Due: After completion of Lesson 4
Credit Weight: 25% of your final grade
Summary: Case study essay (1000–1200 words; word-processed and double-spaced)
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Case Study: Foxconn Technology Group
Adapted from Lussier, R. N., & Achua, C. F. (2016). Leadership: Theory, application, and skill development (6th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Have you ever heard of Foxconn Technology Group and its founder and CEO Terry Gou? Foxconn is the largest exporter of electronic products out of China. Gou started Hon Hai Precision Industry Company, the anchor company of Foxconn Technology Group, in 1974 at age 23, with a $7,500 loan from his mother to provide the lowest “total cost” solution for electronic products to increase affordability for everyone.
Foxconn has been a trusted name in contract manufacturing services for technology companies. Foxconn makes contracted products for major companies, including IBM, Cisco, Microsoft, Nokia, Sony, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and Apple. If you have a PlayStation, computer, or smartphone, there is a good chance that all or part of it was made by Foxconn.
Terry Gou has been characterized as a charming salesman, a daring strategist, a ruthless taskmaster, and a reincarnated Henry Ford. He is always thinking about a way to shave another nickel off the cost of a product. Although Gou is a billionaire, he says, “I am not interested in how much I have. I don’t care. At this point, I am working not for the money, but for society. I am working for my employees.”
In Foxconn Technology Group, Li Chang became the manager in a production department that makes parts for the Apple iPad. Chang’s job was to supervise the production of one part that is used as a component in other products. Employees run the machines to make the standard parts — an uncomplicated job with low pay that employees find boring. Chang closely supervised the employees to make sure they kept production on schedule. She believed that if she did not watch the employees closely and keep them informed of their output, they would slack off and miss production goals. Chang’s employees viewed her as an okay boss to work for; she took a personal interest in them, and they were productive. Chang did discipline employees who did not meet the standards for productivity, and she ended up firing some workers.
Jackie Lee, the manager of a design department that designed instruments to customer specifications, retired. Because Chang did a good job running her old department, she was promoted to manage this department. Chang had never designed anything, nor had she ever supervised this kind of work. The designers in her new department are all professional engineers who are paid well. According to Jackie Lee, their performance was good. As Chang observed workers in her usual manner, she noted that each designer did their work differently, so she closely observed the designers’ work to glean good ideas and practices that all of her designers could follow. Before long, Chang was telling employees how to do a better job of designing the custom specifications. However, the designers told Chang that she did not know what she was talking about, and employees began to resent Chang’s interference. Chang tried to rely on her authority. This worked while she was watching employees directly. However, once she left one employee to observe another, workers went back to doing things their own way. Behind her back, Chang’s employees complained about her being a poor manager behind her back.
The complaints about Chang being a poor manager got to Terry Gou. Realizing that performance in the design department had gone down since Chang took over as manager, Gou decided to call Chang into his office to discuss how things were going.
Note: Foxconn is an existing company. However, Li Chang and Jackie Lee are not actual managers at Foxconn; they are fictional managers used to illustrate contingency leadership.
Instructions
Answer the four questions below, in essay format using specific information from the case and relevant course concepts from the course and textbook to support your answers. You are not required to use sources external to the course materials to complete this assignment.
Your answer to each question should be two to three paragraphs long; your essay should be 1000–1200 words.
The Evaluation Rubric at the end of the assignment shows how your assignment will be evaluated.
Format
You are required to format your paper and cite and reference your sources correctly, using APA Style (7th ed.).
Please prepare your assignment using a word processor. Double space your essay and use Times New Roman 12-point font. Submit your assignment file with your first and last name, course abbreviation, and assignment number in the file name:
Example: SallyJones_ORGB327v9_Assignment1.docx
Questions
1. Which leadership style does Li Chang appear to be using?
2. Using the contingency leadership model (see Lussier & Achua, 2023, Exhibit 4.3, p. 139), what situation and leadership style are appropriate for the production department? What situation and leadership style are appropriate for the custom design department?
3. Why isn’t Chang’s leadership effective in the design department?
4. Based on what you have learned about contingency leadership and leadership substitutes theory, what would you recommend that Chang do to improve performance?
