Landau Media provides media monitoring on a subscription basis to measure the impact of corporate communication. CEO and Founder Lothar Landau wonders whether his creation is prepared for the future. On the firm's 15th anniversary, Landau asks himself: Had he built the right organizational architecture? Had he been able to create the most effective organizational culture? What did the future of the media monitoring industry look like? What kind of company would lead the industry into this future? Was his company structured to do so? The case can be used for strategic analysis and the development of organizational cultures and behavior. It is suitable for MBA students as well as executives in courses on strategy, strategy implementation, entrepreneurship, innovation, leadership, and family business. The material works well to introduce principles for leading by design and for entrepreneurship and strategy development.
This exercise provides a structure for creating a personal charter for personal use. Based on the "Personal and Organizational Charters" chapter from Level Three Leadership
Suitable for MBA, EMBA, GEMBA, and executive education program in coursed on negotiation and intercultural management. This case is based on actual negotiations and data. The scenario has been adjusted and simplified for teaching purposes. The case describes the situation of Philip Fisch, a sales representative of a German midsize engineering company, in his negotiation efforts to close his second deal with Juan Antonio Fajardo Duque, vice minister of the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Trade. It provides general information about the situation (UVA-OB-1019, the A case) and confidential information for students playing the roles of Fajardo and Fisch (UVA-OB-1020 and UVA-OB-1021, the B and C cases, respectively).
This note contains a verbatim transcript between an MBA student and a practicing manager and can be used to identify the speaker's values, attitude, beliefs, and expectations (VABEs). Seeing, examining, understanding, and evaluating one's own VABEs is a precursor to becoming an effective leader of others.
This updated version of the popular "FMC Aberdeen" case describes the unique history and management of a startup plant, now owned by BAE Systems, that manufactures guided-missile canisters for the U.S. Navy. Management is minimized; most of the work is done by self-directed work teams. Suitable for courses or modules on organizational behavior, self-directed work-teams, manufacturing, organization design, high-performance workplaces, management, and leadership, the case reviews the plant's history, philosophy, recruiting methods, evaluation procedure, reward mechanism, career development, and information systems.
Suitable for graduate level and executive education programs, this undisguised case describes the life of Dennis Paustenbach, president and CEO of ChemRisk, and what, to his mind, is the typical life of a senior executive: many demands on one's time, multiple projects, and serious consequences for inattention, both personally and professionally. This case can be used to teach students about individual behavior, Type A behavior, time and priority management, balancing work and family life, managing performance, managing energy in professional life styles, organizational behavior, and leadership.
Suitable for undergraduate, graduate, and executive education programs, this version of the K2 story provides the full version of the story based on sequential dates. Written as a replacement for the much-used Greenland Case (UVA-OB-0581) this undisguised case can be taught in a similar manner. Chris Warner led a team of experienced mountain climbers on an expedition to reach the summit of K2-the second highest in the world. After failing to succeed on their first two attempts, Warner and his team brought together other teams representing eight different countries hoping to work together for success. Their story is an account full of examples where a leadership point of view was taken or not taken. The successes and failures of the expedition's approach is bursting with real world examples and offers an exciting framework to house theoretical concepts about team building and leadership.
Chris Warner led a team of experienced mountain climbers on an expedition to reach the summit of K2-the second-highest in the world. After failing to succeed on their first few attempts, Warner and his team brought together other teams hoping to reach the summit, and representing eight different countries, to work together for success. Their story is a narrative full of examples, where in some instances, a leadership point of view was taken, and other times it was not. The successes and failures of the expedition's approach makes for a story bursting with real-world examples and offers an exciting framework to house theoretical concepts about team-building and leadership. Although grounded in the written cases, the series also includes an optional a multimedia supplement offers compelling photos and video for students and instructors. After working together with several other international teams to reach the K2 summit, the descent becomes extremely dangerous. The B case finds the climbers in the midst of a raging blizzard. With a missing Italian mountaineer, a Czech climber suffering from hypothermia and cerebral edema, and the theft of a critical survival tool, Warner must decide whether to go look for the missing climber or try to get his expedition off K2 safely.
Chris Warner led a team of experienced mountain climbers on an expedition to reach the summit of K2-the second-highest in the world. After failing to succeed on their first few attempts, Warner and his team brought together other teams hoping to reach the summit, and representing eight different countries, to work together for success. Their story is a narrative full of examples, where in some instances, a leadership point of view was taken, and other times it was not. The successes and failures of the expedition's approach makes for a story bursting with real-world examples and offers an exciting framework to house theoretical concepts about team-building and leadership. Although grounded in the written cases, the series also includes an optional a multimedia supplement offers compelling photos and video for students and instructors. The C case epilogue describes the daunting physical and moral task team members face while descending K2. One of Warner's team members suggests they faced the ultimate moral dilemma: Do you look to your own self-preservation and survive, or do you look to try to help somebody else at all costs?
