CASE STUDY ANALYSIS

On
  Moving from Colleague to Supervisor
Course Name : Organizational Behavior

Course No : MIS(301)

 Subm
 Submitted
itted to:
Dr. Md. Mahfuz Ashraf 
Course Coordinator 
Department of MIS
University of Dhaka

Submitted By:
Sultan Mahmud 07
Rawsanul haque 40
Mirazul Islam 45
Laskar Md. Najibul Islam 47
Md. Omar Faruk 51
Jahidul Morshed 70

Date of Submission : May 30 2010

Case:
 

 
Moving from Colleague to
t o Supervisor

Cheryl Kahn, Rob Carstons, and Linda McGree have some thing in common. They
all were promoted within their organization into management positions. And each
found the transition a challenge.
Chey
Ch eyrl
rl Ka
Kahn
hn was prom
promot oted
ed to dire
direct
ctor
or of cate
cateri
ring
ng for
for th
thee Gl
Glaz
azie
ierr Gr
Grou
oupp of 
restaurant in New York City. With the promotion, she realized that things would be
never the same again. No longer she would be able to participate in water-cooler 
gossip or shrug off an employee’s chronic lateness. She says she found her new role
to be daunting. “At first I was like a bulldozer knocking everyone over, and that was
not well received. I was saying, ‘It is my way or highway’. And was forgetting that
my friends were also in tension.” She admits that this style alienated just about
everyone with whom she worked.
Rob Carstons,
Carstons, a tech
technica
nicall mana
manager
ger at IBM in Californ
California,
ia, talk about the unce
uncertain
rtainty
ty
hw felt after being promoted to being a manager from being a junior programmer. “It
was a little bit challenging to be suddenly giving directives to peers, when just the
day before you were one of them
them.. You try to be careful not to offend anyoneanyone.. It’s a
stranger walking into a room and the whole conversation change. People don’t want
to be as open
open with you when you become a boss.”
Linda McGee is now president of Medix Insurance Services in Baltimore, Maryland.
Shee st
Sh star
arte
ted
d as a cu cust
stom
omer
er se
serv
rvic
icee repr
repres
esen
enta
tati
tive
ve wi
with
th th
thee co
comp
mpananyy an
and
d ththen
en
le
leap
apfr
frog
ogge
gedd ov
overer co
coll
llea
eagu
gues
es in a se seri
ries
es of prom
promototio
ions
ns.. He
Herr first
first rise
rise crea
createted
d
 problems. She saya colleague “would say, ‘oh, here come the big cheese now.” God
only knows what they talked about behind me back.”
 

Summary:
  Most of the time becoming a superior from a colleague brings some challenges in the job.
Challenges arise in matching with the new situation, giving direction and controlling the
 pressure.
 pressure. In the case three persons Cheryl Kahn, Rob carstons and Linda MeGree faces
same problem in their new position. After promoting to director, Cheryl Kahn round her 
new role to be daunting . After being promoted to manager from junior programmer, Rob
Carstons found that it was challenging to be giving directives to peers. Limda McGree,
 president
 president of Medex
Medex Insurance
Insurance also
also faces same problem
problem in
in her job after the
the promotion.
promotion.

QUESTION – 01

A lot of new managers err in selecting the right leadership styles when they
move into management. Why do you think this happens?

Yes. Many managers do this error. Before that we have to understand about leadership and its
applications. It helps to understand clearly this case.

Leadership

Good leaders are made not born. If you have the desire and willpower,
willpower, you can become an effective
leader. Good leaders develop through a never ending process of self-study, education, training, and
experience.

To inspire your workers into higher levels of teamwork,

teamwork, there are certain
certain things you must be, know,
and, do. These
These do not come naturally
naturally,, but are acquire
acquired
d through
through continual
continual work and study.
study. Good
Good
leaders are continually working and studying to improve their leadership skills; they are not resting
on their laurels.

Leadership Styles Overview

When developing your leadership skills, one must soon confront an important practical question,
"What leadership styles work best for me and my organization?" To answer this question, it's best to
understand that there are many from which to choose and as part of your  leadership development 
development 
effort, you should consider developing as many leadership styles as possible.
 

Three Classic Leadership Styles

One dimension of has to do with control and one's perception of how much control one should give
to people. The laissez faire style implies low control, the autocratic style high control and the
 participative
 participative lies
lies somewhere
somewhere in between.
between.

