Daniel James Rowley

The special challenges of academic leadership

Effective leadership in any organization is a crucial component of overall organizational success. While many aspects of management and leadership are common to most organizations, colleges and universities present special challenges in both their fundamental character and in practice. The presence of faculty and non‐academic personnel in leadership roles in the same organization can create ambiguity and confusion. This is particularly an issue when units of the institution seek to achieve the highest possible level of performance, cooperation and mutual trust among and between them. This article looks at the challenges involved and seeks to provide guidelines for leadership decisions and practices that can be effective in institutions of higher learning.

Developing a strategic profile: the pre‐planning phase of strategic management

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to assist strategic planners and managers in developing and utilizing a strategic profile of the firm in order to conduct a SWOT analysis and therein apply its results appropriately.Design/methodology/approach – How are the objectives achieved? This objective is achieved by developing a seven‐step procedure, with templates that assist planners and managers in creating a strategic profile of the firm and then utilizing that profile as a filtering mechanism for a SWOT analysis. The article covers the topics of competitive approach, competitive strategy, organizational structure, leadership, and organizational culture.Findings – The profile may not only be employed as a method for centering a firms strategic planning and implementation, it may also be used for creating a competitive profile of the firms competitors.Practical implications – The practical implications of the article indicate the need to attach a pre‐planning stage to the typical strategic management p...

No Exit? Trying to Salvage D&H Management LLC: Parts A and B

In this two-part case, Richard Davis and Stephen Hodgetts, co-owners of DH (2) walk away from all of the properties, assume a loss (walk away with nothing), and avoid the negative cash flow; (3) delay paying the mortgage on some of the homes, allow these properties, if necessary, to go into foreclosure, and in the interim use the positive cash flow to shore up some of the more positive cash flow homes; (4) contact all of the lenders and try to renegotiate the mortgages so as to have lower monthly rates. In Part B Davis proposes that he and Hodgetts go their separate ways. Davis walks away with the two properties that have mortgages in his name, while Hodgetts obtains the four properties that have mortgages in his. From Hodgettsʼ perspective this is a losing proposition since (1) he would have to take over the management of four “loser” properties rather than Davisʼs two, an ʼunfairʼ split of the liabilities; (2) he had no interest in managing properties; and (3) he and Davis would be splitting up a long-standing team.

The Death of a Salesman Revisited: Part A and B

Derived from field and telephone interviews, e-mail communications, and secondary sources, this two part case describes how Gerald Mahoney, a shoes salesman in a Foleys Department store, is faced with a problem - Macys has bought out the Foleys chain and, in doing so, has upscale the product line of shoes and altered his commission-based compensation system. These changes have resulted in less sales for Mr. Mahoney and therein lower commission - a difficult situation since he, his wife, and his daughter were barely getting by on his currently salary. Part A of the case describes an opportunity that presents itself to Mr. Mahoney; to leave his current job with a guaranteed low salary with possible additional income from commissions for a job selling residential homes which becomes purely commission-based to start with after three months of a salary plus commission pay that includes job training. In Part B Mr. Mahoney has decided to take the sales job with ABC Home Builders and receives his assignment. He finds that the working conditions of the sales office are not conducive to selling. His office is located in the rear of a trailer that is extremely run down and is paired with a competitive, noncommunicative saleswoman. The case ends with Mr. Mahoney feeling hopeless and alienated. This two part case has been written primarily for an undergraduate junior level course in career planning or sales management and deals with the issues of recruitment, placement, training, and compensation. The case may also be employed in a course dealing with human resource management (from an individuals perspective), salesmanship, and organizational behavior.

Sabre Yachts: a case study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze Sabre Yachts, a firm that manufactures specialty sail and power boats.Design/methodology/approach – A case research method including field interviews and secondary research was carried out. The case describes the dilemma that the Marketing Manager, Bentley Collins of Sabre Yachts faced in developing a profitable marketing mix given the firms competitors, product line, industry and national economic trends and provides an analysis of the situation through structured case questions and answers.Findings – Sabre decided to “stick to the knitting” (Peters and Waterman) and not expand geographically, as the authors suggested, into the largest state market segments. Instead, they took a more conservative approach and expanded their product line which expanded the breadth of their market into other boat market (size) segments.Originality/value – The case analysis applies strategic management and marketing concepts to a specific real‐life business sit...

DHR Construction, LLC: Parts A and B

Stephen Hodgetts read the e-mail over and over again and still could hardly believe what he had read. He had just come back from his vacation, well rested and refreshed, and this e-mail had dampened his high enthusiasm. It took time to absorb such bad news and for Hodgetts to get over his incredulity.Yet in the end Hodgetts accepted the truth‐a deep, dark terrible truth that would not go away. Robert Davis, his business partner’s son, had confirmed in an e-mail his worst fears about their newest business partner, David Russ.Many thoughts were running through his mind simultaneously yet each screamed to be heard.“How could he and his partner Richard Davis have been so blind, so trusting?” “How could Russ not have heeded the advice of his business partner, Richard Davis, Russ’s former English professor?” And most important, “What was now going to happen to their new business?” Yet the one thought that continued to echo among them all was surprisingly a quote from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s beloved character, Sherlock Holmes: “But there are always some lunatics about. It would be a dull world without them.”