LEADERASHIP

ASSIGNMENT # 3
CASE NO.3
LEADERSHIP AND MOTIVATIONGROWING MANAGERS: MOVING
FROM TEAM MEMBER TO TEAM LEADER

Submitted To: Dr. Saima Naseer

Submitted By:

Hira Mustafa
Komal Nawaz
Abida Hussain
Marriam Bashir
Rabia Munir
Jaweria Mujadadi
d
Case Summary

Growing Managers: Moving From Team Member to Team Leader, describes a fictional scenario
about a company called ColorTech Greenhouses Inc. The case describes the company, originally
located in Phoenix, as a high-tech color supplier that quickly became the largest and most global
grower in the western hemisphere. The status of the declining sales from the Phoenix division,
which once bragged of their highest production levels, was examined through the eyes of Melissa
Richardson, a recently hired sales manager for ColorTech corporate headquarters. This case
discusses the reasons for the difficulties currently confronting ColorTech.

ColorTech Greenhouses, Inc.

ColorTech was a privately held supplier of annual and perennial flowers to big-boss stores. Along
with the rest of the color industry, ColorTech was facing increased price competition as well as a
steady declination in sales. At this time, the market was experiencing a very low demand for the
flower industry. ColorTech particularly was constantly receiving pricey customized orders, and
being insisted upon for demands for lower prices.

Issues of ColorTech Sales are Falling

In an attempt to grow revenue, ColorTech was expanding rapidly through the use of vertical
integration and diversification. They operated largely in southern North America, with a few
greenhouses in the northeast and Mexico for the seasonal flowers those regions offered. ColorTech
had plans to expand into Ecuador to enter the long-stemmed rose market. They also purchased a
Columbian company that specialized in cut flowers to incorporate themselves into the florist
industry.

Management was a vast majority of the issues that arose from ColorTech’s Phoenix division.
Richardson settled into her new sales management position feeling unsure of her ability to lead
teams due to the few management issues she had ever been exposed to in real life. The courses and
classroom instruction Richardson attended offered little benefit when she was left with vague
expectations from her regional sales manager, Beth Campbell.
Furthermore, the lack of communication was chaos. From Campbell, a middle manager, to
Richardson, a first-line manager, there were no guidelines for Richardson to consult. With this as
an initial language barrier, it was inevitable that Richardson’s first interaction with her team would
be unclear without a strategy and plans to follow. As a result of miscommunication, and lack-
there-of, one of the greenhouses stationed in Columbia was infected with a fungus that resulted in
weeks of delay, loss customers, and ultimately potential profits for the company.

Lastly, Richardson’s unassertiveness contributed largely to the issues derived from the Phoenix
division. She felt attitude from certain employees and allowed tardiness and texting through
meetings, etc.

Q.1) According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory and David McClelland’s acquired
needs theory identify and justify which needs dominate the 5 team members and the team
leader (Melissa Richardson).

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory:

Dominated Need Team Team Members

Level Leader
Melissa Alex Gregorio Sarah Chelsea Nick
Richardson Hoffman Torres Vega Peterson Ruiz
Physiological _ _ _ High _ _
Needs
Safety Needs _ _ _ _ High _
Social Needs High _ Moderate _ _ Moderate
Self-esteem _ High Moderate _ _ Moderate
Needs
Self-actualization Moderate High _ _ _ High
Needs
JUSTIFICATIONS:

Melissa Richardson

 Richardson was highly dominated by social needs. In belongingness she preferred

friendly environment and her acceptance in team and affection as well. For example she
kept thinking of pizza lunches and ice cream in Friday afternoons after achieving sale
targets. She also preferred to build good communication with her team. When she came at
Phoenix she was expecting a protocol from her group members and her boss Campbell.
She was so social and friendly that Ruiz did easily convince her to take his resume for
higher designation through his good skill of communication or while conversing friendly
with her.
 She was moderate in self-actualization because she was putting her potential to cope with
her job. She had a goal too to achieve, she wanted to make phoenix one of the best sales
offices but somehow she distracted from her goal and instead fulfilling the requirement of
this seat she was trying to accomplish her goal in other means like building good relations
with others.

Alex Hoffman

 Hoffman was high at self-esteem because he was so confident about what he was doing to
get maximum sales. And he refused so clearly to Richardson about contacting with every
little mom-and-pop florist as well. He had also a dismissive attitude about others and he
was also egoistic and status conscious because he do not like to tell any kind of information
unless asked from him.
 He was high at self-actualization because he was using his full potential to achieve his
targets. Being self-actualizer he was self-directed and was independent and resourceful,
and he also enjoys his own company and feels comfortable being alone.

Gregorio Torres

 Torres is moderate in social need. He always talk nicely with Richardson and quite ready
to help her. For example, in June when nobody doing his paper works so she asked Torres
to do some of his colleague’s reports for them in order to meet their deadline. Richardson
 also asked him to meet her and a new big buyer to fulfill demands of this customer. He also
had good relations in team and he kept converse them in their Spanish language.
 He is moderate at self-esteem needs because he was not status conscious and egoist person
but he wanted recognition through getting accomplishments by trying new ideas and was
willing to change the old ways to grape customer’s attentions. He was confident about his
new idea for website to manage customer’s services.

Sarah Vega

 She was high in physiological need. Because she was so unconcerned with her work, she
often came late and left soon, kept on texting on mobile. She was so careless that her work
was piled on her table but she did not bother to do that. She went on leaves for different
reasons. Her sales were so uneven. So she just concerned with her basic needs which were
fulfilled from her recent designation and she did not need something more than that.

Chelsea Peterson

 She was high in safety needs as she was insecure about her job. She was nervous all the
time. She was unable to build good relation with her immediate boss and to build her good
impression. She criticized others in spite of having look on herself as being unskilled and
inexperienced and still thought herself to be eligible for promotion to sales position. As she
was openly hostile to Richardson in her first meeting.

Nick Ruiz

 He was moderate at social needs. He kept interacting people in other departments and
asking about their jobs. He also knew about the product from his conversations with
customers. He also built good relation with Richardson and convinced her to take her
resume for sales post.
 He was moderate at self-esteem because he wanted to get recognized through his ability
of having lots of knowledge. He was confident about his knowledge which he took from
workers while visiting greenhouse in his free times. He was also had self-confidence.
 Nick was high at self-actualization because he was ready to put each and every effort to
get sales position no matter whatever it took. His attitude proved refreshing to Richardson.
 He was ready to use his full potential in work and in return seek growth, achievement and
advancement in his career.

McClelland’s acquired needs theory:

Dominated Need Team Team Members

Leader

Melissa Alex Gregorio Sarah Chelsea Nick

Richardson Hoffman Torres Vega Peterson Ruiz

Needs f or High High Moderate Low Low High

Achievement

Needs for Power Low High Low Low High Low

Needs for High Low Moderate Moderate Low Moderate

Affiliation

JUSTIFICATIONS:

Melissa Richardson

 She was high in needs of achievement reflecting especially when she studied Spanish
prior to her start day. She had a goal to make phoenix one of the best sales offices. But she
was a little misdirected towards others aspects like building good relationships with team
members. She lacked to focus on the requirements of her new designation and through
other ways she wanted to achieve her goal.
 She was so low in needs of power. She never thought of herself being an authoritative
person. As a good leader she must be moderate in needs of power instead of no need of
power. The use of power also needed to reshape and remold the team into her terms.
 She was highly dominated by affiliation needs. She preferred friendly environment and
her acceptance in team and affection as well. Richardson made efforts to get everyone
together that Saturday morning to correct the pots themselves, a potential opportunity for
 team building. For example she kept thinking of pizza lunches and ice cream in Friday
afternoons after achieving sale targets.

Alex Hoffman

 He was high in need of achievement. Instead of being social and friendly he was hard
working and put in effort to achieve his goals. He was the top sales man in the company
and he had earned every reward and perk ColorTech offered. He achieved his sales goals
in any case even he had to make phone sales outside his area.
 Being high in need for power, he was so confident about what he was doing to get
maximum sales He did not like to tell any kind of information to others because he liked
himself being authoritative person. Even he refused to follow the Richardson’s terms to
make high sales and asked her to deal himself in his own ways.
 He was very low in needs of affiliation. He was not social and liked being alone.

Gregorio Torres

 His needs of achievement were moderate because he wanted to perform well but the
communication method with customers was going on in the office did not suit him. He
wanted to achieve sales through his own idea of website.
 He did not want power but he wanted to be distinctive from others so he could be powerful
in a different way and had privileged than others. So his needs of power were low because
he was just had an idea and no practical work was going on.
 He was moderate in need for affiliation. He always talk nicely with Richardson and quite
ready to help her. He also had good relations in team and he kept converse them in their
Spanish language.

Sarah Vega

 She was low in needs of achievement. She was not interested to put special effort to do
her work even her work was compiling on her table and she did not bother to complete
that. She did not have some kind of goal related to her job.
 She was so low in power too. As she did not want growth so no needs of power were
existed in her.
  She was moderate in needs of affiliation in the office with boss and her colleagues. She
was not concerned more what is going on in the office or with the office work.

Chelsea Peterson

 She was low at needs of achievement too because he was not putting effort in her work to
achieve something she was just criticizing others. She did not have some goals to achieve.
 Her needs of power were high because these kinds of personalities want to be in power
so that they can feel secure. Same case was with Peterson that she got insecure under
Richardson and she wanted to get promoted so that she could be more secured and have
control on others too. She also felt more insecure when she heard about the promotion of
his colleague from the same designation as she had.
 She was so low at needs of affiliation because she was not interested in building good
relations with others. And in her very first meeting with her new boss she was so
argumentative in her behavior.

Nick Ruiz

 Nick had high needs of achievement. He was ready to put each and every effort to get
sales position. He was ready to use his full potential in work and in return seek growth,
achievement and advancement in his career. He was so focused and ingenious in order to
achieve his goals.
 He was low in needs of power because he did not want to command on others.
 He was moderate in needs of affiliation. He liked to meet new people. He also built good
relation with Richardson. He kept interacting people in other departments and asking about
their jobs.
Q.2) Considering Hertzberg’s two factor theory and identify and justify which factors
(extrinsic or intrinsic) motivate each of the 5 team members and the team leader (Melissa
Richardson).

Melissa Richardson

As Richardson preferred friendly environment and her acceptance in team and affection as well.
And she also preferred to build good communication with her team. She had a goal too to achieve,
she wanted to make phoenix one of the best sales offices but somehow she distracted from her goal
and instead fulfilling the requirement of this seat she was trying to accomplish her goal in other
means like building good relations with others. So she will be motivated with both maintenance
and motivator factors by having good relations with her team and regional manager. She will also
prefer proper job design and job analysis of her team to accomplish her goals.

Alex Hoffman

As he is the top sales person in the company and has always achieved his sales targets he should
be motivated by motivating factors like giving him praise for his work recognition, promotion, and
increased status offers challenge, or bonuses.

Gregorio Torres

As he was innovative and has so many creative ideas Richardson should motivate him with
intrinsic motivators for that by giving him praise and appreciating him, encouraging him, accepting
his idea and creativity.

Sarah Vega

As she was totally non-serious about her work and used to come late and take leaves more often.
Richardson can motivate her with maintenance factors by informing her company policies about
her job. Having strong rules about the work timings can make the employees to come in time.
Telling her if she completes her targets and work overtime within the five days of the week then
she can get a day off.

Chelsea Peterson

Although she has a low performance and lacked the skills and experience she can be motivated
with maintenance factors. By taking training courses to gain skills and improve the performance
that will also increase her relationship with team members and continuous motivation and
encouragement by the manager to work hard can make her perform well.

Nick Ruiz

He was a merchandiser who is a capable person, enthusiastic and knowledgeable his performance
was good, based on the performance Richardson can motivate him with job motivator by giving
him growth opportunity for sales position or rewarding him on his performance through bonuses
etc.

Q.3) Explain and justify how can Melissa Richardson use the Victor Vroom’s expectancy
theory to improve her team’s performance, lead them effectively and motivate them?

Expectancy theory purposes that people are motivated when they believe they can accomplish the
task, they will get the reward, and the rewards for doing so are worth the effort.

Performance Goals
•Will my Effort •Do i find the
leads to high •Will performance outcomes •Desired goals
perfromance? leads to desireables? leads to
outcomes? Motivation

Efforts Rewards

Melissa Richardson had a great attitude as a manager for the Phoenix division of ColorTech.
Unfortunately due to hasty decisions, lack of communication, and deficient training, ColorTech’s
sales quickly began to fall. Applying victor Vroom’s expectancy theory to improve her team
member’s performance Richardson had the potential to be a committed and successful manager.
Alex Hoffman

Hoffman was account representative and top salesperson in the company, and he had earned
every award & received every perk ColorTech offered. As a top seller Alex show dismissive
attitude and resistance to sell new stem products. So Melissa Richardson should clearly define him
objectives and the performance necessary to achieve them and also tie performance to rewards.
That way, a job design and job analysis would have been very easy to assess based on her team’s
skill level.

Gregorio Torres

Gregorio is account representative; he seems uninterested in discussing his sales

performance. But he has much creative ideas about customer service website. He also understands
product and customer services, so Melissa Richardson can use Pygmalion effect to motivate and
increase expectations for his performance.

Sarah Vega

Sarah Vega is an account representative and was new to sales. She had uneven performance
and often late or absent from the office. Sarah Vega is unfocused and distracted by events outside
of the work. So Melissa should persuade her to get training to improve her job performance and
also making her responsible and motivating her by praising. Richardson should have implemented
control systems to monitor and evaluate how effective the organization’s structure is and offer
feedback systems, surveying the success of the strategies.

Chelsea Peterson

Chelsea is a store merchandiser and has hostile relationship with her boss Melissa. She is
more interested in sales position when opened, but have no experience & skills. However Melissa
can motivate Peterson by telling her that hardworking, capable and a good performer will lead to
sales position. So giving her training and helping her would be best for her.
Nick Ruiz

Nick is also a store merchandiser. He is very enthusiastic & knowledgeable person. Ruiz had
apparently expressed interest in joining the sales team and he is ready for sales position when open.
Melissa can motivate him by making him believe that whatever she says she will do.

Richardson should have introduced her business level plan and business level strategy during the
initial meeting. Doing this would have revealed her tactics, and how she intended to implement
them to compete against rival color companies. It would have been beneficial for Richardson to
perform a needs assessment of her team.

Q.4) Using the Reinforcement theory of motivation explain and justify which reinforcement
technique(s) Melissa Richardson should use to motivate each of the 5 team members. What
might be the pros and cons of using a particular reinforcement technique for each team
member?

Alex Hoffman

Reinforcement Steps to Motivate Pros Cons

Techniques
Positive As he is the top sales It’s the best motivator It does not encourage
reinforcement person in the he that would increase employees to strive
should be motivated his productivity & beyond the minimum
by giving him praise, performance. levels required
promotion, increased
status which offers
challenge, or bonuses
Avoidance Due to his dismissive It may generate and Creates a stressful
Reinforcement attitude Richardson improve his work environment for the
can do so by setting performance & employee.
strong routine rules, behavior.
warning him that his
negative behavior
will be documented
in his reviews.
Gregorio Torres

Reinforcement Steps to Motivate Pros Cons

Techniques
Positive As he was It will build his Appreciating him just
reinforcement innovative and has so confidence. on his ideas can make
many creative ideas Appreciating him him not achieve his
Richardson should would drive him sales target.
motivate him for that more towards the
by giving him praise success and will
and appreciating him, increase the
encouraging him, employee morale.
accepting his idea
and creativity.

Sarah Vega

Reinforcement Steps to Motivate Pros Cons

Techniques
Avoidance As she was totally She will come on time She will tend to exert
Reinforcement non-serious about her and will improve her the minimum effort
work Richardson can job performance. necessary to keep
motivate her by herself out of trouble.
warning her and
telling her to come on
time and get serious
about the work.
Having strong rules
about the work
timings can make the
employees to come in
time.
Chelsea Peterson

Reinforcement Steps to Motivate Pros Cons

Techniques
Positive Although she has a Performance can she might only do the
reinforcement low performance and increase and also work just too attain a
lacked the skills and employee morale will reward or perk and
experience she can be increase. when anything is not
motivated by taking given to her then she
training courses to won’t pay attention
gain skills and to work
improve the
performance, and
continuous
motivation by the
manager to work hard
can make her perform
well.
Avoidance She is a pessimistic She might change her It does not encourage
Reinforcement person hostile in hostile behavior to employees to strive
behavior. So avoid more severe beyond the minimum
Richardson can consequences and levels required.
motivate her by punishment.
reprimanding her to
change her behavior
and be cooperative
with the team.
Nick Ruiz

Reinforcement Steps to Motivate Pros Cons

Techniques

Positive He was a enthusiastic It would increase his Giving him a sales

reinforcement and knowledgeable confidence, position can arise
person and his productivity, morale conflicts among the
performance was & performance. team members on the
good. Richardson can basis of seniority and
motivate him by tenure issues.
giving him a sales
position or rewarding
him on his
performance through
bonuses etc.

Q.5) What did Melissa Richardson do right when she started her new job? What mistakes
did she make? What might have helped Melissa Richardson get off to a better start?

Richardson’s right things:

 When she reached the Phoenix office she took stock of her office and the supplies she
would need and made a few notes of them.
 The next that was Saturday she returned to the office to order everything in her office so
that when she will be on work at Monday she could officially start the office.
 On the Friday when she was near to leave the office, Richardson took a quick tour of the
area where her salespeople worked.
 On the Saturday when she was arranging her office for the Monday Richardson assembled
some basic information on her team that could be helpful for her to better understand her
team
 Then she arranged one on one talk with her each team member for better communication
and after that she made some more notes on her team members about their personalities
and interests.
Richardson’s mistakes:
As on her first day she got to know that her team need some changes in their behavior but
she didn’t took any steps to change their behaviors.
She arranged a meeting at the very first day without informing in advance.
She did not give them a detail speech or instructions.
Another mistake she did was that she had not noticed the product ready for the customers
was placed in wrong pots. This mistake would mean the team would be charged for
emergency repotting costs as well as discounts offered as compensation for delayed
delivery if they did not act quickly.
She did not get any kind of knowledge about paper work and management issues which
was required for this sales manager’s seat.
She did not decide the means to achieve goal in three month time period.
She was not prepared for such kind of situation in which there is no communication did
not have preparation for contingency situations.

Recommendations:

 She should have taken some steps in the start to reshape the team member’s behavior
 She should take sum steps to remove the communication gap.
 She could save herself and her team members from extra costs that was charged from
repotting in emergency and discounts offered as compensation for delayed delivery.
Because each big-box customers received plants in plastic pots that showed its unique bar
codes for price scanning and inventory management.
 If she want to kept focused on her goals she should assign duty everyone in a more
leadership style that definitely help her towards a better start towards success.
 If she already understood her job requirements like paper work, management issues and
process covered in the classes then she would be able to better handle paper work assigned
from her regional manager.
 If she would have an authoritative and leadership attitude with her team members then she
could be able to move to betterment in achieving goals and for her job too.
Q.6) Critique Melissa Richardson’s first meeting. How could she have made a stronger
impact on her team that first day? Recommend some ways which will help Melissa
Richardson build her team effectively?

As Richardson’s first meeting wasn’t effective at all firstly her team members were informed of
the meeting just an hour before. She should have informed them early or in advance like when she
visited her office on Friday she could have told the receptionist to inform every one of the meeting
that would held on Monday morning. Because as Campbell wasn’t there to introduce her to the
staff. She should have come more prepared with a more detailed speech instead of short speech
that would have made a stronger impact on the members. But due to her short unproductive speech
no one was interested whatever she was saying and she felt a tension in the air. She should have
taken an orientation or should have asked for it.

Recommendations:

 Melissa Richardson needed to recognize the strewn rapid expansion when she began her
management position in order to help the company expand with an objective.
 The management difficulties that arose could have been avoided very simply. Foremost, a
management information system should have been previously in place by the middle and
top managers. That way, Richardson would have been able to enter the Phoenix division
and access important information regarding each employee’s role and how to property
execute them.
 Another colossal concern was that Richardson had never been exposed to management
issues, paperwork, and processes working as a salesperson in Chicago. Had Richardson
practiced on-the-job training, she would have experienced the setting and expectations
prior to her first day.
 Miscommunication was the second largest issue in this case. ColorTech needed to
implement group norms per division. There was a clear lack of direction when
Richardson’s team openly acted and performed as they wished.
 Lack of authority from Richardson played a significant role in the turmoil of ColorTech’s
Phoenix division. Richardson should have introduced her business level plan and business
level strategy during the initial meeting. Doing this would have revealed her tactics, and
how she intended to implement them to compete against rival color companies.
  It would have been beneficial for Richardson to perform a needs assessment of her team.
That way, a job design and job analysis would have been very easy to assess based on her
employees’ skill level.
 Finally, Richardson should have implemented control systems to monitor and evaluate how
effective the organization’s structure is and offer feedback systems, surveying the success
of the strategies.

As a manager, Richardson is to make her group more productive than it would have been without
her. Focusing her energy from the first day on the things that only she, as a manager, can do. She
is the leader. She is responsible for training and developing her people and for building them into
a team. To build her team effectively and have a positive impact on the team it only takes insight
into three key areas: Alignment, Motivation, and Performance.