Leading People in Creative Teams

1. The Market for Health-Care
Coursework Information Sheet
To be supplied to students when they receive the coursework assignment task
Unit Co-ordinator
Dr Michael Oyelere
Unit Name
Leading People in Creative Teams
Unit Code
SHR079-6
Title of Coursework
Assignment 1: Case Study Report
% weighting of final unit grade
50%
Feedback details
The university policy is that you will receive prompt feedback on your work within 15 working days
of the submission date. Exceptionally where this is not achievable (for example due to staff sickness)
you will be notified as soon as possible of the revised date and the reasons behind the change.
Submission Date
Week 3 – 24
th
Feb 2017
Feedback Date
13
th
March 2017
Details of how to access the feedback
BREO/Turnitin

2. _________________________________________________________________________
Horizons: A Values-Based Company with a Bright, Yet Challenging, Future
INTRODUCTION
In 1983 Don Lee, a recent graduate of Ohio State University, stood in a small office just off Lane
Avenue in Columbus, Ohio. All of 22 years old, he turned to his friend Jim Haring and told him,
"These four walls define the size of our company." What Don Lee didn't envision at the time was
that success facilitates growth. The small video production company soon moved from its original
location to a larger one, and it has moved several more times to its present location. Today, the
company employs 70 people, has annual revenues of $10 million, and is one of the Midwest's largest
and most comprehensive media production companies.
As a full-service media production company, Horizons now has offices in Columbus, San Diego,
California, and Nashville, Tennessee. The company offers a rich array of media services, including
film, video, music, sound design, computer graphics, animation, and Web site design. The
atmosphere of the company is light and has the type of "high-tech" feel one would expect from a
media company. There is no dress code, and employees come and go based on the demands of their
schedules. CEO Don Lee has shoulder-length hair and a pleasant demeanor. The organizational
structure is flat, and employees are grouped into project teams to complete specific assignments for
clients. Although the pace is often hectic, the company operates on two basic principles. First,
provide the client an exceptionally good product, and second, have fun doing it.
So far, the company's formula has worked. It is profitable, is growing, and has been able to attract
and retain talented and motivated employees. Its client list includes some of the best-known names
in the United States, including ESPN, The Limited, Motorola, Red Roof Inns, and Wendy's
International. It has also been recognized for excellence in its work. In 1999, for example, the
company won the coveted Dove Award for Enhanced CD of the Year. The Dove Award is the gospel
music equivalent to the Grammy. The CD was custom designed for Point of Grace, a contemporary
Christian music group. In recent years, Horizons has also garnered an Addy Award, a Golden Link
Award, an Emmy nomination, and several Citations for Excellence from the Advertising Federation.
Like any other company, however, Horizons faces challenges. The media industry is a tough industry,
particularly for smaller firms. In addition, the company's unique culture and family-style atmosphere,
which have been instrumental to its success, are under threat. In the next five years, the company
plans to bid on larger projects, build new facilities, and add more employees. Will it be able to
maintain its culture and family-style atmosphere as it continues to grow? Also, the flat organizational
structure that has served it well may need to be reevaluated. Will a more formal

