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Leadership Management
Total Marks: 100
Attempt any 5 cases
CASE 1
The
year 2002 will surely be remembered as the anus horrible of business. It was a time of tumult and
reassessment, high drama and low comedy. Corporate crime 0and greed were spectacularly
exposed in companies that had once been praised, run by executives
who had once been trusted. It
was The year Enron set new vots in corporate
ethics, while World Com broke records for the size of its bankruptcy. It was also
the year we learned the Rigas Family my have defrauded Adelphia Communications of some $1
Billion, Bernie Ebbers Borrowed $408 million
from World Com, and Samuel Waksal urged his daughter and father to trade on inside
information he gave them about ImClone Systems Inc. Andrew Fastow, ex-chief
financial offer at Enron Faces no
fewer than 78 felony charges. The outside auditors and the supposedly independent directors,
they pleaded ignorance.
Chief Executives seemed startled by the ridicule, distrust,
and outright contempt they faced. At the same time, they had to contend with an economy that edged
ever-so-slowly toward a recovery but kept falling short. If
ever there was a year to examine the many ways in which managers succeed –
and fail – this was it.
The
best executives responded by providing more information about company operations to dispel suspicions and they got
back to work. Some- Andrea
Jung at Avon, A.G.Laftley at Procter & Gamble, and Robert Tillman at Lowe’s
– even managed to excel, despite the extremely trying conditions. Others, however, such as jack Greenberg, the abruptly replaced head of McDonald’s, and jean-Married
messier, the ex-chief of Vivendi Universal, were unable to outrun their problems. They were not alone: We’ve included more than a dozen new executives
who have taken over major companies in 2002.
In
a year as turbulent as this one, we decided to take a new approach to
our annual wrap- up of the year’s best managers. Along with the best, we’ve also looked
closely at the worst executives, the fallen, the indicted (and those under fire), and managers to watch in
the year to come. Many of the names are familiar. Last year, for example, we called Dennis Kozlowski
one of the best managers of 2001, citing his ability to head Tyco International through
a recession that flattened most of its counterpart. What we didn’t see was that the company
was struggling to keep up appearances as investigators were eyeing Kozlowski. Now you
can find him in the section called Prep Walk.
Two Years ago we praised Sandy Weill at Citigroup for making
the huge financial
firm his own, elbowing
out his co-chief executive and installing his number-obsessed loyalists in key
positions. With City enmeshed in
almost every scandal to hit Walt Street in 2002, we named Weill one of
the worst.
Business
Week surveyed its staff of some 144 writers and editors
in New York and in 21 areas around the world to decide whose performance should be lauded
and who deserved a different kind of renown.
Question
1. If you were to select the “Best” and the “Worst” corporate
leaders, what would be some objective criteria that you would use in this selection process?
2. Choosing one of the traditional theories of leadership,
what criteria would you use in the selection process?
3. Why is this such a defining time for assessing corporate
leadership? Which leadership theory would be most relevant and applicable to understanding and
developing effective corporate leaders in today’s environment? Why?
CASE 2
Mention
the word leadership in reference to CFOs and it often conjures up the
names of people such as Curly Farina
of HP or some other chief executive of one of America’s most
admired firms. However, there are many effective leaders who are not well known but are
considered extremely effective. A good example is Steve
Wynn, Whose face is known to
millions from his television advertising appearances but
otherwise goes unrecognized.
Steven
Wynn is head of Mirage Resorts Inc., an empire that consists mainly
of upscale resort hotels in Las
Vegas and over the next few years, other cities in Nevada, New Jersey,
and Mississippi. To most people who are familiar with his face, he is an advertising pitchman who urges
viewers to come out to one of his
casinos. However, Wynn is a lot more than this. He has taken bold risks to build his casino empire
and has always been an astute risk
taker. During the 1980s he linked up with the infamous “junk bond king”
Michael Milken and used junk bonds
to finance his rise in the casino business. Then, when interest
rate subsided, he replaced the troubled bonds with lower interest securities.
