Case Studies Chapter S 3-7 - Written Assignment: A Case Study On Leadership, July 10-16 PDF

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MPA3260-01 – Leadership Written assignment July 10-16

CHAPTER 3 Case study 3.1

Q.1 Considering the skilled approach Dr. Wood's leadership style is knowledge-based, and to some extent has problem-solving abilities. He lacks the social judgment aspect of his leadership. He is not able to recognize the social problems of his team, what motivates the team, with what they are struggling. I would say that the team even is overwhelmed with the knowledge expertise of Dr. Wood as it does not allow him to see beyond his own capabilities. Lack of proper social judgment may come from lack of experience in this area. He has earlier worked independently or with few researches. He was never in a team management setting. Being focused on his own knowledge and capabilities to solve the struggling project, I do not believe the project will be a success. It will be accomplished but it will leave a lot of disappointment and frustration behind. Q.2 At this point of his career, I believe Dr. Wood does not have skills that would make him a successful leader in team management setting, though he is a very recognized researcher, leader in his expertise area. He learned to work independently and never earlier has a need to develop his social skills. Q.3 In the first place I would work on his social judgment skills, and then problem-solving skills. In terms of social judgment skills, the point that should be talked through with Dr. Wood the most is

MPA3260-01 – Leadership Written assignment July 10-16

the ways he views the team and its team members. He believes as they are struggling that he is the only one that can accomplish the task. He does not believe in other capabilities, as he does not fully understand his role as a leader. He is there to support them and give guidance, not resolve all the tasks for the group. Issues with problem-solving skills are indirectly connected to the social judgment skills. Dr. Wood solves the problem only on the surface by finding new funds. He does not look through the perspective of team members motivation, so even though he thinks, he solved the issue, the project will be still in regression. Case study 3.2 Q1. Lieutenant Colonel Adams meet the challenges in base on the technical and human level. The biggest issue was with the challenges on the conceptual level, that require more strategic and forecasting thinking, especially when the circumstances of the environment changed. It was clearly seen in his response to the tasks he was given. He did what he was required. He did not make own assumptions and plans. Q2. As mentioned above, when the tasks were regular and there was no dynamic change he was doing fine. When the situation rapidly changed he was not able to handle the management. He did not prepare to have a backup plan. I also can assume that he was trying to solve all the issues on his own, instead of reporting critical problems. He was trying to save his face.

MPA3260-01 – Leadership Written assignment July 10-16

Q3. I would tell him that when preparing a plan, it is important to consider a few versions to be prepared for any change. Also, it is important to remember that alerting struggling at some point is not an indication of weakness but of conscious decisions and help resolve problems before they would lead to a disaster. Case study 3.3 Q1. The thing that accounts the most for Andy's successful restaurant is his social judgment skills, that can be noticed not only when treating his employees but also clients. He can build bonds and relations with people, yet at some point due to that, he can be used. Also, people know what to expect in his restaurant, as he runs it the same way as it was 25 years ago. People like to know what they can expect, they feel comfortable in their safe zone. Q2. Kelly – she is a person that has the knowledge and great competencies to do her job, her weakness is the capability to cooperate with people. That can cause problems within the restaurant's team, as she seems to work effectively on her own than with a team. Danielle – she is passionate about the place and the people there, so definitely she has great social skills. The biggest problem that she has is with the technical/knowledge part of the skills. In terms of a restaurant, these are the numbers that are quite important for a profitable run of the restaurant.

MPA3260-01 – Leadership Written assignment July 10-16

Patrick – he has the knowledge skills, he seems to be a reliable worker but he does not follow Andy's philosophy of treating clients with respect and joy. He has issues on the human part of his skills, he lacks motivation, engagement. Q3. Andy, for sure have the technical and social skills that allow him to keep the place at a decent, profitable level. Also, because he creates a very supportive environment for his workers and believes in them his overall performance and outcomes allow him to remain on the market. However, he does not think much about the future, so he lacks the conceptual thinking. He does not look at the little hints like: "they just came here because the other restaurant did not allow them to bring own cake". If the situation would be different they would not come to him, and that could be the turning point for which he is not prepared. His leadership is good to maintain the status quo, but if there would come a change, without these conceptual skills his restaurant would start to struggle. CHAPTER 4 Case study 4.1 Q1. & Q2. Mark's leadership was situational and dependent on the goals he has assigned for each stage of his leadership. He has made a review of the team's performance and because it was not efficient enough he decided to be more task-oriented to reach planned outcomes. For that moment his leadership was more in the grid for authority-compliance management. When over the time he reached the goals, he decided to be more relationship oriented and his leadership would be in the

MPA3260-01 – Leadership Written assignment July 10-16

grid: team management He noticed the benefits of engaging people in participation, that builds commitment in their work. Q3. Through the experience, he gained in this role I would say that at this point he is more relationship oriented. In the beginning, he wanted to achieve results, but as he noticed that the team is doing its job, he noticed that there is no need for being so strict and more softened approach to people will still be efficient. When he would need to achieve one more time certain goals I believe this time he would stay with the relationship orientation. Q4. I think it would be at this point 9,9. Case study 4.2 Q1. Susan's leadership is very task-oriented, so she in the authority-compliance management. She provides all the task and goals, she does not leave much space for own employee's creativity and ability to score. She builds a clear vision of work that employees need to accomplish. She believes that if they will be working as hard as she, they will feel also successful and fulfilled. Q2. They do not see in Susan the human side of her, which might create ambiguity and insecurity toward her. That creates a stressful, tight working atmosphere.

