CASE STUDY ANALYSIS

Case Study Analysis-'My Greatest Failure: A Case Study in Leadership'

Case Study Analysis-'My Greatest Failure: A Case Study in Leadership'

Introduction

An organisation's performance largely depends on the working and satisfaction of its employees. Every organization has its distinct culture which is reflected in the way tasks are executed by the employees. This organizational culture also translates into the leadership style that is adopted by the leaders in the organization. The manner in which the decisions are made in the organization, the level of centralisation, the extent of participative style all rests on the organizational culture that is embedded in the organization. The employees become scrutinize with the style and manner of doing work as provided by the organisational culture.

A leader can influence the organizational culture and is influenced by the organizational culture. When there is a change in the leadership of the organization especially a cross national leadership change or management exchange, there occurs significant problems owing to the leadership change. A new leader must discern the values, norms and standards of doing work as laid down by the culture of that organisation. Leader also needs to identify the leadership style that is valued by the employees and with which employees feel comfortable. An identification of these factors enables the new or changed leader to adopt an effective leadership style that helps to carry out the work in a smooth and efficient manner.

This report aims to analyse the situation in the case of “My greatest failure: A case study in leadership”. The report studies the situation described in the case to discern the reasons that lead to the problems and issues in the company because of the change in leadership. The report uses different literature and theoretical concepts to underpin the opinions and arguments made by the writer.

Overview of the situation

A German company named Media AG buys a majority share in a French company. The German company decided to let the subsidiary remain separate from the parent company. However, when the French company had a vacant position for the leader in the production, the German company decided to instigate management exchange between the two countries. The position got vacant by the retirement of the manager Mr. Abel who served 20 years in the company. The German company sent one of its highly qualified, competent and experienced employees to take the vacant position in the French subsidiary.

The employee although reluctant in the beginning, gradually accepted the leader Dr. Bernard from the German company. Mr. Bernard's style of leadership was completely different from the one that was espoused by Mr. Abel. Mr. Bernard was quite confident on his leadership style. Everything appeared to work smoothly in the eyes of Dr. Bernard; however, the actual situation was contrary to this. In the inside, the things were not working out well. Employees were not satisfied and comfortable with the leadership style of the new leader that is Dr. Bernard.

Analysis and solution of the situation

Leadership style

After having a profound study of the situation described in ...