MGMT 3720 Individual Assignment 3 Leadership One way to think about leadership is to think of it as an informal source of authority. Whereas companies officially put some people in position of authority over other people (called managers or supervisors), sometimes individuals influence others around them without the benefit of the official authority. Of course, at times, formal managers will also be informal leaders, but that is not necessarily the case. Another way to think about leadership is to think of the way people react to leaders. Whereas formal managers have the right to direct their subordinates to do what they want, leaders inspire their fellow workers to do their best or to follow them. Either way, leaders show the way. In this assignment, students should read the Bistro Champlain case study and prepare a Word document (saved as a .doc or a .docx) that answers the following questions. 1. How can the leadership of one of the main characters in the case (Emile, Gillian, Robert, or Sylvia) be explained? Leadership can be analyzed using the following theories: Traits theories (Big Five personality framework or Emotional Intelligence), Behavioral theories (Ohio State Studies and Michigan’s Survey Research Center), Contingency theories (Fiedler model, Situation leadership theory, Path-goal theory, Leader-participation model), Charismatic theory, and Transformational theory. Students should choose one of those theories to analyze the leadership of one of the characters in the case (Emile, Gillian, Robert, or Sylvia). Each analysis should be theoretically justified (so the theory behind it should be presented, described, and explained) and illustrated with information from the case (either talking about what is going on the case or quoting the case directly). 2. Given the leadership theory chosen and the character chosen, how do the students expect the other people in the case to react to their character if that character maintains his or her current course of action (this is to say, if nothing changes, what will happen at that restaurant)? 3. What needs to change about the leadership in this restaurant (and how) to ensure at least its survival and at best its thriving? 4. In general, which theory appears to be the best one to understand the phenomenon of leadership in organizations and why? BISTRO CHAMPLAIN In February 2008, Emile Fortin2, 46, quit his accounting job to start his own business. A sociable individual, Mr. Fortin could no longer imagine himself aligning numbers all day long. So, with the full support and the constant collaboration of his spouse, Gillian, his creative sidekick, he opened mid-august, a small independent bistro in the midst of a local shopping mall (a common location where they live). Slowly, the bistro’s reputation and popularity have increased, thanks to its original cuisine, its relaxed atmosphere, and its reasonable prices. Currently, th ...

1. MGMT 3720
Individual Assignment 3
Leadership
One way to think about leadership is to think of it as an
informal source of authority.
Whereas companies officially put some people in position of
authority over other people (called
managers or supervisors), sometimes individuals influence
others around them without the
benefit of the official authority. Of course, at times, formal
managers will also be informal
leaders, but that is not necessarily the case. Another way to
think about leadership is to think of
the way people react to leaders. Whereas formal managers have
the right to direct their
subordinates to do what they want, leaders inspire their fellow
workers to do their best or to
follow them. Either way, leaders show the way.
In this assignment, students should read the Bistro Champlain
case study and prepare a
Word document (saved as a .doc or a .docx) that answers the
following questions.
1. How can the leadership of one of the main characters in the
case (Emile, Gillian, Robert,

2. or Sylvia) be explained?
Leadership can be analyzed using the following theories: Traits
theories (Big Five personality
framework or Emotional Intelligence), Behavioral theories
(Ohio State Studies and Michigan’s
Survey Research Center), Contingency theories (Fiedler model,
Situation leadership theory,
Path-goal theory, Leader-participation model), Charismatic
theory, and Transformational theory.
Students should choose one of those theories to analyze the
leadership of one of the characters in
the case (Emile, Gillian, Robert, or Sylvia). Each analysis
should be theoretically justified (so the
theory behind it should be presented, described, and explained)
and illustrated with information
from the case (either talking about what is going on the case or
quoting the case directly).
2. Given the leadership theory chosen and the character chosen,
how do the students expect
the other people in the case to react to their character if that
character maintains his or her
current course of action (this is to say, if nothing changes, what
will happen at that
restaurant)?
3. What needs to change about the leadership in this restaurant
(and how) to ensure at least
its survival and at best its thriving?

3. 4. In general, which theory appears to be the best one to
understand the phenomenon of
leadership in organizations and why?
BISTRO CHAMPLAIN
In February 2008, Emile Fortin2, 46, quit his accounting job to
start his own business. A sociable
individual, Mr. Fortin could no longer imagine himself aligning
numbers all day long. So, with
the full support and the constant collaboration of his spouse,
Gillian, his creative sidekick, he
opened mid-august, a small independent bistro in the midst of a
local shopping mall (a common
location where they live). Slowly, the bistro’s reputation and
popularity have increased, thanks to
its original cuisine, its relaxed atmosphere, and its reasonable
prices. Currently, the bistro
employs 28 people: 2 hostesses, 11 servers, 5 busboys, 6 cooks,
and 4 dishwashers.
From the beginning, the bistro has taken a big place in the life
of the family. From the beginning,
Emile and Gillian involved their three sons. Alan, 18, helped his
mother with the purchases.
John, 17, did some cleaning. Robert, then 16, chose to be a
busboy on weekends. Today still,
almost all restaurant-related issues are discussed by the five
members of the Fortin’s family at
Sunday’s brunch (since the Bistro is closed on Sundays and
Mondays). Vacations are even often
consumed by the restaurant, occasions to remodel or do some
upkeep or rethink the menu. For

