Case Studies 2.

1:  Choosing a New Director of Research

1. Looking at the case study, I will have the same mixed feeling Sandra is going

through. All listed candidates are more than qualify. I would say that having three

successful candidates eligible is a blessing and a curse in disguise. The board wants

her to maximize the Companys's overall development and efficiency.

With that in mind, I will first look at the past success of product production before

considering the attributes of the above three applicants.

I would pick Alex Smith she possesses all the qualities that make her the star

candidate. She is one of the oldest staff of the organization, given that she began in

high school in the mail-room at an entry-level position. She starts at the bottom and

over-time went up the ladder. 

Giving her experience in different roles has helped her to gain information about the

company, which may have built up communication skills that encouraged her to be

extraversion in new positions and resources with different people.

2. In any selection process, the trait technique is highly beneficial because it allows

one to define the main characteristics that make each candidate special. By applying

the principle, we can identify the various characteristics of Kelsey, Alexa, and

Thomas correctly and determine who is better for the specific task.

3. In this scenario, the trait technique has drawbacks. Not every trait is perfect for all

tasks. All displayed significant leadership qualities for applicants for the Director of

Research. I do not think that each candidate had an edge over the others considering

their traits. They all have clear and inclusive characteristics from the chart. But in a

decision like this, more than just the characteristics of a person have to be weighed.

I went for their success rate on product testing and market growth.
 Case 3.1: A Strained Research Team

1. According to the attributes of Model of Leadership, Dr wood traits appears to be

general and crystallized cognitive capacity. I think he somehow lack both

motivational and personality attributes.

His style of leadership is strict and fair, but he needs to work on his negative comment

and bad attitudes. Although his vision and project is very good and okay, but it could

end up costing more time and resources than initially expected, if he does not learn

how to encourage his staffs and give them good motivation and having decent

personality.

2. I think that he has what he takes to be an effective leader based on his experiences

and expertise but he needs to work on his traits and personality. He loves to work

independently and never had a desire to evolve sooner. The human factor and its

absence in this field is a drag on its efficacy.

He needs to take notice of his staffs attitudes and understand that their feeling are

being hurt with his negatives comments. I believe that if he can correct those traits, he

can be a successful and a effective leader.

3. Dr wood is very good is solving any challenges or difficulty that’s one of is

strength. I will recommend that he proceed with his brilliant ability to imagine and

tweak it some further and see that his team has a psychological concern. I will focus

on his moral judgement ability in the first place, and then on his problem-solving

abilities.In terms of relational judgement abilities, What I should be most concern

about with Dr wood is how he view and sees his team and team members.

According to the case study, I think that Dr. Wood feels that his team member is

unwilling or unable to manage the task they have been assigned, he believes that no
one can handle the task but him. He's an independent guy that doesn't trust in other

people's abilities and he doesn't completely appreciate his leadership position.

For Dr wood to be a well rounded leader, he needs to work on his social skills. Social

perceptiveness is intuition and knowledge of how others work in the organization.

(Northouse 51)

Dr wood, did not take notice of his team members emotions, and if he does, it means

he doesn't know how to handle the dilemma if he sees them. He does not know how to

be a good leader, even thou he has lots of experiences. I will say that he wants to be

more optimistic and thank his team mates for their excellent work in order to keep

their morale up.

 Case 4.2: Eating Lunch Standing Up

1. This is a fascinating issue, since Susan's reactions to her leadership are very diverse

and intense.

Her dominant style tends to be the authority/compliance style. The structure of Susan

leadership is very task-oriented. She wants to do her things in high fashion and done

at the right time. His leadership style can also be described as outstanding in team

management.

I assume, though that Susan is more a team player who has different experiences and

can collaborate alongside individuals from different backgrounds. However, She

undoubtedly has a sense of duty for the shop and the staff as a part owner of the store.

She drives herself very much to be responsible for the well being of the store.

