case
Conflict at ToyKing 1 Karen Washington was fu ming a s sh e ma rched b ack to h er w ork sp ace . “ H ow co uld th at arrogant, so-and-so do th at to me !” sh e th ought. Sh e h ad ju st co me fr o m th e p re se nta tio n o f h er new toy concept to the ex ecu tive s of n ew Pro duct D eve lo pme nt a nd m arke tin g a t T oyK in g’s Design Studio. It wasn’t t hat th e p re se nta tio n w ent p oorly - quit e th e o pposi te h ad h appened, in fact. Both Max Carroll (th e h ead o f N ew Pro duct D eve lo pme nt) and S herry Gre enberg ( th e h ead of Marketing) loved Karen’ s id ea a nd p ro to typ e fo r a n ew in te ra ctive to y city where ch ild re n were able to assign names and p erso nalit ie s to p ro gra mma ble ch ara ct er p ie ce s. S herry ca lle d it a “brame-breaking” conce pt th at w ould re vo lu tio nize th e T oy Cit y lin e o f p ro duct s. E ve n m ore exciting, Max had said tha t th e to y co nce pt w as a fro nt-ru nner to b e fe atu re d in T oyK in g’s exhibit at next year’s Ame rica n In te rn atio nal T oy Fair, th e la rg est a nd m ost p re st ig io us tr a de show in the toy business. What was bothering Kare n w as th at se nio r desi gner, Je ff C hang, h ad ta ke n o ve r th e presentation, without Kar en’s permi ssion, a nd h ad b asi ca lly claim ed cr edit fo r th e to y co nce pt.
As the senior on the proje ct te am, Je ff w as, te ch nica lly, in ch arg e o f a ll d esi gn p ro je ct s. Y et, th e culture at ToyKing allowe d ju nio r desi gners to ta ke th e le ad o n p ro je ct s th ey had co nce ive d.
Further, these designers were o fte n a llo w ed to ta ke co ntro l o f fo rm al p re se nta tio n o n th eir id eas, and to guide revisions to t he d esi gns fo llo w in g me etin gs wit h n ew P ro duct D eve lo pm ent a nd Marketing. Karen had assumed that sh e w ould b e a llo w ed to p re se nt th e id ea to M ax and S herry, a nd h ad developed a PowerPoint pre se nta tio n fo r th e me etin g a t Je ff’s re quest . A fte r Je ff sa w it , h e sa id it was great, and that he w ould like to “i n tro duce ” th e n ew d esi gn to M ax and S herry at th e meeting using the Power Poin t. Ka ren th ought th at Je ff me ant th at h e w ould m ere ly start th e presentation, and then ha nd it o ve r to h er fo llo w in g a b rie f in tro duct io n. B ut Je ff d id n’t d o th at.
He made the entire presen ta tio n, u si ng Ka ren’s Po werPo in t, a nd o nly re fe rre d to h er b rie fly in his remarks and during the Q &A. In Ka ren’s mi nd, Je ff h ad st ole n cr edit fo r h er id ea, a nd u se d how own PowerPoint to do it !
Background on Toy King What Was it Like to Work at Toy Kin g?
ToyKing was a large, U.S . b ase d to y desi gn a nd ma nufa ct urin g co mpany th at sp eci alize d in educational toys and game s. T he co mp any headquart ers were lo ca te d in T orra nce , C A, a nd included a large Design S tu dio d epart me nt th at h ouse d o ve r 60 to y desi gners, a lo ng w it h another 20 technicians an d fa brica to rs. T he D esi gn St udio h ad a ve ry fla t o rg aniza tio nal hierarchy with just two ran ks; ju nio r desi gners and se nio r desi gners. S enio r D esi gners m ade u p about 15 of the total desi gners (the re ma in in g 4 5 w ere ju nio r desi gners) , a nd w ere typ ica lly long-time employees (10 ye ars or lo nger at T oyKi ng). Se nio r desi gners had su pervi so ry 1 Adapted from the work of Ki mb erle y D. El sb ach .
