Prince Georges Community College Management and Leadership Styles Paper
Purpose In this project, you will demonstrate an understanding of management and leadership. You will be exposed to various leadership skills and styles. After reading the project's case scenario, you will apply what has been learned to make recommendations for a new position at Wonder Products. Your completed project will be 3-4 pages in length, excluding its title and reference page. Outcome Met by Completing This Assignment demonstrate leadership skills by communicating a shared vision, motivating and empowering others, and creating a culture of ethical decision-making and innovation How to Set Up the Paper Create a Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) document that is double-spaced using 12-point font. Create a title page to include: project title, course number, section numbers, student's name and instructor's name. Scenario Wonder Products, a billion dollar multinational company, has for more than 25 years has developed, produced and distributed organic food products to major retailers (e.g., Whole Foods; Costco, Safeway) throughout the United States. These products are noted for their salutatory effects, including stable blood glucose levels. Wonder Products has recently decided to launch a new line of products. It will develop, produce and distribute all-natural energy bars to its new and existing clients. This new line of all-natural energy bars will necessitate the establishment of a new division to develop, produce, market and distribute the product. A new Senior Vice President will need to be selected to establish and lead the new division. Your company, Wiz Consultants, has been retained to help Wonder Products' Human Resources Director make the final selection from the candidates she has previously interviewed and narrowed to three (3) possibilities. She has prepared a detailed written profile for each candidate. Wonder Products' Human Resources Director has explained to you that she has been directed to find the best person to establish and run the new Energy Bars Division. The Human Resources Director further explained that the energy bar industry consists of many well-established companies. Accordingly, the ideal candidate will need to be able to learn quickly and be able to handle a number of complex leadership and management tasks. These complex management and leadership tasks include the following: developing innovative strategy, well-made products, effective marketing, developing and managing clear processes and procedures for employees and a clear vision for the new division. Strong leadership will be the key to the all-natural energy bars' success. The Senior VP will be the face of Wonder Products’ new brand to existing and new clients. A key to success with existing clients and prospective clients will be the ability to communicate to them "What makes Wonder Products new energy bars special." The new Senior VP must be viewed as a person of integrity and an innovative problem solver. The Senior VP must be seen by current employees and newly hired employees and managers to work in the new division as a leader who understands and supports the the culture, values and traditions of Wonder's product line. In a short period of time, Wonder Products leadership expects the new Senior VP to have met the leadership and management expectations discussed above and have the new division running efficiently and productively. In summary, Wonder Products' desire is that the new Senior VP for the Energy Bars Division will have the array of excellent management and leadership skills necessary to lead the new division. Your specific role is as follows: Analyze the three (3) candidate profiles the HR Director has provided to you. Explain the strengths and weaknesses of each of the candidates. Select the top (3) candidates and rank order them 1, 2, and 3. One (1) is the highest rank. Explain why you would select the candidate you did as being your number first choice. Explain, using your judgement, what each of the other 2 candidates lacked. Candidate Summary of Transcripts Nancy Drew Nancy has spent the past 13 years working for Star Lite Foods, a mid-sized, $220 million in annual sales, vegetarian food distribution company, headquarter and operating its largest facility in Arizona. She started with the company working on the production line that selected the vegetables suitable for distribution throughout the western section of the United States. For the next 4 years, she worked in a variety of management jobs overseeing production. Nancy then worked for 7 years as a Regional Manager in Idaho responsible for increasing the production of vegetables on farms that Star Lite used as sources for vegetables needed for their own vegetable production. During her run as a Regional Manager she was responsible for making visits to farms to help each farm in the Safe Lite network develop a business plan. The focus of these business plans was to help each farm develop a vision, mission, and general operations plan to help ensure production was stable. Nancy credits her success in that role to her ability to get local farmers to work together, as opposed to independently. Nancy created a program, Community Communications, to keep farmers up to date on farm news affecting the region and to encourage the building of cooperative relationships. Nancy's staff set up a blog and website and expanded social media channels to supplement her Community Communication initiative. These enhancements enabled the latest up-to-date sources of information for farming related issues and encouraged the cooperative development of strategic goals and plans. Nancy was promoted and has served for the past 3 years as Star Lite Foods Vice President of New Product Design and Marketing Department. Nancy proposed focusing on making quality products that can be sourced from local vendors. She stated that once established, the company