2. I believe that it creates various reaction and comment because, we human are not

the same in reasoning and thinking. The shop hires 10 employees, and I agree that

with different people, you will have different reasoning and perceptions. Most

individuals are geared towards activities or partnerships(relationship) orientated .

Those that like her style or work are focused towards their task. Many who may not

like her style are those who are friendship driven. Every individual wants to be hired

in an organization that is structured, has efficient and upheld level of quality.

However, the workers needs their boss to have a close relationship with them, Susan

is lacking in that aspect. She needs to be close with her staffs to create a family bond.

3. I know that she is very good at her work and she is doing an excellent job because

she has good work ethics. However, she needs to work on her social skills. The

equilibrium between work and home life is being undermined. She should be able to

know that her employee unable to relate to her efficiently as a family. If your

employees are always afraid of you or can not talk to you as a family, it means
something is wrong. She can improve on her social skills by delegating some task to

her qualified employee, that will give her more space and time to relate and get close

to some of her staffs and know them better. In exchange, the staff would also be

excited to have new roles in their duties.

4. I assume it will be just as successful as it was back then, precisely because she

raised the bar and set the norm high for standards. Her transition and adaptation in

order to be more sensitive to the needs of its employees and to have a close

relationship with its staff, but still retaining its job quality and standard in the

workplace,by doing that she could be less of a Compliant Authority to becoming more

of a Team Member.
 Case 5.2: Why Aren’t They Listening?

Jim seems to be using the supportive approach by using supportive behaviors in an attempt to bring
out the skills of the workers.

Low directive-high supportive

At what level are the managers?
Low directive-low supportive
In response to a current companywide review, Jim Anderson created a six-week
training program on communication and listening skills for successful management in
the organization. Anderson’s aims for the seminar were double: for seminar members
to get new communication behaviors and enjoy the sessions so participants would
want to attend future seminars (Northouse, 2009). Jim is utilizing the situational
leadership style.

Hersey and Blanchard created situational leadership approach in 1969, based on

Reddin’s 3-D management style theory. The main responsibility of the situational
leader is to adapt leadership style to meet the team member’s needs for diverse
amounts task direction and personal encouragement based on the individual’s
readiness to complete a particular assignment. This includes diagnosing the skill and
readiness level of an individual, and prescribing everyday jobs that properly balance
the follower’s competency and devotion to complete the task. Though situational
leadership is depicted graphically by a 4-square matrix with distinct areas, there is an
endless movement, in both directions, along the continuum from being unskilled and
unwilling to being extremely skilled and willing, with different combinations along the
way. A situational leader has to constantly balance the amount of direction given with
building relationships, as people’s skills and motivations alter with time. Leaders must
have passion, be honest, communicate plainly and have good judgment; situational
leadership also requires the flexibility to quickly adapt to changing scenarios,
characters and circumstances. This leadership recognizes and values differences
among team members, plays to the individual’s strengths and works to develop their
weak areas.
The situational leadership model comprises 2 components, development level and
leadership style. The leadership style is depicted as a function of 2 kinds of behavior:
supportive and directive (Hersey, 1986). Jim Anderson had supporting approach as
his style was low directive and high supportive.

I would place Jim at a S4. Because of Jim's belief that the managers were
experienced, Jim decided to not put very many restrictions on them. According to
the book, an S4 style is low supportive-low directive. Jim was delegating to his
managers. Jim wanted his managers to step up and participate to the fullest the
seminar he had planned.

2. At what level are the managers?

The initial group to be offered the new training on listening and communication skills
for successful management was middle-level managers in research and development.
The group comprised approximately 25 individuals, practically all of whom had
advanced degrees. The majority of the group had visited several in-house training
programs earlier, so they knew how the seminar would be run. As the preceding
seminars had not always been extremely fruitful, the majority of managers felt a little
disillusioned about attending the seminar. They were certain that the seminar was not
capable to provide them with some useful information (Northouse, 2009).