3. structure need to be implemented as the company expands? These questions, along with an
"insider's" look at what has made Horizons successful, will form the basis of this case.
THE COMPANY
Horizons is a multiskilled company that provides custom-designed media products for its clients. The
majority of the company's employees are in Columbus, with a small production group in San Diego
and a sales office in Nashville. The company's clients are spread all across the country. The bulk of
the company's work is in video and film. In addition to doing work for corporate clients, the
company is often called upon to do special assignments for television networks. For example,
Horizons produced stories about children recovering in hospitals following the Oklahoma City
bombing in 1995. Other examples include Ohio segments for "America's Most Wanted" and ESPN
sports interviews.
Structure
Although the company is not highly structured, it does include nine distinct divisions or (as CEO Don
Lee likes to say) teams. The divisions include Video and Film, Web Development, Media F/X,
Interactive, Animation, Audio, Music, Education, and Entertainment. A description of the nature of
the work performed by each division is included in Table 1. The multifaceted nature of these
divisions helps Horizons meet a range of its client's needs. In addition, because many media projects
require overlapping technologies (for example, CDs for some recording artists now include a
combination of sound, video, and animation), Horizons is able to draw quickly from its various
divisions to assemble a project team to meet a specific need.
Operations and the "Art of the Deal"
Unlike a retail store or a service provider with an established clientele, Horizons is more a series of
deals than a traditional business. The company is typically retained on a work-for-hire basis to
complete a specific project. For example, a corporation may need a promotional video for a new
product. Horizons will make a pitch for the project and, if hired, will pull together the resources
necessary to produce the video. This process typically involves putting together a project team that
may involve freelance artists from outside the firm. Part of the company's success hinges on its
ability to transform one-time deals into more lasting relationships. For example, after it produces the
promotion video for the corporation described above, Horizons might suggest that it place a short
video stream about the new product on its Web site. If the corporation agrees and hires Horizons to
do it, then Horizons has another deal, additional revenue, and a more lasting relationship with the
client. In the media industry this process is often referred to as the "art of the deal." The "art" is the
ability to conceive additional projects for existing clients and to sell the clients on the merits of these
ideas.

4. VALUES
Ethics
A distinctive attribute of Horizons is that the company's behavior is guided by a strong set of ethical
and religious values. CEO Don Lee openly talks about his own personal faith and how his faith helped
him build and shape the company. Lee is also fond of talking about the importance of treating
people right and maintaining a healthy balance between work and family. Lee has publicly stated
that "if each business made it their goal to build each person up-instead of the bank account-I think
they'd probably get both." Horizons employees at all levels also talk openly about the importance of
integrity, honesty, and fairness in business and personal relationships. The company's strong sense
of values has resulted in at least two positive outcomes. First, in selecting clients, Horizons strives to
build relationships and repeat business rather than constantly trying to find new clients. Reflecting
on this topic and the importance of strong ethical values, one employee remarked, "One thing that
goes a long way toward bringing clients into the fold and keeping them there is honesty, and
maintaining integrity in the marketplace." The second positive outcome of strong values for Horizons
has been internal rather than external. The company's employees work primarily in teams. There is a
general belief in the company that honest, fair-minded employees make the best coworkers and
teammates.
Social Responsibility
In addition to strong ethical values, Horizons has a strong bent toward social responsibility. Don Lee
is involved in a number of civic and charitable organizations. The company is committed to recycling
and other environmentally sound practices, and it has used its resources to create video programs
for organizations such as the Franklin County (Ohio) Children's Services and the Humane Society. The
company's values can also be seen in the projects it does and does not select. Horizons deliberately
steers away from clients that would threaten to compromise its ethics, integrity, or professional
standards. In contrast, it embraces projects that espouse educational and moral values. For example,
Horizons is currently producing the first educational CD-ROM to star Garfield in collaboration with a
company called Brighter Child Interactive. The Garfield CD will be the fourth collaboration between
Horizons and Brighter Child Interactive. Previous titles have included "The Beginner's Bible" and
"Adventures with Kanga Roddy."
FUTURE CHALLENGES

5. Based on outward appearances, everything is moving in the right direction for Horizons. The
company is successful, has strong leadership, is growing, and has been able to attract and retain
high-quality clients and employees. But, as briefly mentioned above, Horizons has challenges ahead.
Its laid-back, family-like organizational culture has served it well as a small company, but will it be
able to sustain that culture as it continues to grow? Don Lee, the company's founder and CEO, is a
hands-on manager who has hired everyone who works for Horizons and is clearly the inspirational
leader for the firm's 70 employees. But what will happen when the company gets too large for Lee
to be personally involved in every hiring decision and to know the first name of every employee? In
addition, the firm is rather "loose" in terms of its structure and operating processes. For example,
there are no formal titles, no formal organizational structure, no standard track for promotion, and
no formal vacation and sick leave policies. Will this informal organizational environment, which has
been an asset up to this point, become a liability as the company grows larger? And if it does
become a liability, will Don Lee recognize it soon enough and be willing to make the necessary
changes? All of these issues represent future challenges for Horizons and its leadership team.
Horizons' Operating
Divisions
Division Nature of Work Performed
Video and Film
Web Development
Media F/X
Interactive
Animation
Audio
 Feature films
 Television commercials
 Marketing videos
 Special assignments for television networks