MPA3260-01 – Leadership Written assignment July 10-16

Q3. Because of her leadership style and attitude to work she started to struggle also in her personal life, so she should change her behavior as at some point she will start to be less efficient and will be dealing with problems not only at work but also at home. Q4. I believe she would be effective if she would change but not from the start. The would need to go off sometime before her team would recognize her change as something positive and not suspicious. Also, I believe that due to her personality the best would be to go into middle-of-theroad management. She does not seem like a person that likes to build bonds at work, so keeping it at a moderate level should allow for a healthier environment. Case study 4.3. Q1. Marianne has a more a country-club management and Betsy – I would ascribe to team management style. Q2. I think that Marianne is the one who should work more on her leadership style as she is the one that actually creates a disturbance in Betsy's team. Her ‘friendly' behavior toward these two young employees causes a lack of respect for Betsy and as a result, she cannot be effective. Q3. Betsy and Marianne would be able to work together if Marianne would change her approach by cutting herself from the relationship with these two women. She should draw a strong line

MPA3260-01 – Leadership Written assignment July 10-16

between personal and work relations, and the most important she should support more Betsy, not only in their conversations. She should support her authority in front of the team. CHAPTER 5 Case study 5.1 Q1. Runners in the group 1 need a full support and full guidance as this is their first run. They do not know what to expect on various topics, so they require from the leader that he will give them this guidance. According to SLII model, they would need the S2 style – coaching, high directive, high supportive. The coach was more prepared to give them a more supportive leadership (S3), with low- directive guidance. Q2. It seems that group 2 and the coach are perfect for each other. David found himself in a perfect environment. He feels comfortable to give embrace and give support. He is happy that he is working with people on the same knowledge level and what they need from him is some cheer up. Q3. Group 3 is an example of people on D4 level, which means, that they do not need a directive style. They know what and how they need to do. They just needed a partner to discuss some concerns, not even connected to this run. They did not want a running guidance which was giving them David. Therefore, they felt a bit disappointed with David's coaching methods. For them he was not addressing their needs, so they were not interested in talks with him.

MPA3260-01 – Leadership Written assignment July 10-16

Q4. David's strengths are his knowledge and experience, energy to motivate and support people. David's weaknesses, he tends to choose favored people to work with, he does not have the patience for people that need more direction and support. He requires people to already have some knowledge and he does not know how to address stronger needs for direction. I would suggest him to look at the team he coaches and to get know each member to see the different needs that team have. I would show him in the example of group 2 the reasons why got so well with them. I would discuss with him why he goes toward the similarities, but why it is important to him as a leader to be fair and learn about supporting the differences. Case study 5.2 Q1. & Q2. I would recognize his leadership style as supporting. His group of managers is experienced so they have a high competency, but because this is another similar training they have a strong lack of motivation. According to the SLII model, it is D3 level. Q3. Jim assumed that because these are managers with a certain experience they understand the goal that is behind the seminar. That he does not have to encourage them to participate to achieve the goal. Instead, he is just trying to make a more sociable environment, that does the opposite to the manager's motivation. They feel even less obliged to do the training.

MPA3260-01 – Leadership Written assignment July 10-16

Q4. Previous trainings were not productive so maybe there was not enough directive guidance to show the goal of the training. Maybe instead of being so supportive, sociable, the trainer should be more directive so the managers would not feel that they are wasting their time. Case study 5.3 Q1. & Q2 Students are very excited to work at the radio but have no experience or knowledge. They require a directive approach from the leader to understand the work at the radio station and all the consequences of their behavior. Ann is too soft in terms of the directions, and spend too much time on the supportive side, while the students do not need it. She should focus more on the goal and aim of their work there. Why it is important to follow the rules. Q3. Instead of giving handouts to the student she could organize a seminar at FCC that would help understand students the importance of proper airtime communication. CHAPTER 6 Case study 6.1 Q1. Art and Bob have problems with leadership on their shift because they did not make a proper recognition of the task characteristics and their employees characteristic, especially their needs

