Chapter 7 Cases

 

 

Case 7.1: Three Shifts, Three Supervisors

 

  1. Based on the principles of path-goal theory, describe why Art and Bob appear to be less effective than Carol.

 

Carol seems to be a more effective leader than Art & Bob because she has integrated a greater amount of supportive or nurturing leadership behavior that matches the needs of her subordinates. If Art & Bob were to implement more supportive techniques into their style, they would become more effective.

 

  1. How does leadership of each of the three supervisors affect the motivation of their respective subordinates?

 

Art’s leadership motivates employees because he leads by example. He shows a genuine passion for his job and that carries through to the people he supervises. Bob’s style also motivates employees because of the fact that he congratulates people on personal accomplishment, and this positive reinforcement creates a more productive worker. Carol’s leadership is positively motivating to the workers as well. They voice that they like to work with her because she is dedicated to making the job easier for the workers by planning solutions to their problems that arise.

 

  1. If you were consulting with Brako about leadership, what changes and recommendations would you make regarding the supervision of Art, Bob, and Carol?

 

I would advise Art to provide more supportive behavior and connect interpersonally with workers to motivate them further than he always is. The workers sometimes feel as if he does not understand their situation at work day-to-day and this type of connection may help him understand. Bob seems to be either working the employees too hard or assigning them tasks without sufficient training. He should meet with his shift workers and work on understanding where their hardships lie, and how he can ease them for the workers. Carol should learn to develop a style of leadership that is more aligned with the styles that Art and Bob use. They all need to evaluate their style and come to a middle-ground so that switching workers between shifts would be less difficult and yield higher success.

 

 

Case 7.2: Direction for Some, Support for Others

 

  1. According to path-goal theory, why is Daniel an effective leader?

 

Daniel is an effective leader according to the path-goal theory because he uses elements from each of the four behaviors in the theory in his leadership. He provides guidance and psychological structure to his student-workers, provides a nurturing environment, allows involvement with each other and involves himself, and provides challenges in their work.

 

  1. How does his leadership style affect the motivation of employees at The Copy Center?

 

His leadership style significantly motivates the employees at The Copy Center. He empowers them to interact with each other and remain in a comfort zone. He gives them challenging work that demands attention and skill, but counters that with a family-like atmosphere.

 

  1. One of the characteristics of path-goal theory is to make the end goal valuable to workers. What could Daniel do to improve subordinate motivation in this area?

 

Daniel should implement some type of incentive program. Something as small as bonuses for filling a certain amount of orders in a period of time, to opportunities for promotion in the company would be great. These end-goal incentives will be valued by the employees and make the work feel more productive and make it seem to have a direction.

 

 

Case 7.3: Marathon Runners at Different Levels

 

  1. Based on the principles described in path-goal theory, what kind of leadership should David exhibit with each of the three running groups?

 

For the first group of inexperienced runners, David needs to show nurturing support and guidance to the runners. They have a lot of basic questions that show their inexperience and he must cater to their needs to be an effective leader. The second group seems more experienced, this is where David needs to show more involvement in his leadership. He needs to make the group aware of his expertise and how he can be of assistance in helping them improve and prepare. Lastly, David needs to provide challenges for the last, experienced group.

 

  1. What does David have to do to help the runners accomplish their goals?

 

David needs to evaluate and recognize the separate needs of each of the running groups. After recognizing their needs, he needs to act upon them and cater to the needs. If he does this while fostering a nurturing environment for every runner, he will have runners who are motivated, knowledgeable, and productive in training.

 

  1. Are there obstacles that David can remove or help runners to confront?

 

As he deals with various concerns with the runners, he should keep a record of the concern and the solution that was offered and what worked. If these are compiled into a central location for all members to access and read at any time, he time can be better spent helping with bigger or more pressing issues.

 

  1. In general, how can David motivate each of the three groups?

 

David can motivate the inexperienced group by providing information on a regular basis to keep them informed, he can motivate the middle group by assisting them in improving their skill and providing more in depth insights, and he can motivate the experienced runners by presenting challenges to them for the purpose of developing their skill.