The Laissez Faire Leadership Style

The style is largely a "hands off" view that tends to minimize

minimize the amount of direction
direction and face time
required. Works well if you have highly trained and highly motivated direct reports.

The Autocratic Leadership Style

The autocratic style has its advocates, but it is falling out of favor in many countries. Some people
have argued that the style is popular with today's CEO's, who have much in common with feudal
lords in Medieval Europe.

The Participative Leadership Style

It's hard to order and demand someone to be creative, perform as a team, solve complex problems,
improve quality, and provide outstanding customer service. The style presents a happy medium
 between
 betwee n over controlling
controlling (micromanaging
(micromanaging)) and not being engaged and tends to be seen in
organizations that must innovate to prosper.

Situational Leadership

Situational Leadership.
Leadership. In the 1950s, management theorists from Ohio State University and the
University of Michigan published a series of studies to determine whether leaders should be more
task or relationship (people) oriented. The importance of the research cannot be over estimated since
leaders tend to have a dominant style; a leadership style they use in a wide variety of situations.

Surprisingl
Surprisingly,
y, the resear
research
ch discove
discovered
red that
that there
there is no one best
best style:
style: leader
leaderss must
must adjust
adjust their 
their 
leadership style to the situation as well as to the people being led.

The Emergent Leadership Style

Contrary to the belief of many, groups do not automatically accept a new "boss" as leader. We see a
number of ineffective managers who didn't know the behaviors to use when one taking over a new
group.

The Transactional Leadership Style 

Style 
 

The approach emphasizes getting things done within the umbrella of the status quo; almost in
opposition to the goals of the transformational leadership. It's considered to be a "by the book"
appro
approach
ach in which
which the person
person work
workss with
within
in the ru
rule
les.
s. As su
such,
ch, it
it's
's commo
commonl
nly
y se
seen
en in la
larg
rge,
e,
 bureaucratic
 bureaucratic organizatio
organizations.
ns.

The Transformational Leadership Style

The primary focus of this leadership style is to make change happen in:

• Our Self,
• Others,
• Groups, and
• Organizations

ERRORS

01.Preoccupation, or Lack of Concentration

By making a decision when you are preoccupied, it is unlikely that you gave it the thought it
deserved. Among the various issues that can arise in this scenario, many would consider it quite rude
to deal with your team members in this manner. If someone seeks you out, they deserve your 
undivided attention.

02. Not Enough Rest

Many individuals in leadership positions spend numerous extra hours at work and, in many cases,
are on call continuously. Mistakes made due to fatigue may not have fatal consequences, but they
will certainly affect careers and the health of the agency as a whole.

03. Taking a Bad Position

This certainly does not mean that leaders must be infallible. It does mean that when they take a bad
 position,
 position, they should admit
admit it and then modify
modify it. Refus
Refusing
ing to change because
because an agency has handled
handled
an issue a certain way in the past and needs to be consistent is an unreasonable philosophy. Positions
can be consistent but also poor; leaders should strive for better.

04. Failure to Watch the Hands—of a Problem Employee

Every organization has its bad apples. It is amazing how one problem employee can disrupt an
organization and take up inordinate amounts of a leader’s time. Problem employees are experts at
creating assignments and work for leaders. Fortunately, effective leaders can read these employees
like a book. No matter how creative their methods may be, their goals are clear. They have no desire
to be productive, and they expect to receive an unfair advantage within the organization.

05. improper Use of Handcuffs

 

It is very easy to become frustrated and hand out discipline to officers who make mistakes

06. No Search or Poor Search

Answer in the perspective of Bangladesh :

  In our country many manager also do this error in selecting the right leadership style. I think this
 problem arise due to following
following reasons:
reasons:
1.Misunderstand
1.Misunderstanding
ing the Employee:
Some time
Some time manag
manager
er ca
can’t
n’t under
underst
stand
and the
the ac
actu
tual
al posit
positio
ion
n of the emplo
employee
yees.
s. So th
they
ey select
select a
leadership style which may not suitable for the organization.
2.Comunication Gap:
In our country communication gap is higher between management and workers. Employees have no
 participation
 participation in the management
management process.
process. As a result manager takes any decision
decision which s/he think 
 best.
Poor or no Research:
Making research is very rare in our country. Many organization try to avoid this because it is very
costly. Although some organization try to do this but there research is also very poor. As a result
they can’t take the right decision which is more suitable for organization.
4.Mantality:
Management think that employee
Management employee should be forced
forced to do the task which management
management think best.
best.
They think that employee has no quality to participate in the decision making process. Another 
 problem is that if management
management select a participation
participation style then the workers
workers think that management
management
has not enough ability to take decision without there participation.

