Question

Kevin McCarthy is the manager of a production department in Alvis Corporation, a firm that manufactures office equipment. After reading an article that stressed the benefit of participative management, Kevin believes that these benefits could be realized in his department if the workers participated in decision making. The first decision involved vacation schedules. On the vacation issue, the group was deadlocked and Kevin had to resolve the dispute himself. The second decision involved production standards. It proposed new equipment that would make it possible for workers to earn more by working more. The savings from higher productivity would pay for the new equipment. The workers recommended keeping production standards the same. The spokesman explained that their base pay had not kept up with inflation and the pay incentive simply restored their base pay to its prior level.

Analyze this situation using the Hersey-Blanchard model and the Vroom-Jago model. What do these models suggest as the appropriate leadership or decision style? Explain your reasoning.

Answer 1

The situation at Alvis Corporation suggests that a nuanced approach to leadership is needed, one that blends participative management with more directive styles when necessary, as indicated by both the Hersey-Blanchard and Vroom-Jugo models.

Step-by-step explanation:

Analyzing the situation with Kevin McCarthy and the Alvis Corporation using the Hersey-Blanchard model and the Vroom-Jugo model requires understanding of leadership and decision-making styles. In participative management, it's expected that employees seek satisfaction from their work, as posited in Theory Y, and thus perform well when involved in decision-making. In the case of vacation schedules, where Kevin had to resolve the deadlock himself, the Hersey-Blanchard model would suggest a more supportive or coaching leadership style, as the group could not reach an agreement on their own. For production standards, the resistance to change despite the benefits illustrates the group's lack of readiness for such decision-making, prompting a more directing style.

The Vroom-Jugo model, which considers the degree of involvement by leaders and subordinates in decision-making, would likely suggest a consultative or group-based decision approach initially but may require shifting to a more autocratic style when decisions are deadlocked or when the group's decisions are not aligned with organizational goals.