Case for Critical Thinking - 1

John Symond and Aussie Home Loans: how long can

charisma last?

1. How has John Symond’s leadership style changed over the years?

Answer

Earlier, Symond’s leadership style was more energetic, charismatic

and actively participated in managing all activities. He had a constant touch

with staff members all over the organization. He involved A to Z in all of the

managing activities of the business. He also gave motivational speeches to

boost the spirit of the employees quoting his own life experiences to

salespeople to stimulate them to work with the same zest that he had during

his early days. These were the days when Symond took the decisions using

his intuition and experience. This style was more like Management by

Wandering Around (MBWA). As time passed, his style of managing his

business changed as a result of the need for greater coordination and

expertise for Aussie Home Loans. After hearing suggestions from experts, he

hired other experienced specialist managers to manage his employees. He

realized that instead of relying on pure intuition or “gut feeling”, he should rely

on proven expertise on managing when it involved taking many decisions. He

could no longer meet his employees regularly. This proved to be a blessing in

disguise in the end. This only improved the employees’ ability to work

independently. The employees improved their efficiency and thereby

improving the organization’s revenue.

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2. What potential problems can you see arising from the changes made

at AHL? What are the potential benefits?

Answer

Among the potential problems that would arise from the changes made

at AHL, resistance to change was significant. Because of the style of

managing practised by Symond, the employees of AHL had developed a

close relationship with him. The employees found it difficult to move into a

working style which involved less or no direct contact with Symond.

The potential benefits are many. One among them is that the

employees will learn to work more independently and creatively. This will

happen once the employees come out of the comfort zone which they had

developed over years when Symond had a close touch with all these

employees. The second is increased efficiency. There is a limit what one

person can do to manage the whole of an organization. Since, new expertise

added into the organization will boost up the decision making process, it will

result in faster accomplishment of projects. An overall increase in efficiency

and output is imminent in the end.

Change Management, if practised diligently, will enable employees to

overcome the difficulties in facing changes in the organization’s operations.

Only in the beginning it is difficult for the employees to cope up with the

change. As time goes by, they easily can adapt to changes and work

normally. What was needed was some time and perseverance. When

employees are taught to persevere, both the organization and themselves

could reach rewards in the end.

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3. Can you identify other examples of charismatic business leaders who

have struggled with the transition as they sought to become large

businesses?

Answer

I can compare Symond with Amazon.com’s founder Jeff Bezos, who

is also a charismatic CEO. He is known for having a great influence among

his employees of Amazon.com through his charisma. On the other hand,

critics have always complained that Amazon.com needs someone with

greater operational abilities than Jeff Bezos. Experts even suggested that -

like so many founders of the other technology companies have done before,

Amazon.com must find a professionally trained chief executive with a deep

background in operations to take the reins. It is true that charisma alone will

not run a company successfully in the longer term; these CEOs must also

learn the organization’s operations well. They must either learn by themselves

or step down for other capable operations managers with good background -

education and experience in to helm the top slot. Injecting new expertise will

not only boost the confidence of the employees, but also improves the trust of

the shareholders, which is more important.

(Source:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/10/business/yourmoney/10amazon.html?

pagewanted=all)

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4. Do you think that these changes and Symond’s continued focus on

innovation and change will ensure the long-term success of John

Symond and Aussie Home Loans? Why or why not?

Answer

I personally feel Symond’s policy of doing changes will work well in the

long-term. Any organization can not be complacent in this competitive world.

They have to constantly look out for new technologies and new avenues. In

short, they strive to be innovative. In the case of AHL, many radical new

positive improvements have already been taking shape. The important one

being becoming a broker of the loans provided by other banks. In this way,

AHL has found a new channel of income. Bold steps like the aim to establish

a national network of 200 franchised AHL retail outlets in major shopping

centres will only boost its overall revenue. These are much-needed

improvements in the fast changing home loans business. In the not so distant

future, AHL will be very successful in its business as a result of these

changes.

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 Case for Critical Thinking - 2

McDonald’s Australia - building a motivated workforce

1. In what ways does McDonald’s motivate and reward its employees?

Answer

McDonald’s motivates and rewards its employees by the following

ways. It spends nearly $16 million each year on training its 56,000 employees

across Australia. Over 4,000 managers receive formal training each year. The

opportunity for training and development is perceived as a key motivator for

McDonald’s employees. Apart from this, the current CEO of McDonald’s

highly encourages his employees to balance between their commitments at

work and home. One example is that he would switch off the lights after 5:30

PM so that the employees must leave the restaurants to go spend time with

their families. He also believed that talent and achievement should be

recognized based on merit. High performance is also recognized by badges

recognising seniority and commitment, to opportunities for rapid promotions

both within and between stores. He stressed on identifying and rewarding

high-performing employees especially female employees.

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2. Which theories of motivation best describe and explain these

techniques?

Answer

Continuous Reinforcement Theory is a reinforcement schedule that

administers a reward each time a desired behaviour occurs. By this way

positive reinforcement can be given to the employees.

I see continuous reinforcement theory being practised in

McDonald’s. In this way, employees are recognized and rewarded based on

merit. By this way, the thought that promotion and growth is only possible

through merit – commitment and hardwork will diffuse into employees’ minds.

These reinforced thoughts will influence the employees while they work. It will

act as a guiding principle that forces employees to work with utmost

commitment improving overall productivity of the organization.

The other model that I could imbibe in this case is that of Human

Resource Development training given by McDonald’s to all of its

employees. This results in knowledgeable, highly skilled and highly motivated

employees who would only improve the organization’s overall financials and

profile.

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3. Provide examples of other rewards that could be provided to

McDonald’s staff, including those who serve as crewmembers as well

as those who work in head office.

Answer

Other than the above rewards, McDonald’s could also provide

additional rewards to improve employee satisfaction.

I would suggest using the Law of immediate reinforcement. By this

way, all employees ranging from crewmembers to those working in head

office can be given instant rewards. If an employee works over-time, apart

from the wages, he or she can be entitled to have a free McDonald

hamburger, finger fries and a drink. Any praise from the customers regarding

an employee’s performance and service could be rewarded by providing gift

vouchers. These immediate rewards are more powerful in stimulating

employees to work more with the maximum commitment.

References

1. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/10/business/yourmoney/10amazon.html?

pagewanted=all