 Multimedia web site design and development
 Web site enhancement

 Integration of traditional media and new media
 Using technology to manage information
 Synchronizing audio and video media products

 Compact disk development and production
 Making CDs, Web sites, and other forms of media interactive
 Video, audio, and graphic support for traditional media

 Creating digital characters for all forms of media
 Animating corporate videos
 Developing 2D and 3D animation for CDs, Web sites, and film

 Full-service sound production, mixing, and mastering
 Voice-overs in multiple languages

6. Music
Entertainment
Education
 Producing music for various artists under the company's own music
label, named "Grandma Katherine's Music"

 Original films, videos, CDs, and other media products
 Creating original scripts for film and television

 Interactive CDs
 Educational game shows produced on video

 Classroom-oriented videos (i.e., end-of-chapter reviews and
textbook supplements)
ASSESSMENT 1: TASK DETAILS
Task: Assuming the role of management consultant in Horizons, draft a report paper for
the CEO which addresses the following tasks:
1) Design the organization structure of the Horizons. Critically analyse the
relationship between organization’s structure and culture and discuss the effects
on business performance.
2) Critically review the different approaches of Management theories used by
organisation? Which approach would you to recommend Horizons to follow for
successful accomplishment of the business objectives?
3) Critically analyse four different leadership styles and suggest to Lee what
you consider would be most appropriate for future development of the company?
4) Review Lee’s motivation style. What motivation model would you advice
and why?
5) Investigate the factors that lead to effective creative team building. How
should Lee deal with groups and individuals for effective team building?
Word limit: 3,000 words + or – 10 % (not including contents and reference list)
Submission: An electronic copy is to be submitted to Turnitin by Midday Friday 24
th
February.
Your paper should be submitted as a Microsoft Word document.
The English must be clear and coherent using an appropriate style for a business
report.
Feedback You will receive the feedback on BREO no later than 3 weeks after submission
deadline.
Assessment Assessment will be undertaken using the attached rubric.
Criteria:
GUIDANCE NOTES
Section / Title Details / Guidance

7. Title page Include name, student ID number, unit title and code, assessment
title, date of submission.
Executive Summary Your report should include an Executive Summary at the front of the
report (BEFORE the Contents Page) which summaries the main points
including key recommendations.
Contents Page Include page numbers.
Introduction Short introduction to the report setting out what the aims and
objectives of the report are, what the report will cover and why.
Case study analysis This is the main body of your report. You need to critically analyse
the five main areas highlighted in the task section above.
You report should use appropriate sign-post providing a clear
indication of the section under review.
Conclusion The conclusion should briefly and clearly synthesise the key points of
your analysis.
Recommendations You should propose recommendations based on your analysis. Your
recommendation should including all the sections highlighted in the
task section above. Again, make sure your recommendations are
properly sign-posted and supported, if necessary, with empirical
research.
You should avoid personal opinion or views that cannot be
substantiated or supported by empirical evidence.
Reference List You need to support your work with reference to academic sources
(e.g. books and journal articles) as well as examples of organisational
good practice (e.g. practitioner magazine articles / websites – chosen
carefully). Use Harvard style (see the Learning Resources website:
http://lrweb.beds.ac.uk/guides/referencing).

