Case of Effective vs. Ineffective Leadership
Having been offered some very attractive extra retirement benefits by top management, Arthur agreed to take early retirement at 62. Once an ambitious young executive for the company, Arthur had, in recent years, taken a rather relaxed anything goes attitude of his division. As a result, his team showed the lowest productivity record in the company, and the employees under his supervision did not receive attractive salary increments and other rewards from top management. Morale was very low, and the employees were discontented. Hoping to rejuvenate the group, management replaced Arthur with extremely bright, dynamic, and aggressive young manager named Marilyn. Marilyn’s instructions were these: “Get your team’s productivity up 20 percent over the next twelve months, or we’ll fire the whole group and start over scratch, with a new manager and new employees.” Marilyn began by studying the records of employees in her group to determine the strengths and weaknesses of each. She then created goals and objectives for each employee and made assignments accordingly. She set a rigid timetable for each employee and made all employees directly accountable to her. ORDER YOUR PAPER NOW
Employee response was overwhelmingly positive. Out of chaos came order. Each person knew what was
expected and had tangible goals to achieve. Employees felt united behind their new leader as they all strove to achieve their objective for a one-year, 20 percent increase in productivity. At the end of the year, productivity was up not 20 percent but 35 percent! Management was thrilled and awarded Marilyn a large raise and the company’s certificate of achievement. All of her team members received a great bonus. Feeling that she had a viable formula for success, Marilyn moved into the second year as she had into the first – setting goals for each employee, hold them accountable, and so forth. However, things went less smoothly the second year. Employees who had been quick to respond the first year were less responsive. Although the work Marilyn assigned was usually completed on time, its quality declined. Employees had morale problem: Those who looked up to Marilyn as “Boss” were now sarcastically
calling her “Queen Bee” and reminiscing about “the good old days” when Arthur was their manager. Marilyn’s behavior as a manager had not changed, yet her leadership was no longer effective. Something needed to be done, what?
1) Read the article in Step 1 – Masculine/Feminine Leadership Style -$WIKI_REFERENCE$/pages/step-1-masculine-slash-feminine-leadership-style-read-before-participating-in-the discussion?module_item_id=1644911
2) Read the article in Step 2 – Qualities of Poor Leadership – $WIKI_REFERENCE$/pages/step-2-
qualities-of-poor-leadership-read-before-participating-in-the-discussion?module_item_id=1644912
3) Watch the YouTube video How Great Leaders Inspire – in Step 3. $WIKI_REFERENCE$/pages/step-3-
ted talk-how-great-leaders-inspire-action-watch-before-participating-in-the discussion?module_item_id=1702336
After doing Steps 1 to 3, Please respond to the questions below:
1. Why was Marilyn’s leadership successful in the first year, but not in the second? What would you
recommend to Marilyn to help her be more successful? (Share any leadership experience you have had
that might be helpful. Please use examples from the book on the characteristics of an effective leader
and the article Ineffective leadership to provide advice to Marilyn.)
2. Please share one idea each from the articles 1) How to Have Better Team Communication; and 2)
Male/Female Leadership and 3) TEDTALK – How Great Leaders Inspire Action, that can assist you in a
better understanding of team communication. How can understanding this information help you be a
more effective leader and/or productive group members? ORDER YOUR PAPER NOW