ENTR3110 A.Bickell 1 responsibilities for all the p ro je ct s th at w ere u nderw ay in th e D esi gn S tu dio , b ut ju nio r d esi gners could (and often would) be se en a s th e “cre ative le ad” on d esi gn p ro je ct s th at th ey spearheaded. ToyKing produced about 200 n ew to y co nce pts per ye ar. T hese to y co nce pts ra nged fr o m m in or modifications to the design o f a to y ca r, o r to a co mp le te ly new to y syst em ( su ch a s a n ew to y system involving interlock in g to y bricks). O f th ese 2 00 n ew co nce pts, a bout 5 0 o f th ese w ould be put into pilot programs, a nd a bout 2 0 w ould u lt ima te ly be p ro duce d fo r r e ta il sa le . F or e ach o f the 50 pilot programs, a s enio r desi gner w ould co nst ru ct a te am of 3 -5 m em bers, in cl udin g junior designers, technicia ns and fa brica to rs.
What were ToyKing’s Be st Se lle rs?
ToyKing’s most successf ul p ro duct lin e w as ToyC it y. T he T oy Cit y lin e in cl uded p acka ged se ts of interlocking and customi zable to y house s, st ore s, st re ets, p ark s, a nd o th er st ru ct ure s th at kids could construct to m ake a n e ntire w orki ng ci ty. Ki ds co uld a lso a dd p eople , p ets, ca rs, trucks, and construction m ach in ery to th e ci ty. Al th ough th e p acka ges ca me w it h su ggest ed construction ideas, kids co uld mo dif y th ese d esi gns and co nst ru ct co mple te ly orig in al d esi gns for the structures in their one-o f-a -ki nd ci tie s. T his fe atu re w as what m ade T oyC it y so p opula r that they won several awa rds at th e Ame rica n In te rn atio nal T oy Fair .
ToyCity was considered th e cro wn je w el o f th e T oyKi ng p ro duct lin e, a nd th ere w as fie rce competition among desig ners to d esi gn co mp onents fo r th is lin e. W orki ng o n th e T oyC it y lin e was seen as one of the b est w ays to w in d esi gn a w ard s and mo ve u p fr o m ju nio r to se nio r design. Background on Ka ren’s T oy C onc ep t The events occurring ove r th e p re vious th re e mo nth s durin g th e d eve lo pm ent o f K are n’s to y concept are important in u nderst andin g w hat h appened in th e p re se nta tio n. T he co nce pt w as born during a lunchtime co nve rsa tio n b etw een Ka ren a nd tw o o th er ju nio r d esi gners on h er team. Three Months Ago: Lu nch at Mo’s Karen, and two other junio r desi gners, Sa m Gupta a nd C assi e W u, w ere h avi ng th eir w eekl y lunch out at Mo’s, a hip d in er in Sa nta Mo nica th at a ttra cted mo re u nkn ow n a rtist s and musicians than celebrity t ele vi sion a nd mo vie a ct ors. W hile w ait in g fo r th eir tr ip le e sp re sso s to arrive, Karen decided to te ll Sa m and C assi e a bout a “w ild -b rain ed” id ea sh e h ad fo r a n interactive spin on ToyKing ’s popula r ToyC it y lin e o f to ys. As Kare n e xp la in ed, “The ToyCity line is a huge h it w it h ki ds ages 4-9 b eca use it a llo w s th em to m ake th eir o w n “ ci ty” and continue to add on to it a s th ey acq uire mo re p ie ce s. T he cu stom iza bilit y of th e lin e is what kids love.” Karen went on, ENTR3110 A.Bickell 2 “What could be even coo le r, is if th e ki ds co uld p ro gra m some o f th e p la y pie ce s (e .g ., th e people and pets) so that t hey had th eir ow n p erso nalit ie s and w ould r e m em ber p ast in te ra ct io n with other play pieces.” In Karen’s concept, kids w ould b e a ble to p ro vide th e p eople a nd p et p ie ce s wit h p erso nalit ie s, ages, voices, and gender s th ro ugh a si mp le p ro gra m in st alle d in e ach p la y pie ce . T hen, th ese programmed play pieces co uld in te ra ct w it h o th er pla y pie ce s base d o n th ese p erso nalit ie s and their actual past play exp erie nce s. F or exa mp le , a p la y pie ce re se mblin g a d og co uld b e n am ed “Spot” and given a super-e nerg etic perso nalit y. T his pla y pie ce w ould th en a sk all o th er p la y pieces who greeted it to p la y ball o r go fo r a ru n. If it in te ra cted w it h a noth er p la y pie ce (resembling a child, for exa mple ) th at it h ad p la ye d w it h b efo re , it w ould r e m em ber th at in st ance and talk about it with the “ch ild ” pla y pie ce .
