Case Study: Sherwood Manufacturing Sitting in her car in the parking lot at Sherwood Manufacturing, staring at her hand-held phone, Miranda Appleton couldn’t believe her eyes. She had read the e-mail several times and still didn’t believe it. Bryan Luther had just been named vice-president of operations; the position that Miranda felt she deserved and had expected to be given very soon. And now, Miranda would be reporting to Bryan! Miranda thought back to all her hard work, not just the excessive hours in the last six months-but the six years before that as well. When Miranda came to Sherwood in 2005, she already had fifteen years of experience in the appliance and electronics industry that Sherwood was becoming dominant in. She had been excited to take this position as the company seemed to be on the cusp of taking over the primary market share. She was brought in as the production manager overseeing three manufacturing plants in the tri-state area. Within two years, Miranda’s skills in utilizing these plants to assist each other rather than work independently had brought a quick promotion to become the Supply Chain Manager. This role, while technically a lateral move, gave Miranda the visibility to all levels of the company not only the three domestic manufacturing plants but also marketing, finance, and every area of operations. Visibility was something she desired and felt was necessary to be promoted further. To replace Miranda, Sherwood had hired a young aggressive man with limited experience but large potential-Bryan Luther. Since 2005, Sherwood had advanced in technology and overtaken several smaller appliance manufacturers. The electronics side-with its strong international competitors-of the business had proven more difficult to conquer, so with Miranda’s supply chain team leading the way, Sherwood had acquired several significant competitors and created synergy with the new product lines. The results were dramatic. By early 2011, Sherwood’s latest data showed the company had advanced significantly. Not only was revenue and market share higher than projected, profitability ratios showed strength, and with the new supplier contracts that Miranda had just signed off on the cost of goods sold would continue to drop. A quick rap on Miranda’s car window brought her back to the present. Standing outside her car was Jason Caselli, a true friend of Miranda’s and her co-worker. Jason was the E-Marketing Specialist and had worked closely with Miranda since she had been hired, helping her develop the relationships among the staff in order to implement the changes she worked so hard to develop. While Jason had rejected promotions over the years citing his personal life as a weekend disc jockey limiting the additional hours he felt he could give to his job, Miranda had always spoken openly to him about adding responsibilities. “I take it you heard” Jason began as Miranda rose from the car. They began a slow walk together to the office. ...

1. Case Study: Sherwood Manufacturing
Sitting in her car in the parking lot at Sherwood Manufacturing,
staring at her hand-held phone, Miranda Appleton couldn’t
believe her eyes. She had read the e-mail several times and still
didn’t believe it. Bryan Luther had just been named vice-
president of operations; the position that Miranda felt she
deserved and had expected to be given very soon. And now,
Miranda would be reporting to Bryan! Miranda thought back to
all her hard work, not just the excessive hours in the last six
months-but the six years before that as well.
When Miranda came to Sherwood in 2005, she already had
fifteen years of experience in the appliance and electronics
industry that Sherwood was becoming dominant in. She had
been excited to take this position as the company seemed to be
on the cusp of taking over the primary market share. She was
brought in as the production manager overseeing three
manufacturing plants in the tri-state area.
Within two years, Miranda’s skills in utilizing these plants to
assist each other rather than work independently had brought a
quick promotion to become the Supply Chain Manager. This
role, while technically a lateral move, gave Miranda the
visibility to all levels of the company not only the three
domestic manufacturing plants but also marketing, finance, and
every area of operations. Visibility was something she desired
and felt was necessary to be promoted further. To replace
Miranda, Sherwood had hired a young aggressive man with
limited experience but large potential-Bryan Luther.
Since 2005, Sherwood had advanced in technology and
overtaken several smaller appliance manufacturers. The

