Directing a Dissatisfied Manager
Rashmi Joshi had been a district sales manager with Fine Productions for ten years. She was recognised by her peers and supervisors as a person who managed department in a good way. However, everyone realised that Rashmi was extremely ambitious and was seeking a higher-level management position. When one of her sales representatives did a good job, she would attempt to take the credit. However, if a problem arose, she thought it was not her fault.
When the marketing manager retired, Rashmi applied for the position. The company decided to do a thorough search because of the responsibility and importance associated with the position. When the search was concluded, the decision was made to fill the position by a person from outside the company. The consensus of top management was that Rashmi, although a good district sales manager might have difficulties in working with her new peer groups. They felt that she might displease the other managers if she tried to take credit for their work and, as a result, their performance would suffer. Rashmi was heart-broken. She had wanted that particular job for a long time and had dedicated all her energies towards obtaining it.
She became very despondent and her work deteriorated. The department functioned inspite of her, not because of her. Decisions were made slowly if at all and she began to be late with her sales reports. Although her sales staff continued to be productive, Rashmi could not take the credit.
When the new marketing manager took over, one of the first major problems that he confronted was how to motivate and inspire Rashmi to her former level of performance. He recognised that Rashmi had been with the company for a long time but something had to be done to motivate her to perform really well.
Why did the top management decide to hire a marketing manager from outside the company?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Rashmi had poor teamwork and credit-taking habits
Option (1) Rashmi lacked product knowledge — Incorrect. She had been a district sales manager for ten years and was good at the job.
Option (2) Rashmi was near retirement — Incorrect. It was the old marketing manager who retired. Rashmi’s age is never mentioned.
Option (3) Rashmi had poor teamwork and credit-taking habits — Correct. Top management felt she might find it hard to work with her new peer group. She used to take the credit for her team’s good work and blame others when things went wrong. They feared she would do the same to the other managers, displease them and harm their performance.
Option (4) There were no internal candidates available — Incorrect. Rashmi herself was an internal candidate. The company chose not to appoint her after a thorough search.
Note: The passage is the NCERT case study ‘Directing a Dissatisfied Manager’, which has been reproduced by NTA in the exam.
NCERT (2026-27 Edition): “Directing a Dissatisfied Manager … When the search was concluded, the decision was made to fill the position by a person from outside the company. The consensus of top management was that Rashmi, although a good district sales manager might have difficulties in working with her new peer groups. They felt that she might displease the other managers if she tried to take credit for their work and, as a result, their performance would suffer.” |