“Leadership and Organizational Analysis”

Assessment 02

MBA401: - People, Culture and Contemporary Leadership

Assessment Type: Case study

CO-ORDINATED AND FACILITATED BY:

Mr. Adrian Gavin

&

Mr. Kerrie Butler

PREPARED BY:

Mr. Mohammadsoyeb Hanifbhai Mansuri

Student No: 1812918

Submission Due Date: 07th May 2024

Introduction

The purpose of report is intended to research AeroPlug, an aerospace engineering firm’s

organizational culture and problems of leadership following the recent incident in which a
Jetwing aircraft panel became separated midair. A systematic examination of key variables and
suggestions on how AeroPlug can increase its organizational culture, decision-making, ethical
values, and cope up with leadership deficiencies are analyzed.

Furthermore, the report delves with an overview of an incident that took place midair, the key
stakeholders involved and Aero Plug’s preliminary internal investigation results. It also includes
the factors such as the organizational dynamics, leadership styles, and cultural characteristics that
may have contributed to the incident.

The results of the investigations reveal significant backlogs in leadership management,

particularly concerning the management techniques of lead engineer and ethical breaches done
by chief engineer. To improve organizational culture, culture of business ethics, communication
and quality and safety commitment at Aeroplug specific recommendations are provided which
will provide a blueprint to begin addressing and identifying the specific issues while also taking
a major step toward re-establishing trust with their external stakeholders and ensuring its
continued success in the aerospace industry

Overview of the case

It is a case where an Instanza operated Jetwing airplane flying from London to Dubai dated 07 th
May 2023 faced a catastrophic failure to its major damage to its fuselage while in midair which
raised a big question on safety of the passenger and also requires an in-depth investigation of the
management and leadership factors of Aeroplug, a company which installed the components on
Instanza’s Jetwing aircraft. During the flight suddenly, a large portion of the fuselage where
there used to be a window in the extra leg room space was found missing. As per the SOP and
emergency guidelines captain and first officer along with following the emergency protocols and
communicating with aircraft traffic control they decided to pursue emergency landing at the
nearest airport and the aircraft was landed successfully, all the passengers were evacuated by
deploying inflatable slides. Fortunately, there was no injury or death caused during this incident.
Main Issue: The case primarily focuses to the negative perspectives of Aeroplug’s
organizational culture, poor leadership techniques, lack of responsibilities and an atmosphere
that prevents the open communication between the subordinates and their higher authorities. To
be clearer this incident may have happened due to the Autocratic leadership technique of Lead
Engineer and breach of ethical considerations by Chief Engineer.

Sub issue: The issue emerges due ineffective communication and trust between employees and
management. Employees feels demotivated to speak and raise their voices inhibiting the flow of
vital communication within a company. Deficiencies in leadership training and development
where John a technical expert was promoted and holding a charge of lead engineer.

Analysis of Main issue and Sub issue.

Transformational Leadership theory: John Baerd a Lead engineer in Aeroplug lacked the
essential characteristics of a transformational leader. The reason for the occurrence of this
incident reveals that John being Autocratic and having the dictatorial style of thinking that “all
staff were lazy and needed to be forced to work” disappointed the subordinates rather than
motivating and empowering. Transformational Leadership is achieved when the
followers/subordinates feels motivated and subordinates can experience a positive change so that
they reach their full potential. Here the dictatorship of John demotivated the subordinates and
criticizing them all by creating an unsupportive environment such as for example calling the
followers after office hours or early in the morning and tell them off fosters the propagandas of
the transformational leadership

John believed that training was waste of time, due to this follower’s did not get an opportunity to
develop core aspects of themselves and perform the valuable work. Even John (a technical
expert) was promoted as a lead engineer without adequate training in leadership management
overlooked the principle of transformational leadership where a leader inspires the subordinates
to go forward and beyond in everyday role, but John didn’t allow his subordinates to do so which
resulted in an environment where safety and quality standards were given less priority,
potentially leading to incidents like panel failure.
Authentic Leadership theory: The issue has occurred primarily due to lack of emotional
intelligence in John’s behavior. Key factors for authentic leadership consist of a one who exhibit
transparency, has high ethical standards, promotes trust amongst the followers, possesses loyalty,
openness of mind, high level of emotional intelligence and competence claims to be an authentic
leader. John believe that “money was the only way to reward staff” which reflects the
transactional leadership style which gives the priority on short term gains rather than long term
growth and fulfillment. This indicates an unauthentic approach disconnecting from employees’
intrinsic motivations. Since the belief of John that only ascertains the financial credibility and
fails to foster a feeling of purpose, belongings and fulfillment among his staff members this
disconnects and hinders the employee engagement, morale and ultimately organizational success.

