitic and inappropriate in speaking with important superiors. ''Tom'', a computer whiz whose skills were of great importance to the US Navy''s Office of Electronic Communication, had a tendency to tell ranking officials - including an admiral - that they were not only wrong in their judgement but less than capable or intelligent. The case frames Tom''s situation as a dilemma for the human resource team, which must find the right assignment and setting such that Tom can do the top-notch work of which he was capable - and which the country needed - without sabotaging himself and his projects.