At
the same time Wynn has shown that he can be very effective in managing in-house operations. One of the key areas
on which he focuses a great deal of attention is employee
relations. He contends that “you can never go wrong indulging your employees. “Throughout
the company, personnel are given “Gotcha Awards,, “which usually entail
an extra day off or a gift certificate . These awards are given
simply for doing their jobs in a
highly competent manner. As Wynn’s director of human resoures at
the Las Vegas Mirage puts it, “We reward the ordinary, not
just the extraordinary.” In
addition, employees at the Mirage
are given fresh, free meals in the hotel’s gleaming new cafeteria, which
is in sharp contrast to employees at other hotels, who are typically fed
with leftovers form the gust buffet. Moreover, Employees and Supervisors of the year are treated to Hawaiian
vacations and a lavish banquet that costs upward of $400,000.
Wynn’s winning approach also extends to day-to-day work
activities. His hotels operate under a system that uses “planned insubordination.” This unusual approach
requires supervisors to explain to subordinates why a task should be accomplished.
And if the workers find that the explanation is unsatisfactory,
they are not
required
to do that job. Do the personnel like this idea? They might
be given than turnover at Wynn’s operations runs around 12 percent annually, whereas it is twice this
for the industry at large. In addition, Jobs at the Mirage are so coveted that employees are willing to work there for pay that is at or below market rates. And although 40 percent of the
workers belong to unions, not a single grievance has been filed against the company in more than four years.
On
the other side of the coin, some people complain that Wynn’s leadership style can be offensive.
He has been accused of erupting
into anger and launching verbal
assaults at subordinates over minor matters such as a burned-out light bulb or a dirty ash-tray. He explains these behaviors
by noting, ‘’I’ve always been emotional and passionate. I guess it’s a fear that I’ll become isolated and not know
what’s going on.” Outsiders who have worked with him simply say that he
wasn’t to get things done immediately and that his passion becomes almost maniacal at times,
resulting in his outbursts.
Regardless
of the strengths and weakness of his leadership style, Wynn has
built a successful empire. One reason may have been explained best by an expert on the gaming business who
remarked, “I see Steve on the Wynn
as the prototypical charismatic leader, a kind of Henry Ford of the
gambling industry. Yet he has these
ticks, and he wants to make everything perfect. He many scream at you and humiliate you, but he’s also the best person to work for, if you want to learn to do things
the right way.’’
Question
1.
It terms of the various leadership styles described in the chapter, how would
you describe
Steve
Wynn?
2.
If you were making any suggestions to him regarding how he could improve
his leadership
Style, what would
you tell Wynn?
3.
Which of the three major skills would be of most value to Wynn?
CASE 3
Rex Justice is a long-tem
employee of the Car fax Corporation, and for the last several
years he has been a supervisor
in the financial section of the
firm. Hi is very loyal to Car fax and works hard to follow the company
policies and the orders
of the managers above him. In
fact, upper-level management think very highly of
him; they can always count
or Rex to meet any sort of demand that the company places on him. He is valued and well liked by
all
the top managers. His employees in the financial section have the opposite opinion
of Rex. They feel that hi is too concerned with pleasing the upper-level brass and not really
concerned enough with the needs
and concerns of the
employees in his department. For example, they feel that Rex never really
pushes hard enough for a
more substantial slice of the budget. Relative
to other departments in the company,
they feel they are underpaid and overworked. Also,
whenever one of them goes to Rex with a new
idea or suggestion for improvement, he always seems to have five reasons
why it can’t be done. There is considerable dissatisfaction in the department, and everyone thinks
that Rex is just a puppet for management. Performance has begun to suffer because of this style and leadership. Upper-level management seems to be oblivious
to the situation in the finance
section.
Question
1. How would you explain
Rex’s leadership style in terms of one
or more of the approaches discussed in the chapter?
2. What advice would you given Rex to improve
his approach to leadership?
3. Could a leadership training program be set up to help Rex? What would it
consist of?
CASE 4
In 1981, johns W. Welch,
Jr., become CEO of General Electric.
His appointment ushered in an
era of disdain for the
elaborate planning and centralized control
that had been the hallmark
of his predecessor. Reginald JONES, “Jones felt the other would be
caretakers” , says one former
GE vice president, “Welch was the
one who would take the company in radical
directions if necessary.”
Indeed, Welch has proved to be anything
but a caretaker. He
quickly articulated a plan to
change GE from manufacturing company deriving more than half its revenues
from heavy industry
to one reaping a larger share of
its earnings from technology and services. He also
stated that GE would sell those of its businesses that weren’t first or second
in their market.
Since becoming CEO, Welch has sold
more than 250 businesses and used $20 billion to
purchase more than 300 new ones.