8. Grade A B C D E E
70 – 100 60 – 69 50 – 59 40 – 49 35 – 39 0 – 34
Overall standard Work of an Work of a good Work of an sound, Work of a poor Work of little or work of outright
excellent standard standard acceptable but acceptable no value fail
standard standard
Executive The Executive The Executive The Executive Key issues not Some attempt Some attempt
Summary and Summary Summary Summary covers clear in the made at an made at an
Introduction summarises the summarises most some points. The Executive Executive Executive
(10%) key points of the of the key points content of the Summary but the Summary and Summary and
report clearly and clearly. The report is fairly content of the Introduction, but Introduction, but
concisely. The Introduction is clear. The report is little relevance. no relevance at
Introduction clear and relevant Introduction is discernible. The all.
succinctly sets out but misses some clear enough, but Introduction
the aims, elements. many elements provides little
objectives and missing. information.
background to the
report.
Case Study Critical approach Mainly critical in Approach is Approach is No criticality. No criticality.
Analysis applied to the case approach to the mainly descriptive almost always Analysis is poor – Analysis is very
(30%) study throughout. case study. Sound but some descriptive rather problems not poor – problems
Good analytical analytical skills criticality evident. than critical. Few clearly not identified.
skills demonstrated in Reasonable analytical skills articulated. . Lacks an
demonstrated in identifying analytical skills demonstrated – Misunderstanding application to
identifying problems, causes demonstrated in little more than in application to task.
problems, causes and implications identifying repetition of case the task.
and implications. identification of problems, causes study text.
Excellent Good application and implications. General
application to the to the task set. Sound application application to the
task set. to the task set. task evident.
Conclusion Logically derived, Logically derived Accurate, if Summary is Very poor or little Very poor or no
(20%) and fully and generally general, summary sketchy but attempt made to attempt made to
supported supported of analysis and generally summarise, summarise,
synthesis of summary of clearly stated accurate. It is not analysis and draw analysis and
analysis which analysis which conclusions. May clear how the conclusions draw conclusions
leads to clearly leads to clearly not be conclusions were
and insightfully and obviously immediately reached or there
derived derived obvious how these may be no
conclusions. conclusions. conclusions were obvious
reached. conclusions
drawn.
Recommendations Insightful and Clear and sensible Recommendations Recommendations Very weak and Very poor or no
(30%) creative recommendations may lack are weak, may impracticable attempt made to
recommendations that have direct originality or have little recommendations. make
that have direct relevance for creativity but are relevance and / or May contain recommendations
relevance for practice. sensible enough be a ‘wish list’. some illogical / for practice. May
practice. Recommendations and relevant to May contain some poorly considered contain some
Recommendations supported with practice. illogical / poorly items. illogical / poorly
supported with evidence from Recommendations considered items considered items.
evidence from both practice and may not be Action plan May contain no
both practice and extant literature. supported with provides little recommendation.
extant literature. Must be enough evidence detail but some
Must be practicable within from both practice key points are
practicable within the current and extant covered.
the current organizational literature. May
organizational context.. not be practicable
context. within the current
organizational

9. context.
Presentation / Structured and Structured and Structure and Structure and Haphazardly Not following the
Referencing styled as a styled as a style may not be style may not be following the style set out in
(10%) business report; business report; fully appropriate appropriate for a style set out in the the brief;
text free from free from major for a business business report; brief; persistent persistent poor
spelling and faults of spelling report; language errors major language language
grammatical and grammar; carelessness in throughout but errors which standard which
errors; vocabulary vocabulary spelling; generally of a detract from detract from
appropriate to appropriate; good vocabulary minor nature; understanding, understanding
topic with all referencing, lacking polish but referencing not referencing the report.
specialist terms maybe some fully fully completed incomplete / Referencing
defined; omissions / minor understandable; and not in the incorrect. incomplete/
referenced errors. Argument referencing appropriate incorrect. No real
correctly and fully is developed well, correct for the format. Little in argument or
using Harvard if not always fully most part. the way of an coherent set of
Style. Well coherent, with Argument is argument but points made.
structured, good support for sketchy at times some attempt
coherent points made. but with some made to make a
argument, each support for points coherent series of
point logically made. points.
made and
supported well.

