A recent survey was taken among employees at Life Science Nutraceuticals, Inc. (LSN). The results were alarming, as it appeared the leadership has been less effective than in the past. Some of the common complaints seemed to focus on the lack of vision, a breakdown in communication, and a lack of connection with staff.

You have read the results and as a senior leadership Consultant to LSN’s CEO, you completely agree with employees. Leadership is the cornerstone to success in any organization and to permit poor leadership can only spell trouble. It occurred to you that the place to start change was staring you in the face – the new management hires planned for Warehouse Operations in Las Vegas and Miami. Mumbling to yourself “but what do I want them to look like?” you decide that you must write a memo to CEO, Alexandria Marvel to make sure the “right” characteristics of a leader are asked for in the soon-to-be-released job description. Scrambling around on the desk, you find the old job announcement so that you can make some changes. It reads, “LSN is looking for experienced warehouse managers who have a high task focus to keep the distribution speed high and shipping costs low. Managers must be able to instruct employees to keep distribution, packing, and shipping moving smoothly and efficiently. Managers must be someone who can handle a fast-paced environment, able to meet deadlines, task-focused, personally driven, and results-oriented. It is necessary for the manager to be goal-oriented and adhere strictly to policy to succeed in the department.”

Instructions

You will act as a senior-level leadership Consultant to the CEO of LSN. You will write a memorandum to CEO, Alexandria Marvel. In writing the memorandum, use only the course material from week 1, and, as necessary or desired, you may also use course material from week 2. Reading the Company Profile provided will provide a context for why contemporary leadership skills are so important to LSN.

Your memo will address the following specific issues to CEO Marvel.

Explain how the existing job announcement for new hires was effective in the past based on the theories and view of leadership through the 1990s. Be specific using examples from course materials and the existing job announcement.
Explain why the existing job announcement is no longer able to meet the needs of today’s leaders. Support your explanation with examples of the language changes you would recommend to update the job announcement to be consistent with today’s desired leadership characteristics.
Explain the differences between management and leadership and why it is important for LSN to understand the distinction.
Memorandum Set Up

Create a Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) document (no pdf files allowed) using 12-point font. A memo is left-justified with no indentations of paragraphs. A memo is single-spaced with a double space between paragraphs to make the memo easy to read.

In business, writing must be concise, easy to read, and free of writing and grammatical errors.

You are required to use in-text citations with an associated reference list.

Use headings for each element. It is suggested that you set up the memo with all of the required headings and then fill in each section of the memo.

Use a memo format:

To:

From:

Date:

Subject:

Remember, you are sending this memo to the CEO so this is a formal memo. Proof the memo carefully for typos, grammatical errors and ensure the memo conveys the points you are to address. Why? Because your work products are a reflection of who you are – it is your brand! A good brand can lead to future opportunities in an organization such as a promotion.