Leadership Dynamics: Case Study Analysis of Business Situations

This case study examines leadership styles within a business context, specifically focusing on Alan's management of an auto shop. Initially, Alan employs a democratic leadership style, fostering employee participation and valuing their expertise. However, during a flood crisis, he transitions to an autocratic style to efficiently mitigate potential damage. The analysis highlights the effectiveness of adapting leadership styles to different situations, demonstrating how Alan's shift to a more directive approach during the crisis prevented significant financial losses for the company. The study underscores the importance of understanding the nuances of leadership and its impact on employee behavior and business outcomes. Desklib provides students access to solved assignments and resources for further learning.

Running head: LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS
Leadership in Business
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

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LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS
Table of Contents
Part One......................................................................................................................................2
The leadership situation in the shop.......................................................................................2
Part Two.....................................................................................................................................3
Description of leadership style of Alan during the flood.......................................................3
Reference....................................................................................................................................4

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LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS
Part One
The leadership situation in the shop
The leadership situation in the auto shop is democratic in nature. According to Moore
(2016), democratic leadership style can be defined as the support or encouragement that is
provided by a leader to its employees. The leaders does not impose unnecessary burden on
the employees or impose their will. In the case mentioned, Alan runs the auto shop in a
democratic manner. The adoption of democratic leadership allows leaders to participate in the
work activity along with the employees. Therefore as observed, by Fairhurst and
Connaughton (2014) this leadership style can understand the effort put in by the employees in
order to be successful in business. In the case of Alan, evidence has been provided from the
case study about the effectiveness of the style.
The fact that the auto shop does not have many employees provides a drawback.
Despite this, the employees are specialised in the tasks delegated to them and based on the
tasks they aim to make the customers satisfied. For example, Gil and Hans are the
experienced mechanics and they provide the bulk of the support to the other employees. At
the same time as evidenced from the case study, Alan spends time by working alongside the
mechanics and provides them with the support needed for fulfilling the orders. Alan always
provides encouragement to the employees to participate in the decision making process as he
is aware that the employees are capable of understanding and making decisions on their own.
Thereby, the leadership style adopted by Alan is appropriate for the situation as with less
employees, Alan does not have to fear about missing labour due to the adoption of other
dominating leadership styles.

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LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS
Part Two
Description of leadership style of Alan during the flood
The evidence from the case study suggests that during the time of flood, Alan had
adopted a autocratic leadership style. As pointed out by Antonakis and Day (2017), autocratic
leadership style is adopted by the managers while trying to get a job done quickly and
efficiently. Although it may a negative impact on the employee, it can be considered as an
effective leadership style particularly in situations that demand spontaneous reactions
(Champy 2018). In the case of Alan, the adopted leadership style during the flood is
appropriate, as the flood could have caused serious damage to the cars and in return cause
loss for the company.
As evidenced from the case study, Alan adopts a more democratic approach while
treating the employees. Therefore, shouting out commands at the employees seemed to be out
of his character as pointed out by one of his employees, Kirk. Despite this, it can be strongly
argued that in a crisis such as the occurrence of flood, adopting an autocratic leadership style
helped Alan and the shop. As is evidenced from the case study, thousands of dollars of
property damage was avoided due to the quick action taken by Alan in encouraging the
employees. Thus, the leadership style was appropriate for the situation.

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LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS
Reference
Antonakis, J. and Day, D.V. eds., 2017. The nature of leadership. Sage publications.
Champy, J., 2018. Reengineering Management The Mandate for new Leadership. Harper
Collins.
Fairhurst, G.T. and Connaughton, S.L., 2014. Leadership: A communicative
perspective. Leadership, 10(1), pp.7-35.
Moore, J.F., 2016. The death of competition: leadership and strategy in the age of business
ecosystems. HarperCollins.