Solution Manual for Leadership in Organizations, 9th Edition

3 Consolidated Products The purpose of this case is to provide students with an opportunity to use the behavior concepts presented in Chapter 2. One basis for comparing the two successive plant managers is in terms of task-oriented and relations-oriented leadership. However, these two broad categories are not sufficient for understanding what behavior is needed to be an effective plant manager in this company. Students also need to use more specific behavior categories to understand the limitations of each manager. Successive chapters in the book provide additional insights about this case that may not be evident after reading Chapter 2, and you may want to refer back to the case at later points in the course. 1. Describe and compare the managerial behavior of Ben and Phil. Describe each manager’s use of specific task and relations behaviors. How much does each manager use participative or inspirational leadership? Ben was very concerned about employees, and his concern was reflected in efforts to protect employee jobs and make the work environment more pleasant. He socialized with employees, was supportive, and maintained an extensive network of personal friendships with employees. However, Ben had a relatively weak concern for productivity and product quality. He was satisfied to maintain the same level of production, and he did not set high performance objectives and quality standards. Ben used supporting and some aspects of team building, but did little to develop employee skills and confidence. He did not use much planning, clarifying, and monitoring. Ben delegated the responsibility for supervising plant workers entirely to his first-line supervisors, but provided little guidance about what he expected. The case did not describe any active use of consultation by Ben. In contrast to Ben, Phil used a significant amount of task-oriented behavior (e.g., clarifying, monitoring, and operational planning). Phil set high performance standards, pressured people to achieve them, and checked closely on their performance. However, Phil had little concern for employees and did not hesitate to make decisions that cut costs at the expense of employee benefits and jobs. Phil was low on relations-oriented behaviors such as supporting, developing, and team building. He was very directive and autocratic in making decisions and used little consultation or delegation. 2. Compare the two managers in terms of their influence on employee attitudes, short-term performance, and long-term plant performance. Under Ben’s relationship-oriented leadership, employees were satisfied with the company, as evidenced by the very low turnover in his plant. However, employees were not highly motivated and did not perform up to their capacity. Ben’s plant had the second worst performance of the company’s five plants. Phil’s lack of concern for employees was reflected in growing dissatisfaction and increased turnover among the supervisors and machine operators. Phil had a very short-term perspective on plant performance, which resulted in cutting expenses for Copyright © 2020 Pearson Education, Inc. 4 development of human resources and maintenance of machines. He is the type of manager who makes a good initial impression based on the short-term indicators of financial performance, such as quarterly costs and production levels. However, the longer-term effectiveness of the work unit will suffer, due to the decline in human and material resources. Unfortunately, by the time the delayed, adverse effects of Phil’s actions become evident, he is likely be promoted and off to another position, leaving the mess for his successor to face. 3. If you were the manager of this plant, what would you do to achieve both high employee satisfaction and high performance? A better balance of task and relationship behavior is needed. The plant manager should be supportive toward employees but also exhibit task-oriented behaviors such as setting challenging objectives and monitoring performance to ensure progress is being made toward achieving these objectives. It is better to delegate responsibility to supervisors (as Ben did) than to make all important decisions in an autocratic manner (as Phil did), but delegation without clear objectives and standards is ineffective. There was no evidence that either manager used important behaviors such as recognizing and rewarding effective performance, developing subordinate skills, consulting with subordinates, and inspiring a strong sense of commitment to task objectives. Finally, investment in development of human resources and maintenance of physical resources affect long-term performance and should not be sacrificed for temporary gains in short-term performance. Copyright © 2020 Pearson Education, Inc. 5 Superior Staffing The purpose of this case is to help students understand the task and relations behaviors that are relevant for leaders. 1. What specific task-oriented behaviors are used by Jackie? * Sets specific, challenging monthly goals for each subordinate (clarifying) * Holds progress review meetings each month (monitoring) * Observes subordinates while they work (monitoring) * Works with subordinates to resolve problems (problem solving) 2. What specific relations-oriented behaviors are used by Jackie? * She is sympathetic and offers help when a subordinate is upset (supporting) * Socializes and holds parties for the department members (team building) * Coaches individual subordinates who need help (coaching) * Providing recognition for effective performance (recognizing) * Provides career advice to subordinates (mentoring) 3. What are some other specific task and relations behaviors that were not described in the case but may also be relevant for Jackie to use? * Planning effective ways to improve task performance for the department * Involving subordinates in department decisions that affect them * Measure client satisfaction with the employees supplied by Superior to evaluate the recruiting procedures and identify any weaknesses to correct Copyright © 2020 Pearson Education, Inc. 6 Acme Manufacturing Company In this case students analyze the activities of a manager to identify effective and ineffective behavior. The analysis gives students an opportunity to identify weaknesses in time management and to propose remedies. The problems involve several managerial functions, including delegation, planning, and monitoring. 1. What specific things did Steve do wrong, and what should have been done? • Steve is late for work because he overslept. He should have been more careful to set a backup alarm or to have someone wake him. • Steve forgot the staff meeting with his boss at 9:30. He should have written it in his calendar and looked at the calendar before work. • Steve has a disorderly office and could not find important memos and work orders. He should maintain a better system of files and records. • Steve delegated the rush order to a production supervisor (Lucy Adams) but did not monitor progress. Since he doesn’t know what is happening with the rush order, he is not able to deal with any problems with it. He needs to have a system for monitoring progress on the tasks for which he is responsible, even when they are delegated to a subordinate. • Steve does not know where Lucy Adams is and has no easy way to contact her. He should have subordinate managers inform him (or his secretary) when they are leaving the work site, and they should carry a pager or cellular phone. • Steve went to an important meeting unprepared. As a result, he failed to impress his boss and peers. Steve should review the agenda and background materials for important meetings and be prepared to make a meaningful contribution. • Steve concentrated on completing a production report that was less urgent than preparing quality figures for his boss. He should make a list of necessary activities with their priorities, and plan his time accordingly. If he were better organized, it is likely that Steve would seldom have to take work home. • Steve spent more than an hour assembling the quality data for his boss. The task was urgent, but the time-consuming job of assembling the data was not difficult and should have been delegated to his assistant manager, or perhaps even to his secretary. Steve only needed to spend a few minutes to check the completed work and make sure it was done correctly before giving it to his boss. • Steve wasted an hour attending a safety meeting that was not important when he had other things to do that were much more important. Unlike the earlier staff meeting, he was not required to attend the safety meeting and could have delegated this task to a subordinate qualified to handle it. Copyright © 2020 Pearson Education, Inc. 7 • Steve never did talk to Lucy about the rush order or get back to the Sales Vice President as he promised, thereby leaving a poor impression. He should have had his secretary (or his assistant) arrange a meeting with Lucy as soon as she returned to the plant. 2. What should Steve do to become more effective as a manager? Steve does not manage his time well. He is disorganized and messy, he does not plan his daily activities, he wastes time on activities that are not important, he forgets appointments and meetings, he does not delegate effectively, he does not monitor important activities for which he is responsible, he does not prepare for important meetings, and he fails to deliver on promises to important people. Steve needs to apply some of the principles of time management: • Make a list of short- and long-term objectives. • Make a daily “to-do list” of activities relevant to the objectives, with priorities and deadlines. Use the to-do list and a calendar to plan and schedule relevant and required activities for each day. • Delegate to qualified subordinates activities that are not critical, or that are important but require more time than he has available. • Develop an information system to monitor projects and delegated activities. • Use the secretary to screen calls and visitors effectively. • Organize files, records, and desktop so important documents can be found easily. Copyright © 2020 Pearson Education, Inc.