QUESTION - 02

What does this say about leadership and leadership training?

According to this case study,we should know about leadership training and who are the employees
want training to enhance their skills.Otherwise,so many errors will be occurred.

Leadership and Training

"Leadership is influencing people to get things done to a standard and quality above their norm. And
doing it willingly."

• As an element in social interaction, leadership is a complex activity involving:

• a process of influence
 

• actors who are both leaders and followers a range of possible outcomes – the achievement of 
goals, but also the commitment of individuals to such goals, the enhancement of group
cohesion and the reinforcement of change of organizational culture

Leadership Training

While leadership is easy to explain, leadership is not so easy to practise. Leadership is about
 behaviour first,
first, skills second. Good leaders are followed
followed chiefly
chiefly because people trust and respect
them, rather than the skills they possess. Leadership is different to management. Management relies
more on planning, organisational and communications skills. Leadership relies on management skills
too, but more so on qualities such as integrity, honesty, humility, courage, commitment, sincerity,
 passion, confidence,
confidence, positivity,
positivity, wisdom,
wisdom, determination,
determination, compassion,
compassion, sensitivity,
sensitivity, and a degree of 
 personal charisma.
charisma.

Some people are born more naturally to leadership than others. Most people don't seek to be a leader.
Those who want to be a leader can develop leadership ability. And many qualities of effective
leadership, like confidence and charisma, continue to grow from experience in the leadership role.

Leadership can be performed with different styles. Some leaders have one style, which is right for 

certain situations
for given and wrong for others. Some leaders can adapt and use different leadership styles
situations.

People new to leadership (and supervision and management) often feel under pressure to lead in a
 particularly
 particularly dominant way.
way. Sometimes
Sometimes this pressure
pressure on a new leader
leader to impose their aut
authority
hority on the
team comes from above. Dominant leadership is rarely appropriate however, especially for mature
teams. Misreading
Misreading this situation, and attempting to be overly dominant,
dominant, can then cause problems for 
a new leader. Resistance
Resistance from the team becomes
becomes a problem,
problem, and a cycle of negative behaviours and
reducing performance begins. Much of leadership is counter-intuitive. Leadership is often more
about serving than leading. Besides which, individuals and teams tend not to resist or push against
something in which they have a strong involvement/ownership/sense of control. People tend to
respond well to thanks, encouragement, recognition, inclusiveness, etc. Tough, overly dominant
leadership gives teams a lot to push against and resist. It also prevents a sense of ownership and self-
control among the people being led. And it also inhibits the positive rewards and incentives (thanks,
recognition, encouragement, etc) vital for teams and individuals to cope with change, and to enjoy
themselves. Leaders of course need to be able to make tough decisions when required, but most
importantly leaders should concentrate on enabling the team to thrive, which is actually a 'serving'
role, not the dominant 'leading' role commonly associated with leadership.

QUESTION – 03
 

Which leadership theories, if any could help new leaders deal with this type of 
transition?

Interest in leadership increased during the early part of the twentieth century. Early leadership
theories focused on what qualities distinguished between leaders and followers, while subsequent
theories looked at other variables such as situational factors and skill level. While many different
leadership theories have emerged, most can be classified as one of eight major types:

1. “Great Man” Theories:

Great Man theories assume that the capacity for leadership is inherent – that great leaders are born,
not made. These theories often portray great leaders as heroic, mythic, and destined to rise to
leadership when needed. The term “Great Man” was used because, at the time, leadership was
thought of primarily as a male quality, especially in terms of military leadership.

2. Trait Theories:
Similar in some ways to “Great Man” theories, trait theory assumes that people inherit certain
qualities and traits that make them better suited to leadership. Trait theories often identify particular 
 personality
 personal ity or behavioral characterist
characteristics
ics shared by leaders. But if particular
particular traits are key features of 
leadership, how do we explain people who possess those qualities but are not leaders? This question
is one of the difficulties in using trait theories to explain leadership.

