Opening Mini Case Study: Rosie’s First Week at Oxford Consulting: Accessing organizational knowledge
Rosie Cunningham sat on the train thinking about her day ahead. It was her first day at Oxford Consulting. Oxford Consulting was a leading management consulting firm in Melbourne, Australia. Rosie had recently graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Commerce with first class honours. She was a bright, hardworking student, who topped her class. Getting a start at a prestigious company like Oxford Consulting was a great opportunity. She was excited about her first day and keen to showcase her talent.
As she entered the foyer of Oxford Consulting’s head office, Rosie first heard the sound. A string quartet was playing in the corner. She then noticed the people – men and women in suits all walking quietly towards the elevators where they waited patiently in line. There was almost no talk, just an occasional quiet good morning. As she rode the elevator to the 25th floor where she was told she would be working, she looked around at others squeezed into the small space, but no one held her gaze. Most people looked at the elevator door.
As she stepped out of the elevator, she looked around for help. Someone asked her who she was looking for and then pointed her in the right direction. As she walked towards her partner-in-charge’s office to report on her first day, she noticed that there were some offices but most staff were sitting in small cubicles in an open-plan setting. Her partner-in-charge was busy, so his secretary took Rosie to her desk. She explained that the desk was shared with another consultant who was working at a client’s today. If both were in the office at the same time, one would have to find somewhere else to sit. The secretary gave Rosie her laptop computer and said the partner-in-charge would see her when he was finished with his meeting.
Rosie sat at her desk and looked around. Staff were busy working at their stations. They did not talk. They ignored her. She wondered why no one had bothered to say hello. Surely they could see she was new. She got up from her desk and walked over to the nearest person and introduced herself. The person looked up from his computer surprised that he was being interrupted by this new person. After a few polite sentences about what their practice area was (i.e. their area of expertise), Rosie left and moved on to the next person. She walked from person to person and introduced herself to everyone on the floor. Most people were like the first person: busy and happy to get back to their work. (Over the next 12 months, Rosie saw many new people start on the 25th floor. Not one of them got up from their desk to introduce themselves to the others on their first day.) Rosie returned to her desk and opened up her computer. She found folders on the intranet which explained the company and its products and services. She read these for the rest of the day. The partner-in-charge did not find time to greet her.
The next day, Rosie went straight to her desk and opened up her computer. She looked around and everyone was busy. No one looked at her, no one said hello. She opened up her laptop and found folders on the intranet about how to write proposals, how to manage clients, how to write good reports, and how to deliver excellent presentations. She watched video clips of consultants meeting with clients and giving best practice presentations. She found training videos on sales techniques, project management, and building relationships. She studied templates on proposals, reports, and sales brochures. She talked to no one on her second day.
On her third day, she began working through some of the information she had found on the intranet. The secretary told her the partner-in-charge was ready to see her. He apologized for being too busy to see her, asked how she was settling in, and explained who she would be reporting to. He told her that she would be attending an induction course this morning and that he would catch up with her next week.
At 10.00am she caught the elevator to the 20th floor where human resources was located. In the elevator, she asked others if they too were going to the induction. Two of the staff in the elevator were and she tried to engage them in conversation. She was excited to meet new people who were like her – new. The new staff were met by a woman from human resources who ushered them into a training room. As the training progressed, Rosie found she was asking most of the questions. Everyone else was fairly quiet. The trainer seemed bored. The new staff induction was mainly about how to use their laptop and how to find information on the intranet.
On her fourth day, Rosie found information listing the company’s main clients. She was excited. They were big companies and she was sure she could sell them her services. She had topped her honours class at the University of Melbourne. Surely they could use someone like her. She made a list of clients to target. She used the sales template to develop a brochure. She wrote an introductory letter she could email to her target clients with the brochure as an attachment. She then emailed the director who was her supervisor to arrange a meeting to discuss this. After their meeting, the director organized for her to meet with her partner- in-charge. At that meeting, the partner-in-charge explained that she needed approval before she could contact any clients. This approval could only be given by the partner who was the relationship manager for that client. He had a look at her list of target clients and said he would organize some meetings.
On her fifth day, Rosie attended her first ‘sales’ meeting where her partner-in-charge introduced her to another partner. The partner she was introduced to was in charge of the banking industry group. She listened politely to Rosie as she explained who she was and what capabilities she could offer the major banks. Rosie felt that it was like another job interview. Her partner-in-charge tried to add his support for Rosie, but the meeting ended disappointingly. The banking partner was non-committal. She said she would think about it and get back to them. But Rosie could sense that the partner was not real...
