The pre hostile acquisition of Cadbury by Kraft Foods Compare and contrast the preferred styles of Irene Rosenfeld and Todd Stitzer in the context of the pre hostile acquisition of Cadbury by Kraft Foods. You should apply appropriate management and leadership theories to support your arguments. Consider first Irene Rosenfeld’s leadership Style. By referring to Hersey’s model of situational leadership model – adapted by JE Chamberlain from Mullins (2007:302) and Hersey et al (2000) followed on from a number of previous writes to develop the model of situational leadership.
Diagram 1 refers: Situational Leadership Model (JE Chamberlain from Mullins) Autocratic Laissez-Faire Democratic *See P 32 of workbook and P 9 of Profex * Readiness is a combination of ability, willingness and resources * Depending on the state of readiness (R1-R4) four corresponding leadership styles are proposed * S1 – telling * S2 – selling * S3 – participating * S4- delegating * Leadership is a dynamic form of behaviour and there are a number of variables which affect the leadership relationship * Leadership characteristics and/or Characteristics of followers * Nature of the org and/ or External environment
The approach by Hersey et al identifies the situation or circumstances as the key factor in determining which leadership style is the most relevant and appropriate to the two CEO’s. It is a key skill of leadership to recognise what is going on, and then select the best behavious or style to deal with that situation effectively. The case study data highlights Rosenfeld’s focus on the task/performance at the expense of people’s feelings and boundaries. This is illustrated by her speech at Cornell in 2007, where she described her return to Kraft. ‘The staff was tired , raw, disillusioned,’. Her slogan was, let’s get growing’.
It’s not a warm and fuzzy strategy’. Additionally was not sensitive to intruding into other peoples space after hours, hence not displaying emotional intelligence by calling colleagues well into the night to discuss ideas however big or small. As Carole Herman – who worked on Kraft’s advertising accounts at advertising firm Grey – said, ‘Irene didn’t need a lot of advise. That’s why I liked her. She was giving me the right answers,’ says James Kilts, a former Kraft president . This absence of Emotional Intelligence showed that she did not take heed of boundaries to fulfil her ambitions and test information.
Such an approach may be effective when urgent corrective action is required (eg in turning a company around. Rosenfeld was pretty persuasive, according to John Bowlin, who ran Kratf North Amercia in the mid 1990’s. In the late 1990’s, Rosenfeld turned around Kraft’s business in Canada; the first thing she had to do was to show sceptical colleagues that an American could understand Canadian consumers.. “When she is trying to persuade you of something, she is relentless in coming back with facts and showing you she has the support of other people” Bowlin said. “She will be totally emotionally and intellectually committed to her idea. 15, line 29). Profex 44 Task /people. While Rosenfeld’s decisiveness in some urgent situations is admirable, her leadership capability may be dysfunctional in situations where stakeholder input, engagement and commitment are required, or where staff are used to the optimal ‘team’ approach (results through people alignment: as at Cadbury: (9, line 16) (LJ) When referring to Hersey’s model, Rosenfeld leadership situational style can be said to be autocratic, where her directive behaviour is high, at the expensive of her leadership team who would feel undervalued as the model indicates that the follower readiness / competence is low.
This situation indicates that her leadership style corresponds to S1 which is a telling style. LIP 6 p 78. The type of influencing tactics Rosenfeld would use is called rational persuasion. This involves use of explanations, logical arguments and factual evidence to demonstrate that a request or suggestion is feasible and relevant to the task at hand. The degree of influence exerted often depends on how much time and effort is expended in getting support. This tends to work best when objectives are shared, but staff are unclear about how the objective is to be achieved.
They know, but are uncertain about the how. (Profex 44) Authoritarian/directive tells style. Rosenfeld appears authoritarian: making decision and issuing instructions without apparent consultation in top-down leadership contexts. * Leadership styles (Belbin) * Solo leader * Rules in an autocratic manner * Is directive – tells subordinates what to do * Expects compliance from staff and often leads from the front * Effective in times of crisis * If they fail, can have serious consequences * Mgmt. by objectives – makes it clear exactly what everyone is supposed to do * Team leader More participative and structured manner * Consult * Delegate * Trust * Creates mission – helps clarify the vision which others act on as they think best (Profex 44) Strategic leadership style. Rosenfeld arguably adopts the ‘strategy’ approach (taking personal responsibility for formulating strategic plans and articulating mission (from Johnson & Scholes) (15, line 39) ‘My slogan was, “lets get growing@. It’s not a warm and fuzzy strategy’. Rosenfeld arguably adopts the ‘strategy’ approach or the ‘change’ approach. initiating culturl and strategic change: 15 line 42 – with less emphasis on developing people (‘human assets’ approach) or core competencies in the organisation (‘expertise’ approach) or managing performance (‘control approach’). 15 line 42 – She replaces half of her executive team and half of those in the next two levels down. She reorganised the structure of the company, changed how people receive their bonuses, and told everyone to stop apologising for our categories and make them more relevant’ Consider next Todd Stitzer leadership Style.
By referring to Hersey’s model of situational leadership model – adapted by JE Chamberlain from Mullins (2007:302) and Hersey et al (2000) followed on from a number of previous writes to develop the model of situational leadership. Stitzer had been with Cadbury for 27 years and left after the takeover took place. During this time he would have become entwined into the culture and the way Cadbury did things. Cadbury’s culture is (12 line 19) is so clear and so powerful that the company has built a very loyal following of customers and employees.
Cadbury’s proud heritage of being a British company for more than 200 years, had initially been inspired by the Quakers and had been woven into its fabric ever since. When the takeover loomed Stitzer argued that to destroy the tradition would be to risk destroying what makes Cadbury a great company. There is not much said about Stitzer, but references to the first Kraft bid where Stitzer backed his board’s assessment of Cadbury’s worth indicated that he was a team leader.
