consolidated products case study answers

Consolidated Products Managers’ Leadership Styles Case Study

Style of ben samuels, style of phil jones, comparison of leadership styles, phil’s performance.

It is worth noting that a leader and their effectiveness affect the organizational success of a company significantly. The leader determines the focus of the work of the entire team, interacts with personnel, affects the psychological climate and other aspects of the work environment (Forsyth, 2018). In addition, management can influence individuals as well as groups of employees, encouraging them to work towards the goals of the organization. The purpose of this paper is to discuss leadership styles exhibited in the “Consolidated Products” case study.

Ben Samuels, a plant manager of Consolidated Products, employed a democratic style of leadership, which was evident from his relationship with the workforce. This type of leader relies on such aspects as trust, information exchange, initiative, creativity, self-discipline, conscientiousness, responsibility, and positive encouragement. Moreover, they focus not only on results but also on ways to achieve organizational goals (Forsyth, 2018). In general, the democratic leadership style is characterized by reliance on the employees and their potential since the company’s workforce is involved actively in the management of the organization. In the company discussed in the case study, communication occurred not only in vertical directions but also horizontally, and management tended to interact constructively with the employees.

In terms of his leadership behavior and actions, Ben Samuels established an environment in which employees could grow both professionally and personally. This was beneficial for employees so that they could evolve and feel valued (Forsyth, 2018). Such a behavior implied the establishment of a people-oriented work environment. His approach allowed building good relationships with workers, operators, and supervisors (Daft, 2015). In addition, Ben Samuels ensured the workforce could have an adequate work-life balance. In particular, he initiated building a fitness center for the workers, made sure they had an opportunity to take training programs, and organized corporate events (Daft, 2015). Moreover, he has built an organization consisting of loyal subordinates, which allowed reaching low turnover rates.

The leadership style of Ben Samuels had particular advantages and disadvantages. The establishment of an employee-oriented work environment implied that people could come up with creative ways of completing their work. On the one hand, workers were in power to change things inside the company (Forsyth, 2018). On the other hand, this implied that the subordinates required constant encouragement from the side of Ben Samuels. The leader affected employee satisfaction through corporate events and other benefits while ignoring the need to set clear organizational objectives. Low turnover rates were the direct result of democratic leadership; nevertheless, it led to poor production quality (Daft, 2015). Ben Samuels was also a participative leader, who addressed the concerns of employees (as in the example of the disabled worker). However, such a focus on employee encouragement and empowerment resulted in the fact that leadership was unable to set standards in terms of productivity.

Phil Jones, the next plant manager of Consolidated Products, employed a contrasting leadership style, which was mainly autocratic. This approach to managing people is characterized by rigor, the prevalence of power functions, and strict control and discipline. Autocratic leaders are result-oriented and ignore or attach little importance to socio-psychological factors (Forsyth, 2018). Often enough, leaders like Phil Jones do not trust their subordinates, rarely involve them in decision-making, and prefer to form tasks independently. The main incentive to increase productivity is fear and the threat of punishment, while engagement between the leader and the employees is based on mutual distrust.

As an autocratic leader, Phil Jones was action-oriented and exhibited rational personality traits (Li & Armstrong, 2015). He requested that supervisors would report to him and synchronize with him first before initiating any changes. In addition, he employed a computer monitoring system to understand how productive the workforce was, and he would easily let go of the workers who could not keep up with the set standards (Daft, 2015). He was rather rigid and would lay people off quickly, which led to increased employee turnover since employees left by their initiative as well. Moreover, the leader would have meetings with the senior leadership to report on the performance indicators of the unit. This allowed having the supervisors informed on the company’s progress and the productivity of the workforce. At the same time, the workforce experienced increased stress levels in terms of productivity expectations.

The approach employed by Phil Jones ensured specific positive outcomes. By setting objectives for the workforce, he managed to reorganize company policies and the working style of the department. In addition, he made the organization more efficient quite quickly. Phil Jones achieved several goals, which were to increase productivity and reduce costs (Daft, 2015). He reached these objectives by reducing fitness center expenditures and canceling corporate events. Also, he stopped training programs initiated by the former leader. Although these measures were effective, they also led to a brain drain. Being an autocratic leader focused on organizational efficiency, Jones did not provide workers with a sufficient amount of time to show their capabilities (Daft, 2015). The main negative outcome of his strategy was reflected in the highest employee turnover levels observed in the organization, which implied that he could not find a common language with his subordinates. By concentrating on cutting production costs, Jones lost the human potential that could be beneficial in the long-term perspective.

Although the two leaders exhibited different styles, there are several similarities between them. First, both leaders sought to influence workers by encouraging them to work towards the goals of the organization (however, each leader used his methods). Second, both persons were aware of the importance of delegating authority and responsibilities. In Samuels’s case, the leader sought power-sharing and allowed workers to participate in processes at different levels (Daft, 2015). Jones believed that he could not rely on the workforce; therefore, he built relationships with senior management and preferred not to delegate responsibility to employees. Third, both leaders tried to establish information flows within the organization, but each of them did it differently (Forsyth, 2018). Samuels encouraged the exchange of information at all levels through a relationship of trust. Jones believed that information should be passed to the supervisors by him, and he provided reporting on productivity.

Despite the discussed similarities, there are quite a few differences between the conduct of the two leaders. In particular, Samuels was a relations-oriented leader who wanted to influence long-term plant performance through employee attitudes. He had built his relations with the workforce based on support and recognition while also stimulating their development through access to training programs and overall job satisfaction (Daft, 2015). This way, he attempted to address the needs and feelings of his co-workers. Samuels knew the names of all employees, which evidenced the fact that he communicated with them frequently enough. In contrast to Samuels, Jones was a task-oriented leader, who was less interested in the needs of his co-workers and would lay people off easily if he considered them unproductive.

Another difference between the two leaders may be concluded by the fact that Samuels was focused on supportive behavior while Jones exhibited specific task behavior (Forsyth, 2018). In particular, he made efforts to improve planning and monitoring to make sure the employees did their best to meet productivity goals. He ignored the aspects of inspirational leadership, which affected the morale of the workforce and triggered unionizing among employees.

Apart from that, Samuels and Jones were focusing on different perspectives. Samuels interacted with his subordinates quite often in terms of their goals and objectives. Moreover, he ensured they had room for improvement and development. The core of his strategy lied in the idea that workers should be inspired to attain their goals (Forsyth, 2018). Therefore, it may be stated that he attempted to improve plant performance in the long term. Meanwhile, the approach employed by Jones was limited to monitoring short-term performance indicators while ignoring the long-term perspective. The productivity of the company was improved quickly through rigid measures, which implied that employees would be fired if they did not show improvement in two weeks after a warning (Daft, 2015). Such an approach stimulated workers to meet performance expectations, but unfair treatment would negatively affect the organizational performance and culture in the long run. Increased employee turnover implies greater hiring costs in the future. These expenses will cover up the costs saved on increased production.

Each leader may be successful in addressing contemporary leadership issues and challenges in Israel. A democratic leader, such as Samuels, could improve public relations issues faced by many companies (Forsyth, 2018). Such a manager would assist greatly in retaining the workforce through job satisfaction, opportunities for professional growth, and the establishment of a positive work environment. Under democratic leadership, employees would feel valued and develop loyalty to their company (Peshawaria, 2017). An autocratic leader like Jones would be successful in overcoming cost-cutting challenges and problems associated with escalating production. However, companies functioning in Israel need dynamic leaders who can keep the balance between relation and task behavior.

To manage Phil’s performance, it is necessary to ask his opinion regarding the turnover rate. This will help them understand if he sees any problems in terms of his leadership behavior. After that, it is crucial to discuss the possible union formation, which will help outline a strategy for its prevention. The evident disadvantages of the decision to talk to Phil may be either his resistance to change or loss of leadership focus (Forsyth, 2018). Nonetheless, growing employee dissatisfaction is the result of his performance, which can also evolve into an instance when trained and valuable workers are fired because they do not meet the rigid requirements set by Phil. Such a situation will affect the company dramatically in the long term (Forsyth, 2018). The goal of the discussion will be to stress the importance of building a people-oriented work environment while maintaining focus on sufficiently high production levels.

Thus, it can be concluded that the “Consolidated Products” case study is illustrative of two contrasting leadership styles, which are democratic and autocratic approaches. Both strategies have advantages and disadvantages, and it is crucial to seize the benefits of both and merge them into a single dynamic approach to leading people. Any leader should be able to adapt to the environment depending on the situation, the characteristics of a team, and the aspects of the problem currently faced by a company.

Daft, R. L. (2015). The leadership experience (6th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

Forsyth, D. R. (2018). Group dynamics (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Li, M., & Armstrong, S. J. (2015). The relationship between Kolb’s experiential learning styles and Big Five personality traits in international managers. Personality and Individual Differences, 86 , 422-426.

