Management

Your assignment # 4 relates to chapter 8 Case 8-2 Kenny’s Leadership: A Further Analysis by Mosley, Pietri, Mosley, designed to reinforce the learning objectives of the course, and in conjunction with the final exam will provide a measure of your material’s knowledge and critical thinking skills.

Your case analysis will require for you to complete the readings for Chapter 8″Leadership”, and Case 8-2 from the textbook.

* Answer Case 8-2 questions from the textbook.

* Your answers must be written in a short essay format APA Style of Writing, no less than a full page per answer (4 pages in total) in written content.

With multiple academic resources and citations to support the written content of the case study.

CASE 8-2 on the Book Supervisory Management 10th edition

KENNY: AN EFFECTIVE SUPERVISOR

The most effective supervisor encountered by one of the authors of this textbook was named Kenny, and he was maintenance supervisor in a chemical plant of an international corporation.* The author was called in as a consultant because the plant was suffering from the results of the ineffective, autocratic leadership of a former plant manager. Such leadership at the top adversely affected all levels, resulting in low morale and losses from plant operations. In gathering data about the plant through interviews, questionnaires, and observations, the consultant discovered one main- tenance crew, unlike the rest of the departments in the plant, had very high morale and productivity. Kenny was its supervisor. In the interview with Kenny, the consultant discov- ered Kenny was a young man in his early thirties who had a two-year associate’s degree from a community college. The consultant was impressed with his positive attitude, especially in view of the overall low plant morale and productivity. Kenny said the plant was one of the finest places he’d ever worked and the main- tenance people had more know-how than any other group with which he had been associated. Kenny’s per- ception of his crew was they did twice as much work as other crews, everyone worked together, and participa- tive management did work with them. The consultant was curious about why pressure and criticism from the old, autocratic manager seemed not to have had any effect on Kenny’s crew. The crew gave the consultant the answer. They explained Kenny had the ability to act as a buffer between upper manage- ment and the crew. He would get higher management’s primary objectives and points across without upsetting his people. As one crew member described it: The maintenance supervisors will come back from a “donkey barbecue” session with higher management where they are raising hell about shoddy work, tak- ing too long at coffee breaks, etc. Other supervisors are shook up for a week and give their staff hell. But Kenny is cool, calm, and collected. He will call us together and report that nine items were discussed at the meeting, including shoddy work, but that doesn’t apply to our crew. Then he will cover the two or three items that are relevant to our getting the job done. Unfortunately, Kenny did have a real concern at the time of the consultant’s interview. He was being trans- ferred from the highest-producing crew to the lowest producing one. In fact, the latter was known as the “Hell’s Angels” crew. The crew members were a rene- gade group who constantly fought with production people as well as with one another. The previous super- visor had been terminated because he could not cope with them. After Kenny was assigned to the new crew, he had to make a decision on the leadership strategies he would use in dealing with them. His initial diagnosis was the crew had the ability to do the work but lacked the willingness because of a poor attitude. Through discussion with members of the “Hell’s Angels” crew, the consultant learned that on the first day on the job, Kenny called a meeting, shut the door, and conducted a “bull session” that lasted over two hours. Among other things, he told them about his philosophy and the way he liked to operate. He espe- cially stressed he was going to be fair and treat every- one equally. The crew members were allowed to gripe and complain as long as they talked about matters in the plant, while Kenny played a listening role without arguing with them. In the course of the session, Kenny expressed his expectations of the crew. They, in turn, told him they would do it his way for two weeks to see if he “practiced what he preached.” As you may have surmised by now, Kenny’s leader- ship made the difference. Before the year was out, his new crew was the most productive in the plant. Clues to his success may be found in the following comments made about him by his old crew, his new crew (the former “Hell’s Angels” group), the plant’s production manager, and Kenny’s boss, the plant’s maintenance manager.** It should be noted that both the production manager and the maintenance manager are relatively new to their positions and are not part of the former “autocratic management system.” As you read these comments, review what you have learned in the pre- ceding chapters and summarize the principles, points, and concepts from the text that Kenny puts into prac- tice as a leader. *The company would not permit use of its name. **Except for minor editing, the comments are pre- sented as they were made to Donald Mosley.

MAINTENANCE MANAGER, KENNY’S BOSS

• He’s very knowledgeable in the maintenance area.