3. Contingency Theories:
Contingency theories of leadership focus on particular variables related to the environment that
might determine which particular style of leadership is best suited for the situation. According to this
theory, no leadership style is best in all situations. Success depends upon a number of variables,
including the leadership style, qualities of the followers, and aspects of the situation.

4. Situational Theories:
Situational theories propose that leaders choose the best course of action based upon situational
variable. Different styles of leadership may be more appropriate for certain types of decision-
making.

5. Behavioral Theories:
Behavioral theories of leadership are based upon the belief that great leaders are made, not born.
Rooted in behaviorism, this leadership theory focuses on the actions of leaders, not on mental
qualities or internal states. According to this theory, people can learn to become leaders through
teaching and observation.

6. Participative Theories:
Participative leadership theories suggest that the ideal leadership style is one that takes the input of 
others into account. These leaders encourage participation and contributions from group members
and help group members feel more relevant and committed to the decision-making process. In
 participative
 participative theories,
theories, however,
however, the
the leader retains
retains the
the right to allow
allow the input of others.
others.
 

7. Management Theories:
Management theories (also known as “Transactional theories”) focus on the role of supervision,
organization, and group performance. These theories base leadership on a system of reward and
 punishment.
 punishme nt. Managerial
Managerial theories
theories are often
often used in business;
business; when
when employees
employees are successf
successful,
ul, they are
are
rewarded; when they fail, they are reprimanded or punished.

8. Relationship Theories:
Relationshi
Relationshipp theorie
theoriess (also
(also known
known as “Transf
“Transform
ormati
ational
onal theorie
theories”)
s”) focus
focus upon the connect
connections
ions
formed between leaders and followers. These leaders motivate and inspire people by helping group
members see the importance and higher good of the task. Transformational leaders are focused on
the performance of group members, but also want each person to fulfill his or her potential. These
leaders often have high ethical and moral standards.

Based on this case study, those three employees have been promoted suddenly as they mentioned
“God only knows what they talked about behind my back”

It is very important to handle these kind of incidents in any organization.

I suggested
suggested to use below theories
theories to deal this type of transition.
transition. Because
Because we have to consider
consider the
employees those will be promoted their recent activities towards the company’s success.

• Trait Theories:

• Contingency Theories:

• Situational Theories:

• Participative Theories

• Relationship Theories

Answer in the perspective of Bangladesh :

In our country if there arise any such situation in the organization then the following theories, I
think, will help to match with the situation.
1. Par
Partic
ticipa
ipativ
tivee Theor
Theories
ies::
It suggests that the ideal leadership style is one that takes the input of others into account. These
leaders encourage participation and contributions from group members and help group members feel
more relevant and committed to the decision-making process. For this situation if leader follows this
theory then I think he will get a positive solution for this confliction .

2.Transformational Theories:
  2.Transformational
Transformational theories focus upon the connections formed between leaders and followers. These
leaders motivate and inspire people by helping group members see the importance and higher good
 

of the task. Transformational leaders are focused on the performance of group members, but also
want each person to fulfill his or her potential. These leaders often have high ethical and moral
standards. If leader follow this theory, he will be able to value the decision of his subordinates
(formal colleague) in the decision making process.

QUESTION – 04
Do you think it’s easier or harder to be promoted internally into a formal
leadership position than to come into it as an outsider? Explain.

Many companies scramble to advertise job openings in leadership positions, searching for the perfect
candidate to fill their positions. Many times they are overlooking highly qualified people, right
within their own organization. By creating an internal leadership development program, you can
have workers ready to step into leadership roles, promoting from within and saving your company
money and time over hiring from the street.

The costs in adding a new employee to the payroll can be more than most companies ever imagined.
Considerr the payroll
Conside payroll dollars that are spent on advertising,
advertising, recruiting,
recruiting, interviewing, and other human
resources jobs that are related to filling an open position. During those hours spent hiring a single
 person to fill one job, your human resources
resources department
department could be conducting
conducting leadership
leadership training
classes that would reach a number of people already employed by the company, creating a pool of 
 people ready
ready to be promote
promoted d within your organizatio
organization.
n.

