Case Study: Leadership Styles, Decision-Making, and Communication

This case study examines a leadership scenario within the State Library, focusing on the transition between managers and the impact of different leadership styles. The case analyzes the leadership approaches of Polly and Jim, contrasting their methods and outcomes. Polly employed an authoritarian approach, leading to high staff turnover and lack of creativity, while Jim adopted a softer approach, which also proved ineffective. The analysis applies leadership theories such as McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y, Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Grid, and situational leadership to understand the challenges faced. The study highlights the importance of adapting leadership styles to the situation and finding a balance between results and employee well-being. The STAR method is used to analyze the situation, theory, action, and reflection, providing insights into effective management strategies and the need for a collaborative approach. The case study emphasizes the importance of effective communication and decision-making in achieving organizational goals.

Running head: CASE STUDY
CASE STUDY
Name of Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Table of Contents
Case analysis using the STAR method................................................................................2
Situation...........................................................................................................................2
Theory..............................................................................................................................2
Action..............................................................................................................................4
Reflection.........................................................................................................................4
References............................................................................................................................6

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Case analysis using the STAR method
Situation
Before Jim was appointed as the manager, Polly occupied that position. However, Polly
was moved on by the management due to the leadership style adopted by her. Polly was very
demanding and firm of her staff and expected her staff to account for each and every minute of
their day (Al Halbusi t al., 2018). Moreover she believed that the employees were incapable of
performing their tasks by themselves and therefore they needed to be supervised closely. She
wanted the employees to complete their task exactly as required. And she berated those workers
who did not perform up to the standards or who were slow. Moreover there was lack of creativity
and the staff interacted with the guests in a more mechanical manner and the staff turnover rates
had increased under her leadership (Kopelman, Prottas and Falk, 2010). On the other hand, when
Jim started occupying the position he had decided that he would treat the staff with respect. He
was of an opinion that the employees were willing to work because of work itself. However,
soon enough Jim found that Polly was able to get work done from the staff because they feared
the consequences but due to the softer management style adopted by Jim he was unable to get
carry out a number of functions and operations properly. Due to his approach, his staff had
started misbehaving with him.
Theory
The leadership theories applicable in this situation include- McGregor’s Theory X and
Theory Y and Blake and Mouton’s managerial grid and situational theory (Cai, Fink & Walker,
2019). The theory X and Y of McGregor’s discusses about two contrasting leadership
approaches adopted by the leaders. The theory X leadership uses the autocratic management

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style whereas the theory Y leadership makes use of the participative management style.
Therefore the leaders who use the theory X have a belief that- employees do not like their work
and they tend to avoid their responsibility and therefore need continuous supervision and
direction. On the other hand, Leaders who use theory Y have a belief that employees are happy
to work on their own, they are self-motivated and they take part in the vision making process.
They enjoy ownership of work. This theory is clearly applicable in case of Jim and Polly as they
have different leadership approaches. The theory of managerial grid discusses about the leaders
behaviour based on concern for people or concern for results. And based on these two
dimensions there can be 5 main types of leadership styles. And one more theory applicable in
this case study is situational leadership which discusses that leaders need to adopt different styles
or approaches depending upon the situation and should not follow one particular style in all
situations.

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Figure 1: Managerial Grid Theory
Source: (Guo, Gonzales & Dilley, 2016)
Action
From the case, it is clear that Polly was unable to properly lead because she adopted
McGregor’s Theory X that discusses about an authoritarian approach for leading people within
organization (Hommelhoff, 2017). However, her approach had a negative impact on the
employees because their turnover increased, people did not want to take up additional tasks
outside their job role and there was lack of creativity due to the fear of errors and scolding’s by
Polly. Moreover Polly carried out strict supervision of each and every activity of the employees
and asked them to account for each and every activity. And through this approached helped Polly
in getting the work done but the morale of the employees was negatively affected. Similarly
according to the Grid theory, Polly adopted the produce or perish management in which though
the leaders are able to drive results in the short period of time but not in the long run due to lower
motivation and morale of employees (Uslu, 2019). On the other hand, the approach adopted by
Jim was that of McGregor’s theory Y and country club approach because he felt that employees
should not be closely supervised and therefore he decided to use a softer management approach
towards the employed for developing better relationship with them. However he was unable to
drive results from the people because he was too concerned for people as compared to results.
Reflection
According to me, Jim was unable to properly manage his employees because he was
focusing too much on maintaining good relationship with them and therefore tried empowering
them but he did not adopt a participative approach. He decided to carry out a team approach but

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he simply walked away leaving it to the staff to organise themselves. Therefore Jim needs to
adopt a team management approach or a collaborative approach by helping and supporting the
employees in their work. This approach is also similar to the situational theory because this
approach focuses on both results and relationship.

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References
Al Halbusi, H., Tehseen, S., Hamid, F., & Afthanorhan, A. (2018). A Study of Organizational
Justice on the Trust in Organization under the Mediating Role of Ethical
Leadership. Business Ethics And Leadership, 2(4), 89-98.
https://doi.org/10.21272/bel.2(4).89-98.2018
Cai, D., Fink, E., & Walker, C. (2019). Robert R. Blake, With Recognition of Jane S.
Mouton. Negotiation And Conflict Management Research.
https://doi.org/10.1111/ncmr.12151
Guo, J., Gonzales, R., & Dilley, A. (2016). Creativity and Leadership in Organizations: A
Literature Review. Creativity. Theories – Research - Applications, 3(1), 127-151.
https://doi.org/10.1515/ctra-2016-0010
Hommelhoff, S. (2017). Implicit managerial theories about followers and customers. Journal Of
Service Theory And Practice, 27(1), 47-68. https://doi.org/10.1108/jstp-05-2015-0124
Kopelman, R., Prottas, D. and Falk, D., 2010. Construct validation of a Theory X/Y behavior
scale. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 31(2), pp.120-135.
Uslu, O. (2019). General Overview to Leadership Theories from a Critical
Perspective. Marketing And Management Of Innovations, 161-172.
https://doi.org/10.21272/mmi.2019.1-13