Sample Case Studies for Practice CASE 01—Anne Mulcahy at Xerox Anne Mulcahy is the ultimate loyal employee. She joined Xerox when she was 23 years old. She spent her first 16 years in sales, then eight years in an assortment of management assignments—director of human resources, head of the company’s fledging desktop computer business, and chief of staff to Xerox’s CEO. She never aspired to run Xerox, nor was she groomed to be the boss. So she was as surprised as anyone when Xerox’s board chose her as CEO in August 2001. She accepted the job with mixed feelings: The company was in horrible financial shape. It had $17.1 billion in debt and only $154 million in cash. It was about to begin seven straight quarters of losses. The company had been slow to move from analog to digital copying and from black and white to color. Japanese competitors like Canon and Ricoh had taken a large chunk of its market share in copying machines. Prior executives had diversified the company into financial services and never leveraged Xerox’s expertise in personal computers. Xerox’s stock price had dropped from nearly $64 in 2000 to $4.43. But Mulcahy felt a deep loyalty to the company. She felt an obligation to do everything in her power to save Xerox. Duty and loyalty compelled her to take a job that nobody else really wanted, despite the fact that she had zero preparation. To say Mulcahy wasn’t groomed for the CEO position is a true understatement. For instance, she didn’t know financial analysis. She had no MBA and her undergraduate degree was in English/journalism. So she asked the company’s director of corporate finance to give her a cram course in Balance Sheet 101. He helped her to understand debt structure, inventory trends, and the impact of taxes and currency rates. This allowed her to see what would generate cash and how each of her decisions would affect the balance sheet. Mulcahy says now that her lack of training had its advantages. She had no preconceived notions, no time to develop bad habits. Mulcahy and her executive team faced a difficult task from the beginning. Xerox is an old fashioned company and people resisted change. The average tenure of a Xerox employee is 14 years, double the overall corporate average. Although everyone knew the company was in trouble, there wasn’t a lot of willingness to challenge the conventional wisdom. She appealed to employees with missionary zeal, in videos and in person to “save each dollar as if it were your own.” She rewarded those who stuck it out not only by refusing to abolish raises but with symbolic gestures as well; in 2002, for instance, she gave all employees their birthdays off. The gentle pressure was vintage Mulcahy: Work hard, measure the results, tell the truth, and be brutally honest. After less than three years as CEO, Mulcahy has made startling progress in turning Xerox around. Employees appreciated her truthful and straightforward style. They also liked the fact that she was willing to wor.

1. Sample Case Studies for Practice
CASE 01—Anne Mulcahy at Xerox
Anne Mulcahy is the ultimate loyal employee. She joined Xerox
when she was 23 years old. She spent her first 16 years in sales,
then eight years in an assortment of management assignments—
director of human resources, head of the company’s fledging
desktop computer business, and chief of staff to Xerox’s CEO.
She never aspired to run Xerox, nor was she groomed to be the
boss. So she was as surprised as anyone when Xerox’s board
chose her as CEO in August 2001. She accepted the job
with mixed feelings: The company was in horrible financial
shape. It had $17.1 billion in debt and only $154 million in
cash. It was about to begin seven straight quarters of losses.
The company had been slow to move from analog to digital
copying and from black and white to color. Japanese
competitors like Canon and Ricoh had taken a large chunk of its
market share in copying machines. Prior executives had
diversified the company into financial services and never
leveraged Xerox’s expertise in personal computers. Xerox’s
stock price had dropped from nearly $64 in 2000 to $4.43. But
Mulcahy felt a deep loyalty to the company. She felt an
obligation to do everything in her power to save Xerox. Duty
and loyalty compelled her to take a job that nobody else really
wanted, despite the fact that she had zero preparation.
To say Mulcahy wasn’t groomed for the CEO position is a true
understatement. For instance, she didn’t know financial
analysis. She had no MBA and her undergraduate degree was in
English/journalism. So she asked the company’s director of
corporate finance to give her a cram course in Balance Sheet

