North American Tool and Die Co. (NATD)

When Tom Melohn and Garner Beckett, Jr., bought California-based North American Tool & Die Co. (NATD), it was a struggling supplier of parts to the Silicon Valley’s infant computer industry. Sales were flat, its equipment was outdated, quality was questionable, and the workforse was unhappy. Clearly, the organization needed redesigning – but not in the traditional sense.

Melohn reshaped the organization based on his managerial belief that most workers want to perform well if they are treated honestly, fairly, and with respect. He concentrated on four principles: hire good people who care, workers are “the same” as anyone else (including management), follow the Golden Rule, and remember that the person doing a job knows it best. Sceptics might ask, what about the bottom line? During the next twelve years, NATD increased its productivity by 480 percent and pretax earnings by 2,400 percent.

Delegation and socialization were key elements to the implementation of Melohn principles. For instance, foremen were treated as professionals, empowered with the authotiry to make decisions. “If [foremen] got a suggestion from the floor, they didn’t have to get approvals,” says Fred Ferrari, vice president of manufacturing. “That’s why we became very successful. It gives power to the employee… . That translates into better quality all the way down the line … into better productivity, lower absenteeism.”

Through socialization, workers learned new norms of the organization. They were allowed to dress as they wished (Melohn himself was notorious for appearing in loud sportswear) and encouraged to embrace such values as integrity, respect, and character. Melohn went out of his way to prove his trust in his employees – and it paid off. For example, he removed electronic blocks to long-distance phone calls, subsequently, no unauthorized calls were made.

Customers responded to NATD’s increase in productivity and quality. Dave Brown, formerly of Hewlett-Packard, said simply, “they were among the very best. I’ve been in a lot of companies that are sweatshops … and the quality just isn’t there when people don’t care. In Tom’s company, all the people cared, and you knew they did. That made the difference.” Brown was so enamored of the way NATD was designed that when he later became general manager and president of Colorado Time Systems Inc., he structured his organization to resemble NATD. “It was right up my alley, really, because I believe in the things [Melohn] was doing,” Brown explains.

Eventually, Melohn sold his stake in NATD and is now the author of The New Partnership: Profit by Bringing Out the Best in Your People, Customers, and Yourself. NATD employees report a decline in morale, creativity, and productivity since his departure. Perhaps the leader was indistinguishable from his organisation’s design.

Questions:

1. Do you think NATD’s design was too dependent on the philosophies of its leader? Why or why not?

2. What type of organizational design might be most beneficial to NATD? Why?

3. What aspects of NATD’s environment (such as the status of the computer industry in general) might affect its future structure and design?

(Patrick M. Wright, Raymond A. Noe Management of Organisations)

Task 3. Read the short case study below and complete the activities that follow:

Tracey Ellis set up the Domestic Bliss Agency in January 2006. Despite a long career working in the aviation industry across Europe, she felt unfulfilled. A growing desire to use her love of colour and creative skills and the need to do something more challenging were the key motives in her decision to become self-employed. The thought of returning back to work after three weeks holiday sparked Tracey into action and, within an evening, she had not only come up with an idea, but also a name for the new business.

Tracey’s business idea was to offer a wide range of cleaning services to business and personal customers in Cheshire and the north west of England. These services would include cleaning, laundry, sewing, pet-minding and house-checking for clients on holiday. The Agency would differentiate itself from other cleaning firms by providing consistently high standards of service and by closely tailoring the service offered to customers’ individual needs. Initially, in order to keep start-up costs to a minimum, the Agency would be based at Tracey’s own house and she intended to use her car to transport her between clients. As the business expanded, Tracey planned to employ additional staff, known as Bliss Maids, to assist her.

Although she had never run her own business before, Tracey’s employment training had allowed her to develop many of the skills and qualities required, including problem solving, self-motivation, planning and organisation. Extensive internet research helped to improve her understanding of a number of practical issues, including tax. She also quickly became aware of the need to access a range of sources of finance, especially as the business expanded.

One of Tracey’s first challenges was to decide on the most appropriate legal structure she should adopt for her business. The most common choices for a new, small business such as the Domestic Bliss Agency are as follows:

• Sole trader
• Partnership
• Private limited company

Which form of business ownership is most suitable for the Domestic Bliss Agency. Give an accurate and concise definition of the form, outline its key advantages and disadvantages, fully justify your concluding decision.