Peshawaria, R. (2017). Open source leadership: Reinventing management when there’s no more business as usual . New York, NY: McGraw Hill Professional.

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Consolidated Products Case Solution & Answer

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Consolidated Products Case Study Analysis

Both Phil and Ben represented good qualities to operate the business operations in an efficient manner. Ben represented an increased focus on the personal relationship, with the organizational workforce. His concern was mainly diverted on promoting loyalty and mutual camaraderie, among all the employees of the organization and did not believe in layoffs. The change in the organization management when Phil took over Ben, had been shifted to profitable growth of the organization and believed to lay work employees who tend to show weak performance. This resulted in employees, quitting their job and talking about unionization.

Relations behavior:

The behavioral traits of Ben involved polite nature, equal treatment to each individual, and offered an assistance to the workers, to help them reach their target and their efficient performance were appreciated. Whereas, Phil showed no such concerns for the employees in terms of supporting behavior. Despite the maintenance of interpersonal relationships, he was more focused on increasing the skill set of employees, career advancement and facilitation of job adjustment.

Task behavior:

The skills required for the planning of work activities were lacking in both Ben and Phil, based on the cost and production level outcomes. The performance of the any organization is known to be greatly influenced by poor planning. Considering the clarification of the roles, better management was represented by Phil due to clear job responsibilities, work assigning and goal setting. Whereas, supervisors worked with no specified objectives and standards under Ben’s management. Ben also lacked efficient management skills evidenced by the no meetings scheduled for the monitoring of the organizational performance regarding the supervision or project management. Whereas, Phil closely monitored the activities of the workers and supervisors, conducted meeting to review the performance of the department…………………………………

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Answer & Explanation

Case Study: Consolidated Produc ts

Characters and Problem:

Ben Samuels is the plant manager of Consolidated Products, a medium-sized manufacturer of consumer products with non-unionized production workers. Ben is a well-liked manager who has a reputation for being fair and compassionate. He has also been successful in improving the company's productivity and profitability.

However, he is now facing a challenge. The company's current operating system is outdated and inefficient. Ben knows that the company needs to upgrade to a new operating system in order to remain competitive. However, he is concerned about the impact that the change will have on his employees.

His employees are used to the current operating system and they are comfortable with it. They are also concerned about the possibility of losing their jobs if they are unable to learn the new system. Ben knows that he needs to carefully manage the change process in order to minimize the disruption to the company and to ensure that his employees are on board with the change.

Discussion Questions:

What are the benefits and risks of implementing a new operating system at Consolidated Products?

- Improved efficiency and productivity - Reduced costs - Increased customer satisfaction - Enhanced competitive advantage

- Disruption to the business - Resistance from employees - Financial cost - Technical difficulties

What steps can he take to minimize the disruption to the company and to ensure that his employees are on board with the change?

- Develop a clear and concise communication plan to explain the need for the change and the benefits that it will bring. - Provide employees with adequate training on the new operating system. - Be available to answer questions and provide support to employees during the transition. - Recognize and reward employees for their efforts to adapt to the new system.

What are some specific strategies that Ben can use to overcome resistance to change from his employees? - Address employee concerns head-on. - Involve employees in the change process. - Empower employees to make decisions about the change. - Provide employees with opportunities for professional development and growth. - Create a positive and supportive work environment.

1. Develop a clear and concise communication plan. Ben should explain the need for the change and the benefits that it will bring to employees. He should also communicate his clear vision for the future of the company and how the new operating system will help the company achieve its goals.

2.Provide employees with adequate training. Ben should make sure that employees have the opportunity to learn the new operating system at their own pace. He should also provide employees with access to support resources, such as online tutorials and one-on-one training.

3. Be available to answer questions and provide support. Ben should make himself available to employees to answer questions and provide support during the transition. He should also encourage employees to come forward with any concerns that they may have.

4. Recognize and reward employees for their efforts. Ben should recognize and reward employees for their efforts to adapt to the new system. This will help to motivate employees and show them that their contributions are valued.

In addition to the above steps, he can also use the following specific strategies to overcome resistance to change from his employees:

1. Address employee concerns head-on. Ben should be proactive in addressing employee concerns about the change. He should listen to employees' concerns and try to understand their perspective. He should also be prepared to provide employees with clear and concise answers to their questions.

2. Involve employees in the change process. Ben should involve employees in the change process whenever possible. This will help to build buy-in and support for the change. For example, Ben could involve employees in developing the training plan for the new operating system.

