Navigation Organizational Politics: The Case of Kristen Peters

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Navigation Organizational Politics: The Case of Kristen Peters
1 To land the summer internship at Taylor Reed, how did Kristen Peters use her (in)formal network to her advantage? Pick 1-2 points from the case study that directly speak to Peters’ ability to capitalize on her social capital. Conversely, were there any times during her recruitment process where her network caused her to make a risky decision? Do you think that there is another firm better-suited for her skill-set and personality? If so, which one and why? (4 points)
Peters reached out to two of her contacts Morris Tucker and Susan Buckley, who were high-level partners at Taylor Reed (TR). Peters babysit Tucker’s children during college and coach Buckley’s tennis child (Abrahamson et al. 3). These are individuals proved to be helpful to Peters because of their connection to TR, where she wanted to intern. Peters capitalized on her social capital to skip the traditional process at the PWM human resource department. However, her close association with Buckley allowed her to skip the human resources management, which would later strain her relationship. Knowing Buckley made her alienated from most of the interns and superiors at TR. Considering Peters’ personality, she would have done better at Abbott Pierce (AP). She was comfortable with the people at AP because of their athletic and enthusiasm (Abrahamson et al. 3). The only reason she did not choose it is that TR was more prestigious.
2 What happened at Taylor Reed before Peters begin the classroom portion of the internship? Why is this significant? Based on Peters’ self-account of her personality and traits, do you think she fits into the culture at Taylor Reed? What Taylor Reed’ core values did Peters’ violate throughout her summer internship? What, if any, self-handicapping behaviors did Peter’s exhibit throughout the summer internship? (4 points)
Before Peters started the classroom portion of the internship, she learned that Buckley would no longer be the Director of the PWM New York. This is because Buckley has been shifted to another position where she would be responsible for all new product development (Abrahamson et al. 4). Since she already had good relations with Buckley, it would have been easy to get a good review and possibly recommend extending her upon graduation. Someone else, Richard Wagman, would be responsible for doing what Buckley would have done with the change. The personality of Peters did not allow her to fit perfectly into the culture of TR. The company expected interns to be actively engaged in the classroom, something that Peters did not do. TR expected interns to arrive on time, but Peters arrived four minutes late for the classroom at one point. It was also a requirement for the interns to refrain from using phones or PDAs (Abrahamson et al. 4). However, Peters would be spotted consistently on the phone. Because of her close relationship with Buckley, Peters did not interview the critical human resources employees. She did not establish relationships with them like the other interns, not knowing these key human resource staff would play a significant role in deciding her future endeavors i...