Both Sam and Cassie thou gh th is was a ve ry cool id ea in deed. T hey hash ed o ut th e d eta ils wit h Karen over the next hour and a h alf , ma king n ote s on n apki ns and co ast ers. B y th e e nd o f lunch, karen, Sam and Ca ssie fe lt th ey had a n id ea w ort hy of th e A m erica n In te rn atio nal T oy Fair. Sam and Cassie bot h e nco ura ged Ka ren to p ursu e it w it h th eir S enio r D esi gner, Je ff Chang, at that week’s staf f me etin g. Sa m also me ntio ned th at Ka re n sh ould m ake th e ca rs, trucks, and machines prog ramma ble , b eca use a re ce nt fo cu s gro up w it h ki ds had r e ve ale d th at they like to give these obj ect s perso nalit ie s. Ka ren w as in sp ire d b y th eir e nth usi asm a nd promised to include them in th e d esi gn te am.
Staff Meeting with J eff C han g Later that week, Karen fo llo w ed u p o n Sa m and C assi e’s su ggest io n a nd p re se nte d a m ore polished version of her id ea to th e e ntire w ork gro up a nd th eir Se nio r D esi gner, Je ff C hang. Je ff though the idea had merit , b ut w ondere d a bout th e co st a nd th e d if ficu lt y th at ki ds m ig ht h ave programming their play pi ece s. H e g ave Ka ren p ermi ssion to p ursu e th e id ea a nd a sm all budget with which to deve lo p so me p ro to typ es. At h er su ggest io n, Je ff p ut K are n o n a te am w it h Sam and Cassie, along w it h a te ch nici an a nd fa brica to r. H e sa id h e’d lo ok at th e id ea in prototype in six weeks. Six Weeks Later: Prototy pe P re se n tation After six weeks of late nig hts and co nst ant tin ke rin g, Ka ren - w it h th e h elp o f a te ch nici an a nd fabricator - had build proto typ es of se veral p ro gra mma ble p la y pie ce s fo r th e T oyC it y lin e. S he hated to admit it, but worki ng w it h te ch nici an An dy Sp rague, a nd fa brica to r M ike C am ach o, h ad been really productive. In fa ct , th ese tw o lo w ly staff me mbers had h elp ed K are n n ot o nly to produce the prototypes, bu t h ad co me u p w it h so me co ol n ew fe atu re s fo r th e p la y pie ce s. F or instance, Mike, a former w eld er and e le ct rici an, h ad su ggest ed th at th ey use w ate rp ro of, underwater welding materi als to e nca se th e co mp ute r ch ip s, so th at e ve n if ki ds th re w th em in the bathtub, they would s till w ork. In fa ct , th ey would w ork wit h T oyC it y’ s new D ive Cit y - a n underwater research ves sel w it h scu ba d ive rs th at co uld b e u se d in th e tu b o r a sw im min g p ool.
In addition, Andy, a comp ute r desi gner and re nderin g sp eci alist h elp ed K are n to d esi gn a ENTR3110 A.Bickell 3 hand-held programming de vice th at p la y pie ce s would b e “se ate d” in a nd th en e asi ly programmed through a si mple me nu o f co mma nds.
