| Course | MGT 530 Leadership Theory and Practice |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 2 |
| Paper type | MBA leader selection paper |
| Length | About 1,012 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Master of Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MGT 530 Module 2
Charisma or a Record of Running Shifts? Traits, Skills and Behaviors in Choosing a Box Plant Manager
Student Name
Master of Business Administration, Aspen University
MGT 530: Leadership Theory and Practice
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Charisma or a Record of Running Shifts? Traits, Skills and Behaviors in Choosing a Box Plant Manager
Three Rivers Packaging, a composite plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana, makes corrugated boxes for food processors, retailers and online sellers. It employs 210 people across three shifts, running corrugators, printers and die cutters. Its plant manager of twelve years retires in four months, and the regional vice president must choose a successor from two internal candidates. The sales manager is energetic, confident and well known to customers; at the annual meeting, he spoke for twenty minutes about turning the plant into the region's leader in sustainable packaging. The second-shift production superintendent is quieter; she rarely speaks at meetings, but her shift has the plant's best safety record, lowest waste and lowest turnover. The vice president asked for an analysis grounded in research.
Traits Versus Behaviors
DeRue et al. (2011) combined decades of studies on leader traits, such as personality and intelligence, and leader behaviors, such as initiating structure, consideration and transformational and transactional behaviors, and tested them together. Behaviors explained more of the variance in leadership effectiveness than traits, and traits influenced effectiveness partly through the behaviors they produced. The finding matters for selection: what a person has done as a leader is more informative than how they come across.
Traits as Patterns
Zaccaro (2007) argued that early trait research went wrong by examining traits one at a time and expecting each to predict leadership in every situation. He proposed that leader attributes work as integrated patterns, combining cognitive abilities, personality, motives and values, social skills and expertise, and that some are distal, shaping leadership indirectly, while others are proximal, directly shaping behavior. A charismatic, extraverted person without expertise in running people in production may lead less effectively than a less outgoing person with the right combination.
Stable and Developable Attributes
Hoffman et al. (2011) reviewed studies relating individual differences to leader effectiveness, separating stable, trait-like attributes, such as achievement motivation, energy and dominance, from more state-like, developable attributes, such as interpersonal skills, oral communication, management skills and problem solving. Both kinds related to effectiveness, with several of each showing meaningful relationships. The implication is that selection should weigh stable attributes that are hard to change, while development can build the skills that are missing.
Rating the Candidates
| Evidence | Sales manager | Production superintendent |
|---|---|---|
| Extraversion and confidence | High | Moderate |
| Vision and communication | Strong | Limited in public; clear one-on-one |
| Production knowledge | Limited | Deep, fifteen years |
| Initiating structure: observed | Organized sales calls well | Cut waste 12% through standard work |
| Consideration: observed | Liked by customers | Lowest shift turnover in plant at 14% |
| Safety leadership | No record | Best safety record of three shifts |
| Handling a crisis | None observed | Led recovery from a corrugator fire in 2023 |
| Gap | Running people and equipment | Strategic communication with corporate and customers |
Behaviors Behind the Superintendent's Record
The superintendent's numbers reflect behaviors that DeRue and colleagues' research identifies as effective. She introduced standard work at each machine with her operators, writing the steps together, which is initiating structure done with consideration. She holds a ten-minute huddle at every shift start and knows each operator's family situation. After the corrugator fire, she stayed through the night, organized the cleanup crews and had the line running safely in thirty-six hours. Operators interviewed described her as fair and calm, and three had turned down offers from other plants to stay on her shift.
What the Sales Manager Brings
The sales manager's strengths are real. He knows every major customer, has grown sales 20% in three years and communicates a clear vision. Zaccaro's pattern view suggests these attributes would be valuable in a role that combines them with someone else's operating expertise, but that a plant manager without production experience would depend heavily on supervisors and might struggle to earn operators' trust during a crisis.
How the Evidence Was Gathered
To avoid judging on impressions, the vice president gathered three kinds of evidence: plant records on safety, waste and turnover by shift; structured interviews with each candidate about specific past situations; and conversations with six operators and two supervisors from each candidate's area. Weighting observed behavior this way follows the research rather than the reputation each candidate carries.
Recommendation
The vice president should select the production superintendent. Following DeRue and colleagues, her observed leader behaviors, organizing work, caring for her team and leading through a crisis, are stronger evidence of effectiveness than the sales manager's confidence and vision. Zaccaro's view supports this: her combination of expertise, steadiness and consideration fits a plant manager's role better than his combination fits it.
Risks of the Choice
The superintendent has never managed a budget of the plant's size or negotiated with corporate leaders, and the sales manager may feel passed over. The development plan addresses the first risk. For the second, the vice president will speak with the sales manager before the announcement, explain the evidence and offer the sustainability initiative as a visible role with his name on it.
