Leadership Across All Economic Cycles: Leaders' Behaviour and Performance - Book Report/Review Example

1. Introduction Currently, organisations are rapidly growing and expanding from being local to being global in their product and service provision. This is by integrating regional economies, societies, and cultures. This has thus become a challenge to all managers as they have to keep up with the competitive pressure that is in the environment. This is essential as it improves an organisation’s effectiveness and keeps it informed on the global issues. As organisations continue to expand globally, the need for talented leaders and enhanced leadership development programs has grown. This report looks at the empirical evidence on some of the most commonly used perceptions about globalization. It reviews the managerial issues facing global businesses as well as means of reducing these issues. It also looks at the role and impact of leadership on issues of global organizational effectiveness. 2. Managerial Issues in a Global Business Most of the existing corporations are going global so as to have a competitive advantage and grow globally. Globalization can be defined as the increase of the connectivity and interdependence of markets and businesses across the world states Marcus (1999). Corporations are growing globally at a fast rate due to the advancement in technology especially in the telecommunication sector. This has in turn given businesses competitive pressure thus challenging the management to maintain a balance of the opportunities with the challenges operating in different environments. Bass (1992) states that managers have a role of understanding their internal operating environment so as to gain a better and formal approach of valuing investment opportunities. Managers have a broad range of responsibilities from staff management and operational tasks to strategic responsibilities, success will not be achievable if these four functions are not taken seriously. 2.1 Integrating research and development systems This problem is found both in foreign regions and locally. There are several points to consider so as prevent these issues from happening. Firstly, there should be a balance between the level of control and autonomy in all R&D activities. This will optimize initiatives. Secondly, the human resource department must design an R&D structure which is crucial in its coordination. Lastly, the HRM department may be viewed as a consolidating force in the integration based as well as in the specialization based structure globally. An example of a company that has successively performed well using this is the Toyota Company. The Toyota Product Development System illustrates practices for dealing with the challenges of product development. These techniques include synchronizing disciplines, workload leveling, process variation as well as effective technological integration. 2.2 Supply chain management This is the management of a particular network of interconnected businesses involved in the final production of goods and services needed by the end customers. It also include the planning, design, control and monitoring of the activities involved in supply chain with the objective of creating net value, leveling world wide logistics, synchronizing supply with its demand and finally measuring performance globally. The issues that the SCM faces are one, distribution network configuration. This is the number, location and network of suppliers. Distribution strategy is another problem faced by multinationals. This involve the questions of delivering products to the end user where by there are transportation problems especially where shipping services and freight services are needed. Valuable information is also not flowing in the manner that it is shared globally for example demand signals, forecasts, transportation and potential collaboration. To reduce these problems from occurring, the supply chain management should consider developing a better customer service management process. This will be by improving the relationship between the organization and the customers as a whole. They should also consider strategic plans to support the flow of manufacturing and the development of new products. Procter & Gamble alliance over the past decade has invited its major suppliers to develop powerful supply chain relationship. These are intended to increase the flow of products to other region and also increase in profitability. 2.3 Human resource challenges This is one popular issue in the international management recently. As the importance of qualified personnel in multinational is increasing, the international HRM models had been developed. Earlier these organizations maintained a standardized human resource management which led to operational effectiveness and efficiency. However, issues developed when they when they became more popular as a result of changes in operating environment in addition to structures. Qualified managerial staff was a major challenge due to shortage of talents, differences in social environment, compensation and benefits and finally expatriate failure. This is supported by the fact that different people living in different countries perceive different cultural believes on organization. To overcome these issues organizations need to localize employment in host countries. An example is the Mc Kinsey Company in Shanghai who for the past years has attracted a specific type of talent with advanced technical skills and who deeply understand international management techniques. This has resulted to increased company’s performance in China and in other operating offices around the world. 