Ricardo Semler Case Submission
Submitted by – Group 3
Amisha Gupta - MBA2020-024
Amulya Sanivarapu- MBA2020-026
Arpit Malviya - MBA2020-040
Pranay Kundu - MBA2020-116
1. How would you characterize Semler’s early leadership style? And his later leadership style?
Early
Ideology of 1. In early style employees had
management excessive workload which
hampered their motivation to work
efficiently.
2. Strong hierarchy between managers
and employees.
Leadership 1. Hierarchal and vertical decision
Structure making model used by the
company in early style.
2. Top level management or boss used
to take all the decisions, which all
the other employees had to follow
and obey.
Decisional 1. As boss has the all authority , only
process Ricardo Semler has all the authority
to take decisions.
2. Employees did not have freedom to
express and implement their own
ideas and had no say in decision
making processes.
Later
1. Stress free work environment, more
optimistic and creative which
enhanced employees motivation
towards work.
2. System control- No hierarchy
involved
1. Entire organization participate in
decision making and idea
development.
Brings the smooth collaboration
between managers and employees.
2. Employees are the leaders here, on
the basis of their domain knowledge
and expertise they led the work
irrespective of the titles they have.
1. Decision making process in
independent of positions and
hierarchy.
2. Employees are free to be a part of
decision making process.
Communication 1. No proper communication and
Design synergy among managers and
employees and senior management of
a company.
2. Employees never receives any
feedback on their work and
performance , which demotivates
them.
1. Building communication ,
good relationship withing
organization and encouraging
everyone to develop good
synergy among them was the
key task for all.
2. Providing feedback to the
employees , appreciate them
on their work helped
organization to achieve
efficiency and effectiveness.

2. Which Ricardo – early or late – would you rather have as your boss? Why? Which Ricardo would
you rather have as a sub-ordinate?

Though both ‘early’ and ‘late’ Ricardo were successful in leading the company to betterment, the change
brought in by ‘late’ Ricardo was consistent and sustainable. A leader who can keep the company sustain its
progress is an ideal level 5 leader. Hence, we would prefer having ‘late’ Ricardo as our boss.
Though, one might argue that the risk associated with the employees not working efficiently is high under
the leadership of ‘late’ Ricardo, the risk associated with employees getting fed up with controlling and
leaving the company comes in par with it. The extreme enthusiasm and increasing creativity found in the
employees under free leadership can help the company expand and grow in ways contrast to the competing
companies. Supporting the idea of thinking out of the box helps the individual too, to improve instead of just
working on what was ordered to them round the clock. If the employees are not given freedom to think
laterally then, Ricardo believed that the company might stay in stagnation and stop growing after a certain
point of time.
‘Late’ Ricardo, with his increased trust and belief in the employees, instilled in them, a sense of care and
concern towards the company. If an employee is working just work the monetary benefits, then the output
may become normal and the working might become redundant. The sense of care motivates the staff to work
more cautiously and effortlessly too.
The leadership philosophy followed by ‘late’ Ricardo was all based on trusting the employees to manage
themselves effectively. It depends on the basic idea that if a person cannot manage themselves, then how
he/she can be trusted to do a particular job extraordinarily. If a person cannot be trusted with the intricate
and fragile details of the company then there isn’t any purpose to have him/her working for the company.
Hence, the methods followed by ‘late’ Ricardo seem to be more preferred by not only us but also by the
majority of the world.
Considering the fact the that the output is comparatively better under the leadership of ‘late’ Ricardo, if your
subordinate also believes in it and can closely align himself along the lines of self-management, then the life
of a manger can become easy. Though the thought of subordinate becoming fully independent in work and
its related decisions and the manager can lose his/her control, the work-life balance becomes better. Thus,
we strongly think that having a subordinate as ‘late’ Ricardo is beneficial not only for the company but also
at the individual level.
Thereby if in an organization where at every level of workforce, people believe, follow and inculcate the
philosophy of ‘late’ Ricardo, then everyone (management, employees and workers) can be happy and
growing.