10. Executive Summary
The paper has highlighted key points on the Horizons’ organizational structure and corporate
culture, leadership style, motivation policies, and management approaches.
For organization structure and culture, the Horizons follow flat organisational structure with no
formal structure and human resource management approach. In this regards, the author suggests
that the company management should pick up a more formal structure together with a more
systematic human resource management approach, including formal titles, standard track for
promotion, as well as some other formal policies in terms of vacation and sick leave. Together
with this should be the culture of trust and collaborative teamwork environment.
For management approach, it is suggested that the Horizons should applied a flexible
composition of Scientific Management, Scientific Management theory, and behavioural school
of management, that is, the focus on developing employees’ positive attitudes and behaviours
and satisfying employees needs for improving teamwork spirit and their performance.
In terms of leadership style and motivation policies, the author suggests that CEO Don Lee
should pick up democratic style of leadership and follow Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs model to
motivate staffs. CEO Don Lee should be strong motivated leaders to promote creativity among
employees to challenge status quo that boots firm’s innovative capacity.
1. Introduction
This paper is designed to discuss different aspects of the Horizons’ management and leadership,
including organizational structure and corporate culture, motivation policies, leadership style,
and management approach. The aim of this analysis is to identify the positive and negative facets
of current management and then given reasonable recommendation for the future development of
the company.
2. Case study analysis
2.1 Organization structure and culture of the Horizons
These days, the Horizons has followed flat organisational structure where employees are grouped
into project teams to complete specific assignments for clients. In reality, it can be said that the
1

11. Horizons’ organisational structure appears to follow an “informal approach” with no formal titles
and employees’ accountability and responsibility are changed corresponding to different
projects. In other words, this informal organisational structure allows Horizons to be able to draw
quickly from its various divisions to assemble a project team to meet a specific need of clients.
This organisational structure, matching with the small size of the organisation at presently has
formed a unique culture and family-style atmosphere where employees are allowed to be flexible
in working time and schedules and are treated right for maintaining a healthy balance between
work and family. Moreover, Horizons is also famous for its strong set of ethical and religious
values, that is, faith, integrity, honesty, and fairness. The relationship between organisational
structure and culture has long highlighted in the literature where the organisational structure is a
guided framework for the culture to be implemented, and reversely, corporate culture dictates
how an organisation should be structured. Specific to the case of the Horizons, it is clear that no
matter how big the company is, where the structure starts to be flat and informal, it is only a
matter of time till the corporate culture develops and follows accordingly.
It can be seen that the flat and informal organisational structure coupled with unique culture has
helped the Horizons much in its performance. In fact, flat organisational structure is long
believed to be the best approach for small to medium size business as it encourages every
manager to change their communication methods and drives better interpersonal relations in the
organisation (Rishipal, 2014). At the Horizons, following flat organisational structure and shared
set of values, in Horizons employees at all levels are allowed to talk openly with each other and
with their CEO Don Lee. This is better for the interpersonal relation development in the
workplace and therefore for the teamwork spirit. Specifically, at the Horizons, the informal and
flat structure where company's employees work primarily in teams together with general values
have made the best co-workers and teammates.
Furthermore, the Horizons’ organization’s structure and culture also has positive impacts on the
firm performance, most notably in customer relationship since the value of integrity, honesty,
and fairness in employee relationship are also brought into relationship between employee-
clients. In reality, the company's strong sense of values has resulted in positive attitudes and
behaviours of employees toward clients and brought about more lasting relationships. Besides
2

12. this, the unique culture also creates a unique public image for the Horizons, that is, the company
of honesty and integrity in the marketplace.
More than those, the Horizons’ flat environment also created result of culture of accountability in
which employees are empowered to take larger accountability and responsibility in their work
and therefore conduct front line activities more efficiently for the long term thinking of
effectiveness (Rishipal, 2014). It is because this type of structure and culture is believed to be
good for employee motivation and engagement (Spencer and Muchnick, 2015). Most notably, as
noted by many scholars, flat structure with less layers of management will foster innovation and
creativity and drive a more flexible and innovative culture (Spencer and Muchnick, 2015). This,
in the case of a media company like the Horizons, is a must for success because it shortens
decision making process, better effective communication, closer monitors the progress against
organisational goals, and allows necessary changes to respond to the dynamic environments
(Rishipal, 2014).
Back to the case of the Horizons, although it is clear that the flat and informal organisational
structure together with its unique culture has made a significant contribution to the firm success
up to date, some drawbacks of that structure and culture might be detrimental for the
performance of the firm in the future as it expands. Specifically, no formal organizational
structure will adversely affect operational effectiveness since effective organizations always need
to have a formal structure where tasks are distributed and assigned into different groups in
systematic way to prevent overlapping responsibility between employees. Moreover, no formal
human resource policies, particularly motivation policies will challenge retention strategy of the
company.
In conclusion, it can be said that current organisational structure and culture of the Horizons have
both positive and negative effects on its performance. And something must be changed for a
better performance of the firm in the future.
2.2 The Horizons’ management approaches
From the case study, it can be seen that the Horizons has used different approaches of
Management theories. For example, CEO Don Lee has applied Frederick Taylor ‘s Scientific
Management theory by considering human capital as the most important resource for the
3

