CASE 1: ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER: LEADER OF CALIFORNIA?

QUESTION #1:
What words would you use to describe Arnold Schwarzenegger’s personality? Do any of these fit into
the Big Five taxonomy of personality? How might these personality traits influence Schwarzenegger
get to where his is now?

Arnold Schwarzenegger is disciplined, independent, self-confident, and optimistic with a unique

charismatic character. He is sportive, hard worker and self-oriented. His personality fits with the
Extroversion and Conscientiousness personalities. He is extrovert because he deals with people at a
high comfort level, enjoys the company of his strong network of friends, and asks for their advice. His
high level of responsibility, acknowledgement of his goals that he needs to achieve, his high self-
confidence and security of what he is doing shaped his Conscientiousness personality. These
personality traits; in addition to his name recognition and charismatic personality made him a
leading candidate.

QUESTION #2:
Based on the case, as governor of California, what types of power is Schwarzenegger likely to have?
What types of influence tactics does Schwarzenegger appear to use?

Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn’t like the word power because it tends to have a negative connotation.
The power he tends to have is influence, the influence of making changes and improving things. The
types of influencing tactics Schwarzenegger appear to use are:
 He depended on his own charisma, popularity and his network of powerful friends to inch closer
each day to his vision.
 Infuriating the critics and electrifying the crowd of his opponents.
 Persuasion, by trying to:
- Persuade the teacher’s union to revise the way it hires, pays and fire teachers.
- Persuade the state’s legislator to pass a bill overhauling worker’s compensation
 Breaking traditions by going from his 1st floor office to the upstairs offices to meet with the
legislators.

QUESTION #3:
How would you describe Schwarzenegger’s leadership style using the leadership theories covered in
this textbook? What details of the case lead you to these conclusions? Is Schwarzenegger’s
leadership style likely to be effective? Why or why not?
Schwarzenegger’s leadership style is charismatic leadership.
“His name recognition and charismatic personality made him a leading candidate”
“All in all, the newly elected ‘governator’, using his charisma and network of powerful friends inched
closer each day to his vision”
“…Schwarzenegger knew that his popularity and his charisma were an asset to the Republican
convention …”

Schwarzenegger charismatic leadership style was not sufficient to achieve his major goals in a
correct way. Although he worked tirelessly, negotiating budget reductions with state-affiliated
organizations; however, negotiations began to fall apart when he made conflicting promises to the
opposing parties. Although he was capable to pass a revised version of his original budget,
Schwarzenegger continued to attempt to fix California’s financial crisis through various cost-cutting
initiatives which were abhorrent. His approval rating fell from 65% to 55%.

QUESTION #4:
Applying concepts from goal-setting theory, explain how goals have influenced Schwarzenegger’s
progression to the governor’s seat. What aspects of the case suggest that Schwarzenegger is
committed to the goals that he has set for himself?
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 Since Schwarzenegger was a kid, he was a rebel and wanted to be rich & somebody. He found out
that he can be somebody through bodybuilding. He pursued bodybuilding so vehemently. He was
crowned Mr. Universe and even defeated his idol Reg Park. Having accomplished his goal of
becoming Mr. Universe, he set his sights to pursue acting and moved to the United States. His on-
screen charisma, massive physique, and uniqueness made him a stand out and have become one of
the most highly paid actors in the world. After succeeding as a bodybuilder and an actor, he began
eyeing on California’s governor’s seat.

Schwarzenegger now says that bodybuilding was instrumental to his success as an actor and as a
politician. I know it from my bodybuilding that I can see my goals very clearly.

QUESTION #5:
Are there any “dark sides” to Schwarzenegger’s charisma and leadership skills? What might these
be, and how might they affect his relationships with others and his ability to govern?

Schwarzenegger’s name recognition and charismatic personality made him a leading candidate, with
a style vastly different from other politicians. On the other hand, His wit, honesty and lack of concern
for political correctness struck a chord with voters. In addition, Schwarzenegger during his speech at
Georges W. Bush’s reelecting campaign electrified the crowd. Furthermore, Schwarzenegger made
conflicting promises to the opposing parties on state and local budget linkages. Also he even went so
far to call opponents “girlie men” at a public rally – an incident that infuriated his critics. All of these
incidents and situations affected Schwarzenegger relationship with others and gave a bad influence
towards his ability to govern.

QUESTION #6:
How might Schwarzenegger’s personality and leadership style help or hinder his ability to effectively
negotiate with other parties such as the teacher’s union?

