Clendin Case Analysis
OD Session 6: John A. Clendenin/ Xerox Case
Introduction (from John A. Clendenin Case):
Clendenin’s father was black army officer then draftsman in aviation industry, mother was from Germany
In 1960, father lost job and Clendenin was moved from Long Island to Queens to get welfare; was in culture shock and had to fight for themselves
Went to Brooklyn Tech, a special city high school then to State Univ. of NY in Fredonia
Tried to change habits, made varsity cross-country team and was placed in scholarship
Majored in childhood education and socially active, became kindergarten teacher in Bronx
Enlisted in Marines a year later, progressed through the ranks and realized that he was smart and athletic as anyone else
Left marines in 1982 to attend FECBUS when he was 33
Elected section education rep, clear about learning more about power, politics and corp. culture
Job search was “different” because of age but worked for Xerox for the summer as productivity consultant then returned after graduation in 1984
Background
Clendenin’s boss proposed a lateral move from head of Xerox’s Multinational Development Center (MDC) to a staff support function
Since taking over MDC in 1986 Clendenin had been behind the growth and success of the department; budget grew from $400K to $4M, staff from 4 to 42
However, this had also created resentment among those who hadn’t gotten additional resources, and he was concerned that the proposed move would be seen to those as “moving off the fast track”
He also had the option of staying another 2 yrs as head of MDC, but wasn’t sure of the implications
Clendenin’s Early Career at Xerox
He did his summer at Xerox in 1983 as a productivity consultant in the U.S. Marketing Group (USMG) working on two projects (resolving overpackaging in distribution and saving by having vendors ship directly to end users in Xerox), both of which were highly successful
He decided to return to Xerox because he was comfortable with their
Introduction (from John A. Clendenin Case):
Clendenin’s father was black army officer then draftsman in aviation industry, mother was from Germany
In 1960, father lost job and Clendenin was moved from Long Island to Queens to get welfare; was in culture shock and had to fight for themselves
Went to Brooklyn Tech, a special city high school then to State Univ. of NY in Fredonia
Tried to change habits, made varsity cross-country team and was placed in scholarship
Majored in childhood education and socially active, became kindergarten teacher in Bronx
Enlisted in Marines a year later, progressed through the ranks and realized that he was smart and athletic as anyone else
Left marines in 1982 to attend FECBUS when he was 33
Elected section education rep, clear about learning more about power, politics and corp. culture
Job search was “different” because of age but worked for Xerox for the summer as productivity consultant then returned after graduation in 1984
Background
Clendenin’s boss proposed a lateral move from head of Xerox’s Multinational Development Center (MDC) to a staff support function
Since taking over MDC in 1986 Clendenin had been behind the growth and success of the department; budget grew from $400K to $4M, staff from 4 to 42
However, this had also created resentment among those who hadn’t gotten additional resources, and he was concerned that the proposed move would be seen to those as “moving off the fast track”
He also had the option of staying another 2 yrs as head of MDC, but wasn’t sure of the implications
Clendenin’s Early Career at Xerox
He did his summer at Xerox in 1983 as a productivity consultant in the U.S. Marketing Group (USMG) working on two projects (resolving overpackaging in distribution and saving by having vendors ship directly to end users in Xerox), both of which were highly successful
He decided to return to Xerox because he was comfortable with their