Question: Over the past decade, professional baseball has devolved into an increasingly dysfunctional, sharply divided game of big-time haves and small-time have-nots. A few big market
Over the past decade, professional baseball has devolved into an increasingly dysfunctional, sharply divided game of big-time haves and small-time have-nots. A few big market teams such as the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers leverage fat television contracts to acquire top talent at top salaries. Clubs in smaller cities with meagre budgets make do with what's left. This trend has not proven true for the Oakland Athletics team, which has amassed the second-best win-loss record in the American League and more impressively, made money or broken even in five of the last six years. The reason for this team's success in the midst of so many others that fail is credited to its general manager, Billy Beane. Beane is a man who knows how to do more with less. He relentlessly exploits market mismatches by mining data his rivals ignore and by scooping up assets that others have undervalued. He realizes that every player must be evaluated according to his long-term economic impact on the team. People who work with Beane describe him as "monomaniacal, ardent, and controlling," Question: One reason for Beane's success is his ability to let employees know precisely what is expected of them, give specific guidelines for playing baseball (e.g., instructing all pitchers to throw strikes on the first pitch and to throw as few pitches as possible during each inning), and make sure that players follow these standards of performance. Which of the following best describes the type of leader Beane is? Over the past decade, professional baseball has devolved into an increasingly dysfunctional, sharply divided game of big-time haves and small-time have-nots. A few big market teams such as the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers leverage fat television contracts to acquire top talent at top salaries. Clubs in smaller cities with meagre budgets make do with what's left. This trend has not proven true for the Oakland Athletics team, which has amassed the second-best win-loss record in the American League and more impressively, made money or broken even in five of the last six years. The reason for this team's success in the midst of so many others that fail is credited to its general manager, Billy Beane. Beane is a man who knows how to do more with less. He relentlessly exploits market mismatches by mining data his rivals ignore and by scooping up assets that others have undervalued. He realizes that every player must be evaluated according to his long-term economic impact on the team. People who work with Beane describe him as "monomaniacal, ardent, and controlling," Question: One reason for Beane's success is his ability to let employees know precisely what is expected of them, give specific guidelines for playing baseball (e.g., instructing all pitchers to throw strikes on the first pitch and to throw as few pitches as possible during each inning), and make sure that players follow these standards of performance. Which of the following best describes the type of leader Beane is