Management Engineering - Leadership & Innovation

Full exam

L&I - Second Call July 16th A.Y. 2020-2021 - Leadership - Q1: Transformational leadership Mourinho is one of the most famous and successful soccer coaches of these years. Over the years, he has distinguished himself for being a highly demanding coach, able to push his players beyond their limits and leading his teams to unpredictably high performances. In each experience he tries to deeply connect with each player, dedicating specific sessions to each of them and putting the consideration for individuals’ needs on top of the list. He doesn’t set objectives for the season, and after each victory, he pushes his players to improve. Due to his extreme approach, he attracted a lot of critics and enemies around him over time, which makes him perceive the necessity to quickly achieve results and demonstrate his value to supporters and the management. The context described in the text is a case of: A. Transactional leadership B. Transformational leadership C. Shared leadership D. Attribution effect The described case is a transformational leader. There are many indicators to support this: •push his players beyond their limits [clear definition of transformational] •deeply connect with each player, dedicating specific sessions to each of them [individualized consideration] •after each victory, he pushes his players to improve [intellectual stimulation] However, there is no clue about inspirational motivation and idealized influence. We cannot say this is missing, but considering the text only we can highlight that his transformational leadership role is not fully developed. Q2: Managerial grid Paul and George are competing for the same position as the production manager of the FarmTech company. The position requires the ability to perform a variety of duties such as: ensuring plant productivity, managing production scheduling, managing maintenance, and coordinating a 20- person work team. At the final interview with the HR manager, crucial to obtain the position, the two bring up their respective perspectives on the leadership style to be adopted: Paul says, "For me, meeting goals and performance is everything. The key thing is to have a solid, well-organized structure that works synergistically. People are a tool of that structure." George, on the other hand, says, "At the heart of achieving any goal there is a team working together. Fostering a collaborative environment and supportive climate is just as critical as achieving production goals." Leveraging on the Blake and Mouton model, how can Paul’s and George’s styles be classified? A. Paul has an Authority-Compliance Management Style, while George has an Impoverished Management Style B. Paul has an Authority-Compliance Management Style, while George has a Middle-of-the- Road Management Style C. Paul has a Team Management Style, while George has a Country-Club Management Style D. Paul has Middle-of-the-Road Management Style, while George has Team Management Style Paul has a style of Authority-Compliance Management: High concern for production: “For me, meeting goals and performance is everything” and low concern for people:- “People are a tool of that structure” On the other hand, George has a Middle-of-the-Road managerial style: concern for people and concern for production balanced: “Fostering a collaborative environment and supportive climate is just as critical as achieving production goals “ Q3: Situational leadership Carlotta is an intern of a PHARMA located in Padua; Ambra is her supervisor on a very ambitious project. Carlotta, despite her young age, has great potential and is learning fast how to do what she is asked to. Obviously there is still a lot to learn but, so far, her progression is remarkable. Still, the problem is that her motivation is decreasing rapidly, as she doesn’t see a real growth in perpetuating always the tasks and the micro-instructions provided by Ambra. At the same time, Ambra - being at her first experience of leadership since Carlotta is her first intern - is a bit disappointed and is starting to believe she cannot guide her at her best. The situation between them is becoming more and more tense despite all the effort Ambra is putting into this relationship. She is giving her best to follow Carlotta in every step providing clear instructions, controlling the execution and providing very precise feedbacks about the quality of the execution. You are a third colleague who has been Ambra's mentor in a previous situation. Which of the following leadership styles would you suggest Ambra to apply? A. You suggest Ambra to adopt a Selling style B. You suggest Ambra to adopt a Delegating style C. You suggest Ambra to adopt a Participating style D. You suggest her to keep the Telling style Ambra is using a telling style: •“She is giving her best to follow Carlotta in every step providing clear instructions, controlling the execution and providing very precise feedbacks about the quality of the execution” probably she should move to a selling one instead because: •Carlotta is gaining more competence “Obviously there is still a lot to learn but, so far, her progression is remarkable” •Carlotta