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Leadership 7th Edition by Andrew DuBrin, Ann Fisher, Andrew DuBrin
Edition 7ISBN: 9781285225968Leadership 7th Edition by Andrew DuBrin, Ann Fisher, Andrew DuBrin
Edition 7ISBN: 9781285225968 Exercise 7
Sergio Marchionne, the CEO of Fiat S.p.A. (Italian Automobile Factory of Turin) since 2004, and the chief executive of Chrysler Group LLC since 2009, has a large table in his office lined with toy cars, trucks, and earth-moving equipment. All of the vehicles are replicas of Fiat and Chrysler products.
Marchionne's formal education is in law and accounting, yet in recent years he became a specialist in turning around car companies. He is a citizen of both Italy and Canada. Marchionne's business hero is Steve Jobs because of the way Jobs transformed Apple from a struggling computer company into a world-class standard for cool consumer products.
A major focus of Marchionne's early efforts at Chrysler was to reposition the company from making large automobiles that consumed considerable gas into a manufacturer of energy-efficient vehicles. An exception is that, under Marchionne's direction, Chrysler intensified its production and marketing of the Jeep Cherokee, a robust-size sports utility vehicle (SUV). As part of implementing this thrust, Marchionne announced a product strategy in 2010 to modify a Fiat compact to meet U.S. standards and distribute the vehicle through Chrysler dealers.
In the early days of his Chrysler turnaround, Marchionne said he wanted to work closely with the engineers and managers making daily decisions. "It shows me he's going to be very hands-on," said a person who works with senior Chrysler executives. Marchionne involves himself heavily in organizational design issues. He has invested considerable time in integrating business operations between Fiat and Chrysler to increase operations and reduce costs.
One day, Marchionne was informed that the door handle on the Dodge Charger had a small leak, allowing water to enter the latch and disrupt the electronics. Marchionne assigned engineers the task of working relentlessly on the problem. While in another meeting, a message flashed on one of Marchionne's smart phones that the nature of the problem was discovered-an uneven fit between two plastic parts. Marchionne was relieved, and he explained his concern in these words: "…Some of the issues that we are dealing with now and cause me apoplexy would have probably been swept under the carpet 10 years ago. But if you really want to run the business, you need to get involved at this level."
Despite Marchionne's penchant for details of his operation, he does not perceive himself to be a micromanager. "My job as CEO is not to make decisions about the business but to set stretch objectives and help our managers work out how to reach them," he wrote. Also, Marchionne has told employees that he was establishing a culture in which everyone is expected to lead.
How reasonable does it seem to you for the CEO of essentially two auto companies to be concerned about a door handle that is not water-tight?
Marchionne's formal education is in law and accounting, yet in recent years he became a specialist in turning around car companies. He is a citizen of both Italy and Canada. Marchionne's business hero is Steve Jobs because of the way Jobs transformed Apple from a struggling computer company into a world-class standard for cool consumer products.
A major focus of Marchionne's early efforts at Chrysler was to reposition the company from making large automobiles that consumed considerable gas into a manufacturer of energy-efficient vehicles. An exception is that, under Marchionne's direction, Chrysler intensified its production and marketing of the Jeep Cherokee, a robust-size sports utility vehicle (SUV). As part of implementing this thrust, Marchionne announced a product strategy in 2010 to modify a Fiat compact to meet U.S. standards and distribute the vehicle through Chrysler dealers.
In the early days of his Chrysler turnaround, Marchionne said he wanted to work closely with the engineers and managers making daily decisions. "It shows me he's going to be very hands-on," said a person who works with senior Chrysler executives. Marchionne involves himself heavily in organizational design issues. He has invested considerable time in integrating business operations between Fiat and Chrysler to increase operations and reduce costs.
One day, Marchionne was informed that the door handle on the Dodge Charger had a small leak, allowing water to enter the latch and disrupt the electronics. Marchionne assigned engineers the task of working relentlessly on the problem. While in another meeting, a message flashed on one of Marchionne's smart phones that the nature of the problem was discovered-an uneven fit between two plastic parts. Marchionne was relieved, and he explained his concern in these words: "…Some of the issues that we are dealing with now and cause me apoplexy would have probably been swept under the carpet 10 years ago. But if you really want to run the business, you need to get involved at this level."
Despite Marchionne's penchant for details of his operation, he does not perceive himself to be a micromanager. "My job as CEO is not to make decisions about the business but to set stretch objectives and help our managers work out how to reach them," he wrote. Also, Marchionne has told employees that he was establishing a culture in which everyone is expected to lead.
How reasonable does it seem to you for the CEO of essentially two auto companies to be concerned about a door handle that is not water-tight?
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Leadership 7th Edition by Andrew DuBrin, Ann Fisher, Andrew DuBrin
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