Management and Organisation Assessment 2: Case Study Case for Discussion: Leading in the 21st Century’ The following case comprises two short scenarios describing situations in two very different companies, where the leadership styles and behaviours of the CEO of one company and the owner of the second company are evident on a day- to-day basis. Read these two cases. Think about them. Reflect on what they are saying. There are four questions at the conclusion of the scenarios, which address both situations. You are expected to answer all four questions. Richard Branson: CEO of Virgin Group Sir Richard Branson is a self-made billionaire with more than 200 companies, who does not fit the mould of a CEO in a dark suit with conventional behaviour and appearance. He is as likely to be seen kite surfing the English Channel, absailing down a tall building in India for the launch of Virgin Mobile, dressed as Che Guevara when turning up at a press conference, or wearing butterfly wings whilst running the London marathon as he is in a board room. His business and life vision has been broad and adventurous, and under his guidance has developed a diverse empire of Virgin companies including airlines, telecommunications, a record label, credit card lendingand a hotel chain.Branson’s more recent Virgin Galactic venture has had some setbacks, but he maintains his vision and sets the example to his employees that we all can dare to dream and make these dreams happen. Branson is often studied in the business world for the keys to his success, part of which appear to be his management style and decisions he makes. He is known to take risks, but calculated risks. For example, a little known fact is that his first company, Virgin Records, was founded in 1972 as a very small boutique label, with not a lot of money behind them. The first artist he signed was an unknown progressive rock musician, Mike Oldfield, who produced an album of a single piece of music with no lyrics. No ‘single’, zero ‘hit’ potential it seemed. It was a huge gamble. However, the album was Tubular Bells, and went on to be one of the highest selling albums of all time, selling 17million copies.It was the foundation of the Virgin Empire and Branson’s success. Likewise he took another huge risk in 1976 when he signed a totally new type of music act, the Sex Pistols, who re-wrote musical history and heralded in the start of the punk movement. These risks clearly both paid off. He is definitely highly passionate about business ventures and believes in the importance of fun which he brings to the workplace. He was quoted as saying, “Some 80% of your life is spent working. You want to have fun at home; why shouldn’t you have fun at work?”Branson values removing barriers in the corporate hierarchy and sharing ideas and social events with his workers. Listening to others is important to Branson, particularly his employees, as is allowing them to keep motivated through applying their skills in areas and new projects he is not as good at. Branson argues that delegating to others helps workers develop, whilst creating the opportunity for him to have more leisure time with his family and to be freed up for more strategic business development.Branson encourages his employees to think and make their own decisions rather than telling them, justifying this approach by saying they are paid to think and self-lead, not to follow. Branson is often involved personally in selecting staff to ensure the right fit for the Virgin culture, as workers need to operate in a rapidly changing environment, need to make decisions and needto be empowered to act. Branson acknowledges however that the leader’s challenge is to know when to step back and to know when to intervene. Branson’s philosophy is that being people focussed is the key to business success, and that managers who have a people focus will achieve better outcomes. Branson has a ‘non-policy’ on holidays for staff in that they can take holidays when they want them which, he believes, will ultimately increase productivity. Branson’s approach also includes respect for employees by giving them support and sometimes stepping back and delegating. Branson operates from the premise that if employees leave it will be because they do not feel valued and because their work does not give them a feeling of satisfaction, not because they do not receive enough money. A classic Branson quote that sums up his attitude is “Customers do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of the employees, they will take care of the customers” Terry Gou (pronounced Gwaw): Owner of Foxconn Factories Apple is one of the richest companies in the world. This is in part due to the efficiency strategies it utilises in choosing companies in its global manufacturing. Terry Gou operates Hon Hai Precision, the world’s largest contract manufacturer. Employing more than 820,000 workers, it is a major supplier to Apple, Sony, HP and Nokia. The factory is best known as ‘Foxconn’. Unlike the previous example of Virgin employees, where the words ‘happy’ and ‘empowered’ and ‘fun’ underpin the culture, employees at Foxconn’s Chinese factories have sometimes been required to do 24 hour shifts, or woken up at 4amto meet an urgent order from Apple. Even though there are a range of worker benefits, such as swimming pools the pressure is constant to work harder in the quest for ever-increasing efficiency and productivity, often in an environment that is highly physically, as well as mentally, toxic and stressful, with dangerous chemicals and ‘forced’ overtime. Management practices at Foxconn are quite different from those in many other countries, with the driving leadership goal being to make an ever increasing profit with higher worker output. In one of the Apple manufacturing plants in Chengdu there are even banners that remind the worker that they need to work hard today or else they will need to work hard tomorrow to find a new job. There have been at least 11 suicides and further suicide threats being made due to harsh working conditions and worker treatment. Gou’s response to the suicides however did not involve changing conditions for the workers, but instead focussed on erecting suicide nets in some factories to stop jumpers. There was, however,some counselling and a pay increase, but not a change in nature of the work, working conditions or hours of work. In many countries suchworking conditions would not be tolerated and could be considered unethical. However in countries where manufacturing