2. 101. He helped her to understand debt structure, inventory
trends, and the impact of taxes and currency rates. This allowed
her to see what would generate cash and how each of her
decisions would affect the balance sheet. Mulcahy says now that
her lack of training had its advantages. She had no preconceived
notions, no time to develop bad habits. Mulcahy and her
executive team faced a difficult task from the beginning. Xerox
is an old fashioned company and people resisted change. The
average tenure of a Xerox employee is 14 years, double the
overall corporate average. Although everyone knew the
company was in trouble, there wasn’t a lot of willingness to
challenge the conventional wisdom. She appealed to employees
with missionary zeal, in videos and in person to “save each
dollar as if it were your own.” She rewarded those who stuck it
out not only by refusing to abolish raises but with symbolic
gestures as well; in 2002, for instance, she gave all employees
their birthdays off. The gentle pressure was vintage Mulcahy:
Work hard, measure the results, tell the truth, and be brutally
honest.
After less than three years as CEO, Mulcahy has made startling
progress in turning Xerox around. Employees appreciated her
truthful and straightforward style. They also liked the fact that
she was willing to work shoulder to shoulder with subordinates.
Because she was working so hard, people felt obligated to work
harder too. But Mulcahy is no softie. She’s smart, energetic,
tough but compassionate. And she showed the ability to make
hard decisions. For instance, she slashed costs in part by cutting
Xerox’s workforce by 30 percent and she shut down the desktop
division. She oversaw the streamlining of production, new
investment in research and development, and restructured the
sales force so vague lines of authority became clear. She met
with bankers and customers. Most importantly, she traveled.
She galvanized “the troops” by visiting Xerox offices—
sometimes hitting three cities a day—and inspiring employees.
While many people were concerned that the company was

3. headed for bankruptcy, she wouldn’t consider that an option. By
summer of 2003, Xerox had had four straight quarters of
operating profits. The company’s stock was up to $11 a share.
And while Xerox’s future was still far from secure, at least it
was beginning to look like the company would have a future.
Source: B. Morris, “The Accidental CEO,” Fortune, June 23,
2003, pp. 58-66
Questions:
1. How did Anne create trust with employees after becoming
CEO?
2. What leadership qualities do you think helped Anne affect the
turnaround at Xerox?
CASE 02:
Pat Talley stood and watched, with grudging admiration, as
Carmelita Suarez worked the room. Sharp, charming, and armed
with a personality that left an indelible memory, Carmelita at
one moment had the ear of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Chris
Blount and the next could be observed smiling and studying
something on her electronic notebook with the executive
assistant of a major board member.
“She’s amazing,” Kent Schlain whispered to Pat as he gave him
a cocktail. “I like to observe and learn. She’s a real education in
office politics.” “We’re not in politics,” Pat answered somewhat
defensively. “We’re in IT.”
“Come on, Pat.” Kent teased. “Tell me she doesn’t worry you.
Everyone knows she’s your main competition for the Chief
Information Officer (CIO) job.” Pat smirked, took a sip from
the scotch and water, and said sarcastically, “I’m worried.
Satisfied?”

4. Walking away from Kent’s mischievous goading, Pat’s usual
confidence suffered a fleeting twinge of fear. No, I’m OK. I’m
OK, he thought. I have more expertise than anyone, including
Carmelita, and I’m not afraid to lay down the law to get projects
completed.
After weeks of speculation, interviews, on-site visits by top
execs, and endless waiting, a decision on the new CIO was to be
made and announced by CEO Blount this week during the
annual meeting. Although Mansfield, Inc. boasted an
extraordinarily talented IT group, company insiders and
industry watchers agreed that the decision would come down to
a choice between Carmelita Suarez and Pat Talley.
To this point, Pat carried the confidence of a sterling 20-year
record with Mansfield. Technically gifted, he was one of the
team members that designed and implemented the company’s
original IT system and had been a major player throughout the
years in guiding its growth and expansion. Pat built a reputation
as a guy who relentlessly analysed needs and then charged
ahead until the job was completed – usually under budget. His
special strength lay in the twin areas of electronic security and
risk management.
Pat considered technical expertise and competence to be the
qualifications for the position as CIO, as he explained during a
recent interview with executives and board members. “Our work
and reputation should be the only considerations,” Pat
emphasized. “My job is not to schmooze and glad hand. I’m not
running for public office. I’m running an IT division.”
Over the years, Pat maintained strictly defined areas of work
and friendship and, in fact, could count on one hand the number
of casual, work-related friendships he had developed over 20
years. He was proud of his ability to compartmentalize these
areas so that personal relationships had no bearing on

