Lisa Benton Case Lisa Benton's case, including the difficulty she had with her superiors, is certainly familiar with many subordinates. It is, however, interesting that she placed loyalty to these same superiors above her own needs for work fulfilment, especially in the light of her previous performance success at Right-Away Stores. From the beginning, it appears that Lisa is afraid to stand up for herself, especially regarding the initial hostility of her two immediate superiors, apparently on the strength of no more than her possession of an MBA. Although she does assert, with great understanding for the opposing position, that she is neither presumptuous nor afraid of hard work as a result of her degree, I feel she could have done more in defense of her position.

As the conflicts rise throughout Lisa's months of work at Houseworld, she appears increasingly timid regarding her relationship with Linton and Scoville, even to the degree that she fails to voice opinions when she has them. For this reason, I do not think Linton is entirely unjustified in her assessment of Lisa's apparent inability to assert herself or to display confidence. Indeed, Lisa herself feels responsible for not displaying her "true self." This shows that she is aware of the fact that she had let her unfriendly superiors diminish her own drive to advance in her work the way she had anticipated.

The final paragraphs of the case show that Lisa is still unable to communicate honestly with and about her superiors. She is so afraid of showing any disloyalty or causing offense that she fails to communicate...

This is also the case in her interactions with Vernon, even though he shows positive sentiment and sympathy towards her. She is unable to honestly communicate her frustrations to those she feels are her superiors and who might construe her complaints negatively. While this feeling has been cultivated by managers like Linton and Scoville, I do not believe that being honest with Vernon should have been beyond Lisa's ability.
Lisa has been ineffective in influencing her boss, mainly as a result of misplaced loyalty and her concomitant inability to communicate with the honesty needed for such influence. Her initial reaction to Linton's statement that she disliked MBA holders is an example of effective communication, acknowledging Linton's position, but clearly asserting and supporting her own. She did not, however, maintain this mode of communication in the face of the hostility and difficult personalities of her superiors. She hid her own feelings in favor of her own conception of loyalty rather than cultivating respect by calmly standing up for herself when the problems began to show themselves. Instead, her frustration level became so deep that she lost her temper several times, with both her direct superiors. Effective and calm communication regarding what she should do in future situations would have mitigated the likelihood of unprofessional outbursts from either Lisa or her superiors.

In addition to ineffective communication strategies on Lisa's part is her related reluctance to voice her opinions and ideas, even though she felt frustrated by not…