is outsourced there can often be different management practices and treatment of workers. The challenge facing Terry Gou is that Apple chooses his company to manufacture for them, not just for price but also for fast delivery time.The flow-on impact foremployees is a relentless driving for more production, with long hours and low pay. As mentioned,employees do have some benefits, such as cafeterias and medical facilities,but they have boring, repetitive jobs, minimum wages, forced overtime,plus the ever-present threat of dismissal. In addition, Gou’s leadership style is ‘secretive’ and even new product launches are kept quiet. The employees operate in a culture in which jobs are carried out with military style precision and workers are tightly controlled. There is no clear consultation with workers and there was even an attempt by Gou to make workers sign a letter absolving his company of any responsibility if they chose to commit suicide. Gou’s leadership is still based on an old model which combines intense drive with a martial style of leadership, which is based on his hero Genghis Khan. Gou’s favourite sayings,which guide his leadership approach and demonstrate what he expects of his workers, are: • “Work itself is a type of joy”, • “A harsh environment is a good thing”, • “Hungry people have especially clear minds” and • “An army of one thousand is easy to get: One general is tough to find.” Questions: 1. a) What leadershipstyle do you feel is exhibited by Richard Branson? Define and discuss the characteristics of the style and cite specific examples from the case to support your argument. b) What leadership style do you feel is exhibited by Terry Gou? Define and discuss the characteristics of the style and cite specific examples from the case to support your argument. 2. Define and briefly discuss the ‘path-goal leadership theory’. (House 1971),(House &Mitchell 1974). House describes four leader behaviours. Identify these behaviours and discuss: • which one you believe is most evident in the leadership of Richard Branson, and, • which one is most evident in the leadership of Terry Gou. It may be that you will argue that there is more than one of the leader behaviours demonstrated by Branson and/or Gou. Cite examples from the case to support your arguments. 3. Discuss how you believe the leadership styles of both Branson and Gou could impact on worker’s motivation, from either a positive or negative perspective. Consider the theories of motivation we will cover to provide a justification for your answer. For example, you may note the relationship to path-goal leadership theory, as path-goal leadership theory is derived from the motivation theory of ‘expectancy’. NOTE: This example is not the sole answer you may provide here however. 4. If you were a consultant hired to improve leadership at Foxconn, what changes would you recommend to Terry Gou to create a workplace that is more harmonious, less stressful and less toxic for employees. Do you believe the nature of some of the characteristics of Chinese culture may influence the success of these changes? (HINT: Go back to Weeks 2 and 3. Revisit the material on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions across cultures). You may also need to search for information on Hofestede and China specifically. Assessment 2 Requirements: The following guidelines should assist you as you plan and undertake your case study assignment: • You are asked to carefully study the case as presented, and to research and read as much as you can from literature sources that relate to the various concepts in the case. Literature sources can include textbooks, academic papers and business journal papers. You should use these reference sources to support the discussion you present in your assignment paper, as you respond to the four questions • Identification: Please include your name and ID numberin the header or footer of your paper • Please do not attach the university’s cover page • Word count:1800 words, plus 20% • Assignment weighting: 40% • References: 6 reference sourcesminimum. Use the Harvard Referencing Guide UniSA protocol • Assignment structure: Structure your assignment in the following manner: o Introduction – this is a small general introduction for the whole assignment. Do not have an introduction for each question. Approximately 100 words o Discussion – respond to each of the four questions in sequence. There is no need to type out each question, just sub-head ‘Question 1’ etc. Approximately 400-500words for each of the questions. Note: Each question may not take the same amount of words to adequately discuss that question- the word limits provided are a guide for your planning purposes only o Conclusion – this is a small general conclusion for the whole assignment. Approximately 100 words • Assignment format and presentation: o Write your responses to the questions in essay style, not dot points o Use Calibri 12 point or similar (Ariel for example) o 1.5 line spacing o Use margins so as markers can include comments within your assignment o Word count - calculate your assignment word count and place it after the conclusion and before your list of references. If you prefer not to include in-text referencing within the word count then please indicate this – it is permissible if you are concerned about total word count for your assignment Note About Academic Integrity: The university treats academic misconduct seriously, therefore any student found using Internet provided possible answers may be awarded a zero mark for their assignment, or may be suspended from the University if found purchasing assignments. Academic research requires a student to gather their own resources about the subject matter, to read widely about the topic in question, to analyse the information provided by these academic resources by linking the information back to the questions being asked, and then writing your answers in your own words. Even if you use your own words you still need to provide the source from where you found this information, by way of an in-text reference and listed in the Reference List at the end of your assignment. Academic sources include journal articles, academic textbooks and business journals. They do not include essay study sites, general webpages where the authenticity could be questioned, or Wikipedia or similar sites. More information about academic integrity and what constitutes academic misconduct can be found in Section9 of the Assessment Policies and Procedures Manual (APPM).