Vice President of the United States and Archer free essay sample

RetailMax: A Study in Social Power in the Workplace In the case of RetailMax there are two major players, Cam Archer a young and upcoming MBA with great potential and the new Vice President of Product Management and Marketing, Regan Kessel. Archer has a difficult decision to make today, does she want her dream job in Marketing with Kessel, or accept a position offered to her in the Product Services division where she is working now. Both positions have qualities that appeal to her and she needs to decide where she wants to make her future. As the situation stands now, Archer has a great amount of potential power.The CEO and the two vice presidents have great respect for her and have left the decision of which job she will take to her. Each VP can make their position look the most attractive to her, but when it comes down to it she gets to decide her own fate. We will write a custom essay sample on Vice President of the United States and Archer or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This is a great amount of power in a small company such as RetailMax. She holds the fate of two departments in her hand until her decision is made at the end of the day. Not only does she have a great amount of potential power, she has expert and referent power with both VPs and the more importantly the CEO.The CEO recognizes these powers when he calls on her to take over the Toys N’ Stuff account because â€Å"We know you are great with clients† (McGinn Witter, Archer, p. 3). Kesser also recognizes her expert and referent power when he says â€Å"Archer is considered both internally and by customers as smart, diligent and valuable† (McGinn Witter, Kessel, p. 2). He is also in a position of power in that he has the power to offer Archer compensation to compete with the salary and bonuses that were offered by the other VP.He can also offer her a position that would get her closer to the top of the management hierarchy, a place she would much rather be. While one could say that she may have more referent power because she is a female, I did not realize that Archer was a female until the very end of the studies. Saying that, I would say she does not at all fit into the stereotypical role as a female in the workplace. Northouse states that â€Å"self-promoting women are seen as less socially attractive and less hirable† (Northouse, p. 310). This does not fit her at all.She goes to the CEO and asks for a position in Marketing and one is made for her. Archer is all about self-promotion and is well received by her male counterparts. Northouse’s claim is null and void in the case of RetailMax in the fact that she is highly revered by the CEO and the VPs are fighting for her services by who can offer her the better compensation package, not how great she looks in a mini-skirt. Archer’s reputation precedes her with Kessel, as he has done some of his own investigating of her capabilities.He has found that â€Å"Everyone speaks of Archer very highly and voices confidence in the employee’s ability to make the most of this new position† (McGinn Witter, Kessel, p. 3). He also knows that she would prefer to answer to a VP than a lower level manager as she would in the other position. Also on his side is the fact that he knows what the other VP in Product Services is going to offer her in the way of salary and compensation. By doing his homework and using his social connections, Kessel has an upper hand in negotiating for Archer’s services in his department.He knows what is important to her and needs to appeal to her upwardly mobile ambitions. Moreover, Archer’s charisma and outgoing nature, her expert knowledge of sales and customer service, mixed with the relationship she has with the CEO, can do nothing but help her position within RetailMax. This social power has put her into the position where she gets to choose her next assignment in the organization. The CEO respects her enough to let her decide her own fate, and respects Kessel enough to make the correct decisions on how to spend the $200,000 in compensation funds that he made available to him. This is the power the CEO wields in this whole situation. By giving Kessel the money, he is telling him to get Archer hired into Product Marketing. The one factor missing here is that neither Kessel nor the CEO has directly discussed with Archer what she expects from the job. Kessel is assuming that he has to match the compensation offer of the Product services VP, when in fact she is also interested in the â€Å"intangible considerations like a lighter travel schedule and better career development activities† (McGinn Witter, Archer, p. 5).Archer also assumes that if she stays in Product Services she will pigeonholed into customer service and support when she would rather be in management (McGinn Witter, Archer, p. 4). Both positions are of great interest to Archer and it is going to be difficult to make a decision. This is what she is saying before she talks to Kessel. As Archer sees it now, Kessel’s position in Marketing is going to give her more social power within the organization as she is closer to the VP and the CEO. In the Product Services division there are more layers between her and the top which she believes will slow down her upward mobility.It is easy to postulate that if easy access to the top of the company hierarchy is more important than a high salary, then Kessel’s job is the one she should take. Her charisma and talent will only take her so far in RetailMax, she wants social connections to the CEO. As aforementioned, Archer has connections to the CEO that could affect Kessel’s position in RetailMax. The choice of hiring her is not his; it is hers as â€Å"Both VPs and the CEO have made it clear that you need to make your decision today† (McGinn Witter, Archer, p. 5). She has taken this power out of his hands, other than coming up with a compensation package..He does have a choice in not offering her the position at all and hiring an outsider that would cost him much less in the long run; power-wise and money-wise. This is something he has to weigh out when coming up with a compensation package. She would cost him at least $135,000 in salary and create discontent among the other team members because they do not make her salary. This could undermine his credibility with existing team members and lower production. Yet, if he goes with a new hire he can pay them considerably less than Archer and kick the rest of the money to existing team members as a reward for job well done.This is a quandary that he must resolve before offering Archer the position in his division. Archer has effectively used her referent and expert power to her greatest advantage. She has two Vice Presidents competing for her services in their respective divisions, she is well-liked by the CEO and customers alike. Now it is up to her which path to take within RetailMax. One offers a large salary and potential for lucrative bonuses, the likelihood of travel, which she detests and little chance for upward mobility in the organization.