Introduction and Overview
Alan who is the owner of the auto repair shop plans work schedules for the employees and assign work to the mechanics in regards to the given cars they need to work on, and he does not take much time in ordering and supervising the mechanics while repairing the vehicles. Also, he does not directly tell his employees what to do in tackling different problems, but he gives them suggestions on how to handle the difficult situations or instead he shows the mechanics how he would have addressed the issue. Alan also works together with his workers and answers all the questions they ask him. Finally, he gives his employees the opportunities to take part in decision making, for instance, he asks them the types of new equipment to buy or how he can improve the quality.
Alan utilizes Laissez-faire type of leadership since he has experts in his unit who help in decision making. From the case study, Gil and Hans engage in specialist jobs and mostly high-precision, and they never make any mistake in their work, hence are experts. Bart and Herbie are specialized mechanics in that Bart concentrates on repairing motorcycles, and Whiz specializes in troubleshooting problems with engines. LaMont is becoming an expert in solving problems in regards to the electronic parts of the machines. While Joanie is good at general mechanics, hence Alan can easily ask their decision (Chaundry, 2012). He also gives his workers all the freedom, and from the case study he does not direct or supervises his workers. His leadership style the Laissex Fair leadership impacts positively on his workers since his employees work without supervision and directives and yet they do their jobs very well (Val, 2012).
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Identification of the Main Issues/Problems/Questions
During the flood, Alan directs the workers to move cars to the high ground, take the boxes and other supplies from the floor to office's storage racks in the storeroom. His employees look amused and do nothing. He later orders them to do what he wants, and they follow his directives. He orders them around, and they remove all the boxes from the floor and also they moved the cars inside the shop and placed them on cement blocks. Alan's leadership style was appropriate at the moment since all the work got done and the floods did not destroy any of his properties.
After the flood, Alan shows effective behavior since he gives a speech thanking all his workers and giving them credit for helping out to prevent the loss of property and damaged by the flood. For example, he gave thanks to LaMont for quickly putting the master switch away before the floods got to the electric outlets, and he also appreciated Kirks contribution for jacking up all the cars that were not working inside the shop.
To solve the flood problem, Allan employs an autocratic leadership style in that he observes that the flood water might enter the shop and damage the property and makes the decision on behalf of his workers. In the case study, Alan orders his employs around on what to do hence making the decisions for them and solving the problem (Val, 2012).
Analysis of Issues/Problems/Questions
Since Alan used Laissex Fair leadership style before the flood, his employs knew they would get involved in deciding to move the vehicle and properties in regards to the flood. So at first when he told them to move the boxes, they get amused and did not do as he said. For instance, Kirk tells him that the flood water will not reach the parking lot. Alan then decides to utilize an autocratic leadership style in which he orders his workers around and finally gets the job done and saves his property from being damaged by the flood water. After the flood waters, Alan uses transactional leadership style in that he rewards his workers. For example, he gave thanks to Lamont for quickly thinking of removing the master switch box and keeping it in a safer place before the flood waters got to the electric outlets. He also gave thanks to Kirk for his idea of ensuring all the disabled vehicles got jacked up inside the shop.
From the case study, Alan uses different leadership styles to solve various issues. He utilizes Laissex Fair leadership that motivates his workers since from the case study, the workers do their work very well with minimal supervisions or directives, and he involves them in decision making (Val, 2012). He also uses autocratic leadership to solve the flood situation and finally uses the transactional leadership style leading to the appreciation of his workers. Therefore, good leadership involves picking different leadership styles when tackling different working conditions.
Connection to Course and Outside Readings
Alan uses transactional leadership in that after the flood he gives a speech thanking all his workers one by one even if the worker's contribution was minimal, and Laissez fair before the flood allowing the workers to get included in making decisions and utilizing minimal supervision. In Chaudhry (2012), the banks used transactional leadership and Laissez-faire type of leadership type which resulted in motivated workers. In any organization, it is imperative to keep the employees motivated for maximum productivity. Applying the proper leadership combination styles is one key way of imparting this motivation. Granting work freedom and involving the employees in decision making in Laissez-fair type of leadership impacts positively on the workers' motivation.
Alan utilizes the autocratic type of leadership when faced with the flood problem. In Val (2012), the leaders of the groups used the autocratic kind of leadership in that they decided when the group would wake and start their journey. Also, they used the autocratic leadership style when they faced difficulties in the course of their expedition making decisions on behalf of the groups. The leaders in Val (2012), also utilized Laissez fair type of leadership like Alan, in that the group made suggestions on the kind of approach the group should take and the leaders accepted the plan.
Conclusions and Recommendations
From the case study, Alan utilizes different leadership styles to tackle various issues in regards to the dealings in his auto repair shop. Working with groups of peoples creates difficulty because they are unique and diverse. The best leadership style to utilize for such group is the dynamic type of leadership. Also, Alan should be able to mold his workers to follow his orders without repeating them twice. Lastly it is highly recommended how Alan utilizes different leadership styles to tackle various issues, and that is what a good leader should do – that is, choosing from the different forms of leadership and apply them appropriately to their workers (Val, 2012).
References
Chaudhry, A. Q., & Javed, H. (2012). Impact of transactional and laissez faire leadership style on
motivation. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(7).
http://ijbssnet.com/journals/Vol_3_No_7_April_2012/28.pdf
Val, C., & Kemp, J. (2012). Leadership Styles. Pathways: The Ontario Journal Of Outdoor
Education, 24(3), 28-31.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ994012.pdf
