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. Therefore he decided to transfer some of his authority to Rashmi. For motivating her and simultaneously achieving efficient functioning of the department.
What kind of impression Rashmi had with her existing team working as District Sales Manager?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Take credit of her team members while not taking ownership of her team mistakes
Option (1) Giving equal and fair treatment to all her team members — Incorrect. The passage says the opposite. Her peers and supervisors thought well of her work in general, but she was not fair to her team in the matter of credit.
Option (2) Giving credit to whomsoever it belongs to — Incorrect. When a sales representative did a good job she would attempt to take the credit herself.
Option (3) Taking onus of her team mistakes — Incorrect. If a problem arose, she thought it was not her fault. That is the opposite of taking the blame.
Option (4) Take credit of her team members while not taking ownership of her team mistakes — Correct. The passage states both halves one after the other, and together they go against accountability. A manager may pass authority for a task to a subordinate, and the subordinate accepts responsibility for it. But the manager is still answerable for the result, because accountability cannot be passed on. Rashmi did the reverse of both: she took the credit that was not hers and refused the blame that was. It was this reputation that later made top management doubt whether she could work alongside her peers.
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 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. …” |