Navigating Organizational Politics: The Case of Kristen Peters

When a summer intern in private wealth management at an investment firm receives poor feedback from the training program managers, what steps might she take to improve her performance and raise her stature?
Eric Abrahamson, Todd Jick, James Kitts  | Spring 2009
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First-year Columbia Business School student Kristen Peters hoped her summer internship with Taylor Reed (TR) would lead to a job offer in private wealth management. Yet mid-way through the internship, Peters received poor feedback, with TR executives citing her low energy and disregard for the firm's rules by checking her phone during classroom time. Vowing to improve her image, Peters completed extra work and extended her networking efforts. By summer's end, Peters remained unsure whether a job offer would be forthcoming. In this case students examine Peters' performance and TR's culture before discussing strategies for building influence. This is the first part of a two-part case study.

Case ID: 090401
Supplemental Materials: Teaching Note

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