Kolb poked his head into Mark Hamler's office, his immediate subordinate as the quality control
manager, and asked him how things had gone during the past week. Hamler's muted smile and an
"Oh, fine," stopped Kolb in his tracks. He didn't know Hamler very well and was unsure about
pursuing this reply any further. Kolb was still uncertain of how to start building a relationship with
him since Hamler had been passed over for the promotion to Kolb's job—Hamler's evaluation form
had stated "superb technical knowledge; managerial skills lacking." Kolb decided to inquire a little
further and asked Hamler what had happened; he replied: "Oh, just another typical quality snafu.
We had a little problem on the Greasex line last week [a specialized degreasing solvent packed in a
spray can for the high technology sector]. A little high pressure was found in some cans on the
second shift, but a supervisor vented them so that we could ship them out. We met our delivery
schedule!" Since Kolb was still relatively unfamiliar with the plant and its products, he asked Hamler
to elaborate; painfully, Hamler continued: