Answer the 3 questions listed below: The television show Undercover Boss feature
ID: 434944 • Letter: A
Question
Answer the 3 questions listed below:
The television show Undercover Boss features a leader working undercover in his or her own company to find out how the organization really works. Executives from DirecTV, Hooters, 7-Eleven, NASCAR, Chiquita, and Choice Hotels have been featured on the show. Typically, the executive works undercover for a week. Then the employees with whom and under whom the leader has worked are summoned to company headquarters and rewarded, or punished, for their actions.
In one episode, Waste Management’s president Larry O’Donnell, sporting gray stubble and work clothes, works the back of a trash truck. Later, he sorts recyclables from a fast-moving conveyer belt. Under the barking orders of a supervisor, he even cleans a long line of portable toilets.
Some criticize the show for its faux realism. The CEOs know they are on camera, so every word and facial expression is for the cameras. Many employees know they are on camera, too. One critic commented, “Because the series’ very existence requires cooperation from the executives that it purports to make suffer for their sins, it has to raise them higher, in the end, than it found them at the start.”
Realistic or not, the series continues to be popular. And the effects on the bosses featured in the episodes – and their employees – are profound. After CEO Mitchell Modell of the sporting goods chain Modell’s spent days struggling to keep up with his lowest-paid employees in the warehouse and the office, he reported, “I tell everybody if you’re fortunate enough to be on Undercover Boss to do it in a heartbeat,” he said. “If you’re not fortunate enough, then go work on the front lines. It’s an eye-opening experience.” As a result of the insight he gained, Modell overhauled the company’s approach to customer service and learned new ways to increase profitability and organization performance. He said, “As CEO, one of the things you always wonder about is what your associates (employees) are really thinking and what their days are like. It was a great education.”
The idea has moved beyond television too. Recently, the Australian government created a program that places CEOs undercover in their own workplaces. One participating CEO, Phil Smith of clothing retailer Fletcher Jones, said tearfully, “I learned a lot from this that I wouldn’t have found out any other way.”
Sources: K. Jones, “CEOs Go Undercover over Workplace Safety,” SafetyAtWorkBlog (February 5, 2011), downloaded June 10, 2011, from http://safetyatworkblog.wordpress.com/; W. Kern, “The Fakery of CEOs Undercover,” Bloomberg BusinessWeek (February 15, 2010), pp. 78–79.
PART 2
Complete the “Leadership questionnaire” posted under Chapter 12 module.
Leadership and Influence
To get a better idea of what your leadership style is and how productive it would be, fill out the following questionnaire. If
you are currently a manager or have been a manager, answer the questions considering “members” to be your employees.
If you have never been a manager, think of situations when you were a leader in an organization and consider “members”
to be people working for you.
Response choices for each item: A = always, B = often, C = occasionally, D = seldom, E = never
1. I would act as the spokesperson of the group. _____
2. I would allow the members complete freedom in their work. _____
3. I would encourage overtime work. _____
4. I would permit the members to use their own judgment in solving problems. _____
5. I would encourage the use of uniform procedures. _____
6. I would needle members for greater effort. _____
7. I would stress being ahead of competing groups. _____
8. I would let the members do their work the way they think best. _____
9. I would speak as the representative of the group. _____
10. I would be able to tolerate postponement and uncertainty. _____
11. I would try out my ideas in the group. _____
12. I would turn the members loose on a job, and let them go on it. _____
13. I would work hard for a promotion. _____
14. I would get swamped by details. _____
15. I would speak for the group when visitors are present. _____
16. I would be reluctant to allow the members any freedom of action. _____
17. I would keep the work moving at a rapid pace. _____
18. I would let some members have authority that I should keep. _____
19. I would settle conflicts when they occur in the group. _____
20. I would allow the group a high degree of initiative. _____
21. I would represent the group at outside meetings. _____
22. I would be willing to make changes. _____
23. I would decide what will be done and how it will be done. _____
24. I would trust the members to exercise good judgment. _____
25. I would push for increased production. _____
26. I would refuse to explain my actions. _____
27. Things usually turn out as I predict. _____
28. I would permit the group to set its own pace. _____
29. I would assign group members to particular tasks. _____
30. I would act without consulting the group. _____
31. I would ask the members of the group to work harder. _____
32. I would schedule the work to be done. _____
33. I would persuade others that my ideas are to their advantage. _____
34. I would urge the group to beat its previous record. _____
35. I would ask that group members follow standard rules and regulations. _____
Scoring
People oriented
: Place a check mark by the number if you answered either
A or B
to any of these questions:
Question# 2 ____ 10 ____ 22 ____ 4 ____ 12 ____ 24 ____ 6 ____ 18 ____ 28 ____ 8 ____ 20 ____
Place a check mark by the number if you answered either
D or E
to any of these questions:
14 ____ 16 ____ 26 ____ 30 ____
Count your check marks to get your total people-oriented score. ____
Task oriented
: Place a check mark by the number if you answered either
A or B
to any of these questions:
3 ____ 7 ____ 11 ____ 13 ____ 17 ____ 25 ____ 29 ____ 31 ____ 34 ____
Place a check mark by the number if you answered
C or D
to any of these questions:
1 ____ 5 ____ 9 ____ 15 ____ 19 ____ 21 ____ 23 ____ 27 ____ 32 ____ 33 ____ 35 ____
Count your check marks to get your total task-oriented score. ____
Part: 2 Question
After completing the questionnaire, report your people-oriented and task-oriented scores. Do you agree with the results? Explain why you consider yourself people-oriented or task-oriented (provide 1 -2 examples).
Answer part 2 question only please and provide example. thank you in advance. Organizational behavior and theory class.
Explanation / Answer
Ans:
After completing the questionnaire, my people-oriented score was 8 and my task-oriented score was 11. I agree with results as I am more of a task-oriented person rather than people oriented.
Task-oriented leaders are focused mainly on the tasks to be performed that are assigned for the achievement of specific goals. People-oriented or relationship-oriented leaders tend to focus more on well-being, the satisfaction of the employees and keep motivating the employees. This doesn't mean that task-oriented leaders don't care about their employees. It just means they are more worried about the task than the ones performing it.
Example:
1) I usually tend to establish timelines for my team and provide a goal to achieve at intervals for a common objective which disables me to focus on the employees' needs.