Working with Andy and Mi ke h ad b een so e asy and p ro duct ive in fa ct , th at K are n h ad a vo id ed meeting with her junior de signer te amma te s, Sa m and C assi e, d urin g th e p ast si x weeks. S he really felt that she owned th is pro je ct a nd sh ould b e g ive n la tit u de to m ake a ll th e d eci sions, because it was her origina l id ea. As te ch nici ans and fa brica to rs, A ndy and M ike w ould n ot challenge her ideas and no t b e u pse t if sh e ve to ed th eir su ggest io ns. B y co ntr a st , K are n kn ew that the other junior design ers on h er te am (Sa m and C assi e) w ould w ant to ch ange so me o f her ideas, and she did not w ant to g ive th em th e ch ance to d o th at. S he kn ew th at th eir id eas would not be as good as h er ow n, a nd th ey would re ally slow d ow n th e d esi gn p ro ce ss. S he thought if she waited unti l ri g ht b efo re th e p ro to typ e p re se nta tio n to fill th em in , it w ould b e to o late to make changes to t he d esi gn. So th at’s what sh e d id , a nd n ow sh e w as about to r e ve al her prototypes to the team .
The presentation took place in th e 3 rd F lo or C onfe re nce ro om, w it h vi ew o f th e P aci fic Oce an.
In attendance were all of t he d esi gn te ams pre se ntin g id eas. T his in cl uded se nio r d esi gners, junior designers, and the te ch nici ans and fa brica to rs th at h ad b een w orki ng o n th e p ro je ct s to be presented. Karen opened the presen ta tio n b y th anki ng Je ff C hang fo r th e o pportu nit y to p ursu e h er id ea fo r the ToyCity line. She then b ro ught o ut th e p ro to typ es and h and-h eld p ro gra m mer, a nd demonstrated how the pie ces would w ork. H er te amma te s were su rp rise d th at sh e h ad m ove d so far in the design proce ss wit h out co nsu lt in g th em, a nd h ad ma ny quest io ns about th e d esi gn.
In particular, Sam asked w hy sh e h ad p ro gra mme d ju st th e p eople a nd p ets in h er p ro to typ es, and why she hadn’t made th e ca rds, ma chin es, a nd o th er st ru cture s pro gra m mable . A s he noted, “Karen, I thought w e h ad ta lke d a bout a llo w in g th e ca rs and tr u cks and m ach in es to h ave personalities? You know th at w as so me th in g o ur ki ds’ fo cu s gro up sh ow ed to b e im porta nt. W hy did you leave that feature o ut? ” Karen brushed off this co mment a nd sa id , “W ell, w e n eve r agre ed to th at. A nd it ’s to o la te to make that change anyway. ” Ka ren q uickl y fin ish ed u p th e p re se nta tio n to a vo id a ny oth er suggestions from Sam and C assi e, a nd th anke d e ve ryo ne fo r co min g.
As everyone filed out of t he co nfe re nce ro om, Je ff C hang st opped K are n a nd sa id , “ K are n, I really like the concept, and I’m ready to mo ve th e p ro je ct fo rw ard to th e n ext st age. I w ant to include it in my presentat io n to th e H eads of N ew Pro duct D eve lo pm ent a nd M arke tin g in si x weeks. Do you think you can h ave a fu ll lin e o f p la y pie ce s, a nd so me m arke tin g id eas by th en?” Karen was surprised but delig hte d, “O f co urse I ca n!” sh e sa id . T hen Je ff w ent o n to sa y, “ Ju st make sure you keep me up to d ate o n yo ur pro gre ss. I w ant to m eet w it h yo u o nce a w eek between now and then so th at I ca n ma ke su re th is th in g is re ady. I kn ow w hat th ese h onch os ENTR3110 A.Bickell 4 want, and I want to make sure I’m ready fo r th em. ” Ka ren sa id , “Su re , n o p ro ble m . I’ll sch edule the meetings right away.” As Karen walked away she co uld h elp b ut smi le . T his was bette r th an sh e h ad e xp ect ed. S he was on her way to an awa rd a t th e Ame rica n In te rn atio nal T oy Fair fo r su re .
