Leading Change for GoodSport

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Introduction

A shrewd, second century Chinese writer, Sun Tzu observed in his book that it was important to understand the motivation of neighboring rulers before entering into an alliance. He also knew that it was equally important to understand the terrain of a country before leading an army through it (Giles, 1910).

Managers who must use power and politics to coordinate and support the work of organizational members and to meet organizational objectives can use this same principle to good effect. Power and politics are usually adopted when there is a conflict over the best structure to adopt, best use of available resources, and the like. The potential for conflict rises when various types of personalities work together in an organization, as they often do.

According to McShane and Von Glinow, power is defined as the capacity of a person, team or organization to move others (McShane & Von Glinow, 2006). A leader who effectively uses power can dramatically affect his or her organization's environment. Peter Drucker summarizes the efficient use of power in the following eight practices.

o Identify what needs to be done?
o What is right for the enterprise?
o Develop and implement an action plan.
o Take responsibility for decisions.
o Take responsibility for communicating.
o Focus on opportunities
o Run productive meetings
o Think and Say "We" (Drucker, 2004)

All organizations face challenges especially in times of changes. Ultimately, the leadership skills and practices of executives can contribute to the success or failure of the company. An organization whose leaders effectively use power will run smoother and more productively. In the simulation, Good Sport represents an organization where the leaders display an exemplary model for the correct use of power through changing times and circumstances.

a. Briefly describe Good Sport. What organizational structure is in place at the organization? What type of culture exists? In what ways are the structure and the culture related? Are the two compatible? Explain your answer.

Good Sport, based in Coral Springs, Florida, manufactures fitness equipment such as treadmills, bikes, steppers, and rowers. Ex-basketball star, Jason Poole, founded the company fifteen years ago and is now the Chairman of the Board. Marvin Wallace, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), has driven the company forward in the last four years, with investments in improving the performance of the sales, production, and the research and development (R & D) teams. Marvin championed the use of fitness equipment in hospitals. This has brought good results for the organization, and the company is now expanding to the neighboring states?Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The organization also sells its products to clubs, hotels, and residential houses.

Good Sport's culture is primarily about contributing to society through promoting the benefits of fitness while working hard to drive the group's financial success and maintaining group diversity. A strong corporate culture can be an asset to a company's bottom line and Good Sport has been and is phenomenally profitable because it has a strong company culture. However, a strong culture may also undermine constructive conflict and suppress dissenting sub-cultural values that should rightfully become dominant values as the environment changes. Good Sport's strong company culture can become an issue at sometime in the future and stand in the way of company growth. The company's strong culture of commitment to the betterment of society can clash with profit seeking for example, and this conflict can cause ethical dilemmas for some employees. Such ethical dilemmas can lead to job withdrawal for these employees causing them to disassociate themselves from their work and finally to separate themselves from the company (McShane& Von Glinow, 2005).
Good Sport has very capable and even transformational leaders with a wide array of leadership skills such as emotional intelligence, integrity, drive, leadership motivation, self-confidence and extensive knowledge of the fitness and sports business. The management team at Good Sport appears to astutely perceive and regulate each other's emotional reactions to various proposed changes at the company. The management team also appears to have self-confidence in their leadership skills and ability to achieve organizational goals in relation to the proposed changes. McShane& Von Glinow, 2005).

An organization's culture has the potential to affect ethical conduct. It can also guide the conduct of its employees by entrenching ethical values in its dominant culture (McShane& Von Glinow, 2005). Good Sport appears to have entrenched an open and above board way of dealing with internal issues into its culture. All issues are openly discussed and there are no barriers such as secrecy to open and hones communication.

Organizational culture can also cause ethical problems when it exerts excessive control over employees. Although it is important that employees make decisions that are compatible with organizational objectives, and this alignment improves employee morale, loyalty, and longevity, some organizations tend to take over employee lives and deprive a person of individualism (McShane& Von Glinow, 2005). At Good Sport the organizations seems to recognize its employees' personal boundaries. Employees do not seem pressured to conform to strict company rules and are not asked to take work home which would intrude into their personal lives. Employees at Good Sport seem free to work and communicate in their own personal style and be ...