BST225 - Leadership, Work and Organization - Cardiff University

QUESTIONS

The News International phone-hacking scandal was a highly publicised controversy involving the defunct News of the World and other British newspapers published by News International, a subsidiary of News Corporation. Employees of the newspaper were accused of engaging in phone hacking, police bribery, and exercising improper influence in the pursuit of publishing stories. Investigations concluded that the paper's phone hacking activities were limited to celebrities, politicians and members of the British Royal Family and was also revealed that the phones of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, relatives of deceased British soldiers, and victims of the 7/7 London bombings were also accessed, resulting in a public outcry against News Corporation and owner Rupert Murdoch.

Provide a critical evaluation of leadership in News of the World and its relevance to organisation culture. (You may use published journal articles, the media details on the "phone hacking scandal" and inquiries to clarify events and outcomes)

Comments on Essay

This question provides you with the opportunity to interpret and answer it in a number of ways. You may wish to consider the relationship between leadership and followership in organizations in perpetuating organisation culture. You may also want to consider the different ways in which these roles are recognised, rewarded and developed in organizations in such situations. Important to this will be a clear structure and ‘line of logic/analysis' which leads you to some conclusions about organizational leadership and culture.

May 2018 marks 40 years since American management consultant Marilyn Loden coined the phrase "glass ceiling" to describe the intangible barrier that prevents so many women from rising to top of their profession. Despite many steps to get more women in senior executive and board positions over the past four decades, progress remains slow and the glass ceiling remains stubbornly intact (Muldowney 2018). Research performed (CIPD, 2015) showed that increasing the number of women at board level is starting to influence how companies view their talent pipeline and opening up new opportunities for women at work. However, four years later it was found that despite companies making strides to advance women in leadership, the latest results show that 76% are unsatisfied with their organisations results (CIPD, May 2019).

Using a critical discussion drawing on theory and examples, evaluate the use of positive action for dealing with the slow progress of women into senior positions within organisations.

Comments on Essay
This essay can be considered in terms of power and politics, gender and diversity, as well as organizational practice to ensure the answer is grounded in terms of a critical organizational analysis rather than merely a "personal" opinion. You may want to consider wider socio-cultural setting to explore the reasons why this specific change initiative is important and give attention to the politics of change and even resistance to change. There are many examples like the BBC, Hollywood etc but be careful not to over-generalise. You may wish to use one organisation/company as a case example to focus on, criticize and illustrate your points. Alternatively draw on others that you have read of in the business press or have experienced personally in a formal organisational context.

Note: References must be at least 15 references. In a Harvard style

Attachment:- Leadership Work and Organization.rar