2.4 Differences in social environment. This refers to the difference in culture, employment system and labor market. Regions have different approach to means of handling conflicts and planning processes. Culture is the only thing that can not be copied in the modern companies. Trading blocks such as EU has lowered their trade barriers and tariffs. This is to increase the extent to which goods and services can manage to flow freely across regions. Currently, we are leaving the cold war competitive forced technology to an exchange of technologies between East and West; this is from simple cultural dependency to a multicultural sufficiency. The two forces driving multinationals have been market growth and initiatives of reducing costs. Therefore to achieve a big market share, the main strategy should be to expand operations outside borders to gain cost advantages over rivals. An example is the Western multinational companies that manufacture products such as electronics and textiles in Southeast Asia. These companies are mostly affected by the global competitive events now that most secure supplies and resources from foreign countries. Ways of eradicating this issue include collaborative learning, sharing of knowledge and finally use of institutional networking. There is also the need to develop global integration through technical and economical forces. According to Denison (1990) planning is always the first function that a manager must achieve. Here, the manager assesses the current situation and sets objectives to achieve in the future which will improve the current situation. By doing this; the manager will be performing the organisation function. If a manger just strategizes and plans and leaves upon the team to implement, their may be a risk of the team not being able to achieve the implementation. He should be a part of it so as to guide them on the requirements that may be needed. Leading or staff management is another function a manager plays. Here the manager motivates the staff, praises or criticizes them and sets individual objectives. He also leads by example convinces and persuades the team of the importance of the set organisational objective. Failure of a manager to lead his team may result to staff turnover and unsuccessful campaigns and projects. The last important function of a manager is the one of controlling. The manager plays a key function in controlling the budgetary expenses spends in different departments so as to maintain cost efficiency in the organization. This helps a manger to know if their budget is spent in the most profitable way and he is able to notice the signs when changes should be implemented. Without measuring and controlling, the team wont know if what they do is best for the organisation thus; the business success will only be limited. Ignoring any of the four functions can result in failure of business success. Therefore, the four functions of a manager have to be a priority for any successful organization. 3. Role and impact of leadership on issues of global organizational effectiveness. For any organisation to succeed and grow globally, it has to have a good leadership structure. As it has been argued by many theorists, many organizations fail in their performance and productivity due to the existence of ineffective leadership style. Denison (1990) argues that for a leader to have an impact in the organisational effectiveness, one must realize that leadership is not about once personality but it is about being able to direct and influence a group of people towards achieving a given purpose. This creates the consensus, commitment and collegiality of an organisation. Leaders mainly focus on important issues to an organization and getting innovative ideas which will result to the growth of the organisation. Their focus is on quality and not quantity and to provide clarity and a sense of shared destiny. This is to reduce complexity and involve everyone in decision making thus developing a sense of empowerment and security of employees. Leaders in turn should posses the following strategic leadership roles or should be the following to be effective in his leadership states Bryman (1992). Be a Navigator: A leader is a navigator meaning. The manager should be able to analyze what is happening in the organisation, understand the conflicting issues and establish the best course of action to take. He should be able to understand the current trends in the market, translate complex situations into simple and meaningful explanations. He priotizes and overcomes personal and organisational biases. Be a Strategist: Leaders have a role to develop organizational goals and aims which align with the organization’s Vision. They cerate a plan for the future which puts both the opportunities and current trends into consideration, and makes decisions that drive the organization towards its vision. He identifies the risks and takes the necessary course of action and links the organisation’s vision, beliefs and values to the business strategy. Entrepreneur: This means that as a leader, the manager should be innovative, that is, develop new ideas and adopt existing ones for new products that that the organization may have. Look beyond the boundaries of the organisation for new growth opportunities, that is, in technology advancement and partnership. Provide development opportunities to establish employee retention. Be a Captivator: Make the employees become passionate and committed towards the achievement of the set organisational goal. A leader instills others with a strong sense of belonging and sensitizes them with the benefits to be attained. A change Driver: The leader appreciates the need for change, funds it and supports its implementation and also rewards behavior that supports change. He creates an environment that embraces change, makes change happen and helps others adopt new ideas which become the force driving the change home. A Global Thinker: As a leader the manager should understand and accept international and cultural diversity and behave in a way that accommodates people’s varying perspectives. They also discern differences in individual styles and adapt their approaches. As a global thinker, one should consider the implications of current issues, decisions and opportunities beyond their country or culture. Be a person that Mobilizes: It is the role of the leader to gain support and the required