Reference no: EM132799247

SCENARIO

A group of employees at Spruce Paper Company recently finished a major project that involved multiple departments, from creative to distribution. The goal of the project was to develop a new line of holiday cards.

Ernesto is a retired expert in the greeting-card industry and has been called in to serve as a consultant on this project. He's worked for a number of firms over the course of his career, but never for Spruce Paper Company.

Ernesto works closely with Rita and helps provide direction on the project. He's also taken an interest in mentoring Dave, giving him goals to work toward and deadlines to meet.

Ernesto has been retired for six years and is in need of a refresher on current trends. For this reason, younger team members find it frustrating to work with Ernesto. Ernesto is open to hearing their feedback, and even encourages them to voice their complaints so that he can avoid future conflict.

Ernesto offers skills and knowledge that are invaluable to the project. His key contributions have been summarizing each department's obstacles and mitigating tension in meetings by moderating differences of opinion.

1. What is Ernesto's status, the position he holds within the group, and what is his role, the behaviors expected of someone with his status?
2. How did Ernesto's status or role impact how he engaged and collaborated with others to complete the project?
3. Which type of relationship-building strategy did Ernesto demonstrate? be sure to provide evidence from the scenario and profile.