Letyca
Subject: NursingCourse: MBA 1313 “Imagine what life would be like…
Subject: NursingCourse: MBA 1313
“Imagine what life would be like if your product was never finished, if you never completed your work, if your market changed 30 times a day. The computer virus hunters at Symantec Corp. don’t have to imagine it.” This is the reality of their daily work life. At the company’s Santa Monica Response Lab in California, described as the “dirtiest of all our Symantec networks,” software analysts collect viruses and other suspicious code and try to figure out how they work so the company can provide security updates to its customers. There’s even a hazardous materials box on the lab door, marked DANGER, where they place all the disks, tapes and hard drives with nasty viruses that they have to completely remove. Symantec’s situation might seem unique, but the company, which produces network security content and software for both consumers and businesses, reflects the reality facing many organizations today: rapidly changing customer expectations and the continued emergence of global competitors that have dramatically shortened product life cycles. Managing talented people in such environments can be another daunting challenge.
Vince Weafer, originally from Ireland, has been the leader of Symantec’s virus hunter team since 1999. Thinking back to that time, he said, “There were less than two dozen people and…. nothing was really happening. We were seeing maybe five new viruses a day, and they were spreading in a matter of months, not minutes.” Now Symantec’s virus hunters around the world deal with approximately 20,000 virus samples each month, and not all of them are unique, stand-alone viruses. To make the hunters’ job even more interesting, computer attacks are increasingly being spread by criminals who want to steal corporate or personal information from users to commit fraud. Dealing with these critical and time-sensitive issues requires special talents. The response center team is a diverse group whose members were not easy to find. Weafer said, “It’s not like universities every year are training security or anti-malware experts so we can hire them. If you find them anywhere in the world, just go get them.” The character of the response center team reflects that. For example, one of the senior researchers is originally from Hungary, another from Iceland, and yet another works from his home in Melbourne, Florida. But they all share one thing in common: they are all motivated by solving problems.
The release of the Blaster B worm changed the company’s approach to handling viruses. The effect of Blaster B and other virus outbreaks caused front-line software analysts to work against the clock for nearly two weeks. Employees getting burned out” made the company realize that its team of virus hunters had to be much stronger, much more talented. Now, the response center team numbers in the hundreds, and managers can rotate personnel from the front lines, who are responsible for responding to new security threats as they emerge, into groups where they can help with new product development. Others write internal research papers, and others are assigned to the development of new tools that will help their colleagues repel the next wave of threats. There is even an individual who tries to figure out what motivates virus writers; and the day never ends for these virus hunters. When the Santa Monica team finishes their day, colleagues in Tokyo relieve them. When the Japanese team finishes its day, in comes the Dublin team, which is then relieved by the Santa Monica team for a new day. It’s a frantic, chaotic and challenging work environment that is dispersed around the world. But Weafer said his goals were to “try to eliminate the chaos, to make the exciting boring” to have a well-defined and predictable process, deal with virus threats, and distribute work evenly across the company’s offices around the world. This is a managerial challenge that Weafer has embraced. (Robins (2013), Fundamentals of Management. Page 3-4).
3. After reading the case study, answer the analysis questions.
ANALYSIS QUESTIONS
1. Keeping professionals excited about work that is routine, standardized, and chaotic is a major challenge for Symantec Corp. and Vincent Weafer. Briefly explain how Vincent Weafer used each of the management skills (technical, human, policy (or power), and conceptual) to maintain a work environment that drove innovation and professionalism among virus hunters.
(Explain the use of each of the skills individually).
2. State what managerial role (interpersonal, information transfer, decision making) Vincent plays in each of the following situations:
(a) Study the feasibility of adding a new network security consulting service for new customers. Role ______________
b) Assign different activities to the teams to make them enjoyable to keep employees focused on the company’s commitment to customers. Role ___________
c) Attend weekly security briefings via conference calls with co-workers around the world. Role______________
3. Indicate which management function (planning, organizing, integrating personnel, directing, controlling) Vincent performs in each of the following situations:
(a) He recruits and selects staff in Hungary, Iceland, and Florida. Function ___________;
b) Establishes tasks and responsibilities in the work team. Function ____________,
c) Have a team that shares something in common: “Everyone is motivated by solving problems”. Function _________,
d) To make the team more effective, strong and talented Weber and the company rotated staff, did new research and developed new tools. Función_______________
e) Development of security products for both consumers and businesses. Function ___________________
What could other managers learn from Vincent Weafer and the Symantec Corp. approach?
Case 2 – Manager’s Case
You are the owner of a retail clothing store. Getting managers for the store is not easy, as graduating students are not interested. You are looking to find a committed employee who will not quit, listens patiently, and solves problems satisfactorily. Please answer the following questions:
1. At what management level are you in the company?
2. How would you attract talented managers?
3. How would you attract recent management graduates to consider store management?
Apply what you studied in the unit presentation.
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