Chris Warner led a team of experienced mountain climbers on an expedition to reach the summit of K2-the second-highest in the world. After failing to succeed on their first few attempts, Warner and his team brought together other teams hoping to reach the summit, and representing eight different countries, to work together for success. Their story is a narrative full of examples, where in some instances, a leadership point of view was taken, and other times it was not. The successes and failures of the expedition's approach makes for a story bursting with real-world examples and offers an exciting framework to house theoretical concepts about team-building and leadership. Although grounded in the written cases, the series also includes an optional a multimedia supplement offers compelling photos and video for students and instructors. The A case presents a challenging moment in the climbers' trek: After the tragic death of another team's Sherpa, Warner must decide case whether his team should abandon its summit push or continue forward.
This chart can be used to help students reflect on and document their feedback conversations. In the course of giving or receiving feedback, we often become so embroiled in what we are saying or in what is being said to us that we fail to reflect on the quality and impact of the communication. Though intended to accompany the technical note "Feedback" (UVA-OB-0746), the chart is useful with many other materials on assessing performance.
This note can be used to establish a baseline of common understanding about why people behave the way they do and the nature of Level One, Two, and Three Leadership Techniques. A discussion of degrees of "buy-in" includes an innovative seven-point scale that goes beyond "yes, no, or maybe" and "positive, negative, and casual" to characterize people's alignment with a new degree of accuracy.
Sold as a set, this role-playing series encourages students to clarify different points of view when in leadership roles. Before seeking solutions, students must get a clear, comprehensive picture of the problems at hand. Using the "want-got-gap" model works well. The material affords students an opportunity to develop persuasion techniques. The exercise involves three roles: 1) An executive with the Metropolitan Airports Commission at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport who must ensure that taxi companies maintain a high level of quality customer service; within the past year the commission has received close to 4,800 complaints about taxi drivers who refused to transport passengers carrying alcohol; 2) One of 900 Islamic Somali taxi drivers whose mosque leader ruled it was against Islamic law to carry passengers with alcohol; 3) A passenger who, after a long journey, just wants to get home with a few bottles of wine, but struggles to find a taxi driver who will take him or her home.
Sold as a set, this role-playing series encourages students to clarify different points of view when in leadership roles (UVA-OB-0921, 0922, and 0923). Before seeking solutions, students must get a clear, comprehensive picture of the problems at hand. Using the "want-got-gap" model works well. The material affords students an opportunity to develop persuasion techniques. The exercise involves three roles: 1) An executive with the Metropolitan Airports Commission at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport who must ensure that taxi companies maintain a high level of quality customer service; within the past year the commission has received close to 4,800 complaints about taxi drivers who refused to transport passengers carrying alcohol; 2) One of 900 Islamic Somali taxi drivers whose mosque leader ruled it was against Islamic law to carry passengers with alcohol; 3) A passenger who, after a long journey, just wants to get home with a few bottles of wine, but struggles to find a taxi driver who will take him or her home.
Sold as a set, this role-playing series encourages students to clarify different points of view when in leadership roles. Before seeking solutions, students must get a clear, comprehensive picture of the problems at hand. Using the "want-got-gap" model works well. The material affords students an opportunity to develop persuasion techniques. The exercise involves three roles: 1) An executive with the Metropolitan Airports Commission at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport who must ensure that taxi companies maintain a high level of quality customer service; within the past year the commission has received close to 4,800 complaints about taxi drivers who refused to transport passengers carrying alcohol; 2) One of 900 Islamic Somali taxi drivers whose mosque leader ruled it was against Islamic law to carry passengers with alcohol; 3) A passenger who, after a long journey, just wants to get home with a few bottles of wine, but struggles to find a taxi driver who will take him or her home.
How would you react if you were faced with a humiliating interaction with an abrasive colleague, boss, coworker, or direct report? What if that person is a rainmaker? Most students have found themselves in a difficult situation they thought they had no power to change. This case describes the interaction among four associates at an investment bank and their confrontational team leader-who is also a vice president. Deciding what to do about the vp's behavior is tricky, and there is unease about going upstairs with their complaints. This case allows for a powerful discussion about leadership techniques that only attempt to change behavior.
The CEO and other company leaders are trying to do all the right things to motivate executives. One of those things is to develop the workforce through excellent executive education. On the last day of a week-long off-site program, the head honcho shows up to motivate program participants. With one short "pep talk," he swoops in, sucks all the energy out of the room, and leaves.
How do you tell one of your direct reports that she stinks? This case explores the dynamics behind having difficult conversations, and giving and receiving feedback. It is designed to illustrate the negative effects that can result after a difficult conversation and ways to reduce the risk of adverse consequences. The case also touches on relationships in the workplace and the correlation they have to the bottom line. In the A case students have to decide whether to confront a worker about her hygiene problems. The B case offers a role-playing situation to practice conducting a difficult conversation. We learn in the C case that the discussion went terribly wrong, and in the E case readers are provided an epilogue.