Today’s Presenta tion Six weeks later, and the b ig p re se nta tio n w as about to b egin . Ka re n h ad g one o ve r th e presentation in detail with Je ff C hang th e p re vious week. Je ff h ad a dded se vera l o f h is ow n edits to the final slides, a nd h ad co nvi nce d Ka ren th at h e sh ould ta ke th e le ad o n “ in tr o duci ng” the presentation because he “u nderst ood w hat th ese co rpora te h onch os wante d to h ear”. Je ff mentioned that he would call o n Ka ren w hen h e n eeded h er, b ut th at h e h ad a g ood id ea a bout how to position the concep t so th at it g o th e g re en lig ht fo r fu rt her d eve lo pm ent. K are n r e ally wanted to make the pres enta tio n, b ut sh e w ante d mo re fo r th e p ro je ct to b e a ppro ve d. S o sh e agreed to let Jeff make the p re se nta tio n.
Jeff began the presentatio n w it h so me w it ty bante r w it h Ma x Carro ll a nd S herry Gre enberg , a nd then moved into the finan cial su mma rie s of la st ye ar’s best se lle rs. A fte r a h alf a n h our o f financial reviews, Karen wa s gettin g imp atie nt. W hen w as Je ff g oin g to ta lk about h er id ea? W hy was he spending so muc h time ta lki ng a bout th e p ro fit ma rgin s on T oyC it y and D ive Cit y fr o m last year? Finally, Jeff got to the new to y co nce pts. H e sa id h e w ould p re se nt th re e id eas. H e b egan w it h two rather lackluster impro veme nts on th e T oyC it y to ddle r lin e. T hese w ere n ot h it id eas, a nd Karen did not understand why he w as eve n p re se ntin g th em. H e th en p re se nte d K are n’s id ea for the “Programmable To yCit y Lin e”. Je ff w as re ally good, Ka ren h ad to a dm it . H e sh ow ed M ax and Sherry clips of kids’ f ocu s gro ups, a nd h ig hlig hte d th e ki ds sa ying th ey wante d th eir to ys to have personalities and be “t heir fri e nds”. H e a lso sh ow ed Ma x and S herry how m uch ki ds lo ve d the underwater DiveCity l in e. T hen h e b ro ught o ut th e p ro to typ es fo r K are n’s to y co nce pt. H e showed Max and Sherry how th e p la y pie ce s co uld b e p ro gra mme d to h ave p erso nalit ie s and become friends with each o th er and w it h th e ki ds. H e a lso sh ow ed th em h ow th e p la y pie ce s could even be sued with th e D ive Cit y lin e d ue to th eir w ate rp roof w eld in g fe atu re . T hro ughout the presentation Karen wa s te mp te d to sp eak up a nd o ffe r mo re in fo rm atio n, b ut Je ff n eve r gave her the chance. In f act , o th er th an p oin tin g o ut th at sh e w as th e ju nio r d esi gner w ho h ad come up with the concep t d urin g th e Q &A, Je ff n eve r sa id o ne w ork to o r a bout K are n th e e ntir e time. Max and Sherry loved the id ea a nd co ngra tu la te d Je ff o n a noth er w in nin g co nce pt. T hey both said that they looked forwa rd to se ein g th e fu ll lin e a t n ext ye ar’s Am erica n In te rn atio nal T oy Fair, and patted Jeff on th e b ack as th ey le ft. Je ff h ust le d a fte r th em a nd a ske d if th ey co uld g o to coffee to talk about a f ew o th er th in gs. Smi lin g, th e th re e le ft w it h out sa ying a noth er w ord to Karen. ENTR3110 A.Bickell 5 Later, back at her desk, K are n w as still fu mi ng a bout th e me etin g. K are n w as pra ct ica lly screaming inside as she th ought to h erse lf , “T hat je rk Jeff to ok all th e cr edit a nd st ole m y id ea.