resources for getting things done quickly thus, accomplishing the complex objectives. He uses the necessary and appropriate lobbying techniques to get support from the decision makers. This is acquired by utilizing available creative networking approaches to get contacts that are relevant towards the achievement of the set goals. The application of these roles to leadership selection, development, and deployment decisions can have a considerable impact on the success of these leaders and, ultimately, their organisations, as well. These roles can be represented inform of a graph as follows; TABLE 1: Range of the DDI Roles Compared to Similar Roles Defined in Other Leadership Models. DDI Roles Covey’s Roles Belbin’s Roles Gallup’s Roles Mintzberg’s Roles Navigator _____________ _____________ Formulation Disseminator monitor Strategist Pulhlinding _____________ Strategic Thinking _____________ Entrepreneur _____________ Plant Creativity Entrepreneur Captivator Empowering, modeling _____________ Stimulator, persuasion Spokesperson Change Driver _____________ Shaper _____________ _____________ Global Thinker _____________ Chairman ______________ ______________ Mobilizer Aligning Company worker, , finisher Activator Liaison Table 1 highlights elements from the four models of leadership roles, and the corresponding DDI leadership roles as stated by Andersen (1999). Example Leaders should be able to develop alternative ideas to be effective in their leadership. Each leader or personality has their own style of leadership that they use. Some leaders use the trait approach meaning that they are born leaders with certain qualities. For instance Professor Nguru the former vice chancellor of Daystar University used different approaches in his leadership role. For example, when dealing with the staff members at times he could use the authoritative approach especially when he wanted certain tasks to be completed in time. He was a result driven leader. Professor Nguru is a good example of a born leader since one could get to see it in his leadership style. As much as he was authoritative at times, he mostly used the situational approach since different situations called for different styles of leadership .A good example where he used the situational approach was during graduation ceremonies and when dealing with disciplinary cases. The kind of leadership style used during graduation was democratic one but when dealing with disciplinary cases he used authoritative style. An example of a universally known leader is President Barrack Obama of U.S.A. President Obama is popularly known to have good leadership roles and styles across the world. The best leader uses the democratic leadership style says Barrack (2009). This style allows people to practice their democratic rights. President Obama is known as a leader who is open for other people’s ideas and opinions. He also possesses inborn leadership traits meaning he is truly a born leader. He has climbed the political ladder in the US from being a senator to being the America’s first president to be black. These two feats clearly with no doubt show that he is a person of integrity and honor and that his leadership has been of exemplary nature. He is a leader who has shown us the different leadership role and how they can affect an organization or country or the whole globe. Conclusion Leadership is a top driver of employee engagement and not only across all the countries, but also across all economic cycles. Research has however shown that employees continue to find their leaders behavior and performance wanting in a number of key areas that are becoming more important in todays climate. These include empathy, visibility, vision, validity and regular and honest communication. This gap between leadership’s words and actions keeps on affecting individual and organisational performance in ways both obvious and subtle. Therefore, the best way for making an organisation grow globally and become effective in the market is for the top management to put the above managerial functions and leadership role into action, thus get productive results. References Andersen 1999, Consulting institute for strategic change; The evolving role of executive leadership, Andersen Consulting. Publishers, Chicago. Bass, M, & Avolio, B 1992, Developing transformational leadership: And beyond. Journal of European Industrial Training, 14, pp. 21-37. Barrack, Obama 2009, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on reclaiming the American dream, Vintage books publishers. Bryman, A 1992, Charisma and leadership in organizations, London, Sage. Denison, D 1990, Corporate culture and organizational effectiveness, John Wiley & Son, New York. Marcus, D & Paul, H 1999, Global leadership and organizational behavior effectiveness: Research project, Progress Report, Published in Knowledge at Wharton, March 01. Appendices Appendix A: Managerial Functions and Issues in a Global Business. Appendix B: 8 Ways to reduce risk and improve organizational effectiveness Appendix C: Role and impact of leadership on issues of global organizational effectiveness. Appendix D: Navigator-Clearly and quickly works through the complexity of key issues, problems and opportunities to affect actions. Appendix E: Strategist- Develops a long-range course of action or set of goals to align With the organization’s vision. Appendix F: Entrepreneur- Identifies and exploits opportunities for new products, services, and markets. Appendix F: Captivator- Builds passion and commitment toward a common goal. Appendix G: Change Driver- Creates an environment that embraces change; makes change happen—even if the change is radical— and helps others to accept new ideas. Appendix H: Global Thinker- Integrates information from all sources to develop a well informed diverse perspective that can be used to optimize organizational performance. Appendix I: Mobilizer- Proactively builds and aligns stakeholders, capabilities, and resources for getting things done quickly and achieving complex objectives. Read More