Reference no: EM132892592

Read the Case Scenario below and answer ALL the questions that follow

Case Study: Loud and Clear: Leadership in Telecommunications

The Chairman of Direct Telecommunications PLC (DT), David Williams, had come under increasing pressure from the shareholders because of the company's poor performance.

DT has gone from being one of the most successful telecommunications companies of the 1980s and 1990s when the company was very rich, to a position where it has accumulated an enormous debt. Much of the responsibility for this dreadful decline in the fortunes of DT has been attributed to David Williams.

A business analysis of the telecommunications industry has suggested a number of reasons why the company's performance has deteriorated. They include:

• DT did not introduce new technology quickly enough and did not adapt to the changes in the consumer telecommunications market; for example, the rapid changes that have occurred in the mobile phone industry.
• The competition in the telecommunications sector has dramatically increased.
• This reduced DT's markets share and weakened its competitive position.
• The competition responded faster to the changes in the market. DT is still organized in a traditional hierarchical structure, as it has always been. Decision-making is still made by committees, which take far too long to make the necessary decisions in rapidly changing environment.
• DT's competitors have far more responsive organization structures, which allows decisions to be made within days.

Analysts also pointed out that David Williams does not have the leadership skills that a modern company requires. They said he is more of a traditional manager, who is more concerned with maintaining and controlling DT. These skills, they argue, are more suited to organizations of the past, which did not need to respond quickly to the changes in the market place.

Question One:

Explain why David Williams should become much more of a leader as opposed to just being a manager.

Question Two

Using at least four (4) theories of leadership, identify the characteristics of leadership David Williams will need to exhibit, Justify your answer.

Support your answer with at least four (4) scholarly sources.

Question Three

DT's structure is hierarchical in nature. Outline the benefits of a more responsive organization structure and suggest how DT can achieve it?

Support your answer with at least three (3) scholarly sources.