1. Strategy, Leadership & Culture

Question 1

What is leadership?

Answer 1

The process of influencing an organisation or group in its efforts towards achieving an aim or a goal (Johnson et al, 2017)

Question 2

What are the 5 perspectives on leadership? (Yukl 2013).

Answer 2

1. Trait Approach
2. Behaviour Approach
3. Power Influence Approach
4. Situational Approach
5. Integrative Approach

Question 3

What is the ‘Trait Approach/Theory’?

Answer 3

Good leaders are born with a base level of natural skills and over time build on this.
Confidence, Personable, Energy, Intuition & Persuasiveness.

Question 4

What is the ‘Behaviour Approach’?

Answer 4

Theory that you learn how to manage given situations. i.e. seeing how others manage the industry and then following that approach.

Question 5

What is the ‘Power-Influence Approach’?

Answer 5

Explains leadership effectiveness in terms of how much power a leader has and how they exercise it (autocratic vs. participative).

Question 6

What is the ‘Situational Approach’?

Answer 6

Emphasises that different leadership traits, skills and behaviours will be effective in different situations and will depend on the followers, nature of work, type of organisation and external environment.

Question 7

What is the ‘Integrative Approach’?

Answer 7

A mixture of the other four:

Trait, Behaviour, Power-Influence & Situational

Question 8

What leadership roles are carried out by Top Managers?

Answer 8

Envisioning future strategy
Aligning organisation to deliver strategy
Embodying change

Question 9

What leadership roles are carried out by Middle Managers?

Answer 9

Advising senior management of day-to-day ops.
‘Sense making’ of strategy
Reinterpretation an Adjustment of strategy
Local leadership of change.

Question 10

What is a ‘Change Agent’?

Answer 10

An individual or group that helps to effect strategic change in an organisation.

Question 11

What is instrumental/transactional leadership?

Answer 11

Leadership based on systems and controls and generally seeks improvement rather than change.

Question 12

What is charismatic/transformational leadership?

Answer 12

Leadership that energises people and builds a clear vision of the future. Change management is a natural part of what they do.

Question 13

What are Balogun and Hope Haily’s (2008) change management styles?

Answer 13

1. Education & Communication
2. Collaboration & Participation
3. Intervention
4. Direction
5. Coercion

Question 14

What is entrepreneurship?

Answer 14

A process by which individuals, teams or organisations identify and exploit opportunities for new products or services that satisfy a need in a market.

Question 15

What is intrapreneurship?

Answer 15

Implementing entrepreneurial principles within organisation.

Question 16

What is ‘Strategy’?

Answer 16

Strategy is the long term direction of an organisation.

Question 17

What are the three horizons that managers should consider in respect of the long term element of strategy?

Answer 17

Horizon 1: Defending & Extending the Business
Horizon 2: Businesses are emerging activities that should provide new sources of profit
Horizon 3: Ventures are new & risky and might provide returns in several years’ time.

Question 18

What are the three levels of strategy?

Answer 18

1. Corporate Strategy (Brand)
2. Business Level Strategy (Market/Products)
3. Operational Strategy (Resources)

Question 19

Briefly describe corporate strategy

Answer 19

Deals with the overall purpose and scope of an organisation and how to add value to it. Corporate strategy sets out the long term goal/plan and makes the decisions to get there.

Question 20

Briefly describe Business Level Strategy

Answer 20

Deals with how to compete successfully in particular markets. This is mid-management level.

Question 21

Briefly describe Operational Strategy

Answer 21

Deals with aligning the business functions (finance, IT, Hr etc.) with the overall strategy.

Question 22

What is a mission statement?

Answer 22

A mission statement is a formal document that states the organisation’s mission.

Question 23

What does a mission statement promote?

Answer 23

• Communication with stakeholders
• Promotes desired behaviour
• Support for Strategy & Purpose
• Adherence to Core Values
• Adoption of Policies

Question 24

What is a Vision Statement?

Answer 24

Expresses the future that an organisation is trying to create.

Question 25

What are the four elements of the Ashridge College Model of Mission?

Answer 25

1. Purpose
2. Values & Morals
3. Policies & Standards of Behaviour
4. Strategy

Question 26

What is Drucker’s (1989) Approach to objectives?

Answer 26

SMART

Specific (Clear Obj)
Measurable (Against a Standard)
Achievable
Realistic (also results driven in management acc.)
Time (Deadline)

Question 27

What is organisational culture?

Answer 27

A pattern of shared basic assumptions that are considered valid and transmitted to new members (Schein, 1985)
Or
The way we do things round here.

Question 28

What is the main model surrounding organisational culture and describe the purpose of the model?

Answer 28

The Cultural Web: An analysis that compares the paradigm in an organisation’s culture with the physical manifestations of that culture.

Question 29

What are the main factors that influence an organisation’s culture?

Answer 29

• National Culture
• Founders
• History of the Organisation
• Style of Management
• Reporting Hierarchy

Question 30

How should an analysis question on culture be approached in an exam?

Answer 30

Describe the culture and then add on:

• good/help & why?
• bad/hinder & why?

Look at the 6 drivers first in any order and then give the conclusion based on the paradigm,

Question 31

What are the 6 Drivers and Conclusion of the Cultural Web? (CROPSS P)

Answer 31

Control Systems (Monitoring & Rewarding Performance)
Routines (Informal Behaviour) & Rituals (Formal Behaviour)
Organisational Structure (Hierarchy i.e. top down (army) or flat (charity))
Power Structures (Who makes the decisions)
Symbols (Logos, Job Titles, Uniform etc.)
Stories & Myths (Key Messages Given both Inside & outside the organisation)

Paradigm (Conclusion: Is there anything we are seeing a lot of as common threads).

Question 32

How would the cultural web be used in organisational strategy?

Answer 32

If the organisation is not delivering the results management wants, management can use the web to diagnose whether the organisation’s culture is contributing to under performance.

Analyse how culture is, analyse how they want it to be and then identify the differences between the two.