The document discusses leadership styles and the human resources cycle. It describes six leadership styles - pacesetting, visionary, affiliative, coaching, coercive, and democratic. It also outlines the six stages of the human resources cycle: recruit, employ, reward, manage, develop, and transition/exit. The human resources cycle aims to ensure a business has the right people in the right jobs through all stages of employment.

1. Leadership Styles
Just as leaders can be found in many places in a business, there
are many ways to
be a leader— different styles and approaches. The six
leadership styles discussed
below are one way to look at leadership styles. Each of these
styles sends a clear
message to the team about how the leader and the team interact.
Some leaders
adopt one of these styles and use it every time they lead. But
more effective
leaders master most or all of these styles, evaluate the team and
goals at hand, and
choose the most appropriate style for the given situation.
A pacesetting leader says to the team, “Do as I do, now.”
The pacesetting leader is a high performer himself, and expects
his team to
perform with excellence and speed. The leader models the
desired behaviors and
expects the team to mirror it. This style works well with a
highly skilled and
motivated team. It can create problems when a team gets
overwhelmed, or when
more creativity is appropriate.
A visionary leader says to the team, “Come with me.”
The visionary leader sets out a common vision and goal for the

2. team, and invites
each individual team member to find his or her way to achieve
the necessary tasks.
This style works well when a new vision is appropriate and
when there is latitude
in how a goal may be attained. It can be counter-productive
when the group knows
more than the leader.
An affiliative leader says to the team, “People come first.”
Focuses first on the team and its emotional needs and the
emotional health of the
team as a whole. This is an appropriate style in times of stress,
when a team needs
some extra TLC. This style may not be appropriate when there
are many pressing
deadlines for a project.
A coaching leader says to the team, “Try this.”
The coaching leader is focused on the team’s professional
development and offers
team members opportunities to work on developing new skills
or improving
weaknesses. This style works well when a leader is proficient at
many things and
can truly help team members improve in various ways. When
people are unwilling
to learn, this style may not be a good use of time and resources.
A coercive leader says to the team, “Do what I tell you.”
The coercive leader gives rigid instructions and requires total
compliance. This can
be appropriate when there is an emergency, an extremely short

3. time frame, or some
other unusual circumstances. This style should be used
sparingly because it tends
to make people feel less valuable or important and often causes
tension.
A democratic leader says to the team, “What do you think?”
A democratic leader encourages the participation of every team
member and uses
consensus-based decision-making to make sure every person is
on board. This is a
great method when the leader has a strong team and their buy-in
is important to the
great method when the leader has a strong team and their buy-in
is important to the
goal. It won’t work as well when there is an emergency or the
team doesn’t have
enough expertise to provide helpful input.
It’s important to note that there isn’t any single leadership style
that is always
appropriate. Seeking consensus from a team about which way to
exit the building
during a fire is a terrible idea. But ordering everyone to walk
out a certain door
without stopping for personal belongings at the end of a regular
workday is also a
bad idea. By tailoring a leadership style to the particular
circumstances, a leader
can ensure that the team works together efficiently toward a
common goal.

4. THE BUSINESS OF HIERARCHY
Every employee should be able to answer these basic questions:
To whom do I
report? Who reports to me? Which decisions do I make, and
which decisions are
reserved for others to make? These questions all get to the
issues of business
hierarchy and structure.
This week’s Strayer Talk explained that every business has a
hierarchy of some
kind: a pyramid or a series of management tiers that indicates
who reports to
whom. Just like pyramids, a business’s hierarchy may be tall or
flat.
A tall hierarchy is a traditional way to organize management.
There are many
levels of employment, and a few employees at each level report
up to a manager at
the next level. For example, at Starbucks, baristas report to
store managers, and
store managers report to regional managers, and regional
managers report to
executives at headquarters. This works really well for
Starbucks! Baristas are
carefully and consistently trained and supervised so that you
can count on the same
cup of coffee at any store. Employees who want to advance can
work hard and
make their way up the chain to gain more management