could initiate a move to being more environmentally and attentive to the well-being of consumers. She has long advocated for natural products, whenever possible and the need for more nutritious and healthy food lines. Management sees Nancy as clever and creative. Nancy proudly stated that she likes to surround herself with good people. Nancy indicated she likes to delegate because she feels her team of workers needs the freedom to make decisions. She feels people produce more and like work better without strict guidance. She is hands-off. Nancy boasted that the team was instrumental in helping Star Lite obtain a double-digit increase in market share. Nancy is well-liked by her employees. She communicates what is important and has a good sense of timing. They, at times, describe her as distant but when they seek her judgment or she offers an opinion, they respect it. Nancy is very open to conversations with others and is known to be truthful and subtle. She often indicates she’d like to think about the issue or question before she answers but she always follow-ups, even if it is a day or so later. It is apparent that Nancy likes people. Nancy will not tolerate employees that don’t work well with others and she is very comfortable working with everyone. Nancy is confident that her hard work to advance her career and track record in a variety of complex jobs make her very capable to take on the new role. Nancy earned her B.A. in Business in a part-time program at a local college in Idaho. Dana Evers Dane Evers started Evers Vegetarian Foods 16 years ago. Evers started Vegetarian Foods Vegetarian Feeds in his basement. The company distributes its products throughout the United States and Canada. Sales are currently $360 million annually. Wonder Products agreed to purchase Vegetarian Foods. Dana’s innovation in moving his standard selling of freshly produced vegetarian to local supermarkets and specialty food stores to frozen and pre-packaged goods he could market and sell throughout the US and Canada, led to rapid growth --- both in terms of sales and employees, which currently exceed 250. He was known for his charismatic leadership style and hands on management. Although popular with employees and managers he was known to be focused and driven. His primary areas of focus were strategic planning, marketing and product development. Employees characterized Evers company as a pleasant place to work and one where they were treated fairly. Dana agreed to stay on in a leadership capacity with Wonder Products for 3 years, but his exact role has yet to be determined. He thinks leading this new division would be a good fit. Dana’s agreement makes accommodations for several of the key managers and key employees (sales, marketing) to work for Wonder Products. Their roles have yet to be decided but Dana would have a say in that. The relationship among these key employees is informal, everyone calls each other by their first names, and they like to talk about business and work well together. Dana indicated that he expects everyone to jump in when a task needs to be done. Dana often says, “there are thinkers and there are doers. Doers get the job done. If we make mistakes, we’ll fix them. Perfection is the enemy of the good. And, in business to stay ahead of the competition, taking risk is necessary.” He sees himself as a doer and driver of others. Dana frequently held town hall meetings to rally the troops and communicate vision. He is very direct and blunt in his one on one. Often there seems to be little reflection before he speaks. Dane admitted that while he depends on the people that comprise Evers Vegetarian Foods, that he likes to be immersed in the business and always wants to stay informed as to what is happening within every department. He likes to walk around and chat with people although he does not like to waste his time or the time of others. He also shared that he has limited formal educational experience with marketing since as the company grew he used in-house personnel and top-of-the-line marketing firms but he believes that that since he has been leading Evers Vegetarian Foods through its growth stages that he could easily manage Wonder Products new venture. He boasts that he is a proven innovator and entrepreneur. As a proven innovator and entrepreneur having stated and built a large company, Dane feels confident, he is the best candidate. Dane dropped out of college in his senior year to pursue his business. Joe Johnson Joe Johnson started his role at Wonder Products 12 years ago. Based on his prior 18 months of experience overseeing production for a small (1m) in annual sales energy bar company, Joe was hired as a production manager at Wonders Products San Diego facility. His detail-oriented efficiency became widely known throughout Wonder Products and, for the past 4 years, has been working for Wonder Products as the Deputy Executive Director of quality control and all production throughout the U.S. and Canada. He focuses on helping ensure all natural and organic products are environmentally friendly and appeal to consumer price points. Joe is highly regarded within the employee ranks as a fair manager. He applies policies and procedures in a very even-handed manner. Joe at times can be seen as distracted by the details of production and quality and tends to get deeply involved in other areas of line operations. He has led a number of committees to plan new product development and distribution but has not yet been delegated those tasks as a recurring part of his current role. Joe has hired a group of highly educated employees. Joe’s employees comment that he seeks a lot of data before rendering an opinion or a direction to follow. Joe is known to be ethical and trustworthy. He never reacts immediately to what is being said and likes to take time to research most things before he replies. Joe likes to say, “the devil is in the details.” He holds monthly staff meetings but