First answer?

Electroco* Quickly, Hackett had decided that he. GARY JOHNS could manage the R & D group the way he QUESTIONS had run his university department. First, he Electroco is a small electronics design and got to know all of the engineers on a friendly 1. Why was Bernie Reiman's directive lead- manufacturing firm located south of San personal basis and assured them that they ership style in the production depart- Francisco which is concerned with the could come to him if they had problems. He ment not effective? application of sophisticated silicon technoloinsisted that they were all professional 2. Why was Charles Hackett's laissez-faire gy to everyday devices such as police radar equals. Then, he retired to his office, where leadership style in the research and units, automotive ignition systems, and chil- he spent most of his time reading scientific development department not effective? dren's toys. Last April, as a result of resigna- 3. Why did the involvement of subordi tions, Electroco acquired two new managers. and technical journals. "After all," he nates in the decision-making process suc- Both were having their problems. thought, "these people have advanced degrees. They know what to do." ceed for Charles but not for Bernie? Bernie Reiman had enlisted in the army During the next several months, two of : 4. Is it a good idea to use psychological straight out of high school and remained Hackett's engineers resigned. Frequent quar- . tests to choose leaders with the proper there for seven years, rising to the rank of reis broke out about who was supposed to personality? Why or why not? sergeant. Seeking a career change, he be doing what work. Worst of all, Hackett then enrolled in a local community col- discovered that two engineers had been lege and earned an Associate degree in working independently on the same industrial supervision. Bernie was hired as a research problem for over a month. Neither production supervisor at Electroco because engineer was aware of what the other had the president was impressed by his combi- been doing. nation of army experience and academic. Ironically, Bernie Reiman and Charles credentials. Hackett responded to their problems in the The jobs Bernie supervised were routine same way-both decided to involve their and boring, consisting of the assembly of var-. subordinates in decision making about their ious small electronic units. Most of the jobs jobs. However, Bernie failed, while Charles could be learned in a few days. Despite this, acted successfully. the work force performed well and exhibited Considerable problems often occurred on little turnover and absence. Based on his the production line when a change of prod- army experience, Bernie made a conscious : ucts was made. There was usually great con- effort to remain aloof from his subordinates fusion, and productivity often remained low and not involve himself personally with for some time following the change. Since a them. To impress the production manager, change was coming up, Reiman told his sub- Bernie monitored productivity carefully and ordinates to develop a plan for easing the spent most of his time on the shop floor, transition. They worked hard and came up observing his workers, making suggestions, with a plan for phasing out the current prod- and giving advice. . uct line while simultaneously starting up the Evidently, something was wrong with new line. The plan was for several workers to these tactics. In the months following gradually train others on the new assemblies. Bernie's hiring, productivity fell, several Bernie thought the idea was great, and he workers resigned, and absenteeism took it to his boss, the production manager. : increased. Several workers were heard mum- The production manager thought it was bling, "I wish he'd stay off my back and let great too, except for one problem-the com- me do my work." ponents for the new production run At the other end of the Electroco complex . wouldn't be available until the last minute. a different kind of leadership problem had The phase-in plan was impossible. When developed. Dr. Charles Hackett had been Bernie told his unit about this, morale sank appointed as head of the research and even lower. The workers felt cheated. development group, which consisted of six- Charles Hackett was more fortunate when teen engineers who were electronics special- he asked his subordinates for suggestions. ists. This group experimented with sophisti- The engineers proposed regular team meet- cated silicon electronics, and their findings ings and a peer review system to work out were then passed to a design team for adap- and monitor research assignments. In addi- tation to practical problems. The jobs were tion, they requested that Charles meet with challenging, although their goals were often each engineer every two weeks to go over his vague. Hackett had been hired away from or her progress and to provide clear feed- his position as chairman of the electrical back. Charles readily agreed, and within a engineering department at a California uni- month things were operating smoothly. versity. His Ph.D. in solid state electronics Meanwhile, Electroco's president was "By Gary Johns (1988) in G. Johns, Organizational and his leadership experience as department debating whether to fire Bernie Reiman. Also, Behavior: Understanding Life at Work, 2nd ed. chairman had convinced Electroco's presi- he was wondering whether a consultant Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, pp. 307-308. dent that he was the right man to head the could use psychological tests to choose lead- Reprinted by permission of Scott, Foresman R & D group. ers with the proper personality. and Company