In large corporations big decisions have to be made on a daily basis. Chrysler used to be the third-largest car maker, but has dropped to number 6 in its home market, trailing behind other companies such as Toyota and Honda. Recently, Chrysler had a door handle issue with their new Charger that was supposed to be on the assembly line. The main problem was that the latch on the door was not tight, letting water to seep in and cause the electronics to malfunction or fail. To me, this problem should have been handled by the developers as well as the mechanics. But, what I didn’t know was how involved the chief executive of Chrysler Group LLC, Sergio Marchionne, was with decisions such as these.
As we discussed in class, in the “Management Skills Necessary at Various Levels of an Organization” chart, it is easy to see that top management usually does not have the technical skills that the middle or supervisory management has. This is a main reason I was surprised that the CEO was involved with the door handle decision. Mr. Marchionne said that he was getting updates every couple of hours on how the progress was going with the door handle. But, it was said by the head of dealership chain AutoNation Inc. that it was remarkable to see an automotive CEO have such detailed conversations and know so much about the problem. Yes, I agree that it is important to be involved at every level of the organization, but I do not think that there is a need for a CEO to be constantly bothered by a door handle malfunction.
The main problem I see that in such a large corporation, such as Chrysler, is that there are going to be multiple decisions that need to be made every day and there is no way that just one person is going to be able to make all these decisions. The busy schedule that the CEO has also means that it is hard to get one-on-one time to go over tough decisions. Although Mr. Marchionne is trying to change the culture of the organization, he needs to be able to allow tasks and decisions to be made by other people or he will begin to experience burnout. The question here then is at what point is it beneficial for top managers to be involved in lower level malfunctions?
--Devan Pritchett
I also find it odd how Mr. Marchionne was involved in the technical skills of his business. However, I still believe he is being an effective leader in this situation. He is taking the matters into his own hands to help guide and influence the people below him. He is becoming a role model for his employees on how to go about handling this situation.
ReplyDeleteThis also reminds me of the Domino's commercial when the CEO takes the issue of a bad pizza delivery in this own hands. He is disturbed by the results of a photo of a "damaged" pizza that was delivered to a customer. The video of this commercial is posted below for those who have not seen it before.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyhUX41sJpU&feature=related
Posted by: Genise Logston
I believe it showed excellent leadership when the CEO at Chrysler rolled up his sleeves and got personally involved with those on the lower level of this organization. I think it's important that he is aware of what is going on with the door handles, especially because this issue is not just about a loose door handle, the water could destroy the car and potentially cause a life threatening accident! Those are lawsuits I am positive he would not like to be involved in. While I agree with Devan that it's unusual for a CEO to use their technical skills throughout their work day, it is important that every CEO of a company knows their business inside and out and is knowledgeable enough to use these skills when deemed necessary.
ReplyDelete-Christine Burklin
The fact that the CEO is getting on the floor and getting his hands dirty is definitely an admirable trait for a CEO and it is quite relevant that he was utilizing technical skills on the lower level of the organization. I guess he can be considered a "jack of all trades". The important thing to note here is although the door handle issue came up with some Chrysler vehicles, you have to blame the organization as a whole and not just the CEO for such a minor mishap.
ReplyDelete-Josh Dlabal
Mr. Marchionne also uses the path-goal theory when leading this change at Chrysler. He uses all of the leader behaviors (directive, supportive, participative, and achievement oriented). He starts this change with the subordinates. Although he is not the person fixing the cars, he is the one motivating his followers to fix it. He took it into this own hands to make sure the issue was fixed.
ReplyDeleteMr. Marchionne is directive by informing his employees what he wants fixed. He tells them to keep him updated on the fixed door latch. He also sets clear standards of performance for his followers to meet while fixing the faulty door.
He is also supportive by being approachable. He wants to be involved with the process, so he acts as if he were in one of the lower levels of the organization. Mr. Marchionne goes down to their level to help support the employees.
The leader behavior of being achievement oriented is also seen in Mr. Marchionne. He is so motivated to fix this door handle situation that he involves himself in the technical skills of fixing it. He requests updates on the performance of the issues to ensure that the improvements on the situation are being achieved.
The motivation he provides to his followers allows Chrysler to achieve their goals of productivity. It is very clear that Mr. Marchionne uses the path-goal theory to motivate his followers to efficiency.
Posted by: Genise Logston
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete