Supervision and Leadership Skills: Apple Corporation - Assignment Example

SUPERVISION & LEADERSHIP SKILLS Task The organization under analysis is Apple Computer Corporation, a leader in IT industry. Strengths of Apple include knowledge, HR, relationships, selling and history. Effective management is at the heart of organisation development and improved performance. The process of management, however, takes place not in a vacuum but within the context of the organisational setting. Applications of organisatinal behaviour and the effective management of human resources are upon the nature of the industry, and its culture and climate. A) According to Charles Handy and his "motivation calculus theory", successful performance of any organization is based on "needs", "results" and "effectiveness" (Handy, 1993). The study of motivation calculus is concerned, basically, with why people behave in a certain way. Applied to Apple Corporation, motivation calculus can be described as the direction and persistence of action. The "needs' include individual characteristics, internal and external environment, and influences. It is concerned with why people choose a particular course of action in preference to others, and why they continue with a chosen action, often over a long period, and in the face of difficulties and problems. This type of communication provides additional channels of communication and provides a means of motivation, for example, through status, social interaction, variety in routine jobs, and informal methods of work. According to Handy, results imply the role of additional efforts and outcomes. In Apple, additional efforts help the company to increase revenue through continuous optimization of production. Handy relates motivation to 'psychological' rewards such as the opportunity to use employees' ability, a sense of challenge and achievement, receiving appreciation, positive recognition, and being treated in a caring and considerate manner. The main problem in Apple is that employees and Executives have a completely different vision of company's culture and climate. Nevertheless, new direction proposed by John Scutley was aimed to shift organization from transition period to stability (Gibbs, Beer, 1991). The effectiveness means that the results are achieved. In order to be effective Apple tries to be responsive to external environmental influences. Apple operates within a dynamic environment and it requires a structure and culture that are sensitive and readily adaptable to change. Culture is a major factor in the appropriateness of management's methods of motivation. In addition to arrangements for the carrying out of organisational processes, management has a responsibility for creating a climate in which people are motivated to work willingly and effectively (Handy, 1993). John Adair developed an action-centered leadership approach which states that the effectiveness of the leader is dependent upon meeting three areas of need within the work group. The need to achieve the common task, the need for team maintenance, and the individual needs of group members (Robbins, 2004). The needs create three overlapping circles. Sculley tells that "We are trying to understand what works on a small scale that can work on a large scale. Mostly we have not succeeded here yet" (Gibbs, Beer, 1991). So, without an explicit statement of strategy it becomes more difficult for expanding organisations to reconcile co-ordinated action with entrepreneurial effort. In Apple, a sense of belonging to the organization is very important. It is built upon the loyalty essential to successful industrial relations. When Apple was a relatively small company, the sense of belonging was created by managers through ensuring that the workforce is: informed, involved, sharing in success. Hotlinks discussion showed that there was a great necessity to implement a change in order to increase "revenue goals". When changes were introduced, many employees felt that they: "are in a transition now, because we have lots of new people. Thus there is a need to balance structure with flat organization and individual autonomy" (Gibbs, Beer, 1991). This example shows that the management of organisational climate is therefore an important means of improving productivity and standards of work performance. Apple has its own climate. Task functions in Apple include: achieving the objectives of the work group; planning; resources; organisation of duties and responsibilities; controlling quality and checking performance; reviewing progress. Team functions in Apple influence the level of morale and attitudes which members of the organisation bring to bear on their work performance and personal relationships. When morale is low, and feelings of frustration or alienation are found to exist, it is important that positive action is taken to remedy the causes. According to Adair individual functions involve meeting the needs of the individual members of the group. It is important to note that Apple "encouraged individualism" (Gibbs, Beer, 1991). Individuals in the organisation are not guided at all times by the primary goals of the organisation. On the other hand, Apple culture is based on a team work: "people in Apple valued teamwork and liked to work in teams' (Gibbs, Beer, 1991). Goals and objectives pursues profitability, but this is not by itself very clear for its effective management. Apple must give attention to objectives in all key areas of its operations. The combination of objectives and resultant strategies influence culture. The primary function of Apple determines the nature of the technological processes and methods of undertaking work, which in turn also affect structure and culture. Employees doe not know long-term strategies which prevent them from effective performance. Tom Peters' theory, Change in Organization, underlines the importance of organizational structure and harmonization of each aspect. His approach is closely connected with 7s model developed by Peters, Waterman and Phillips in 1980 (Approaches to Change, n.d.). Usually large organizations like Apple have more formalised structures and cultures. Increased size is likely to result in separate departments and possibly split site operations. Applied to Apple Corporation his theory shows that without a change Apple cannot perform well in rapidly changing environment. The process of change should involve changes in strategy, structure, systems, staff, style and skills. The example of Apple shows that this created a problem for Apple's "old" employees. Changes caused difficulties in communication and inter-departmental rivalries with the need for effective co-ordination. A rapid expansion, or decline, in size and rate of growth, and resultant changes in staffing will influence structure and culture. Unfortunately, Apple management did nothing to improve this situation because information through Hotlinks went round them, and they "need managerial shift from control to context" (Gibbs, Beer, 1991). B) Charismatic leadership is a means of directing. A leader's actions are devoted to helping a group to attain its objectives. The strength of this approach is that a leader has the ability, based on personality and inspiration, to induce subordinates to work towards group goals with confidence and keenness (Reed, 2001). Charismatic leader accepts responsibility for the achievement of the group objective and it is therefore essential for trust and co-operation from both sides to be in evidence all the time. Charismatic leadership delegates authority, and can exert great influence on the attitude and performance of the team. In contrast, other types of organizations and leadership (bureaucratic and traditional) can initiate action, but do not have the same authority. The choice of leader, therefore, should be based on an accurate diagnosis of the environment, i.e. its reality, noting that effective leadership depends upon many conditions. The weakness of this approach means that the authority is legitimised by belief in the personal qualities of the leader. In some cases, this limits job satisfaction and enables employees to co-operate better, but there is doubt as to whether decisions taken under this sort of leadership are better (Mabey, Salaman, 1998). Apple Corporation can be characterized as an organization employed traditional approach reinforced through the system of rites and rituals, patterns of communication, expected patterns of behaviour and perceptions of the psychological contract. The positive feature of Apple is that it uses informal communication method which helps it to achieve the goals. It helps to provide satisfaction of members' social needs, and a sense of personal identity and belonging. The elements of Charismatic leadership cab be found in corporate image of Apple. Difficulties Apple faced were caused by vision of problems and leadership tactics of Jobs. Motivating other people was the main advantage of Jobs' tactics. He was able to get people to move in the direction he wanted them to go in order to achieve a result. In Apple motivation can be described as goal-directed behaviour and ability to contribute to a solution. Strong commitment to work is likely to result in conscientious and self-directed application to do the job, regular attendance, nominal supervision and a high level of effort. C) A manager's roles include performing ceremonial duties, e.g. receiving visitors. /she also has a leader role, e.g. hiring, training, motivating staff, and a liaison role dealing with others outside the organization, e.g. clients and suppliers (Lagone, Rohs, 1993). A manager's informational roles include monitoring and disseminating information obtained in numerous ways. As a company representative he/she transmits some information to others outside his/her area or organization. An important part of this work is to keep superiors well informed. A manager performs a role of disseminator, company representative or spokesman role, and monitor role. In contrast to a manager, a supervisor's duties include: delegation of authority and problem solving. The supervisor does not provide close supervision having just an interest in his subordinates. His main duty is to secure high performance standards. Without the direct participation and support of a leader, this power cannot be pushed to its full potential. Leadership requires many of the characteristics common to all leaders, but also requires special abilities to manage any organization in today's rapidly changing environment. A leader is a person who has an emotional influence on performance and attitudes of employees exciting people. The leaders characteristics are based on the personal qualities or charisma, and the manner in which authority is exercised (Robbins, 2004). Task 2. A) The culture and structure of Apple develop over time and in response to a complex set of factors. "Employees expressed great concerns about both Apple's management and its working environment. Many felt that executive management did not have a clear business direction, and that they did not keep employees adequately informed' (Gibbs, Beer, 1991). Apple management team did not take into account that the nature of the 'business' and its primary function have an important influence on its culture. The key skills require in this situation include: identification of a task and the quality of its fulfillment. The group exists to achieve a common purpose or task, and the leader's (managers) actions in one area affect both the others; thus successful achievement of the task is essential if the group is to be held together and its members motivated to give their best effort to the job. These are: measurement - assessing results against agreed targets and standards; feedback - giving people information on how they are doing; positive reinforcement - emphasizing what has been done well so that it will be done even better in the future; only making constructive criticisms, i.e. those that point the way to improvement; exchange of views - ensuring that the discussion involves a full, free and frank exchange of views about what has been achieved, what needs to be done to achieve more and what individuals think about their work, the way they are guided and managed and their aspirations. B) Education and communication might be appropriate if there is a problem in managing change which is based on misinformation or lack of information (Boehnke, Bontis, 2003). It requires an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect between managers and employees, and might well be time consuming if large numbers are involved in the change since it is unlikely that mass briefings of people will be sufficient to communicate effectively. Training will have a positive influence on managerial performance of the staff. Training should be based on functional approach. The second step includes identification of a group maintenance needs. To achieve its objectives, the group needs to be held together (Johnson, 1990). Action learning a method of helping managers at all levels develop their leading talents by exposing them to real problems. They are required to analyse them, formulate recommendations, and then, instead of being satisfied with a report take action. It accords with the belief that managers learn best by doing rather that being taught. As an effective technique in leadership training "job rotation" can be employed. It aims to broaden experience of managers by moving people from job to job or department to department. It can be an inefficient and frustrating method of acquiring additional knowledge and skills unless it is carefully planned and controlled (Whipp, 1991). C) I possess the ability to motivate employees. I suppose that motivation is important because it is a goal-directed behaviour and ability to contribute to a solution. Participation in the change process can be helpful in increasing ownership of a decision or change process and strengthening commitment to it. This may entail the setting up of project teams or task forces; those involved are then able to make a meaningful contribution to the decision-making process, the outcome of which may be of higher quality than decisions taken without such an approach. I feel the need to develop the ability to inspire and excite employees (the qualities of a leader). Training and practice can help to develop these skills. Also, it is necessary to understand psychological peculiarities of people including motifs, attitudes and commitment to work. Being a leader is not a position, but a function. People learn only when they do something, and they learn more the more responsible they feel the task to be. References 1. Approaches to Change. Available at: http://www.effectingchange.luton.ac.uk/approaches_to_change/index.phpcontent=7s 2. Boehnke, K., Bontis, N. 2003. "Transformational leadership: An examination of cross-national differences and similarities." Leadership & Organization Development Journal. Bradford. Vol. 24, Iss. . p. 5 3. Gibbs, M., Beer, M. 1991, Apple Computer (B). Managing Morale and Corporate Culture Harvard Business School, pp. 1-18. 4. Johnson, J. 1990, "Managing strategic change", British journal of Management, vol.1, pp.983-990. 5. Handy, Ch. 1993, Understanding Organizations. Oxford University Press, 4th ed. 6. Lagone, C. A., & Rohs, F. R. 1993, Community Leadership Development: Process and Practice. Journal of the Community Development Society, 26, pp. 252-267. 7. Mabey, C., Salaman, G. 1998, Strategic Human Resource Management, Blackwell Business, Oxford. 8. Reed A. 2001, Innovation in Human Resource Management. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. 9. Robbins, S. 2004.Organizational Behavior. Prentice Hall. 11 Ed. 10. Whipp, R. 1991. Managing Change for Competitive success, Basil Blackwell. Read More