The Case of DLT Partners

Prepared by: Gates Matthew Stoner Copyrighted © 1998

N.B. The case does not represent a real event.

DLT Partners is a small public relations firm in Southern California specializing in the entertainment industry. DLT Partners represents several major studios and Hollywood talent. Clients include Disney, MGM, Tom Cruise, Madonna, and former LA Dodger Mike Piazza. DLT Partners is divided into two major divisions, studio accounts and individual accounts.

Jane Ku, a recent marketing graduate from the USC School of Business, has been at DLT Partners since June of 1995. Jane has worked closely with the public relations team in the individual accounts division since her arrival at DLT Partners. Ed Moore supervises the individual accounts division and is one of the founding partners of DLT Partners. Ed has worked closely with all the account specialists within the division and has been a mentor for Jane. After arriving at DLT Partners, Jane was assigned to several "up and coming" clients, such as Chris Rock, Jewel, and J.T. McGrew.

Jane quickly adapted to the corporate culture of DLT Partners and the irregular hours. She was determined to complete her assignments by the deadline and maintain the professional quality service clients expect from DLT Partners. While many of her fellow account specialists were struggling with various clients, Jane was expanding her client base through her representation of other clients. Soon, Jane was being recommended to Hollywood big name clients like Tom Hanks, Janet Jackson, and Whoppi Goldberg.

Ed had been reviewing Jane's accounts and was concerned about her performance affecting other account specialists within the division. While Ed was pleased with Jane's performance, he worried about the morale of the division with Jane acquiring all the major clients. Jane had been at the firm for almost three years and her annual review was next week. Ed knew that Jane would be getting a promotion and bonus. Nevertheless, Ed was still concerned about the long-term effects of Jane's performance on the rest of the division. Jane's performance review was the next day and Ed planned to deal with these concerns.

Ed started the meeting by praising Jane's efforts within the division thus far and by asking her to review her own performance since arriving at DLT Partners. Jane began reviewing her performance by noting that when she started, the firm only gave her three no-name clients, and that she had worked to represent 75 of Hollywood's biggest names. Jane compared her performance to Mike Grundy who started at the same time as she did and only had 20 clients. Ed expressed his concern about the morale of the division because of Jane's snagging of all the big accounts. Jane rebuffed him by stating that if she were a male employee, they would not be having this conversation. "Let's face it Ed, I've played by the rules and have been aggressive in getting client. The good old boys network doesn't like that, do they?"

Upper management was actually quite impressed with Jane and had received lots of positive feedback from key people in the industry. In the previous week's board meeting, the partners of DLT had decided to promote Jane to a new position as a liaison between the studio and individual accounts division. In her new position, she would manage a team of 10 members (5 from each division). The new position would enhance customer service and improve relationships with clients. The partners were confident that in another three years Jane would be a partner.

Ed was anxious to break the new of Jane's promotion to her. "Actually Jane, the good old boys in management determined last week to promote you to a new position." Ed explained Jane's new roles and how she was on track to becoming a partner in the firm.