MONDAY: 4 April 2022. Morning paper. Time Allowed: 3 hours.
Answer question ONE and any other FOUR questions. Marks allocated to each question are shown at the end of the question. Do NOT write anything on this paper.
QUESTION ONE
BEV MODI
Bev Modi was an entrepreneur who turned into an intrapreneur due to demands of the environment he worked in. Modi was instrumental in formation of Ecly Ltd. (EL), a company that was established to manufacture and sell computing devices. EL built personal computing kits amongst other computing devices which were initially hand built by Wizzy Kiwanuka. As one of the founders of EL, Bev Modi stewarded the company as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) from 1976 to 1980 before he was tired by the Board. He returned to EL five years later in the same capacity.
By the time of his death, in the year 2015, Modi had transformed EL, a company that was in a very weak financial position into the most profitable technology company in the region. Modi practised pacesetting style of leadership and many are the times he could be heard telling his employees to keep up. He rewarded his top 20% performers highly while at the same time let go of the bottom 10% of the employees. This created a high intensity environment in the organisation. Modi was a proponent of getting involved in the job of employees who were capable and competent.
Unlike founders of most technology companies, Modi had neither engineering experience nor business training. After all, he dropped out of college after only one semester. During his first stint as the CEO of EL, Modi was just a figurehead. He was a CEO without real power since the company was run by other executives and investors. The lesson he learnt after watching his replacement run down EL was to trust his own beliefs and values and completely disregard the conventional views on how to run a company, including the traditional duties of a CEO.
Modi delegated a lot of his duties to members of his executive team, most notably his second in command and eventual successor, Paul Rop. This enabled him to focus on what he was best at; creating products, recruitment of new staff and marketing. In one of the many interviews with the media, Modi commented that he spent most of his time on forward looking issues while his top executives assisted him with non-strategic assignments. In addition to being a strategist, Modi was effective as a transformational leader.
Modi had a hands on approach to product design which was arguably the favourite part of his job. He often went to the industrial design lab to spend time with the design team and would give his opinion and guidance on their prototypes. Product review sessions took up most of his workday. He tested new products and gave imperative feedback to the development team.
During his second tenure as the CEO of EL, the company experienced transformational change due to the implementation of guiding principles for change in the organisation as well as breakthrough in new technologies. Modi was a leading change management proponent and he significantly contributed to EL’s alteration of business model, philosophy and business approach. As a transformational change agent, Modi introduced an executive development program where prospective executives of EL were trained on interpreting their surroundings and reacting when their power or safety was challenged. At EL, it was generally agreed that what differentiates leaders is not so much their philosophy of leadership, their personality, or their style of management, rather, their internal “action logic” – how leaders interpret their surroundings and react when their power or safety is challenged.
Required:
Bev Modi turned from an entrepreneur to an intrapreneur. In the context of the case, explain the term “intrapreneur”. ( 1 mark)
Before starting the business, Bev Modi and other founders had to generate a business idea which resulted to manufacturing and selling of computing devices.
Examine six methods the founders might have used to generate the above business idea. (12 marks)
In his second tenure as the CEO of EL, Bev Modi used the pacesetting leadership style to steer EL towards achieving its goals.
Required:
Explain the term “pacesetting leadership style”. (2 marks)
Describe three prerequisites that had to have been put in place at EL for the pacesetting leadership style to work well. (3 marks)
Using five of Mintzberg’s management roles, discuss how the managers of EL could improve their performance. (10 marks)
At EL, prospective executives went through an executive development program.
Examine six ways of leading and action logics that could have been included in the program’s curriculum. (12 marks)
(Total: 40 marks)
QUESTION TWO
1. Highlight six characteristics of a systems approach theory of management. (6 marks)
2. Outline four organisational causes of resistance to change. (4 marks)
3. Summarise five arguments against using monetary incentives to motivate staff (5 marks)
(Total: 15 marks)
QUESTION THREE
1. With reference to aspects of management, explain the following terms:
Power. (2 marks)
Authority. (2 marks)
Accountability. (2 mark
Responsibility. (2 marks)
2. Highlight seven assumptions of McGregor’s Theory X. (7 marks)
(Total: 15 marks)
QUESTION FOUR
1. Examine three skills required by managers at different levels of management. (6 marks)
2. A leader’s primary responsibility involves accomplishing the tasks for which the group or organisation exists. With reference to the above statement, identify five methods that a leader may employ towards achieving the desired results. (5 marks)
3. With respect to emotional intelligence skills, distinguish between the terms “self-awareness” and “self regulation”. (4 marks)
(Total: 15 marks)
QUESTION FIVE
1. Using appropriate illustrative examples, explain four decision making styles. (8 marks)
2. With reference to planning, distinguish between “specific plans” and “directional plans”. (4 marks)
Highlight three arguments against formal planning. (3 marks)
(Total: 15 marks)
QUESTION SIX
1. With reference to planning, discuss five steps in goal setting. (10 marks)
2. Some organisations enjoy a fairly stable world while others face growing uncertainty.
With reference to the above statement:
State two variables that determine the level of uncertainty in the environment. (2 marks)
Highlight three strategies organisations might use to reduce environmental uncertainty. (3 marks)
(Total: 15 marks)
QUESTION SEVEN
1. Trust or lack of trust is an increasingly important issue in modern organisations.
With reference to the above statement:
Explain the term “trust in leadership“. (2 marks)
Discuss four ways in which leaders could build trust with their followers. (8 marks)
2. Outline five characteristics of a project. (5 marks)
(Total: 15 marks)
