Case Studies: Leadership Challenges in Management and Business

This document presents a comprehensive analysis of four case studies focusing on leadership and management challenges. The first case examines information sharing issues within Harmony, Inc., highlighting the impact of leadership deficiencies and potential solutions like adapting to a takeover proposal with necessary modifications. The second case study delves into gender stereotypes in the workplace, using the "Fitting In and Standing Out" video to address biased environments and advocate for gender diversity. The third case study explores change leadership in cross-cultural contexts, specifically in Italy and Australia, emphasizing the need for adaptability and incorporating both local and international elements for business success. The final case study, referencing "The Founder," focuses on adaptability and persistence in organizational leadership. The analysis underscores the importance of effective leadership, communication, gender diversity, and cultural sensitivity for organizational success. The document is a valuable resource for students studying leadership and management, offering insights into real-world challenges and potential solutions.

Running head: MANAGEMENT (LEADERSHIP)
Management (Leadership)
Name of the Student:
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Case study 1:
Information Sharing (or Not Sharing) at Harmony, Inc
The main problem that the company of the Harmony Inc is facing is that of the
leadership issues. The takeover of the company by Dynamic foods, has been analysed and it
can be found that there are several issues regarding the decisions of both the owners which
lead to the negative proposals as well as discussions. The problems of the takeover could be a
possible threat to the success of the business organisation and could have negative impacts of
the productivity (Vince 2016). Both the owners of the companies lack unity. Initially the
takeover decision and the proposal seemed interesting to the owner of the Harmony Inc.
However since the Dynamic Foods have a history of restructuring the business and changing
the layoffs, the owner of the Harmony foods have the pessimistic notion regarding the deal
There could be a possible slowdown of the work and the company facilities due to the
proposal and that it can entirely layover the business process. Thus the analysis of the case
study can conclude that the absence of a strong leader in the Harmony foods could be a
potential problem for the future of the company (Palmieri 2014). However the deal proposed
by both the companies can have positive as well as negative impacts on the organisation. It
can be proved to be helpful for the company since the workforce of the Harmony foods are
expecting a retirement. Since they do not have family heir as such who could take over the
company, the deal could help the company to gain future ownership as well as sustainability.
According to A. Waldman and O'Reilly (2019), the policy that the Harmony foods could
implement is the policy of the Dynamic foods which include complete makeover and
restructuring of the labour force. Thus the company Harmony foods have no other option left
with itself other than either accepting the proposal and going ahead with it, or cancelling the
deal.

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It can be analysed from the case study that the best possible solution for the company
is to make suitable changes with the deal and go ahead with the proposal. teh organisation of
Harmony Foods is left with two options, wither to accept the deal and sign with the Dynamic
Foods, or on the other hand, it can proceed with the proposal with suitable changes made to
it. The management should be in a position to take the best decision for the organisation. If
the present situation, of the work force retirement, of the Harmony foods is taken into
consideration, then it can be analysed that the best option for the company is to accept the
strong proposal of the Dynamic Foods, who have experience in takeovers (Blanchard 2018).
The company can first take the proposal of takeover planning and then can make necessary
changes in the plan, to alter the restructuring and the layoff techniques, to ensure that the
employees are not fired.
Thus it can be concluded from the analysis of the case study that the weakness that the
Harmony Inc had been facing is that of the lack of an effective leader who would be taking
proper and appropriate decision for the organisation. The success of the business organisation
depends on the leadership skills of the employees. The company where the employees
themselves are thinking of retirement, and they are in a constant dilemma whether to keep
their employees informed about the takeover, it can be concluded that the process of weak
leadership have a strong impact on the business of the organisation and can affect the future
of the company as well. According to Dinh et.al., (2014), the sharing of information with the
employees could ensure a smooth communication system and would be helpful for the
managers as well.

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Case Study 2:
Sage premium video Case study
Fitting In and Standing Out Gender Stereotypes
The case study of the “Fitting In and Standing Out Gender Stereotypes” deals with the
issues of gender, and the manner in which they are stereotyped in the workplace. The case
study also studies the gender complexities and the people who are there to stereotype their
colleagues in the workplace (A. Waldman and O'Reilly 2019). Analysing the first video, it
can be found that the Vice President of Nike, Maria Eitel, had encountered one such situation.
She had been through a person who had successfully passed a derogatory comment on a
different person but the comment had been pointing finger at the entire female community.
Thus the main issue that the case study deals with is a biased workplace environment where
the male members and the employees are hired on the basis of their skills, but in the case of
the female employees, in spite of having proper skills for the position, they are hired for
derogatory positions (Rosenbach 2018). There is an absence of an unbiased working
environment, and the absence of a proper leadership who could make sure that there is no
such cases of gender stereotyping in the future. The biasedness with the gender stereotyping
has been a major problem, where the females are still not given the proper respect that they
deserve. Instead, they are demeaned on various respects, irrespective of their qualifications
and talents. Thus the biasedness in this context can lead to the major problems within the
organisation.
Due to this stereotyped behaviour of the employees in an organisation, the most
prominent negative impact that the organisations face is the absence of a diversified labour
force (Mohanty, KISD). It is extremely important for the organisations and the companies to
hire members from both the gender and create a gender diverse team. It is the decision of the
organisations, whether to change the current situation by implementing the options on the

