Paper 1 Scenario 1: As Head Of Exxel, You Are Looking

Paper 1 Scenariosscenario 1as Head Of Exxel You Are Looking To Fill A

Paper #1 Scenarios Scenario 1 As head of Exxel you are looking to fill a position in your executive management team. To better screen potential candidates and shortlist the applicant pool you are considering which skills and characteristics the ideal candidate should possess. To execute the position effectively, it is important that the candidate will be perceived as leader-like by followers and that the person will possess competencies that allow him or her to help you formulate the strategic plans for the future of the firm. · Q1. Which skills are important for your candidate to possess? Are some more important than others, if so why? · Q2. Which characteristics are more likely to make the employees at Exxel perceive the candidate as leader-like? Briefly describe the characteristics and explain why persons possessing these characteristics are more likely to be perceived as leaders. · Q3. What are potential strengths and weaknesses of using characteristics such as the Big 5 personality factors as screening tools in the executive management hire? Support your response with examples and evidence. Scenario 2 You recently started as a manager of the 30th district’s social work administration. While you respect established work routines and the dynamics of the work place you have the sense that people could run faster. For instance, you have noticed that meetings are called on a regular basis although there seems to be no pressing agenda to discuss. Despite a lack of technical insights into the procedures necessary for processing individual cases, you feel that case workers should be able to process a higher number of cases than the current frequency. To increase the number of cases processed, you implement an incentive system in which individual case workers receive a reward corresponding to one month’s salary if they process a minimum of 1,000 cases a year. The target is evaluated at the end of the year and historically the average number of cases processed in the administration on a yearly basis have varied between 7 and 800. · Q1. Describe the concept of credible commitment. · Q2. Explain why credible commitment is considered paramount to the success of transactional leadership and the use of pay for performance incentive systems. · Q3. Discuss what you expect will happen to the number of cases completed by caseworkers in response to the incentive system in each of the two scenarios outlined below: · You successfully secure the additional funding needed to make sure that you are able to reward every case worker that meets the performance criteria and completes a minimum of 1,000 cases. · At the end of the year you are suddenly informed that the discretionary budget for your department has been slashed as a result of a political compromise, and you will therefore not be able to honor your commitment to rewarding case workers for their performance. SPIN, ADAPT, SIER SPIN is a progressive questioning technique that is designed to uncover needs (of the buyer) that the salesperson can fill with his or her market offer. S ituation questions are fact-finding questions that ask the buyer to provide information about his or her background and/or existing situation. “Who are your current suppliers?†and “What methods of advertising do you use currently?†are examples of situation questions. P roblem questions probe the buyer for specific difficulties or areas of dissatisfaction. “Have you ever had any problems with your current suppliers?†and “What problems have you experienced with your current methods of advertising?†are examples of problem questions. I mplication questions ask the buyer to consider the ramifications of the problems uncovered from problem questions. These questions help motivate the buyer to want to solve the problems. “How is your business affected when your suppliers are late with deliveries?†and “What is the effect of ineffective advertising on your profitability?†are examples of implication questions. N eed-payoff questions focus the buyer's attention on the benefits of solving the problem. As with implication questions, these questions help motivate the buyer to want to solve the problem. “How would your business be affected if your suppliers were never late with deliveries?†and “What impact would effective advertising have on your bottom line area?†are examples of need-payoff questions. Like SPIN, ADAPT is a progressive questioning technique designed to uncover needs that the salesperson can fill with his or her market offer. A ssessment questions are designed to elicit the factual information about the customer’s current situation. “With how many suppliers do you currently work?†and “Do you own or lease your cleaning equipment?†are examples of assessment questions. D iscovery questions flow from information gained from the assessment questions and seek to uncover problems or dissatisfactions (that the salesperson can positively address) the buyer is experiencing. “How well are your current suppliers performing?†and “Have you ever had any trouble getting your leased equipment serviced?†are examples of discovery questions. A ctivation questions are designed to motivate the buyer to want to solve the problem or dissatisfaction discussed in the previous stage. These questions ask the buyer to consider the ramifications of the problem. “How do the problems you're currently experiencing with your suppliers affect your production efficiency?†and “Do you ever experience down time while waiting for your leased equipment to be serviced?†are examples of activation questions. P rojection questions ask the buyer to describe what life would be like if the problem(s) or dissatisfaction(s) were eliminated. These questions are also designed to motivate the buyer to want to solve the problem. “If your suppliers were always on time and orders were always accurate, how would your production efficiency be enhanced?†and “If downtime were eliminated, how would your productivity be affected?†are examples of projection questions. T ransition questions are designed to help the salesperson make a smooth transition from need discovery to the presentation of a solution. “Would you be interested in hearing about how you can eliminate the problems you're currently experiencing with your suppliers?†and “Are you interested in learning how you can lease your equipment and still eliminate downtime?†are examples of transition questions. Four sequential elements of sensing, interpreting, evaluating, and responding (SIER) combine to create what is referred to as active listening. Active listening is the cognitive process of actively sensing, interpreting, evaluating, and responding to the verbal and nonverbal messages of present or potential customers. In other words, it means concentrating on identifying the message the buyer is trying to convey through both verbal and nonverbal communication. Sensing is the process of receiving the verbal and nonverbal messages sent by the buyer. It requires the salesperson to both hear what the buyer is vocalizing and see how the buyer is vocalizing the message (i.e. body language). Interpreting is the process of drawing meaning from the message (both verbal and nonverbal). Salespeople must make sure to consider the buyer’s experiences, knowledge, and attitudes when deriving meaning. Evaluating is the process of determining the extent to which the salesperson agrees with what the buyer is communicating. Salespeople should wait until the buyer has finished communicating his or her message and until they are sure they understand the message before evaluating it. Finally, responding is the process of providing the buyer with feedback, verbal and/or nonverbal, related to the message. The salesperson should use responses to communicate understanding, encourage elaboration, and control the flow the conversation. ADAPT, SPIN SIER SMAA CASE Background This case involves a salesperson representing the direct sales department of American Seating Company (ASC) and Rodney Moore, the head architect representing the Seattle Music Arts Association (SMAA). Although there are some 12 major manufacturers of auditorium seating in North America, ASC’s market share of 21 percent makes the company the industry leader. ASC’s selling efforts are organized on a basis of market types: one department sells direct to end-users and a second department sells to distributors who in turn sell to retailers of business furniture. Direct sales to end-users are restricted to minimum orders of $200,000. Current Situation As an integral part of a major remodeling project, SMAA wants to replace the seats in the Seattle Metropolitan Auditorium. Based on engineering reports and information about SMAA’s auditorium, ASC estimates the seat replacement represents a potential sale of between $350,000 and $500,000. This range represents differences in both quantity and types of seating desired. According to the available information, funding for this project is being provided through a bond issue that has already been issued. The funds for construction and remodeling are already available and the plans are in the initial stage of development—an ideal time for ASC to get involved in the buying decision process for seating. Engineering Designs, a Seattle-based architectural firm is in charge of this remodeling project and has primary responsibility for specifying materials and components that will go into the job. In preparation for an initial meeting with Rodney Moore at Engineering Designs, the ASC sales representative is outlining his/her information needs and developing a draft set of needs discovery questions. These needs discovery questions will be the focus of the meeting with Engineering Designs and enable ASC to better identify and confirm the actual needs, desires, and expectations regarding seating. Q1. What information does the ASC salesperson need in order to fully understand the seating needs of the SMAA project? Q2. Following the ADAPT methodology for needs discovery questioning, develop a series of salesperson questions and anticipated buyer responses that might apply to this selling situation. Assessment Questions Discovery Questions Activation Questions Projection Questions.

