Hill Enterprises

Introduction

Hill Enterprise is a firm that was founded by an individual with a definite goal to achieve. Over the time, the company augmented rapidly necessitating the need for a new partner to ensure the smooth running of the firm. With a new owner on board, operational changes occurred rapidly with workers finding themselves in strange position. In the backdrop of this rapid change in leadership, there was a paradigm shift in all operations within the firm. This culminated in the company registering losses and some workers contemplating on moving to other firms. This paper explores the dissimilar leadership styles and the varied predicaments that the organization underwent over the nine months period considered.

1. Strengths and Weaknesses of Hill Enterprises Nine Months

After Phil Bellows became a Manager.

Phil Bellows helped to establish formal channels of communication, with the use of charts and e-mails. This ensured quicker and faster passage of messages to the intended recipient, a reduction of time wastage by employees and increased production. The firm was able to acquire new premises for the president. Additionally, his leadership saw the introduction of information scheduling procedures and reduction in the cost of production (Knudson, 1991).

From the case study, there is a notable breakdown in communication from the management of Hill Enterprise during the nine months of Phil Bellows tenure. Robert Hill, as the founder of the firm had established an individualized form of communication with his employees. Through effective communication he was able to motivate workers to work overtime and during difficult times without complaining. This paid off as the firm made double profit and the employees were given double salary as compared to other companies. Despite the increase in the workload, Robert Hill kept face-to-face contact with the employees, hence maintaining a personalized presence with each one of them (Knudson, 1991).

The case study portrays Phil Bellows as a transactional leader rather than a transformational one. He fails to strike a rapport between him and the employees on the first day when he goes in the production area with a clipboard and quietly converses with Daniella Robbins through gestures. Whereas employees are used to a personalized form of communication where management is in constant contact with the employees, Phil Bellows chose to use charts and demanded for an escalation of communication. He insisted that no employee would communicate to Robert Hill without going through him. Similarly, there is a rapid change in the informal communication model used to by employees to resentful one (Knudson, 1991).

In the nine months of Phil Bellows’ management tenure, there was a change in communication within the firm. Reportedly, he preferred to communicate to the employees through e-mails. The increased number of e-mails made employees to spend more time reading them causing increasingly narrower profits margins that culminated into losses. Despite knowing this, the employees remained relatively quiet as they considered this a means of punishment to Phil for his despotic leadership styles (Knudson, 1991).

Reportedly, there were confusions amid the employees which were the result of conflicting orders from the management. From the case study, it is evident that they seemed to contradict each other in terms of policies and procedures. The new management under Phil did not recognize communication between employees. This created out-groups that conspired to censure any communication intended for the management. The consequence of this action was Phil making decisions alone. This immediately led to a misuse of firm equipment and huge loses. Consequently, the leadership tenure lacked motivation and incentives to employees. Reportedly, it established a management strategy, which was increasingly authoritative and procedural. This led to explicit separation amid the management and the employees culminating in mistrust and incidences of name-calling. This leadership also witnessed a critical increased rejection of company products in the market. Despite these results, the organization’s management remained increasingly indifferent (Knudson, 1991).

2. Comparison and Contrast of Robert Hill and Phil Bellows Leadership Styles

Robert Hill comes out as a transformational leader. He is charismatic, visionary and inspirational. Individually he considers the welfare of his employees as a significant part of the organization’s success. This is particularly evident in comparatively higher salaries that he pays his employees. Furthermore, he clarifies his performance expectations and goals to the potential employee in the interview stage, and dictates the pathway to achieving the desired goals. Further changes are evident in the way he rewards his employees, shares his vision with them and provides resources for enhancing their individual potential and growth. Robert Hill also serves as a role model to his employees, mobilizes commitment and focuses on their needs (Knudson, 1991).

Contrary to this, Phil Bellows is transactional. He outlines duties and specific tasks and instructs employees on what to do and how to do it. He ensures that employees adhere to rules and procedures focusing on peak performance. Evidently, he is increasingly autocratic and initiates structured system, such as the newly established stringent communication hierarchy. In general, he is task-oriented rather than people-oriented leader (Knudson, 1991).

From the before-mentioned comparison it is evident that Robert Hill is a more appropriate leader at Hill Enterprise. The case study establishes that through his leadership the firm is stabilized, workers motivated and work overtime is rewarded without coercion or complain. Furthermore, the firm registers profit and employees takes home good salaries. Besides, the overall vision of the firm seems to be on course until the arrival of Phil Bellows who completely institutes a communication breakdown. His leadership results in the firm registering loses and some of the employees start relocating to new jobs. Conversing of communication procedures is rampant as evidenced by some employees who went directly to the president and informed him about the situation at the firm (Knudson, 1991).

1.3. Problems Evident under Phil Bellows Leadership

Phil Bellows tenure encountered numerous predicaments. To begin with, there were out-groups that increasingly opposed Phil Bellows’ management efforts within the firm. This grouping considered the work manager a fool and incessantly paid little attention to his instructions. In spite of this, there were efforts by workers to get required work done. Correspondingly, inefficiency in operations resulted in interference in the arrangement of the conditions and procedures of work. For instance, the workers conspired to censure information that resulted in the management getting information that was significant in decision-making. Additionally, wastage of resources culminated deficient consultations within the firm’s hierarchy. This added to the already expanding issue of poor decision-making. The consequence was the workers becoming increasingly demoralized (Knudson, 1991).

The subsequent months witnessed the removal of the informal communication amid management and the workers that ensured personal contact and encouragement. Workers could no longer enjoy the privilege of the usual soothing words of their employer. Similarly, curtailment of freedom of communication amid the workers, which was considered a waste of time, was instrumental in the forgoing dissent towards the management. Evidently, given the indifference by the management towards the working conditions of employees resulted in further resentment towards the work and the management itself. This caused a drift by the workers from the organization’s core business goals and ambitions. Lack of loyalty and motivation led to some of the employees looking for better jobs in other firms stripping Hill Enterprises of its work force (Knudson, 1991).

Conclusion

From the above discussion, it is evident that leadership at Hill Enterprises during the nine months brought about radical changes. There is a change in communication model and operation procedures. Consequently, the case study helps in comparing and contrasting different leadership styles and helps to show how these styles can affect the profitability of a company. Additionally the case study establishes that leadership is an integral part of management and that without better leadership organizations are bound to make loses.