is losing motivation being micro-managed: “her motivation is decreasing rapidly, as she doesn’t see a real growth is perpetuating always the tasks and the micros instructions provided by Ambra” Q4: Whole Brain Lars is very appreciated by his colleagues. For this reason, the manager guaranteed him a fast-track route to a position in the Leadership Team next year. Talking about Lars one colleague said: “Lars loves facts and numbers but at the same time, he has a strong sense of intuition for strategy. In meetings, he wants to get straight to the point but at the same time, he always thinks out of the box.” Following this brief description, which of the following statements best represents Lars according to the Whole Brain Model? A. According to the Whole Brain model, Lars can be defined as Blue and Yellow because he always loves facts but has a great intuition B. We do not have enough details to understand how to apply the Whole Brain Model to Lars because no specific behavior is contextualized C. Lars is most probably a slow person in taking decisions D. Lars mainly uses the right part of his brain THE WB Model acknowledges that different tasks require different mental processes, and different people prefer different kinds of thinking. Applying the WB Model means understanding which contextualized behaviors are represented by different colours. In this case, we do not have enough information about Lars Q5: Feedback “Hi Sarah! Thank you for taking over during the meeting today, without your help we would never get a final decision for the project! Still, I think you have been too harsh with Bill, you know he just went through a divorce and he is emotionally sensitive. However, your presentation style is always amazing, everyone in the company should learn from you!” How would you comment this feedback? A. The feedback is effective as it follows all the steps of constructive feedback B. The feedback is not effective as it misses 1 key element of the constructive feedback process C. The feedback is not effective as it misses 2 or more key elements of the constructive feedback process D. The feedback includes all the key elements of the corrective feedback process, however it is not perfectly structured 1.Doesn’t describe a specific behavior: Harsh is an adjective, not a behavior. What did she do to be harsh? Did she insult him, stopped him talking, eyerolled, make fun of him??? 2.Doesn’t describe the effect of the behaviour: “he just went through a divorce and he is emotionally sensitive” this is about Bill’s condition and it is not related with Sarah’s behavior. 3.Doesn’t propose a positive alternative behavior: “I would recommend you to not be so harsh” again this is not a behavior 4.Doesn’t show the effects of this positive alternative behavior: missing 5.Has a sandwich style, not good because of the risk of the feedback giver to indulge too much in the emotional easier parts (opening and closing) without focusing on the real feedback (here it is not well done indeed). L&I - Second Call July 16th A.Y. 2020-2021 - Innovation - On the next pages, you will see 5 questions regarding the Innovation part. - Each question has one correct answer among the four alternatives. - The fifth alternative is compulsory, and it is an open space for the justification, which is essential to get the full points of the questions. - Be sure to select only one of the answers (with the exception of the "Justify your answer" box needed in each answer). One final note: many questions are based on real cases. To answer, consider only the information written in the text and not what you may know about the case. This part of the exam lasts 30 minutes. Name ________________________________________________________________ Surname ________________________________________________________________ ID (matricola) ________________________________________________________________ PLESE PROVIDE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION ON EACH PAPER WHERE REQUESTED. Q1 Walmart Inc., the world’s largest retail company, has set up an extensive innovation initiative to encounter the shift of the traditional retail landscape to digital – digital retail channels and online shopping becoming increasingly popular among customers. As part of its innovation strategy, Walmart has defined the improvement of the customer experience as a major goal and the seamless engagement of the customer across offline and online channels should be strengthened. To make the in-store experience more convenient, Walmart stores are equipped with “In-store Walmart.com Kiosks”. Customers can use the kiosks to purchase online if a product is sold out in the store. Furthermore, Walmart provides “InHome Delivery” in several cities, providing customers the opportunity to get their orders delivered. Recently, the customer experience team came up with a new idea, the “WeCare”, service that consists of offering counseling about healthy eating, diet, and nutrition combined with shopping assistance at the point of sale. Corporate head, Doug McMillion, liked the “WeCare” service concept and decided to push it further to the discussion and approval of Walmart’s board decision