June 2013 #4 Part A

Hello..

Is my answer correct? My answer if way way off from the examiner.

Sully had adopted an autocratic leadership style before attending the course. Furthermore, Sully is a Theory X manager according to McGregor’s theory of leadership.

After completing the training course, Sully implemented a democratic leadership style in his company. He implemented this approach as he was concerned about establishing more contracts and his health was deteriorating from working long hours in the office.

Why the change was unsuccessful?

– The way in which Sully had carried about the operations of the company (very strict, tightly controlled and bureaucratic) has resulted in employees just working to rules and instructions from above and not actively learning how to deal with problems which arise. Sully’s workers were like robots just carrying out his instructions and not being independent problem solvers.

– Since the workers in the country which Sully’s business operates are naturally lazy and lack initiative, a democratic approach to leadership would fail because they won’t put in any effort to think about resolving problems which arise during the course of the working day. This would result in many issues not being resolved and put contracts at risk of not being renewed by customers.

– The change in leadership style also failed because of Sully’s approach to change (change strategy). Sully only held a meeting with his workers and dictated to them that from now on they will be responsible for handling control actions. Sully did not even bother to discuss with his employees how they felt about this change and incorporated any feedback given that he had just completed a course on democratic leadership style nor did he ask if there were any specific areas of control action where they would prefer to consult with Sully before making a final decision. Sully overall demonstrated the same autocratic approach to this change scenario.

– The tension and fear amongst employees of making a decision that would have severe repercussions on the organization would have also contributed to the failure in the change of leadership style. The absenteeism level by itself is a form of resistance to the change in leadership style.

Are these enough points for this part of the question?
I found it hard to make up any more points.

Thanks!