Kenworth

Overview of the Case:

The OD consultant receives a telephone call from Robert Denton, plant manager of Kenworth Motors who was referred by a sailing friend who was a colleague of the consultant. Denton has held his job for eight months and believes things are generally going well, but has a sense things could be better. He invites the consultant to visit him and discuss his situation. The consultant does a little research about the company prior to the meeting but was thoughtful about what he wanted his emotional and professional posture to be. During the meeting, Denton describes that his plant and its employees get along fine, work well together and do a good job. Yet, he contends that “things nag at me that I can’t put my finger on…..we haven’t jelled together as a team quite like I’d hoped.” The consultant asks more questions but the answers from Denton reveal nothing indicating a problem. At this point the consultant offers to independently confirm how things are going in the plant through employee interviews. He explains that this approach in itself may impact the organization, possibly raise tensions and even perhaps cause problems. Denton responds by asking about other options. The consultant suggests a weekend retreat for the management team including Denton. Denton expresses interest and the consultant quickly calculates his fees in his head and shares them with the client. He says that the content of the retreat would be somewhat flexible and that Bob Denton would have to trust him. Denton quickly agreed to the retreat weekend. The OD consultant and he proceeded to select a weekend for the event.

Case Goal

The goal of this case is to explore entry and contracting issues in the OD process and to understand “Practice” issues in consulting.