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Question

Leadership

 

 

 

Case Study #3: Toro Toro, the lawn equipment manufacturer, is accustomed to lawsuits, due to the inherent hazards associated with using its machinery. During the late 1980s, the company was facing major financial troubles and put Ken Melrose in place as CEO. One of his first successes was reducing the company’s cost of lawsuits by implementing a new mediation policy, and invoking an important leadership trait: empathy. Prior to Melrose’s tenure, Toro faced about 50 lawsuits every year involving serious injuries. lie decided to switch to mediation to address product liability claims. This approach included sending a company representative to meet with people injured by Toro products, as well as their families. The goal was to see what went wrong, express the firm’s sympathy and attend to the family’s needs. One result of the new mediation policy was a 95% rate of resolving the company’s claims, along with significant cost savings. Great leaders recognize problems and do what it takes to overcome them. They are open and empathetic, and let their values guide their actions. Why is this often an overlooked quality in leaders? Why is in important in good leadership?

 

 

 

 

Subject Administration Pages 12 Style APA

Answer

Leadership
Leadership requires various skills. These skills are vital in determining the kind of leadership an individual will produce when placed in a leadership position. The different organisation values particular leadership differently depending on the relevance of the skills to the organization’s affairs. For instance, the business organization usually put great emphasis on creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurial skills of an individual. However, specific skills are regarded as being common across all organisations. This is due to the fact that they prove to be useful under particular circumstances that might face a leader. One such skill is the problem-solving ability of an individual. This is a critical virtue in a person as it helps the leader to manoeuvre the organisation well out of difficult situations. However, it is not easy to gauge the problem-solving ability of an individual. As a result, many institutions are led by leaders who have less ability when it comes to solving organisational problems. This explains why some firms eventually succumb when they are faced with small issues. This research paper analyses the importance of problem-solving as a virtue of a manager and the possible reasons why the skill is overlooked in many managerial or rather leadership appointments.
The primary reason for there being leaders with less intrinsic qualities is the selection procedure used to choose them. Typically, leaders are chosen based on their influence and popularity. For instance, democratically elected leaders are selected due to their superiority regarding popularity among the voting population. A majority vote for an individual will give him or her the leadership position. Rarely do such leaders undergo vetting or rather interviewes aimed at determining their skill value levels. Another selection procedure involves selection based on influence. In such situations, leaders are chosen because of their influence to those involved in selection. Through evaluation of an individual’s capability is not efficiently carried out (Certo, 2015). These selection processes have contributed a lot to having leaders who are not able to recognize and overcome problems. They have no command of values which could guide them. Their leadership is based on following the set rules and regulations regarding their areas of operation. As a result, when faced with the new concept that might be inhibiting a firm’s growth, they fail to correct or address it. Taking an example from the case study, the leadership at Toro was well skilled. Instead of the management regarding the lawsuits as a typical scenario that had taken root in the firm’s operation, the team viewed it as a problem that needed to be addressed. Their bold move to try and reduce the lawsuits eventually pays off, and the number of cases is significantly reduced (Certo, 2015). Moreover, the firm’s relationship with their customers and the public is greatly enhanced.
Internal values are difficult to determine in an individual. For instance, during selection, leadership candidates are not exposed to natural problems, a fact that limits the selection panel’s understanding of the candidates problem-solving ability. Moreover, the set scenarios that they are exposed to during interviews are not seriously taken, and the candidates themselves regard them as tests hence their mind’s creativity and problem-solving abilities are blocked.
In many recruitment excesses, the primary focus is placed on acquired qualities. These qualities may include a person’s knowledge of the position he or she is going to occupy and their educational and physical qualifications. Internal values are rarely explored (Carmeli, et.al, 2013. Performance is based on experience and in cases where candidates are first applicants, their ability to perform is based on their capacity to learn. However, it should be known that it is hard to learn certain intrinsic qualities. Skills like the ability to empathize, the natural use of intrusion, combining of feeling and reason are rarely transferable. The only test that tries to identify an individual’s inner values is the personality test. This is conducted by employers to determine a leadership candidate’s personality and preference. This is because some personalities fit certain professions and not others. This test also offers employees some benefits especially when the interviewers share the result with them. Common traits investigated include a candidate’s tendency to introversion or extroversion, intuition or sensing, perceiving or judging, and thinking or feeling (Certo, 2015).
Taking Toro’s case as an example, it is evident that problem-solving ability of a leader is paramount. In the study, it reduced Toro’s problems and enhanced their public relations. This is crucial to any firm as public relation shapes the people’s perception regarding a particular company. On the other hand, reducing issues lead to increased profits in businesses (Arends, 2014). Moreover, the ability of a leader in any business formation to solve problems is in itself a sustainability factor. This is because the danger of company failing as a result of management issues is significantly reduced. Additionally, the employees or rather those who work under the leader are confident in the leadership and therefore will work wholeheartedly to ensure that it succeeds.
In conclusion, leadership is a tight role that requires ardent decision makers and people with strong personalities. Besides, a good leader should be able to solve problems that come in his way. It is through such problem-solving incident that one becomes a great and respected leader. This is because solving a problem will go a long way in ensuring success for their respective organisations. Therefore, increased consideration should be applied to these values when selecting leaders.

 

 

References

Amends, R. (2014). Learning to teach. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Carmeli, A., Geldard, R., & Reiter‐Palm on, R. (2013). Leadership, Creative Problem‐Solving Capacity, and Creative Performance: The Importance of Knowledge Sharing. Human Resource Management, 52(1), 95-121.
Carto, S. (2015). Supervision: Concepts and skill-building. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

 

 

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