BUSS265 final project

Capstone PortfolioProject
By, Marianne Hermann
1
BUSS265-Capstone
Bryant and Stratton College
Mrs. Buyck
08/08/2015
Culmination of Three Case Study Articles

2
Case Study #1
The Ohio State model of leadership behavior is basically looking at the
management styles of managers. The study allowed a matrix to be developed and
came up with two different dimensions to go along with the behavior style theories.
Initiating structure, and consideration are the two different dimensions. Initiating
structure is getting all things organized and completed. Consideration is the second
dimension and it is all about the human side of management, such as trust, respect,
friendship and warmth that a leader has of their employees (Kreitner and Cassidy 2011
pg.398 para 3).
The model was created in the late 1940’s. Both parts of the matrix have good and
bad issues within them. The first issue would have to be with the initiating structure. In
this structure it is up to the leader to make sure everything thing was done. The
assumption of this is that the leader would not delegate any responsibility to anyone
else. This will over stress the leader and lead to poor production. Although trying to find
the silver lining in most everything I do there is a good point to this from my opinion.
That being the leader can ensure that all is done and it is controlled by just one person,
as to not lead to many mistakes. This is not a style I would embrace for the issue of not

3
Getting everyone on board. Bouncing ideas off on another is best for the most
productive and collaborative solutions to any problems that could eventually arise. For
consideration dimension this would be the style I most recognize with. One must have a
handle on their employees, if one is aware of the situations the employees are in and
have going on it makes for a better understanding of how to delegate responsibilities
better. As a leader it is important not to let the power over rule you. Staying in touch with
all within the corporation will be better environment, you will have a group of peers that
respect you more because you showed concern in any given situation.
The dimension relating to the article would have to be initiating. Julia Stewart
explains that she prefer not to use or have Blackberries during staff meetings. Also she
went on to say the email is not one of her favorite forms of communication. In today’s
ever evolving technological portion of business, it is in need of faster communication
along with multi-tasking. Email is a faster form of communication, although emailing
takes out the personal touch so to speak. Ms. Stewart speaks of having everyone
attention and wants control of most all decision. She even brainstorms when not at work
and bring the ideas to work on small scraps of paper.

4
I do not think this is a good way to hire a manager. What this implies is that “we” want
you as a manager but you have no power/control. As the manager one should have
some form of power/control. It goes along with the hierarchy of employees.
The best choice of management styles is to be all of the styles or at very lest open
to idea of all styles. There is no right or wrong answers to this because until one is faced
with any given situation a good leader is going to adjust their thought process to find the
best resolution to the problem. As with most problems in the world today, one the best
team assembled to find the most efficient solution. The key word being team, it takes a
village so to speak. I have to agree with Fiedler to a certain extend there is no one best
style of leadership for one situations. “Everything points to the conclusion that there is
no such thing as an idea leader instead, there are leaders and there are situations”
(Kreitner and Cassidy 2001pg. 399-400 para 4).
I really think for me at least is to have a knowledge of all styles, dimensions,
approaches to being a leader. This is my opinion only through trial and error of being a
leader. Being a leader is hard first of all so being a leader set in one way of doing thing
will not allow you to grow, as growing occurs so too does change. One needs to change

5
To grow. Having an open mind plus experience with either the right or wrong outcome
ensures that the decisions being made will have a favorable outcome.
The subject matter in the article relates to me in that I have been in Ms. Stewarts
shoes so to speak. I have gone from the waitress to the leader, and almost the owner. I
had no self-confidence when asked to be the owner so I did not succeed. Now that I
have confidence I am better prepared to take on such a roll. This will roll into my
community for I will need the support of the community to succeed. This also will
positively impact my future, for I will know what I do not want to be as a leader, and
learning from my past mistakes will also allow me to be positive, and successful.
Case Study # 2
The change I have experienced on the professional level and personal level would
make anyone’s hair stand up. Not that I should be patted on the back for still breathing,
however from being a victim of domestic violence to being let go because the company
has gone out of business this will lead most to believe I have overcome adversity and

