Written Assignment Unit 2 Question
1. To what extent were the actions of Bernard Ebbers indicative of leadership, and to what extent did Ebbers display destructive behavior? Provide examples of leadership and deviant behavior from the case.
Answer:
Ebbers portrayed leadership skills in the following ways:
According to Kidwell (2005), “In the year 1985 Ebbers gained control of the LDDS Company using the interests he acquired in the motel chain, even after he was named the chief executive officer, he went a step ahead to try and find ways to cut off costs of operations. He also saw himself as a marketing expert and then proceeded to hire experts who would help him make LDDS profitable like accounting experts (P.).
In addition, other leadership …show more content…
For instance, “the rate at which he made acquisitions was so quick that he never gave time for integrating new companies to WorldCom. The act of providing personal loans to the senior executives without documentation and his cost-cutting tales was another, as he became obsessive in keeping down costs, for example he would ban color copies because he deemed them too expensive, he declared that he would videotape employees’ walks on an exercise track at the company’s headquarters to document whether they were taking too many breaks thereby invading their privacy, he would personally turn off light to shave energy bills, etc.” (P.92).
2. How did Ebbers influence his managers and employees to engage in deviant unethical behavior? How could he have used his influence and leadership style to avoid deviant behavior among subordinates?
Answer:
Ebbers influence on his managers and employees to engage in deviant unethical behavior came as a result of the following. They includes
I. Through Modeling; this is where the managers and employees observers Ebbers’ behavior (his inappropriate conduct) and it consequences (rewards), thereby affecting their behavior and outcomes. (P. 72). For example, “Ebbers inability to respond to emails (using email) from his staff shows an unethical behavior” (Kdwell, 2005 P. …show more content…
Kidwell (2005) added that Ebbers saw himself as a marketing expert and adopted the economies of scale to make LDDS (who became WorldCom) Profitable through rapid expansion. This strategy reached its peak when WorldCom acquired the MCI Communication in 1998, a company three times its size (P.91) and sensed the need to display an ever-increasing revenue and income through some financial stunt to protect his financial condition and that of WorldCom in the eyes of the public which only got complicated as time goes
1. To what extent were the actions of Bernard Ebbers indicative of leadership, and to what extent did Ebbers display destructive behavior? Provide examples of leadership and deviant behavior from the case.
Answer:
Ebbers portrayed leadership skills in the following ways:
According to Kidwell (2005), “In the year 1985 Ebbers gained control of the LDDS Company using the interests he acquired in the motel chain, even after he was named the chief executive officer, he went a step ahead to try and find ways to cut off costs of operations. He also saw himself as a marketing expert and then proceeded to hire experts who would help him make LDDS profitable like accounting experts (P.).
In addition, other leadership …show more content…
For instance, “the rate at which he made acquisitions was so quick that he never gave time for integrating new companies to WorldCom. The act of providing personal loans to the senior executives without documentation and his cost-cutting tales was another, as he became obsessive in keeping down costs, for example he would ban color copies because he deemed them too expensive, he declared that he would videotape employees’ walks on an exercise track at the company’s headquarters to document whether they were taking too many breaks thereby invading their privacy, he would personally turn off light to shave energy bills, etc.” (P.92).
2. How did Ebbers influence his managers and employees to engage in deviant unethical behavior? How could he have used his influence and leadership style to avoid deviant behavior among subordinates?
Answer:
Ebbers influence on his managers and employees to engage in deviant unethical behavior came as a result of the following. They includes
I. Through Modeling; this is where the managers and employees observers Ebbers’ behavior (his inappropriate conduct) and it consequences (rewards), thereby affecting their behavior and outcomes. (P. 72). For example, “Ebbers inability to respond to emails (using email) from his staff shows an unethical behavior” (Kdwell, 2005 P. …show more content…
Kidwell (2005) added that Ebbers saw himself as a marketing expert and adopted the economies of scale to make LDDS (who became WorldCom) Profitable through rapid expansion. This strategy reached its peak when WorldCom acquired the MCI Communication in 1998, a company three times its size (P.91) and sensed the need to display an ever-increasing revenue and income through some financial stunt to protect his financial condition and that of WorldCom in the eyes of the public which only got complicated as time goes