GreenGrid Repair (GGR) is a social enterprise that repairs donated laptops and sells them at low prices to students. The founder, Lena, is widely respected by employees because she communicates a clear purpose: reducing electronic waste and improving access to education. Employees often work extra hours voluntarily when Lena explains the social impact of urgent orders.

However, GGR has grown from 8 to 42 employees in two years. Repair technicians complain that spare parts are not always available, customer orders are sometimes accepted without checking capacity, and records of repaired laptops are incomplete. Lena spends most of her time meeting schools, charities and donors. She is considering appointing an operations manager with formal authority to plan workloads, allocate resources, coordinate technicians and monitor performance targets. Some employees worry that GGR may lose its informal, mission-driven culture.

Coastal Crust (CC) is a family-owned bakery with one shop and a small delivery service. Its owner, Mara, has always used a paternalistic leadership style. She decides opening hours, pay arrangements and work routines herself, but she also provides free meals, flexible leave for family emergencies and personal support for employees.

CC is preparing to open a second shop near a train station. The new shop will use unfamiliar digital ordering screens and will employ several part-time workers with little bakery experience. At the same time, CC’s experienced bakers want more freedom to design new products for the station shop. Mara’s son argues that she should become more democratic to improve ideas and motivation. Mara believes that, during the launch period, employees will need clear instructions and close control.

QuickServe Robotics (QR) assembles small food-delivery robots for restaurants. QR has grown quickly, but it recently missed several delivery deadlines for customers. The operations manager, Leena, currently uses a democratic leadership style with assembly employees, who are experienced and have suggested several improvements to production methods.

A new contract from a national restaurant chain would increase monthly output targets significantly. To meet the contract, Leena is considering changing to a more autocratic leadership style for six months. Employees would have to follow standardized work procedures and would no longer be consulted about shift patterns or assembly methods. Some employees support clearer instructions, but others believe that their ideas have helped QR reduce faults and improve motivation.

The table shows selected monthly performance data for QR before and after a short trial of more autocratic leadership in one assembly team.

CarePath Home Support (CHS) provides home-care visits for elderly clients. CHS employs care coordinators who allocate visits, monitor safeguarding procedures and deal with complaints. The founder, Amira, is admired by many employees because she often speaks about treating clients with dignity and building a caring culture. However, CHS has expanded into two new towns and now has more employees than Amira can personally supervise.

The regional managers focus on planning rotas, controlling costs and ensuring that legal care standards are met. Some care workers say that management has become efficient but impersonal. Others say that Amira's inspirational speeches are not enough because late rotas and unclear instructions make their work stressful. CHS is deciding whether to invest in more management training for regional managers or in a leadership development programme focused on communication, trust and vision.

The table shows selected monthly data for CHS in the two new towns.

Ardent Games (AG) develops online games for mobile phones. AG has 110 employees working in three departments: game design, software engineering and customer support. The chief executive officer, Riku, founded AG and still makes most major decisions himself. He uses an autocratic leadership style with customer support employees, who must follow strict scripts when responding to complaints about in-game purchases.

AG’s creative employees have become frustrated. Game designers say Riku rejects ideas too quickly, while software engineers say they can solve technical problems faster when trusted to choose their own methods. Two senior designers have recently left to join competitors. However, AG is also facing a regulatory investigation after customers complained about misleading advertisements. Riku argues that this crisis requires centralized decision-making and clear instructions. The human resources manager has suggested that Riku adopt situational leadership across AG.

AeroFit Components (AFC) manufactures lightweight parts for sports equipment. The production director, Jae, uses scientific thinking in management. He analyses defect rates, labour productivity and machine downtime before changing work schedules. This has helped AFC reduce unit costs.

AFC is now considering entering a new market for customized components used by elite athletes. The market is uncertain, and customers often request unusual designs at short notice. The design manager, Priya, argues that AFC should rely more on intuitive thinking because experienced designers can judge what athletes will value before clear sales data exists. Jae is concerned that intuition may increase costs and lead to inconsistent decisions.

The table shows selected data from a three-month pilot project comparing two management approaches for customized components.

GreenLoop Lunches (GLL) - a social enterprise

Read the resources and answer the questions that follow.

Resource 1 — Background

GLL prepares low-cost plant-based lunches for schools using surplus food from supermarkets. It also employs and trains refugees who have recently arrived in the city. GLL's founder, Mara, previously made most operational decisions using her experience as a chef and her personal knowledge of employees. As GLL prepares to open a second kitchen, the board wants a more systematic approach to decision-making, including performance data and staff scheduling software.

Resource 2 — Selected operational data from GLL's first kitchen

Resource 3 — Employee quotation

A kitchen supervisor said: "The new system helps us plan quantities, but some staff feel the managers now look only at the numbers. Refugee employees sometimes need flexibility for appointments and language classes."

Resource 4 — Social-media statistic

GLL has 78 000 followers. In a recent online survey, 64% of respondents said they would donate to help open the second kitchen, but 31% of negative comments mentioned late school deliveries.

Resource 5 — Decision facing GLL

The board must decide how Mara and the management team should combine scientific thinking and intuitive judgement when managing the second kitchen, while maintaining GLL's social mission and improving reliability.

RideForward (RF) - a social enterprise

Read the resources and answer the questions that follow.

Resource 1 — Background

RF repairs donated bicycles and provides them at very low prices to low-income workers who cannot afford public transport. It also trains young unemployed people as bicycle mechanics. RF's founder, Tomas, is widely admired for his speeches about transport justice and has built strong relationships with local charities. However, RF has grown from one workshop to five community hubs, and employees complain that everyday management systems have not kept up with the growth.

Resource 2 — Selected information for RF

Resource 3 — Employee quotation

A hub coordinator said: "Tomas inspires everyone, but nobody knows who has authority to approve tools, change opening hours or allocate trainees between hubs. We have a powerful mission but weak systems."

Resource 4 — Social-media statistic

RF has 42 500 followers. A post about its training programme was shared 9 800 times, but the most common complaint in online reviews is the long waiting time for repaired bicycles.

Resource 5 — Decision facing RF

The city council has offered RF a three-year service contract if RF can prove that it has reliable management controls while keeping its community-led culture.

SafeSteps Solar (SSS) - a social enterprise

Read the resources and answer the questions that follow.

Resource 1 — Background

SSS installs low-cost solar lamps in rural communities where students often study without safe lighting. SSS also trains local young people as installation assistants. The founder, Anika, prefers a democratic leadership style and holds weekly meetings before major decisions. However, SSS's field operations manager, Ravi, argues that during installations in remote villages, leaders must be autocratic because safety and deadlines are critical. SSS also has a small design team of experienced engineers who expect autonomy.

Resource 2 — Selected information about SSS teams

Resource 3 — Performance data from the last six months

Resource 4 — Employee quotation

A trainee said: "When we are on a roof, I want clear instructions. But when we discuss how to explain the lamps to families, managers should listen to us because we know the local community."

Resource 5 — Social-media statistic

SSS has 116 000 followers. A video about students using solar lamps received 1.6 million views, but a recent post about delayed installations attracted 1 200 critical comments.