6
Change to become a much stronger leader in the professional realm. I have overcome
the loss of my second husband, and starting college again at 41.
The strengths’ I carry are the ability to overcome adversity, making the budget fit and
work, starting from scratch, planning the future, organizing the work load (both
professionally and personally), and still be able to be thankful and smile.
The weakness’ I carry to this day is trust. I have a hard time letting anyone do the
work unless I over see it. This carries over to my professional life as well. Experience
has taught me to keep a watchful eye over all when managing a business. One cannot
simply just let their subordinates take over and trust they have done the task right
without some sort of control for the task. With this there is skills embedded with the
control process; training, leadership, management, motivation, problem solving, and
teamwork. This is where I need to be more effective with trust. If all the skills I
mentioned are in place (Control process) then one can take away that the job is done
right.
The ways professional change effects companies in the experience I carry is one of
disadvantage. Having been hired by one manger then yet another manager takes overs
and misuses the power to ruin the client base is just one way to devolve a business.

7
There were no forms of control applied to this situation. There was also no leadership,
or management to be found. The business was run by the misgivings of a person whom
had not formal experience of being a manager. According to M. Glamuzina,
“Organizations with poorly developed leadership have difficulties coping with changes in
the environment, they respond reactively and eventually, not being able to counteract
the competition, they often go bankrupt” (M. Glamuzina, 2015 pg. 90). This was the
case as mentioned.
I feel employees’ resist change for the fact of fear. This does not only apply to
employees’ this applies to everything. The fear of not knowing. In order to make change
happen one needs to go with the change and have an open mind. According to Kreitner
and Cassidy, “in these fast-paced ties, managers need to be active agents of change
rather than passive observers or, worse, victims of circumstances beyond their control”
(Kreitner and Cassidy, 2011 pg.427).
This article was insightful for there were some similarities to my professional
experiences. I had worked my way up to management much like Mr. Novak. I also
changed schools a few different times throughout my youth. One learns very quickly to
adjust to the ever changing environment. This has had a really positive effect on me in

8
That I can usually roll with the punches so to speak. This had also helped with the ability
to accept change at a fast rate instead of being stuck in a pattern and resist the change
in the first place. According to Mr. Gitomer Socrates said it best, “The secret to change
is focus all your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new” (J. Gitomer
2014 para.4). This has allowed me to change my life and go back to college in my
forties and get wonderful grades. In addition to restarting my life after the death of my
second husband I had to settle my late husband’s estate and find a new home for my
child and myself. Change whether it be at work, home, or community can be a powerful
thing and letting in the change can benefit one positively. I have had many classes on
management and the biggest questions my peers and I have asked is, is change good?
It is if you keep an open mind.

9
Case Study #3
When defining span of control one thinks about who is in control and how did they
get there. Another question is what are they in control of? Span of control as it is
understood in the business world is; “the number of direct reports a manger has”
(SHRM, 2013 ¶ 1). This basically means how many employees a manager has under
them and that the manager is responsible for. This has an enormous effect on any
corporation and/or organization. One does not want to place too many employees under
one manager if the manager is un-equipped to handle all of them. This will lead to poor
production, high turnover rights, and poor morale. Finding a good balance is key to
success here. For me having a manager that is readily available to me at any given time
throughout the work process is best for me to succeed as well as for the manager to
succeed. For managers with many subordinates under them it would be a juggling act
to keep everyone motivated, producing, and simply by keep them happy. I do not think
one group of people, the managers, or the employees are affected any differently when
it comes to span of control and who has worse. The employees have to answer to the
managers and the managers have to answer to their bosses, it is really hard for all

