Case Study Response

100 word response to each case study. 6 total response

Case 1 Alexandra Devries posted Jan 13, 2019 8:40 PM

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Key Issues:

Ashley, the new division president for Ultra Covers, is in charge of turning a profit for the division as it has been losing money for several years. Ashley has been using harsh language when talking to her employees about having to change things or they could lose their jobs.

Contributory Factors:

·Ashley worked 4 years as a manufacturing manager within the same company.

·She was then given an opportunity to be the division president of Ultra Covers. This division has been losing money for several years.

·After starting her new position, Ashley met with workers and managers within the division as well as major customers of their products.

·Ashley told some of the staff in her division that they would lose their jobs if things were not turned around.

·She wants sales to increase by 15% to which a sales manager responded it was unrealistic to think about achieving that.

·She then ordered expenses to be cut by 10% by adjusting thermostats, making double sided photocopies, and cutting back on the number of employees.

·After these discussions, Ashley heard that some of her staff were thought “her turnaround efforts appeared to be a little harsh” (Dubrin 2016).

·Ashley believes there are a lot of untapped customers to which their company can reach out to in order to increase sales. She sent out a motivational video to the division about this opportunity to inspire staff.

The Root Cause:

The root cause of Ashley being looked at as harsh is because she has to put deadlines on changes in order to help the division last. If they are not able to make a profit, the products will be outsourced, and the staff will lose their jobs. However, some of the expenses that Ashley wants to decrease seem to be unnecessary. Adjusting the thermostat may save some money, but it can also decrease productivity and staff in the office if it is too hot or cold. Ashley is worried about the future of her division and is willing to do whatever is necessary to help it thrive.

Solutions:

To start off, Ashley needs to understand that turning the division around will not happen overnight. Although she spent time meeting workers in her company, she has to show her staff she can be a transformational leader. She has to be candid about the company’s direction, but also encourage personal development of the staff to keep a positive attitude among them. She should not expect them to dramatically increase profits by “working harder”. This makes it seem as if they have not been working hard enough. They should gear their efforts towards more effective marketing strategies to try to gain more customers as she is aware of billions of potential customers that do not use their product, yet.

Advantages:

When you have a leader who has high expectations, it could encourage staff to think outside-the-box to figure out how to accomplish what needs to be done. Also, as a new boss it could give the staff motivation as she has new ideas and a new vision as to how the company should progress.

Disadvantages:

The disadvantages of having a supervisor that puts deadlines to accomplish tasks or risk being fired includes putting excess stress on the staff of an already failing division. One of the managers believes the task he was assigned is unrealistic, so it could cause a decrease in motivation as he knows he will not complete it.

Final Suggestions:

I would suggest the following:

1.Ashley needs to understand that transforming her division is not going to happen overnight. She needs to keep positivity and happiness among the staff even though their jobs may in jeopardy.

2.Being able to tap into the customers that could use their products to increase sales would be beneficial in the company turning a profit. This could be completed through more effective marketing instead of pushing the sales department to their limits.

Questions:

1.How successful do you think Ashley will be as a transformational leader at Ultra Cover?

I believe Ashley will be very successful as a transformational leader at Ultra Cover. She has high expectations for the department and is passionate in making sure it succeeds. She also has a vision already as to how to improve customer sales. She needs to work on her communication skills and being warmer with her staff, but it is a learning experience and I believe she will adapt well.

2. What might Ashley be doing right as a transformational leader?

As a transformational leader, Ashley is an innovative thinker and has a vision for her department. She also practices empowerment. She trusts different managers to control the sales and expenses of the department which are the 2 major components that determine how well the company is performing.

3. What suggestions might you offer Ashley to be more successful as a transformational leader?

I would suggest Ashley provides supportive leadership. She threatened one of her managers to increase the sales or he could lose his job. This also can be considered a lack of charisma. She is very blunt about what she is thinking, and she has to be able to be more encouraging of the staff and having emotional intelligence.