5. responsibilities. Business is
efficient and quality is consistent.
On the other hand, some businesses prefer a flat hierarchy.
When Paul and Ari
founded Zingerman’s Delicatessen, they wanted to make sure
that every employee
felt empowered to make decisions to improve the customer
experience. In their
service-oriented business, Paul and Ari’s employees get their
jobs done in creative
and collaborative ways. A flat hierarchy makes this possible.
The Human Resources Cycle
We’ve been talking about how people within a business interact
with each other,
both in terms of hierarchy and structure. There’s another
important piece to
consider, and that is the role of each person individually and his
or her relationship
to the organization. Each individual employee is on a journey
within the business,
which we’re calling the human resources cycle. This path starts
when the business
recruits a person, and it continues as the person works at the
business, earns
rewards, improves her performance, develops professionally,
and transitions into
new roles or exits the company.
Why does human resources matter? Well, no matter how good a
business concept
is, it’s nothing if you don’t have the people who can make it a

6. reality. In the words
of one business thought leader, “Great vision without great
people is irrelevant.”
But a business doesn’t just need smart people. It needs the right
people in the right
jobs, getting the right opportunities, support, and development.
All of that is the
function of human resource teams.
The human resources cycle captures the six steps or stages of
human resources:
recruit, employ, reward, manage, develop, and transition or exit.
We’ll look at each
of these in turn.
Recruit
Once a business realizes it needs to hire someone, it must define
the role that needs
to be filled. That means figuring out the purpose, duties, and
deliverables of the job
—and drafting the job description. After the job description, the
human resources
team writes the person specification, which summarizes the
knowledge, skills,
experience, and education of an ideal candidate. It should guide
both applicants
and the business in determining whether an applicant is an
appropriate hire.
Once the job description and person specification are finalized,
the search begins.
There are a few sources of applicants. First, a business often

7. looks internally to
existing employees who may be seeking advancement or a
change across
departments, known as a lateral change. Second, a business
might encourage its
current employees to recommend friends. Finally, a business
may seek external
applicants. For a broad external search, businesses may use
traditional venues like
career fairs, job boards, or recruiters, but it’s very common now
to also seek
applicants through social media and networking sites such as
LinkedIn, Facebook
and Twitter.
Employ
After collecting applications, the HR team reviews each
applicant’s curriculum
vitae, also referred to as a resume, and cover letter, compiling a
shortlist of the
most promising candidates. Interviews and other assessments
often help to identify
the best candidate. In some cases, references are also required
so that the human
resources team can verify the accuracy of the information
provided by the
candidate and hear from those who know her best. When the
team agrees on the
best candidate, an offer is made, typically in the form of a
formal letter referred to
as an offer letter or an employee contract. If the candidate is not
satisfied with
the terms of the offer letter, there are sometimes negotiations
regarding salary and
benefits. When an agreement is reached, the employment
contract is signed and the

8. candidate is hired—and becomes a new employee.
Reward
We all know that people work in order to earn a living. But
there are lots of other
reasons to work as well! Non-monetary rewards can often do an
even better job of
motivating workers than money can.
Extrinsic rewards are essentially monetary rewards, and include
pay and benefits,
such as holidays and health insurance. Intrinsic rewards are
non-monetary and
come from the way a person thinks and feels about the
job. Intrinsic
rewards might include an employee’s sense of purpose in
getting the job done,
ownership and responsibility, and the satisfaction of making
progress and a job
well done.
Although intrinsic rewards relate to the employee’s thoughts
and feelings about the
job, businesses can have a significant impact on those intrinsic
rewards for each of
their individual employees in the following ways:
Purpose: A clear mission and vision for the organization, and
clear
expectations for the employee
Recognition: Praise and constructive feedback for the employee
Development: Education, mentoring, and opportunities for

9. advancement
Culture: A team-oriented, transparent organization
Manage
The job of taking care of a business’s people doesn’t end when
the people are hired
and rewarded. After that, everyone still needs ongoing
management. Why? To
make sure everyone is working together well to meet the
organization’s goals—
and their own.
The traditional performance management cycle has five steps.
First, an employee
sets goals for herself based on what she wants to accomplish
and what the business
needs. Second, the employee and the HR team have an ongoing
dialogue about
what the organization expects of the employee and what the
employee’s work
looks like. Third, HR team members and others in the
organization provide
feedback and coaching on the employee’s work and decisions to
help her become
more efficient and effective. Fourth, a formal review involving
the employee’s
manager and possibly others gives the employee insight into
how she can improve.
Finally, high-performing employees receive promotions and pay
raises.
Develop