generally these are with specific groups on specific topics that he asked certain employees with expertise in those areas to report on the meetings. Management places a great deal of confidence in what Joe suggests and recommends. Joe sees himself as both a manager and mentor who focuses on employee development. For example, in the technical areas of production and quality control Joe is provides very hands-on guidance and expresses exactly what he’d like to see the end product or report look like. Joe is seen as a deep thinker and one who acts when he is certain of the next step. He is a very deep thinker and is known to be someone management can rely on to solve complex technical issues. His opinions, however, in all aspects of the company are valued by management. Joe admitted he does not have any marketing or sales experience, but he has had a role in overseeing committees that made recommendations in those areas, including developing an energy bar line of products. He has a strong desire to see the company become a leader in the energy bar market. Joe noted in his cover letter that although he has more hands-on experience in some areas of the new Senior VP role than others that he believes he would be a good fit for the new position because he is committed to Wonder Products. He understands the company’s vision, mission, and core values. Joe stated he has demonstrated the managerial and leadership skills to guide the team to success. Joe believes his proven record at Wonder Products, his engineering background and advanced education as well as the respect he is accorded by employees and management at Wonder Products make him an ideal candidate for the new role. Joe has a degree in electrical engineering from Penn State and an MBA from Wharton. Instructions: You have been asked to review the three candidates and make a recommendation for the Senior Manager position. The new Senior Manager will have a lot of responsibility in managing and leading. You will evaluate each of the three candidates considering each candidate’s full body of experience and how their experience aligns with HR Director's expectations for the new position as well as how each candidate will lead within the context of Wonder Products desire to create all-natural products. Use the following headings and instructions to complete the project: Introduction Write an Introduction paragraph. The Introduction paragraph is the first paragraph of the paper and will be used to describe to the reader the intent of the paper explaining the main points covered in the paper. This intent should be understood prior to reading the remainder of the paper so the reader knows exactly what is being covered in the paper. Consider writing the introduction last to ensure that all of the main points are covered. Management and Leadership Skills/Style Identify and discuss the management skills that each candidate possesses. Identify and discuss the leadership skills that each candidate possesses. Identify and discuss the leadership style of each candidate. Candidate Recommendation Recommend one candidate that Number One Management Consultants should recommend to the HR Director at Wonder Products and explain why this candidate is the best choice. Explain why the other two candidates were not selected. Conclusion Create a concluding paragraph. The Conclusion tells a reader the main topics covered in the paper. References: Review the Paper ReferencesModule 10 : Leadership Why it Matters https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-principlesofmanagement/chapter/why-it-matters-leadership/ Leadership https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-principlesofmanagement/chapter/what-is-leadership/ What Makes an Effective Leader?https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-principlesofmanagement/chapter/what-makes-an-effective-leader/ Effective vs. Poor Leadership https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-principlesofmanagement/chapter/effective-vs-poor-leadership/ Situational Theories of Leadershiphttps://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-principlesofmanagement/chapter/situational-theories-of-leadership/ Transformation and Transactional Theories of Leadershiphttps://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-principlesofmanagement/chapter/transformational-and-transactional-theories-of-leadership/ Putting It Togetherhttps://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-principlesofmanagement/chapter/putting-it-together-leadership/ Module 11: Motivation Why it Matters: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-principlesofmanagement/chapter/why-it-matters-motivation/ The Importance of Employee Motivation https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-principlesofmanagement/chapter/the-importance-of-employee-motivation/ Needs-Based Theories of Motivationhttps://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-principlesofmanagement/chapter/needs-based-theories-of-motivation/ Process-Based Theories of Motivation https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-principlesofmanagement/chapter/reading-process-based-theories-of-motivation/ Job Characteristics that Affect Motivation https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-principlesofmanagement/chapter/job-characteristics-that-affect-motivation/ Goal-Setting Theoryhttps://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-principlesofmanagement/chapter/reading-goal-setting-theory/ Reinforcement Theoryhttps://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-principlesofmanagement/chapter/reinforcement-theory/ Manager’s Role in Promoting Motivationhttps://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-principlesofmanagement/chapter/reading-managers-role-in-motivating-employees/ Putting It Together: Motivationhttps://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-principlesofmanagement/chapter/putting-it-together-motivation/