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Case 2 Antoinette Rucker posted Jan 15, 2019 11:46 PM

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Key Issues:

Tim is very enthusiastic about promoting motivational messages to increase productivity within his staff. Though I fear his positive outlook may come off a bit insincere; and to in your face. He posts messages to his staff’s social media pages, but not all of the messages are from the heart or genuine, some may even seem a bit overbearing. They’re not personalized so I think the messages may fall on deaf ears.

Contributory Factors:

·Tim inspirational messages are not personal to each individual employee, there blanket messages that do not display inspiring meaning to make the individual feel good about themselves.

·Tim feels his employees have really reached the plateau that he assumes they should be at, which is why he is going above and beyond to inspire them.

·Tim didn’t get the response he was hoping because what he perceives as him not motivating and inspiring his employees better, comes from him not putting his self out there enough to do so.

The Root Cause:

The root cause is Tim does not believe that his charisma is working well enough to inspire his employees to perform better. He thinks that he needs to motivate them more by posting inspirational messages to their social media pages, but he is not taking into consideration that not everyone responds the same to being motivated in particular ways.

Solutions:

First Tim needs to reconsider his approach and tailor his inspiration to individuals specifically that are not performing how he foresees they should be performing. If there is a staff member that looks as if they could use a boost and you know they like inspirational messages, then maybe he could send a few their way, but don’t bombard them with messages daily because them it can become bothersome and it could feel ingenuine. Secondly since he already checks on his employees by stopping by to see them and calling them on the phone, he could talk to them about what’s going on in their life, actually get to know his employees and learn ways they like to motivated, also learn what their goals are regarding their career in the company.

Advantages:

Tim has all the qualities of a good leader, he cares and genuinely wants his staff does well, he already is a leader who is approachable for his employees, and he is very engaged on the job. These qualities will serve him well because his employees know they can trust him and realize he actually motivates them to become better performers on the job.

Disadvantages:

The disadvantages of being a charismatic person can sometimes seem as if the reasoning behind the façade is fake. Tim’s message could come off like they’re just messages that are in place to get us to help the company make more money through our sales. They can seem as if they are not supportive messages, even though his heart is in the right place his message to inspire may not be garnering the correct response.

Final Suggestions:

I would suggest the following:

1.Tim needs to personalize his inspirational messages and tailor them to fit each individual employee, for instance instead of sending messages like if not you, who, perhaps he can say your added value to the team will not only ensure the company is winning, but this will increase your sales and put more money in your pocket.

2.He needs to build a rapport where they seem him as a leader who is not only engaging and mission-oriented but as a leader who was there back and is rooting for them to succeed.

Questions:

1.How effective do you think Tim’s posts are in terms of expressing his charisma?

I think they are somewhat effective, some employees appreciated his post on encouragement, but I think the others thought it may have been too much whereas he didn’t connect with everyone he intended too. He did not develop a synchrony with all the staff.

2.How effective do you think Tim’s post is for purposes of inspiring the sales representatives to sell more auto parts and supplies?

I do not think they were a very effective tool to increase sales for the auto supplies, they could be a great motivational tool if we were focused on life goals, but they did not raise people’s awareness on how to increase sales, and how increasing sale would be beneficial to the individuals.

3.What else do you recommend that Tim do to express his charisma via social networking websites?

I think he should incorporate small 1 min clips on YouTube where he can articulate where he foresees sales going, and explains his vision for getting them to this goal.

Reference:

DuBrin, A. J. (2013). The nature and importance of leadership. Leadership and Management in Criminal Justice (Custom Version 7e ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Case 3

Key Issues

Ashley has landed a new position as a division lead to a small and troubled unit. The division manufactures stylish covers for cell phones, smartphones, laptops, and tablet computers. Ultra Covers has been losing money for several years, so Ashley decided to convert Ultra Covers into a proud and profitable business unit (DuBrin, 2016).

Contributory Factors

*Ashley conducted a listening tour of the company, interacting with workers and managers at all levels of the division

*She also spoke with the major customers and several kiosk operators

*Ashley informed the manufacturing group that if they could not reduce manufacturing costs by 10 percent within six months, she might shut down domestic manufacturing and outsource all manufacturing to China.