10
Involved. On the other hand if the correct systems are in place the span of control is a
positive.
Centralization and Decentralization are just one more step in the process of span of
control. Unlike span of control however centralization is the process of the top
management making all the decisions. Decentralization is the process of bottom
management making decisions. The later of the two is being thought of as “loss of
control” (Kreitner & Cassidy 2011, pg. 254). Kreitner and Cassidy provided examples of
such and how decentralization did not work and led to many problems. Johnson and
Johnson was one example referenced. J&J (Johnson and Johnson), had many recalls
because of decentralization due to quality control, and manufacturing processes
(Kreitner and Cassidy 2011 pg. 254). J&J allowed lower level managers make the hard
decisions and it was a costly mistake. I believe the better method would have to be
centralization. Allowing the top managers make the difficult decisions would ensure the
process was done right. Top management has the knowledge of the whole process
which alone allows for the correct action to be taken. Lower level managers could
possibly be only familiar with their own department’s process, allowing for mistakes to
be made over and above the department knowledge, as well as the conception of the

11
Product to begin with. Suppose the middle manager only had knowledge of his
department and the manager under him had no idea of the process of the first middle
manager, this could cause inaccuracies in the whole production process. Whereas the
centralization allows for top management to make all decisions, making sure steps in
the production process do not go over looked.
Effective delegation is where a manager assigns tasks to their team and those tasks
get done properly. I have worked for a manager that could effectively assign tasks. It
was a good job and the manager always let us know the tasks ahead of time so we cud
prepare. I have also worked for managers that had absolutely no idea how to delegate
at all. This was a horrible tie and nothing seem to ever go his way. Although we being a
strong team we could effectively communicate to him his missteps and the problems
usually worked out. We as a team could draw on what was expected of us and develop
a plan and take it to him and he was fine with the plan of action.
I do not feel a workaholic, non-delegating manager is indispensable. Everyone is
replaceable. If a manager does not delegate the work, the manager is held responsible
for the job. One always needs to have help to get the job done and done correctly.

12
I did as I explained previously. It was difficult in that there was no set routine, when
in fact there should have been. Now I understand there are time when there is a need to
deviate from the routine, however trying to get at least a system down was hard for that
manager. He needed to have more experience in the management position in order to
be successful. In that position I held I saw many turnovers with in that area of the
company. It was like the company put him there to fail. The company never gave him
the tools or training to succeed. I am no longer with that company.
The amount of rest needed to complete extra tasks assigned would be a lot. I say
that because of experience one needs rest to be creative. For me I can honestly say I
am more creative when I have had the right amount of rest. If my manager came to me
and asked me to work on some of the marketing for a project I was working and I did
not sleep well the night before, I would ask if I could start the extra work the next day. I
would of course tell my manager why I would like to start it the next day.
I have to say the article was eye opening to me. I have had job with vacation time and
never used it unless my children were sick. Now keep in mind I have not been working
in almost three year. At this point for me vacation time is at the bottom of my list in
benefits I need. I can remember being the manager of a restaurant and having a week

13
Of vacation to use. My children were small and we thought we would go have a great
time, which was until work called. There had been money stolen from petty cash, and
the employee could not get the safe open. I had to spend half a day on the phone with
the employee going over all the paper work in search of the money this did not help my
mind however, I was worried because I was not there to oversee everything my boss
wildfire me. Just the thought alone killed my vacation with my children. I can see where
the man in the article could be in the same or different kind of scenario. It all worked out
in the end.

14
References
R. Keitner, C.M. Cassidy. 2011. Management 12th edition. South-Western Cengage
Learning. Mason Ohio
Glamuzina Mia, 2015. Levels of leadership development ad top management
effectiveness: is there a clear-cut relationship? , Management Journal of
Contemporary Management Issues. May2015 Special Issue, Vol. 20 Issue 1,
p89-131. 43p.Retrieved from, ebscohost.com.libproxy.bryantstratton.edu
Gitomer, J. 2014. What do you do when change happens in the workplace? Grand
Rapids Business Journal 11/10/2014, Vol. 32 Issue 45, p11-11. 1/2p. Retrieved
from, ebscohost.com.libproxy.bryantstratton.edu
N.A. 2015, Definition of span of control. Retrieved from
http://www.businessdictionary.com
N.A. 2013. SHRM Span of control: what factors should determine how many direct
reports a manager has. Retrieved from http://www.shrm.org

15

BUSS265 final project

More Related Content

What's hot

Viewers also liked

Similar to BUSS265 final project

BUSS265 final project