INTRODUCTION TO THE ASSIGNMENT
This assignment consists of ONE case study and TWO sections of questions. Please answer both sections.
ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS
The assignment is based on the following case study about BMW:
Avery, G.C. and Bergsteiner, H., 2011. How BMW successfully practices sustainable leadership principles. Strategy & Leadership, 39(6), pp.11-18,
Read the case study thoroughly, and then answer the questions below. There are two sections to the assignment, and each is worth 50 marks. Note that you are not required to name or identify your organisation in any way. All answers should be supported by your own research and therefore reference to other literature.
SECTION A: LEADERSHIP
1. Looking at the description of honeybee and locust organisational leadership in the case study, critically assess your own organisation and determine if it is more of a honeybee or a locust organisation.
2. Depending on what you chose, justify your answer by describing your understanding of the characteristics and qualities of either the honeybee or locust leadership organisation, and then provide at least one actual example that demonstrates the existence of three of these characteristics in your own organisation.
3. Using either the leadership theories that were discussed in the module, or any others that you research, to which theory of leadership does the honeybee model of leadership most clearly relate? State your answer, discuss the characteristics of that leadership theory, and use examples/words/phrases from the case study that justify your choice. Critically discuss your perceptions of the reported benefits that this theory demonstrates in the BMW case study.
4. Using your reflection on your own organisation in question 2, if you said your organisation demonstrates honeybee leadership, what practical issues got in the way of or still work against the full realisation of this model? If you said your organisation demonstrates locust leadership, what challenges are evident that go against implementing honeybee leadership? Justify your evidence by linking it to the discussion of the leadership theory that you picked in question 3.
5. Provide 5 pieces of evidence for the integration of the honeybee leadership approach throughout the whole of BMWs organisation. Identify three major shortfalls in your own organisation with respect to the aspects that you identify. In other words, where would your organisation need to see most improvement to fully integrate this approach? Identify some practices from the case study that would help make this necessary shift, and justify their applicability to your organisation.
SECTION B: PERSONAL MASTERY
6. Briefly describe your intellectual emotional, physical and spiritual response to the case study. Reflect very briefly how this might affect your own leadership.
7. List two strengths that you have identified in yourself through this module. Critically discuss how these strengths would contribute to two foundational practices as identified in Exhibit 2 of the case study. Make sure you describe your understanding of the foundational practice to support your discussion. Ensure that you use supporting literature for this.
8. Identify two emotional intelligence competencies that you would like to develop further in yourself. With reference to Question 2, briefly but critically evaluate how these emotional competencies would contribute to maintaining a honeybee leadership model, or changing from a locust leadership model. Describe what approach you will use to develop these two competencies.
9. Identify and describe two ways in which you contribute to an enabling culture that could contribute to building spiritual intelligence in your organisation or department. What aspects of the organisation might impede your progress on this, and describe two ways that you could address these.
10. Draw a diagram of the stakeholders related directly and indirectly to your actual department or division: be as specific as possible. Describe briefly the relationship that your department has with each stakeholder (avoid using ‘good' and ‘bad'), and identify one of the relationships that you would like to improve. Choose one of the approaches in the case study that you think would help you to improve that relationship, and critically evaluate how this would work in practice in your situation, with specific reference to your role in the intervention.