*Ken was demanded by Ashley to produce a 15 percent jump in sales and if not he would jeopardize his job.

*Ashley ordered managers and supervisors to find ways to reduce division costs by 10 percent in the upcoming fiscal year.

The Root Cause

The Root Cause of the problem that Ashley is having from her new position stems from the downfall of the company before she took over this position. Ashley is being very tough on her staff and not giving them a chance to prove that they can do the adjustments needed to build the company to better standards.

Solutions:

Considering the fact that Ashley is new on the job she has to sit back and let the company run for a brief period so that she can see what is wrong and know what to fix. The changes that she is making immediately is not helping because she is diving head first without getting concise knowledge on what is going on. Ashley needs relax and breath and not make so many drastic choices that may affect her later.

Advantages:

The advantages of Ashley’s behavior are that she has set a plan on what she wants to do with the company and she is completing this plan to meet the company’s goal.

Disadvantages:

The disadvantages of this style of active proactive leadership can deter her workers from wanting to work at this company. It is a constant hardship to work somewhere and have so much pressure be administered to the individuals for something they have no control over.

Final Suggestions:

1.Ashley needs to think again and closely about her proactive engagement with her coworkers.

2.Secondly, she needs to sit back and let the company run itself for a while, then make the necessary corrections.

Questions

1.How successful do you think Ashley will be as a transformational leader at Ultra Cover?

Ashley is going to be great as a transformational leader at Ultra Cover she just needs to slow her pace down a little.

2.What might Ashley be doing right as a transformational leader?

Ashley has a game plan and is executing it effectively.

3.What suggestion might you offer Ashley to be more successful as a transformational leader?

To be a more successful transformational she must first examine the problem before you try to fix it.

Case 4 Carlisha Russell posted Jan 17, 2019 6:08 PM

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Key Issues:

Frank is the business development manager at a small firm that provides business process improvement solutions to federal, state, and local governments. Up until last year, the company had enough contracts to be profitable. (DuBrin, 2013) Frank hasn’t heard about any new contracts from his project managers in a year.

Contributory Factors:

·Big contracts have expired and have not yet been renewed.

·The company could lose money and be forced to lay off employees.

·The firm needs $1 million worth of new contract to stay afloat.

·Government spending is tight and there is no budget.

·Frank does not want to hear excuses as to why there are no new contracts.

The Root Cause:

Project manager Jennifer and Oliver are trying to explain to Frank the real reason why there are no new contract. The project managers know just like Frank that they need new contracts or their jobs can be at risk. Frank is worried at the possible risk of downsizing. He has communicated with his project managers, but is refusing to accept the reasoning for why it is hard to get new contracts. Frank is telling his project managers to make some new contracts happen, but he does not believe it is his responsibility to help.

Solution:

The firm needs to work on obtaining contracts from businesses outside of the government. They need to reach out to the state and federal agencies and work on starting new updated contracts with those businesses, so that they will not lose out. Frank needs to be a better listener and work on being a problem solver. If Frank wants to really help the firm, he will be a team player and help to obtain contracts or lead his managers to the new business.

Advantages:

The firm has other businesses they can do contracts with outside of the government. Frank as the development manager might have insight on new contracts. Everyone at the firm is willing to help the firm, they just don’t know where to start.

Disadvantages:

Frank is worried and discouraged about the future of the firm. His negative attitude is not helping with encouraging the project managers to obtain new contracts. He gave them a deadline that might not be obtained. Frank does not appear to want to help the project managers.

Final Suggestions:

I would suggest the following:

1.That the project managers focus on contracts with the state and federal businesses. The firm needs to come up with some incentives that would persuade companies to do business with them.

2.If Frank really cares about not having to downsize then he should be more of a team player. He needs to take his frustration and use it as an opportunity to help the firm. This could also be a training moment, by Frank helping he is showing his staff how to support in a time of need regardless of you title.

Questions:

1.Based on the limited evidence, how would you characterize Frank’s leadership style?

Frank appears to have an autocratic leadership style. Frank has told the managers what he expects of them and wants them to get in done within his set time frame.

