Each thread must be 500–750 words.
The following 4 sources must be included in your thread:
• The textbook,
• The chosen case study,
• At least 1 peer-reviewed journal article,
• 1 passage of Scripture
All sources must be used in current APA format, the aforementioned is a minimum list.
Problem-Solving Application—Empowering a Team of Your Peers
In general, exceptional performers will find themselves promoted to higher positions; these promotions generally mean that individuals will now also be supervising former peers. This activity is important because in the process of embracing a position of power, new managers also need to learn how to empower their former peers.
The goal of this activity is to show how part of being an effective manager is empowering your peers.
Read the case about Jennifer’s promotion to supervisor. Then, using the 3-step problem-solving approach, answer the questions that follow.
Jennifer was a highly regarded and top-performing marketing associate at an international pharmaceutical company. Due to her exceptional performance and other skills and abilities, she was promoted to manager. This transition meant she was now the supervisor of her former peers.
Her first assignment was a new product to be launched in a foreign market. To formulate and ultimately execute a successful product launch, Jennifer and her team would need to gather market data, learn and share information about the competition, analyze financial details, coordinate with other product managers, hire and work with an advertising agency, and secure regulatory approval.
Jennifer had personal experience and success doing most of these things, but now she had to do them on a much larger scale and in the context of a team she managed. Being a high performer, she was determined to get all the details right. Therefore, when any element was late, done poorly, or just not up to her expectations, she stepped in and did it herself. Her work life quickly expanded to 15-hour days and weekends.
Jennifer’s involvement in so many aspects of the product launch prevented her from mentoring and developing her team members in the ways they clearly needed. They seemed to lack a sense of accountability, knowing that if their work wasn’t up to speed the boss would step in and complete or correct it. Jennifer noticed this and feared her team was not learning to produce high-quality work on its own. Not only would this hurt the current project, but other departments and teams would come to know it and be less willing to work with them in the future, damaging Jennifer’s own performance and interests and those of her team.
Jennifer was extremely reluctant to go to her boss for help, because she had been told she’d earned her new position, and it was a test for another role with still greater responsibility.
Assuming you are Jennifer, what would you do?
Apply the 3-Step Problem-Solving Approach
Step 1: Define the problem in the case.
Step 2: Identify the potential causes.
Step 3: Recommend what you would do if you were Jennifer.
Footnotes
Adapted from R. Ashkenas, “First-Time Managers, Don’t Do Your Teams’ Work for Them,” Harvard Business Review, September 21, 2015, https:// hbr.org/2015/09/first-time-managers-dont-do-your-teams-work-for-them.Problem-Solving Application Case—Leadership Matters!
While Tesla CEO Elon Musk enjoys a reputation as one of the most successful entrepreneurs of all time, he has come under fire for a number of decisions and actions that have affected the growing electric car manufacturer negatively in various ways. This activity is important because it demonstrates the consequences of a leader’s actions.
The goal of this activity is to critically evaluate Musk’s various actions over time, and the positive and negative implications of each of them for Tesla and for Musk himself.
Read about Elon Musk’s controversial actions as Tesla’s CEO. Then, using the three-step problem-solving approach, answer the questions that follow.
Elon Musk is widely regarded as one of the most successful entrepreneurs in history.1He became a billionaire by age 31 after founding and selling several successful startups—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.2
Musk has a keen ability to express ideas and get people excited about them and has garnered praise for his inspiring and visionary leadership.3Author Dale Buss argues that “… a huge part of Musk’s motivational quiver is to come up with and continually express otherworldly goals that appeal to the passions of his employees as well as to his own ambitions.”4 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.”5
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?’”6 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 unachievable, he disagreed, and engineers resigned when they realized they couldn’t reason with him.7
Musk eventually conceded that his idea for fully automated production of the Model 3 was a nonstarter, and he and his workers scrambled to get production back on track by working 80–100 hour weeks.8 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.9 Musk would later refer to the ordeal as “production hell.”10
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.11Musk 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.12 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.”13
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.”14
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 his offer to assist with the rescue was declined. The diver filed a defamation lawsuit against Musk for this damaging and unsubstantiated claim.15 As another example, Musk chose to smoke marijuana during an appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast.16 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.17
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.18
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.19 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.20
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 3.21
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.”22
Apply the 3-Step Problem-Solving Approach
Step 1: Define the problem.
Look first at the Outcomes box of the Organizing Framework in Figure 13.6 to help identify the important problem(s) in this case. Remember that a problem is a gap between a desired and a current state. State your problem as a gap, and be sure to consider problems at all three levels. If more than one desired outcome is not being accomplished, decide which one is most important and focus on it for Steps 2 and 3.
Cases have protagonists (key players), and problems are generally viewed from a particular protagonist’s perspective. Identify the perspective from which you’re defining the problem.
Use details in the case to determine the key problem. Don’t assume, infer, or create problems not included in the case.
To refine your choice, ask yourself, why is this a problem?Explaining why helps refine and focus your thinking. Focus on topics in the current chapter, because we generally select cases illustrating concepts specifically located within the current chapter.
Step 2: Identify causes of the problem by using material from this chapter, summarized in the Organizing Framework shown in Figure 13.6. Causes will appear in either the Inputs box or the Processes box.
Start by looking at Figure 13.6 to identify which person factors, if any, are most likely causes to the defined problem. For each cause, ask yourself, Why is this a cause of the problem? Asking why multiple times is more likely to lead you to root causes of the problem.
Follow the same process for the situation factors.
Now consider the Processes box shown in Figure 13.6. Consider concepts listed at all three levels. For any concept that might be a cause, ask yourself, Why is this a cause? Again, do this for several iterations to arrive at root causes.
To check the accuracy or appropriateness of the causes, map them onto the defined problem.
Step 3: Make your recommendations for solving the problem. Consider whether you want to resolve it, solve it, or dissolve it (see Section 1.5). Which recommendation is desirable and feasible?
Given the causes you identified in Step 2, what are your best recommendations? Use material in the current chapter that best suits the cause. Consider the OB in Action and Applying OB boxes, because these contain insights into what others have done.
You may find potential solutions in the OB in Action boxes and Applying OB boxes within this chapter. These features provide insights into what other individuals or companies are doing in relationship to the topic at hand.
Create an action plan for implementing your recommendations and be sure your recommendations map onto the causes and resolve the problem.
Footnotes
1. D. Buss, “For Insights into Elon Musk’s Leadership of Tesla, Look at How He Leads SpaceX, Author Says,” Forbes, August 31, 2018, https://www. forbes.com/sites/dalebuss/2018/08/31/for-insights-into-elon-musks-leadership-of-tesla-look-at-how-he-leads-spacex-author-says/#6ad83fb763a4.
2. C. Duhigg, “Dr. Elon & Mr. Musk: Life Inside Tesla’s Production Hell,” Wired, December 13, 2018, https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-tesla-life-inside-gigafactory/.
3. J. Wingard, “Elon Musk and the Pitfalls of Creative Leadership,” Forbes, April 10, 2019, https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonwingard/2019/04/10/elon-musk-and-the-pitfalls-of-creative-leadership/#6317b78f3f3e.
4. Dale Buss, “For Insights into Elon Musk’s Leadership of Tesla, Look At How He Leads SpaceX, Author Says.” Forbes Media LLC, August 31, 2018, https://www.forbes.com/sites/dalebuss/2018/08/31/for-insights-into-elon-musks-leadership-of-tesla-look-at-how-he-leads-spacex-author-says/#2aea54f263a4.
5. Charles Duhigg, “Dr. Elon & Mr. Musk: Life Inside Tesla’s Production Hell.” Condé Nast, December 13, 2018, https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-tesla-life-inside-gigafactory/.
6. Dale Buss, “For Insights into Elon Musk’s Leadership of Tesla, Look At How He Leads SpaceX, Author Says.” Forbes Media LLC, August 31, 2018, https://www.forbes.com/sites/dalebuss/2018/08/31/for-insights-into-elon-musks-leadership-of-tesla-look-at-how-he-leads-spacex-author-says/#2aea54f263a4.
7. C. Duhigg, “Dr. Elon & Mr. Musk: Life Inside Tesla’s Production Hell,” Wired, December 13, 2018, https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-tesla-life-inside-gigafactory/.
8. C. Duhigg, “Dr. Elon & Mr. Musk: Life Inside Tesla’s Production Hell,” Wired, December 13, 2018, https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-tesla-life-inside-gigafactory/.
9. R. Mitchell, “As Tesla Struggles to Exit ‘Production Hell,’ Buyers Complain of Delivery Limbo,” Los Angeles Times, September 14, 2018, https://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-tesla-sales-delivery-problems-20180912-story.html.
10. S. Fairyington, “What We Can Learn About How NOT to Lead from Elon Musk,” Thrive Global, January 10, 2019, https://thriveglobal.com/stories/elon-musk-leadership-style-hamper-tesla-growth-lessons-tips/.
11. C. Duhigg, “Dr. Elon & Mr. Musk: Life Inside Tesla’s Production Hell,” Wired, December 13, 2018, https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-tesla-life-inside-gigafactory/.
12. L. Kolodny, “Elon Musk’s Extreme Micromanagement Has Wasted Time and Money at Tesla, Insiders Say,” CNBC, October 19, 2018, https:// www.cnbc.com/2018/10/19/tesla-ceo-elon-musk-extreme-micro-manager.html.
13. B. Enderwick, “What Elon Musk Gets Wrong About Leadership,” Medium, August 24, 2018, https://medium.com/s/story/what-elon-musk-gets-wrong-about-leadership-b97794a0e330.
14. Charles Duhigg, “Dr. Elon & Mr. Musk: Life Inside Tesla’s Production Hell.” Condé Nast, December 13, 2018, https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-tesla-life-inside-gigafactory/.
15. C. Duhigg, “Dr. Elon & Mr. Musk: Life Inside Tesla’s Production Hell,” Wired, December 13, 2018, https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-tesla-life-inside-gigafactory/.
16. M. Castillo, “Elon Musk May Have Violated Tesla’s Business Conduct Policy by Smoking Weed,” CNBC, September 7, 2018, https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/07/elon-musk-may-have-violated-tesla-conduct-policy-by-smoking-weed.html.
17. J. Wingard, “Elon Musk and the Pitfalls of Creative Leadership,” Forbes, April 10, 2019, https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonwingard/2019/04/10/elon-musk-and-the-pitfalls-of-creative-leadership/#6317b78f3f3e.
18. J. McGregor, “Elon Musk, The Say-Anything CEO,” The Washington Post, December 13, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/ business/2018/12/13/elon-musk-say-anything-ceo/?utm_ term=.9eaf03d4ee48.
19. A. Pressman, “Data Sheet—Why Elon Musk’s Visionary Leadership Falls Short,” Fortune, November 8, 2018, http://fortune.com/2018/11/08/ data-sheet-elon-musk-tesla-chairman-robyn-denholm/.
20. Stephanie Fairyington, “What We Can Learn about How NOT to Lead from Elon Musk,” Thrive Global, January 10, 2019, https://thriveglobal. com/stories/elon-musk-leadership-style-hamper-tesla-growth-lessons-tips/.
21. D. Hull, “Tesla Sinks After Model Y Unveiling Rekindles Concerns over Cash,” Bloomberg, March 14, 2019, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/ articles/2019-03-15/elon-musk-reveals-tesla-model-y-crossover-to-start-at-39-000.
22. C. Duhigg, “Dr. Elon & Mr. Musk: Life Inside Tesla’s Production Hell,” Wired, December 13, 2018, https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-tesla-life-inside-gigafactory/.
