Case Study Answers
(The underlined and bold sentences are the vital key words for the answers.)
Case - 1:
1. What kinds of skills did Steve Jobs have as a manager?
Steve Jobs’ visionary leadership and his ability to direct product development to introduce cuttingedge products indicate that he had strong conceptual skills. His ability to persuade others to embrace
his vision and work toward it indicates that he had strong human skills as well.
2. How did he use these skills to change the way Apple operates?
Your answers will vary here, but should note that Jobs’ absences from Apple were marked by a
decline in creativity and risk-taking, and a more play-it-safe approach.
3. How do you think Steve Job’s management style has affected those of other Apple top managers?
Do you think they will be able to maintain the company’s successful track record?
Due to the nature of this question, your responses may vary.
Case - 2:
1. How would you describe Kenneth Frazier’s personality?
Kenneth Frazier is likely to be high on openness to experience, as he’s willing to take risks when it
comes to product research. He would seem to have low negative affectivity, as he takes setbacks in
his stride, without becoming pessimistic or critical. He might have an internal locus of control, as
he is willing to take responsibility for the failure of his decisions. We might also guess that he has a
high need for achievement, based on his academic achievements.
2. Which terminal values do you think might be especially important to him?
His terminal values are likely to be associated with the success of Merck, making a permanent
contribution to the world through medical research, and succeeding in breakthrough research.
3. Which instrumental values do you think might be especially important to him?
Frazier’s instrumental values may be to be daring and courageous in seeking out new solutions, and
independent and open-minded when considering new research paths.
4. In what ways do you think that Frazier might influence Merck’s culture in his role as CEO?
Frazier would likely allow researchers and employees at Merck to be more accepting of risk and
open to unusual ways of solving problems. He might encourage the employees to look beyond safe
options and not be restrained by thoughts of failure.
Case – 3:
1. What kind of decisions has chief executive Ben Verwaayen been making at Alcatel-Lucent?
The company stopped hedging and correctly bet that LTE would emerge as the global standard.
He also demanded that executives come up with a strategy that spanned varied product lines.
These decisions would be considered nonprogrammed decisions as they had no precedent in the
organization.
2. To what extent are these decisions subject to risk and uncertainty?
These decisions are subject to risk and uncertainty because their prediction that LTE would emerge
as the global standard could have failed if WiMax had held their own. They are also highly
dependent on demand from U.S. carriers.
3. To what extent do you think Verwaayen and other top managers have satisficed when making these
decisions?
There is no indication that the company came up with valid alternatives for their decisions, in case
they could not be implemented. Therefore, they engaged in little or no satisficing.
4. How might Verwaayen contribute to organizational learning at Alcatel-Lucent?
To contribute to organizational learning, Verwaayen must encourage his employees to experiment
and explore what they want. He must form teams, rather than individuals working alone, to
promote group creativity.