By hiring from within, you will also increase employee morale and productivity. If they know that
there is opportunity for advancement when they work hard and complete
complete the tasks assigned
assigned to them,
they will go above and beyond to get noticed. When employees are happy, they are more likely to be
engaged at work and will provide you with the level of commitment needed. Retention levels will
improve, and less time will be spent training new employees to fill open positions.
At times, companies will avoid developing a leadership program, simply because there is a bit of 
overhead involved in setting up these programs. While there may be training and development costs,
in most cases, the savings when compared to the money spent on recruiting, hiring, and training new
employees is well worth the minimal expense. Take a look at the overall costs before making a
decision to hire externally.

Leadership development is something that many companies take for granted. By implementing
leadership programs within the workplace, you will create a more stable and productive working
environment, plus free up valuable resources to take care of more important jobs. By promoting from
within, you are doing both your company and your employees a great service.

I think that internal promotion is more efficience than external one. Because internal employees
already know about the company’s values, strength and weaknesses.
 

• The probl
The problem
em is that
that people
people rise
rise to le
lead
ader
ershi
ship
p in our
our socie
society
ty by a te
tende
ndency
ncy to
towa
wards
rds
extroversion,
extroversion, which means a tendency to ignore what is going on inside themselves. Leaders
rise
rise to po
powe
werr in ou
ourr so
soci
ciet
ety
y by op oper
erat
atin
ing
g vevery
ry co
comp
mpet
eten
entl
tly
y an
and
d ef
effe
fect
ctiv
ivel
ely
y in th
thee
external world, sometimes at the cost of internal awareness.

• These approaches typically tout an inherently solipsistic model, where leaders experiment
with various recipes and roles for personal success. Self-actualiza
Self-actualization
tion and self-improvem
self-improvement
ent
are the underlying mantras. The implication, of course, is that individual aspiration and
success will translate into broader corporate achievements.

• Many of the executives

executives that provided leadership
leadership during the great economic
economic expansion of the
20th Century’s last decades are retired, leaving a leadership void. In most organizations the
hiera
hierarc
rchic
hical
al st
stru
ruct
ctur
ures
es of the
the past
past have
have been
been re
repla
placed
ced with
with the flflat
atte
terr and more
more agil
agilee
organizations
organizations of today. We have reengineered, downsized
downsized and right-sized
right-sized to the point where
many organizations
organizations been completely changed and re-shaped. In fact, mid-level management
management
 – the old grooming
grooming ground for future leaders
leaders – has been decimated,
decimated, leaving a void in the
leadership learning path.

• Internal promotion will be answered for below questions,

 A clear mission statement – Why do we exist? What is our organizational

 purpose??
 purpose
 A compelling vision – What clearly describes our future desired state? What
fulfills the mission?
 A solid strategy – What is the logic and tactics that ensure the mission and
vision will be achieved?
 A reevaluation or restatement of organizational values – What are the values
the organization will both espouse and live by? Which values will satisfy all
stakeholders’ needs? What culture do we want to create?
 A greater focus on sustainability, growth and talent – What do we need to be
doing today for our survival? What do we need to be doing to ensure future
growth? What talent do we need both to survive and ensure future growth?
 A str
strong
ong emphasi
emphasiss on creativ
creativity
ity,, innovat
innovation
ion and impleme
implementat
ntation
ion – What
What
 products,, services
 products services or other deliverables
deliverables will support personal and
organizational growth? How do you take these from a dream to reality?
 A possible structure change – How do we best organize to bring about the
changes needed to facilitate new organizational demands, as well as desired
strategies and needs
 

Answer in the perspective of Bangladesh :

For a company in our country it may be easy or harder to promote internally into a formal leadership
 position
 position then to come into
into it as an outsider.
outsider. It depends
depends upon thethe position or situation
situation of the company.
company.
If companies leadership position is more strong then they can promote internally otherwise if they
want or think that
that outsider
outsider will be best
best suited for them then
then they can hire or requite
requite from
from outside.
outside.
For example:
When
Whe n Rubba
Rubba Dawla,t
Dawla,thehe chief
chief commun
communicat
ications
ions office
officerr of Gramee
Grameen n Phone,
Phone, res
resigne
ignedd authori
authority
ty
replaced Kazi Monirul Kabir in her position, who was head of regional sales of Grameen Phone.

Promoting internally may helps company in the following grounds:

 

Increase Productivity
Save time
Save money
Having clear idea about company
Company can also promote from outside if they think outsider will help them to promote their 
 productivity.
 productivity. But it is a long process in advertising,
advertising, recruiting, interviewing. But it may positive from
following ground:
More experienced person.
Increase internal speed
Implement new system