Situational Approaches in Corporate Leadership

Situational Approaches in Corporate Leadership

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Situational Approaches in Corporate Leadership

Chapter Five Questions

Jack Barns bases all his managerial decisions from the information and insight that Eileen provides to him. To the leader, Eileen is irreplaceable since she has solutions to most personal and company dilemmas. Jack perceives Eileen as an equal peer because of the central role she plays throughout the organization. The perception explains why Jack is not bothered by her unusual work hours and in-depth knowledge of the organization. Jack’s perception of Eileen creates an imbalance in the workplace as other employees view the interactions negatively. Jack fails to include the other employees in executive decision making, which negates their sense of belonging. The close interactions with Eileen equally impede Jack’s ability to maintain personal relationships with the other employees. Given the small size of the organization, the inability to have close relations with the workers means Jack cannot motivate them to improve their performance. Eileen represents an intermediate manager in the firm that is impeding the development of any personal relationships between employees and the manager.

Jack holds the belief that each employee should approach him in the way Eileen does. However, the leader fails to see that the form of interaction only applies to Eileen. Fiedler’s Contingency Model informs that a personal relationship with the leader is one of the variables that influence an individual’s performance (Hersey, Blanchard & Johnson, 2014). Because of Eileen, the other employees feel isolated. Moreover, despite having the same or superior qualifications than Eileen, none receives the desired professional acknowledgment from the leader. Given that the secretary bridges the management and the employee base, Jack has no idea concerning the needs and desires of his workers. Limited career advancement opportunities create dissatisfied and de-motivated employees (Christiana, 2017). Jack needs to consolidate the whole team and communicate with them directly to improve the effectiveness of his leadership style.

Chapter Six Questions

Casual Variables

The central position Cami holds represents an independent variable. Cami has worked at Listo Systems for eight years and is included in the training of technical employees (Hersey, Blanchard & Johnson, 2014). The black-box system is also a causal variable as it signifies the organization’s advancement towards more traceable data flows.

Intervening Variables

            The recent data breaches and data theft that prompted improvements in Listo’s information system are intervening factors. The events change not only the dataflow structure in the company but also the employees who have access to sensitive data. Another intervening variable is Cami’s impressive reputation in developing hardware and software. Her ability gives her an excellent chance to occupy a managerial role in the implementation of the black boxes.  

Output

1. Positive short-term growth stemming from the adoption of the black boxes
2. Whether Cami will secure the leadership role in the project
3. The potential loss of developers with the use of black box technology
4. The possible loss of staff creativity due to the less integrated workplace environment

Task at Hand

Management needs to adopt a more secure information system at Listo Systems successfully. The executive objective provides Cami with the opportunity for a promotion. Therefore, securing the lead role in the project becomes her task at hand. Both Cami and the organization face the need to educate employees on the importance of a security system. Education and training are critical to avoiding worker resistance to the novel technology.  

Cami

Cami already possesses superior technical skills. She should focus on the integration of employee needs with organizational goals. If she can bridge the space between management and employees, then it will be easier to complete the implementation of the new program.

Cami’s Superior

             Management needs to consider the opinion of employees prior to adopting the new technology. Creating an inclusive work culture should be prioritized as a function of retaining enthusiastic employees. Inclusivity is equally strategic as it facilitates the timely acquisition of employee feedback concerning the new system.

References

Christiana, M. B. (2017). Organizational behavior. New Delhi: Educreation Publishing.

Hersey, P., Blanchard, K. & Johnson, D. (2014). Management of organizational behavior [10^th Ed]. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.