FINAL SESSION

1. Prepare a talk about a type of business ownership you would like to set up: its plusses and minuses https://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/starting-managing-business/starting-business/choose-your-business-stru

2. Select one from a company’s annual report, and give a presentation of it.

LESSON THREE

LEADERSHIP STYLES. THEORIES OF MOTIVATION

Text A:Leadership styles

Text B:Theories of motivation

Grammar:Conditional sentences. Sequence of tenses

Phonetics: Revision

PHONETIC EXERCISES

Task 1. Pronounce correctly:

survey [ˈsɜːveɪ], research [rɪˈsɜːtʃ], attempt [əˈtɛmpt], concept [ˈkɒnsɛpt], enthusiasm [ɪnˈθjuːzɪæz(ə)m], devotion [dɪˈvəʊʃ(ə)n], challenge [ˈtʃælɪndʒ], premium [ˈpriːmɪəm], systematic [ˌsɪstɪˈmætɪk], though [ðəʊ], consistently [kənˈsɪst(ə)ntlɪ], distinguish [dɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃ], although [ɔːlˈðəʊ], assertive [əˈsɜːtɪv], exact [ɪɡˈzækt, ɛɡ-], initiative [ɪˈnɪʃətɪv], assurance [əˈʃʊər(ə)n(t)s], area [ˈɛərɪə], sexual [ˈsɛkʃʊəl], employee [ˌɪmplɔɪˈiː, ɛm], employer [ɪmˈplɔɪə, ɛm-], ensure [ɪnˈʃʊə, ɪnˈʃɔː, ɛn-], temperament [ˈtɛmp(ə)rəmənt], primarily [praɪˈmɛr(ə)lɪ] , absent [ˈæbs(ə)nt], executive [ɪɡˈzɛkjʊtɪv, ɛɡ-], supervise [ˈs(j)uːpəvaɪz], routine [ruːˈtiːn], expenditure [ɪkˈspɛndɪtʃə, ɛk-], source [sɔːs]

Task 2. Read the sentences with proper intonation:

1. Although leadership is highly related to and important to management, leadership and management are not the same concepts.

2. To dramatize the difference, leadership writer Warren Bennis has said…

3. This view - that leaders are born, not made - is still popular among laypersons.

4. In searching for measurable leadership traits, researchers have taken two approaches…

5. Leaders have been found to be brighter, more extroverted, and more self-confident.

6. One study found that intelligence, initiative, and self-assurance were associated with…

7. Women who do become leaders, however, not only perform…, but are also perceived…

8. Behaviours, unlike traits, can be learned.

9. Researchers exploring leadership functionscame to the conclusion…

10. This does not mean that the group is doomed, though.

Task 3. Write transcription of the following words:

worth, dramatize, serve, inspire, enthusiasm, arouse, dynamic, engagement, possess psychologist, identify, emerge, extrovert, indisputable, moody, isolate, associate, successful, effective, equality, unconscious, stereotyping, perceive, determine, maintenance, disputes, undoubtedly, authoritarian, cohesiveness, incentives, scientific, variety, enhance, nurture, inherent, coerce, ingenuity, utilize.

Task 4. Put stresses on the following pairs of words and explain the difference:

influence (n) – influence (v)

effort (n) – afford (v)

attain (v) – obtain (v)

emphasis (n) – emphasize (v)

effect (n) – affect (v)

adopt (v) – adapt (v)

origin (n) – originate (v)

relatively (adv) – relate (v)

contribution (n) – contribute (v)

colleague (n) – college (n)

distribute (v) – distribution (n)

Task 5. Read the sentences with proper intonation:

1. Getting the job done is given more emphasis than…

2. They seek friendly, trusting, and respectful relationship with employees, …

3. How a manager leads will undoubtedly be primarily influenced by…

4. They can, however, modify their leadership behavior.

5. It is management’s job to determine the right way.

6. The main tenets of this view are as follows: …

7. The major variables in process models are incentive, drive, reinforcement and expectancy.

8. One set of factors are those which, if absent, cause dissatisfaction.

9. They place emphasis on the actual process of motivation.

10. Whether in the form of wages, piecework, incentive pay, bonuses, stock options, company paid insurance, money is important.

Text A: Leadership Styles

DEFINING LEADERSHIP

In his survey of leadership theories and research Ralph M. Stogdill pointed out that "there are almost as many different definitions of leadership as there are persons who have attempted to define the concept". We will define managerial leadership as the process of directing and influencing the task-related activities of group members. It is worth noting that although leadership is highly related to and important to management, leadership and management are not the same concepts. To dramatize the difference, leadership writer Warren Bennis has said that most organizations are overmanaged and underled. A person can serve as an effective manager - a good planner and a fair, organized administrator - but lack the motivational skills of a leader. Others can serve as effective leaders - skilled at inspiring enthusiasm and devotion - but lack the managerial skills to channel the energy they arouse in others. Given the challenges of dynamic engagement in today's organizational world, many organizations are putting a premium on managers who also possess leadership skills.

THE TRAITAPPROACH TO LEADERSHIP

The first systematic effort by psychologists and other researchers to understand leadership was the attempt to identify the personal characteristic of leaders. This approach assumed that leaders share certain inborn personality traits. This view - that leaders are born, not made - is still popular among laypersons, though not among professional researchers. In searching for measurable leadership traits, researchers have taken two approaches: (1) comparing the traits of those who have emerged as leaders with the traits of those who have not; and (2) comparing the traits of effective leaders with those of ineffective leaders.

