LEADERSHIP APPROACH

Your good friend Meghan is thinking about leaving her job. When you ask her why, she says that she can’t handle working for her manager anymore. You ask her to describe how her manager acts and she tells you the following information. Her manager is often not around or available to answer questions. When the manager is around, they just point out the mistakes that Meghan makes but often only when there are really big problems (such as customers lodging complaints). Meghan is often left feeling confused about what is required of her in her job, and when she feels she’s done a good job at something, the manager never really tells her, nor rewards her (not even with a thank-you!). In fact, a lot of the time, her manager is downright mean to her telling her she isn’t competent, lying to her and breaking promises. In any case, Meghan is going to look for work elsewhere.
a.) Use 3 specific leadership styles/theories from Chapter 9 to describe this managers approach/leadership style with Meghan. What statements in the description lead you to categorize the leader in the ways that you have? (6 marks)

b.) If you were to hire a new manager for this workplace, what leadership approach would you recommend they use and why? Would you select someone who already has the characteristics you want or would you train an employee to take on the role? Be sure to tie in concrete course content from Chapter 9 in your answer. (3 marks)

c.) Assume that the employees in this organization are culturally diverse. What would be important for the new leader to consider in terms of managing a diverse employee group? You can tie in content from chapters 4, 5, 6 and/or 9. (2 marks).