Date of Award

1997

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Leadership Studies

Abstract

Leadership in the business world is coming under scrutiny now more than ever. The foundations of the business world are crumbling and new perspectives are diversifying the context of almost every business. Even the inside of business' are changing. New people are getting the chance to make changes in the companies, and their changes are altering how things are done. Business can be analyzed through the frame of culture. An analysis of the culture of a company will bring to light the way the company is structured (the formal structure) and the way the company works in day to day operation (the informal structure). A careful overview of the context of the company and the whole structure of the company will show areas of potential leadership, areas where people will show the motivation to push the company into a growth period. My project is an evaluation of the culture of a company in a time of growth through the lens of leadership.

Flying Colors Inc. will be prepared for the period of growth. It seems that Bear Barnes and Chris Adams are actively making changes in the company in order to prepare it specifically for growth. Much of this is done by cultivating the younger senior managers to accept the challenge and begin to prepare themselves. The news letter and the Grandmother policy will help the company when it decides to grow. They are both tools that serve well now as well as in the future. This company is ready for growth.

This model is useful to interpret a company's culture in the frame of leadership. By putting leadership and growth together the company that is being analyzed can get a feel for what position it is in with regard to growth. This model is best used often and by many different people because each person will get different results for the same company. By doing multiple versions of the analysis different perspectives can be seen and the company can better prepare for the period of growth. That is how I envision this mode] being used. I feel it worked on Flying Colors but for it to be helpful to the company it would need to be done again by others in the company. This model's strength lies in its flexibility�� as does a leader's in this changing environment of business.

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