PG Dip/MSc/MBA IBM/AFM: BBS Leadership Development Analysis

This report provides an executive summary of Bia Blasta Snacks (BBS), a food company facing challenges and seeking a Director of Strategy, Marketing, and Public Relations. It analyzes the leadership qualities required for the role, including innovation, strategic thinking, communication, and integrity, ...Read More

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Executive Summary :
Bia Blasta Sncaks also popularly known as BBS is a manufacturing, marketing and distributing food company in Ireland and the
United Kingdom. The company has been going through some turbulent times and it wants to hire an able person as the Director of
Strategy, Marketing and Public Relations. BBS believes this will help in analyzing the possible failures and shortcomings of the
company. There are three great candidates chosen for this role out of which only one will be selected on the basis of their leadership
skills, managerial skills, experience and strong credentials.

Look he is a leader!
• Innovators -The CEOs have to be creators and innovators of new ideas, products and
services (Vlachos, Panagopoulos and Rapp,2013).
• Challengers - The leaders have to have a competitive streak about them. The company
might lose a lot ((Ng et al. 2015).
• Strategy builders - They need to think ahead and look into things from various
perspectives. They are the one who implements different strategies that will be effective
for the organization (Ho et al. 2015).
• Knowledge of the Industry - The CEO of the company is expected to have profound
knowledge of the industry he belongs to.
• Integrity - Honesty is one of the most significant qualities of any leader. If he himself is
not honest about everything then he cannot accept the employees to do the same.
Transparency should be practiced at all costs (Algahtani, 2014).

 Good Communicator - A leader should be a good communicator and know how to communicate well among his juniors,
employees, co-workers and other board members. Communication can resolve most of the problems and tensions (House et
al.2013).
 Good Negotiator - The head of the company should be able to negotiate well the clients and employees. He should have good
negotiating capabilities as this will help him sail through tough situations (Shanafelt et al. 2015).
 Practice - CEO should be the person who walks the talk. HE should not merely be a preacher
 Empathetic - A leader should not be full of pride or arrogance. Rather he should have empathy for everyone who is a part of the
organization. He should know that his employees are his asset and he should be there for them whenever needed.
 Good Listener - The one who heads any organization has to be a good listener. After hearing everyone out only then he should
take any decision.
Ah! A Good leader!

Bad Qualities of a Leader
• Lack of Integrity - Integrity is one of the most valuable characteristic of a leader. It develops
respect and goodwill in others for a leader (Ciulla,2014).
• Lack of Adaptability - Leaders are the ones who can adapt and adjust to any situations and
circumstances. Hence, they need to implement new ways and methods whenever required
(Santamaría, 2014).
• No Vision - Having a mission is one thing and having a vision is another thing. Leaders are driven
by the future. They are always planning for the betterment of the future. Bad leaders are satisfied
with the status quo (Schoemaker, Krupp, and Howland, 2013).

 Lack of Accountability - As leaders are expected to get credit when the employees perform well or the company cracks a deal,
similarly when things go wrong the leader should be ready to take the charges. They should be able to be accountable for the
achievements and the failures equally.
 Self-centered - If a leader is always thinking about himself and his utilitarian motives then the company will suffer. A leader
should be focused on the well being of his employees and also of his organization (Chuang, 2013).
Qualities to avoid

Arthur McLoughlin
• Arthur has a reputation of having excellent leadership qualities.
• He is in the good book of everyone which means he is an honest and empathetic person.
• His dedication to his work is clearly proven by the growth of the BBS brand.
• He is known to be a very sociable person among his peers and colleagues.
• Arthur’s presentations are known to be full of humor and wit this means he enjoys his works
and he love his job
• . He is believed to have gifted leadership abilities.
• It is also said that he cannot accept failures and has had emotional outbursts.
• I would give him a 7 out of 10.

Ciara Canavan
• Ciara is known to be a very competitive and
ambitious person.
• She produces startegic reports for the
company.
• Though not much is known about her conduct
with her juniors and other employees, she is
said to be driven and loyal to the company.
• Ciara also prefers keeping her personal and
private life separate.
• She likes balance.
• She loves staying fit and healthy.
• I would give her 9 out of 10.

Angela Redmond
• Angela’s achievements has been
remarkable.
•She has turned the tables for Choconux
after she joined as the co-owner and the
CEO of the company.
• The sales of the brand has rapidly
increased over the years.
• She has a reputation for being honest
and confident.
• She has the leadership qualities
required for turning the growth rate on
the profitable side.
• I would give Angela a 8 out of 10.

Comparisons between the candidates
• Arthur has good communication and human relation skills. Ciara lacks this skill. She is not a very social person.
• Angela and Ciara are very strong women and pragmatic. Whereas, Arthur is emotionally driven.
• Arthur cannot accept failures. These two women understand that failures are important and inevitable in any business.
• Ciara is aware and is inclined to contribute towards social causes. She also volunteers and is a conservationist. This makes her a
humble person than Arthur and Angela.
• Angela lacks communication skills and she seems less concerned about her co-workers and employees. She lacks empathy
towards others.
• The educational and family background of Ciara is more appealing. Her after was a CEO. Whereas Angela’s mother was an
waitress and father a plumber. Arthur’s mother was a lecturer and father was a dentist.

Selecting the right candidate
After going through the profile of each of the candidates and after analyzing their family and educational
background I have decided that Ciara will be the best candidate for this position.
• Her father was also a CEO.
• She cycles to work everyday which makes her a responsible person towards the environment.
• She has the highest intelligence quotient among all the candidates.
• Arthur is also driven by emotions. Ciara is pragmatic and a realist.
• She is full of wisdom and knowledge. Ciara is tenacious and persistent.
• She might be a bit aloof from her peers and colleagues but I believe that only gives her more clarity to
think and take decisions.

 Ciara is known to be honest, fiercely loyal and trustworthy.
 I believe she will be there for others in times of need and be empathetic to all.
 She is someone with humility and a reasoning mind.
 Ciara volunteers at her local bookstore and is known to be an activist too.
 Her dedication not only towards her work but also towards the environment and society should be rewarded with this deserving
post.
Selecting the right
candidate

MISSION • The mission of the
organization is to provide
affordable and quality products
for everyone.
• Also to expand the
organization in many different
countries.
• To provide the best services
and to become one of the
leading organizations in the
world.
• We also want to have the best
working environments and the
best employees.

VISION
The long-term vision of
the company is to be
known for : its working
efficiency, environment
friendly work culture and
its contribution to society
in every field.

CORE VALUES
The core values of
the organization are :
integrity,
respect for each
other, empathy,
awareness of the
environment,
sustainability,
accountability and
loyalty.

References :
Shanafelt, T.D., Gorringe, G., Menaker, R., Storz, K.A.,
Reeves, D., Buskirk, S.J., Sloan, J.A. and Swensen, S.J.,
2015, April. Impact of organizational leadership on
physician burnout and satisfaction. In Mayo Clinic
Proceedings (Vol. 90, No. 4, pp. 432-440). Elsevier.
Ng, D., Nguyen, D.T., Wong, B.K.S. and Choy, W.K.W.,
2015. A review of Singapore principals’ leadership
qualities, styles, and roles. Journal of Educational
Administration, 53(4), pp.512-533.
Ho, S.S., Li, A.Y., Tam, K. and Zhang, F., 2015. CEO
gender, ethical leadership, and accounting
conservatism. Journal of Business Ethics, 127(2),
pp.351-370.

Vlachos, P.A., Panagopoulos, N.G. and Rapp,
A.A., 2013. Feeling good by doing good:
Employee CSR-induced attributions, job
satisfaction, and the role of charismatic
leadership. Journal of business ethics, 118(3),
pp.577-588.
House, R.J., Dorfman, P.W., Javidan, M.,
Hanges, P.J. and de Luque, M.F.S.,
2013. Strategic leadership across cultures:
GLOBE study of CEO leadership behavior and
effectiveness in 24 countries. Sage
Publications.

Santamaría, L.J., 2014. Critical change for
the greater good: Multicultural perceptions in
educational leadership toward social justice
and equity. Educational Administration
Quarterly, 50(3), pp.347-391.
Algahtani, A., 2014. Are leadership and
management different? A review. Journal of
management policies and practices, 2(3),
pp.71-82.

Ciulla, J.B. ed., 2014. Ethics, the heart of
leadership. ABC-CLIO.
Schoemaker, P.J., Krupp, S. and Howland, S.,
2013. Strategic leadership: The essential
skills. Harvard business review, 91(1),
pp.131-134.
Chuang, S.F., 2013. Essential skills for
leadership effectiveness in diverse workplace
development.