13. company productivity and success, thus he puts much focuses on selecting and recruiting the
right personnel since for the right position than just simply assigning employees to just any job
(Turan, 2015). At the Horizons, Lee is a hands-on manager who has recruited all the firm's 70
employees working for Horizons and usually grouped employees into project teams to complete
specific assignments for clients based on their competencies. Lee also applies behavioural school
of management by treating people well to influence their positive attitudes and behaviours for
increased performance (Petit, 1967). However, this approach of management is only applied
partly since the management has yet recognized the importance employees’ needs for recognition
and social satisfaction. The Team Building approach of management is also used in the case of
the Horizons as the company mainly emphasizes flattening of management pyramid and hinges
on reliance on teamwork activity (Pryor et al., 2008)
To some extent, all the management approaches above are good for the Horizons’ successful
accomplishment of the business objectives. Specifically, Scientific Management theory in
combination with behavioural school of management will help the company put the human
capital at the heart of the company’s success and ring an alarm on the importance of employees’
needs for driving positive attitudes and behaviours, that is, critical to increase firm performance.
Toward a media company like the Horizons where teamwork activity is a must, the Team
Building management theory is best fit. By having those above management approach combined
in consensus management, the Horizons more likely achieves greater participation for
employees, greater trust and an openness working environment, and eventually continuous
improvement.
2.3 The Horizons’ different leadership styles
There are four major basic leadership styles, which are Autocratic (also known as authoritarian
leaders) Bureaucratic, Laissez-faire, and Democratic leader. In specific:
Authoritarian leaders, considered as classical approach and viewed as bossy, controlling, and
dictatorial, retain much power and make decision-making independently without consulting the
rest of the group and therefore provide clear expectations for employees to obey orders without
any explanations (Khan et al., 2015). This creates a clear division between the manager and
subordinates, and decision made is usually less creative under this type of leadership. Also, in
4

14. this type of leadership, motivation policies is decided by structured set of rewards and
punishments. It is believed that this autocratic leadership style is best applied to situations where
the leader is the most knowledgeable member of the group who will provide detailed orders and
instructions to new and untrained staff being not awareness of tasks and procedures to follow, or
where there is limited time for decision-making and where work should be coordinated across
departments of organization (Khan et al., 2015).
Bureaucratic leadership style is where the leader manages “by the book”, meaning that
employees are expected to strictly enforce the rules and do everything according to procedure
and policy (Kotur and Anbazhagan, 2014). In the situation that things are not covered by the
book, it requires reference to the next level. This type of leadership are effective where
employees are performing routine tasks and need to be aware of certain standards or procedures
(Bhatti and Maitlo, 2012).
Laissez-Faire Leadership Style (also called the "hands-off¨ style or delegative leadership) should
be best applied in the situation that employees are experienced, highly skilled, trustworthy, and
educated to perform task successfully on their own (Khan et al., 2015). This style of leadership is
where the managers provide little or no direction and employees are given much authority and
freedom in work so that they will then themselves determine goals, make decisions, perform
tasks, and resolve problems. As compared to two previous leadership styles, this delegative
leadership has advantages of leaving no burden on the team members and not requiring the group
leader for any preparation time (Khan et al., 2015).
Lastly, Democratic Style of Leadership or Participative leadership is generally believed to be the
most effective leadership style. Democratic leaders allows input from employees, allows
employees to establish goals, offer guidance to group members, and develops plans to help their
subordinates evaluate their own performance (Khan et al., 2015). Participative leaders are
usually a coach who keeps staffs informed about everything and retain the final say over the
decision-making and problem solving for group members. Democratic leaders produce high
quality and high quantity work and create a culture of trust, cooperation, high morale, and team
spirit for long periods of time.
5

