2024 – Case study Leadership Matters is in the attached files Working through the case study

Case study Leadership Matters is in the attached files

Working through the case study analysis process, you will have the opportunity to take an in-depth look at the OB issues that impact the outcomes associated with the decision-making process, thereby driving morale, motivation, and productivity.

The assigned cases focus on specific (real-life) OB issues like motivation, culture, and ethics encountered by managers and leaders that can be applied to your everyday encounters in the workplace and at home.

Synopsis

A synopsis is a brief overview of the case. Please prepare your synopsis as if I (and your classmates) do not have the whole case study. Your synopsis should be concise, complete, and fully describe the situation “as you see it.” The synopsis should not exceed four to five paragraphs.

At the end of your synopsis, you must identify three Organizational Behavior problems that must be addressed.

Problem Analyses

For each of the three identified problems, you must analyze them, drawing from the content covered in class. These analyses should identify the causes of each problem.

Each of the three Problem Analyses should be no more than three to four sentences in length. Be succinct.

Problem Recommendations

For each problem, you must provide a solution. Recommendations must directly tie to the Organizational Behavior problem you identify. Support your solution with critical thinking that demonstrates an understanding of the course material, internet resources provided for this course, and real-life experiences.

Shy away from general statements and blanket conceptual recommendations that are not fully justified with the facts of the case.

Formatting and References

In addition to references in the textbook, you must include at least three quality outside references (properly vetted news sources, business publications, scholarly articles, etc.) to support the information you outline in your case study. 

Clearly label and indicate each Problem Analysis with headings in your paper followed by your Problem Recommendation. Ultimately, the structure of the assignment should follow the 3-Step Problem-solving Approach:

• Synopsis

• Problem #1
• Cause of Problem #1
• Recommendation #1

• Problem #2
• Cause of Problem #2
• Recommendation #2

• Problem #3
• Cause of Problem #3
• Recommendation #3

Your paper must also be formatted according to MLA guidelines (e.g., double spaced, 12 point font, and one-inch margins.) Papers must be five to seven pages in length. Both in-text citations and a reference page are required. 

PROBLEM-SOLVING APPLICATION CASE 

          Leadership Matters! Elon Musk is widely regarded as one of the most successful entrepreneurs in history.130 He became a billionaire by age 31 after founding and selling several successful start-ups—most notably the company that would later be known as Paypal. In 2004 Musk invested $6.3 million into Tesla Motors and soon after became the company’s CEO.

