Finally, the CEO calls Kareem to a meeting and tells him that the latest marketing report shows the medical instruments division has lost market share for the second consecutive quarter and wants to know why Kareem does not have any new product enhancements out in the market yet. Kareem admitted that he has not been on top of the product development efforts and has not given them the priority that he should. He thought the competitors world fold. Kareem discussed his approach to establishing the product development teams and the feedback he just got from his department managers. The CEO was not happy and told Kareem that he was relying too much on doing things in the same old ways and that he had better look for new ideas and approaches or his position would be in jeopardy.
The CEO told Kareem that the situation is critical and the board of directors is losing their patience. When the board hired her last year, they expected her to move Stevens from a good national company to a great global one, and that all the other divisions are moving in that direction while the medical instruments division is staying flat in spite of an increasing global market for their products. The CEO told Kareem that she is going to bring in a management consultant to evaluate what is going on it his division and make recommendations to her about how to get the product development effort organized and on an accelerated track.