Maxcom Ltd. is a prominent company in cement production and has been in business for over ten years controlling the
market almost in a monopolistic way. The company has project managers in its six branches with each branch employing
approximately eighty workers. The Chief Executive Officer of Maxcom Ltd. has twice been voted as the best performer
in the corporate sector category in various award ceremonies. For managerial positions, the company recruits higher than
average persons with formal training and who have experience in respective fields. It is also compulsory for new heads of
department to be coached and mentored by other senior managers. The Chief Executive Officer of Maxcom Ltd. always
encourages branch and departmental heads to embrace the firm's culture of adopting transformative leadership approach
in order to gain employee commitment. The company's culture and ethical leadership practice is further emphasised
during leadership trainings organised for managers and departmental heads during every financial year.
In the last one year, Maxcom Ltd. has faced unpredictable challenges where more firms have joined cement production
hence reducing its market share. Due to this competitive pressure, the company has embraced the latest technology to try
and reduce the cost of production and shift from labour intensive to capital intensive approach. As a consequence, the
manpower in most of the company branches has been reduced, a process that is painful for managers and employees. The
overall aim of restructuring is to maintain clarity and consistency in pursuing the company's vision while still being
competitive in a highly charged political environment.
Required:
(a) Suggest five reasons why the leadership of Maxcom Ltd. (ML) seems to be spearheading the company in the
right direction.
(b) Discuss how the branch and departmental heads of ML could apply transformative leadership style to gain
employee commitment.
(c) In order to control the cost of production, ML shifted from labour intensive to capital intensive strategy.
Explain the costs that ML might have incurred during the restructuring process.
(d) In most organisations, employees resist change especially when their jobs are at risk.
Examine five strategies that the management of ML could have adopted to overcome resistance to change.
(e) Assess five ways in which the political environment under which ML was operating could have influenced
leadership and management practices at ML.
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