1. Multimedia University
BMG8014ADVANCED MANAGEMENT
Lecturer: Dr.I.LOURDESAMY
CASES ANALYSES
Snapshot Industries
Student Name: Abdulla Saeed Alhamad
Student ID: 1111800065

2. MMU
BMG 8014 ADVANCED MANAGEMENT
Abdulla Alhamad (1111800065)
Snapshot Industries
Question: Discuss the leadership style of Jim and the leadership problems that he is
encountering in the case?
Summary
Snapshot Industries, a company with a stronghold of tradition operating with the old
ways. Under the strong guidance of the owner Sam Snapshot for 25 years and 200
staff, Sam Boss knows names of every one and their family’s.
High level of loyalty from the employees to Sam (95%) of them been with the
company for 20 years.
The employees are satisfied with the whole systems. Everything is controllable, each
person knows what his or her work is and is not, they have no one needs to think too
hard or consider how things can be done differently.
The death of Sam caused major upheaval, particularly when his grandson, Jim took
over the reins.
Jim’s Leadership Style
When Jam’s took over the company he applied immediately (laissez faire leadership
style) which considered on of the modern and new styles of leadership.
Laissez faire leadership
Definition:
A non-authoritarian leadership style. Laissez faire leaders try to give
the least possible guidance to subordinates, and try to achieve control through
less obvious means. They believe that people excel when they are left alone to
respond to their responsibilities and obligations in their own ways.
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3. MMU
BMG 8014 ADVANCED MANAGEMENT
Abdulla Alhamad (1111800065)
Laissez-faire leadership, also known as delegalize leadership, is a type of
leadership style in which leaders are hands-off and allow group members to
make the decisions. Researchers have found that this is generally the
leadership style that leads to the lowest productivity among group members.
Characteristics of Laissez-Faire Leadership
Laissez-faire leadership is characterized by:
• Very little guidance from leaders.
• Complete freedom for followers to make decisions.
• Leaders provide the tools and resources needed.
• Group members are expected to solve problems on their own.
Benefits of Laissez-Faire Leadership
Laissez-faire leadership can be effective in situations where group members
are highly skilled, motivated and capable of working on their own. While the
conventional term for this style is 'laissez-faire' and implies a completely
hands-off approach, many leaders still remain open and available to group
members for consultation and feedback.
Downsides of Laissez-Faire Leadership
Laissez-faire leadership is not ideal in situations where group members lack
the knowledge or experience they need to complete tasks and make decisions.
Some people are not good at setting their own deadlines, managing their own
projects and solving problems on their own. In such situations, projects can go
off-track and deadlines can be missed when team members do not get enough
guidance or feedback from leaders.
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4. MMU
BMG 8014 ADVANCED MANAGEMENT
Abdulla Alhamad (1111800065)
The impacts of changing the leadership style
The company was operating successfully for 25 year under the leadership style of
Sam, he was operating the company using (Autocratic leadership Style), and he made
all decisions about products, clients and employment conditions, and even signed
every leave application, the employees have no need to think how should they do
thing.
Jim’s the 30 years old MBA graduates’ took over the company after Sam’s death.
Jim’s started immediately to change the company’s leadership style, operational
process, and compensation system. Jam’s changed the leadership style over night
from (Autocratic leadership Style) to (laissez faire leadership).
An immediate change in leader ship style has a catastrophic impact on any company
or organization, especially when the change was between opposites styles of
leadership.
Just as each of the leadership styles has beneficial effects, each also has some
drawbacks. Although the visionary leader can improve employee attitudes by setting a
new direction, senior employees entrenched in the old organizational culture may
rebel against such a change. Some followers view coaching leaders as
micromanagers, according to Changing Minds, because of their high levels of
involvement. Affiliative leaders, who build relationships between followers and
workgroups, can create conflict or emotional stress in some situations, and democratic
leaders can create the appearance of weak or indecisive leadership. Pace-setting
leaders can have an exhaustive effect on followers who cannot keep up with an
aggressive agenda, and commanding leaders may create a climate of oppression and
fear among some employees.
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5. MMU
BMG 8014 ADVANCED MANAGEMENT
Abdulla Alhamad (1111800065)
The impacts of Jim’s new leadership style
• Employees never work in such a competitive environment. They start to avoid
each other and stick with their team.
• Centralized and personnel systems are initiated. The use of computer causes
stress for “old” employees.
• 60% of original 200 staff retired because they couldn’t see where to fit.
• Newly acquired employees comment that it is too hard to integrate with the
old people such as information they should share.
• Original employees felt they have no enough time to do and learn in within
thenew roles.
• Key employees left and often taking several other good members of their team
with them.
TheLeadership problems Jam’s is encountering by applying the new leadership style
Organizational culture was not a collaborative one. Unwillingness of old stuffs
to share knowledge. Difficult for new stuffs to locate source of expertise. No
documentation as transfer of tacit knowledge is easier said than done.
Cost of production increased. Productivity went down. With resignations of
key member knowledge and expertise is also gone.
Inability to identify the goals Difficulties in changing the organizational
culture Inefficiency in utilizing the skills and expertise
Symptoms Inconsistent system Different teams working differently Stress
among the stuffs due to competitive environment.
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