Organisations and Behaviour:Understanding Different Approaches to Management and Leadership - Essay Example

The paper would broadly be comparing the effectiveness of different leadership style of two organization: Tesco; and Citigroup. The organizational leadership has become hugely important paradigm that must be identified and applied to evolve new approaches for optimizing performance. Consequently, it becomes important to analyze and evaluate the role of leaders and leadership within the organizations which have helped firms to gain competitive advantage (Boddy, 2008; Pettinger, 2002). The success and failure of organizations mainly depend on the ability of their leaders to anticipate changes and evolve strategies to meet them effectively.

Exemplary leadership is visionary and becomes the key enabling element of success when it exploits adverse situation to gain competitive advantage. Tesco and Citigroup have displayed exemplary leadership initiatives in implementing changes to overcome difficult times. The leadership approaches define various aspects of leadership that impact their followers and influence their performance. Within the broader precincts of organizational imperatives and social construction, leadership greatly facilitates in turning risks into opportunities for the firms.

It fundamentally relies on its followers to become motivated workforce who can identify opportunities in tough situations. Thus, leadership styles and traits become crucial factors that help managerial leadership to respond to challenging situations with optimism, fortitude and innovative inputs. They tend to evolve new strategies and goals for success and thereby help create a formidable workforce that thrives on new ideas and critical thinking (Meyer et al., 2007; Pedlar, Burgoyne and Boydell, 1996).

Two of the most popular leadership styles: situational leadership; and participative leadership are discussed that have been implemented in the organizations to meet the challenges of time. Situational leadership as espoused by Hersey and Blanchard (1988) adopts approach that best suits the situation. It evaluates and analyzes the situation and then applies leadership style that is best suited to it. In the current era of globalization and technology, this type of leadership is able to exploit new situations.

They tend to promote cross cultural understanding and mutual respect amongst the workforce that comprise of people coming from diverse background of race, culture, color and nationality. Situational leadership challenges the situation and at the same time, inculcate confidence in followers to move forward. Tesco’s managerial leadership is prime example that has used turnaround strategy of change to make Tesco a highly successful firm. Lord MacLaurin, Tesco took command of Tesco when it was undergoing rapid decline due to its failed strategy of ‘Pile it high and sell it cheap’ motto an low quality products.

MacLaurin’s leadership initiative and foresightedness in the belief of technology was key factor that helped the firm to re-establish itself as leading supermarket chain (Jelassi & Enders, 2008). His people centric approach was successful in evolving new strategies that was designed to understand and identify the changing requirements of the people and provide them with the desired goods through quality products and excellent customer service. Shapiro, Slywotzky and Tedlow (2000) assert that strong leadership