Module 3: Case Study Assignment
Leadership, Management, and Organizational Power at RST Carports and Metal
Roofing
Natasha Morgan
Liberty University
BMIS501: Executive Leadership and Management (B01)
Dr. Dan O’Malley
February 8, 2026
Leadership, Management, and Organizational Power at RST Carports and Metal Roofing
RST Carports and Metal Roofing
RST Carports and Metal Roofing was a consistently profitable manufacturing organization
from 1981 through 2017, supported by experienced leadership, disciplined operational systems,
and a collaborative organizational culture. The company relied on structured quality
methodologies, comprehensive training programs, and participative decision-making to
maintain high performance across production, safety, and financial outcomes. These practices
enabled RST to respond effectively to operational challenges while sustaining employee
engagement and trust.
Following its acquisition by WXY Corporation in 2017, RST experienced a rapid decline in
profitability, quality performance, employee morale, and workplace safety. Leadership
restructuring, workforce reductions, and cultural shifts disrupted systems that had supported
success for decades. This assessment examines how changes in leadership styles, management
decision-making approaches, and power structures contributed to the organization’s decline
and offers evidence-based recommendations to restore organizational effectiveness.
Experience Levels of Employees
One of the most significant contributors to RST’s decline was the dramatic loss of
experienced leadership and workforce expertise following the acquisition. Prior to 2017, RST’s
leadership team consisted of long-tenured managers, many with more than 30 years of
experience and formal training in Six Sigma methodologies. These leaders possessed deep
institutional knowledge related to suppliers, production processes, safety requirements, and
workforce capabilities. Their experience enabled proactive risk management, continuous
improvement, and effective mentoring of employees.
After the takeover, a large portion of this experienced leadership retired or resigned and
was replaced with significantly less experienced managers selected by WXY’s corporate office.
The data demonstrate the consequences of this shift, as accident rates, quality defects, and
overtime hours increased sharply between 2018 and 2020. The loss of institutional knowledge
weakened the organization’s ability to identify root causes of defects, enforce safety standards,
and stabilize operations. Research indicates that organizational restructuring often results in
performance decline when experience and expertise are removed without adequate knowledge
transfer or training (Mathisen et al., 2023). At RST, the experience gap directly contributed to
operational instability and declining profitability.
How Leadership Styles Could Have Affected the Change at RST
Leadership style changes were at the crux of the RST organizational culture and
performance decline. The RST pre-acquisition leadership style demonstrated servant leadership
and transformational leadership with collaborative, ethical influence and development-based
qualities. These management styles help build trust, encourage teamwork for problem-solving,
and contribute to an organization's long-term sustainability (Canavesi & Minelli, 2021).
Following the acquisition, the leadership style in the organization shifted to a
transactional style, focused on cost reduction, compliance, and short-term profit. Transactional
leadership, based on monitoring performance and correcting deviations from desired outcomes,
works well in a stable environment. These attempts to motivate employees through
transactional leadership, however, were not effective due to a lack of employee engagement
and innovation, a
reduction in employee autonomy, information silence, and distrust among employees
and line managers. Employee morale declined, conflict increased, and the unionization rate
grew. RST's operational recovery stalled after the collapse of relational leadership, and its
employees became disaffected and disengaged.
How Management Decision Styles Could Have Affected the Change at RST
Management decision-making also changed considerably at RST after 2017. Previously, it
was participatory and democratic, including engineering, quality, operations, and shop-floor
staff in the decision-making process in a way that encouraged innovation, cross-functional
collaboration, and continuous improvement. Participative leadership allows organizations to use
the knowledge and experience of their workers while improving employees' commitment to
organizational goals (Wang et al., 2022).
After the acquisition, decision-making became autocratic and centralized. Cost-cutting
decisions were made in all areas of the company, regardless of quality, safety, or impact on
operations. Switching suppliers for short term financial benefits led to more defects, rework,
and complaints. Staff with subject matter expertise were not included in the decision-making
process, limiting the ability of the organization to learn, increasing resistance to change, which
led to increasing operational problems and the decline of RST. How Types of Power Could Have
Affected the Change at RST
The type of power held by leadership at RST shifted dramatically after the acquisition.