5. management decisions. He considered this an important part of
his reputation as a fair but tough leader. He demanded
excellence and could be unforgiving in his attitude toward those
with less technology interest or expertise.
The word politics was odious to Pat Talley, and he considered
office politics as a waste of time. However, at company
gatherings such as this, he also carried a slight chip on his
shoulder, aware that despite his importance to the company, he
was only on the periphery of this group – not excluded, but not
really included either. The significance of this particular
meeting – and now watching Suarez put on a clinic in office
politics – only increased those feelings for Pat, making him
defensive and uncharacteristically concerned about his future.
Could office politics really be the deciding factor, he suddenly
wondered. Carmelita knows her stuff. She does her research and
stays on top of the latest trends and products in IT. She can
handle any situation, particularly those sticky people problems
that arise within teams or with suppliers. Pat smiled ruefully.
Heck, I’ve even brought her in a time or two.
Now, as he stood and observed the activity in the room, he
watched as his rival moved effortlessly among individuals and
various groups. I feel like I’m watching “Survivor.” Does the
guy who trusts his own abilities win, or is it the one who builds
coalitions and alliances? He shook his head as if to shake off
the imagery. That was stupid. This is not a reality television
show. This is corporate America. Do your job. I’ve built my
reputation on that, and I’ll stand by that.
His attention snapped back as Carmelita handed him a fresh
scotch and water. “You could use a fresh one,” she said, smiling
and pointing to his empty glass. “I guess tomorrow’s the big
day and I wanted to come by and wish you well. These are
exciting days for the company and for IT, and whichever way it
goes tomorrow I look forward to working together. Cheers.”

6. “Same here,” he answered. Their glasses clinked together in a
toast. Dang, she’s good, Pat thought.
1. Would you consider Pat a relations-oriented or a task-
oriented leader? Explain?
2. What types of power does Pat have and what type of power is
he mostly exercising? Discuss
2
1
Leadership and Decision Making - Sample case summary
answers.
Note with the two cases – the first one is about Leadership
Traits and Qualities, and the second one has elements of
Leadership and Power
CASE One—Anne Mulcahy at Xerox
1. How did Anne create trust with employees after becoming
CEO?
2. What leadership qualities do you think helped Anne affect the
turnaround at Xerox?
A1. How did Ann create trust with employees after becoming
CEO?
· Being a good role model. Work hard, honest, work shoulder-
to-shoulder, tough and compassionate
A2. What leadership qualities do you think helped Ann affect
the turnaround at Xerox?
· Compassion, honesty, truthfulness, dedication, hard work,
commitment, inspiring employees, very positive attitudes.
CASE Two—Pat at IT
1. Would you consider Pat a relations-oriented or a task-
oriented leader? Explain?
2. What types of power does Pat have and what type of power is
he mostly exercising? Discuss
A1. Would you consider Pat a relations-oriented or a task-
oriented leader? Explain?
· Pat seems to be more of a task-oriented leader, which leads

7. him to ignore office politics. Examples of Task Orientation: Pat
built a reputation as a guy who relentlessly analysed needs and
then charged ahead until the job was completed – usually under
budget.
A2. What types of power does Pat have and what type of power
is he mostly exercising? Discuss
· Pat seems to have all types of power. His current role grants
him Legitimate, Reward and Coercive Power (Position Power).
He also has Expert (knowledge, IT expertise) and Referent
Power (admiration, respect, likeable) (Personal Power). Mostly
Position Power: (Legitimate/Reward/ Coercive) power: Pat
demanded excellence and could be unforgiving in his attitude
toward those with less technology interest or expertise.