15. Currently, CEO Don Lee is still appears to be a hands-on manager who has the large voice in
decision making. In the future when the company expands, Don Lee should be a more hand-off
manager, meaning that more responsibilities should be delegated to employees. This implies that
delegative leadership somehow could be the good approach for CEO Don Lee in the future.
Moreover, democratic style of leadership is also believed to best appropriate approach for future
development of the Horizons. It is because this leadership style will more likely create valuable
and positive change in the way tasks are distributed and performed in the company, in
empowering staffs to take greater ownership in their work, and in aligning employees with
corporate missions and right position to exploit their full potentials. Following this style will also
change the current motivation environment of the company, making CEO Don Lee be strong
motivated leaders. This will also create a transparency and consistency in task assignment
between employees and prevent overlap responsibilities. Most importantly, following democratic
style of leadership will also help with shortening decision making process. Toward a media
company, this trait of leadership shows its best match as it stimulating creativity to challenge
status quo that boots firm’s innovative capacity.
2.4 Lee’s motivation style
It can be seen that there is very little motivating policies implemented at the Horizons. If any,
Lee’s motivation style is presented in the way he gives his staffs some freedom in clothing
choice and flexibility in working hours. Employees enjoy fun doing tasks in a family-like
atmosphere, that is all. Besides those, there seems no other motivating practice found at the
Horizons. In other words, CEO Don Lee appears to be a result-driven or goal-driven leader who
most focuses on the tasks rather than attention to the satisfaction and general well-being of staffs.
It is easily understandable, as the Horizons is currently still a small company with no official
human resources policies and practices in place, resulting in no formal reward or motivating
system.
In the future where the company expands and the number of employees will grow that will then
requires a more formal structure and a more systematic human resource management, as to
ensures experienced talents are motivated and retained, a more formal motivating approach
needed to be put in place. It is recommended that Lee’s motivation style should change from a
more goal-oriented approach to a more relationship-oriented approach where the focuses is on
6

16. employee satisfaction, motivation and general well-being as to consistent with its culture of trust
and integrity as well as with leadership philosophies. How to achieve this? The foundation of
employee happiness should continue to be at central of culture and motivation policies. In the
meanwhile, for motivating employees and enhancing their interest at work, it is recommended
that the Horizons should bring a flexible and attractive composition of intrinsic and extrinsic
rewards in place. As cited by Ajmal et al. (2015), extrinsic rewards include salaries, incentives,
and bonuses for best performance while intrinsic rewards mainly represented in work autonomy,
personal achievement, etc. As such, as to motivate employees, the Horizons can offer extrinsic
motivation such as incentive bonuses for their efforts coupled with intrinsic rewards like work-
life balance policies, healthcare for employees and their families, etc. Those are to make staffs
aware of how meaningful their contribution to success of the company. Those motivating
practices are also to continue developing the company’s culture of trust that keeps employees
intellectually engaged.
More importantly, it is recommended that the Horizons should follow Maslow's Hierarchy of
Needs model to motivate its staffs (Figure 1). Maslow’s theory defines different needs of people
that are from low to high rank in a pyramid, and the basic philosophy is that people will move to
higher needs once the previous needs are satisfied. Applying this model of motivation, the
Horizon first should fulfil basic needs of employees, which are physiological needs and safety
needs, then love, affection and belongingness needs, esteem needs, and eventually self-
actualisation need. The company should help employees recognise the importance of their
contribution in work and make them fully committed to the success of the company, eventually,
esteem needs are satisfied. Needs for self-actualisation can be achieved when the company
provides transparency in career path of employees and has plan to help them move forward.
7

17. Figure 1: Maslow’s hierarchy of need (Source: Jerome, 2013, p.41)
2.5 Effective creative team building
By reviewing the literature and empirical recommendations for creating effective creative team
building, Michan and Rodger (2000) suggest different factors leading to an effective teamwork
as shown in the figure 2 below:
Figure 2: Factors for effective teams (Source: Michan and Rodger, 2000, p.202)
As such, as can be viewed that for creating an effective creative team building, it requires a
proper organisational structure in which clear purposes are defined and communicated, a
corporate culture where expectations and mechanisms of accountability for team members are
8

