QUESTIONS 1. Does Kwame Mensah's leadership style fit the definition of leadership in our course? Explain. ( 2. With respect to what you have learnt in this course concerning leadership evolution, in what leadership era is Mensah? In what ere is headquarters? Justify your answer. 3. What approach would you have taken in this situation? Give reasons for your answer.
QUESTIONS 1. Does Kwame Mensah's leadership style fit the definition of leadership in our course? Explain. ( 2. With respect to what you have learnt in this course concerning leadership evolution, in what leadership era is Mensah? In what ere is headquarters? Justify your answer. 3. What approach would you have taken in this situation? Give reasons for your answer.
Chapter1: Taking Risks And Making Profits Within The Dynamic Business Environment
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 1CE
Related questions
Question
![CASE STUDY
SALES ENGINEERIGN DIVISION
When Tractor and Equipment International, a manufacturer of refinery equipment, brought in
Kwame Mensah to manage its Sales Engineering division, company executives informed him
of the urgent situation. Sales Engineering, with 20 engineers, was the highest paid, best
educated, and least productive division in the company. The instructions to Mensah: "Turn it
around. Mensah called a meeting of the engineers. He showed great concern for their
personal welfare and asked point blank: "What's the problem? Why can't we produce? Why
does this division have such turnover?"
Without hesitation, employees launched a hail of complaints. "I was hired as an engineer. not
a pencil pusher" "We spend over half of our time writing asinine reports in triplicate for top
management, and no one reads the reports." We have to account for every penny, which
doesn't give us time to work with customers or new developments."
After a two-hour discussion, Mensah began to envision a future in which engineers were free
to work with customers and join self-directed teams for product improvement. Mensah
concluded he had to get top management off the engineers' backs. He promised the
engineers, "My job is to stay out of your way so you can do your work, and I'll try to keep
top management off your backs, too." He called for the day's reports and issued an order
effective immediately that the originals be returned in daily to his office rather than mailed to
headquarters. For three weeks, technical reports piled up on his desk. By month's end, the
stack was nearly three feet high. During that time, no one called for the reports. When other
managers entered his office and saw the stack, they usually asked, "What's all this? Mensah
answered, "Technical reports" No one asked to read them.
Finally at month's end, a secretary from finance called and asked for the monthly travel and
expense reports. Mensah responded, "Meet me in the president's office tomorrow morning,"
The next morning the engineers cheered as Mensah walked through the department pushing a
cart loaded with the enormous stack of reports. They knew the showdown had come. Mensah
entered the president's office and placed the stack of reports on his desk. The president and
the other and the other senior executives looked bewiled.
This." Mensah announced. "is the reason for the lack of productivity in the Sales
Engineering division. These are the reports your people require every month. The fact that
they sit on my desk all month shows that no one reads this material. I suggest that the
engineers' time could be used in a more productive manner, and that one brief monthly
report from my office will satisfy the needs of the other departments."
QUESTIONS
1. Does Kwame Mensah's leadership style fit the definition of leadership in our course?
Explain. (
2. With respect to what you have learnt in this course concerning leadership evolution,
in what leadership era is Mensah? In what ere is headquarters? Justify your answer.
3. What approach would you have taken in this situation? Give reasons for your answer.](/v2/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcontent.bartleby.com%2Fqna-images%2Fquestion%2F96b6c190-af9c-4cfb-bfe0-dca6b5c7508c%2F1960bc56-6156-4287-bd78-ff2a6727530d%2F34sh97w_processed.jpeg&w=3840&q=75)
Transcribed Image Text:CASE STUDY
SALES ENGINEERIGN DIVISION
When Tractor and Equipment International, a manufacturer of refinery equipment, brought in
Kwame Mensah to manage its Sales Engineering division, company executives informed him
of the urgent situation. Sales Engineering, with 20 engineers, was the highest paid, best
educated, and least productive division in the company. The instructions to Mensah: "Turn it
around. Mensah called a meeting of the engineers. He showed great concern for their
personal welfare and asked point blank: "What's the problem? Why can't we produce? Why
does this division have such turnover?"
Without hesitation, employees launched a hail of complaints. "I was hired as an engineer. not
a pencil pusher" "We spend over half of our time writing asinine reports in triplicate for top
management, and no one reads the reports." We have to account for every penny, which
doesn't give us time to work with customers or new developments."
After a two-hour discussion, Mensah began to envision a future in which engineers were free
to work with customers and join self-directed teams for product improvement. Mensah
concluded he had to get top management off the engineers' backs. He promised the
engineers, "My job is to stay out of your way so you can do your work, and I'll try to keep
top management off your backs, too." He called for the day's reports and issued an order
effective immediately that the originals be returned in daily to his office rather than mailed to
headquarters. For three weeks, technical reports piled up on his desk. By month's end, the
stack was nearly three feet high. During that time, no one called for the reports. When other
managers entered his office and saw the stack, they usually asked, "What's all this? Mensah
answered, "Technical reports" No one asked to read them.
Finally at month's end, a secretary from finance called and asked for the monthly travel and
expense reports. Mensah responded, "Meet me in the president's office tomorrow morning,"
The next morning the engineers cheered as Mensah walked through the department pushing a
cart loaded with the enormous stack of reports. They knew the showdown had come. Mensah
entered the president's office and placed the stack of reports on his desk. The president and
the other and the other senior executives looked bewiled.
This." Mensah announced. "is the reason for the lack of productivity in the Sales
Engineering division. These are the reports your people require every month. The fact that
they sit on my desk all month shows that no one reads this material. I suggest that the
engineers' time could be used in a more productive manner, and that one brief monthly
report from my office will satisfy the needs of the other departments."
QUESTIONS
1. Does Kwame Mensah's leadership style fit the definition of leadership in our course?
Explain. (
2. With respect to what you have learnt in this course concerning leadership evolution,
in what leadership era is Mensah? In what ere is headquarters? Justify your answer.
3. What approach would you have taken in this situation? Give reasons for your answer.
Expert Solution
![](/static/compass_v2/shared-icons/check-mark.png)
This question has been solved!
Explore an expertly crafted, step-by-step solution for a thorough understanding of key concepts.
Step by step
Solved in 5 steps
![Blurred answer](/static/compass_v2/solution-images/blurred-answer.jpg)
Recommended textbooks for you
![Understanding Business](https://www.bartleby.com/isbn_cover_images/9781259929434/9781259929434_smallCoverImage.gif)
Understanding Business
Management
ISBN:
9781259929434
Author:
William Nickels
Publisher:
McGraw-Hill Education
![Management (14th Edition)](https://www.bartleby.com/isbn_cover_images/9780134527604/9780134527604_smallCoverImage.gif)
Management (14th Edition)
Management
ISBN:
9780134527604
Author:
Stephen P. Robbins, Mary A. Coulter
Publisher:
PEARSON
![Spreadsheet Modeling & Decision Analysis: A Pract…](https://www.bartleby.com/isbn_cover_images/9781305947412/9781305947412_smallCoverImage.gif)
Spreadsheet Modeling & Decision Analysis: A Pract…
Management
ISBN:
9781305947412
Author:
Cliff Ragsdale
Publisher:
Cengage Learning
![Understanding Business](https://www.bartleby.com/isbn_cover_images/9781259929434/9781259929434_smallCoverImage.gif)
Understanding Business
Management
ISBN:
9781259929434
Author:
William Nickels
Publisher:
McGraw-Hill Education
![Management (14th Edition)](https://www.bartleby.com/isbn_cover_images/9780134527604/9780134527604_smallCoverImage.gif)
Management (14th Edition)
Management
ISBN:
9780134527604
Author:
Stephen P. Robbins, Mary A. Coulter
Publisher:
PEARSON
![Spreadsheet Modeling & Decision Analysis: A Pract…](https://www.bartleby.com/isbn_cover_images/9781305947412/9781305947412_smallCoverImage.gif)
Spreadsheet Modeling & Decision Analysis: A Pract…
Management
ISBN:
9781305947412
Author:
Cliff Ragsdale
Publisher:
Cengage Learning
![Management Information Systems: Managing The Digi…](https://compass-isbn-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/isbn_cover_images/9780135191798/9780135191798_smallCoverImage.jpg)
Management Information Systems: Managing The Digi…
Management
ISBN:
9780135191798
Author:
Kenneth C. Laudon, Jane P. Laudon
Publisher:
PEARSON
![Business Essentials (12th Edition) (What's New in…](https://www.bartleby.com/isbn_cover_images/9780134728391/9780134728391_smallCoverImage.gif)
Business Essentials (12th Edition) (What's New in…
Management
ISBN:
9780134728391
Author:
Ronald J. Ebert, Ricky W. Griffin
Publisher:
PEARSON
![Fundamentals of Management (10th Edition)](https://www.bartleby.com/isbn_cover_images/9780134237473/9780134237473_smallCoverImage.gif)
Fundamentals of Management (10th Edition)
Management
ISBN:
9780134237473
Author:
Stephen P. Robbins, Mary A. Coulter, David A. De Cenzo
Publisher:
PEARSON