Question

Rex Justice is a long-term employee of the Carfax Corporation, and for the last several years he has been a supervisor in the financial section of the firm. He is very loyal to Carfax and works hard to follow the company policies and procedures and the orders of the managers above him. In fact, upper-level management think very highly of him; they can always count on Rex to meet any sort of demand that the company places on him. He is valued and well liked by all the top managers. His employees in the financial section have the opposite opinion of Rex. They feel that he is too concerned with pleasing the upper-level brass and not nearly concerned enough with the needs and concerns of the employees in his department. For example, they feel that Rex never really pushes hard enough for a more substantial slice of the budget. Relative to other departments in the company, they feel they are underpaid and overworked. Also, whenever one of them goes to Rex with a new idea or suggestion for improvement, he always seems to have five reasons why it can’t be done. There is considerable dissatisfaction in the department, and everyone thinks that Rex is just a puppet for management. Performance has begun to suffer because of his style and leadership. Upper-level management seem to be oblivious to the situation in the finance section. (Chapter 14 OB).

1. From your perspective and understanding of this week's course material, identify and describe the main OB problem outlined in this case. Be specific in describing the actors and concepts that reflect the main problem explained in this case. Note that the main problem identifies the primary issue that when solved, the solution also eliminates other issues that are symptoms or results of the main problem.

2. How would you describe Rex’s leadership style/approach in terms of two or more of the styles/approaches discussed in the chapters?

3. Using a minimum of two roles identified by Mintzberg and summarized in Figure 14.2, and a minimum of two actions or behaviors outlined by the Luthans's Real Management study summarized in Table 14.3, advise Rex on how he can improve his approach to leadership. Specifically explain what you recommend for Rex to do and the changes to the situation that are expected to result.

4. You have been asked by upper management to design a leadership development program in an attempt to make Rex more effective in his roles. Analyze the competency, ALD, and coaching approaches relative to the situation and explain if and why each would be an appropriate design for Rex and the situation as outlined. Which would be the most effective? For the approach that you identify as most effective, what content would be included in the program and what would be the expected outcome?  

Answer 1

Answer 2:-

I would say that Rex’s leadership is Bureaucratic – he is “by the book." He follows rules rigorously, and ensures that staff follows procedures precisely. I would say that his leadership style is highly task-oriented; he focuses on getting the job done. I believe he actively defines the work and the roles required, put structures in place, plans, organizes, and monitors. However, because he is task-oriented, he does not tend to think much about the well-being of his staff. Obviously his staff is losing interest in their jobs and are only doing what is expected of them and nothing more.

According to our reading, modern leaders must have at least three faces:

1.         Manager (disciplined, rational, organizing and controlling) – which Rex has.

2.         Artist (curious, independent, creative, emotional, innovator) which Rex lacks.

3.         Priest (empathetic, inspiring, comforting) which Rex lacks.

Answer 3:-

Rex lacks Emotional Intelligence. That being, how the manager (supervisor) manages his or her own feelings and working relationships to create a working environment where each employee feels confident, safe and in control. The manager trained in emotional intelligence is taught to recognize how personal emotions affect his or her job performance, how to develop a flexible emotional response system to challenges that arise with workers, how to express emotions clearly and constructively, how to gain emotional control of office situations and how to define, identify and analyze behavioral responses and emotions to those situations.

I believe Rex needs to understand the concept of adaptability and human relationships and incorporate these into his supervisory style because the world is increasingly complex and dynamic. Adaptability stems from objectivity, which in turn stems from emotional security and emotional maturity. Good leaders typically have a keen understanding of relationships within quite large and complex systems and networks. This may be from an intuitive angle, or a technical/learned angle, or both. Good leadership in the modern age more importantly requires attitudes and behaviors which characterize and relate to humanity.

Answer 4:-

I would definitely suggest management training for Rex. Management training has moved from a “one size fits all” approach toward individualized instruction for each type of business and workplace situation. Management training professionals analyze the business, design a training program appropriate to that business, create a learning environment on-site or through a virtual setup, implement the program and then evaluate results.

Rex would benefit from management training the focused on learning, practicing and improving :

• TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION: Using the Full-Duplex Method to drastically reduce miscommunication.
• LISTENING Skills: Six types of listening: Five that improves listening and one that doesn't.
• NONVERBAL Communication: How to read face and hear the meaning in tone and intonation.
• Use of QUESTIONS: That shape the power to shape a conversation.
• Improve RELATIONSHIPS: How to generate positive impressions, increase trust, & be better liked.

Simply put, Rex needs to learn new skills to enhance his supervisory abilities. Rex needs to learn how to effectively organize and manage teams, notice the need for and designing new job roles in the group, cross-train current employees, employee performance management (setting goals, observing and giving feedback and proactively address performance issues. A critical skill for anyone is the ability to manage their own learning.

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Answer 2

1. Based on the fact that Rex is only concerned about what the upper-management thinks of him, while under-performing for his coworkers from the department, I would say that he is practicing Bureaucratic leadership. He follows rules rigorously, and ensures that staff follows procedures precisely. Because he is task-oriented however , he does not tend to think much about the well-being of his staff and his staff is losing interest in their jobs and feel under valued and underpaid.

2. I would advise him that he needs to be more concerned about the needs of his employees. He should be able to provide a space where his employees should have the confidence to talk to Rex about new ideas.He can do this be encouraging and inspiring innovation and creativity among his employees.He should also champion for the appropriate budget allocation to ease the minds of his employees.

3. In my opinion I think Rex will benefit immensely from the training. This training should include communication skills which will help with the lack of interest in his coworker's ideas as it will help him to communicate to them better. Team building skills should also be taught sop that he can inspire the employees to increase performance.He should also be taught on how he can ensure workers do not feel overworked.For example by offering vacation time.

4. Based on this ,Rex is practicing management and not leadership.This is because Leadership is about getting people to comprehend and believe in the vision you set for the company and to work with you on achieving your goals, while management is mainly based on administering and ensuring the day-to-day activities are happening as they should.

1. Based on the fact that Rex is only concerned about what the upper-management thinks of him, while under-performing for his coworkers from the department, I would say that he is practicing Bureaucratic leadership. He follows rules rigorously, and ensures that staff follows procedures precisely. Because he is task-oriented however , he does not tend to think much about the well-being of his staff and his staff is losing interest in their jobs and feel under valued and underpaid.

2. I would advise him that he needs to be more concerned about the needs of his employees. He should be able to provide a space where his employees should have the confidence to talk to Rex about new ideas.He can do this be encouraging and inspiring innovation and creativity among his employees.He should also champion for the appropriate budget allocation to ease the minds of his employees.

3. In my opinion I think Rex will benefit immensely from the training. This training should include communication skills which will help with the lack of interest in his coworker's ideas as it will help him to communicate to them better. Team building skills should also be taught sop that he can inspire the employees to increase performance.He should also be taught on how he can ensure workers do not feel overworked.For example by offering vacation time.

4. Based on this ,Rex is practicing management and not leadership.This is because Leadership is about getting people to comprehend and believe in the vision you set for the company and to work with you on achieving your goals, while management is mainly based on administering and ensuring the day-to-day activities are happening as they should.