LEMT305 – Leadership for Managers

Individual Assignment

- Case Study Analysis –

Student name:

Student idea:

Lecturer: Dr Valeria Pashkova

Contents

Leadership Case 1: “Sun Spots”............................................................................................2

1. Summary of the case study.............................................................................................2

2. Critical analysis of the case.............................................................................................2

2.1 Problems identified in the case................................................................................2

2.2 Relevant theories and models of leadership............................................................2

3. Questions:........................................................................................................................2

3.1 Question 1................................................................................................................2

3.2 Question 2................................................................................................................2

3.3 Question 3................................................................................................................2

4. Conclusion.......................................................................................................................2

Leadership Case 2: “The Marshall Plan”............................................................................3

1. Summary of the case study.............................................................................................3

2. Critical analysis of the case.............................................................................................3

2.1 Problems identified in the case................................................................................3

2.2 Relevant theories and models of leadership............................................................3

3. Questions:........................................................................................................................3

3.1 Question 1................................................................................................................3

3.2 Question 2................................................................................................................3

3.3 Question 3................................................................................................................3

4. Conclusion.......................................................................................................................3

Reference List...........................................................................................................................4

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Leadership Case 1: “Sun Spots”
Chapter 8 – Week 5

1. Summary of the case study

The primary theme in this case study is the challenges that the CEO and the CFO of
SunDax have been facing regarding the inadequate bonus packages for their employees.
The CEO of the company maintains that the employees have been working hard to get
their bonus, and have also prepared on how to utilize it, but since the company will be
unable to provide them with the year end bonuses, he believes that the employees will not
be very happy to hear that. Additionally, the employees have been having difficulties in
maintaining their morale due to the competition from Chinese companies as well as the
trends of mergers and acquisitions. The company may look extremely successful on the
surface, with increasing uses of more than 60 per cent than the past year as well as the
increasing popularity of solar energy over other power sources. And even if the loan
guarantees from Energy Department as well as federal tax credit have helped the
company in refining the products and growing its sales over the world by increasing the
inventory, the company still faces several challenges and issues internally.

The unstable economic situation of the world and continually declining energy incentives
within the USA and Europe has rendered the company unable to provide stimulus
packages and bonus to the hardworking employees. The CEO also fears that the
employees will believe in the public and think that their bonuses are being withheld or
giving in to mergers and acquisitions. The case study ends with the CEO maintaining that
they need to restore the faith of the employees in the company and make them understand
about the market reality at present, which he believes will be a big challenge and may
decline the morale of the employees further.

2. Critical analysis of the case

2.1 Problems identified
One of the primary problems identified in this case study is that the company is
not able to reward its employees with year-end bonus because of the declining
profit margins in the company. The employees have worked hard and made an
effort to earn the bonus the whole year, and the CEO suspects that they will not
be happy to learn about their lack of bonus. The other problem is that the Chinese
companies are trying to take over the business. The business has not been doing

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 too well for the company, and the employees need to be notified of the fact along
with their inadequate bonuses, which will be an issue for the CEO.

2.2 Relevant theories and models of leadership

One of the models that is relevant to the case study is the strength-based
leadership model, in which the leader is known to identify and leverage their own
strengths as well as the strength of their employees in order to get successful
results (Ding and Yu, 2021). This is relevant to the provided case study because the
CEO as well as all the employees in the company have made a substantial effort
in order to achieve the objectives for the company. Similarly, we can also see a
presence of authentic leadership model in which the leaders or managers are
aware of the decisions and interactions along with their impacts in the team
members. They are required to make decisions based on the impact that it will
have in the workers.

3. Questions:
3.1 Question 1
1. Be honest

The CEO and CFO of the company need to be honest with the employees, and
communicate with them in an open manner. Communication is one of the
most important factors of a good leader, and therefore the CEO needs to
inform the employees about the present condition of the company (Lee and
Kim, 2021). Once the employees learn that they will not be getting any bonus
this year, they may be disheartened and their morale may decline for some
time, but ultimately, they will appreciate honesty and transparency.

2. Provide alternative rewards

In order to mitigate the damage from unfulfilled expectations for the annual
bonus, the company can provide some alternative rewards for the company
employees. The alternative rewards may be in the form of extra paid leaves
our employee benefits. The employees will appreciate these rewards once they
understand the situation of the company. The CEO and CFO can also conduct
a meeting under alternative reward, or they can choose from two or more
options.
3. Promise to hand out bonuses the next time

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 While alternative rewards might work this time, it is not a permanent fix for
the upcoming years of bonuses. Therefore, the company needs to have a plan
in order to reward their employees with annual bonus. It is necessary to make
realistic promises that the company will be able to fulfil without declining the
employee morale leadership.

