American Financial Corporation

Demareus Cheatham

Case study: American Financial Corporation

March 6, 2016

Leadership and Organizational Dynamics

Amridge University




What did Betty do wrong prior to the meeting, and what could have been done to avoid missing the deadline?


In a nutshell, Betty had given Don a large and unversed task while she went on training and anticipated him to complete it alone. She also failed to check on his progress over time and show care. Betty organized a meeting last minute with no planned structure and blamed Don for the incompletion of the assigned task. To have avoided missing the deadline, before leaving for her training, Betty should have organized a timescale, that way she could check in at designated times to assure he was alright. She could've given him direction, which she could have presented him with arrangement and share her knowledge for him to follow as a roadmap. She was gone only for one of six weeks, Betty could have used this time to offer some help to Don as a training tool.

What did Betty do wrong in the meeting itself, and what could have been done to make the meeting more effective?


Betty embarrassed Don. He had a sense of low morale. There was no leadership, no praise and a lot of conflict. Betty threatened Don's job. Don was extremely stressed because his job was on the line, which left him upset. Things that could've been done to make the meeting more effective could have been to:
Notify Don of the issues
Set a foundation for each person to adhere to
Assembled a resolution to finish the job
Presented a time to apologize for being unaccommodating
As a result:
Reassure positive relationship with leader/staff
Stimulate staff to complete the assignment
Work for a joint explanation to the VP
Problem (practically) resolved

What could Don have done better to avoid this?

Don shouldn't have felt pressured to take on the task. If it was too big for his competences, he should've asked for help earlier. Upon attaining the deadline, he should've informed not only Betty, but also the VP himself. Rather than wasting a week to check up on one thing he could've been looking for answers or questioning its significance.