CASE 11 KOOKABOORA CONTAINER CORPORATION: Maybe Tomorrow

When the Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga opened its gates for investors in light and medium industries, the
Kookaboora Container Corporation (KCC) was among the first ten companies to locate in the zone’s premises. KCC
manufactures containers of various shapes and sizes which are used by manufacturers of industrial chemicals, food products,
cooking oil, motor oil, and others.

The production department of KCC is headed by Engr. Nicolas Aisporna, a licensed mechanical engineer. He is a tickle for
discipline. When even small mistakes happen in his department, he personally calls the offending employees and metes the
appropriate penalty. As a result, his department was judged best in efficiency. Very minimal wastages in materials and time
were recorded by the department.

Under the direct supervision of Engr. Aisporna are 10 supervisors who are graduates of engineering courses and with an average
of three years work experience. Ten workers report to a supervisor. All of the workers are high school graduates. All employees
including the supervisors and the workers are paid on a monthly basis. The workers, however, are required to produce a
minimum number of units per day.

During the slack seasons, workers are engaged only from 50% to 75% of their normal working hours due to lack of sufficient job
orders. No worker is laid off by the company and everyone receives full pay. This is so because of the strong recommendation
made by Engr. Aisporna to the top management. Slack seasons last up to three months. At the fourth month, job orders begin to
pour in and everybody starts to cover 100% of their working time.

On the seventh month of the current year, orders were received at more than the normal capacity of the company. For the first
time since the company began operating, the department will be required to work overtime. No additional compensation will be
given except for free meals in the evening.

When Engineer Airspona calls the department’s entire workforce for a meeting, he explains the importance of accepting the
additional orders and working on them on overtime. He says that he is expecting everybody to lend a hand in the additional
effort. When he asks for comments, only one indicates his availability. Engineer Airspona cannot believe the cold response of his
subordinates.

As the hours pass by, the anger felt by Engineer Airspona gets deeper and deeper and he thinks he can no longer contain it. He
thinks aloud:
“What kind of people are these? During periods of less work, they are not laid off; and they don’t think of it as a favor! They could
not reciprocate management kindness!”

Learning Assessment

1. Examine and discuss the leadership style employed by Engineer Airspona.

2. Cite reasons for Engineer Airspona’s ineffective leadership style.
3. Assess which power should Engineer Airspona utilize to influence his people to follow accordingly.
4. Based on your evaluation, propose the more appropriate approach between behavioral and contingency. Explain your
choice.