ESSAY INFO: Critically analyze the recent ‘holacracy’ re-organization at Zappos with respect to Leadership
Coursework Assignment – reorganization at Zappos
Your coursework assignment relates to lectures two to five. You are asked to critically analyze the recent ‘holacracy’ re-organization at Zappos with respect to ONE of the following topics:
- Motivation
- Leadership
- Groups and teams
- Organizing work and job design
Your case analysis should include the application of theories and/or concepts covered within the weeks lecture on the topic. Relevant theories and concepts which could be included are listed below.
Links to several media articles/feature on Holacracy and Zappos are provided on Moodle (many more articles can be found through personal research). Your answer should not merely describe features of the re-organization, but should relate the changes to theories and concepts covered in the course. For example, you may identify how the changes are similar/different to ideas put forward in particular theories and concepts, or you may identify how the ideas put forward in the concept/theory suggest a potential problem with the re-organization. Strong answers are likely to focus on a small number (one or two) theories and concepts and provide depth of analysis rather than merely touching on a wide number of ideas.
| Motivation | Leadership | Groups and teams | Org. Work and Job Design |
| Intrinsic/extrinsic motivation
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs Herzberg’s two factor theory Expectancy theory Equity theory Goal setting theory |
Trait theories of leadership
Behavioural theories of leadership Blake and Mouton’s grid Contingency theory Charismatic/ transformational leadership Followership |
High performance teams
Teams based work design Tuckman’s group stages Group norms Groupthink Group polarization Social loafing In-group/out-group Teamwork as manipulation (‘normative control’) |
Bureaucratic/market/ clan control
Other types/ forms of organisational control Job analysis McDonaldisation Job enrichment Job characteristics model Indulgency pattern |
Referencing Every time you include a quote or paraphrase in your work you must include an in-text reference and an end-of-text reference. You should use Harvard style references.
Deadline Date for Submission of Coursework 14th November 2018
Lecture 3
Leading and Managing
- Management in Organizations – The process of working with and through others to achieve organizational objectives
- Management – Produces order and consistency: Planning and budgeting, Organizing and Staffing, Controlling and problem solving
- Leadership – Produces change and movement: Establishes direction, Aligns people, Motivates and inspires
- Management is EXTRINSIC…Leadership is INTRINSIC
- Leadership – The process of influencing others to mobilise and facilitate individual and collective efforts towards the goal
- Style or Behavioural Theories:
- Initiating Structure – Focus on task, explain expectations, Implement Rules
- Consideration – Focusing on peoples welfare, Approachable, Concern with equality
Started essay as below if helpful but can ignore
Critically analyze the recent ‘holacracy’ re-organization at Zappos with respect to Leadership
In the mid 2000s, Brian Robertson’s ‘Zappos’, an online shoe and clothing retailer based in Las Vegas, introduced a new system of operations. Holacracy, a unique, self-governing system in which employees would ‘self-manage.’ It involves no bosses and thus a constitutional process defines how things work and who works on what projects. It is a system which promotes individuals to be self-accountable as well as leadership itself.
Leadership can be defined as ‘The process of influencing others to mobilize and facilitate individual and collective efforts towards the accomplishment of goals or objectives.’ In this way, leadership produces change and movement in a chain of results. The traditional leadership role would typically involve establishing a direction, aligning of people and of course motivation & inspiring employees.