• He has considerable self-confidence.

• He interacts with people in the plant more than other supervisors do and works well with people from other departments.

• He has the ability to motivate his crew and gets along well with them.

• He functions well as a leader in one-on-one situations and in conducting crew meetings. For example, in both cases he lets people know how they stand and provides them with feedback, and together they discuss ways of improving performance.

• He is better organized than most supervisors, and there is less confusion in his department than elsewhere in the company.

PRODUCTION MANAGER

• He doesn’t give the production people any hassle. He doesn’t ask a lot of questions about why pro- duction wants it done. Instead, he tells the pro- duction people what needs to be done and why.

• He’s a team player, and he wants to get the job done.

• He’s good with people—a great leader—and his crew work well together.

• He’s conscientious—he does his job, does it right, and wants others to do the same.

• He goes out into the plant with his people, and he’s there with them when they need help and advice.

• His crew doesn’t give planners and coordinators a lot of static about what they put into a memo.

KENNY’S OLD CREW

• He’s fair.

• He has a good attitude and a positive outlook.

• He’s concerned about and looks out for the wel- fare of his people.

• He keeps crew problems within the crew and doesn’t run to upper management with every lit- tle detail.

• He has a broad-based knowledge of our work; people feel confident about his decisions.

• He’s a good intermediary between upper man- agement and the crew.

• He gets points across without getting the crew upset.

• When things are tight, he doesn’t mind helping his men with the actual work.

• He has a level personality—he doesn’t show much emotion.

• He’s very supportive of his crew.

KENNY’S NEW CREW (THE FORMER “HELL’S ANGELS”)

• He treats us fairly and equally. • He takes up for the crew and his men.

• He doesn’t threaten you and doesn’t come back after a bad job and nit-pick and tell you what you did wrong. He takes a positive approach to solv- ing problems.

• He can be trusted.

• He helps you with your personal problems.

• He’s competent at what he does and relates the competency to us.

• He places his employees really well. We’re not all like oranges—some are like apples—but he places us where we can do our best.

• He lets us work at our own pace—actually makes us want to work harder.

• He never appears to get angry; he’s always the same—cool, calm, and collected.

• He’s helpful on the job. He’s there, but he’s not there—doesn’t hang over you, telling you what to do and how to do it. Instead, he wants results but lets us get them our own way.

• He seems to enjoy work and being around us.

• He listens to anything we have to say.

Questions Case 8-2

1. How do you explain Kenny’s acceptance by so many other people and the respect they have for him?

2. Can all supervisors operate the way Kenny does- and be effective? Explain your answers.

3. Given Kenny’s effectiveness in his present job, would you recommend promoting him into high levels of management? Explain?

4. Review the characteristics of servant, adaptive, and transformational leadership in the book. Which characteristics apply to Kenny?

5. If Kenny were to set up a team, how would he proceed?

ANSWER

Case Study- Kenny

Question 1

Kenny is more of a transformational leader. He believes in leadership and followership rather than management. This means that he does things how he would want his followers to do them. In a calm, collected manner that motivates the people, he is leading them to do the same. So many other people accept him because he is a people person. He knows how to deal with people even when they make mistakes. For example, he does not handpick employees and points out their mistakes in public. This is one of the common things that employees hate in their leader. It is embarrassing to be nit-picked, and mistakes pointed out in public. Kenny does not do this, and therefore, he has earned their respect by respecting the people around him. Kenny believes in teamwork which has helped in raising the morale and effectiveness of his crew. When the leader is hardworking, the followers are likely to do the same.

According to his crew, he is understanding and listens to their personal issues. This is one of the qualities of a good leader. He is also a good intermediary between management and his crew. This means that he ensures that there is effective communication and that the needs of his crew are handled. Like any good leader, this has earned him fans (Cragg & Spurgeon, 2018). A good leader has fans who are determined to help the leader attain the vision. The members of his crew are determined to help Kenny attain the goals of the organization, and by doing so, Kenny has gained acceptance and respect from his supervisors and those he supervises.

Question 2

Yes, all supervisors can operate the way Kenny does and be effective. Supervisors need to master the art of leadership like Kenny has. He does his work well and handles situations depending on how they need to be handled. He does not get angry or irritated, he handles himself in a calm, collected manner. This is his biggest strength. Most supervisors get frustrated and yell at their employees, which is not they are supposed to handle issues. Most employees do not like being called out in public when they are wrong. They want to have their dignity with them, and therefore by being calm and collected, most supervisors will achieve more than they achieve in yelling at the employees.

