Now, try to put the theory about leadership you have read above into practice. Read the following case study. Then, working as one group, consider the following questions and discuss them.
a) Why is the management of Textafabrik facing these difficult problems? What factors, in other words, led to the crisis?
c) Is there any chance of signing a contract with the Americans, which will be satisfactory for both sides? If so, what actions should be taken? And by whom?
c) Brian Young is known to be a strong-minded person. Supposing he refuses to cooperate with the other executives. What should they do in that situation?
d) How can Textafabrik avoid similar problems in the future?
The big deal
In the end, it was Brian Young, Textafabrik’s Managing Director, who went to Chicago to negotiate the deal with the Forbes Corporation. Young was accompanied by the Deputy Managing Director, James Palmer. Palmer, a competent but rather colourless person, went along mainly to give moral support to Young and to back him up if negotiations became difficult.
The other executives got on with their jobs. Overseas Sales Manager, Shirley Drake, went on her sales trip to Europe. Kenneth Rossiter, Financial Director, continued his work on the departmental budgets. And the General Manager, Ron Wilde, continued to dream of having a holiday!
For the next three weeks, there was little news from the negotiators. Just two e-mails from Brian Young saying that all was going well. In the middle of the fourth week, Kenneth Rossiter received a call from James Palmer – a very worrying call indeed:
“I don’t know what’s going on here, Kenneth,” said Palmer. “Brian’s behaving in the most extraordinary manner. Believe it or not, he’s agreed to supply Forbes with 200,000 shirts and 20,000 suits a month. Starting next month. Now what do you think of that?”
Kenneth Rossiter gasped, “He must be out of his mind. We can’t supply half that number. At least, not unless we cut supplies to our European customers. And they wouldn’t put up with that, would they?”
“Exactly,” said Palmer. “But I’ll tell you another thing. It’s going to cost us a lot of money if we don’t deliver the merchandise on time. Brian’s agreed to a penalty clause – a really stiff one – for non-delivery.”
“Why on earth did you let him do it, James? Couldn’t you have stopped him?”
“Not a chance. I tried to, but he didn’t want to know. I can’t get through to him. Ever since he got that call from his wife a few days ago, he’s been acting very strangely.”
“How do you mean?”
'Well, er …” Palmer hesitated, searching for words. “He’s … drinking a lot and ... er ... I’d say he’s very depressed. Right on the edge, if you know what I mean. The Americans don’t know what to make of it. But the negotiations are going well for them – I guess they don’t care too much.”
Crisis point
That evening, Ken Rossiter called Shirley Drake in Zurich. “Come back right away, Shirley, we’ve got big trouble,” he told her. She arrived at the plant just before lunch the following day. “Do you think I should go over there?” she asked Rossiter.
“Let’s call James and see what he thinks,” was his answer.
It wasn’t easy to get hold of Palmer, but eventually they reached him at his hotel.
“Thank goodness you’ve called!” he said. “All hell has broken loose here. I’ve just picked up Brian from the jail. Yes, that’s what I said, the J.A.I.L. He spent the night there. Over the speed limit. Drunk in charge of a vehicle. Abusing a police officer.”
“
I
can’t believe what I’m hearing, James,” said Rossiter.
“That’s the way it is. I should have known something like this would happen. All last evening, he was talking about Pauline (his wife). He sounded extremely depressed – as if he was on the verge of a breakdown. Then he said he was going for a drive. “To clear the cobwebs out of my mind,” was how he put it. I tried to stop him – he wouldn’t listen. What do we do now, Kenneth?”
“Where’s Brian now?”
“Sleeping if off in his room. He looks in bad shape. I cancelled today’s session with the Americans. They weren’t pleased, I can tell you.”
“Let me talk to Shirley and Ronald. I’ll call you back in about an hour,” said Kenneth. “We’ll work something out.”
Writing
Kenneth Rossiter (see ex.9) talks to his colleagues about the situation in Chicago. They try to phone James Palmer, but the international lines are busy. Therefore, they decide to send Palmer an e-mail advising him what to do.
Below, you can read Kenneth Rossiter's notes, indicating what he wants to include in the e-mail. Write the e-mail which Rossiter sends to Chicago.
Kenneth Rossiter's notes
tell Palmer that he must take over the negotiations for the contract;
one of us fly out this weekend to support him;
Palmer must persuade Brian Young that he is not fit enough to take part in further negotiations;
If Young is difficult, Palmer must tell Young that he will organize an emergency Board meeting and take steps to replace Young as Managing Director;
Palmer must tell the Americans as soon as possible that the clause concerning the shirts and suits must be re-negotiated. We suggest offering: 100,000 shirts, 5,000 suits per month, explain to Americans that Young has had a nervous breakdown;
Palmer must get Young a good lawyer. We’ll talk to his wife – Pauline – she may be able to help;
Ask palmer to confirm that this message has been received.
Listening
Read the article below, which appeared in the monthly newsletter of the Porchester Chamber of Commerce. You will notice that parts of the article are missing. As you listen to the passage, note down the information which is missing from the article and then complete it.
HOW TO BE A WINNER
On 30 April the Porchester Chamber of Commerce was addressed by Frank Evans, the manager of Porchester United Football Club, who are the current leaders of the First Division. Introducing Mr Evans, our Chairman, Robert Higginbotham, reminded the audience of the manager’s remarkable record. In the previous five years Mr Evans began his talk with two jokes. He said he did not expect to become the manager of the national side because ..............................................
Then he thanked the Chamber of Commerce for the splendid lunch, saying that...............................................................................
He explained that the Chairman had asked him to talk about leadership from his own experience. He then proceeded to give the audience some invaluable advice about how to be an effective leader. Mr Evans believed that the most important task of a leader was to get the best out of every member of your team. To do that a leader had to............................................
His second point was that leading a team was not just a question of giving orders......................................................................
Finally, he told an amusing story about one of our local football heroes, Charlie Parker. It appears that during the 1994 cup final Parker make a bad mistake:........................
As a result of this mistake, Porchester United lost the match. The point of the story was that a leader................................................................................
Frank Evans ended his speech with a ‘pep talk’ to his audience. He thought it was high time..........................................................................
The Porchester United manager certainly scored a goal with his speech. He sat down to enormous applause. “One of the most interesting talks for years,” said the Chairman.