Leadership and Management Style & Culture Clash
Culture Clash
Synopsis
The founder of a heavy-duty construction equipment manufacturing company died and his wife, Jane, became the CEO. In direct contrast to Jim’s style, Jane’s management style communicated respect and her vision of the company excited the employees. Two managers who were holdovers from her husband’s leadership did not fit into the company’s new culture. Their leadership-through-intimidation style caused problems in the corporate culture. Jane has to decide how to handle the situation.
Questions:
- What options do you think Jane and her management team should consider with regard to these two long-time supervisors? Discuss the positives and negatives of each option.
- Do you think it is appropriate for Jane to remove two long-time, high-performing managers in order to create a new culture for everyone else? Why? Consider the material in Exhibit 14.3 in your answer.
- What do you recommend that Jane do? Explain why.
