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Principles and Practice of Management
Case Studies
Case (20 Marks)
You are the head of a large department
and several supervisors report to you. Recently you were confronted with a
knotty problem. It seems that one of the supervisors had gotten into a loud and
disagreeable argument with an employee. You called the supervisor to your
office to hear his story. The supervisor admitted losing his temper and
shouting at the employee, but he believed it was justified. He had been
observing the employee over the year the man had been with the company. During
this period the employee had been frequently late, and his absentee rate was
above average. In addition, the supervisor went on to say that the employee was
a socializer on the job, frequently leaving his work to talk to other employees
and to use the telephone for personal calls. The supervisor then said that the
proverbial last straw caused his outburst. The employee had come in late, and
after about an hour of work he made a telephone call which the supervisor had
timed as lasting 14 minutes. The supervisor then started his tirade. The employee
denied being on the telephone that long, the supervisor called him a liar, and
they continued the vituperative exchange which ended when you called the
supervisor to your office. After listening to the supervisor, you asked him if
he had disciplined the employee before, since apparently he had a poor record.
You also asked if the employee had been placed on probation or had been warned.
The supervisor looked at you sheepishly and seemed reluctant to answer. You
pressed him, for an answer, and he finally
blurted out that he was afraid to
discipline the employee because he was black. He stated that the impression he
had from you and higher management was that black employees should be given
special treatment so that they would feel welcome and not discriminated
against. He felt the company wanted to impress the public with its forward looking
employment practices and didn’t want any trouble with the black community. As a
result, he was lax in discipline and had kept a hands off approach with all
black employees until his outburst. He said he couldn’t stand it anymore, and
the 14mintue telephone call caused him to lose his temper.
Answer
the following question.
Q1.
Why would a supervisor find it difficult to communicate with a black employee?
Q2.
Could the company have done anything to offset the misunderstanding the
supervisor apparently had about the treatment of black employees?
Q3.
To what extent did the supervisor’s lack of communication encourage the
employee to think his behavior was
satisfactory? Explain.
Q4.
What would you now tell the supervisor?
Case (20 Marks)
Based on Hollywood blockbuster Troy,
this case study helps in studying various leadership styles. In the backdrop of
the Trojan War, the case study highlights the leadership styles of the
protagonists – Agamemnon, Achilles, Hector, Priam and Odysseus. While there were
several leaders in the Trojan War, each with a distinct leadership style, which
is the best leadership style, is debatable. For leaders in various
organizations; which is the best leadership style for them? Moreover, what
works best for an organization may not work for the other. Further, what
defines the enduring impact of a leader – style or substance? Instances of the
Trojan War captured in the case study give an introduction to the various
leadership styles, provide a clue about the appropriate leadership styles for organizations
and help ponder on Henry Fayol’s theory of ‘subordination of individual
interest to general interest’.
Answer
the following question.
Q1.
Explain different styles of leadership.
Q2.
Discuss and debate on ideal leadership styles for organizations.
Case (20 Marks)
General Electric Company (GE) was a
major conglomerate and one of the biggest companies in the world. One of the
factors that was believed to be responsible for the company's steady growth for
more than a century was its tradition of stable and long term leadership. One
of the most successful phases in GE's history began when Jack Welch became its
CEO in 1981. Welch attempted to make GE one of the top companies in every
segment in which it operated. He also supervised several acquisitions that
added value to the business portfolio and was instrumental in creating a
performance oriented culture at the company. Welch retired in 2001 after 20
years at the helm. He was succeeded by Jeffrey Immelt, who was chosen by GE's
board after a long and careful succession planning activity supervised by Welch
himself. In September 2001, Jeffrey Immelt (Immelt) became the Chief Executive
Officer (CEO) of the General Electric Company (GE). He succeeded Jack Welch
(Welch), who was acknowledged as one of the most
successful CEOs in business history for
his management of GE in the twenty years he headed the company (1981 to 2001).
Welch studied chemical engineering at the University of Massachusetts, from
where he graduated in 1957. He then moved to the University of Illinois, where
he received his Masters and PhD in chemical engineering. Welch joined GE in
1960 as a junior engineer. After a year, Welch wanted to leave the company,
unhappy with the bureaucratic culture of the company, but was convinced by his
superior to stay back... This case discusses the strategic and cultural changes
at GE as a result of the change in leadership. It compares GE's strategy and
operations under Welch, with those under Immelt. It also talks about the
changes in the company's culture under Immelt. The case concludes with a
discussion on the challenges facing Immelt, as of mid2006.
Answer
the following question.
Q1.
Discuss the relationship between leadership and growth in large and diversified
companies.
Q2.
Debate the effects of a change in leadership on company strategy and culture.
Q3.
Compare the leadership styles of two leaders in the above case.
Q4.
Analyze the effectiveness of their individual styles.
Case (20 Marks)
On July 28, 2009, a man walked up to
the counter of a branch of Key Bank in Seattle, pushed a black bag across the
counter, and ordered the teller to hand over money. Jim Nicholson (Nicholson),
the 30yearold bank teller who had worked for the bank for more than two years,
stood up to the man and demanded to see the weapon. On July 30, 2009, an
employee of Key Bank found himself fired from his job two days after he had
prevented an attempted robbery at the bank by confronting the would be robber and
overpowering him.
Answer
the following question.
Q1.
Jim Nicholson was able to prevent the robbery and save the people in the bank
from potential harm. Do you think the end justified the means in this case did
Nicholson do the right thing in confronting the would be bank robber?
Q2.
Did Key Bank do the right thing in firing Jim Nicholson? Would a warning or
suspension have been better disciplinary action?
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