Kevin McCarthy is the manager of a production department in Alvis Corporation, a firm that manufactures office equipment. After reading an article that stressed the benefit of participative management, Kevin believes that these benefits could be realized in his department if the workers participated in decision making. The first decision involved vacation schedules. On the vacation issue, the group was deadlocked and Kevin had to resolve the dispute himself. The second decision involved production standards. It proposed new equipment that would make it possible for workers to earn more by working more. The savings from higher productivity would pay for the new equipment. The workers recommended keeping production standards the same. The spokesman explained that their base pay had not kept up with inflation and the pay incentive simply restored their base pay to its prior level.
Analyze this situation using the Hersey-Blanchard model and the Vroom-Jago model. What do these models suggest as the appropriate leadership or decision style? Explain your reasoning.