Leadership in Business: Challenges and Solutions

This report discusses the challenges faced by TAKAHE Homes in the construction industry, including issues with innovation, organizational structure, communication, and bullying. It also provides solutions and recommendations for these problems.

Running Head: LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS 0
Case Study Analysis
Student Details
4/5/2019

Leadership in Business 1
Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Issues and Challenges................................................................................................................3
Problem Solving and decision Making Techniques...................................................................4
Forces for Change..................................................................................................................4
Forces against Change............................................................................................................5
Performance of TAKAHE Homes.............................................................................................5
Theories to Develop Positive Workplace Culture......................................................................6
Self-Determination Theory....................................................................................................6
The X Model..........................................................................................................................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................8
Recommendations......................................................................................................................9
References................................................................................................................................10

Leadership in Business 2
Introduction
TAKAHE Homes is a construction company of New Zealand which was found by
Jack Brown in 2011. Jack Brown was born into a family which was involved in construction
work of Canterbury building industry. In 2004, Jack received his qualifications in building
from Southern Institute of Technology. Jack decided to establish TAKAHE Homes in
November 2011, when he realised the opportunity in the construction industry after
earthquakes in September 2010 and February 2011 which caused huge damage to the
buildings and homes (Compare Hris, 2019). This tremendously increased demand in building
industry to construct new homes and buildings and repair damaged properties. From the
reports and data presented by former Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee & New Zealand
Statistics (2012), there was demand of repairing around 100,000 homes and rebuilding of
around 10,000 properties. In response to the Canterbury Earthquakes of 2010 and 2011, the
Earthquake Commission alone spent around 9.4 billion dollars. It is considered that this
natural disaster created huge business opportunities in Canterbury for the construction
industry (Frankland, et al., 2008).
Jack grabbed this opportunity and established his own construction company naming
TAKAHE Homes in 2011. Jack started his business with repairing damaged homes initially
and then moved to building new homes. By 2017, company has grown substantially from five
employees to 53 employees. Jack was also the managing director of the company and
responsible for making all business decisions as well as looking the entire process of
operations. There are five employees working in the accounting and administration
department of the company which is led by Steve, one of good friends of Jack (Weiner,
2009).
David, another talented employee of the company has been to Japan where he visited
some leaders of construction industry who are working on earthquake resistant building
construction projects. He wanted to tell the innovative Japanese ideas and technology to Jack
in order to make TAKAHE homes gain competitive advantage. But, Jack rejected ideas
suggested by David with reasons of being risky and expensive of these technologies (Besner,
2015). Although, company is performing well but there are various challenges has raised
which can be serious issue for the company in near future.

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This report discusses about such challenges faced by TAKAHE homes related to
innovation, organizational structure, communication, and bullying. Also, construction in
Canterbury has dropped which resulted in intense competition in market. There is drop in
residential market and the opportunity has been identified in commercial market by Jack. But,
this requires TAKAHE homes to include new and different technologies, skills, and
resources. Therefore, below is detailed discussion and analysis of the challenges and issues
faced by TAKAHE homes and solution and recommendations for these problems.
Issues and Challenges
The main challenges and issues faced by TAKAHE homes today are its lacking in the
field of innovation and inclusion of new technological ideas. From the case study it has been
observed that one of its very talented employees naming David who was graduated from
ARA which was previously known as Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology
(CPIT) and working in TAKAHE homes from the last three years went to Japan for spending
one month holiday there. In Japan he got a chance of visiting sites and meeting leaders who
were working on projects related to the construction of earthquake resistant buildings. David
found those innovative ideas for construction of buildings very interesting and beneficial for
the growth of their company (Colquitt, Lepine, Wesson, & Gellatly, 2011). The ideas
included carbon fibre ropes and levitating houses for the development of infrastructure by a
Japanese company, Air Danshin. David was very excited about sharing these ideas with Jack
upon his return and in order to doing so he requested to arrange a meeting with Jack in order
to present this Japanese idea of using earthquake resistance building technologies. But in
contrast, David did not get positive response from Jack and his idea of using this technology
was rejected by Jack.
Above discussion reflects several issues of TAKAHE homes such as organization is
resistance to innovation and scared of testing new and innovative ideas of working as
mentioned by Jack that including this new Japanese technology might be risky and also its
implementation is expensive. Another observation made from this discussion is that as David
made efforts and utilized his holidays for knowing ideas by meeting with Japanese leaders in
favour of organization’s benefit but rejection of his idea from Jack made him disappointed
very much. This shows organization is restricted to adapt new and innovative ideas and does
not support extra efforts made by employees (Drucker, 2014). This results in decrease in their
enthusiasm.

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Another issue in the organization include as TAKAHE homes is structured by Jack
hence he acts as an overall manager for every project. Although there are supervisors
appointed for each project who are qualified builder but lacking in skills of client relationship
and management which is another challenge for the organization and at sometimes it is
difficult for the management to convenience them for inclusion of new skills and updating
their knowledge (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2017). Communication gap between
teams is also a problem in TAKAHE homes due to lack of regular meetings and events where
ideas, experiences, and concerns can be exchanged. TAKAHE homes is having top down
communication structure.
There are several behavioural issues also noticed in the organization such as
avoidance of safety requirements by staff members, bullying of junior members by their
supervisors, and non-cooperative behaviour of supervisors with clients.
Challenges faced by the organization also include challenges from market conditions
such as huge number of building companies have come into market and giving tough
competition to the company (Edquist, 2013). Also, demand of new building construction has
dropped in the area which causes a challenge of getting work and increase in competition.
Problem Solving and decision Making Techniques
In this section, attempts are made to solve the problems described above. Here force
field analysis method is used to solve the problems associated with TAKAHE homes. Force
field analysis method suggests to first identifying the changes that an organization wants to
implement and then determines the forces which are for and against the changes (Brown &
Osborne, 2012). Problems identified in TAKAHE homes in above section are related to
embracing innovation, organizational behavioural, leadership, organizational structure,
motivation, and market conditions.
Forces for Change
Now as per the above discussion it is identified that forces which are forcing
organization to adapt or include changes are first and foremost is market conditions.
Residential construction has dropped to a great extent in the area and only opportunity is left
in the commercial construction (Greenberg & Baron, Behavior in Organizations, 2011). Also,
there has been large number of construction companies developed in the area providing

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competitive environment for TAKAHE homes. Therefore, in order to meet the market
requirements, organization has realised the need of updating its existing technology and
implementation of innovative ideas in their process.
There is also need of changing the leadership process of TAKAHE homes. It is
observed that being a Managing Director of the company, Jack himself takes all the decisions
related to business and operation and seeks less or no consultation from the staff. This makes
its employees feel less valued in the organization and shows less trust of organization towards
its employees (Hayes, 2018). Clear rejection of idea suggested by David shows poor
leadership of Jack as it causes demotivation among employees because David felt his efforts
were not appreciated. This will also make employees to not making extra efforts for the
organization’s benefit and make them less interesting towards creativity and innovation.
Organizational behaviour is important for the well-being of employees as well as for
organization. Employees perform to their full potential when they get secure and safe
working environment. Also, clients need to be treated well as they are providing business to
the organization. But complaints of bullying and non-cooperative behaviour of supervisors
show unethical behaviour of them which need to be changed (MSG, 2019).
Forces against Change
But there are some forces which are resisting the company from implementing these
changes. Leadership is the main concern as Jack is not open towards taking risks and
including innovative ideas. He is afraid of being failed and made an excuse of financial
conditions for not implementing idea suggested by David. All other challenges that
organization is facing are somehow related to leadership and effective management issues
(Froman, 2010). Therefore, there is need of adopting different leadership style by Jack and
implementation of proper management which follow the guidance of their leader. Another
major force that is resisting organization is adopting changes in the management process such
as supervisors are not implementing the idea of data entry which will support customer
surveys and analysis of team management (Mind Tools, 2019). Therefore, resistance to
changes is another force against improvement in organizational process.

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Performance of TAKAHE Homes
However, despite of several drawbacks, it is observed that TAKAHE Homes is
performing well. But, when individual parameter is considered of the organisation, there are
several drawbacks are found. Here, three structures are discussed: organizational strategy and
goals, organizational ethics, and decision making styles.
1. Organizational Strategy and Goals: TAKAHE Homes’ strategy is traditional and is
following the traditional methods of building homes. Although company has
appointed supervisor for each project who has high experience in construction field
but methods adopted by them are traditional. Company is afraid of taking risks and
implementing innovative ideas (Greenberg & Zhang, Managing Behavior in
Organizations, 2010). But, with changing competition in market, organization has
realised the need of innovation and changes.
2. Organizational Ethics: Organizational ethics are important for every organization as
they decide the principles for individuals of behaving at workplace so that all
employees feel secured and respected. But, at TAKAHE Homes several issues of
organizational ethics breaches have been noticed such as staff is not following safety
requirements, juniors are being bullied by their supervisors as well as supervisors are
not cooperative with clients (Pettigrew, 2014).
3. Decision-Making Styles: Jack is the owner of TAKAHE Homes and also the
Managing Director of the company. He himself take all business decisions and watch
entire operation process which is good but he does not consult with the staff before
making any decision which is not good for the organizational culture. Best decisions
are made when all the people are involved who are directly linked or going to be
affected with that decision (Lunenburg, 2011).
Theories to Develop Positive Workplace Culture
A positive workplace culture helps employees to work with their full potential and
hence contributes in the organization’s growth. There are various theories that help in
developing positive workplace culture in an organization. Two of them are discussed below:
Self-Determination Theory
Self-determination theory (STD) is all related to the human motivation and the factors
that trigger it. This theory describes that all human-beings are inherently motivated but there

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is need to provide them correct conditions to encourage this. STD identified intrinsic and
extrinsic motivators that affect the motivation of employees in an organization. Intrinsic
motivation comes from within a person when he/she is able to achieve a task or the set goals
while extrinsic motivation comes when a person is determined to complete a task in order to
receive rewards or the fear of repercussions (M&E Studies, 2019). There are three inherent
forces that drive motivation within people: competence, autonomy, and relatedness.
1. Competence: This is the desire of people to perform better at workplace in control of
outcome of the task. This can be achieved by ensuring correct and deserved role for
everyone and by providing sufficient training to the employees (Teece, 2009).
Workers should be given enough opportunities for showing their strengths and skills.
2. Autonomy: This provides employees a sense of freedom such that they will not feel
pressurized and have complete freedom for deciding how and when they can complete
their duties (Collins, 2012).
3. Relatedness: This establishes personal relationships and a sense of belonging with
the organization. It can be achieved by motivating integration at work and celebrating
and taking responsibilities for victories and losses together respectively (Griffin &
Moorhead, 2011).
In this case study of TAKAHE Homes, it is identified that when David was very excited
about sharing his ideas of innovation which he learnt from Japanese company then a direct
rejection of his idea by Jack really disappointed him. This made him feel demotivated and
lessen his enthusiasm towards work, creativity, and organization. He felt his efforts are not
appreciated in this organization. Therefore, there is need of implementing self-determination
theory at TAKAHE Homes for enhancing motivation among employees and increase their
self-esteem for performing better (Damanpour & Aravind, 2012).
The X Model
Employee engagement cannot be determined by high performing employees. Employee
engagement is much more than employee contribution because it is a known fact that
performing employees are not always happy employees. Engagement happens when
maximum contribution by employees intersects with the maximum satisfaction of the
employees. An organization’s performance is enhanced through maximum engagement of all
employees (Paton & McCalman, 2008). Therefore, there is need of encouraging every

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employee to contribute in cultural engagement. Here are some ways of encouraging every
employee:
 Leaders in the organization should emphasize on communication, authenticity, and
enthusiasm to achieve the organizational goals. A leader should help his employees
in finding meaning in the work they are doing (Jones, 2013).
 Managers and supervisors are the one who work on front line with employees on
daily basis. Therefore, they should help employees in aligning their priorities with
those of the company.
 It is also the responsibility of individual to assess ones goals and achievements on
regular basis (Caldwell, 2019).
The X model for engagement is look like
Source: (Compare Hris, 2019)
At TAKAHE Homes, engagement of employees is less as all the decisions taken by Jack
are not with consultation from staff. Rejection of ideas suggested by David disappointed him
which shows less employee satisfaction. Also, there are several teams performing in company
but inter-communication between these teams is very less (Edquist, 2013). Therefore, the X
model can be used at TAKAHE Homes to improve the employee engagement through
implementing following ways:
1. Performance Assessment: Company should revaluate its performance review
strategies. Customize assessments in order to reflect the company’s value and
communication medium should be open (Weiner, 2009).

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2. Communication: There should be regular events and meetings in order to fill the
communication gap between leaders, supervisors, and employees. Also changes are
made in management process so that employees feel more comfortable in
communicating their ideas and suggestions (Drucker, 2014).
Conclusion
Therefore from the above discussion it can be concluded that, there is need of
implementing changes at TAKAHE Homes in order to improve organizational structure,
organizational culture, performance of the company, employee engagement, enhancing
workplace ethics, and most importantly to combat with the increasing competition and
changing demands of the market. Several challenges has been identified at TAKAHE Homes
which are related with leadership styles, workplace ethics, decision making styles, and
implementation or adoption of changes in the organization in terms of including innovating
ideas and management changes in the organization. The most crucial problem in the
organization is its resistance for implementing changes because despite of all issues
TAKAHE Homes is managed to perform well but as now market competition is increasing
and demands have been dropped, it is observed that it has become important for company to
implement new technology and innovation in its functioning to meet the changing demands
of the market and gain advantage over increased competition. Secondly, TAKAHE is
performing in terms of financial conditions but when its workplace culture and team
engagement is considered it has several issues and lacking behind. There are several issues
related to the workplace ethics and communication between various teams. Staff and
supervisors of the company are also not open to adapt changes. This report discussed about
these challenges and efforts are made to resolve these issues and challenges with different
theories and problem solving and decision making techniques such as force field analysis
method is used for solving issues and decision making purpose and self-determination theory
and The X model are used for improving workplace culture and team engagement at
TAKAHE Homes.
Recommendations
From the above discussion, it has been concluded that there is need of implementing
changes at TAKAHE Homes. This report discuss about various problem solving and decision
making techniques and also theories which promote positive workplace culture and team

Leadership in Business 10
engagement to resolve the challenges faced by TAKAHE Homes. Following
recommendations are derived from the above discussion for issues of solving challenges and
decision making and workplace culture and team engagement:
1. Force field analysis model is best suited for problem solving and decision making
techniques to resolves the challenges faced by TAKAHE Homes.
2. Positive workplace culture and team engagement is assured by self-determination
theory and The X Model respectively.

Leadership in Business 11
References
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from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/247932
Brown, K., & Osborne, S. P. (2012). Managing Change and Innovation in Public Service
Organizations. UK: Routledge.
Caldwell, C. (2019). How to apply Self-determination theory to boost workplace motivation.
Retrieved from https://the-happiness-index.com/self-determination-theory-boosts-
motivation/
Collins, D. (2012). Business Ethics: How to Design and Manage Ethical Organizations. NJ:
Wiley.
Colquitt, J., Lepine, J. A., Wesson, M. J., & Gellatly, I. R. (2011). Organizational Behavior:
Improving Performance and Commitment in the Workplace. New York: McGraw-Hill
Irwin.
Compare Hris. (2019). The Anatomy of Employee Engagement: How Your HCMS Keeps
Workers Happy and Productive. Retrieved from
https://www.comparehris.com/employee-engagement-hcms/
Damanpour, F., & Aravind, D. (2012). Managerial Innovation: Conceptions, Processes and
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Drucker, P. (2014). Innovation and Entrepreneurship. UK: Routledge.
Edquist, C. (2013). Systems of Innovation: Technologies, Institutions and Organizations. UK:
Routledge.

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Frankland, R., Mitchell, C. M., Ferguson, J. D., Sziklai, A. T., Verma, A. K., Popowski, J. E.,
& Sturgeon, D. H. (2008). Patent No. U.S. 7,356,482. Washington.
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Pettigrew, A. M. (2014). The Politics of Organizational Decision-Making. UK: Routledge.
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