Case Study Analysis †Acme Mineral Extraction Company

The case of Acme Mineral Extraction Company helps in identifying the management approach and the leadership styles that lead to the success of the project based work teams in a particular situation. The case demonstrates that a particular management style does not suit all situations. Successful leadership styles are often situation driven. The difference in response of the workers at the two sites that the company implemented the same project shows that success of leadership styles not only depends on the right methods and processes being used by leaders but also upon the personal charisma of the leaders. The respect that leaders command from the subordinates makes it easier to implement new programs and bring about change. Trust plays a great role in implementing new ideas of the leaders. The concepts like the ‘problem chat’ and the SPITS brought the members from all the three functional groups together to accomplish the task of solving common problems. The cross-functional teams introduced in Wichita, by the way of problem chat and STIPS proved as an effective means for allowing people across the departmental boundaries to exchange information, develop new ideas and solve problems. The guidance of Peterson and the cross-functional activities helped in achieving better coordination and cooperation among the team members. The work team at Wichita evolved through the various stages of team development starting from the forming, storming, norming and performing. The formation of ‘problem chat’ was the first step of forming a work team. The storming stage was full of conflicts, frustrations and anger followed by norming stage, when the people gradually started trusting each other. The performing stage of the team evolved with the introduction of SPITS groups, where the team members had the authority to address problems. Donald Peterson played a significant role of an effective leader for the work team based productivity project at Wichita. The success of the cross-functional teams at the Wichita Pilot project, under the leadership of Donald Peterson, demonstrates the role effective leadership. The Fiedler contingency model proposes that effective group performance depends upon proper match between leader’s styles and the degree to which the situation gives control to the leader (Robbins, 2000). While Suzanne Howard was a transactional manager, trying to motivate the company employees towards established goals by clarifying the role and task requirements, Peterson played a transformational leader with proven charisma. Workers and engineers from the different functional groups in Acme, Wichita, trusted Peterson because of his competence, loyalty to the firm, and openness. This trust in Peterson, increasingly gave him the access to the team members decisions, thus helping him to be able to form an effective team. The similar approach of introducing the â€Å"problem chat† and the SPITS (select a problem and implement a tailored solution) groups implemented at two different sites of Acme, resulted in distinct responses. Trust appears to be the primary attribute associated with leadership (Robbins, 2000). Employees at Wichita were willing to share their problems and knowledge with the rest of the team because they had an identification-based trust in Peterson and were confident that there rights and interests were safe under his leadership. Conflict resolution was the primary objective of Peterson and he adopted the Collaborating Style of conflict management. High on assertiveness as well as on cooperativeness, Peterson valued the concerns of the labor as well as those of the professionals, thus gaining commitment of both the parties. The expertise and first-hand experience of the problems at the different positions in the company added to the successful leadership role of Donald Peterson. Having served at all range of positions, he understood the psychology of workers at each level and so was able to develop a network of cooperative relationships among them. Howard comment on the absence of Peterson in Lubbock being the cause of failure is a self-evident fact. For Suzanne Howard and her team to attain the desired success at Lubbock, they must initially understand that behavioral approach of the management must keep up the contingency approach in order to be successful at different situations. It is important to understand that the situation and the problems at Lubbock might be very different and so the response or the approach must be appropriate .In the absence of an acquainted leader, the formation of work-team necessitates building trust and involvement among the people. Making the attendance mandatory demonstrates an assertive style and a task-oriented leadership, which is not a source of motivation for the members. Employing intervention strategies such as development of individuals, working on the a sense of common purpose and commitment among the employees and tackling the barriers between the various organizational units can be tried as efforts towards bringing people together and gaining their trust. Howard’s team must give ample time to the people to evolve as a team. Working for the commitment and enthusiasm of the staff must be the first target to develop effective teams. Once an effective team has been built, Howard’s team must work towards conflict resolution, team building exercises and other efforts to improve the performance of the team. References Robbins, S.P., (2000). Organizational Behavior, (9th Ed.). India: Prentice Hall of India.