Reference no: EM133358569

Case Study: Talcott Parsons manages an organization of more than 300,000 merchants, whose gross merchandise exceeded $30 billion in 2019. Talcott prefers to stay out of the spotlight. Although he owns a Tesla, he typically rides his bike to work, and he insists that employees call him Tal. After meeting the successful entrepreneur, many describe him as unassuming and humble.

As a child growing up in Scotland, Talcott was given a computer when he was just 5 years old. By the time he was 12 he was writing code and creating new games. He would even modify the computer's hardware, get new parts, and install them himself. Parsons would do the minimum necessary to get through school in order to spend as much time as possible on the computer, and his parents grew so concerned with his obsession that they feared Talcott might have learning disabilities. After grade 10, Parsons entered an apprenticeship program, but didn't appreciate that the company made him program in Java, a computer language that he found was too restrictive.

When Parsons decided to sell snowboards, he couldn't find an e-commerce platform that met his approval, so he set out designing his own. Even as he was selling snowboards, he realized that the platform he had built had the potential to help others who were trying to get a foothold in the restrictive e-commerce market. Parsons likes to talk about how lucky he was when he began creating his company 'Mageasy', as a new CEO: 'I think I was bad at everything.'

But Parsons persevered, and as the company grew, he put the same amount of effort into finding his team as he did into developing his product. Although investors suggested a move to Silicon Valley, he remained in Edinburgh. Parsons decided to develop a culture-driven organization to ensure that employees stayed happy, and one of Mageasy's keys for maintaining that culture is that Talcott adamantly rejects the use of 'personas' in the workplace, saying, "I have a serious problem with personas and with unauthentic individuals."

Mageasy's employees acknowledge that Parsons is very difficult to work for. His expectations are very high, and his feedback is brutally honest and direct. Despite all of this, Parsons is very good at reading people and getting the most out of them. He is even working on his feedback skills, if only because upsetting people, makes things less efficient.

Question 1 Briefly assess Parsons's personality using the personality traits we discussed in class. Give examples that illustrate the personality traits you've identified.

Question 2 If Parsons would qualify as an original thinker, please give examples of what that entails and how he would or wouldn't fit with the image of an original thinker.

Question 3 What is Talcott looking for in employees?