Evaluating the Leadership

Evaluating the Leadership Theory Leadership Style: The style of leadership that was used at GM would be the laissezfaire. It’s when team members are given a lot of freedom in order to do their work and be able to set their deadlines. This allows the employees to be able to work under the terms that’s affecting the performance and response to any issues that may arise. However, the style of leadership shifted once the management realized the need for accountability and being able to deal with the level of incompetence that was indicated within the report. This change proved necessary when ensuring that any type of toxic behavior that conflicted with the values that the company set forth was done away with. Characteristics and Decisions: Managerial decisions are made based on risk, conflict, and uncertainty all while lacking structure. These features did not present itself when it came to the decisions that were made by CEO, Mary Barra. Her actions exhibited the certainty and the structure regarding programmability. The decisions in this case reflected the accuracy and comprehensive information regarding the state of affairs within the company as well as structure towards reforms. Internal and External Influences: The elements in a company that influences management methods, and the fulfillment of the organizations operations refers to internal surroundings. The internal influences that cause there to be a shift was the need to increase employee strengths regarding motivation and talent. It also including improvement to the safety program and the quality of performance. This was made possible through the appointment of a responsible safety leader. However, some factors outside of the organization lead to the external influences that management had no control over. The legal and ethical element compelled by the organization to abide the business laws and ethical standards in regard to employee and costumer safety was the organizations most influential external factor. Leadership Style and Decision-Making Process Relationship: There was a shift from the laissez-faire leadership form to that of the transformational leadership style. From this change came a more emotionally intelligent, humble and accountable form of leadership. It realized the challenges that the company was facing, the actions they needed to take and the response to the social scrutiny. The management within the company engaged in decision-making process that helped to identify problems. Brainstorming solutions, implementing a plan and evaluating its results. IV. Assessing Organization Culture Internal Culture: GM’s culture represented the how people and systems work against each other limiting employee performance and quality of the services offered. There was minimum job satisfaction due to the employee’s complaints of poor work conditions, supervisors that were unreliable, and an unfair reward system. The organization truly failed at allowing politics, power, and authority to work inner-dependently with their employees and management. Thus, failing to abide by the workplace rules and ethical guidelines put in place. Examples: There are several problems that affected the overall performance of the organization at GM. An example being the organizations reluctance to escalate issues that was bought to their attention. GM members retreated to the “salute” to avoid taking the responsibility. They folded their arms and passed that task to someone else, not actually taking the time to address the issue. They also resulted to the GM nod, which refers to the employees agreeing to all proposed plans of action but having no intention on actually following through to complete them. V. Insights and Conclusions Leadership Style and Internal Culture: The laissez-faire leadership style was first used within this case study. This allowed for employees to work within their own terms thus displaying the failing internal culture within the organization. The interaction between the people and the system caused contradiction with trying to achieve the desired goals and objectives. Influence on Changes in Leadership Style: There was a shift from the laissez-faire leadership type to the transformational leadership type presented in case for the organization. This shift caused a transition to a progressive leadership from an independent management. This is where leaders acknowledge the importance of self-awareness and accountability. Influence of Leadership Styles and Internal Culture on Employee Behavior: After the reports, they adopted the transformational leadership style. I enabled leaders to inspire their employees due to expecting the best their best and taking accountable for their outcomes. This influenced improvement in productivity and engagement with team members by setting clear goals. The new culture provided the opportunity for leadership and employees to build trust and transparency needed to bring together the entire workforce to benefit their customers.