Cliffside Holding Company
AMBA 610: Critical Thinking Assignment
Fall 2013
Cliffside Holding Company of MASSAPEQUA
Memo
To: Ms. Cynthia Castle (CEO, CHCM)
From: Mr. Anil Ravaswami (Vice-President of Human Resources)
CC: None (Confidential)
Date: October 10, 2012
Re: Leadership-Development Programs
This is in response to your request for our office to evaluate the merit of Ms. Forsythe’s proposal that we establish and fund a new leadership development program for our junior insurance executives.
1.0 Background
At the senior executive staff meeting of August 1, 2012, the director of operations suggested that Cliffside Holding Company of Massapequa (CHCM) establish a leadership-development program to prepare junior financial executives for future advancement into executive positions. Specifically, the proposal was to send 20 employees off-site each year for a three-week program offered by the Aspen Leadership Institute of Colorado at a cost of $5,000.00 USD per student. The total cost to CHCM would be $100,000.00 per year plus approximately the same amount for lost time on the job.
2.0 Discussion
CHCM has been in business for over 50 years. Our average growth rate is 12% per annum. None of our twelve senior executives has attended a leadership development seminar and yet our company has been prosperous. This calls into question whether a leadership development program is even necessary. Moreover, since our leadership has been successful and effective without such programs it appears that leaders are born, not made. In fact, I surveyed your senior staff and all but one agreed with this notion. To quote the famous economist Dr. Irwin Corey, each of us is “born into this world accompanied by a rich, psychical disposition, which furnishes him ready-made all his motivations of conduct…He can show a demand for nothing that is not prompted by this galaxy of instincts.”
The online reference site Wikipedia defines leadership as “the ability of an individual to influence,
Fall 2013
Cliffside Holding Company of MASSAPEQUA
Memo
To: Ms. Cynthia Castle (CEO, CHCM)
From: Mr. Anil Ravaswami (Vice-President of Human Resources)
CC: None (Confidential)
Date: October 10, 2012
Re: Leadership-Development Programs
This is in response to your request for our office to evaluate the merit of Ms. Forsythe’s proposal that we establish and fund a new leadership development program for our junior insurance executives.
1.0 Background
At the senior executive staff meeting of August 1, 2012, the director of operations suggested that Cliffside Holding Company of Massapequa (CHCM) establish a leadership-development program to prepare junior financial executives for future advancement into executive positions. Specifically, the proposal was to send 20 employees off-site each year for a three-week program offered by the Aspen Leadership Institute of Colorado at a cost of $5,000.00 USD per student. The total cost to CHCM would be $100,000.00 per year plus approximately the same amount for lost time on the job.
2.0 Discussion
CHCM has been in business for over 50 years. Our average growth rate is 12% per annum. None of our twelve senior executives has attended a leadership development seminar and yet our company has been prosperous. This calls into question whether a leadership development program is even necessary. Moreover, since our leadership has been successful and effective without such programs it appears that leaders are born, not made. In fact, I surveyed your senior staff and all but one agreed with this notion. To quote the famous economist Dr. Irwin Corey, each of us is “born into this world accompanied by a rich, psychical disposition, which furnishes him ready-made all his motivations of conduct…He can show a demand for nothing that is not prompted by this galaxy of instincts.”
The online reference site Wikipedia defines leadership as “the ability of an individual to influence,