Erik Peterson and Biometra
Erik Peterson and Biometra
Case Brief #2
There were three categories of issues that Peterson had to deal with when he took over as general manager at Biometra. These three categories were: early issues, issues within the Biometra team, and other issues. Each of these factors had major consequences that affected the success of Peterson at Biometra, as well as the success of the new product launch. The first of the three major issues were the early issues Peterson had encountered when he first began working at Biometra. The most significant of these concerns was the fact that Peterson did not have any experience dealing with new product launches and his boss didn’t have the leadership skills and knowledge needed to be able to offer assistance. Originally, Peterson was supposed to report directly to the VP of peripheral vascular devices, an employee that was an “extremely seasoned executive” with experience in product launches. Unfortunately, this changed rather quickly. The vice president and several other key Biometra managers departed fairly early into Peterson’s career at Biometra and he was promoted to acting general manager reporting directly to Jeff Hardy, the vice president of planning and control for the peripheral vascular division. Hardy was a fairly recent MBA graduate with no product launch experience. Therefore, Peterson was unable to get advice or guidance from Hardy concerning a new product launch. There was also an extreme lack of communication between the upper management and the company. Neither Peterson, nor Hardy was informed about the change in the reporting structure for the launch. According to Peterson, it just “seemed to have occurred.” Peterson never had a formal sit down with Hardy to go over expectations or product launch goals. It was very much a situation where the “blind were leading the blind.” The second category of issues facing Peterson was internal issues among the Biometra team. Each manager had a personal issue
Case Brief #2
There were three categories of issues that Peterson had to deal with when he took over as general manager at Biometra. These three categories were: early issues, issues within the Biometra team, and other issues. Each of these factors had major consequences that affected the success of Peterson at Biometra, as well as the success of the new product launch. The first of the three major issues were the early issues Peterson had encountered when he first began working at Biometra. The most significant of these concerns was the fact that Peterson did not have any experience dealing with new product launches and his boss didn’t have the leadership skills and knowledge needed to be able to offer assistance. Originally, Peterson was supposed to report directly to the VP of peripheral vascular devices, an employee that was an “extremely seasoned executive” with experience in product launches. Unfortunately, this changed rather quickly. The vice president and several other key Biometra managers departed fairly early into Peterson’s career at Biometra and he was promoted to acting general manager reporting directly to Jeff Hardy, the vice president of planning and control for the peripheral vascular division. Hardy was a fairly recent MBA graduate with no product launch experience. Therefore, Peterson was unable to get advice or guidance from Hardy concerning a new product launch. There was also an extreme lack of communication between the upper management and the company. Neither Peterson, nor Hardy was informed about the change in the reporting structure for the launch. According to Peterson, it just “seemed to have occurred.” Peterson never had a formal sit down with Hardy to go over expectations or product launch goals. It was very much a situation where the “blind were leading the blind.” The second category of issues facing Peterson was internal issues among the Biometra team. Each manager had a personal issue