10. Hand-in-hand with management comes development. A business
can invest in its
people by providing additional training opportunities, both on
the job and outside
the business. Development can include classes, books, trainings,
and even formal
education or degrees. That’s good for individuals, who continue
to get better at
their own jobs and become more qualified for promotions. It’s
also good for the
business, which reaps the benefits of having workers who are
continually learning
about their fields, the business, and the changing world in
which they operate.
Transition or Exit
There are two ways that an employee’s human resources cycle
ends—although, as
you’ll see, the cycle never really ends. One possibility is that
the
employee transitions to a new job in the same business. This
can happen when the
employee undergoes enough development that he or she is
qualified for a
promotion. It can also happen when the employee decides she is
interested in a
different business unit and wants to make a lateral move—not a
promotion, but not
a demotion either. In either of these cases, the human resources
cycle starts again
with that individual—usually with a streamlined recruitment
process.
The other way an employee’s human resources cycle ends is
on exit—when the
person leaves the business completely. A person can leave a

11. business for many
reasons: he finds a job he likes better at a different company,
the business no
longer needs her at the company, or he retires and leaves the
workforce entirely.
Except in the case of retirement, the human resources cycle just
begins again when
that person joins a different business.
ASSIGNM E NT
Leadership & Management –
Leadership Consultant Analysis
1
DU E DATE
Week 9
S T R AY E R U N I V E RS I T Y | CO PY R I G H T © 2 0
1 6 . A L L R I G H TS R E S E RV E D.
WEEKS 8 & 9
MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP
people
ORGANIZATIONAL CHART
In-Store
Sales

12. Associate
Catering
Sales
Associate
Maintenance
Associate
Purchase
Associate
Cashier
Food
Quality
Control
Executive
Chef
Cashier
Head of
Food
Service
Assistant
Manager
Food &
Beverage
Director

13. Sales
Manager
Logistics
Manager
Financial
Director
Kitchen
Manager
Restaurant
Manager
General
Manager
Junior
Accountant
Accountant
Assistant
Chef
Food
Service
Staff
Ingredients
Buyer
Operations
Manager

14. S T R AY E R U N I V E RS I T Y | CO PY R I G H T © 2 0
1 6 . A L L R I G H TS R E S E RV E D. 2
HUMAN RESOURCES:
Hello,
Head of HR here, providing you a bit more insight into our
process. I’ve included a flow
chart on the high level process (see below) but also wanted to
provide a more detailed
explanation.
Our HR cycle begins with our recruiting department. We have
campus recruiters who
attend career fairs and develop relationships from select
universities around the country.
We also do a substantial amount of recruiting through LinkedIn,
targeting professionals
further along in their career with the backgrounds we look for.
We then conduct phone
screens with qualified candidates, followed by rigorous in-
person interviews. We hire
approximately 10% of the candidates we interview in-person.
Once an employee comes on-board, our performance
management system begins.
Employees are required to write out goals and objectives after
their first 30 days on the job.
They have regular ongoing conversations with their direct
managers, as well as with
assigned mentors, regarding their performance. On or near their
anniversary date, we

15. conduct a formal performance review. In the review, we
evaluate how the employee
performed relative to the goals they mapped out for themselves,
and relative to our
expectations. Based on the result of the performance review,
we make compensation
adjustments and promotion decisions. Finally, when an
employee does exit their role, by
transitioning to another role within the company or by
terminating their employment, we
conduct formal exit interviews.
Hope this helps. Look forward to your feedback on how we can
improve.
R E C RU I T H I R E M A N AG E
E X I T E VA L UAT EC O M P E N SAT I O N
A D J U ST M E N T
S T R AY E R U N I V E RS I T Y | CO PY R I G H T © 2 0
1 6 . A L L R I G H TS R E S E RV E D. 3
LEADERSHIP STYLE:
Hi,
I’m writing this email in response to your request for an
overview of my leadership style.
First, I think it’s important to tell you how I got to my role as
the General Manager. I started
at the bottom and I’ve worked my way up through the ranks by
being the top performer in

