Assignment

Primary Task Response: Within the Discussion Board area, write 400-600 words that respond to the following questions with your ideas, analysis, and comments supported with application of course learning materials. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas. Note: All character and company names are fictional and are not intended to depict any actual person or business. For assistance with your assignment, please use Beyond the Book, Web resources, and all course materials.

Read the UWEAR and PALEDENIM scenario found here. You will first meet with the CEOs of each organization, Theresa Tramlin and Mike Miller, to help them understand their important leadership roles for the success of the merger. After reviewing the course materials for this week, prepare your recommendations for them regarding their approaches to leading the merger. The merger is a significant change for both organizations; there is growing anxiety and uncertainty among the employees of both organizations. The goal is to complete the merger in a way that maintains employee performance and allegiance to the merged organization. Both CEOs were promoted from managerial positions, so one of your tasks is to help them understand how to distinguish the two roles.

Issues to address include, but are not limited to, the following:

•How will you explain the difference between managing and leading, to set the stage to help Theresa and Mike focus on leading?

•What leadership approaches will be effective in leading the merger? Include at least 3 approaches, and explain in what circumstances those approaches should be used and why.

•Consider the research findings by Kabacoff (1998) that, although men and women are perceived as equally effective in leading, women tend to focus more on production, attaining results, and people, while men tend to focus on strategic planning, organization vision, and business tasks. If this is the case in this situation for Theresa and Mike, what are the implications for their leadership during the merger?

•Reflect on your own experience as a leader, if not professionally, then in the community or family. With which leadership approaches are you most comfortable? What are the implications for you if you were one of the leaders in this scenario?