Project 3 Project 3: Leadership BMGT 364 Professor Michael Margreta
2 Introduction Tasty Products, an organic food product distributor, is expanding its product line into developing an all-naturally flavored protein bar to new and existing clients. To execute this plan, Tasty Products needs a new Executive Vice President to establish and lead the new division. The Human Resources Director has requested the assistance of Wiz Consultants to determine which of three previously interviewed candidates is right for this position. The following report will evaluate each candidate’s management and leadership skills, leadership styles, and experience to ultimately decide the selection for the position of Executive Vice President. Management Skills T. J. Max has spent 13 years working for Star Lite Foods, a vegetarian food distribution company. Within that 13 years she started as a humble production line employee, moving up to Regional Manager, and then Vice President of Product Design and Marketing. Her promotions were based on community outreach and collaboration with the farmers that produce Star Lite’s sources of product. Max created a system and process that garnered a commitment between the farms within their network to work towards organizational goals, an essential management tool (Lumen, n. d., Par 9). Using her Community Communication program, the farmers were able to create a social network to share information and be more involved to support cooperation and increase production amongst their network (Lumen, n. d., par 17). L. L. Bean started a company, Frozen Health, that he has owned and operated for 15 years. His company distributes product throughout the United States and Canada and was eventually bought by Tasty Products. As a manager, he was heavily involved while being focused on strategic planning, marketing, and product development. As an entrepreneur, he signifies a quality level of strategic innovation by integrating new approaches in an adaptive market (lumen,
3 n. d. par 13). The strategy Bean used was moving his organic produce to frozen and prepackaged goods effectively expanding his market share. J. C. Penney has been employed at Tasty Products for 12 years. In this time, he began as a production manager, and was promoted to Deputy Director of quality control and all production of product throughout the United States and Canada. He specializes in consumer price points and ensuring products are environmentally safe while solving complex technical issues within the company. Penney uses a highly educated staff as a source of effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability within the organization to contribute to organizational success (Lumen, n. d., par 1- 2). As a manager, Penney maximizes his resources by effectively overseeing committees to suggest the best courses of action for challenges that need to be met. Leadership Skills Max’s experience at Star Lite Foods revolves around a mid-sized company that earns $220 million in sales annually. Max has proven her leadership capability by enabling local farmers to work together. She proposed the use of local farms streamline an initiative to being more environmentally friendly and an advocate for consumer health. Establishing this healthcentric direction for Star Lite Foods sought to eventually change the image of the company opposed to simply administering the normal operations (Lumen, n. d., par 6). Max earned her Bachelor of Arts in Business in a part-time program at a local college in Idaho, showing commitment to bettering herself. Bean is comfortable with taking risks to grow and develop within a business environment. His company has expanded from his basement to a multinational company that earns $360 million annually. He mitigates this risk by leaning on his employees and outsourced marketing firms to make decisions for the company. Bean shows drive by being highly motivated
4 and tenacious, taking initiative to meet challenges as they appear (Lumen, n. d. par 4). Bean’s leadership holds charisma and carries with it the trust of his managers and employees. As a former competitor of Tasty Products, Bean knows the business, making him an expert with deep insight (Lumen, n. d. par 12). Bean has not been formally educated, dropping out of college to pursue his highly successful business venture. Penney uses detail-oriented efficiency to meet the challenges of Tasty Products by never making decisions without a plethora of data or relevant information. Using a mentor approach, Penney focuses on staff development by communicating exactly what he is looking for in a product or report. His tendency to never immediately react relays confidence in decision making; enabling him to persist through obstacles and doubt from his colleagues (Lumen, n. d. par 7). Penney is formally educated, earning his degree in Electrical Engineering from Penn State and his Master’s in Business Administration from Wharton. Leadership Style Max’s leadership style is regarded as hands off because of a high reliance of delegation. Max believes delegating is essential to success as it gives employees the freedom to make decisions. This laissez-faire approach may lead to lower productivity in a new division within Tasty Products (Lumen, n. d. par 15). Her belief of higher production with lenient guidance has labeled her as distant amongst her staff, however, they still respect her opinion and guidance. Bean heavily involved himself in every department of his company and expected everyone to participate when a task needed to be completed. This democratic leadership style involved the entirety of his staff in the decision-making process (Lumen, n. d. par 15). He holds frequent town hall meetings to communicate the vision of the company and because of this, his employees expressed Frozen Health as a company they enjoyed working for.
5 Penney is direct and precise in his expectations of reports and products. This form of leadership is autocratic; he tasks necessary staff members in specialized group to present enough data for him to make a final decision (Lumen, n. d., par 15). His calculated approach to solving issues has made management confident in his decision making. Candidate Recommendation The best choice for the Executive Vice President position is J. C. Penney. Penney has been with the company for 12 years and has proven how effective he can be within the organization. His reputation is well known, and he has experience in product development and distribution without officially holding the position. J. C. has admitted his lack of experience in marketing and sales but can be trusted to find the best team to influence decisions in those areas. Penney can handle managing the changes that come with establishing a new division by creating a definable strategy and tracking progress through frequent meetings with key players (Lumen, n. d. par 2). Because Penney is methodical, he will take the necessary time to complete a detailed plan and only moving forward when enough data has been accrued to ensure success. This organizational restructuring will not disrupt hierarchies or communications as much as it would with a new hire, and reintegration will be more streamlined and consistent with Tasty Products’ vision. (Lumen, n. d. par 11). J. C. Penney is well endowed in the culture and expectations of Tasty Products and it is the belief of Wiz Consultants he will be the best candidate for the position. Rejected Candidate (Second Choice)
6 L. L. Bean was considered as the second choice. He did not make the mark due to his lack of leadership experience compared to J. C. Penney. His company, although successful and a multinational enterprise, is not of the same scale of Tasty Products. His experience within Tasty Products has been invaluable, though informal. There is a risk of intrapreneurship that would add more disruption to the reintegration process furthering reallocation of resources and slower start up time. It would take time for Bean to conform to the corporate culture, and that would only push the development of a new division further behind. Rejected Candidate (Third Choice) T. J. Max was the least considered candidate. Her distant and laissez-faire approach to leadership would not work in a new enterprise within the organization. Like Bean, her experience within a company is of a much smaller scale and the challenges greater than what she has had to work with. Max shows promise with her ability to encourage creativity, allowing people to perform best by making their own decisions without being micromanaged (Lumen, n. d. par 34). However, strong, confident, and authoritative leadership is what will create a new sector and Max simply did not show she has experience performing in such a way. Conclusion In conclusion, J. C. Penney has been selected as the strongest candidate. His dedication and loyalty have already been proven to Tasty products and can only be strengthened with this new position. Bean and Max were worthy candidates, but not as ready to complete the task at hand. References
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