MGT 411: Leading Organizations Case Study - Attain Learning Analysis

This case study examines the leadership challenges faced by Kay Sunderland, an account director at Attain Learning. The primary issue revolves around conflicts between Sunderland's management style and that of Mike Morgan, the content development director, particularly concerning communication with clients. The analysis explores Sunderland's conservative, production-oriented approach versus Morgan's more flexible and creative style. The assignment outlines the decisions Sunderland needs to make, including addressing Morgan's actions and clarifying roles. Recommendations include a meeting to discuss the situation and the importance of client relations. The document provides a detailed overview of the case, leadership styles, and decision-making strategies within the context of Attain Learning, offering a comprehensive analysis of the challenges and potential solutions for effective leadership.

Running head: LEADING ORGANISATIONS
Leading Organizations
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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LEADING ORGANISATIONS
Table of Contents
Primary problems presented in the case:....................................................................................3
Sunderland’s and Morgan’s management style:........................................................................3
Decisions Sunderland needs to make:........................................................................................3
Recommendations for Sunderland:............................................................................................4
References:.................................................................................................................................5
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LEADING ORGANISATIONS
Primary problems presented in the case:
Appropriate leadership is one of the greatest ways of leading an organisation towards
appropriate direction (Willis, Clarke & O'Connor, 2017). According to the case study, Kay
Sunderland is working as the accountant director in Attain Learning. The main problem,
which has been observed in the case study is that when Sunderland is busy is dealing with
three high profile clients, Morgan had tried to call her for discussing about a German project.
However, due to her unavailability, Morgan directly called Nunez. The day after the meeting
with the three clients, Sunderland got a call from Nunez, complaining regarding multiple call
from Morgan. This is the main issue, presented in the case.
Sunderland’s and Morgan’s management style:
Being from extremely conservative workplace IBM, Sunderland is highly
conventional, production oriented and investigative in the way of dealing with a range of
employees in her workplace. She is an expert in managing business and implementing
strategy, which acts as her greatest source of power. In addition, she also derive power from
the respect, which she used to get from her co-workers. On the other hand, Morgan likes to
work in a flexible working environment and likes to lead his own team by prioritising the
creative power. Loyalty from the subordinated is his greatest source of power.
Decisions Sunderland needs to make:
` It is the prime responsibility of leaders in an organisation to take effective decision in
order to mitigate any kind of obstruction from normal functionality of a firm (Golensky &
Hager, 2020). The decision, which Sunderland can take are as follows:
 Sunderland should take strict action against to generate awareness within him
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LEADING ORGANISATIONS
 Key should become more flexible in her decision, which can help her to define the
roles and responsibility among staffs clearly.
 Kay should inform her clients that they can deal with any emergency situation with
utmost efficiency.
Recommendations for Sunderland:
 It is recommended for Sunderland to set up a meeting with Morgan immediately and
make him aware regarding the current development.
 Sunderland should hike Mike immediately and enable him to understand the fact that
losing the German clients would not be very much beneficial for them.
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References:
Golensky, M., & Hager, M. (2020). Strategic leadership and management in nonprofit
organizations: Theory and practice. Oxford University Press, USA.
Willis, S., Clarke, S., & O'Connor, E. (2017). Contextualizing leadership: Transformational
leadership and Management‐By‐Exception‐Active in safety‐critical contexts. Journal
of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 90(3), 281-305.
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