Group Assignment: Executive Case Analysis – Leadership Failures & Turnarounds
Module: Leadership
Weight: 15% of the Final Grade
Submission Deadline: By 20th July 2026
Format: Executive Summary of 5–6 Pages | Word or PDF | Standard Font (e.g., Aptos/Arial/Calibri,
11-12pt, 1.5 line spacing) | One submission per group
1. Objective
Great leaders learn from the missteps of others. In your groups, you will identify a documented,
real-world corporate or organizational crisis caused primarily by leadership failure. Your task is to
diagnose what went wrong using leadership principles and propose a retrospective strategic
turnaround plan.
2. Assignment Structure & Guidelines
This is an Executive Summary, meaning it must be concise, high-impact, business-professional,
and heavily analytical. Avoid long-winded histories; focus on analysis.
• The Case Profile & Context (approx. 1 page): Briefly introduce the organization and the
specific crisis or downfall (e.g., Kodak, Enron, BlackBerry, Nokia, or a recent local case).
Identify the key leaders involved.
• The Leadership Failure Diagnosis (approx. 2 pages): This is the core of your assignment.
Do not just describe what happened; explain why it happened from a leadership
perspective.
o Was it a failure of situational adaptability?
o Did toxic leadership behavior or unethical culture destroy trust?
o Was there a lack of strategic vision?
o You must explicitly use academic leadership concepts taught in class to back up
your diagnosis.
• Strategic Action Plan & Turnaround (approx. 2 page): If you were stepped in as the new
leadership team at the peak of the crisis, what specific actions should have been taken to
change the complexion of the situation? Provide 3-4 robust, actionable recommendations
that address the root leadership failures you identified.
3. Assessment & Grading Rubric
Your executive summary will be evaluated based on:
• Problem Diagnosis & Critical Analysis (6 Marks): Accuracy in pinpointing the specific
leadership styles, traits, or systemic failures that caused the crisis, backed by class theory.
• Strategic Realism of Recommendations (5 Marks): How logical, effective, and realistic
your proposed leadership actions are to alter the outcome.
• Professional Presentation & Collaboration (4 Marks): Clear business writing, professional
structure, clean formatting, and evidence of cohesive team input (the paper should read
as one voice, not fragments stitched together).
Critical Rules & Academic Integrity
Please Read Carefully
1. The Deadline is Absolute: Assignments must be submitted digitally by 20th July 2026.
2. Late Submission Penalty: A delay of even a single day will result in an automatic deduction
of 1 mark per day from your final score for that assignment. Plan your time accordingly;
technical hitches at the last minute will not exempt you from this penalty.
3. Plagiarism & Content Copying: Copying from the internet, using AI generation to write
your text, or sharing content between classmates/groups will result in an automatic loss
of marks.
4. Authenticity Over Fluff: High marks are reserved for authentic, genuine assignments that
display a true, deep understanding of the subject. A simple summary of facts copied from
Wikipedia, web or any Ai tool will score poorly; deep critical thinking, original thought,
and accurate application of theory are what carry the weight of the marks.
Team Formation & Group Sizes
To ensure fairness and a smooth administration process for our 154 student class, teams will be
structured strictly based on the Official Name Registry of your respective Degree Programs.
• Standard Group Size: Each team will consist of exactly 5 members.
• Formation Method: Teams will be formed sequentially based on the order of the registry.
o Team 1: Students 1 to 5 on the list.
o Team 2: Students 6 to 10 on the list, and so on.
Handling Remaining Students (The Absorption Rule)
If your degree program's total enrollment does not divide perfectly by 5, the remaining students
will be absorbed into the final teams of that program.
Look at how this applies based on your program's final student count:
• Case A: If your program has 51 students
o Teams 1 through 9 will have exactly 5 members (covering students 1 to 45).
o Team 10 will absorb the 51st student, making it a 6-member team (covering
students 46 to 51).
• Case B: If your program has 52 students
o Teams 1 through 8 will have exactly 5 members (covering students 1 to 40).
o The last two teams will both become 6-member teams to absorb the extra
students evenly:
▪ Team 9: Students 41 to 46 (6 members).
▪ Team 10: Students 47 to 52 (6 members).
Note to Students: Please check your official degree program registry to identify your team
number and your 4 (or 5) teammates. It is your group's responsibility to connect, delegate roles,
and begin working on the business case early.