2. electronics side-with its strong international competitors-of the
business had proven more difficult to conquer, so with
Miranda’s supply chain team leading the way, Sherwood had
acquired several significant competitors and created synergy
with the new product lines. The results were dramatic. By early
2011, Sherwood’s latest data showed the company had advanced
significantly. Not only was revenue and market share higher
than projected, profitability ratios showed strength, and with the
new supplier contracts that Miranda had just signed off on the
cost of goods sold would continue to drop.
A quick rap on Miranda’s car window brought her back to the
present. Standing outside her car was Jason Caselli, a true
friend of Miranda’s and her co-worker. Jason was the E-
Marketing Specialist and had worked closely with Miranda
since she had been hired, helping her develop the relationships
among the staff in order to implement the changes she worked
so hard to develop. While Jason had rejected promotions over
the years citing his personal life as a weekend disc jockey
limiting the additional hours he felt he could give to his job,
Miranda had always spoken openly to him about adding
responsibilities.
“I take it you heard” Jason began as Miranda rose from the car.
They began a slow walk together to the office. “I was a little
surprised about Bryan, I didn’t think they would seriously
consider him for the position, I actually don’t know how
qualified he is.”
Miranda sighed. “He isn’t qualified; he has no concept of team
work. I’ve listened to him in meetings, it’s always about him.
‘He brought in the new computer system, he reduced production
times, he identified the sources for the production wastes.’ Most
of those items were ones that I initiated before I left that role
and had given clear guidelines and support to the team that was
there. He took the credit! Bryan might be effective in some

3. ways, but he doesn’t understand the importance of giving credit.
He’s aggressive and drives his employees too hard, but drive by
the plant on a weekend-his car is never there!”
“Well Bryan certainly was visible during labor relations when
the contract was due. He took on a public relations role to the
community, and I understand he recently volunteered to give a
presentation at our industry convention this fall. He’s been
putting himself out there and all along he has made his
ambitions clear” as Jason spoke, he started to realize that Bryan
had been a much more formidable competitor than they had
realized. Bryan’s name had come up in almost every
conversation lately; he was clearly positioning himself for this
promotion well.
“So now what?” Jason asked.
“I don’t know; I feel like I failed. Worse, since the opening was
announced six months ago with the business growth, I’ve given
so much of my family time to this job. And now I have to go
home and explain it was for nothing? I don’t understand how
this could have happened. But, I do think it’s time for me to
move on. Clearly they don’t want to have a woman in that role.”
Miranda quieted her voice as she entered the building. “We’ll
talk later; I need to go see Kelly.”
Before lunch, Miranda sat facing the director of human
resources, Kelly Morgan. Miranda took a deep breath and
began, “I’m disappointed with Bryan’s appointment to vice-
president of operations. I really felt that I had earned that
promotion, I had no idea anyone else was even in the running
that you would consider.”
Kelly took a moment before responding, the shock of what
Miranda was saying registered on Kelly’s face. “Miranda, we
recognize your hard work and team leadership. I think your

4. team has always done well and works cohesively. You definitely
are a great asset to this company.”
“Then why didn’t I get the job? I’ve been practically living here
making sure that each supply contract is as strong as possible; I
believe we will be saving up to 30% on cost of goods sold
annually by the time we’re done. 30%! That’s bottom line
savings to the company. Plus, the transportation costs have been
skyrocketing across the country and I have kept it well below
industry standards through the new distribution center and
introducing the multi-pack systems for the customers. We know
that customers are buying fewer products, but we are positioned
to keep our costs down through our leasing arrangements. I have
been the brains behind our great numbers, if we hadn’t
controlled costs, we would have had price increases and lost
market share. I deserve that promotion!” Miranda caught her
breath and realized she had started to raise her voice. “I’m
sorry, I’m just upset.”
“Miranda, I’m glad to see this passion and energy from you
right now. I’ll be honest with you; your name was not even
brought up when looking internally to fill the role. We
announced the coming reorganization and specifically this new
position 6 months ago. Several employees spoke to me about the
qualifications required. Why didn’t you come to me then?”
Miranda was dumbfounded-to not even be considered! “I had
been working so hard, I didn’t feel I needed to come to anyone.
I don’t want a job because I ask for it, but because I deserve it.
In my reviews I always spoke about being interested in new
positions. Plus, I’ve been around the plants or our corporate
office on the weekends or late nights, I never run into Bryan
here. If I e-mail him over the weekend, it’s always late Monday
before he responds. He’s not willing to put in the hours; I don’t
want a job because I grovel for it! I want to earn it!”

5. Miranda stood up and headed towards Kelly’s office door.
“Quite honestly, it appears that women have pretty limited
opportunities with this company. I’m headed home; I need to
figure out my next step.”
A few moments later, Kelly picked up the phone to the
president’s office. “Bob, do you have time for lunch? I think we
might have an employee consider a lawsuit against us.”