Schwarzenegger worked tirelessly and did his best to get California back and steer it away from its
troubles at any cost not taking into consideration the consequences that might arose. One of the bad
decisions he made was trying to persuade the teacher’s union to revamp the way it hires, fires and
pays the teachers. He wanted to tie teacher’s pay to test scores which was considered by the
teacher’s to be undermining to their ability to teach what they think are important topics and will
result in a narrow curriculum. Being a charismatic leader doesn’t give Schwarzenegger the right to
take wrong decisions in an important sector such as the education sector just to fix the financial
crises that California was passing through.

CASE# 2: WHAT CUSTOMERS DON’T KNOW WON’T HURT THEM, OR WILL IT?

QUESTION #1:

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 Using concepts from reinforcement theory, explain why Elena might be motivated to lie to
customers. With reinforcement theory in mind, do you think that Elena will confess to the legal
representative? Why or why not?

Elena, being a fresh graduate and intrigued with becoming a manager, would do anything in order to
reach her goal. She though that by working harder, arriving early to her job and leaving late would
help her reach her goal until her supervisor convinced her that in order to become a manager she
needs to start lying to customers in order to take the best deals. As said in the reinforcement theory,
a desired behavior is a function of its consequences and if reinforced, it is likely to be repeated. Since
Elena’s goal is to become a manager, the lying behavior is reinforced and became her second nature
without the need of her supervisor’s pressure to lie.
Elena will not confess to the legal representative because as mentioned in the case “If she told the
truth, becoming a manager would probably be out of the question”. Elena worked hard to get where
she was and will not take a risk of not becoming a manager by saying the truth.

QUESTION #2:
How might the rental office’s climate influence Elena’s behavior? What factors contribute to the
current climate? What steps could you take to improve the ethics at this office?

The rental office is a very busy office with too many vehicles reserved sometimes more than it could
handle. The aim of this office is to make money by getting the best deals at any expense. There are
no stable, evaluative beliefs in the workplace that defines what is right or wrong, good or bad. There
is a lack of Moral Intensity and Ethical Sensitivity. To be able to improve ethics at this office, the top
management should prepare an ethical code of conduct and distribute it to the employees and do
some ethics training.

QUESTION #3:
Do you blame Elena for her behavior or do you attribute her behaviors to external factors? How do
concepts from attribution theory fit in?

Elena was a hard worker, arriving early to her job and leaving late, sometimes putting 50 or more
hours a week. She was good at her job. Customers frequently told her supervisor about her great
service and courtesy. There are 2 factors that affected Elena’s behavior, Internal factors and External
Factors. The internal factors are related to Elena’s internal characteristics and personality. Elena’s will
to become a manager at any price and her weak personality that got affected by her supervisor who
was capable to easily convince her to lie. Elena lacks stable values according to which she can
measure if a certain behavior is right or wrong, good or bad. The External factors that affected
Elena’s behavior are the work’s busy environment that lacks Moral Intensity and Ethical Sensitivity.

QUESTION #4:
Consider Elena’s personality. Would you predict that escalation of commitment will occur (and she
will lie to the legal representative), or will she decide to come clean? Explain your answer.

When the legal representative talked with Elena on the phone about Mr. Reynolds accident, she
couldn’t believe was she was hearing. She started thinking back to when she lied to Mr. Reynolds and
has rented him the car with a dangerous lump. Elena for sure will decide to return clean as when she
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 first started her work but for sure will not confess to the legal representative that she lying to
customers because she knows that “If she told the truth, becoming a manager would probably be out
of the question”.

QUESTION #5:
Do you think Elena would make a good leader some day? Why or why not? What factors might this
depend on?

Elena cannot make a good leader because she has a submissive personality and she does what
others ask her to do. Her supervisor asked from her to lie to customers when her office got very busy
and she lied without hesitation. In addition, she doesn’t have the influencer power that her
supervisor has and which he used to influence Elena to start lying in order to take the best deals and
start making money.

QUESTION #6:
What emotions might Elena be experiencing? How might Elena’s emotions affect her decision to tell
the legal department manager about the incident with Mr. Reynolds?

Elena couldn’t believe was she was hearing about Mr. Reynolds accidents. She was wondering how
she ever thought it would be safe to rent the car with a dangerous lump even if it was for one day
only. She was wondering if becoming a manager would probably be out of the question after what
has happened. Although deep inside Elena know that she responsible for what happened with Mr.
Reynolds but she will not confess about her lie. She will not take the risk of losing her managerial
position especially after working that hard.

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