Assignment

1. Conduct some web-based research into one organization that professes to have adopted a servant leadership philosophy (e.g., SWA, Men's Warehouse, TDIndustries). What are the organization's values? Compare these organizations to another in the same industry using major performance metrics (employee turnover, market share, profitability, etc.) and conclude whether or not you think having a servant leader philosophy makes a significant difference in company performance.

2. Read the article, "Leaders, Too, Need Support." How do you see yourself in the role of supportive follower? What power bases would a supportive follower be more likely to employ? What challenges do you have with this concept? What can you do to overcome those challenges?

3. One of your managers hears you have just completed your MBA. He looks at you and smirks and says, "All this emphasis on relationships is overrated. I have always made it clear to my subordinates what they need to do if they want to remain employed. All I have to say to them is 'get it done and you will get rewarded, and if not, there will be consequences.' It truly is that simple! Developing relationships with employees and suppliers or contractors, all that stuff is only good in the textbooks. It never delivers results." Prepare a response to this manager and post it on the discussion board.

4. Contrast the tradeoffs involved when an organization decides it is going to restructure. Be sure that you evaluate the critical organizational design variables that you would want to consider if you were heading up such a project. Next, evaluate the organizational chart for your current organization. Provide recommendations for revising the organizational design so it more effectively serves the mission of the firm and its many stakeholders.

5. Discuss the ethical implications of a leader's role in the socialization of new hires into the preexisting culture of an organization. What responsibility does a company have to inform newly hired persons that it wants to shape their values, perceptions, and behavior to conform to the organization's culture? What impact does socialization have on both individual and organizational effectiveness?

6. Contrast the corporate values espoused by two Fortune 500 companies. Select two firms that seem to manifest very different cultures. Your response should focus on the tradeoffs you would experience working in the two firms in terms of the values you bring to the workplace. How might your values fit in or clash with the culture of these two organizations?