Worst Management Team Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Worst Management Team - Term Paper Example There can either be a single large team in an organization or there can be several small teams, depending on the nature and type of organization. However, the function of all such management teams is to play their role in the progress of the company, thereby, contributing towards its success. One such management team also existed at Lehman Brothers Holding Inc, which used to be an international financial services organization, also the fourth biggest investment bank of the United States of America dealing in investment banking along with private banking, equity, research, returns trading and investment management. In my opinion, the management team of the Lehman Brothers during the 2006-08 periods is the worst management team ever to have functioned in the history. This is because in this firm, greatest quantity of capital was demolished in the shortest amount of time. In a dramatic manner, the firm underwent the largest bankruptcy in the history of United States, with its stocks plu mmeting drastically, customers opting their way out and assets being heavily undervalued by the official credit rating groups of that time. Finally, a significant portion of the company was bought by Barclays in September 2008 (Summe, 2011). Lehman Brothers was mutually established by the three brothers, Henry Lehman, Emanuel Lehman and Mayer Lehman. Since its foundation, it was considered to be a very reputable institution in which people used to place trust. With the passage of time, the popularity of the firm increased tremendously and it became one of the most reliable financial service companies in the United States, with the launch of its various subsidiaries such as Aurora Loan Services, Crossroad Groups, etc. Since 1993, the company was being led by Richard S. Fuld, Jr, who can be construed as a typical traditional leader with a top down command and control approach. He used to be very daunting in his demeanor and often commanded respect and devotion from his employees on th e basis of power. He had a large management team along with him comprising of senior managers and board of directors who always aided him in forming corporate level policies, core business strategies and decision making. Up till 2007, this team did reasonably well as far as the monetary records are concerned. The company even reported a staggering $4.2 billion profit in the year 2007. However, the consequences of following a superficial policy based on narrow scope and risky business were soon revealed when the company suffered the biggest financial turmoil of USA’s history which also triggered the late 2000’s recession. The responsibility of this crisis which resulted in the destruction of one of the most established names in the world of international finance lies directly on the management team of Lehman Brothers which consisted of several heavyweights. This management team was headed by a very impolite and fiery Chairman and CEO, Richard S. Fuld, Jr (Birkinshaw, 20 10). The other members of the management team were : â€Å"Riccardo Banchetti - Co-Chief Executive Officer of the Middle east and Europe regions; Jasjit S. Bhattal – Chief Executive Officer of Asia-Pacific region; Gearld A.Donini – Global Head of Equities; Eric Felder – Global Co-Head of fixed income; Scott J. Freidheim – Co-Chief Administrative Officer; Michael Gelband – Global Head of Capital Markets; David Goldfarb - Chief Strategy Officer; Alex Kirk – Global Head of Principal Investing; Hyung S. Lee – Global Co-Head of Fixed Income; Stephen M.Lessing – Head of Client Relationship Management; Ian T. Lowitt – Chief Financial Officer and Co-Chief Administrative Officer; Herbert H.McDade III –