3.2 Question 2
If I were the senior manager and the situation I would take the following steps as
mentioned below.

1. Conduct a meeting

I would conduct a meeting with the employee representatives and the

administrative management of the company in order to explain the present
situation of the company and the news of their bonuses. I will be conducting a
meeting in order to be honest with the employees and encourage transparency.

2. Explain the present situation

In the meeting, I would explain the present situation of the issues being faced
by the company, as well as about the mergers and acquisitions. I would also
inform them that their bonuses are not being withheld, and explain the real
reason behind their lack of bonuses this year. I would explain them clearly in
order to prevent any misunderstanding or conflict within the company
environment.

3. Provide an alternative reward

I would let the employees discuss and decide on what their rewards alternative
to the bonus should be. The employees can either cast a vote on their ideas, or
elect all representative that will decide on the alternative reward. The
alternative reward will be discussed because it will address the issue of lack of
bonus without bringing the morale down.

4. Keep the employees updated

I would also keep the employees updated about the company situation as well
as the mergers and acquisition, because it is essential to be honest with the
employees and let them know about the issues that the companies have been

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 facing. This will increase the loyalty and transparency among the employee
members.

3.3 Question 3
When a substantial part of the pay of an employee is a bonus based on company
results in a highly uncertain environment, I believe that it is neither motivational
nor equitable for the employees. In a highly uncertain environment, there is no
definite way to determine whether the company will gain profits or losses, or in
what amount. Since the company figures and numbers are unpredictable, it is
difficult for the employers to provide a definite success figure or predictions
when the employees ask about the future. And since the large part of their pay is
based on the bonus according to the company results, the employees may either
get a large amount of bonus or no bonus depending on whether the company
succeeds or not.

When the company has high success figures, the employees may be motivated to
work harder for their bonus, but when the company success figures are low even
when the employees have worked hard enough, they might feel as if their effort
is not being appreciated enough and it will decline their morale. The motivation
that they get from a highly uncertain environment is based on fear and
unpredictability, which I believe will not be useful or equitable in a long run for
the employees and the company.

4. Conclusion
In conclusion, the unstable economic situation of the world and continually declining
energy incentives within the USA and Europe has rendered the company unable to
provide stimulus packages and bonus to the hardworking employees. The company may
look extremely successful on the surface, with increasing uses of more than 60 per cent
than the past year as well as the increasing popularity of solar energy over other power
sources. Therefore, the company needs to be honest with the employees and provide them
with some alternative source of bonus this year.

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Leadership Case 2: “The Marshall Plan”
Chapter 1 – Week 1

1. Summary of the case study

The case study is about an employee of a company named Marshall Gordon, who is
popular in the furniture industry as being one of the best designers for a large chair
manufacturing company. He is known for designing ergonomic chairs in order to help the
people with back issues or pain, as well as the elderly people or people with disabilities.
Marshall Gordon is known to be a workaholic that spends 70 hours every week at work
with no overtime pay and also works during breaks or weekends. The man is supposed to
be obsessed with chairs and their comfort, and due to his dedication to his designs and
works he has earned a reputation for himself for creative chair designs.

One of the biggest flaws of Marshall Gordon is that he is not essentially a team player
among his employees and staff members. The company has recorded a constant turnover
in the design group because the employees keep resigning due to Marshall Gordon’s
attitude. The employees have been complaining that his designs are always favoured over
their designs and they suspect him to have installed listening devices over the company.
They also suspect him of stealing their ideas through the listening devices and pitching
them as his own, since he seems to provide the same idea that the employees had been
discussing over some time ago.

The company wants to address this issue to Marshall Gordon but they are reluctant to take
it up to him because they are afraid he is going to resign and take his talents elsewhere to
their rivals or competitors. On the other hand, due to the continuous complaints and
threats of the employee to resign, the company fears that their turnover rates will increase
even more.

2. Critical analysis of the case

Problems identified
One of the most critical problems identified in this case study is Marshall Gordon
and his lack of leadership skills. He is said to have a brilliant and creative mind when
it comes to designing chairs, but he does not have people skills or leadership skills as

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 reflected by his attitude towards the employees and work. The other problem is the
lack of satisfaction in the employees and their lack of appreciation, resulting in a
high turnover rate for the company. The other workers do not feel appreciated
enough for their efforts and Marshall gets all the credit by stealing their ideas.
Finally, the last problem is that the company management is not able to do anything
to address the issue because Marshall keeps threatening to leave the company and
join the competitors, which will create a huge issue for the company since Marshall
is one of the best designers.

