Answer the questions below, after carefully reading the case study(4.1) – A Drill Sergeant at First.

• Q1. From the behavioral perspective, how would you describe Mark’s behavior
• Q2. How did his behavior change over time?
• Q3. In general, is Mark more task-oriented or more relationship oriented?
• Q4. What score do you think he would get on Blake and Mouton’s grid?

State your responses with the question numbers Q1, Q2 Q3, and Q4

A Drill Sergeant at First.

Mark Young is the head of the painting department in a large hospital; 20 union employees report to him. Before

coming on board at the hospital, he had worked as an independent contractor. At the hospital, he took a position

that was newly created because the hospital believed change was needed in how painting services were provided.

Upon beginning his job, Mark did a four-month analysis of the direct and indirect costs of painting services. His

findings supported the perceptions of his administrators that painting services were inefficient and costly. As a

result, Mark completely reorganized the department, designed a new scheduling procedure, and redefined the

expected standards of performance.

Mark says that when he started out in his new job, he was “all task,” like a drill sergeant who didn’t seek any

input from his soldiers. From Mark’s point of view, the hospital environment did not leave much room for

errors, so he needed to be strict about getting painters to do a good job within the constraints of the hospital

environment.

As time went along, Mark relaxed his style and was less demanding. He delegated some responsibilities to two

crew leaders who reported to him, but he always stayed in close touch with each of the employees. On a weekly

basis, Mark was known to take small groups of workers to the local sports bar for burgers on the house. He loved

to banter with the employees and could take it as well as dish it out.

Mark is very proud of his department. He says he always wanted to be a coach, and that’s how he feels about

running his department. He enjoys working with people; in particular, he says he likes to see the glint in their

eyes when they realize that they’ve done a good job and they have done it on their own.

Because of Mark’s leadership, the painting department has improved substantially and is now seen by workers in

other departments as the most productive department in hospital maintenance. Painting services received a

customer rating of 92%, which is the highest of any service in the hospital.