Tom's been wondering, ever since Ray Tourneur joined the group after a thorough reorganization. Ray had been manager of research and development.
Ever since he came to quality, however, he's been acting like he's still in charge, even though he's supposed to be equal with the four engineers reporting to Tom.
But neither Tom nor any of his people play tennis every weekend with the boss, Operations VP Chip Johnson. Ray does--and although Tom always felt he had a good working relationship with Chip, he's never had the opportunity to call his close shots in.
Meanwhile, Ray seems intent on taking advantage of being the boss's buddy to re-build his power base in Tom's division. He's been using his clout to criticize his co-workers and give them orders. For example, one engineer recently complained to Tom that Ray had ordered him to make a programming change--and wouldn't leave his cubicle until he saw what he wanted on screen.
Tom spoke with Ray about the incident, and Ray apologized profusely. So Tom thought he had the situation under control--until Chip stopped by his office a few days later.
"Do you think there's any reason we should be concerned about our programming protocols?" he asked.
"We've been exceeding standards for the past three months," Tom replied. "So right now I'd say we're on track."
"Of course," Chip replied. He then went on to suggest some major procedural changes that were clearly Ray's suggestions--even though Chip was careful not to mention any names.
"I'm not saying we should necessarily do any of these," Chip concluded. "But I do think they're worth looking into." "Then I'll look into them," Tom replied. But when Chip left his office, Tom had the distinct feeling that if he didn't handle the situation correctly, the office wouldn't be his for long.
What would you do?