         Musk has a keen ability to express ideas and get people excited about them and has garnered praise for his inspiring and visionary leadership.132 Author Dale Buss argues that “. . . a huge part of Musk’s motivational quiver is to come up with and continually express other-worldly goals that appeal to the passions of his employees as well as to his own ambitions.”133 Todd Maron, Tesla’s former general counsel, said Musk is “someone who empowers you to be better than you think you can be,” adding that “he has extraordinarily high standards, and so he pushes you to be your absolute best.” Another former employee described Musk as “the smartest person I have ever met,” adding, “I can’t tell you how many times I prepared a report for him and he asked a question that made us realize we were looking at the problem completely wrong.”        MUSK’S LEADERSHIP STYLE AND BEHAVIOR Some have criticized Musk’s aspirations to change the world as outlandish and his ideas as unachievable, but Musk doesn’t believe in impossibilities. Says author Christopher Davenport, “People are always telling him he can’t do it. But he doesn’t like to hear it can’t be done. He categorically rejects that. It’s all about, ‘How can we do it?’ ”135 A recent example of Musk’s stubbornness is the production of the Model 3. After the company revealed the concept to the public and locked in production dates, Musk called a meeting to tell executives he had a dream that the entire production process had been fully automated. In other words, vehicle production would require no humans from start to finish. He wanted to make the dream a reality, he wanted to do it with the Model 3, and he wanted to begin production four months ahead of Tesla’s original schedule. What followed were several months of what former executives and employees describe as a familiar pattern: executives told Musk his idea wasn’t achievable, he disagreed, and engineers resigned when they realized they couldn’t reason with him.136 Musk eventually conceded that his idea for fully automated production of the Model 3 was a non-starter, and he and his workers scrambled to get production back on track by working 80–100 hour weeks.137 Customers waited months past delivery dates for their vehicles and took to social media to lambast the company. Further, many of the Model 3s that were delivered needed costly and time-consuming repairs.138 Musk would later refer to the ordeal as ­“production hell.”139 Some blame Musk’s inability to delegate for Tesla’s problems and for the recent exodus of more than 36 VPs and other high-ranking executives.140 Musk wants things done his way down to the tiniest detail and often rejects industry best practices along with advice from his senior leadership. For example, Musk once instituted a new workflow management method against the advice of his production workers. The employees secretly reverted to Toyota’s Kanban method when Musk’s technique ultimately slowed production.141 Author Barry Enderwick believes Musk’s micromanaging style “. . . displays a fundamental misunderstanding of what leadership means. No one person can do everything at a company.”142 Others blame Musk’s mental health for his downward spiral and describe him as emotionally unstable and fragile. Musk developed a reputation on the production floor for openly ridiculing, insulting, and bullying workers who fell short of performance targets. He appeared extremely sensitive to skeptics, often reassigning workers who questioned his ideas to new departments, uninviting them to important meetings, and even firing them. Musk also displayed frequent emotional reactions to isolated customer complaints on social media. As a former employee recalls, “Some customer would tweet some random complaint, and then we would be ordered to drop everything and spend a week on some problem affecting one loudmouth in Pasadena, rather than all the work we’re supposed to do to support the thousands of customers who didn’t tweet that day.”143 Musk’s recent public appearances and social media posts have raised consumer concerns about his ability to deliver on his promises and successfully run his companies. In one instance, he angrily tweeted that a diver sent to rescue a trapped Thai boys’ soccer team was a pedophile after Musk’s offer to assist with the rescue was declined. The diver filed a defamation lawsuitPage 544 against Musk for this damaging and unsubstantiated claim.144 As another example, Musk chose to smoke marijuana during an appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast.145 In August 2018, in what would prove the most financially damaging of his social media choices to date, Musk tweeted that he was taking Tesla private and had secured the funding to do so. As a result of his tweet, the company’s shares skyrocketed 11 percent in one day. Musk had not actually secured funding to take Tesla private and the SEC charged him with securities fraud. He settled the case and agreed to pay a $40 million fine to the SEC, step down as Tesla’s chairperson, and allow others in the company to regulate his social media activity.146 A few months after reaching the settlement, Musk gave a 60 Minutes interview and said “I do not respect the SEC.” While it is not illegal for Musk to criticize the regulatory agency, experts agree it’s an unwise choice, both in terms of his relationship with the agency and his ability to attract board members to his companies.147 WHAT’S NEXT FOR ELON MUSK? Musk’s quirkiness, overconfidence, and volatility resemble the attributes and behaviors of other famous entrepreneurs—most notably, Steve Jobs.148 As consumers we allow for and even expect a certain amount of idiosyncrasy in our leaders. Yale School of Management’s Dr. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld argues that some measure of hubris is necessary for entrepreneurs to succeed, saying, “The odds are against them succeeding rationally, so they have to have an unrealistic sense of their own efficacy to beat the odds.” But Sonnenfeld also notes that Musk is likely to “take himself and the company off a cliff” if he doesn’t dial things back.149 Tesla recently unveiled its new electric vehicle—the Model Y crossover—to lukewarm reception. Pre-orders started immediately and required a $2,500 initial ­payment—$1,000 more than the company had charged customers to reserve the Model 3. Market analysts see this increase as cause for concern about the company’s cash position and predict that initial orders for the Model Y will be much lower than they were for the Model 3.150 As for that tweet that cost him $40 million in SEC fines and his position as chairman of Tesla’s board, Musk says it was “worth it.”151 APPLY THE 3-STEP PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH TO OB