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CHAPTER TWO: SETTING GOALS
The learning objective of this chapter is to help students define and prioritize their goals. It offers
the opportunity to make the point that important goals may not be urgent, and that urgent goals
may not be important.
If the discussion of “Fair’s Fair” or another case you may have chosen for Chapter One has
gone well, the third class can be conducted as a pure case discussion. If the previous class had
some rough spots and some students seem to be confused about how a case discussion works, it
may be wise to take some time at the beginning of this class to discuss how to contribute to a
case discussion before addressing Yellowtail Marine.
Teaching YELLOWTAIL MARINE
This case provides a classic overview of business communication, because it presents the sort of
raw evidence any manager is likely to encounter in a new job. It encourages the students to pull
together the central elements they’ve been discussing in the previous chapters. While MBAs may
not graduate immediately to be CEOs, knowing the range of issues they’re bound to face will
help them develop a sense of how they fit into the larger corporate context. Managers will find
one or more of these issues on the desk the day they take the job. The case offers students an
opportunity to define clear goals in a complex management context.
An opening and some initial responses will permit the instructor to list a number of options on
the board before asking students to choose among them. This also enables the instructor to
portray a complex communication situation by recording student comments under each element
of a communication situation. For example:
Contexts
Goals
Audiences
Messages
Media
Feedback
Gunnerson’s
death
Gather
information
Employees
Management
team
I know where
we’re going
Talk
Phone
Previous
Information
Grapevine
assessment
New
leader
Delegate
Union
I care
Letter
Experiential
judgment
boss
Develop
strategic
plan
Boswell
You’re on
the team
Meetings
Personal
interactions
Production
problems
Establish
her leadership
OSHA
Market
Issue-
specific
answers
Strategic
plan
Systems
(Note: The lists above are meant to be read vertically, not horizontally. For example, Gilcrist
doesn’t need to gather information about Gunnerson’s death.)
Several questions can be usefully provocative at this phase of the class discussion:
l. What should Gilcrist do first? Why? (Demonstrating the conflicts among various
2. Who are Gilcrist’s key audiences? (This question offers an opportunity to put flesh on
3. What messages does she want to send each audience? (Students will often suggest
4. Everyone will be watching Robyn Gilcrist. What stories does she want out there? (This
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5. What relationship should Gilcrist establish with Boswell? How? (Students may make
6. At some point during the discussion, the instructor could rap on the table and announce,
“OSHA’s at the door. What are you going to do? See them? Put them off? Send
somebody else?” (This strategy can deflate theoretical discussion and make students
7. Whom should Gilcrist turn to for advice?
8. How many of you have been in this situation; how did you proceed?
9. What are the costs of your strategy, and why are they worth incurring?
10. What should Gilcrist delegate, and to whom?
One theme should be driven home repeatedly during this discussion: Taken together, Boswell’s
demands are irreconcilable. Gilcrist cannot simultaneously deal with the immediate problems at
hand, develop a strategic plan, fly to Florida, and attend the funeral. Which choices should she
make, and why?
One problem with this case; being a classic, it’s old. Students will want to send faxes, use E-mail,
and employ other electronic media unavailable in the late seventies. The instructor can play it
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Possible Assignment:
Students should be encouraged to speak and write as early in the course as possible. Following is
one model for an initial writing assignment, including a form to provide feedback to the students.
Memo: Yellowtail Marine
1. Read Chapter 2, Setting Goals, and Yellowtail Marine, Inc. As you read through the case
and the items in Gunerson’s in-basket, clarify for yourself the demands each makes on
Gilcrist as Gunerson’s successor. Given her overall situation, as you see it, what goals should
she have in mind? Are any of these goals in conflict? Which should be her chief goal(s)? In
2. Write a memo to the instructor and the class in which you explain your view of what her
3. A note on audience analysis: Your primary audience this time is a real one: your fellow
students and the instructor. However, we will also be trying to assess how well your plan
Length: one and a half pages (maximum).
Format: Please use this format for all assignments: 11 or 12 point type, single-spaced; one-inch
margins all around (minimum). Left justify only, please; “ragged-right” margins create a more
legible text.
Use headings and bullets as you see fit, but take care that the most important parts of your
Evaluation: The basic criteria for evaluation of written assignments in the course are indicated
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Evaluation Sheet: Yellowtail Marine
Point of view
Clear position taken on the main issues; framework provided; priorities explained
________________________________________________________________________
Argumentation
Arguments clear, well developed, logically coherent
Arguments well selected, persuasive for audience(s)
________________________________________________________________________
Structure
Consistent, efficient, logical structure; persuasive structure for this audience
Style and Tone
Clarity, precision, and economy of style
Additional comments Grade: