Small Business Management

The article traces the history of Group, led by its founder - Andrew Mason's quirky, geeky, fun-loving personality, to the company's business model, its reluctance to sell to Google, and the final public/Wall Street scrutiny after the IPO (when Group became a public company) which all culminated in Andrew Mason's firing from Group. Please read this very interesting story and relate it to what you are learning in the chapter on Professional Management and Small Business. After reading the article, please answer the five questions asked. 1. How would you describe the leadership skills of Andrew Mason? How would you rate his leadership style? In what ways does he fit the profile of the typical business founder? In What ways is he different? (Read pages 414-416). 2. Assess the organizational culture at Group. What are its strengths and its weaknesses? What changes would you make to the culture to improve the performance of the company? (Read section starting 19-3 to comprehensively answer this question). 3. Do you think that it was because of Mason that the Group was unable to transition smoothly through its growth and development stages, or can you identify other possible causes? (Focus on his/Group's partnership with their customers - the vendors; their relationship with the consumers - forward planning causing confusion). 4. What kind of leader do you think would be best suited to run Group? Create a profile of its ideal leader. Then create a profile of the ideal leader of a technology startup, and compare the two. What would you recommend as a plan for developing leaders of startups into leaders who are well-equipped to manage large but still-entrepreneurial firms? 5. In your opinion, what are some of the other problems at Group