LEADERS AND NONLEADERS

Most studies on leadership traits have fallen into the first category. However, they have largely failed to uncover any traits that clearly and consistently distinguish leaders from followers. It is true that leaders as a group have been found to be brighter, more extroverted, and more self-confident than non-leaders. They also tend to be taller. Although millions of people have these traits, most of them will never attain leadership positions. Moreover, many indisputable leaders have not had these traits - Abraham Lincoln, for example, was moody and introverted, and Napoleon was rather short. It is also possible that individuals become more assertive and self-confident once they occupy a leadership position, so some of the traits identified may be the results of leadership experience rather than the causes of leadership ability. Although personality measurements may one day become exact enough to isolate leadership traits, the evidence thus far suggests that people who emerge as leaders possess no single constellation of traits that clearly distinguish them from non-leaders.

EFFECTIVE AND INEFFECTIVE LEADERS

Attempts to compare the characteristics of effective and ineffective leaders - the second category of leadership trait studies - are more recent and fewer in number, but they, too, have generally failed to isolate traits strongly associated with successful leadership. One study did find that intelligence, initiative, and self-assurance were associated with high managerial levels and performance. However, this study also found that the single most important factor related to the managerial level and performance was the manager's supervisory ability - that is, his orher skill in using supervisory methods appropriate to the particular situation. Most other studies in this area also have found that effective leadership does not depend on a particular setof traits, but rather on how well the leader's traits match the requirements of the situation. Some researchers have also found that although women are still less likely than men to emerge as leaders, they are just as effective when they do. Even though an increasing number of people believe in equality of ability and opportunity, persistent, often unconscious, sexual stereotyping continues to hamper the recognition of women as potential leaders. Women who do become leaders, however, not only perform as well as male leaders according to objective measurements, but are also generally perceived as equally effective by their employees.

THE BEHAVIOURAL APPROACH TO LEADERSHIP

When it became evident that effective leaders did not seem to have a particular set of distinguishing traits, researchers tried to isolate the behaviouralcharacteristic of effective leaders. In other words, rather than try to figure out who effective leaders are,researchers tried to determine what effective leaders do - how they delegate tasks, how they communicate with and try to motivate their followers or employees, how they carry out their tasks, and so on. Behaviours, unlike traits, can be learned,so it followed that individuals trained in appropriate leadership behaviours would be able to lead more effectively. These researchers have focused on two aspects of leadership behaviour: leadership functions and leadership styles.

LEADERSHIP FUNCTIONS
Researchers exploring leadership functionscame to the conclusion that to operate effectively groups need someoneto perform two major functions: task-relatedor problem solving functions and group-maintenanceor social functions. Group-maintenance functions include such actions as mediating disputes and ensuring that individuals feel valued by the group. An individual who is able to perform both roles successfully would be an especially effective leader. In practice, however, a leader may have the skill or temperament or time to play only one role. This does not mean that the group is doomed, though. Studies have found that most effective groups have some form of shared leadership: one person (usually the manager or formal leader) performs the task function, while another member performs the social function.

LEADERSHIP STYLES
The two leadership functions - task-related and group-maintenance - tend to be expressed in two different leadership styles.Managers who have a task-oriented styleclosely supervise employees to be sure the task is performed satisfactorily. Getting the job done is given more emphasis than employee's growth or personal satisfaction. Managers with an employee-oriented styleput more emphasis on motivating rather than controlling subordinates. They seek friendly, trusting, and respectful relationship with employees, who are often allowed to participate in decisions that affect them. Most managers use at least a little of each style, but put more emphasis on either tasks or employees. How a manager leads will undoubtedly be primarily influenced by his or her background, knowledge, values, and experience (forces in the manager). For example, a manager who believes that the needs of the individual must come second to the needs of the organization is likely to take a very directive role in employees' activities. However, characteristics of subordinatesmust also be considered before managers can choose an
appropriate leadership style. A manager can allow greater participation and freedom when
employees crave independence and freedom of action, want to have decision-making
responsibilities, identify with the organization's goals, are knowledgeable and experienced
enough to deal with a problem efficiently, and have experiences that lead them to expect participative management.Where these conditions are absent, managers might need initially to adopt a more authoritarian style. They can, however, modify their leadership behaviour as employees gain in self-confidence, skill, and organizational commitment.

Finally, a manager's choice of leadership style must address such situational forcesas the organization's preferred style, the size and cohesiveness of a specific work group, the nature of the group's tasks, the pressures of time, and even environmental factors - all of which may affect organization members attitudes toward authority. Most managers, for example, lean toward the leaders up style favoured by the organization's top ranking executives.

(from Management by J.Stoner, R. Freeman, D.Gilbert Jr).