Kenny acts as an intermediary between his crew and the management. This ensures that the communication channels are constantly open (Chestnut, 2017). All supervisors can do the same, which could help motivate the employees and raise the morale at work. They also need to motivate their employees like Kenny does. Supervisors can remain calm and collected during working hours and treat their employees respectfully. They can also learn how to be transformational leaders like Kenny. That means working as hard as one would want their employees to work. It also means motivating them to work towards one’s goals. Kenny is the most effective supervisor most have ever encountered, and therefore, operating like him guarantees effectiveness.

Question 3

Employees should be promoted on merit and depending on their effectiveness at what they do. I would, therefore, recommend a promotion to higher management levels for Kenny. Kenny understands the basic aspects of leadership and management as he uses them in his supervisor job. This means that giving him a promotion in management will help the company as he already has the skills required (Fransen et al., 2018). This means that he has the ability to use his management and leadership skills in a management position to increase morale mad motivate the employees. He is also an effective communicator, which is a requirement in management positions. Any organization with Kenny in higher levels of management is likely to be productive and run smoothly. This is because he knows how to deal with people, listens, keeps communication channels open, talks to the higher management, and is also organized.

Kenny should be promoted to higher levels of management as he is a good listener. He listens to the problems of his employees without arguing with them. He also spells out his expectations from the employees first and tells them how things will be done (Fransen et al., 2018). He has all the qualities required in a good leader and a good manager. This means that he is prepared to lead an organization to greater heights. He is a team player who trusts the team members to do what is right without him supervising them all the time.

Question 4

Adaptive leadership involves the act of mobilizing members of the team to overcome challenges and emerge triumphant. The first principle of adaptive leadership is emotional intelligence (Chestnut, 2017). This is a leader who recognizes their feelings and considers the feelings of others. Adaptive leadership also fosters an honest and transparent culture. On the other hand, servant and transformational leadership have attributes that involve providing guidance and inspiration through making changes. Servant leadership, for example, focuses on developing individuals within the organization (Chestnut, 2017). Transformational leadership focuses on motivating and inspiring followers to work towards a common goal.

Kenny can be categorized under a transformational leader. He inspires his crew to work towards a common goal which is the success of the organization. Since he started working in the organization, he has treated all the members of the crew equally, he listens and motivates them to do better. His role as supervisor has led to increased morale in an organization where there is no morale in other sectors (Chestnut, 2017). He is a transformational leader who believes in inspiring members of the team toward the goal. Kenny has achieved transformational leadership because from the responses given by the crew, he is motivating, respectful, listens to members of the crew, and is a team player.

Question 5

Kenny is a transformational leader, and therefore the first step he would take before setting up a team is to ensure that his team members share the same values as he does (Matkó & Takács, 2017). He would hold a meeting with them after ensuring that they share the same values and lay out the goals of the team. He would then assign different projects to different members of the team for them to work on them and then ask them to work as a team to achieve the goal. Kenny is a team player and a leader who believes in inspiring his followers to work towards achieving the goal. Therefore, he would motivate them by also being actively involved, holding meetings to discuss progress, and addressing issues with the team members. He is also big on listening and communication and would therefore listen to any complaints brought in by members of the team and later address them with his supervisor or manager. He would also communicate what is needed from his team clearly to ensure that the team members understand their roles.

 

 

 

 

References

Chestnut, B. (2017). The nine types of leadership: mastering the art of people in the 21st-century workplace. Simon and Schuster.

Cragg, R., & Spurgeon, P. (2018). Competencies of a good leader. In How to Succeed as a Leader (pp. 33-40). CRC Press.

Fransen, K., Vanbeselaere, N., De Cuyper, B., Vande Broek, G., & Boen, F. (2018). When is a leader considered as a good leader? Perceived impact on teammates’ confidence and social acceptance as key ingredients. Int. J. Psychol. Res, 12, 1-21.

Matkó, A., & Takács, T. (2017). Examination of the relationship between organizational culture and performance. International Review of Applied Sciences and Engineering, 8(1), 99-105.