16. every role I’ve had. I’ve worked hard to get to where I am
today, nothing has been given to
me, and I believe everyone reporting to me should have a
similar mindset and work ethic.
I’m looking for people who can keep up with my level of
performance; that’s what we need
to achieve our organizational goals. I demand a lot from
people. Some might say I’m
difficult to please, but I believe in continually pushing people
to achieve results they
previously didn’t think possible. To do that, my employees
must move fast and execute on
the directives I give them. If they can’t, then I need to find
others who can keep up. That
may sound harsh, but I view maintaining a strong performance-
based culture as my
responsibility as a leader.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
NAME:
INSTUCTOR:
DATE:
Assignment 4
LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT – LEADERSHIP
CONSULTANT Analysis
Due Date: Week 9
Note: All scenarios in this assignment are fictional.

17. Real Business
It can be difficult for a business to improve how it operates
from inside the organization. Sometimes, an outside perspective
is needed. The large discount retail store you work for wants to
improve its in-store restaurant management team.
Your Role
Companies like Target and Walmart often works with outside
consultants—people who are not employees of the company but
who are hired on a contract basis to help with a specific project.
As a Leadership Consultant, you’ve been hired by a large
discount retail company to help the company improve its
leadership structure and approach to management.
What Is a LEADERSHIP CONSULTANT?
A leadership consultant is a person called in to a company, be it
a large corporation or a small business, to evaluate how it
operates and make recommendations for improvement.
Leadership consultants are typically hired when a business is
struggling and needs to make changes in order to remain
profitable. Such consultants are often highly educated in the
field of business and have experience in managerial roles.
Instructions
Step 1: ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Take a look at the Organization Chart provided by the company.
· Based on your knowledge of hierarchies, would you say that
this team has tall structure or flat structure?
Underline your selection:
Tall Structure
Flat Structure
Explain your answer.
At least 3-5 sentences

18. Step 2: HUMAN RESOURCES
The company would like to improve the culture of its team and
the quality of its work. Its leadership has provided you with a
Process Chart detailing how it currently applies Human
Resources best practices.
· What step of the Human Resources Cycle is missing? Explain
why it is important to include this part of the process.
At least 3-5 sentences
Note: You should complete Steps 3 & 4 after reading the
material in Week 9.
Step 3: LEADERSHIP STYLE
You have been asked to help improve the leadership style of the
team leader in order to meet the team’s performance goals. The
team leader has given you a description of what is most
comfortable in terms of leading others.
Identify this leader’s style of leadership. Underline your
selection:
Pacesetting
Visionary
Affiliative
Coaching
Coercive
Democratic
Explain your reasoning and list two benefits and two drawbacks
to the style of leadership you identified as it relates to the
performance of the team.
At least 3-5 sentences
Provide advice to the team leader on how to overcome the
drawbacks of this leadership style.

19. At least 3-5 sentences
Step 4: REAL-WORLD APPLICATION
Apply the thinking in Steps 1-3 as if you were a Leadership
Consultant hired by the company where you work or for a
previous employer.
· Review the organization chart for your company. Based on
your knowledge of hierarchies, would you say that your
company’s team has a tall structure or flat structure? How does
this affect the way your team works? Explain your answer.
At least 3-5 sentences
· Consider the work conducted by the Human Resources team at
your company. What steps of the Human Resources Cycle do
they implement well? What steps of the Human Resources Cycle
might be missing from your company or are not implemented as
well as they could be? What is the effect of this on you and
your team? Explain your answer.
At least 3-5 sentences
· Lastly, reflect on the leadership style of either yourself or
your supervisor. What leadership style do you have, or what
leadership style does your supervisor have? What are the
benefits and drawbacks of this style for your team? What might
you or your supervisor do to improve leadership? Explain your
answer.
At least 3-5 sentences

20. 1 BUS100: INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS