Project One - Leadership Theories, Approach

Project One: Leadership
Theories/Approach/Style • Purpose:
In the first assignment, students are given a scenario about
Global Delivery Direct (GDD), a Norfolk, England medium-sized
global delivery company that was started in 1968 by four college
friends. . The purpose of this exercise is to see if you can identify
the GDD leader in the potential candidates that will be hired to
lead the new boutique services department.
Outcome Met by Completing This Assignment
use leadership theories, assessment tools, and an understanding
of the role of ethics, values, and attitudes to evaluate and
enhance personal leadership skills
Background:
Andrew Rockfish and the co- owners have been looking for a
competitive edge in the North American market that will translate
well to the other divisions. A recent meeting of the owners
resulted in the decision to target business organizations with
custom services. This decision stems from recent feedback from
customers that revealed that for GDD to anticipate the needs of
their clients, suppliers and service vendors, the Company needed
to decrease the turnaround time in delivery and the mailing of
small packages and letters. Rockfish has decided to offer
“boutique” services to its business customers. Catering to
businesses will allow GDD to provide personal services that Fed
Ex and UPS cannot offer. Customizing the services will allow
GDD to increase prices while creating a new niche in the market.
It was decided that the initial roll out of this idea would start in the
US where an imminent threat from competition lies. Rockfish was
on board with this idea and began a campaign with the rest of the
Company to find ideas that would help encourage the new
‘Business First” strategic plan. In response, a sales manager from the mid-west sales team
brought this following idea from their brainstorming session for
Rockfish’s consideration. The sales manager proposed creating
several mobile packing stores that would directly bring customer
service to businesses. GDD would not just pick up and deliver
but they would also package. This model could be viewed as an
UPS store on wheels. The team got the idea from a local delivery
service that started a similar business as a Mail Store on Wheels
and it seemed to be doing well. The mail company has five “Mail
on Wheels” trucks and focuses on taking small business, not
individuals, away from the three local UPS and Kinkos stores.
After a financial review of the company, Rockfish decided to buy
the business.
Adrian Cheng, a young entrepreneur who ran the business with a
philosophy that “customers always get the best of our time and
service”, started Mail on Wheels. Personal service, friendliness,
and as much time as it takes to make the customer happy, was
part of the mission statement. Employees were casually dressed
and had no deadlines except those given by the customer.
Cheng had approximately 45 employees and ran both day and
evening shifts. He had one van that was on call 24/7. Cheng
oversaw the entire operation with two assistant managers, one for
the day shift and one for the evening shift. Cheng does not want
to continue working once the merger takes place. Therefore,
Rockfish has decided to hire a new manager for the new service
products the company will offer.
Rockfish has decided that you, as a new management trainee
might review some of the candidates for the job and help decide if
the candidates have a leadership approach and style that fits the
21st century model that GDD is promoting in its leaders.
Instructions:
Step 1: Preparation for Writing the Assignment
Before you begin writing the report, you will read the following requirements that will help you meet the writing and APA
requirements. Not reading this information will lead to a lower
grade:
Review “How to Analyze a Case Study” under Week 4 Content.
You are expected to use the facts from the case scenario focusing
on using this information to determine opportunities and solve
problems.
Read the grading rubric for the assignment. Use the grading
rubric while writing the report to ensure all requirements are met
that will lead to the highest possible grade.
In writing this assignment, you will read and following these tasks:
Task 1: Third person writing is required. Third person means that
there are no words such as “I, me, my, we, or us” (first person
writing), nor is there use of “you or your” (second person
writing). If uncertain how to write in the third person, view this
link: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/firstsecond-and-third-person.
Task 2: Contractions are not used in business writing, so you are
expected NOT to use contraction in writing this assignment.
Task 3: You are expected to paraphrase and are NOT to use
direct quotes. You are expected to paraphrase, which can be
learned by reviewing this
link: https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/QPA_paraphrase2.html.
Task 4: You are responsible for APA only for in-text citations and
a reference list.
Task 5: You are expected to use the facts from the case scenario
paired with the weekly courses readings to develop the analysis and support the reasoning. No more than three (3) external
resources can be used in completing the assignment. The
expectation is that you provide a robust use of the course
readings. If any material is used from a source document, it must
be cited and referenced. A reference within a reference list
cannot exist without an associated in-text citation and vice versa.
View the sample APA paper and the How to Cite and Reference
file located under Week 4 content.
Step 2: How to Set Up the Report
Create a Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) document that is
double-spaced, 12-point font. The final product will be between 46 pages in length excluding the title page and reference page.
You may not exceed six (6) pages so it is important to write
clearly and concisely. •
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• Follow a report format.
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/726/01/
Create a title page with title, your name, the course, the
instructor’s name and date;
Introduction
GDD’s Results
Candidate’s Results
GDD/ Candidates Comparison
Recommendation
Step 3: Identify GDD’s prevalent leadership theory,
leadership approach and preferred leadership style.
Task 1: Read the course readings in weeks 1 – 4 to gain an
understanding of the concepts of leadership theory, leadership
approach and leadership style.
Task 2: Read the background information under each week’s
course schedule and the case scenario to identify GDD’s
prevalent leadership theory, leadership approach and preferred
leadership style. Task 3: Create a table that illustrates GDD’s prevalent leadership
theory, leadership approach and the preferred leadership style.
Task 4: Explain the reasoning for the selection of each element
within the table. You will use the course readings and the case
scenario information to support the reasoning.
Step 4: Identify each candidate’s prevalent leadership
theory, leadership approach and preferred leadership style.
Task 1: There are four potential candidates for the new manager
position. Below is a summary of Rockfish’s interview notes for
you to use in making a recommendation. Read the interview
notes for each candidate.
Candidate One- Henrietta Raynard
Henrietta was the assistant to Alex Cheng. She is 28 years old
and is currently finishing her degree online at . Henrietta is
a business administration major. She is friendly and has a quiet
demeanor. She does not tolerate much nonsense from people,
hates surprises, and wants people to be brief in talking with her.
Rockfish’s personal impression is that Henrietta was hesitant in
joining a larger organization. She appears to like the smallness of
a business and feels in control in such an environment. She liked
the idea of the collaborative environment of GDD and responded
well to the idea that her opinions and suggestions were always
welcome. However, Henrietta expressed some concern that the
youthful employees of Mail on Wheels had plenty of opinions but
not a lot of discipline in their work ethic. She found that structure,
procedures and rules have worked better than asking for input.
When asked how her staff perceived her, she laughed and said
the staff called her a “Type A.”. Then again, she indicated that to
some of the people she works with, anyone who shows up for a
meeting early is a “Type A.” Rockfish noted that during this
statement it was only one of two times during the interview that
she held his gaze for any length of time. When asked what
characteristics she thought a leader needed to possess to
succeed in the 21st century she replied, “…objective, practical, controlled and fair.” Raynard said her leadership style was
transactional but Rockfish was not sure if it was not more
authoritarian. When asked what leadership theory she thought
was most likely to work in the 21st century her reply was “Great
Man, because it emphasizes the characteristics of a person like
honesty and trust.” Raynard’s knowledge of the business was
sound but when asked if anyone could be a leader she said no. It
was up to the position that a person holds. She seemed to know
little about how GDD operated. When asked if she had a
leadership approach she replied, “Can you clarify the question? If
you mean, do I think I can l lead? Sure.” Raynard did understand
that sustainability was very important to the business. She said
she had some ideas about how to make the process aspect of
Mail on Wheels better, more efficient while saving cost. She also
thought that being eco-friendly was important but realized that
was the other meaning of the word sustainability in business.
Candidate Two- Orson Hernandez
Hernandez currently manages the local Kinkos store. He has
remained loyal to the company even after the merger. However,
Hernandez feels that the store’s image, culture, and mission have
changed dramatically since the merger. He enjoys working with a
customer until they are satisfied and regrets having to short
change the time he currently spends with customers. He also
feels that the company culture has become more rigid. When
asked what characteristics he thought a leader needed to
succeed in the 21st century, he replied, “…flexible,
compassionate, insightful and honest”. Hernandez seemed to
understand the idea of a mobile packaging store and was aware
that Cheng’s company was becoming a strong competitor for the
small business customers. Asked about the idea of competitive
edge he said that a leader at his level does not have to worry
about competitive edge. He likes the collaborative culture at GDD
and showed signs of having done his homework on the Company.
He said that GDD would do well if the company made sure the
new division continued the existing culture because it encouraged creativity. When asked how he created followers among his
employees, Hernandez replied that he liked to use incentive
motivational techniques and would sometimes empower workers
if they showed an ability to manage others well. Hernandez said
he was a laisse-faire leader because it encouraged freedom. His
said his favorite leadership theory was contingency theory
because it allowed him to approach things by the situation. He
liked to agree with people and saw himself as being flexible.
Hernandez said that he really did not have an approach to
leadership just a style.
Candidate Three- Jonathan Livingston
Currently works for the IT department at UPS and obtained this
job right after serving in the military. Livingston entered the
interview room all smiles and with a firm handshake. Rockfish
admitted to being impressed by the firm handshake and the
constant eye contact throughout the interview. Livingston was
well prepared to discuss both companies having visited both prior
to the interview. Livingston had also read about GDD online and
spoke with current employees. Livingston indicated that he was
the team leader in his current job and was content with the
organization. However, his current job does not lead him to a
career position in management, which he desires. His approach
to leading is to look for leadership opportunities and encourage
employees to act upon them if possible. Livingston believes he is
positive about the future and while he knows that GDD is
searching for market share, he feels that he can bring a big
picture perspective to the new company by having worked at
UPS. Livingston said he sees himself as a transformational
leader. He feels good leadership is about having good
relationships with followers. Relationship theory seemed to make
the most sense to him for the 21st century because people are
responsible for making change happen as well as leading change
in the future.
Candidate Four-Adrianna Coyote
Coyote went to work for GDD as a part-time employee straight out of college. She took time off to have a family but is now managing
the GDD airport station at the Ontario Hub. Having read about
the opportunity through the GDD’s HR division website, Coyote
was excited about the possibility of moving her career forward
She is quite familiar with GDD shipping methods, deadlines,
culture and policies. Coyote has many innovative ideas besides
the mobile vans that would promote the business boutique
market. Coyote’s evaluations are superior and she works well with
her team. Her colleagues indicated that she is flexible and is a
“people-first” person. Her eye contact is good and she comes off
as being authentic. She describes her leadership style as servant
with a touch of authoritarian. The deadlines of station work
require strong direction at times and she believes that she must
be strict about the deadlines. However, Coyote tries to serve her
people by looking at their needs and giving them a chance to be
happy in their jobs. Her team seems to concur. She has little
knowledge of the mobile business but has researched and looked
closely at Mail on Wheels. When asked about her favorite
leadership theory she replied “relationship but really servant.”
The idea of having a leadership approach seemed to stump
Coyote. She said, “Leaders must encourage others and to seek
ways for the company to do well.”
Task 2: Create a table that illustrates each candidate’s prevalent
leadership theory, leadership approach and preferred leadership
style.
Task 3: Explain the reasoning for the selection of each element
within the table. Use the course readings and the case scenario
information to support the reasoning.
Step 5: Compare and Contrast GDD with Candidates
You will now compare and contrast the leadership qualities that
fits GDD leadership model with the leadership qualities of the four
candidates.
Task 1: Identify the similarities and differences in the data in the two tables looking to see what candidate best fits the GDD
leadership model. Task 2: Use the data ascertained in comparing the two tables to
complete the following rating table for the four candidates. Use a
scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest rating and 1 the lowest
rating. Note that it is possible to have candidates that fall within
the same category.
Candidate 1 No Fit 2 Bad Fit 3 Not
Sure 4 Good
Fit 5 Best Fit Raynard
Hernandez
Livingston
Coyote
Task 3: For each candidate, explain how you arrived at the
rating. Be sure to use the course reading and case scenario facts
to support your conclusions reflected in the rating table.
Step 6: Recommend the candidate that best fits GDD’s
leadership model
Rockfish is depending on you to recommend the best candidate
for the position. Review the information from the prior steps.
Task 1: Identify the candidate that you believe best fits the GDD
leadership model and explain why he or she is the best candidate
for the position.
Task 2: Support the recommendation by making a comparison
between GDD’s leadership model and the qualities the candidate
possesses covering leadership theories, leadership approach and
leadership style.
Step 7: Submit the report in the Assignment Folder.