Dick Spencer Research Paper

Dick Spencer led a long career as first a salesman, then a troubleshooter, which led into a managerial role. While the role of salesman was one that Spencer succeeded at, he felt his interest was in a different career path within his company, Tri-American Corporation. It was in his role of manager that he encountered incidents that tested his skills and reactions as a leader. This paper will analyze how Dick Spencer was able to succeed in his role as a salesman, as well as deal with conflict and tribulations as a manager. It will look at how each of these factors either contributed to Spencer’s success or failures within each of these roles. In addition to this, different recommendations will be made as to how Spencer could have approached certain situations differently.

Critical Analysis of Issues

Success as a Salesman

As a salesman, Spencer showed great achievement as a young graduate entering the business world. He achieved high numbers and was considered an “up-and-comer” in the sales department of the Tri-American Company (Fenn, n.d.). There were of number of factors that can be said to have contributed to this success. The

first factor is that of Spencer’s knowledge of business, highlighted by his master’s degree in Business Administration. The presence of Spencer’s higher education is a huge factor due to the implications that it presents to an organization. Gupta and Bennett (2014) tell us that an MBA can add value, not just to the degree holder, but to the organization that employs them. This is because of the skills and knowledge that are attained and learned while pursuing the academic program. In the case of Dick Spencer, his successful sales can be correlated to the knowledge that he learned while pursuing higher education. Employees with education like Spencer’s have proven to be productive for their organizations, especially due to their acquisition of the tools that help them become large contributors in the success of their organization (Gupta & Bennett, 2014). Spencer’s successful sales were due in part to his skills and knowledge he attained through his pursuit of higher education.
The next factor that contributes to the success of Spencer as a salesman are his personality traits (Zenn, n.d.). Bauer and Erdogan (2010) tells us that one’s personality is made up of behavior, feelings and thoughts that one has (p. 58). Specifically, Spencer presented the personality trait of extraversion, which Loveland, Lounsbury, Park, and Jackson (2015) describe as an inclination towards being outgoing and expressive. They even go on to describe extraverts as those that are well suited for a selling and sales role (Loveland et al., 2015). Not only did Spencer’s colleagues cite his charm as a big contributor to his sales, they also described him as someone that they could easily socialize with. Spencer’s outgoing personality and charm made it easier for him to succeed in the demanding sales environment.
Another contributing factor to Spencer’s success as a salesman is that of his dedication to his work.

Spencer is described as ranging “far and wide in his sales territory,” describing his wide travel and extensive work within his sales region (Zenn, n.d.). According to Gill and Mathur (2007), there is a relationship, almost an understanding between an employee and its company, that dedication can lead to desirable results. Spencer’s dedication to his work is highlighted by the fact that it was a contributing factor to the dissolution of his first marriage (Zenn, n.d.). While obviously a less than happy moment in his life, Spencer recognized that his job was dependent of his dedication and ability to work when necessary. This dedication is what allowed him to cover his sales territory to ascertain large contracts (Zenn,

n.d.).
Finally, the last factor that contributed to Spencer’s success as a salesman is the superior networking skills he possessed. Going back to Spencer’s education, it should be noted that the values measured in regards to the importance of an MBA are that of one’s networking skills, circle of friends and the ability to gain the trust of one’s peers (Gupta & Bennett, 2014). Spencer’s networking skills are apparent, in the relationship that he built with the president of Tri-American. This relationship even prompted Spencer’s friends to joke about this relationship helping him spread his name throughout the company (Zenn, n.d.). In the case of Spencer, good networking skills can help someone promote their products, their skillset and even themselves, allowing someone to excel in a role requiring this skillset.

Tribulations as a Manager
While Spencer saw much success as a salesman, his experience into management was not as easy and smooth as his initial role. The first problem that Spencer encountered as a manager is that of limited power and authority. Politis (2005), describes power as being a subject that is important in knowing and understanding how organizations work. In Spencer’s first management role as assistant plant manager in an English branch, he was aware of the lack of power he held in the role. Due to his inferior position, Spencer was not able to use his power and authority to bring about necessary change to help update his current branch (Zenn, n.d.). Like Politis (2005) states, expert power can have a large impact on a company and its ability to expand its knowledge. In this case, Spencer was not able to promote his expertise in modern managerial concepts, which made it a frustrating time in his management position.
The next tribulation Spencer encountered was his lack of communication with his staff. Bauer and Erdogan (2010) tell us that communication is how individuals exchange information (p.177). As the Modrow plant manager, Spencer liked to walk the floor and observe what exactly was going on within the plant. However, he would do so without revealing what he was actually doing to the employees (Zenn, n.d.). Due to his lack of communication about his intentions, it built animosity towards him from his managers, supervisors and his foremen. Holtzhausen (2002) explains that communication is extremely important in the perception of involvement, as well as providing employees with the necessary information to make the right decisions. In this case, Spencer’s lack of communication with his management led to misunderstandings of the intentions of his actions. They felt uncomfortable and as if his visits were only done to micromanage (Zenn, n.d.). This action contributed to Spencer’s less than effective performance as a manager.
The next factor that Spencer dealt with as a manager was his conflict between work and his family. The increased pressure that he felt within his plant manager role translated into issues at home, which included forgetting important holidays, appointments, or birthdays (Zenn, n.d.). Boles, Johnston, and Hair (1997) explain that responsibilities from one’s family life and one’s work can place unreasonable demands on a person. This is due to the conflicting nature that can be faced with these demands. In Spencer’s case, the incidents with his family placed more pressure and frustration on him, which can lead to emotional exhaustion. Emotional exhaustion is relatable to the term “burnout” in that it occurs when one is overwhelmed by the demand of their time and energy (Boles et al., 1997). Spencer was having trouble balancing his home life with the demands of his job.
The final tribulation that Spencer faced was the interpersonal conflict he encountered with his siding department foreman, which is a type of conflict that occurs between two people (Bauer & Erdogan, 2010, p.235). Barki and Hartwick (2004) state that interpersonal conflict can be solely based on disagreement. Spencer approached his foreman attempting to cut costs by changing the scrap disposal process (Zenn, n.d.). The foreman was resistant to change and did not understand the purpose of what Spencer wanted to do.