A640.4.4.RB - Developing a Case (Post event analysis)

This assignment brought a different perspective for me. My case study centered the management styles I am experiencing with my current manager, as well as the ones prior with previous management that were also good leaders.  These experiences and how the actions of leaders impacted the lives of the people that survive the layoffs.

I wondered if building a case would help me in my understanding and analysis of cases in the future. Bottom line I think that what I realized is that making a case study is harder than you think. I flopped around like a fish out of water before getting a full paragraph on the page. If anything, I will have a matured appreciation when I read an interesting and well-written case from this point forward. It is one thing to do it but it is another to do it well.  

The development of a case study takes time.  The message being delivered must be done in such a manner so that the end-user understands the case as the author intended.  Doing so, further highlights the need for details and background to provide a clear picture.  In my case, I was a little vague when developing my questions for the case study. Additionally, it brought to light the fact that case studies are difficult to interpret.  That is, they take time to digest and understand to get the most out of them.  Subsequently, they present a real-life scenario that one can apply and see how the leadership theories are used.

This week’s assignment centered a rounded situational and contingency theory leadership. And the case study methodology was somewhat thought-provoking although challenging. I have learned that a situational leader is competent to address the most pressing challenges in an individualized and innovative approach. Another point to learn from this week was that Fielder’s Contingency Theory of Leadership is inadequate when it comes to a leader’s flexibility. Which meant leaders are generally definitive in regulating workplace issues or situations thus if a situation or an issue should be handled differently, said issue or situation needs to be assigned to a different leader. (Rowe & Guerrero, 2013) And lastly, I have learned that although this week’s assignment was quite challenging, it was a learning point for me. Developing a case study taught me not only to know that a case study allows us to retain a holistic diagnostic of actual life events and at the same time researching events that are existential. To be efficient and fruitful in any case study, we need to utilize our Creative Problem Solving and Critical Thinking skills as a tool or method on how to approach challenges or problems in a creative and inventive way. As a leader, it is of utmost importance that I consistently develop, practice and possess critical thinking skills to understand and assess logically the correlation of ideas and determine various inconsistencies in reasoning to arrive at the appropriate decision(s).

References

Rowe, W. G., & Guerrero, L. (2013). Cases in Leadership. Thousand Oaks: Sage.