Paper For Above instruction

The assignment presents two distinct scenarios requiring analysis of leadership and management principles, along with sales and negotiation strategies. The first scenario involves selecting a candidate with appropriate skills and characteristics for an executive role at Exxel, emphasizing leadership perception and the use of personality traits as screening tools. The second scenario focuses on a social work management context, exploring the concept of credible commitment, the impact of incentives on productivity, and potential responses to funding changes. Additionally, the assignment includes a detailed case study on sales techniques using SPIN, ADAPT, and SIER methods, illustrating needs discovery and active listening in a B2B sales environment.

In the first scenario, critical skills for the candidate include strategic thinking, leadership ability, communication skills, emotional intelligence, and decision-making competencies. Among these, strategic thinking and leadership skills are paramount because they influence the candidate’s ability to formulate and implement future plans successfully. Effective communication and emotional intelligence are crucial for fostering teamwork and stakeholder engagement, while decision-making skills are essential for operational effectiveness.

Regarding characteristics perceived as leader-like by employees, traits such as confidence, integrity, empathy, resilience, and a proactive attitude are significant. Employees tend to perceive leaders who display confidence and integrity as trustworthy and competent. Empathy fosters a supportive work environment, resilience demonstrates stability under pressure, and proactivity indicates initiative. These traits contribute to the perception of leadership because they align with followers' expectations of reliability, moral uprightness, and inspiration.

The use of personality characteristics like the Big Five factors (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism) can be both beneficial and challenging. For instance, high conscientiousness and extraversion are often associated with leadership effectiveness, making them valuable screening indicators. However, over-reliance on these traits may ignore other competencies such as strategic vision or technical expertise, potentially leading to poor hiring decisions. Evidence suggests that personality assessments can predict certain behaviors but should be complemented with other evaluation methods.

In the second scenario, credible commitment refers to a firm's or individual's credible commitment to a course of action, ensuring stakeholders trust that the actions promised will be fulfilled. This concept is vital in transactional leadership, where performance incentives depend on a promise or guarantee that the recognition or reward will be delivered as agreed.

Credible commitment underpins the success of pay-for-performance systems because it reduces uncertainty and aligns expectations between managers and employees. When workers believe that rewards are assured and that management's intentions are genuine, motivation increases, leading to higher productivity. Conversely, a lack of credible commitment can erode trust and diminish the effectiveness of incentive systems, as employees may doubt whether the promised rewards will materialize.

In response to the incentive system, if additional funding allows for rewarding employees who meet the threshold of processing 1,000 cases, it is likely that caseworkers will increase their productivity, driven by extrinsic motivation. However, if the funding is suddenly cut, and rewards are withheld, motivation may decline sharply, leading to a decrease in cases processed. Researchers advise that the sustainability of incentives depends on consistent and credible commitments by management, emphasizing the importance of stable funding and transparent communication.

The case study involving ASC and SMAA demonstrates the application of advanced questioning techniques—SPIN, ADAPT, and SIER—in needs assessment and active listening. These methods facilitate uncovering client needs, clarifying expectations, and building rapport in complex sales scenarios. For example, in the SMAA project, the sales representative must gather comprehensive information about seating requirements through strategic questions, enabling tailored solutions and strengthening client relationships.

Overall, these scenarios highlight the importance of strategic planning, ethical leadership, effective communication, and adaptive sales techniques. They exemplify core principles necessary for organizational success—whether in executive hiring, management of social programs, or B2B sales—and underscore the importance of analytical thinking and stakeholder engagement in decision-making processes.

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