Among the acquisition are the RCA Corporation, the Employers
Reinsurance company, 80 per
cent of Kidder, Peabody
& Company, the medical equipment
Business of Thomson SA, the appliance making Roper Corporation and the chemical
business of the Borg Warner Corporation. In the process, he has eliminated more than 20,0000 jobs through forced
retirements, layoffs, resignations and outright divestitures.
His Moves have caused revenues
to increase by 50 per
cent –up to about $70 billion. Admirers say that Welch has
vision and is transforming GE from
a Stogy bureaucracy to a nimble
company much more fit for
the challenges ahead. He
was named “CEO of the year” by the
American Management Association in 1991.
Detractors have dubbed
Welch “Neutron jack”,
after the bomb that
destroys people but leaves
buildings intact.
A notorious dislike of bureaucracy and red tape.
Welch has cut layers
of management, eliminating the group and sector levels that once fell between the heads of the
various businesses and the CEO. Having fewer hierarchical levels fit in with his basic philosophy that managers
should have the freedom
to run their businesses as they see fit and to the fast changing
environment.
“The early 80s were
a hardware decade,
getting the right
stuff in the right
place,” Welch says. “The 90s and late 80s are
what we call software. We’re working
desperately to get everyone
participating in the process.
To be a winner in the 90s, you have got to have the creativity of everybody in the organization.”
To that end, Welch has recently identified four types of leaders. Type one leaders
deliver on commitments and share in the values
of the company. Such leaders have a promising future at GE says Welch. Type Two leaders do not
deliver on commitments and do
not share company values. These leaders will not survive
at GE. Type Three leaders miss commitments but share company values, so they
will usually be given a second chance.
Type four leaders deliver
on commitments, make all the
numbers, but do not ‘share in the values
we must have,’ says Welch. The type four leaders “is the individual who typically forces performance out of
people rather than inspires it: the autocrat, the big shot, the tyrant. Too often, all of
us have looked the other way,’’ according to Welch. The tendency is to
allow Type Four managers to continue
to function “because
they always deliver
“- at least in the short
run”. Now says Welch, “in an environment where we must have every good idea from every man
and woman in the organization, we cannot afford management styles that suppress and intimidate.”
In order to further
promote creativity and innovation, Welch has
been advocating the development of a “boundary less” company, in which workers at all levels are encouraged to communicate and share ideas
with one another.
He has also instituted the Best Practices
Program, in which GE employees study the attitudes and management practices
of other admirable companies
and adapt the best for
use at GE. Another means of
fostering change is GE’s
Work-out Program, in which
managers and their subordinates meet in a forum similar
to New England town meeting and seek ways to
eliminate unnecessary work and
solve problems together.
According to Welch,
“Leadership starts with absolute integrity. Leaders need to define and communicate their vision. They must have enormous energy and the ability to energise
and excite others. Leaders embrace
change, they know it
creates opportunities. Leaders
are accountable and decisive. They set and meet aggressive targets. They act sooner
rather than later o issues.” He
noted recently, “I don’t know
what the world’s going to be; all I Know is
it’s going to be nothing
like it is today. It’s going to be faster:
information is going to be everywhere.” As a result, he says
everyone at GE needs to come to work
each day “on the razor’s
edge of a competitive battle.”
Questions
1.
Analyst the sources of power that are likely to be used by the
four types of leaders identified by
Welch.
2. Use path goal theory to analyze W
CASE 5
Lisa
Weber never doubted that she would be a partner in her Wall Street firm.
A graduate of a prestigious business school, with a doctorate in economics,
she taught briefly at a major university. She was the first woman hired as a market
analyst in her well-regarded firm. Within two years, she had become
one of four senior portfolio managers
reporting directly to a senior partner. Her clients give
her the highest commendations for
her outstanding performance, and over the past two years, she has brought
in the largest number of new
accounts to the firm.
Despite
the admiration of her colleagues and their seeming acceptance of
her, there is a disturbing, if flattering, aspect to her job. Most of her peers and some
of the partners visit her office during the day to discuss in private her opinions
on market performance and financial projections. She enjoys these
private her sessions but is dismayed that at the weekly staff meetings the CEO, Michael Brayer, usually says
something like, “Okay, let’s get
started and bring Lisa knows as much as they do about what’s going
on in the firm. She never protests this slight to her competence and knowledge of firm business,
nor does she mention the almost
daily private meetings where her advice is sought. As the only woman
on the executive level, she prefers to be considered a team player and “one
of the boys.”
During
the past year, one of her peers was promoted to partner, although
Lisa’s performance clearly surpassed
his, as measured by the success of
her account and the amount of new business she brought
to the firm. Having heard no mention
of partnership for herself, “you’re doing great, Lisa, but what
happens if you are a partner and you make a huge mistake? How would you
take it? And what about our clients? There never been a female partner
in the 103 years of our firm.”
Shortly
thereafter, another woman, Pamela Tobias, was hired as a marketeering analyst. Once, when
the CEO saw Lisa and Pamela together,
he called out to the man, “Hey, Guys, two woman in
one room. That’s scary.”
During the next six months, Lisa meets several times
with the CEO to make her case for a
partnership on the basis of her performance. She finally realizes
that there is no possibility of change in the foreseeable future and makes
a decision to leave and from her own investment firm.
Question
1.
Which advancement barriers and patterns apply to Lisa’s situation?
2.
What could Michael Brayer do differently to retain and support Lisa more
effectively?
3. What could Lisa do
differently to foster her own advancement?
4.
What could the organization provide to support and develop Lisa’s and Pamela’s effectiveness?
5. What could the organization
provide to raise the gender consciousness of Michael
Breyer and Lisa’s male colleagues?
CASE 6
Every
Year, Dr. Cook, a college professor, leads a group of 25 college
student to the Middle East on an archaeological dig that
usually lasts about 8 weeks. The participants, who come from big and small colleges throughout the country, usually
have little knowledge or background in what takes place during an
excavation. Dr. Cook enjoys leading these expeditions because he likes teaching
students about archaeology and
because the outcome of the digs
actually advances his own scholarly work.
While
planning for his annual summer excavation, Dr. Cook told the
following story:
This
summer will be interesting because I have
10 people returning from last year. Last year seemed lost, unmotivated, and tired.
In fact, there was time early on when it seemed as if nearly half the students
were either physically ill or
mentally exhausted. Students seemed
lost and uncertain about the meaning
of the entire project.
For
example, it is our tradition to get up every morning at 4:30 a.m. to Depart
for the excavation site at
5:00 .M. However,
during the first weeks of the dig, few people were ever ready at 5, even
after several reminders.
Every
year it takes some time for people to learn where they fit with each other and with the purpose
of the dig. The students all come from such different backgrounds. Some are from small,
private, religious school, and other
are from large state universities. Each comes with a different agenda.
With different skills, and with different work habits. One person may be a good photographer,
another good drawer a good surveyor. It is my job to complete the
excavation with the resources available to us.
At
the end of week 2, called a meeting to assess how things were going. We talked about lot of
things including personal things,
how our work was progressing, and what we needed to
chance. The students seemed
to appreciate the chance to talk at this meeting. Each of them described
their special circumstance and their hopes for the summer.
I
told the student several stories about past
digs; some were humorous and other highlighted accomplishments. I shared my particular interests in
this project and how I thought we as a group could accomplish the
work that needed to be done at this important historical site.
In particular, I stressed two points:
(a) that they shared the
responsibility for the successful outcome of the venture and (b) that
they had independent authority to
design, schedule, and carry out the details of their respective
assignments, with the director and
other senior staff available at all times as advisers
and resource persons. In regard to
the departure time issue, I told the participants that the standard departure time on digs
was 5:00 a.m.
Well,
shortly after our meeting I observed a real shift in the group attitude and atmosphere.
People seemed to become more involved in the work, there was less sickness, and there was more comradely. All assignments were completed without constant
prodding and in a spirit of mutual support. Each morning at 5:00 a.m. everyone was ready to go.
I
find that each year my groups are different. It’s almost as if each of them has a unique personality. Perhaps that is why
I find it so challenging. I try to listen to the student and utilize their particular
strengths. It really is quite amazing how these students can develop
in 8 weeks. They really become good at archaeology and they
accomplish a great deal.
This
coming year will again be different because of the 10 returning “veterans”.
Questions
1.
How is this an example of transformational leadership?
2.
Where are Dr. Cook’s strengths on
the full range of leadership model?
3.
Where is the vision Dr. Cook has for the archaeology excavations?
Assignment Solutions, Case study Answer sheets
Project Report and Thesis contact
ARAVIND – 09901366442 – 09902787224
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