Relevant theories and models of leadership

The leadership model that is relevant to this case study is the autocratic leadership
model, which is mostly focused on the chain of command and providing instructions.
This type of model is not keen on collaboration, and the leader is mostly responsible
for making any decisions (De Cremer, 2006). The leader is usually strict and does not
listen to the inputs from the followers, but can be profitable and productive. Marshall
Gordon in this case study represents the autocratic leadership model because of his
attitude towards employees and their ideas. Similarly, the study also relates to the
Lewin’s theory of behavioral leadership, which maintains that there are three types
of leaders including autocratic, democratic, and Laissez-Faire type. Marshall Gordon
falls under the autocratic type of leader, who does not like to discuss matters with his
team members before making any decision. Contingency theories of leadership are
also applicable in this case study because it maintains that the leadership models and
styles are dependent on the followers and quality of the situation.

3. Questions:
Question 1
If I were a top leader, I would follow the following steps to respond to the ultimatum.

1. Conduct a meeting with the employees

I would conduct a formal meeting with the employees in order to listen to their
demands and expectations more clearly and formally. I would also see if we can
agree on some middle ground to compromise with the situation. I would do this

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 because it is necessary to listen to the complaints and demands of the employees
in order to address any issue.

2. Check for potential listening devices

I would check the office for any potential listening devices as per the complaints
of the employees. I would also check in with the HR department weather it is
illegal and unethical to plant listening devices and invade the privacy of the
employees. I believe that this is necessary because it would provide Marshall
with a disadvantage.

3. Provide Marshall with alternatives

I would conduct a formal conversation with Marshall and provide him with
alternative after listening to the employee and their complaints. If any listening
devices were found in the office, I would also address that and warn him of his
actions. I would provide alternatives that either he prove himself as a good and
capable leader or a complaint shall be made to the HR department.

Question 2
Although Marshall has proven himself to be a good designer, he has also shown that
he lacks many leadership qualities. He is known for taking credit for employees and
their ideas and pitching them as his own. He also has a cold and calculating attitude
which makes him unpleasant to work with. Marshall also fails to be a good leader in
a sense that he does not pay much attention to any designs other than his, and does
not take much input from the employees. Other than that, he also fails to provide
direction to the employees on how to proceed with a work or design. I believe that
his poor leadership behaviour stems from the fact that he is a workaholic and gives
most priority to his work. He also expects the same from the employees and does not
care about their life outside of work. His behaviour may also reflect his lack of social
skills, which is an important quality in a leader.

Question 3
If I were Marshall’s manager, I would take some steps to increase his awareness of
the negative impact that he is having on this team. I would make him known of the
complaints from the employees without revealing their identity, and ask him to

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 provide an explanation for his behaviour. I would also ask him to reflect on those
behaviours and impacts that is having on the employees. I would also provide him
with good examples of a true leadership, and help him understand why
communication and collaboration is necessary within a team. Marshall is a valuable
asset to the company, therefore it is necessary to make him aware of the impact of
his actions towards the employees, and help him be a good leader.

4. Conclusion
In conclusion, although Marshall is an expert in the chair design and his overall brilliance
in the subject matter allows the employees to have lots of things to learn from, he is said
to have a cold and calculating attitude with the team members. The employees seem to
have been fed up with Marshall’s attitude and believe that he has been posing a continual
challenge to the company management. Therefore, it is necessary to remind him of his
lack of leadership skills and help him get better in the future.

Reference List

Benedictine University CVDL. 2021. Leadership Theories & How to Use Them | Applying
Leadership Models. [online] Available at:
<https://cvdl.ben.edu/blog/leadership_theories_part2/> [Accessed 8 June 2021].

Insperity. 2021. Employee bonus programs: What’s right for your company? - Insperity.
[online] Available at: <https://www.insperity.com/blog/employee-bonus/> [Accessed 8 June
2021].

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Daft, RL 2016, “Chapter 1: What does it mean to be a leader?” The Leadership Experience,
7th ed., Cengage Learning.

Daft, RL 2016, “Chapter 8. Motivation and empowerment” The Leadership Experience, 7th
ed., Cengage Learning

De Cremer, D., 2006. Affective and motivational consequences of leader self-sacrifice: The
moderating effect of autocratic leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 17(1), pp.79-93.

Ding, H. and Yu, E., 2021. Followers' strengths-based leadership and strengths use of
followers: The roles of trait emotional intelligence and role overload. Personality and
Individual Differences, 168, p.110300.

Lee, Y. and Kim, J., 2021. Cultivating employee creativity through strategic internal
communication: The role of leadership, symmetry, and feedback seeking behaviors. Public
Relations Review, 47(1), p.101998.

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