John followed intimidating leadership style due to which Engineer specialist Fedrika having high
level of emotional intelligence often remained quiet regarding John’s behavior and she was
unable to raise the concerns of the department, suggesting lack of openness in the discussions
and trust integral to authentic leadership. This type of leadership technique prevented the
employees from voicing their concerns thereby creating an environment full of fear.
Additionally, the fear among staff to report Chief engineer Aaron’s unethical remote working
leads to create an environment where staff being hesitant to report immoral behavior indicates
they don’t feel psychologically safe to speak. Fedrika having specialty in engineering skills
would be less prone to justify her issues and problems due to such kind of leadership technique
followed by John can be a cause of an incident.

Functional Leadership theory: Within Aeroplug, there is a lack of focus on task related
behaviors such as let’s say for example John an engineer without adequate leadership training
was in charge of the leadership responsibilities which was beyond his exercise that contributes to
organizational inefficiencies and increases likelihood of safety incidents. Functional leadership
theory suggests distribution of task based on the relevant skills rather than just formal
authorization. Here John as on post of Lead engineer requires managerial as well as technical
skills that can only be achieved by skill training unless John cannot perform at his duty at an
optimum level creating unethical background and communication break in an organization.
John believe that there is no need of training and it is waste of time, where without proper
training and development employees might not understand their roles and responsibilities and
also employees without training will not be able to adapt the changes in the technical side
leading to cause of this incident.

Complexity Theory:

Complexity theory claims that organizations are complex adaptive systems in which small
changes or perturbations can lead to significant and unpredictable results in performance.
Aeroplug’s case can be represented as a complex system where the deficient leadership of the
Lead Engineer John Baerd should be seen as a small change or perturbation.

For example, John's refused "to allow workers to attend training sessions" prevented employees
from developing the skills and knowledge necessary for the system to evolve and respond to
changing circumstances. This lack of adaptability directly links to complexity theory's premise
that complex systems thrive on continuously evolving and self-organizing in response to
emergent challenges.

Thus, lack of adaptability and self-organization within Aeroplug’s complex system and
leadership tactics of John prevented the organization from effectively identifying and addressing
potential risks or quality issues, culminating in the catastrophic panel failure incident.

Recommendations

To develop inspiring, collaborative and empowering leader’s a transformational leadership

training is essential. Training on developing followers, enhancing ethical values and building
trust are some of the areas where training can meet the expected outcomes.

Develop emotional intelligence and authentic leadership skills to build trust, faith and promote
ethical decision-making process. Authentic leadership comprising culture of transparency,
ethical code of conduct and fearless and open communication should be fostered.

Individual possessing the relevant skills should be placed in charge where the leadership roles
with relevant expertise and skills are required enhancing functional leadership principles.
Implementation of mentoring program will develop leadership abilities and facilitate knowledge
transfer across an organization.

Focus from financial rewards to intrinsic motivators such as recognition, growth opportunities
and work-life balance. This reflects a move towards Authentic Leadership Theory, prioritizing
employee well-being and fostering a sense of purpose and fulfillment

Continuous learning, adaptability and self-organization within the complex system should be
embraced by implementing complexity theory. Clear channels for employees to raise their
concerns without fear of retaliation should be established therefore promoting trust and
accountability.

Leadership development programs should be implemented which could enhance the emotional
intelligence, communication and conflict resolution techniques empowering leaders to inspire
and motivate their teams effectively.

Conclusion

In summary the case study highlights how crucial it is to have leadership, for creating a work
environment and reducing potential risks. Lead Engineer John’s authoritarian leadership lacks of
focus on empowering employees and fostering communication led to a catastrophic incident
midair raised a question of investigation in managerial propagandas. By following
Transformational and Authentic Leadership principles suggestions were made to introduce
leadership training programs, encourage communication and prioritize employee wellbeing.
These actions are meant to tackle the underlying issues within the organization and prevent
problems, in the future ultimately promoting a workplace that supports safety, teamwork and
long-term success. Following these recommendations will not only enhance leadership quality
also boost safety issues, organizational resilience and employee /customer satisfaction.
Conclusion