The Challenge Case “Bain & Company’s CEO, Bob Bechek, Leads the Team” (p. 359) and its related Challenge Case Summary were written to help you understand the management concepts contained in this chapter. Answer the following discussion questions about the Challenge Case to further enrich your understanding of chapter content.

Data from p.359

Bain & Company is a management consulting firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, that helps organizations around the world with management issues. With 7,000 mployees and over $2 billion in revenue, the company is a powerhouse among consulting firms. The CEO of Bain, Bob Bechek, began his career at the company 30 years ago as an intern and worked his way to the top of the organization. In 2016, Bechek was named the “best liked CEO” in America by glassdoor.com. The honor was based on hundreds of anonymous ratings, and he has a 99 percent approval rating.1 But how did he get to this point? How does a leader like Bechek become so popular among his employees? When he assumed the internship role with Bain, he was seeking an experience grounded in a solid organizational culture. “What attracted me to Bain,” said Bechek, “was that I felt like I found a hot firm that was focused  entirely and passionately on results or impact, rather than reports and did so within an extraordinarily people oriented culture that I thought would be very good for me, given my particular nature.” Even before his internship, he held quite a number of jobs. This provided him with a unique experience that is  helpful for someone in the management consulting industry because he has a familiarity with a variety of industries. As he recalled, “I was a kid who had more odd jobs than a lot of people going back to when I was a boy—from home construction to a steel factory UAW [United Automobile Workers] job. I was a technician in a nuclear reactor facility. I delivered pizzas and newspapers and mowed lawns. I was on a shopping center maintenance crew.” This myriad of experiences prepared him for his job at Bain. The company has offices in 36 countries, so an understanding of how all types of businesses carry out operations is important.

1. Based on what you read, which type of leadership style is most closely associated with Bechek? Explain.
2. Do you feel that Bechek should use more of a boss centered or a subordinate-centered leadership style at Bain & Company? Why?
3. If Bechek decided to use a transformational leadership style, what would you suggest he do in order to utilize this approach? Be specific.