QUESTION 1.1 – 1.4 25 MARKS

With the change in expert opinion in mind, complete the following:
Identify a company and survey a few workers and/or managers about the span of management in their respective workplaces. (2 marks)
Then choose one of these individuals for further investigation. Interview this person to get a better idea about the type of work that he/she does, the amount of required interaction with supervisors, the skill levels expected of workers, and other factors that may enter into the determination• of optimal span of management. (Use influencing factors in the span of management for guidance) [16 marks].
Given the information that you gathered in performing task 2, does the span of management in the workplace make sense? (1 mark). Why or why not? (2 marks)
If the span of management seems to be appropriate, what are some of the likely outcomes that the organisation can expect? (2 marks). What are some likely outcomes if it seems inappropriate? (2 marks).

QUESTION 2 (Essay) 25 MARKS

Leadership at Clicks Group:
Group turnover increased by 15.3% to R22.1 billion. Retail sales across Clicks, The Body Shop, GNC and Musica grew by 10.4% and accounted for 67% of group turnover. The Clicks chain entrenched its leadership position by continuing to gain share of the health and beauty markets. More competitive pricing and an effective promotions strategy to attract value-conscious customers contributed to sales increasing 10.9%. Promotions contributed 29% of sales, confirming Clicks as a value retailer.

The trends towards greater use of generic medicines and the shift to self-medication on which we have commented in the past few years are increasingly evident. Clicks is actively shifting patients to lower-cost generic medication and promoting over-the­ counter medicines. Generics now account for 45.4% of sales in Clicks and grew by 19.0% in the past year. As customers become more health and lifestyle conscious they are choosing to self-medicate and Clicks showed double digit growth in front shop medicines, vitamins and supplements.

The BOdy Shop ha ra IC>yal and’growing c4ston,er base, with over 1 .0000 Love Your ..
Body loyalty programme cardholders’who:._account-for 59.% of the brand’s sales; ..•.
. Turnover fortheyearincreased by14.7o/o.. driven mainlyby-product innovation and ..
•.• new $fore openings s the brand xpancied its store footprint to 50;•.. .
GNG showed encouraging sales growfhin its first fulLYeafin _the group. GNCJsthe.••
. world leader in health and.wellnf3SS su’ppleq,ents, and has a pipeline of 100 new •
products which will be faunched in_ tn.e neW.financial year.. S .
,• ..
Musica gained market sharejn alLproductcategories and now has over 60% of th.e
country’s CD market and 43% of the. DVD market. Sale Increased by 2.3%,: with
double digit growth in gaming and techfl9logy. Werecognise that Musicais non-core•.
•. tcj the. group’s health and beauty strategy. However, we believe the demand fdr’the. physicalmusic format.will remai.rl for some years to come, as has been proven.. even.
indeveloped economies with high-spe :dproadband connectivity.Astl’le downloadjng
. o. f music gaiflS popl.llarity the. demand Jor. accessories suc.h as headphone.s apd
speakers increases and this. is reflected in the strong growth of Musica’s technology.
category in recent years.; Musica TE3mains profitable,. dE3livers a. superior returrr on
assets to the group and will continue to grow market share as the ”last man standing” in entertainment retail.

Leadership appointments: -_ … – .
FoHowing the resignation of Keith Warburton as chief operating officer of the Clicks chain in _early 2015, we promoted executives internally to head our two major busiriesS••• units.

Vikesh Ramsunder, the managing director of UPD, was promoted to headthe.CHcks chain. Vikesh has gained extensive experience ih both Clicks and UPD in his 22 years with the group. During his tenure as head of UPD was.responsible for growing the bulk distribution business into a significant player in the market while maintaining UPD’s market leadership in pharmaceutical wholesaling Vikash Singh,• head of operations and distribution at UPD, was appointed as managing director of UPD. He• too has an impressive track record of delivery in both Clicks and UPD over the past decade.
These internal appointments reflect the quality of the group’s talent and succession planning process, and the benefits of investing in our people.

What power role does the leaeiership at Clicks play, motivate why? (2 marks)
Apply the path oal theory of Je dership to the Clicks Group: Which kind of leader behaviour (in this case, by group) best applies to each Clicks: directive, supportive, participative, achievement-oriented? (8 marks) Explain these four directives and, secondly, connect the characteristics of these leadership styles?
(4 marks).
Clicks appears to rely heavily on mentoring and long-term leadership development from within and seems to have thrived on a pattern of alternating leadership styles. State these styles with their pros and cons? (9 marks)
Of the profiled Clicks groups, which groups would you most like to work for and why? (2 marks).

Answers to Above Questions on Applied Management

Answer 1

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