leadership traits behaviors and styles 1

by

All of you have probably read quite a bit about the world’s

wealthiest man—Bill Gates. But some of you are probably not nearly as

familiar with Bill Gates’s main rival and world’s seventh wealthiest

man—former Oracle CEO Larry Ellison. Ellison recently retired as CEO but

is still active as the chair of Oracle’s board of directors. Unlike

Gates, who is relatively reserved, Ellison is known for his extravagant

lifestyle and boastful interviews.

The rivalry between Ellison and Gates is legendary, but not quite as much is known about Ellison’s leadership style. He has been described as a “jerk,” and his managerial style has been described as “take no prisoners.” While he is unquestionably a very strong leader, he has also been criticized for spending a lot of time playing golf while leaving many leadership duties to his subordinates.

For this assignment, read up on leadership traits, leadership behaviors, and leadership styles in the required background materials. Then read up on Larry Ellison and find as much as you can about his personality and leadership style. Finally, try to apply what you’ve read in the required background materials about leadership traits, behaviors, and styles to what you found out about Larry Ellison.

Here are some articles to get you started on your research about Ellison:

Mendleson, R. (2010, November 8). Why it pays to be a jerk. Canadian Business, 83, 28-30, 32, 34. [ProQuest]

Leibovich, M. (2000, October 30). The outsider, his business and his billions series. The Washington Post, p. A1. [ProQuest]

Hymowitz, C. (2005, July 12). Working fewer hours is hard for most CEOs, but some find a way. Wall Street Journal, p. B1. [ProQuest]

Case Assignment

Once you are finished with your research on Ellison and have thoroughly reviewed the background materials on leadership traits, behaviors, and styles, write a 4- to 5-page paper addressing the questions below. For each answer, make sure to cite at least one of the Case Assignment articles listed on this page as well as one of the required textbook chapters from the background materials—for example, Hiriyappa (2009), or Bauer and Erdogan (2012).

  1. How would you describe Ellison’s personality and leadership traits? Refer to the specific leadership traits discussed in Hiriyappa (2009) or Bauer and Erdogan (2012).
  2. Would you describe Ellison’s behavior as being task-oriented, or people/relationship-oriented? Refer to Hiriyappa (2009) and Bauer and Erdogan (2012).
  3. How would you describe Ellison’s leadership style? Consider the leadership styles discussed in the “Types of Leaders/Leadership Styles” section of Chapter 10 of Hiriyappa (2010).

Assignment Expectations

  • Follow the assignment instructions closely and follow all steps listed in the instructions.
  • Stay focused on the precise assignment questions; don’t go off on tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background materials
  • List supporting references and cite sources in proper format.
  • Use appropriate writing style in essay form (organization, grammar, and spelling).
  • Include both a bibliography and in-text citations. See the Student Guide to Writing a High-Quality Academic Paper, including pages 11-14 on in-text citations. Another resource is the “Writing Style Guide,” which is found under “My Resources” in the TLC portal.