3. Empower employees to make decisions about the change. Ben should empower employees to make decisions about the change. This will help to give employees a sense of ownership over the change and make them more likely to support it. For example, Ben could allow employees to choose their own training schedule.

4. Provide employees with opportunities for professional development and growth. Ben should provide employees with opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge in relation to the new operating system. This will help employees to feel more confident and prepared to use the new system.

5. Create a positive and supportive work environment. Ben should create a positive and supportive work environment during the transition. This will help employees to feel comfortable and supported as they learn the new system. For example, Ben could provide employees with opportunities to socialize and network with each other.

Approach to solving the questions above:

The first step in solving the questions above is to carefully read and understand the case study. This includes identifying the key characters, the problem, and the relevant facts. Once the case study is understood, the next step is to apply the chapter concepts learned to the case. This will help to develop a deeper understanding of the problem and to identify potential solutions.

Detailed explanation:

Question 1: What are the benefits and risks of implementing a new operating system at Consolidated Products?

Improved efficiency and productivity: A new operating system can help to improve efficiency and productivity by streamlining processes and automating tasks. This can lead to reduced costs and increased customer satisfaction.

Reduced costs: A new operating system can help to reduce costs by lowering energy consumption, reducing maintenance costs, and improving security.

Increased customer satisfaction: A new operating system can help to increase customer satisfaction by providing a more user-friendly and efficient interface.

Enhanced competitive advantage: A new operating system can help to enhance a company's competitive advantage by giving it access to the latest features and technologies.

Disruption to the business: Implementing a new operating system can disrupt the business by causing downtime and productivity losses. It is important to carefully plan and implement the change in order to minimize the disruption.

Resistance from employees: Employees may resist change due to fear of the unknown or concerns about their job security. It is important to communicate effectively with employees about the change and to involve them in the change process.

Financial cost: Implementing a new operating system can be expensive, including the cost of the software, hardware, and training. It is important to carefully consider the financial costs before making a decision to implement a new operating system.

Technical difficulties: There may be technical difficulties associated with implementing a new operating system. It is important to have a plan in place to address any technical difficulties that may arise.

One example of a benefit of implementing a new operating system is improved efficiency and productivity. For example, a new operating system may allow employees to automate tasks that they currently have to do manually. This would free up employees' time to focus on more important tasks.

One example of a risk of implementing a new operating system is resistance from employees. For example, employees may be concerned that they will not be able to learn the new operating system or that they will lose their jobs. It is important to communicate effectively with employees about the change and to involve them in the change process in order to address these concerns.

Question 2: What steps can Ben take to minimize the disruption to the company and to ensure that his employees are on board with the change?

Develop a clear and concise communication plan. Ben should explain the need for the change and the benefits that it will bring to employees. He should also communicate his clear vision for the future of the company and how the new operating system will help the company achieve its goals.

Provide employees with adequate training. Ben should make sure that employees have the opportunity to learn the new operating system at their own pace. He should also provide employees with access to support resources, such as online tutorials and one-on-one training.

Be available to answer questions and provide support. Ben should make himself available to employees to answer questions and provide support during the transition. He should also encourage employees to come forward with any concerns that they may have.

Recognize and reward employees for their efforts. Ben should recognize and reward employees for their efforts to adapt to the new system. This will help to motivate employees and show them that their contributions are valued.  

One step that Ben can take to minimize the disruption to the company is to develop a clear and concise communication plan. This plan should explain the need for the change, the benefits that it will bring, and the timeline for the change. The plan should also be communicated to employees in a timely manner so that they have time to prepare for the change.

Another step that Ben can take to minimize the disruption to the company is to provide employees with adequate training. This training should be tailored to the needs of employees and it should be delivered in a way that is convenient for employees.

Question 3: What are some specific strategies that Ben can use to overcome resistance to change from his employees?

Address employee concerns head-on. Ben should be proactive in addressing employee concerns about the change. He should listen to employees' concerns and try to understand their perspective. He should also be prepared to provide employees with clear and concise answers to their questions.

Involve employees in the change process. Ben should involve employees in the change process whenever possible. This will help to build buy-in and support for the change. For example, Ben could involve employees in developing the training plan for the new operating system.