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behalf of the management, or go ahead with the traditional management which successfully
creates a negative impact on the work environment. These are the two options left for the
organisations, however, it must be the decision of the organisation, to negate and eradicate
the negative influence that the company falls under. The managers must have the power to
convince the management to accept a team with people from diverse culture and gender so
that there could be a balance in the future decision making process of the company leading to
an effective strong diversity. The presence for a gender diverse team is thus extremely
essential for an organisation, as it helps to develop the productivity and the performance of
the organistaion. The presence of equal number of women employees in the organisation to
that of men, whould help to ensure the financial independence of the women as well as the
presence of a talented workforce. The organisation would eventually gain the reputation, as
well as help to promote women empowerment. The quality of the workforce and that of the
business would increase.
Thus it can be concluded that there should be both a diverse team of employees in the
organisation, so that there is a proper and healthy work culture as well as to increase the
productivity and the performance of the organisation. If the women do not become the victim
of the gender stereotyping, they could give their best to the organisation and could help in the
success of the organisation (Wang et.al., 2013). Thus it is important for the leaders of the
organisation to eradicate the issue of gender stereotyping, and it can only be recommended
after analysing the case of Maria Eitel. The case study helps us to come to this conclusion
that the issue of gender stereotyping can cause major disruptions in the business environment.

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Case Study 3:
Change Leadership in a cross-cultural context (a case study of Italy and
Australia)
The following case study deals with the issues of the change in leadership in the
organisations. The major issue in this case study is the adaptation of the different leadership
styles and the impacts of the changes that occur to the organisations taking examples from the
context of such issues that have occurred in Italy and Australia (Wiewiora 2013). It can be
analysed that the presence of different forms of leadership as well as the change of the
leadership style in an organisation can prove to be both fruitful for the organisation on one
hand and on the other hand can have negative impacts as well (A. Waldman and O'Reilly
2019). The changes in the perspectives and the ideas of the different leaders can be
problematic for the business environment since the main criteria for the success of a business
is the unity in the decisions on the behalf of the managers. The major problem in this case
study was that with the business firm of David and Catherine was that the way they had to
run a business on the basis of the cultural traditions of the employees who have emigrated
from Australia and Italy. The changes in the perspectives of both of tehm had been the
greatest issue within the organisation, which involved the presence of different cultures. This
had been a problematic approach for the business. Catherine and David had been facing
issues with this change in the perspectives since it lead to the different problems of
management of both the firms. The only way that the problems could be solved was to close
down the business firms. The management of the businesses had to identify the problem and
the solution of the same. There were two options that David and Catherine could be choosing.
Either they had to carry out the corporate business by incorporating the Italian perspective or
on the other hand they could carry it out the way they had been, with the Australian context
keeping in mind. The most important solution was that there should have been adaptability

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of different cultures so that there could be proper running of the business (Chin, Desormeaux,
Sawyer 2016). The success of the organisation depends on the proper structure of the
organisation, with its ability to adapt to the change in the cultural perspectives.
The best solution for the problem could be argued after analysing the case study of
David and Catherine. Catherine could have chosen and incorporated either of the two options,
in order to ensure a strong market hold in the Australian scenario (A. Waldman and O'Reilly
2019). There could be incorporation of both the cultures into the business firm and adapting
both the different Italian as well as Australian elements could help Catherine to establish a
strong hold in the Australian market. This could have been the ideals solution for the success
of the organisational firm. The case study thus can be analysed in a way that provides the
answer to the question of what could have been the possible solution to change in leadership.
The incorporation of both the international as well as local elements is important for a
business to flourish since keeping an open mind to adapt to the changes is the best possible
way which can help in the success of the organisation. Since the demands of the Australian
culture and the Australian market is different from that of the Italian market, in order to
ensure the cultural success, the management of the firm should have to incorporate both the
local as well as the international success factors.
Case Study 4
The Founder
The major issue that the article deals with is that of leadership. The case study of the
article deals with the problems regarding the adaptability and the persistence of the
organisation (A. Waldman and O'Reilly 2019). The employees and the managers of an
organisation should be able to carry out their duties and perform in the best possible manner.
The adaptability of the managers is the prime criteria for the success of the organisations. The

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case study of McDonalds’ can be analysed and it can be argued that standing in the modern
times, the organisations lack the ability to adapt to situations and are not persistence in their
behaviour as well as in the manner that they work (Grint et.al., 2016). The modern
competitive environment demands this characteristic so that the organisations work in the
most effective manner. Adaptability and persistence on the behalf of the organisations are the
key elements that ensure the success of the business firms. From the case study of “The
Founder”, it can be concluded that the main issue of the brothers of the McDonalds’ brothers
was the concern regarding the quality of the food products. The presence of the high quality
foods was key to the success of the organization. They could either look into the matter of the
quality of the products or they could have focussed on the other aspects of the organisational
structure. These were the two options that the business could have chosen in order to make a
successful change in their story and in the business market.
Since the major strengths of the leaders have been the persistence and the adaptability,
there could have been possible changes in the success of the business if they had selected the
best possible solution. The effective solution would have been choosing the option to focus
on the quality of the food products. The adaptability of the organization helps the
management to ensure the presence of a large range of variety that helped McDonalds to
establish themselves as one of the largest food chains of the world. The dynamic leadership
had been the best solution for the organisation (A. Waldman and O'Reilly 2019). The
following movie has been one of the best movies on leadership style and business process
abilities. “The Founder” is the story of Roy Kroc which shows his journey as a travelling
salesman to his journey to one of the most successful leaders of the globe. Thus analysing the
case study, it can be concluded that is important for the leaders to follow the path shown by
him as persistency and capability is key to be a successful leader. The use of the franchisee
business and the capability to adapt to any situation and any culture is the major characteristic

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of the leadership style. Thus it can be said that the movie presents a transparent picture of the
success story of a leader in the market (A. Waldman and O'Reilly 2019).

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