Introduction
The main issue chronicled by the film is a customer and employee boycott that happened after a chief executive officer of a regional supermarket chain, Arthur T was fired by his cousin, Arthur S. The business was founded by their grandfather, who established loyalty by giving credit to consumers struggling financially during the Great Depression. Additionally, he paid workers good wages as a show of appreciation for their hard work. Following the example of his grandfather, Arthur T ensured that most of the earned profits were reinvested into the business and continued paying the workers well and offering low prices to the customers. However, all this was done at the expense of the shareholders who collaborated with Arthur S and ousted the CEO. The film documents the event of employees leaving work and millions of customers refusing to buy from the supermarket, forcing the reinstatement of the CEO. This paper discusses frames and other concepts in organizational leadership that relate to the issue presented in the film, including structural, political, human resource, symbolic, and people-centric culture.
Analysis
Course Theories
The documentary is based on a real-life story that happened in 2014. The idea of loyalty was the main element that ensured Market Basket thrived in the supermarket business. Both employees and customers treated the organization as theirs and loved the leadership. Arthur T, the chief executive officer, followed in the steps of his father and grandfather as he had the same vision. He believed in reinvesting the earned profits into the business and paying good wages to workers and affording customers credit during harsh economic times. In the documentary, different individuals interviewed claimed and shared their appreciation of the CEO. Despite this, the board of directors, particularly the shareholders, viewed him as a dictator who did not allow them to benefit more. As there was a conflict between the two cousins, the individual that resulted in the board having enough power to fire Arthur T was his sister-in-law. After that, the board planned to bring in two new CEOs, something unappreciated by loyal employees and customers who chose to boycott.
In the documentary, we are introduced to the concept, namely the people-centric culture or approach. This strategy considers how the people desire to work and the way to motivate them to perform their roles well (Fries et al., 2020). Leaders must retreat and separate their goals from those of others. For instance, focusing on reaching revenue targets cannot maximize the workers’ productivity in the way one may think. Rather, growth opportunities inspire employees to become more productive, aiding in retaining them for the long haul (Fries et al., 2020). Organizations with great internal hiring witness forty-one percent longer worker tenure than those with low internal hiring (Holmes & Scull, 2019). Furthermore, this approach causes learning, growth, as well as belongingness. Placing employees at the core of the business motivates and keeps them more productive and engaged.
In the documentary, Arthur T is the source and primary enforcer of the people-centric culture. He learned this from how his grandfather, father, and uncle ran the business. He discovered that it was the secret to its growth since its founding by Greek immigrant grandparents (Fries et al., 2020). An example of this approach, as presented in the documentary, is when there are details of the CEO being in dispute with the shareholders as he preferred to reinvest the majority of the profits in the business. He supported paying employees good wages and offering lower prices for goods (Holmes & Scull, 2019, p.17). This, in turn, motivated the former to be more productive at work.
Another concept we are introduced to is the autocratic style of leadership. This type of leadership involves a leader having the ultimate power and authority over other people. He or she only tends to make choices according to their ideas and fails to listen to others. They can achieve this by setting rules and regulations that govern an organization’s operations (Holmes & Scull, 2019). This style works well when absolute control in a crisis is needed. Individuals approach such leaders with the assurance of providing solutions. An example in the film of this philosophy is when Arthur T decides single-handedly to enforce a good salary for his employees and low prices for customers (Fries et al., 2020). Despite the complaints from the shareholders, he chooses this strategy as he understands he has to maintain the loyalty established by his father, uncle, and grandfather before him. This is the same reason that makes them choose to fire him, as he refused to serve their interests.
Frame Discussion
Two frames based on the model developed by Bolman and Deal can be related to the main issue presented in the documentary, including political and human resources. The human resource frame is the one that is concerned with the relationship between organizations and the people. It can be seen in a situation whereby there are two opposing sides (Holmes & Scull, 2019). The first one views individuals as tools or objects that are not as important as what they do for the company. The other side believes that the employees’ needs can be aligned, engage their energy and talent, and still generate profits. This discussion has become more intense with modern firms’ globalization and growth in power and size. The frame was developed with the idea of questioning managers’ assumption that workers lacked any right beyond a salary and their duty was working hard and following orders.
According to Bolman and Deal, the human resource frame is based on the idea that organizations are there to serve the needs of people and that both individuals and businesses need each other (Holmes & Scull, 2019). Additionally, they believe that they suffer if the relationship between the system and the individual is poor. They argued that a great fit will always benefit the two parties. In the film, the human resource frame is presented to the viewer through the story of how employees enjoyed working for Arthur T. The business was thriving, and immediately after he was removed, the company suffered losses as the workers chose to leave. This includes even those who had worked for the organization for an extended period. In an interview, a forklift operator claimed that hiring two new CEOs did not sit well with them and thus, chose to boycott. Arthur T understood that using various incentives, for example, good wages would ensure that his employees are inspired to perform their best which is contrary to what the board and Arthur S thought.
Another frame that is presented in the film is political. While more conventional views may see organizations as established and run by some central power source that creates rules, goals, processes, and structures, this frame gives another perception. It characterizes the organization of independent people’s coalitions and groups with different interests and power relations that causes political activity. Eventually, it asserts that the continuous process of negotiating and bargaining among interested sides results in a structure. This can be seen in the film as there are three sides. The first one is Arthur S and the board, who believed that they could automatically have power and set structures within the business to guide employees.
The second side is Arthur T, who is focused on understanding the needs of his workforce, providing a solution, and inspiring them to be more productive and engaged. After firing their beloved CEO, the final side consists of the employees who decide to boycott to show their power. In the interviews, one employee claimed that they quit their job to pass their message since they knew the company would need workers. After being heard and Arthur T was reinstated, they returned to work, and everything became normal again. This shows that despite the board thinking it could set rules, determine goals, and order employees to perform their roles, an organization can run through negotiation and compromise.
Conclusion
Based on the film, I will be framing, and the frame I choose to use is human resources. From the documentary, it is obvious that the needs of the people are important and can be a key to the success of an organization. For instance, in the documentary, it is through paying employees good wages that Market Basket has thrived since its founding. If the board had chosen to consider this information, the losses that resulted after firing Arthur T would not have been experienced. Due to this, I plan to apply the people-centric culture or approach as my leadership style.
References
Fries, A., Kammerlander, N., & Leitterstorf, M. (2020). Leadership styles and leadership behaviors in family firms: A systematic literature review.Journal of Family Business Strategy, 12(1), 5-11.
Holmes, W. T., & Scull, W. R. (2019). Reframing organizations through leadership communications: the four frames of leadership viewed through motivating language.Development and Learning in Organizations: An International Journal, 33(5), 16–19.