Empower employees to make decisions about the change. Ben should empower employees to make decisions about the change. This

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• A Case Analysis Please read the “Consolidated Products” Case on pages 73 and 74 and fully answer the following questions: 1. Describe and compare the managerial behavior of Ben and Phil. To what extent does each manager display specific relations b

• Similar Questions
• A Case Analysis

Please read the “Consolidated Products” Case on pages 73 and 74 and fully answer the following questions:

•  Describe and compare the managerial behavior of Ben and Phil.  To what extent does each manager display specific relations behaviors (supporting, developing, recognizing) and specific task behaviors (clarifying, planning, monitoring)?  To what extent does each manager use participative and inspirational leadership?
• Compare Ben and Phil in terms of their influence on employee attitudes, short-term performance, and long-term plant performance, and explain the reasons for the differences.
• If you were selected to be the manager of this plant, what would you do to achieve both high employee satisfaction and performance?

Consolidated Products

Consolidated Products is a medium-sized manufacturer of consumer products with nonunionized

production workers. Ben Samuels was a plant manager for Consolidated Products

for 10 years, and he was well liked by the employees. They were grateful for the fitness center he

built for employees, and they enjoyed the social activities sponsored by the plant several times a

year, including company picnics and holiday parties. He knew most of the workers by name, and

he spent part of each day walking around the plant to visit with them and ask about their families

or hobbies.

Ben believed that it was important to treat employees properly so they would have a sense of

loyalty to the company. He tried to avoid any layoffs when production demand was slack, figuring

that the company could not afford to lose skilled workers who are so difficult to replace. The

workers knew that if they had a special problem, Ben would try to help them. For example, when

someone was injured but wanted to continue working, Ben found another job in the plant that

the person could do despite having a disability. Ben believed that if you treat people right, they

will do a good job for you without close supervision or prodding. Ben applied the same principle

to his supervisors, and he mostly left them alone to run their departments as they saw fit. He did

not set objectives and standards for the plant, and he never asked the supervisors to develop plans

for improving productivity and product quality.

Under Ben, the plant had the lowest turnover among the company’s five plants, but the second

worst record for costs and production levels. When the company was acquired by another

firm, Ben was asked to take early retirement, and Phil Jones was brought in to replace him.

Phil had a growing reputation as a manager who could get things done, and he quickly began

making changes. Costs were cut by trimming a number of activities such as the fitness center at

the plant, company picnics and parties, and the human relations training programs for supervisors.

Phil believed that training supervisors to be supportive was a waste of time. His motto was:

“If employees don't want to do the work, get rid of them and find somebody else who does.”

Supervisors were instructed to establish high-performance standards for their departments

and insist that people achieve them. A computer monitoring system was introduced so that the

output of each worker could be checked closely against the standards. Phil told his supervisors

to give any worker who had substandard performance one warning, then if performance did not

improve within two weeks, to fire the person. Phil believed that workers don’t respect a supervisor

who is weak and passive. When Phil observed a worker wasting time or making a mistake,

he would reprimand the person right on the spot to set an example. Phil also checked closely on

the performance of his supervisors. Demanding objectives were set for each department, and

weekly meetings were held with each supervisor to review department performance. Finally,

Phil insisted that supervisors check with him first before taking any significant actions that deviated

from established plans and policies.

As another cost-cutting move, Phil reduced the frequency of equipment maintenance,

which required machines to be idled when they could be productive. Because the machines

had a good record of reliable operation, Phil believed that the current maintenance schedule was

excessive and was cutting into production. Finally, when business was slow for one of the product

lines, Phil laid off workers rather than finding something else for them to do.

By the end of Phil’s first year as plant manager, production costs were reduced by 20 percent

and production output was up by 10 percent. However, three of his seven supervisors left to take other jobs, and turnover was also high among the machine operators. Some of the turnover

was due to workers who were fired, but competent machine operators were also quitting, and it

was becoming increasingly difficult to find any replacements for them. Finally, talk of unionizing

was increasing among the workers.

1. Describe and compare the managerial behavior of Ben and Phil. To what extent does each

manager display specific relations behaviors (supporting, developing, recognizing) and

specific task behaviors (clarifying, planning, monitoring)? To what extent does each manager

use participative or inspirational leadership?

2. Compare Ben and Phil in terms of their influence on employee attitudes, short-term performance,

and long-term plant performance, and explain the reasons for the differences.

3. If you were selected to be the manager of this plant, what would you do to achieve both

high employee satisfaction and performance?

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Week 02 Application Assignment - Case Study 2

• a case analysis please read the “consolidated products” case on pages 73 and 74 and fully answer the following questions: 1. describe and compare the managerial behavior of ben and phil. to what extent does each manager display specific relations be, case study analysis.

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