Prior to the acquisition, leaders exercised expert and referent power based on technical
knowhow and experience and were trusted by their employees. These types of power
interrelate with committed, compliant, and congenial employee attitudes.
After the takeover, coercive power, legitimate power, pay reduction, compulsory
overtime, and dismissal threats grew, which negatively affected job satisfaction, morale, and
retention (Maphanga et al., 2024). At RST, this power shift resulted in absenteeism, turnover,
and tension between management and employees. Fear-based compliance contributed to a lack
of psychological safety, reduced organizational cohesion, and further challenges facing the
organization.
A Pareto Analysis of the Three Main Problems That Could Have Affected the Change at
RST A Pareto analysis reveals three primary issues responsible for the majority of RST’s
performance decline. First, the loss of experienced leadership and the elimination of training
programs resulted in increased accidents, quality failures, and excessive overtime. Second, the
shift to transactional, autocratic leadership using coercive power eroded trust, engagement, and
collaboration. Third, the dismantling of quality systems and supplier discipline led to defective
materials, rework, and declining profit margins. Addressing these three root causes would
resolve the majority of the organization’s operational and cultural failures.
Recommendations
To bridge this gap and ensure a sustainable and profitable organization, RST should take
a multi-faceted approach to restoring servant / transformational leadership and practices within
the organization and bringing operational systems in alignment through ethical influence,
transparency, and development to rebuild trust and engagement within the workforce.
Second, RST must stabilize its workforce by restoring full training programs, including
onboarding, safety training, and technical skills training. Fully trained workers will reduce
accidents, improve quality outcomes, and rebuild institutional knowledge. Reducing excessive
overtime and ensuring sufficient staff will decrease errors and injuries caused by fatigue.
Third, RST should return to the disciplined quality management practices that made it
successful at such a rapid pace, including Six Sigma, supplier quality management, and
institutionalized leadership for quality. Studies have shown how organizations can revive
performance and morale by investing in the safety and quality infrastructure (Mathisen et al.,
2023). These actions can create the foundations of recovery and future success.
Biblical Integration
The Bible teaches both a shared decision-making process and the avoidance of bad
leadership. Proverbs 11:14 describes, "Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an
abundance of counselors there is safety." Other verses encourage leaders to make use of many
advisors to arrive at the best course of action. Prior to the acquisition, RST's leaders were
already attuned to cross-functional collaboration and accountability, and that ethos continued in
their model of shared decision-making.
Afterward, the command structure was centralized and autocratic. The experiences of
knowledgeable managers and workers were ignored. This seems consistent with the biblical
wisdom that organizations perish when counsel is ignored. Applied to the workplace of
organizations, the principle encourages leaders to value experience, listen to voices, and
steward people and resources. Integrating biblical wisdom into management enables ethical
leadership that promotes resilience and sustainable performance in the organization.
Conclusion
These included management, decision making, and authority lapses after the
acquisition. The loss of experience and the use of coercive management and quality systems
negatively impacted the once successful RST Carports. RST can again become functional and
profitable by returning to participatory forms of leadership, stabilizing employment practices,
and investing in operational controls and management practices that are based on ethical
principles and a peoplecentered perspective of leadership and management.
References
Canavesi, A., & Minelli, E. (2021). Servant leadership: A systematic literature review and network
analysis. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 34(3), 267–
289. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10672-021-09381-3
Maphanga, M. E., Mokoena, A. B., & Isabirye, A. K. (2024). Leadership power bases influence
on quality of work life and intention to stay among retailing employees. SA Journal of
Human Resource Management, 22, a2403. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajhrm.v22i0.2403
Mathisen, G. E., Tjora, T., Bergh, L. I. V., Jain, A., & Leka, S. (2023). The differential impact of
organizational restructuring and downsizing on the psychosocial work environment and
safety climate. Safety Science, 166, 106255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2023.106255
Wang, Q., Hou, H., & Li, Z. (2022). Participative leadership: A literature review and prospects for
future research. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 924357.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.924357
Satterlee, A. (2020). Organizational management and leadership: A Christian perspective.
Liberty University Press.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. (2001). Crossway Bibles. (Proverbs 11:14)
