Chapter 12 – Leadership and Culture
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whole or part.
Questions for Discussion
1. Think about any two leaders you have known, preferably one good and one weak. They can be
Student responses will vary depending on the people they choose and the personal reasons
2. This chapter describes seven attributes that enable good leadership—vision, performance,
principles, education of subordinates, perseverance, passion, and leader
selection/development. Which one have you found to be the most meaningful to you in the
leaders you respond to the best?
Students will find information on each of these seven attributes in the text under the sections
3. Consider the following situation and determine whether the VC group is engaging in
something that would violate your principles, or be totally acceptable to you. Explain why.
The venture capital firm is capitalizing on two sides of the same market—funding the spyware
4. Read Exhibit 12.3. What would you do if you were asked to serve as an Ethics Review
Arbitrator and render a decision on what should happen to the Duke MBA students and to the
Centenary College MBA program? Summarize the key reasons supporting your ruling.
Again, personal student responses will vary. Students may feel more sympathetic to the Duke
Chapter 12 – Leadership and Culture
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whole or part.
5. Do you think Alan Lafley was a good organizational leader? What was his most important
contribution to his organizational culture in your opinion?
Again, responses will vary depend on how the student views the situation. There are legal
6. What is your opinion of the Netflix “organizational culture” crafted by Reed Hastings? What
pros and cons do you detect?
While student responses are likely to be different, they should keep in mind the following
things: the top management team tends to stick around – the team has been with the company
7. What three sources of power and influence are best suited to you as a manager?
The sources of power and influence are discussed on pages 338-339 in the text. They include:
8. Describe two organizations you have been a part of based on differences in their
organizational cultures.