1.What leadership behaviors and attitudes is Frank displaying?

Frank has high performance standards. He knows that its tough times right now, but he still expects his managers to get the job done. He knows that at the current time the task is tough, but he knows it still needs to be done.

1.How else might Frank approach his project managers about developing new business?

Frank needs to adapt to the situation, if he was better at adapting then I doubt he’d be as worried and frustrated about what’s to come. By adapting he will be able to set the direction for change and communicate what achievements he wants his staff to accomplish.

References

DuBrin, A. J. (2013). Leadership: Research Findings, Practice, and Skills. Mason: South Western, Cengage Learning.

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Case 5

Nancy McCurdy posted Jan 17, 2019 8:50 PM

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Key Issues:

Tricia works in a regional headquarters of an International Bank, as a human resource team leader. Tricia is a little too much business like and task oriented in her leadership position and wants to become more Facebook friendly with her staff of five. Tricia starts out posting about work related issues and is doing great. She starts to become more friendly and personal about her post and her staff members became feeling uncomfortable with her post.

Contributory Factor:

·Tricia is a human resource team leader for an International bank, with five staff members.

·Tricia states one of her post “I feel good about the response we are getting to our proposed wellness program” (DuBrin, 140).

·She starts to post more personal messages, which were making her staff feel uncomfortable.

·Tricia wants to improve her leadership skills to become a better human resource team leader.

The Root Cause:

The root cause of Tricia’s low response to her Facebook post was, Tricia as a team leader of a company was trying to build a relationship with her staff members but became too personal with them. Tricia needs to keep a work related relationship with her staff and kept it as that.

Solutions:

Keep her post work related, and post about their various task they are responsible for. As a team leader her bosses could see that she takes a possible refresher course on leadership and continue it every six months. Tricia could also do research herself on becoming a better team leader.

Advantages:

Everyone likes Tricia and works well with her. The new hires for the office is working out great and turning out above average performances. Good responses about the proposed wellness program.

Disadvantages:

Personal posts Tricia has been posting to her staff members are making them feel uncomfortable with her personal content in them. Tricia wanted to build a more relationship with her staff but with her personal post she began to push them away with them feeling uncomfortable.

Final Suggestions:

I would suggest the following:

1.There needs to be more group meetings with a suggesting time to open up for new ideas and issues. Topics that were work related could be brought up and talked about how to better the company and if there are any problems that need to be dealt with instead of Tricia getting on Facebook and announcing it in a post. If there is any personal issues that need to be addressed then they should be in person and in Tricia’s office to be addressed. There could be more office events scheduled between Tricia and her staff members to build a closer relationship so the office does not become impersonal and low morale.

Questions:

1.What would you advise Tricia to do about future posts of a personal nature to the team?

As a team leader Tricia should limit what she post with her team of workers. Once the line is crossed with bass and team workers it can become uncomfortable for all involved. If issues arise with the team worker/friend it can be very awkward if you have to reprimand or fire them. With building a close personal relationship with a worker, others may look at it as they may be getting special treatment, which can lower self-esteem and morale in the work place. Tricia’s post should remain work related. It is ok to post pictures and commits if they are from the workplace and work related.

1.Which one or two relationship-oriented behaviors does Tricia appear to be exaggerating?

Tricia wants to improve her leadership skills so she can try to pull everyone in the same direction in applying the “Aligning people” behavior. Tricia is also displaying the “Openness” behavior and the “Opinion” behavior to her staff members, displaying in her post about her boyfriend and their issues. Also she could be displaying a “Servant behavior” with her wanting to help others in the workplace.

1.If your team leader sent you a post about his or her team leadership role and your potential friendship, how would you respond?

I would graciously decline a personal outing with my boss, as not to look unprofessional in other coworkers’ eyes. I would want to keep it on a professional standing as not to feel uncomfortable with other staff members. Usually bosses and workers cannot form a true friendship like as the same coworkers with same states in work. Some may expect special treatment from the boss who is their friend.

Case 6 Tisha Arther posted Jan 17, 2019 9:12 PM

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Frank Won’t Accept “We Can’t” for an Answer

Leadership Case Problem A

Key Issues:

Frank, business development manager at a small firm, is running out of government contracts to stay afloat. Up until last year, the company was profitable with contracts (DuBrin, 2013). Frank is concerned that his four project managers are not putting forth the effort to gain more contracts. Frank has also grown inpatient causing him to be very authoritative and assertive with the project managers without offering real solutions to the problem.

Contributory Factors:

· Government spending has tightened up.

· The government agency does not have money in the budget.

· Project managers need help for a new direction for ascertaining contracts.

· Project managers are full of excuses.

· Project managers need to work harder.

· There must be a deadline for project managers to negotiate a contract within 6 months.

The Root Cause:

The root cause of Frank’s dilemma is the fact that his project managers are full of excuses. It was easy to report to Frank reasons why they could not ascertain a government contract than it was to provide Frank with innovative ideas to earn a new contract. Perhaps, Frank is too stressed to think rationally about gaining a new contract. Frank is not a participative leader; however, he is an autocratic leader who retains most of the authority (DuBrin, 2013). Frank makes demands and assume that project managers would comply and appears to be not overly concerned with their excuses about rectifying their situation.

Solutions:

A sanguine approach to Frank’s financial crisis would be: sharing decision making with project managers and working with group members side by side like a participative leader would do (DuBrin, 2013). Frank’s project managers asked for assistance in pointing them in a new direction for ascertaining contracts. Frank’s response was in discouragement. Given that a major responsibility of leadership is to produce change, Frank must set the direction of that change because direction setting is part of creating a vision and a component of strategy (DuBrin, 2013). The project managers did not receive that support from Frank.

Advantages:

Having an autocratic leader such as Frank is beneficial because he is task-oriented. These types of leaders also place heavy emphasis on getting the mission accomplished. DuBrin (2013) posits typical autocratic leaders include directing employees, asserting authority, and serving as a model for team members to emulate. Frank offered to assist with solutions, but made it very clear that he did not want to do the project manager’s jobs.

Disadvantages:

The disadvantages of having an autocratic leader like Frank is that the motivational style is negative. Conflict arises easily when there is autocratic leadership due to added pressure and frustration in the atmosphere. Sometimes managers such as Frank are poor motivators, and employees like the project managers under Frank, would exemplify a lack of creativity and judgment in return.

Final Suggestions:

I would suggest the following:

Frank must become a participative leader. He must also empower his project managers. DuBrin (2013) highlights the participative leadership style encompasses the teamwork approach. It appears as if Frank is just barking out orders with no real guidance for the solution to their million-dollar problem. My final suggestion for Frank is to work on being a servant leader during difficult times. He should listen first to project managers to express confidence in them. DuBrin (2013) posits the servant leader makes a deep commitment to listening in order to get to know the concerns, requirements, and problems of project managers. I felt that Frank was not trying to listen thoroughly to the project managers due to his frustration and a low tolerance level.

Questions:

1. Based on the limited evidence, how would you characterize Frank’s leadership style?

I would characterize Frank’s leadership style as autocratic because he is very authoritative and assertive. Frank offers no insight; Frank only makes demands.

2. What leadership behaviors and attitudes is Frank displaying?

Frank is displaying a controlling leadership grid. Frank expect results and take control by stating a course of action, “I don’t care which one pulls it off, but I want one new pending contract for my approval within six months”. Frank enforces rules that sustain high results and do not permit deviation, “I’ve heard enough excuses”.

3. How else might Frank approach his project managers about developing new business?

Frank should approach his project managers about developing new business by giving emotional support and encouragement to his project managers because they did ask for guidance. Frank should also exemplify the ability to ask tough questions. According to DuBrin (2013) leaders an be effective by asking tough questions rather than providing answers because a tough question is one that makes a person or group stop and think about why they are doing or not doing something.

Reference:

DuBrin, A. J. (2013). Leadership: Research findings, practice and skills (7th ed.). Mason,

OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning.

 

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