MPA3260-01 – Leadership Written assignment July 10-16

and motivations that would allow them to achieve the goal. Art has workers that need supportive style because their job is monotonous. Instead, he is very directive. Bob is giving too much support and not enough directions, whereas employees need guidance from him. Q2. Art’s leadership makes people bored with their job, they do not have any engagement and they do not feel any obligation to do the job right. Bob’s workers are motivated but they do not have enough reassurance about their work. They feel very frustrated and stressed and that can lead to a decrease in their motivation. Carol's leadership encourages and motivates people to work at a high level. Q3. It seems that a change of leaders for shift 1 and 2 between Art & Bob could help. Art would be able to help workers in the second shift with their directive needs, and Bob would be able to address the supportive needs of the 1 st shift as he is more supportive. Within Carol, I would discuss her ability to support people to be aware of different types of leaderships and still encourage them to do their goals. Case Study 6.2 Q1. & Q2. & Q3 David is an effective leader because he has properly recognized the characteristics of the task that each area of this copy center has and assigned accurately workers to it. Also, due to his behavior – supportive and encouraging for repetitive tasks ad giving independency for more complex tasks allow his employees to be satisfied and accomplish the goals. David responds

MPA3260-01 – Leadership Written assignment July 10-16

exactly to the needs of each employee – having a leader that knows what motivates you and give the support or space to do the task gives them motivation to the job as a response to him. Q4. Daniel knows how to build relationships with his employees and that allows him to know them better. He understands the advantages and disadvantages of each task. He knows when to be supportive and sociable, but what he is missing is the talks about the rewards and benefits. Because of his behaviors and acts people want to be thankful and are motivated, but they would be even more if they were aware of the benefits they can get, like promotion. That would improve the follower's motivations. Case study 6.3 Q1. Elementary school group – the goal for this group is to get the kids engaged with learning to play the instrument, get to know the more about playing in the orchestra. The main obstacle is that the kids never played an instrument earlier and it is more fun for them than a real task to accomplish. She is very supportive and sociable that creates an atmosphere of encouragement instead of forcing. Middle school group – the goal for this group is to leverage them with their playing skills. Here, Martina is a bit more directive but she shows her students the reward that is behind their hard work. High school group – the goal is to keep the students interested in playing in the orchestra and advance them with such a career. The main obstacle is motivating students again to see the

MPA3260-01 – Leadership Written assignment July 10-16

potential in playing in the orchestra. Here Martina is too much directive, does not focus on the supportive and motivating part of her leadership. Q2. & Q3. Martina is successful with the elementary and middle group because she has properly recognized capability of each group to perform the task and made the goal achievable for them, which motivates them. Within the middle group, she even went further, as she created clear rules of achieving rewards, what made the middle group even more engaged. Martina was not able to meet the needs of the high school group, despite being a great musician as she did not present to them the value for activity. The students did not saw the connection between activity and goal, where the realization of it would lead to a benefit. This might be caused by her own experiences, as she also did not fully realize the goal and reward coming along with it, that she planned for herself. Q4. I think that the achievement-oriented leadership style should be presented to the high school group. This group needs to sustain their current productivity in a long-term and they need more motivation support than only guidance. CHAPTER 7 Case study 7.1 Q1. Carly's leadership is focused on her own well-being and not the goals of the agency. She has created an in-group but not for the purpose of achieving the company's goals. I think what is

MPA3260-01 – Leadership Written assignment July 10-16

even worse, is that she gives a fake support and guidance to the two young ladies. They are an easy target for her, they are susceptible to influence. That creates a lot of disturbance in the agency. Q2. Definitely, Jack's group is in the in-group circle and Sarah's team is for sure in the out-group circle. Terri's and Julie's team, I would say are somewhere in between, although with a direction to be in the out-group circle. Q3. Carly’s behavior is counterproductive because when the teams that are not in the in-group but still not part of the out-group will become less effective at some point because of lack of being appreciated. That will cause her difficulties in achieving the goal of being the best agency. You can be the best when not all your team members are doing their best work. Q4. Carly should change her behavior. She should go back to the goal of her agency and start to be more fair and equal for each team. Create clear rules for the team, maybe assign accounts to each team. Case study 7.2 Q1. Her leadership can be described as embracing equality and fairness. She focuses on the performance of the team and goals instead of her preferences and similarities she may have with some employees. She wants all her employees to be part of in-group, she does not want anyone

MPA3260-01 – Leadership Written assignment July 10-16

to be excluded, even if a person might not be interested in having a stronger relationship with her as a leader. She wants each person to understand and know the value that is bringing to the company. Q2. I believe that employees have a positive attitude toward Jenny. Each of them can be motivated to do the extra mile for her as she definitely knows how to embrace the effort of each employee she has exemplified that on the annual holiday party. Probably there might some employees that feel ok about her style but maybe they would like to have a different type of reward and that brings to the lack of social aspect of her leadership. Q3. I think I would follow in her footsteps. Maybe I would try to be a bit more social to know better the employees. That would allow me to know more about their needs, motivations. Case study 7.3 Q1. & Q2. & Q3. Jim at the social administration office tries to have good relationships with everyone, he tries to be fair but to achieve own goals he favors few workers. That at some point might create counterproductive behaviors as he does not focus on group goals and mission but on his own. They are already some workers that feel uncomfortable with his leadership style, and if he will not address that matter it will create a strong out-group. At this moment I would not identify a strong division for in-group and out-group. Q4.

MPA3260-01 – Leadership Written assignment July 10-16

In terms of leadership making theory Jim's leadership I would describe at the level of acquaintance, which means that with his favored workers he builds a medium quality relationship. ...