MBA 610 Erik PetersonCase Study
North Carolina State University
MBA 610 – David Henard
Case Study- Erik Peterson (A)
Copyright – Holly Munn
The Erik Peterson Situation
By Holly Munn
This case study is about a General Manager at Green Mountain Cellular Telephone Company ( GMTC), Erik Peterson. New to his position, he faces a multitude of problems that quickly put him in over his head, although he does not realize it. The parent company of GMTC, Cellular Communications Inc. (CelluCom) was founded by a charismatic and capable leader, Ric Jenkins. He had grown the company over time to be among one of the Top 20 Cellular Companies in the industry. Erik had never worked in the cellular industry prior to taking the position at GMTC, but he very much wanted to be a part of it. When Ric Jenkins personally made the position offer to Erik, he freely admitted that there were serious startup problems and the position was one of high-exposure within CelluCom because the Green Mountain area had potential to be very profitable. Erik accepted the challenge, but soon found out about the “serious startup problems” Ric Jenkins had mentioned.
GMTC was a startup subsidiary of CelluCom and had been in existence or a year and a half when Erik joined. The infrastructure for GMTC was to consist of 21 cells. While there was a team already in existence working on the design and construction of the cells, the project was already several weeks behind schedule.
The Problems Facing Erik
Since coming on board, Erik encountered problem after problem requiring him to work excessive hours and get involved in the micro-managing of some operational areas he should not have. In the rubric below, I have listed several of the problems encountered by Erik, a description and categorization of the type of problem, a brief statement on how well I feel Erik handled the problem, and what the root cause of each problem was:
Problem
Description
Type of Problem
How Do I feel Erik Handled the Situation?
Root Cause of the Problem
Erik 's
MBA 610 – David Henard
Case Study- Erik Peterson (A)
Copyright – Holly Munn
The Erik Peterson Situation
By Holly Munn
This case study is about a General Manager at Green Mountain Cellular Telephone Company ( GMTC), Erik Peterson. New to his position, he faces a multitude of problems that quickly put him in over his head, although he does not realize it. The parent company of GMTC, Cellular Communications Inc. (CelluCom) was founded by a charismatic and capable leader, Ric Jenkins. He had grown the company over time to be among one of the Top 20 Cellular Companies in the industry. Erik had never worked in the cellular industry prior to taking the position at GMTC, but he very much wanted to be a part of it. When Ric Jenkins personally made the position offer to Erik, he freely admitted that there were serious startup problems and the position was one of high-exposure within CelluCom because the Green Mountain area had potential to be very profitable. Erik accepted the challenge, but soon found out about the “serious startup problems” Ric Jenkins had mentioned.
GMTC was a startup subsidiary of CelluCom and had been in existence or a year and a half when Erik joined. The infrastructure for GMTC was to consist of 21 cells. While there was a team already in existence working on the design and construction of the cells, the project was already several weeks behind schedule.
The Problems Facing Erik
Since coming on board, Erik encountered problem after problem requiring him to work excessive hours and get involved in the micro-managing of some operational areas he should not have. In the rubric below, I have listed several of the problems encountered by Erik, a description and categorization of the type of problem, a brief statement on how well I feel Erik handled the problem, and what the root cause of each problem was:
Problem
Description
Type of Problem
How Do I feel Erik Handled the Situation?
Root Cause of the Problem
Erik 's
References: Case Study Prepared by Professor John J. Gabarro and Professor Michael J. Roberts; Harvard Business Review: Erik Peterson Case Study, Doc. 9-494-005, Rev. October 13, 1995