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Leading Change: Good Sport
University of Phoenix
Leading Change: Good Sport
In the Good Sport simulation, the use of power and politics demonstrated the effectiveness of transformational leadership. While Good Sport is an organization with the common mission of providing a superior exercise product, unique cultural and structural characteristics that could easily hinder their future success. This is not an uncommon finding within an organization, and is naturally occurring as organizations divide tasks into distinct components (McShane and Von Glinow, 2005, p. 446). A leader is responsible for identifying how to use the power and politics to maximize productivity and return to stakeholders.
Organizational Structure and Culture
Good Sport operates under a hierarchal based organizational structure with executive, middle, and junior management leading the company's major functions of Production, R and D, Sales, and Finance. While the Chairman capitalized on his professional athlete status during the start-up period of the company, its structure has since evolved. McShane and Von Glinow (2005) describe how organizational structure evolves from a centralized structure to one that more accurately describes Good Sport: "Most organizations begin with centralized structures, as the founder makes most of the decisions and tries to direct the business toward his or her vision. But as organizations grow, they diversify and their environments become more complex" (p. 449). Each department is characterized by a distinct work culture. The Sales department operates under an informal work culture, whereby ...