Case Study - A Day in the Life of Alex Siminov
Before his morning coffee break, Alex Simonov finished his daily reports and taught the new kid
how to file. During his coffee break, he sat with two of his subordinates and asked for their ideas
about some new equipment he was thinking of purchasing. They gave him several ideas he
hadn’t thought of and alerted him to some possible alternative machines. Returning to his office,
he contacted the manufacturer and asked for their catalogs.
As he finished his last call, Sylvia entered his office with a frown on her face. After some
friendly conversation, she finally explained her problem: “Mr. Simonov, I can’t work at my desk
any longer. That chair is wobbly and squeaks every time I move in it. It’s driving me crazy and
has been for weeks.
“Why have you waited so long to tell me this, Sylvia?”
“I know you’re busy and we have a cutback on our departmental budget. I didn’t think you
could do anything. But now I’m desperate!”
“I’ll take care of it. Give me a day or two, will you?”
“Sure. Thanks, Mr. Simonov.”
No sooner had Sylvia left than his telephone rang. It was Alice Goulos from the
neighboring office. Alice and Alex discussed their views on their bosses’ proposals for the
expansion of their facilities and finally agreed on a united approach. They formulated their
counterproposals and recorded their justifications for them.
Over lunch, Alex talked with his boss about the staff retirement party for Lisa Gardino.
Several other managers joined their table and the conversation turned to sports, then to politics,
and finally to the future of the economy.
After lunch, Alex met with the personnel director to discuss filling the vacancy in his
department. The two agreed on an up-to-date job description and its specifications. Alex was
promised some candidates to interview within ten days.
Returning to his office, Alex worked on his subordinates’ appraisals. He referred to his
notes, in which he had recorded major and minor events as they had unfolded over the past
several months. Alex kept detailed notes about project assignments, their due dates, and the
results of subordinates’ efforts. He used his own rating scale from 1 through 6, 6 being the
highest rating for a given project completed on time and in perfect shape. Looking ahead on his
calendar, he blocked out time for several interviews during which the results of his efforts would
be shared.
His day ended with a discussion at the desk of one of his subordinates. Alex explained to
Jonah Watson that the company was gearing up for another class in its management training
program and was looking for qualified applicants. Alex suggested that Jonah would certainly
qualify and could attend if he was interested in doing so. Alex would write the recommendation
and reschedule the work so that Jonah could attend.
It was nearly 6 P.M. when Alex left for home.
Think about the facts of the case and answer the following questions:
How has Alex demonstrated each of the path-goal theory leadership behaviors- INSTRUMENTAL BEHAVIOR, SUPPORTIVE BEHAVIOR, PARTICIPATE BEHAVIOR, and ACHIEVEMENT-ORIENTED BEHAVIOR??
Where would you place Alex on Blake and Mouton’s Leadership Grid?
How would you describe Alex’s leadership or managerial philosophy? Theory X, Y or Z or something else or a combination?