This paper consists of three (3) pages.

This is an OPEN-BOOK examination.

Student number:

Examination centre:

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES:
Answer ALL the questions.
Please use the examination answer book supplied.

THIS EXAMINATION PAPER MUST BE RETURNED WITH THE EXAMINATION SCRIPT

[TURN OVER]

2
MBL921M
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014

QUESTION 1: Case study

[30 marks]

Wilkinson, Crowe, and Mauley

Anne Mayhew has just been recruited as the Chief Learning Officer at Wilkinson, Crowe, and Mauley
(WCM), a successful European law firm with offices in Frankfurt, Paris, Dublin, and London (head
office), making a total of 280 legal staff across Europe. The Executive Committee of WCM had
recently acquired the services of a global strategy consultancy to conduct research into the future of
the legal field and into the current workings on WCM, and finally to provide subsequent
recommendations about what WCM needed to do in order to remain a leader in their field. One of their
key recommendations, which came in six months ago, was to make sure that all partners and legal
staff had strong client relationship-building and team-working skills. The strategy consultancy informed
WCM that while their legal team was technically outstanding, their challenges in sustaining success
lay in their teams softer skills. Clients were expecting a trusted advisor type of service, where their
legal advisors would act as advisors, not only provide technical legal advice. Furthermore,
globalisation meant clients were increasingly demanding a seamless service across countries. For
example, if the WCM team in Frankfurt needed advice in London, they would expect a unified WCM
approach. The Executive Committee took quick action to address these concerns they hired Anne
and told her to sort it out.

After two months with the firm, Anne had visited all the offices and spent time with the partners at
each. She believed the answer to increasing the relevant softer skills across the firm lay in building the
leadership capacity of the 48 partners. For the wider legal team to develop their client relationship and
team-building skills, it would require more than simply putting them through training programmes.
Implementing the recommendations would require cultural change, and Anne believed it would need
the partners to lead themselves and their teams in a different way. The partners were almost entirely
technically excellent with a vast amount of legal experience; however, they had almost no formal
leadership or management training. Some had been on PowerPoint or presentation skills training,
some on personal effectiveness training, and in Dublin they had an informal mentoring programme. A
small number of partners had received stress coaching over the years, which had been arranged by
WCMs HR manager.

Furthermore, there was no assessment of leadership effectiveness for partners. All WCM partners and
employees were given an annual appraisal. The legal staffs appraisals were focused on the amount
and type of work done, project and resource management, client management (as determined by
client turnover or retention, and any client feedback), and the extent to which they strategically and
[TURN OVER]

3
MBL921M
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014

operationally grew the Firm. These criteria are similar to those used in the selection and promotion
processes at WCM. The partners were convinced of the changes that needed to be made, as per the
recommendations made by the strategy consultancy. Anne knew that. However, she also knew that
her biggest challenge would be to convince them that the success of this Europe-wide transformation
would be dependent on their own leadership ability, and subsequently that the first and most important
step was leadership development for the partners.

Anne personally has a vast amount of experience in designing and facilitating leadership development
programmes, executive coaching and mentoring. There are few people in the WCM team, however,
who have similar skills and experience. She is currently considering options for what leadership
development could be conducted in-house, and what they need to outsource.
Questions
1.1 What should Anne highlight to the Executive Committee and the partners as the strategic need for
and the benefits of leadership development at WCM?

(10)

1.2 What leadership development methods would be most appropriate and useful, and why?

(10)

1.3 What factors and conditions are important for leadership development to be successful at WCM?
(10)

QUESTION 2

[40 marks]

Compare trait theory on leadership and attribution theory on leadership. Why are these theories
viewed as different from one another?

QUESTION 3

[15 marks]

Explain how you think a leader can be made.

QUESTION 4

[15 marks]

Identify and discuss future contemporary issues in leadership.

EXAMINERS:
FIRST:
EXTERNAL:

DR JA FELDMAN
PROF DT BEATY

UNISA 2013

[TURN OVER]