Case Study Introduction to Management

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF ALEX SANDER: DRIVING IN THE FAST LANE AT LANDON CARE PRODUCTS

1. What behaviours by Alex are having the greatest impact on the 360° data provided by her co-workers? Which of these behaviours are positive and which are negative?

From the 360° data provided by Alex's co-workers, it appears that they have different opinions on her behaviour. For example, as we can read on page 4, the feedback reveals that there is a discrepancy between what she says and what she does, and in fact Alex pushed for a leadership position at Nourish, which she obtained, but Sam Glass told her that if she wants to influence over decisions, she has to prove herself as a motivator and leader.

In exhibit number 3, we can see what Alex's co-workers have said about her greatest strengths and about the areas in which they believe she should improve:

Positive behaviours

From the downward comments, it is clear that Alex's supervisors take a positive view of her aggressiveness since she...

implements whatever measures are necessary to complete the task. Moreover, they highlighted as one of her strengths the fact that she is not daunted by any learning challenge, but she sees them as opportunities to gain knowledge. Her supervisors wrote also that she has the spirit of an entrepreneur who is unwilling to take "no" from anyone and that, although she didn't know much about the cosmetic market, she learned fast. Lastly, she doesn't hope that things will somehow work out, but she pushes for answers, and she is never undecided.

The upward comments showed that Alex is very committed to her work and that she works tirelessly, even beyond working hours, even though she expects others to do the same. Furthermore, they praised her being multitasking and her moving at a faster pace than the others, in fact she managed to launch two products at once. Alex is an example of self-confidence because she shows that if you set your mind on something you will be able to do it.

and lastly being on a team with her guarantees visibility because she makes things happen. Alex colleagues wrote in the comments that she ensures a due recognition of the work done by the team and that she shows appreciation for work well done. They also highlighted her willingness to mentor peers in specific areas and her ability to shake a stodgy group. People from outside London have said that she is a curious person, always looking for new information and that she has an impressive intellect. Negative behaviours Alex's supervisors have highlighted the areas which need a further development as well: they wrote that she typically has the right answer but comes up with it without involving the team and this can breed hostility. In addition, they wrote that she must learn to delegate and to motivate the others to excel, rather than being too critical in assessing others, and that she should learn to treat people with more respect. From the upward comments it appeared that she cannot balance.

Work and private life, in fact she works long hours and is even willing to give up holidays to work. She doesn't praise others often and she doesn't trust them as well, in fact she tells them every single step, but this demotivates them.

Her colleagues wrote that she is arrogant and thinks to be better than everyone else and that she continually ruffles people. Lastly, according to them, Alex needs to work on leading virtual teams since she doesn't recognize the value of different approaches to working.

2. What does the 360° data tell us about Alex's likely career success? If you were Sam Glass, would you invest more time in helping Sander progress at Landon?

The 360° data obtained from the comments that Alex's colleagues have written about her behaviour tells us that she has a strong personality. From the data, it can be assumed that Alex is a very determined person, who learns quickly and who tries hard to increase her knowledge in order to achieve results.

In her work, as shown by her last performances at Landon. She has an entrepreneurial approach, so she is not afraid to make decisions on her own and is never frozen by indecision, in addition, she works tirelessly, even beyond working hours.

This information tells us that as a worker Alex is likely to achieve success in her career since she works hard to complete any task that is assigned to her, but she must improve her interpersonal skills. In fact, to be successful, she should learn to delegate some tasks to her co-workers, trusting their skills more, rather than doing everything by herself, also because people work better in a working environment where there is solidarity, loyalty and progress.

If I were Sam Glass, I would invest more time in helping Alex progress at Landon because I believe that she has a huge potential. In fact, from a work point of view I believe that Alex is the best worker someone could ask for, as she is willing to do everything to improve her skills and bring results.

to the company, while from a personal point of view I believe that she should work more on her character as she tends to do everything by herself without involving others.

Alex is an important element for Landon because she has characteristics that few workers have: she never wears out, she can make decisions without hesitation, she is able to do several tasks at the same time and she is not afraid of challenges. Therefore, I would have an interest in helping her progress.

So, what's new? Do women managers have different options open to them now than in earlier generations? What are the advantages and disadvantages of Sander's tough-guy approach?

For many centuries, the world of work only concerned men, while women were forced to stay at home and look after the family. This situation started to change not so long ago: women were allowed to work but they could not do all kinds of work and were also paid less than men. Therefore, in the past it was almost impossible for a woman to

aspire to a managerial position. Today things have changed a bit: there is a desire to achieve gender equality in the world of work, even though in many companies certain positions are still reserved for men only. Compared to the past, however, women managers have different options, and the case of Alex Sander is an example. Alex proved that with her determination and hard work she can achieve what she wants, in fact at 32 she was the youngest product manager in the Toiletries Division of Landon Care Products and in just over one year with the company she has successfully rebranded two national skin products. Alex's tough-guy approach, which allowed her to reach this success, has both advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages

Alex's approach is positive because she is not daunted by any barrier, and so she is ready to take any challenge, she is confident and makes things happen. She is an example of self-confidence since she is the demonstration of achieving goals through hard work.

evidentemente frustrato e insicuro a causa della mancanza di fiducia che Alex dimostra verso il lavoro degli altri. Questo potrebbe creare un ambiente di lavoro teso e poco collaborativo, rendendo difficile il raggiungimento degli obiettivi di squadra. Se fossi il capo di Alex, sarei preoccupato per il suo atteggiamento di "lupo solitario" e la sua mancanza di fiducia nel lavoro degli altri. Potrebbe essere difficile gestire una persona con queste caratteristiche, poiché potrebbe essere difficile farla collaborare con gli altri membri del team e delegare compiti in modo efficace. Se Alex fosse un mio diretto collaboratore, sarei preoccupato per il suo atteggiamento di voler fare tutto da sola. Potrebbe essere difficile lavorare con una persona che non si fida del lavoro degli altri e che non è disposta a delegare compiti. Questo potrebbe portare a un carico di lavoro eccessivo e a una mancanza di equilibrio tra vita lavorativa e vita privata. In generale, lavorare con una persona come Alex potrebbe essere difficile e frustrante. La mancanza di fiducia e la tendenza a voler fare tutto da sola potrebbero ostacolare la collaborazione e il raggiungimento degli obiettivi di squadra.uncomfortable working together with her because she tends to do all the work on her own, putting herself forward and neglecting others, who can feel undetermined. To work in a team, it is necessary to trust the others and to involve everyone in the work so that it takes less time to complete the work. Alex has to improve a lot in this area: she needs to trust that other people actually know how to perform tasks they have been performing for a while and they do not need to be told every single step, she must learn how to delegate and to motivate others to excel, rather than being too critical in assessing others. If Alex was my boss, I don't know if I could work well with her. At 32 she was the youngest product manager in the Toiletries Division of Landon Care Products and in just over one year with the company she has successfully rebranded two national skin products, which is amazing. So, from the perspective of the company I believe that Alex could be a good boss thanks to her working

skills that allowed her to reach such results. At the same time, I think she needs to improve her interpersonal skills that are equally important to be a good boss, also because such a position requires good communication skills. If she could improve this aspect everyone will benefit from that because if the work environment is made more pleasant, the performance of all workers will improve.

I believe I would work quite well with Alex as a direct report of mine because she has great initiative and is never frozen by indecision, which I believe are important characteristics for such a position. Moreover, she can shake up a stodgy group faster and give credit where it is due, even though she tends to do everything on her own, and if she has to work with others she controls every minute detail, which can be annoying. Another thing that could be irritating to the others is also her tendency to push others and not care about their feelings.

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1. What

are Zappos’ core competencies and sources of competitive advantage? How sustainable are they? What role does corporate culture play in these questions? Zappos was born as an online retailer of shoes which later decided to expand its business also to non-shoe products such as handbags, luggage, clothing, eyewear, electronics, watches, houseware and jewellery, whose name was an adaptation of the Spanish word for shoes “zapatos”. To begin with, one of Zappos core competencies, which is, by the way, the reason that led its founder Nick Swinmurn to found it, is its ability to assure customers a way to access a huge selection of shoes in different styles, colours and sizes, something that traditional shoe retailers were not able to do because of the space constraints. Secondly, the company has always been focused on the importance of customer service, so much that Hsieh, as written on page 4, defined Zappos as a “service company that sells shoes”. For this reason, it

It was really important for the company to provide a