4. example, Gillian, who is in charge of everything related to food,
often tests new recipes during
her time off. Emile, who is in charge of everything related to
the administration of the place,
never hesitates to help whoever needs help. As for the children,
Robert is the one who has stayed
with the restaurant work, has learned from it, and hopes to get
more and more involved with it.
After cleaning up the tables, Robert started serving tables.
Eventually, Robert took up managing
the restaurant on Saturday nights. As such, he now organizes
the work of the crew for this most
important night. Even though he is younger than most of the
people he supervises (He is now
20), he seems to have managed to earn their respect. They listen
to him, and they do as he asks.
He probably respects them and listens to them as much as they
him. In fact, never did the people
with whom he works opposed him in any way nor did they ever
comment negatively on his work
or misbehave in his presence or get angry at him. On the
contrary, under his supervision, his
Saturday night crew generally arrives early to start preparing
the night before their shift officially
start, and most of them (with the exception of the single parents
amongst the workers) tend to
stay after their shift to share a late night meal and finish
preparing the restaurant for the next
opening night.
Robert’s ambition is to stay in the restaurant business. To
acquire more knowledge about
management, he has started a bachelor degree in business
administration after high school. He
hopes to become a more active participant in the decision-

5. making process of his parents’
restaurant once he graduates.
During his freshman year, Robert met a young lady, Sylvia,
whom he started dating. Sylvia is a
generous soul. Rapidly integrated in the family circle (Mrs.
Fortin adores her), Sylvia became
quickly fascinated by the working of the restaurant. When she
and Robert started dating, Sylvia
came to the restaurant to wait for the end of his shift. While she
waited, she often helped the
people around her. If the hostess was busy, she would welcome
new patrons; if a table was dirty,
she would clean it up; if she were to see empty glasses of water,
she would fill them up. Servers
and busboys alike started to count on her. On busy weekends,
they even asked for her help taking
orders or cleaning up.
Sylvia is an only child. At the restaurant, she easily made
friends. In fact, Robert’s family and
the restaurant’s crew seem to have become her family. She is
happy to be of use to them. She
really likes helping. When she works (voluntarily), since she
mostly work during the busiest days
of the week, incidents often happen, weird clients often happen,
odd situations often happen. All
who have work in a restaurant know how weird things can get
when too many exhausted staff
members have to respond to too many odd requests from too
many annoying customers while
barely staying awake at the end of a long, tiring shift. Sylvia,
who sees it all without being
responsible for any of it (despites the fact that she helps), often

6. end up using her storytelling
talent to recount those events to Mr. and Mrs. Fortin around the
family table. Sylvia is usually
hilarious, and Robert’s parents delight in hearing her tell those
stories of mishaps and mayhems.
In September of this year, the restaurant’s clientele increased so
much that Mr. Fortin decided to
hire new people in the kitchen and on the floor. He has offered
a job to Sylvia who has accepted
enthusiastically. She and Robert plan to marry and want to put
as much money aside as they can.
Her hiring is to the other servers’ likings as well. In fact, they
were starting to feel a little
uncomfortable having Sylvia do so much work for free. So,
having her being paid for what she
does seems fairer to all involved.
In her new salaried position, Sylvia feels more responsible
about what is happening around her.
What she considered amusing anecdotes, she now views as
problems. Robert is slowly
developing the same negative attitude toward those then-funny
events. In reaction, he has tried to
use his newfound knowledge of management to remedy what he
has identified as a problem,
most of the time, to no avail. He and Sylvia are becoming so
consumed by these work-related
activities and responsibilities that Mr. and Mrs. Fortin are
starting to think that the restaurant is
no longer performing well on Saturday nights.
Emile, always the energetic man of action, has decided to
“correct the situation.” Since all he and
Gillian know of what is happening on Saturday nights come

7. from the stories Sylvia continues to
tell during Sunday’s brunch, Emile has started using these
stories as the basis of his actions. For
example, Sylvia’s receipts are higher on average than anyone
else on the floor (and Robert
confirms this). She claims that she sells more because she
always offers her clients a cocktail
(even if just a beer), an appetizer, and a dessert in addition to
suggesting more “exotic”
(understand pricy) combination of food. On the basis on her
stories, Emile has met with the rest
of his servers and has asked them to start doing what Sylvia
does. Since the staff was
incredulous, Emile showed them Sylvia’s receipts to prove to
them that it could be done.
Since then, certain servers have tried to modify their behaviors
to match Sylvia’s techniques, and
the weekends’ total receipts have increased.
However, Robert and Sylvia seem to have more difficulties than
before dealing with the rest of
the crew. Last month, Robert had to fill in the beer refrigerators
himself because the person
responsible for it arrived exactly when his shift started and left
exactly when his official shift
ended. Other people have started doing the same thing, arriving
at the last minute just in time to
start working, and no longer lingering after work to finish
things up. Last week, a server called in
sick at the last minute, and no one else Robert called could
make it that night. As for Sylvia, her
sales have first stalled and are now declining maybe as a result

