Module 4 – Case
LEADERSHIP AND DECISION-MAKING STYLES
Case Assignment
Since 2013 there has been on-and-off talk of Sprint
purchasing T-Mobile. (They are the third- and fourth-largest mobile phone
carriers in the United States.) This move is led by Masayoshi Son, the chair of
Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, which owns Sprint. Mr. Son is a bold
entrepreneur who is known for his penchant for risk taking and desire to be a
global leader in the telecommunications industry. If the merger ever goes
through it would result in a merger of the third and fourth largest mobile
phone carriers in the United States.
Most recently, it appears that the merger will not go
through. But the fact that talk of this merger has been rumored for quite a
long time suggests it must have been a very difficult decision for Masayoshi
Son. Such a large-scale merger brings great benefits in allowing a combined
Sprint/T-Mobile to compete with industry leaders AT&T and Verizon. But
mergers are always very risky and require a huge amount of debt to finance, not
to mention overcoming numerous regulatory hurdles.
For this assignment, thoroughly review the background
materials on the Vroom-Yetton decision-making style model. This involves
answering seven questions relating to a decision and using the results from the
model to determine your decision-making style. Make sure you understand the
model, including the seven questions and the path diagram that you follow in
order to find the preferred leadership style. The Vroom-Yetton model allows you
to choose between different levels of autocratic, consulting, or group
decision-making styles.
After you have reviewed the required background materials including
Stanford(2007), Vroom (1976), and Rigolosi (2005), do some research on Sprint’s
decision whether or not to purchase T-Mobile and think about what kind of
answers you would give to the seven questions involved in the Vroom-Yetton
model. Here are some articles on the rumored Sprint/T-Mobile merger to get you
started:
Gelles, D., & De La Merced, M. J. (2014, Jun 05).
T-Mobile and Sprint zeroing in on merger. New York Times [ProQuest]
Yao, D. (2014). Moody’s: Sprint/T-Mobile merger faces
negative free cash flow until at least 2018. SNL Kagan Media &
Communications Report [ProQuest]
De La Merced, M. (2014, Aug 07). Sprint ends its attempt to
purchase T-Mobile. International New York Times [ProQuest]
Once you have finished your research on the Vroom-Yetton
model and on the merger, write a 4- to 5-page paper addressing the following
issues:
Imagine you are Masayoshi Son and have to decide on which
decision-making style to use. Go through the seven questions from the
Vroom-Yetton model and give your answers based on what you think the main
issues are in the decision of whether or not to purchase T-Mobile. Explain your
reasoning behind each answer
Go through the diagram in the Vroom-Yetton model and, based
on your answers to the seven questions from Question 1, see what kind of
decision-making style is recommended for Masayoshi Son. Use the diagram (Figure
6.2) on page 118 of Rigolosi (2005). Are you surprised by this answer? Is it
the kind of decision-making style you would personally recommend based on your
own research?
Conclude your paper with a discussion of your own opinion as
to the usefulness of the Vroom-Yetton model for choosing your decision-making
style. Would you recommend that corporate executives receive training in this
model? Is there any ways in which you think the model could be improved?
Explain your reasoning.
Assignment Expectations
Follow the assignment instructions closely and follow all
steps listed in the instructions.
Stay focused on the precise assignment questions; don’t go
off on tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background
materials.
Make sure to cite readings from the background materials
page. Rely primarily on the required background readings as your sources of
information.
Include both a bibliography and in-text citations. See the
Student Guide to Writing a High-Quality Academic Paper, including pages 13 and
14 on in-text citations.
Module 4 – SLP
LEADERSHIP AND DECISION-MAKING STYLES
For this assignment think about a specific decision that was
made by your supervisor in the organization you currently work for or have
worked for in the past. Review the background materials carefully on the
Vroom-Yetton model and think about how this model applies to this decision that
you experienced. Then write a 2- to 3-page paper applying the Vroom-Yetton
model to this decision:
Describe the decision that management had to make, and also
whether their decision-making style was autocratic, consultative, or
group-based. Explain your reasoning.
Go through Vroom-Yetton’s seven questions and apply these
questions to their diagram to see what decision-making style their model
suggests. Briefly explain the reasoning behind your answers to the seven
questions.
Conclude your paper with a discussion of whether or not you
would recommend this model to your supervisor and whether or not you were
surprised by the recommendation given by this model regarding decision-making
style.
SLP Assignment Expectations
Follow the assignment instructions closely and follow all
steps listed in the instructions.
Stay focused on the precise assignment questions; don’t go
off on tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background
materials.
Make sure to cite readings from the background materials
page. Rely primarily on the required background readings as your sources of
information.
Include both a bibliography and in-text citations. See the
Student Guide to Writing a High-Quality Academic Paper, including pages 13 and
14 on in-text citations.
