Midterm

Exam
MGMT 3030
Sections 004 and 006

INSTRUCTIONS
This exam is due at 3:15 pm on Thursday, October 17. You will submit the completed exam
electronically through the D2L dropbox system. This exam is a take home exam and I
expect that the work submitted will be your work exclusivelymeaning that you do not
collaborate in any way with other classmates, friends, etc. If I suspect that you have
collaborated with another student or violated the Honor Code in any way, we will have to
address it through the Office of Student Conduct. I encourage you to visit the Honor Code
website (http://honorcode.colorado.edu/student-information/what-violation) to better
understand what is expected of you.

The CU Honor Code is to be honored fully. Period.

In general, your responses should convey to me that you understand the content from the
Daft text but also that you are able to connect and apply the concepts to actual events that
have taken place (ex. Enron scandal, Walmart bribery in Mexico) or a situation that you
could some day encounter during your professional career. I encourage you to pull from
your personal experiences or the experiences of others that have been shared in class.
Communication is a critical skill in the business world and that includes written
correspondence. You should be clear and concise in general, while expanding on some
thoughts when needed.

GUIDELINES
Please submit your exam in a word document. Please follow the suggested response length
provided for each question type. Please label each response with the question type and
question number. For example, if you choose to answer short answer questions 2, 3 and 5,
your first response should be started with Short Answer #2: followed by your answer.

Place the following header at the top of each page:
Your Name
MGMT 3030
Midterm Exam

Short Answer (15 points each). Use a half page single-spaced to answer each of the short
answer questions (no more than 1 page per response). Choose 3 of the 5 short answer
questions listed below to answer.

1. A distinction has been made in both the Daft text (remember the chart we covered
in class) and numerous popular press articles (ex. Zalezniks Managers and
Leaders: Are they different? and Jim Collins Level 5 Leadership). Please discuss
the critical differences between managers and leaders. Secondly, please provide
examples of when a manager would be more effective than a leader, and vice versa.

2. You have taken numerous assessments over the last several weeks with the purpose
of becoming more aware of your personality, skills, and strengths as a leader. These
assessments also highlight potential areas of improvement. Introduce two (2) of
these assessments that you believe identified a weakness or gap that you currently
have. Provide a general overview of what the assessment measures and provide
details regarding any specific components. Then, introduce the specific aspect of the
assessment that you should improve on. Finally, talk briefly about the steps you can
take to address this gap.

3. There is a longstanding debate as to whether leaders are born or made. The
concepts, theories, and examples from this course have provided evidence for either
stance (though not equally). Please state your stance on the debate and utilize
content from the class and personal experience to back up your position. (There is
no definitive right or wrong answer to born or made, so points will be given if
supported properly)

4. A goal for this class is for you to be more attuned with who you are as a person
today (through assessments and feedback), but also to know the type of leader and
follower you want to become. As we talked about in Chapters 5 and 6, your
community and peers will naturally shape your core values and your moral
development. Please explain what your core values are and identify a specific
organization that you think would be a strong fit for you and your goals. (Hint: Look
at company websites for their mission and vision.these are often indicators of
what they value.)

5. What is your followership style? Feel free to ask for feedback from a work
supervisor or someone who has witnessed your participation in a group (ex.
volunteer work, sorority/fraternity involvement, sports team). Explain what your
followership style is and the context in which this is your style (you likely behave
differently in different groups, so just pick one). Highlight the ways in which this
style is effective for the situation and the ways that it is ineffective or
counterproductive for the situation. Feel free to use Kelleys Followership Styles (as
shown in Exhibit 7.1 on page 198) and Coveys habits.

Essay (50 points each). Use one, single-spaced page to answer each of the essay questions
(no more than 2 pages per response). You must answer both of these essay questions.

6. Please compare and contrast your own leadership patterns with those of a
prominent leader. Begin by selecting a well-known leader who interests you. This
may be a historical figure (i.e. Lincoln, Churchill, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mother
Teresa) or a more contemporary one (ex. Marissa Mayer, Steve Jobs, Jack Welch,
Benazir Bhutto). Sources for information on the leader of your choice should include
news media, biographies, autobiographies, or documentaries. I would recommend
that you not use Wikipedia as it is not necessarily accurate and is often only surface
level information. Research the leaders upbringing, personal traits, behaviors,
leadership philosophy, style, successes and failures. Review your own personality
type and emotional intelligence IQ. This essay should focus on how the leaders
traits compare and contrast with your own. What qualities do you most admire?
Which would you like to incorporate into your own approach to leading? Why? Your
essay should be a comparison and contrast between the leader of your choice and
yourself. References should be provided when information from another source is
used.

7. Hardys Hardware needs a new CEO! As an outstanding employee at this regional
do-it-yourself retailer, you recently participated on a special team to prioritize
human resources initiatives (i.e. the in class exercise on Tuesday). You are now on
an elite search committee to find the new leader of your company. The search
committee consists of you and about 10 other people. Before you begin looking at
specific candidates, the SVP of HR has asked everyone to provide a recommendation
of the type of person the company should aim for. Please outline 3 or 4
characteristics that you think the new CEO should possess. Provide your rationale or
thought process for the sought after characteristicthe why! Should the new CEO be
internal/external? Should he/she be from the DIY industry or not? Should the
person be more autocratic or democratic? Use terminology that we have discussed
in class or from the Daft text.

Background Info: Hardys Hardware is a privately owned regional chain of building
and home improvement products. Hardys operates 54 stores in Washington, Idaho,
Oregon, and California. The stores are smaller than the super-centers of Lowes or
Home Depot but carry similar products. Hardys has enjoyed solid increases in sales
and loyal customers for several years but has recently stalled in terms of growth,
under the increasing presence of the national chain stores. This pressure from Home
Depot and Lowes is threatening not only profitability but also employee morale.
The outgoing CEO has been with the company for nearly 30 years and was beloved
internally, but was not the right person for necessary change for the future.

Give Me Points (5 points each). Respond to 1 of the 2 questions below with 2-3 sentences
at most.
8. What is the most frustrating stereotype that you have been assigned to?
9. What is the most valuable thing you have learned from this class?