HBO Case Study Knowlton

Case Study Bob Knowlton

Group 5 – Section D 12P205 – Karthik K Baradhwaj 12P206 – Kartik Maheshwari 12P207 – Kaushik Mukherjee 12P208 – Kawaljeet Singh 12P209 – Kumar Abhinav 12P210 – Love Kumar

How do you perceive Bob Knowlton vis. a vis. Simon Fester? 

Bob Knowlton  A Team player and a leader.    



Effective communicator. Diplomatic. Hard worker. Was a good manager.

Simon Fester     

Not a team player but a leader Lacked effective communication skills. Un-diplomatic. Genius and a hard worker. Lacked management skills.

Was Bob Knowlton an Effective leader? 

Qualities of leadership possessed by Bob Knowlton. 

 



 



Effective Communicator. A team player. Involved every member of the team and build team sprit among them. Talked to members individually regarding their differences. Had the respect of his team. Was unable to use Fester’s genius and hard work to motivate his other team members.

All in all, he was an effective leader, but he had scope for improvement.

Was Knowlton’s decision to leave the laboratory justified? 

Prevailing scenario. 









Post Fester’s arrival Knowlton’s team’s dynamics was disturbed. Fester’s aggressive and demeaning attitude did not sit well with Knowlton and most of his team. Knowlton felt Fester was wrong in directly approaching Jerrold. Knowlton felt that he was being overshadowed by Fester. Jerrold, Knowlton’s manager was not able to empathize with Knowlton’s predicament. Continued…

Was Knowlton’s decision to leave the laboratory justified? Continued… 

Steps taken by Knowlton.  Spoke individually to few team members regarding their  



Additional steps which could have been taken.  In the beginning itself Knowlton should have had a word with  



concerns. Encouraged Fester to develop on his theories. Helped showcase Fester’s brilliance and hard work to Jerrold and other stakeholders. Fester and sensitized him of the need of working as a team. He should have used Fester’s pro-activeness to inspire his other team members. Being a project head, Knowlton should have used Fester’s genius in a more channeled way instead of getting threatened.

Considering all facts, Knowlton should have stayed a little longer and helped the project regain structure.

What is your perception of both the characters as far as their leadership style or behavior is concerned? 

Knowlton      



Effective Leader. Good Team Player. Good communicator. Empathetic. Hard working. Insecure about his position.

Fester       

Brilliant/Genius. Proactive. Demeaning. Lacked team skills. Good Networker Hard working Lacked basic etiquettes of communication

Can you profile the personality of the two characters viz. Fester and Knowlton?



Knowlton    





Openness Conscientiousness Extraversion – Agreeableness – Neuroticism –

Moderate High Moderate High High

Fester   

 

Openness Conscientiousness Extraversion – Agreeableness – Neuroticism -

High High High Low Low