Multimedia University

BMG8014 ADVANCED MANAGEMENT

Lecturer: Dr.I.LOURDESAMY

CASES ANALYSES

Snapshot Industries

Student Name: Abdulla Saeed Alhamad

Student ID: 1111800065

MMUBMG 8014 ADVANCED MANAGEMENTAbdulla Alhamad (1111800065)

Snapshot Industries

Question: Discuss the leadership style of Jim and the leadership problems that he is

encountering in the case?

Summary

Snapshot Industries, a company with a stronghold of tradition operating with the old

ways. Under the strong guidance of the owner Sam Snapshot for 25 years and 200

staff, Sam Boss knows names of every one and their family’s.

High level of loyalty from the employees to Sam (95%) of them been with the

company for 20 years.

The employees are satisfied with the whole systems. Everything is controllable, each

person knows what his or her work is and is not, they have no one needs to think too

hard or consider how things can be done differently.

The death of Sam caused major upheaval, particularly when his grandson, Jim took

over the reins.

Jim’s Leadership Style

When Jam’s took over the company he applied immediately (laissez faire leadership

style) which considered on of the modern and new styles of leadership.

Laissez faire leadership

Definition:

A non-authoritarian leadership style. Laissez faire leaders try to give

the least possible guidance to subordinates, and try to achieve control through

less obvious means. They believe that people excel when they are left alone to

respond to their responsibilities and obligations in their own ways.

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MMUBMG 8014 ADVANCED MANAGEMENTAbdulla Alhamad (1111800065)

Laissez-faire leadership, also known as delegalize leadership, is a type of

leadership style in which leaders are hands-off and allow group members to

make the decisions. Researchers have found that this is generally the

leadership style that leads to the lowest productivity among group members.

Characteristics of Laissez-Faire Leadership

Laissez-faire leadership is characterized by:

• Very little guidance from leaders.

• Complete freedom for followers to make decisions.

• Leaders provide the tools and resources needed.

• Group members are expected to solve problems on their own.

Benefits of Laissez-Faire Leadership

Laissez-faire leadership can be effective in situations where group members

are highly skilled, motivated and capable of working on their own. While the

conventional term for this style is 'laissez-faire' and implies a completely

hands-off approach, many leaders still remain open and available to group

members for consultation and feedback.

Downsides of Laissez-Faire Leadership

Laissez-faire leadership is not ideal in situations where group members lack

the knowledge or experience they need to complete tasks and make decisions.

Some people are not good at setting their own deadlines, managing their own

projects and solving problems on their own. In such situations, projects can go

off-track and deadlines can be missed when team members do not get enough

guidance or feedback from leaders.

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MMUBMG 8014 ADVANCED MANAGEMENTAbdulla Alhamad (1111800065)

The impacts of changing the leadership style

The company was operating successfully for 25 year under the leadership style of

Sam, he was operating the company using (Autocratic leadership Style), and he made

all decisions about products, clients and employment conditions, and even signed

every leave application, the employees have no need to think how should they do

thing.

Jim’s the 30 years old MBA graduates’ took over the company after Sam’s death.

Jim’s started immediately to change the company’s leadership style, operational

process, and compensation system. Jam’s changed the leadership style over night

from (Autocratic leadership Style) to (laissez faire leadership).

An immediate change in leader ship style has a catastrophic impact on any company

or organization, especially when the change was between opposites styles of

leadership.

Just as each of the leadership styles has beneficial effects, each also has some

drawbacks. Although the visionary leader can improve employee attitudes by setting a

new direction, senior employees entrenched in the old organizational culture may

rebel against such a change. Some followers view coaching leaders as

micromanagers, according to Changing Minds, because of their high levels of

involvement. Affiliative leaders, who build relationships between followers and

workgroups, can create conflict or emotional stress in some situations, and democratic

leaders can create the appearance of weak or indecisive leadership. Pace-setting

leaders can have an exhaustive effect on followers who cannot keep up with an

aggressive agenda, and commanding leaders may create a climate of oppression and

fear among some employees.

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MMUBMG 8014 ADVANCED MANAGEMENTAbdulla Alhamad (1111800065)

The impacts of Jim’s new leadership style

• Employees never work in such a competitive environment. They start to avoid

each other and stick with their team.

• Centralized and personnel systems are initiated. The use of computer causes

stress for “old” employees.

• 60% of original 200 staff retired because they couldn’t see where to fit.

• Newly acquired employees comment that it is too hard to integrate with the

old people such as information they should share.

• Original employees felt they have no enough time to do and learn in within the

new roles.

• Key employees left and often taking several other good members of their team

with them.

The Leadership problems Jam’s is encountering by applying the new leadership style

Organizational culture was not a collaborative one. Unwillingness of old stuffs

to share knowledge. Difficult for new stuffs to locate source of expertise. No

documentation as transfer of tacit knowledge is easier said than done.

Cost of production increased. Productivity went down. With resignations of

key member knowledge and expertise is also gone.

Inability to identify the goals Difficulties in changing the organizational

culture Inefficiency in utilizing the skills and expertise

Symptoms Inconsistent system Different teams working differently Stress

among the stuffs due to competitive environment.

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