Effective Human Relations: Xerox CEO & Boss-Free Company Analysis

This assignment presents a case study analysis focusing on Xerox under the leadership of Ursula Burns and the 'Boss-Free' organizational structure exemplified by Valve Corporation. It addresses questions related to the importance of a culture of candor in organizations, the challenges faced by Ursula Burns as a pioneering African-American woman CEO, and the impact of her early life experiences on her leadership. Furthermore, it explores the potential drawbacks of a 'boss-free' environment, strategies for improving hiring decisions in such organizations, and a personal reflection on suitability for a boss-free work culture. The analysis draws upon concepts from organizational theory, leadership, and human relations to provide a comprehensive understanding of the case studies. Desklib provides a platform for students to access similar solved assignments and study resources.

Running head: ORGANIZATIONAL TRAINING
Organizational Training
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Xerox CEO speaks her mind
Answer 1
A culture of candor is highly important when a company is nearing bankruptcy as a
company can get benefitted from honest opinions or openness of their employees. If the
company is nearing bankruptcy, then the organizational leaders are obviously doing
something wrong. The culture of candor helps the organization to pin point the issues that the
company or organization is struggling with (Bennis, Sample & Asghar, 2015). In the case of
the Xerox Company, Paul Allaire, who is the president of the company, knew that they had to
do something better, in terms of finance. However, they never executed the plan and stopped
hiring people for the firm. Ursula Burns was actually tired of hiring more and more
individuals for the month and conveyed this message to the President of the company. This is
turn, resulted in her promotion. Having a conscious freedom for addressing the issues as well
as concerns of the company is considered to be a crucial part. It also helps in avoiding
biasness inside the organization.
Answer 2
The first African-American woman to lead a major corporation in United States had
to face certain challenges. It is evident from the fact when she was being asked in an
interview regarding her work pressures. After her promotion, Ursula Burns had to come
across several interviews from the media representatives. The media personnel wanted to
know whether she was ready to cope up with the work pressures or not, which came with her
job position. She mentioned that she is a black lady and that too from the Lower East Side of
the New York and not a lot intimidates her (Doherty, 2012). This proved the fact that she had
to face lots of criticism and troubles in her entire work life, due to her skin color. Burns is

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very tough in nature, who has the courage to face the reality and speak her mind (Murray,
2016). Therefore, it can be said that even though the CEO of the company faced various
challenges or difficulties in her life, nothing could stop her ever.
Answer 3
Ursula Burns had to face many challenges and difficulties in her early days. She is an
African-American woman, who lived at the Lower East Side of New York. She did many odd
jobs to support her family, financially. These challenges of her early life helped her prepare
for the executive positions of the major corporation. She started her career in a Xerox
Company as an intern, followed by full time roles in planning and development. Today, she is
the CEO of the company and holds her past responsible for her success. Her past shaped her
into what she is today (Ndubuizu & Britton, 2016). In her fight for survival, Ursula pushed
herself all through the tough times and worked hard to reach the position. She faced many
criticisms in her life and fought for her rights. In her words, dreams come true, but obviously
not without others’ help. According to her, a good education, courage to lean in and a strong
ethic of work will help people survive in this competitive world (Cross, 2014).
The “Boss Free” Company
Answer 1
Valve Corporation is a video game maker, which has been “boss free” since its
foundation. The company has no leaders, managers or assigned projects instead, the
employees work on their own. In the American society a boss free culture will not have any
positive impact, where majority of the workers are not at all engaged with their work. This is
because the flat hierarchy model does not work for every organizational culture. As the Valve
Corporation will grow, the employees will have problems in maintaining a complete flat

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structure. Moreover, if an organization lacks any leader, the employees will not perform their
activities efficiently and effectively. The organization may do not have common objectives or
goals, values and mission. If any organization has a flat hierarchy, there are no clear
pathways for building and developing the strengths of the company (Whyte, 2013).
Therefore, these are the major drawbacks of a “boss free” organizational culture.
Organizations need to take care of these factors before completely moving into this culture.
Answer 2
One of the major problems of the boss-less organization is the delay in identifying the
bad decisions of hiring. The company can resolve this problem by making the interviews a
great experience. There are some ways which ensure that the interview is a great experience
for the candidates. Firstly, the candidates want the questions to be related to their business.
They want to answer their competencies mostly, and strengths. It is seen that the interview
matters the most to the candidates. Therefore, the company need to hire some professional
experts for conducting the hiring procedure as it is a boss-less organization. Secondly,
organizational employees should discuss their working procedure with the candidates in order
to give them an overview of the organization. Thirdly, taking help from some senior leader
can help in identifying the skilled candidates for the organization (Quinn, 2015). It is
important for the employers to build a strong brand of the organization, in order to show the
candidates what the organization serves.
Answer 3
Working in a boss free environment is challenging however, it is a very democratic
manner of thinking regarding work. I think I would make a good candidate for a boss free
work environment due to some reasons. Firstly, I don’t like working under someone. This
would enable me in showcasing my capabilities. Moreover, in a boss-less work environment

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everyone equally participates in taking major decisions for the betterment of the company.
Secondly, I have better work sense and actively engage into organizational activities. Thirdly,
I will get an idea of what an organizational leader or manager is required to do. This will help
me in my upcoming future. These observations will help me in succeeding in my life.
Fourthly, in a boss free work culture, each and every employee take equal part in the
organizational activities and work together to see their organization on the top (Daft, 2015).
Lastly, there will be less manager-employee conflicts within the organization, which will
motivate me to perform even better.

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References
Bennis, W., Sample, S. B., & Asghar, R. (2015). The art and adventure of leadership.
Cross, K. J. (2014). The Impact of African American Engineers on Contemporary Life:
Remembering Who We Are. Black History Bulletin, 77(2), 22-27.
Daft, R. L. (2015). Organization theory and design. Cengage learning.
Doherty, P. (2012). Leading the way. London Business School Review, 23(1), 10-16.
Murray, C. R. (2016). How African American Female Leaders Successfully Navigate
Mentoring in the Workplace. Women of color navigating mentoring relationships:
Critical examinations, 1.
Ndubuizu, R., & Britton, D. M. (2016). Ursula Burns. Junctures in Women's Leadership:
Business, 92.
Quinn, R. E. (2015). The positive organization: Breaking free from conventional cultures,
constraints, and beliefs. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Whyte, W. H. (2013). The organization man. University of Pennsylvania Press.