18. determined and shared values are then transformed into behavioural norms (Michan and Rodger,
2000). Specifically, team success might be fostered by a culture that incorporates shared clinical
standards and experiences of success that prevents cultural conflict and inconsistency in team.
Together, tasks and roles should be specified to create a consistency with the team’s purpose and
motivation for shared responsibility and accountability. Suitable leadership is also important for
leading to effective creative team building since it brings relevant members together to build a
balance between members’ skills, interests and backgrounds for minimal conflict. It also
incorporates membership diversity and therefore stimulates problem solving and innovation.
Apparently, those are critical for effective creative team building.
For Individual Contribution factor, Self-knowledge, Trust, Commitment, and Flexibility are all
important for team success. Trust must be built up team members to facilitate shared knowledge
and skills and increased capacity for individual learning that is most essential priority for team
building. Further, every team member must be committed to shared team goals and values for
increased feelings of responsibility and participation in teamwork. High levels of commitment
also enables members to deal with challenges and pressures and contribute to the decision
making for team success.
Effective creative team building also requires effective team process in which team coordination,
communication, decision making, conflict management, performance feedback, social
relationship are together defined. Communication must be smooth, consistent, and effective
between information to facilitate decision making and problem resolving. Accurate and timely
feedback is important for team’s performance effectiveness and achievement of team goals.
As to deal with groups and individuals for effective team building, Lee should spend time on
carefully selecting team members, providing them training in relevant skills and knowledge,
developing and communicating shared goals, task and responsibilities, empowering team
members, and designing effective team process from the early stages of the team's work. When
assembling a team, Lee should consider overall dynamics of the team and discuss openly any
similarities and differences between members in a team. High level of focus should be put on
clarifying team goals and then ensuring that all members accept the shared goals. Together with
democratic leadership style, Lee should delegate responsibilities effectively and regularly give
and receive feedbacks regarding employee performance. During that team building, it is
9

19. important to ensure smooth communication and free-conflict corporation between team
members.
3. Conclusion
The paper has discussed the Horizons’ facets of leadership and management, such as
organisational structure and culture, motivation approaches, leadership style and management
theories, and effective team building. Some positive aspects and drawbacks have also been found
as the basis for recommendations given for the future development of the company.
4. Recommendations
Firstly, since the current organisational structure and culture of the Horizons have both positive
and negative effects on its performance, the company is expected to make some adjustment to
improve the drawbacks for a better performance of the firm in the future. In specific, it is
recommended that the Horizons should continue its flat organizational structure, but there is a
need for having a more formal structure together with a more systematic human resource
management approach, including formal titles, standard track for promotion, as well as some
other formal policies in terms of vacation and sick leave. Together with this should be the culture
of trust and collaborative teamwork environment.
Secondly, for the choice of management approach, it is recommended that the Horizons should
applied a flexible composition of Scientific Management, Scientific Management theory, and
behavioural school of management, that is, the focus on developing employees’ positive attitudes
and behaviours and satisfying employees needs for improving teamwork spirit and their
performance for the successful accomplishment of the business objectives.
Next, CEO Don Lee should pick up democratic style of leadership as best appropriate approach
for future development of the Horizons. This will create valuable and positive change in the way
tasks are distributed and performed as well as allow greater ownership of employees in their
work and the consistency between employees’ performance and corporate missions. This
leadership approach is also strongly believed to best match with the motivating policies that the
company should follow. That is, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs model to motivate staffs by
satisfying different needs of employees. CEO Don Lee should be strong motivated leaders to
10

20. promote creativity among employees to challenge status quo that boots firm’s innovative
capacity.
Last but not least, for building an effective teamwork, Lee should consider all factors to lead an
excellent team, which are organisational structure, individual contribution, and team process.
Dealing with groups and individuals for effective team building requires Lee to spend time on
hiring appropriate team members, developing and communicating shared goals, task and
responsibilities, and designing effective team process. Moreover, overall dynamics of the team
and team conflict should be discussed openly any resolved promptly to prevent the adverse effect
on team morale. Together with democratic leadership style, Lee should delegate responsibilities
effectively and regularly give and receive feedbacks regarding employee performance.
11

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