8. of the being assigned tables with
single clients or elderly couples. In addition, many of her
clients have started complaining that
the food served was lukewarm at best, and her tips have also
declined. Robert and Sylvia are
under the impression that the other members of the crew are
switching topics when either of
them walks by. Yesterday, Sylvia realized that her best friend
had had a shower for her
impending wedding. She had not known about it and had clearly
not even been invited (nor has
she received an invitation for the wedding itself).
Robert is troubled by what he sees happening at the restaurant.
Wanting to understand what is
happening, he has come to talk to his Organizational Behavior’s
professor.
Framework for Answer
First paragraph = Students should introduce the case (What is
this case all about?) Students
should do the following:
• summarize the situation (2 point),
• theoretically introduce the topic of leadership: this is to say,
students should explain what
“leadership” is according to the textbook (2 points),
• introduce the task at hand: this is to say, students should
announce what they will do in
the paper (2 point).

9. In the next set of paragraphs (minimum three paragraphs),
students should answer the first
question: How can the leadership of their chosen character
(Emile, Gillian, Robert, or Sylvia) be
explained? Students should choose ONE theory of leadership
and ONE character and proceed as
follow:
• write an introductory paragraph presenting (and explaining)
the theory they will use to
explain their character’s leadership (10 points),
• write a middle paragraph applying the theory to their character
(10 points)
• write a concluding paragraph summarizing the leadership of
their character according to
that theory (10 points).
These analyses should be justified by the theory chosen and
illustrated with information from the
case.
Fifth paragraph = Students should answer the second question:
Given the leadership theory
chosen and the character chosen, how do the students expect the
other people in the case to react
to their character if that character maintains his or her current
course of action (this is to say, if
nothing changes, what will happen at that restaurant)? (4 points)
Sixth paragraph = Students should answer the third question:
What needs to change about the
leadership in this restaurant (and how) to ensure at least its
survival and at best its thriving?
Students should explain what needs to change, using a theory of

10. leadership to justify their
suggestion (4 points). Students should explain how that change
would be introduced, using a
theory of leadership to justify their suggestion (4 points)
Seventh paragraph = Students should answer the fourth
question: In general, which theory
appears to be the best one to understand the phenomenon of
leadership in organizations and
why? If they were to only remember one theory of leadership,
students should suggest one theory
(the one they have previous used to analyze the case or another)
that best explain most of the
leadership phenomenon in organizations (4 points). Students
should say why they think that
theory is the best one to remember (4 points).
Eighth paragraph = Students should conclude this leadership
analysis. Students should do the
following: wrap up their analysis with a brief summary of what
they have specifically discovered
or inferred about their chosen character’s leadership skills (2
point) and what they have
discovered about leadership in general (2 point).
Grading:
This assignment will be graded on content only. If students
present a text that contains all the
elements required, they will earn 60 points.
This assignment requires a minimum of 8 paragraphs Note that a
standard paragraph contains a
minimum of 3 sentences. Each paragraph with less than three

11. sentences will cost students 1
point.
The context of the assignment (formatting, grammar, spelling,
proper citation techniques, etc.)
will be assessed, and points will be subtracted at 0.3 points per
mistake with a maximum
deduction of 3 points.
The presence of the proper file extension and identification
header will always be verified. The
absence of either will cost students 2 points. (See Syllabus for
an example).
• Improper file extension = -2 points
• Absence of a proper identification header at the top of the
page = -2 points
• Less than three sentences in a paragraph = -1 point
1. Case written by Evelyn PITRE (1982), lecturer at the École
des Hautes Études Commerciales de Montréal, and Isabelle
CARON, research
assistant, from a case study submitted byAnnie TURCOTTE,
undergraduate student at the Université du Québec à Trois-
Rivières. Translated,
adapted, and updated by E3P3 (2012). © 2012 E3P3
2. The names of the people have been changed to protect their
identity. At the time of the creation of the case, the restaurant
was based in the Trois-
Rivières area, about an hour and a half from Montréal, in the
province of Québec, Canada.
3. The material used in this class is proprietary. It is NOT
available for distribution or dispersion of any kind without the

12. express written
consent of the owner / instructor, Ms. Evelyn Pitre. ©2012
E3P3 Evelyn Pitre Communication Consultant [email protected]