1. Firstly, explain how Brenneman’s leadership actions addressed each quadrant of the Competing Values Framework, and each primary practice of the 4+2 formula. Secondly, explain Brenneman’s theory of Continental’s business.
Brenneman was someone who, like most noteworthy business leaders, was invested in all 4 CVF quadrants. The article shows he had a strong focus on the Flexibility half, but primarily the Collaborate quarter. This was displayed by his willingness to engage with all employees such as mechanics and baggage handlers, even ‘helping to throw a bag or two’ (Brenneman 1997, p. 176) .By gaining a better understanding of the business he created an atmosphere where people liked coming to work (Brenneman 1997). Brenneman understood…show more content… By taking a more human centred design approach towards customers, it becomes clear that Brenneman is utilising the Collaborate and Create to construct a stronger focus towards the Compete quadrant and to serve as the basis for his Go Forward Plan.
One can clearly see while reading the Go Forward Plan that Brenneman has a stark correlation between each primary practice in his plan to the 4+2 theory of Nohria et al. Starting with Fly To Win, although this practice directly relates to Strategy one can see both Nohria and Brenneman still ensure Collaboration quadrant of the CVF is never neglected, ensuring all staff are fully understanding of the businesses strategy to achieve the best results ‘The foundation of any successfully run business is a strategy everyone understands coupled with a few key measures that are routinely tracked’ (Brenneman 1997, p.…show more content… By asking the customer in seat 9c what matters most to them and more importantly what they’re willing to pay for (Brenneman 1997) he was able to construct a strong focus on customer centric business improvement by becoming an airline of choice rather than one out of necessity, one could say that Brenneman took Continental from a K-Mart to a Target (Nohria, Joyce & Roberson 2003).
Brenneman’s Make Reliability a Reality and Working Together sections of the Go Forward Plan, although respectively they are external and internal on both the CVF and to Continental, are very similar people focused plans, both Brenneman and Nohria et al share a strong focus towards a solid corporate culture – one could argue the previous CEO’s of Continental were still living in the ‘quarters of the business world where Culture is still considered soft’ (Nohria, Joyce & Roberson 2003, pp. 6-7) and that was their downfall.
Brenneman’s improvements towards Culture, Strategy and Communication to all staff share a strong correlation towards Drucker’s Theory of Business, by making it ‘known and understood throughout the organisation… the theory of the business becomes “Culture”’ (Drucker 1994, p. 101). Which is clearly the result Brenneman had on the staff of