committee. A. “InHome Delivery” and “WeCare” are inventions. B. “In-store Walmart Kiosks” is an innovation; while “WeCare” is not an innovation because not fully developed yet C. “In-store Walmart Kiosks” and “InHomeDelivery” are inventions; “WeCare” is not an invention because not fully developed yet D. “In-store Walmart Kiosks” is an innovation; “WeCare” is an invention. Justify your answer “In-store Walmart Kiosks” is an innovation because it comprises value appropriation. “WeCare” is just a concept for an innovation. It is not developed and brought ot the market yet. Still, it is not an invention as it is not the discovery of something new. A – (InHome Delivery” is a process innovation; “WeCare” is an invention) Wrong: InHome delivery is already on the market. WeCare is not something new. C – (“In-store Walmart Kiosks” and “InHomeDelivery” are inventions; “WeCare” is an innovation) Wrong: “In-store Walmart Kiosks” and “InHomeDelivery” are innovations because idea generation and conversion into business opportunity are both realized, which is not yet fully realized for “WeCare” D – (“In-store Walmart Kiosks” is an innovation; “WeCare” is an invention) Wrong: “In-store Walmart Kiosks” is an innovation because the idea is converted in a business opportunity, “WeCare” is not an invention because it’s not the discovery of something new Q2 "Legumotti Barilla" results from the partnership between Barilla, leading brand of the food industry, and Esselunga, the Italian retail store chain. The product consists of different typologies of legumes ready to be cooked in just nine minutes and suitable to be served in various recipes for hot and cold dishes. The challenge was to combine the complementary competencies of the two leading brands to address a growing trend that requires healthy, tasty, easy and quick to prepare food products suitable for the whole family. The aim of following this trend allowed the companies to create a product that provides a new eating experience offering wellbeing and immediacy. During its development, several groups of stakeholders were involved. First, multiple experts (such as nutritionists, food bloggers, doctors) have been engaged in some teasing events to discuss wellness and nutrition to gather an initial understanding of the topic. Then, after the products were developed, user groups, including some with food allergies or others following a vegan-based diet, were given different product samples to collect their impressions and comments. After a year of research, a product perfectly consistent with the initial objectives posed by the companies was launched. A. Legumotti Barilla is a type of innovation of meaning; several stakeholders indeed were involved during the teasing events to inquire about the meaning of wellness and nutrition. B. Legumotti Barilla is a type of innovation of meaning; users were actively involved during the collaborative sessions to provide feedback about the new meaning of improving people’s eating habits. C. Legumotti Barilla is a type of market-pull innovation; lead users were actively involved during the collaborative sessions so to allow the company to foreshadow the general demand in the marketplace. D. Legumotti Barilla is a type of market-pull innovation; users were actively involved as beta testers during the collaborative sessions to provide early feedback. Justify your answer A. First option is wrong as the users were testing product performances and not criticizing the new meaning; B. Second option is wrong as the users were involved in beta testing and not providing insights about the new meaning; C. Third option is wrong as users were not lead users because they didn’t have the capability to innovate; D. Fourth option is correct as the collaborative sessions were meant to work as concept testing and then beta testing where product samples were presented to possible users. Q3 “L’alveare [beehive] che dice si” is a platform which connects farmers with consumers. A local “Alveare”, typically a bar, an association or a sport or social centre, connects with local farmers and food producers within a 60km radius through a platform. Consumers can order food from the farmers connected to the platform such as local cheeses and fresh fruits and vegetables. The farmers deliver the food to the local “Alveare” on a weekly basis where it is ready to be picked up by the consumers. Of the income, 80% goes to the farmers whereas the other 20% is divided between the local Alveare and the platform. The platform “L’aveare che dice si” is an example of: A. A transactional two-sided platform. B. An internal platform because it offers the local Alveare the possibility to adjust their offer based on the availability (seasonality) of local food. C. An orthogonal platform with the client as a target. D. A transactional multi-sided platform Justify your answer Conditions for being a two-sided platform are two (or more) user groups (here: Producers, the “alveare” locations and consumers), cross-side network externalities (among users who wish more products, different producers who are incentivized to join, and more locations who contribute with storage and distribution) and an intermediary (the alveare platform connecting the three groups). It is transactional, because users pay for the provision of a good by the producer. A. Wrong because there are more than two actors B. Wrong because the description clearly shows that there are multiple sides C. Wrong because although there are two partners, there is a clear transaction side where clients pay for the products Right because the platform brings together three groups (customers, alveares and farmers) to internalize indirect network externalities. Q4 The market for sport and running shoes has constantly evolved over time. Brands have applied different technologies, such as materials to increase cushioning, prevent injuries, increase performance, and make them more comfortable. However, traditional shoes are not the best solution when it comes to posture and skeletal wellness. Recent advancements in the medical sciences have shown that shoes that replicate the foot's shape – “fivefingers ®”: shoes that have separate “sleeves” for each toe – are healthier for our body. Few companies have started producing sport and running shoes with such a shape. The reaction by the market has been quite negative: even if there is a small network of deeply satisfied users with the new shoes, the majority of the market is not keen to change its way of dressing. The shoes with five sleeves for the toes are generally perceived as weird and difficult to wear in public. A. The emergence of the “fivefingers ®” shoes marks the switch between an old dominant design –the traditional shoes – and a new dominant design. B. The “five fingers ®” shoes are an example of dominant design thanks to their superior health performances. C. The traditional shoes are not an example of dominant design because they are inferior at least in one performance – being healthy –. D. The traditional shoes are a dominant design even if their performances are at least partially inferior in respect to the “fivefingers ®” shoes. Justify your answer It is a typical case of dominant design since it freezes the socio-economical context, it serves the needs of the majority of the market, it is the archetype of the shoe product, it is the architecture winning on the market. It’s not A because the new shoes are not a dominant design at the moment. It’s not B for the same reason and because increased performances are not related with being a dominant design. It’s not C because being inferior in one performance is not related with not being a dominant design Q5 Developed at MIT's Senseable City Lab for the Copenhagen municipality, the Copenhagen Wheel is a self-contained rear-wheel electric bicycle system that transforms a traditional bicycle into a hybrid e-bike. The product has been asked by the Copenhagen municipality to make the transition to the e-bikes easier for customers. It consists of a "red disc" weighing 5.9 kg that includes different components: from the 250 W motor (350 W for the US market) that allows traveling up to 25 km/h, to the energy recovery system when braking, from the pedaling assistance sensors to the lithium- ion batteries. Batteries designed to have a "life" of 1000 complete cycles, recharge in 4 hours, and allow autonomy of up to 50 km. The wheel accumulates energy while pedaling and returns it when needed (power is supplied according to specific instructions set on the App). Therefore, the Copenhagen Wheel allows citizens to capture the energy dissipated while cycling and breaking, and save it when needed. The different components have been designed with the precise objective to amplify a rider's pedal- power by up to ten times. Moreover, thanks to the sensing unit it also maps pollution levels, traffic congestion and road conditions in real-time. The data acquired by the various sensors in the Wheel are not advertised to the users. They are collected for research purposes by the MIT lab as the municipality aims at getting data on the pedaling style of citizens. A. The Copenhagen Wheel is a type of technology epiphany; the presence of the sensors conveys a new meaning to use a bicycle since it allows the user to contribute to a healthier environment. B. The Copenhagen Wheel is a type of technology push innovation; the entire electrical and electronic system was designed by the MIT lab to significantly innovate the physical attribute of the product. C. The Copenhagen Wheel is a type of innovation of meaning; differently from the other e-bikes the user has a new reason to buy the product to enhance his pedaling style and riding habits. D. The Copenhagen Wheel is a type of market-pull innovation; since the market is asking for hybrid and app -connected e-bikes Justify your answer a. First option is wrong as the Copenhagen wheel doesn’t change the meaning of the bicycle. b. The new technological components (motor, energy recovery system, sensors and batteries) were developed on purpose for the Copenhagen municipality to improve the technical performances of a traditional bicycle; c. Third option is wrong as a new reason why to use the product is not given to the user. d. Fourth option is wrong, as the innovation comes by the advancement in the technology and not from the market needs.