Morgan Stanley

Situation Analysis

Morgan Stanley was established in 1935 and is currently one of the leading investment banks in the USA whose goal was to establish a competitive advantage through the dedicated staff of Morgan Stanley. In 1993, John Mack became the president of Morgan Stanley and quickly developed a “One-Firm Firm” vision. The new vision aimed to enhance the overall culture by building a strong team environment which fostered innovation and encouraged professional growth through a promotion system. The system had a steep hierarchy for the consecutive career stages which outlined the professional skills and responsibilities for each position. In addition, the company implemented a 360-degree performance evaluation process to ensure all employees were held accountable for their performance.  Employees would be evaluated by all levels of professionals at the firm.  The process was intended to provide feedback on an individual’s strengths and weaknesses.

I am Paul Nasr and I was hired as a Senior Managing Director by Mack due to my reputation as a highly regarded banker in Morgan Stanley’s competing firm. With 20 years of experience in capital business market, I quickly assumed the leadership role in Capital Market services (CMS) for Morgan Stanley.  This group was created to assist the company in becoming more responsive to client needs. The principals and sales professionals that work for me are considered “entrepreneurs” with have their own client base. This was the major area where my company was weak in delivering the services to financial firms like banks and insurance companies.

In order to overcome this weakness and improve its market presence, I decided to hire Rob Parson who had worked for me in a different firm. I hired him as a “Principal” in Market coverage and felt he was the right person to improve the company’s standings on CMS based on his skills, large connectivity and behavior towards clients. I had even implied to Parson during recruitment...