Bioglass, Inc. specializes in sales of a wide array of glass products

Bioglass, Inc. specializes in sales of a wide array of glass products. One area of the company, thecommercial sales division (CSD), specializes in selling high-tech mirrors and microscope andphotographic lenses. Sales associates in CSD are responsible for selling the glass products tocorporate clients. CSD has four levels of sales associates, ranging in pay from $28,000 to$76,000 per year. There are also four levels of managerial positions; those positions range in payfrom $76,000 to $110,000 per year (that’s what the division president makes).Tom Caldwell has been a very effective sales associate. He has consistently demonstrated goodsales techniques in his 17 years with Bioglass and has a large and loyal client base. Over theyears, Tom has risen from the lowest level of sales associate to the highest. He has provedhimself successful at each stage. An entry-level management position in CSD opened up lastyear, and Tom was a natural candidate. Although several other candidates were considered, Tomwas the clear choice for the position.However, once in the position, Tom had a great deal of difficulty being a man- ager. Hewas not accustomed to delegating and rarely provided feedback or guidance to the people hesupervised. Although he set goals for himself, he never set performance goals for his workers.Morale in Tom’s group was low, and group performance suffered. The company felt thatdemoting Tom back to sales would be disastrous for him and present the wrong image to otheremployees; firing such a loyal employee was considered unacceptable. Therefore, Bioglassdecided to keep Tom where he was but not consider him for future promotions. It was alsoconsidering enrolling Tom in some expensive managerial development programs to enhance hismanagement skills. Meanwhile, Tom’s replacement, although successful at the lower three levels of sales associatepositions, was having a great deal of difficulty with the large corporate contracts that thehighest-level sales associates must service. Two of Tom’s biggest clients had recently leftBioglass for a competitor. CSD was con- fused about how such a disastrous situation haddeveloped when they seemed to make all the right decisions. Based on this application and your reading of this chapter, answer the following questions: 1. What is the likely cause of CSD’s problems? 2. How might CSD, and Bioglass more generally, make better promotion decisions in the future?Be specific. 3. In general, what role should performance appraisals play in internal selectiondecisions? Are there some cases in which they are more relevant than others? Explain.