I’d be surprised if my nam e g oes on it a t a ll a t th e T oy Fair! ” Scenario One: At lunch on Monday Kare n a ppears at Mo ’s where ma ny of th e ju nio r d esi gners esca pe fo r lunch. You, Sam, and Ca ssie a re si ttin g o n th e p atio e njo yi ng a w ell d ese rve d r e sp it e fr o m th e cubicle jungle that is ToyC it y. Ka ren p ulls up a ch air and jo in s th e g ro up. S he p ro m ptly begin s complaining about Jeff and h is “a ntics” fro m th e p re se nta tio n th e w eek befo re . S am a nd C assi e quickly finish up their lunch a nd e xcu se th emse lve s - le avi ng yo u a nd K are n a t th e ta ble . A lso a junior designer at ToyKing , yo u kn ow ve ry well th e d eta ils of Ka ren’s pro je ct . In fa ct , th anks to your working relationship s wit h Sa m, C assi e, An dy and Mi ke , yo u m ay have m ore in fo rm atio n about how things transpir ed th an e ve n Ka ren d oes. Ka ren re co unts her st ory, ye t a gain , a nd then surprises you by aski ng, “W hat sh ould I d o n ow ?” As a fellow junior designer, a co lle ague to a ll p art ie s in vo lve d, a nd a d ir e ct r e port to Je ff, w hat would you suggest she d o n ow ? H ow w ill yo u co nvi nce h er th at yo ur a dvi ce is so und?
Prepare a response to Ka ren. Ke ep in mi nd th at th is a p ro fe ssi onal sce nario . W ork to r e ply as you would if you really were a n e mp lo ye e a t T oy Ki ng.
Organizational Chart for Sce nario One:
Scenario Two: You are a senior executive a t T oyKi ng o ve rse ein g Ma rketin g a nd P ro duct D eve lo pm ent. M ax and Sherry, your direct re port s, h ave p ro vided yo u w it h a b rie f o n a p ro m isi ng n ew d eve lo pm ent that has arisen from the D esi gn St udio ca lle d th e “Pro gra mma ble T oyC it y Lin e”. T he n um bers look good, and the market in g re se arch su pport s th e id ea. Al l in a ll, yo u a re p le ase d th at th is area of the firm is working so e ffe ct ive ly. Yo u w re stle yo urse lf a w ay fr o m th e w in dow s in yo ur corner office and prepare to re tu rn yo ur atte ntio n to a re as th at a re n’t w orki ng a s well w hen th e peace of your corner offic e is abru ptly in te rru pte d b y a fe ro cious kn ock on yo ur d oor. Y ou haven’t time to even look u p fro m your desk when a yo ung w oma n st orm s th ro ugh th e d oor a nd ENTR3110 A.Bickell 6 demands to be heard. Sh e q uickl y re port s th at sh e is th e ju nio r desi gner th at w as so le ly responsible for the “Progra mmable T oyC it y Lin e” pro posa l a nd th at yo u n eed to h ear w hat sh e has to say. You are taken aback, and w heth er due to sh ock, cu rio si ty or so me se nse o f co nce rn fo r h er mental well being, patient ly in vi te th e yo ung w oma n to si t, a nd sh are w hat sh e h as to sa y. K are n recounts the tale of injust ice sh e’s exp erie nce d w hile yo u list en a tte ntive ly. O nce sh e is fin ish ed, you commend her on her fin e w ork wit h th e “Pro gra mma ble T oyC it y Lin e” a nd yo u si nce re ly thank her for confiding in you. Yo u a ssu re h er th at yo u w ill co nsi der th is new in fo rm atio n ve ry carefully and will get back to h er by week’ s end.
Once Karen leaves your o ffice a nd re tu rn s to w ork - w hat d o yo u d o? H ow d o yo u kn ow th is is the best course of action? Outline your course of ac tio n a nd p ro vide su pport in g ra tio nale . K eep in m in d th at th is a professional scenario. Wo rk to re ply as yo u w ould if yo u re ally were a se nio r e xe cutive a t T oy King. Organizational Chart for Sce nario Tw o:
ENTR3110 A.Bickell 7