The Operators' Perspective
Operators on all three shifts were asked, without names, what they wanted in a plant manager. The most common answers were fairness in overtime and shift assignments, someone who understands the machines and someone who will be on the floor when things go wrong. Those answers describe behaviors the superintendent has shown for years. Leaders are chosen by executives, but their effectiveness depends on whether the people they lead accept them, and the operators' expectations point the same way as the research.
Development Plan
Her gap, strategic communication, is a developable skill in Hoffman and colleagues' terms. She will join the regional vice president for two customer meetings a month, present the plant's quarterly results to corporate with coaching and attend an executive communication program. The sales manager will be invited to lead the plant's sustainable packaging initiative, using his strengths.
Conclusion
Research on traits, skills and behaviors favors evidence of what leaders have done over impressions of who they are. DeRue and colleagues, Zaccaro and Hoffman and colleagues together support choosing the superintendent and developing her communication skills.
References
DeRue, D. S., Nahrgang, J. D., Wellman, N., & Humphrey, S. E. (2011). Trait and behavioral theories of leadership: An integration and meta-analytic test of their relative validity. Personnel Psychology, 64(1), 7-52. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2010.01201.x
Hoffman, B. J., Woehr, D. J., Maldagen-Youngjohn, R., & Lyons, B. D. (2011). Great man or great myth? A quantitative review of the relationship between individual differences and leader effectiveness. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 84(2), 347-381. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317909X485207
Zaccaro, S. J. (2007). Trait-based perspectives of leadership. American Psychologist, 62(1), 6-16. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.62.1.6
What the MGT 530 Module 2 instructions ask for
Module 2 of Aspen's MGT 530 examines the person of the leader: what traits, skills and behaviors research links to effective leadership. Papers here commonly use that research to judge real leaders or a selection decision. Base your work on the Module 2 directions in your classroom; this example compares two candidates. Summarize evidence on traits, skills and behaviors, including how much each predicts. Explain how attributes combine into patterns rather than acting alone. Gather evidence about real people, preferring observed behavior and records over reputation. Compare candidates or assess a leader against the evidence. Recommend a choice and a development plan for gaps, separating what can be developed from what cannot.
How this MGT 530 Module 2 example is built
The paper opens with Three Rivers Packaging, a plant of 210 employees making corrugated boxes for food and retail customers. Its plant manager retires in four months. DeRue and colleagues' Personnel Psychology meta-analysis integrated trait and behavioral theories and found behaviors such as initiating structure, consideration and transformational leadership explained more variance in effectiveness than traits. Zaccaro's American Psychologist article argues for treating traits as integrated patterns that shape behavior across situations. Hoffman and colleagues' Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology review found distal traits and proximal skills both related to effectiveness. A table rates the sales manager high on extraversion and vision but with little record of running people in production, and the superintendent strong on observed behaviors such as cutting waste 12% and keeping her shift's turnover lowest in the plant. The recommendation is the superintendent, with development in strategic communication.
Reading the MGT 530 Module 2 grading rubric
When choosing between people, a paper is only as strong as its evidence: research on traits, skills and behaviors read correctly, facts gathered about the actual candidates and a choice those facts support. This example uses DeRue and colleagues' meta-analysis to justify weighting observed behavior heavily. Zaccaro's view prevents treating traits as a checklist scored one item at a time. Hoffman and colleagues' review explains why developable skills matter for the development plan. The table separates impressions from evidence, the paper explains how evidence was gathered and the recommendation addresses the chosen candidate's gaps and the other candidate's future.
MGT 530 Module 2 help: mistakes that cost marks
Selection papers often choose the candidate with the most impressive personality. Research suggests weighting observed leader behavior heavily. Gather evidence such as past results, turnover on a candidate's teams and how they handled problems. Explain how traits combine rather than scoring them one at a time. Distinguish stable traits from skills that can be developed, since development plans depend on the difference. Address the chosen candidate's gaps. Finally, consider how the decision will look to the people who were not chosen. Explain how evidence was gathered so the decision can be defended.
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MGT 530 Module 2 questions, answered
What does MGT 530 Module 2 usually ask for?
Aspen's MGT 530 covers traits, skills and behaviors in this module, so an MBA paper using research to judge a leader or a selection decision is typical. Look at your classroom prompt.
Do traits or behaviors matter more for leader effectiveness?
DeRue and colleagues' meta-analysis found leader behaviors explained more of leader effectiveness than traits, though both mattered.
What does it mean to treat traits as patterns?
Zaccaro argued that traits work together in combinations that shape behavior, rather than each trait predicting leadership on its own.
Where can I find a free MGT 530 Module 2 sample paper?
The example above compares two candidates for a box plant manager using research on traits, skills and behaviors.
Can leadership attributes be developed?
Hoffman and colleagues' review found both stable traits and more developable skills relate to effectiveness, which means development efforts can make a difference.