Leadership Analysis of Chew Choon Seng, Former CEO of Singapore Airlines - Research Paper Example

 Title: People, Organizations and Society; Critical leadership analysis of Chew Choon Seng, former CEO, Singapore Airlines Introduction In organizations and societies, leadership plays a crucial role in directing the followers toward achievement of the set goals. Researchers in human and group behavior regard leadership as a critical element of comprehending the behavior of people and their performance in a given organization. Numerous research studies have been conducted to determine the qualities of an efficient leader and though no universally acceptable qualities have resulted, there is a consensus that a good leader is important to improve the performance of any group (Adrian, 2010). Researchers in human behavior have come up with several leadership models applied by leaders in organizations and society. This report is a critical evaluation of the leadership model applied by Chew Choon Seng, the immediate former chief executive officer of Singapore Airlines TM. Mr. Chew became the Chief Executive Officer of Singapore Airlines from June 2003 until September 2010 (Singapore Airlines, 2009 a). During his reign at the helm of the world’s largest airlines by market value, he was also in charge of various entities within the airline including Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise (SALE), Singapore Airport Terminal Services Limited and Singapore Airlines Engineering Company and Singapore Exchange Limited among others (Singapore Airlines, 2008 b). Leadership model The numerous leading positions held by Mr. Chew are clear demonstration of his leadership acumen that was equally reflected in his performance as the CEO of the airline. During his reign, Heracleous and Pangarkar (2009) noted that he perfected holistic development of the airlines’ employees and infused it with innovation and cost reduction, that made the airline re-bounce to profitability in such turbulent economic times. The leadership model employed by Mr. Chew is transformational, which emphasizes on the role of a leader to bring change in an organization. According to Borg (2010), transformational leaders emphasize on changing or transforming the followers positively while at the same time focusing on production. They enhance awareness of followers on what is right and important and increase their motivation which enables them perform beyond their self-interests for the good of an organization or society. In this case, Daniels (2007) noted that transformational leaders provide their followers with a heightened sense of purpose beyond compensating and rewarding them for their efforts. According to Austin and Peters (2008), leaders who apply this leadership style are characterized by five behavioral traits. The first behavior is that they live to their own ideals. This implies that they concentrate and talk on their most important values and beliefs, which they consistently impart on their followers resulting to a firm sense of purpose. They also consider the moral and ethical effects of their decisions in addition to championing new ideas and opportunities in their teams (Austin & Peters, 2008). Moreover, Anne (2007) argues that transformational leaders emphasize on the need of trusting one another in teams and individual capacities. The second behavioral trait is inspiring their followers. According to Austin and Peters (2008), they are optimistic about the future and they talk with enthusiasm about what needs to be achieved by their followers. They have a clear vision, which they articulate to the employees providing an exciting image of not only their vision, but also of the important elements that need to be considered to achieve the set objectives. However, they exercise firmness and decisiveness on controversial issues. Thirdly, transformational leaders stimulate their followers intellectually (Austin & Peters, 2008). They provide diplomatic avenues where they consider and examine contribution from other people within the organization. This ensures that they get different perspectives of solving particular problems while encouraging other people to approach issues from various angles at the same time. The fourth characteristic is that they give individual attention to their followers through coaching and consistent development (Austin & Peters, 2008). They treat them with respect and dignity with consideration that each individual has diverse abilities, needs and aspirations from other people. Therefore, transformational leaders provide avenues and mechanism for listening to their concerns, developing their strengths and promoting self-development. The final trait of these leaders is emphasis on faith, respect and trust among their followers. Shelaton (2007) notes that they act in ways that build other peoples trust in them through reassurance, making personal sacrifices for the benefit of the followers, displaying a sense of power and competence. The leadership style of Mr. Chew during his tenure can be critically examined using two behavioral components, which include concern for people and for production (Shelaton, 2007). From these components, various leadership styles can be deduced. These include accommodating leadership style that emphasizes most on people, with least concern on production. Laissez-faire style has the lowest concern on both people and production. Dictatorial style puts greatest emphasis on production with lowest concern on the welfare of the people. Finally, transformational style puts high concern on both the people and production (Shelaton, 2007). Mr. Chew strongly fits the transformation leadership style. Basing on his performance at the airlines the company demonstrated financial resilience and enhanced motivation among the employees. According to Singapore Airlines (2009 c), the company made a net profit of SGD 337 million in the third quarter of 2008 and by the end of that financial year, the company managed to make a profit, though it reduced considerably compared to 2007 financial year. In the first quarter of 2009 financial year, the company made a loss of SGD 307 million, but in the similar quarter of the following financial year, the company made a net profit of SGD253 million (Singapore Airlines, 2009 c). The company’s performance during the crisis is an indicator of how the company’s leadership focused on cost cutting measures that saw quick financial recovery of the airline, from the disastrous effects that continues to affect many global airlines up to date. According to Heracleous and Pangarkar (2009), Singapore Airlines has a long tradition of consistently developing the capacity of its employees and thorough service design in its operations. These values are exemplified its diverse corporate strategy, that has 36 direct entities and associated companies (Singapore Airlines. 2009 b). In addition, Loizos and Jochen (2009) noted that there are five major defining features in the organizational system of the airlines. These include meticulous service design and development, commitment to innovation, profit mentality among all employees, continuous and holistic development of its employees in addition to dedication on achieving strategic synergies (Loizos & Jochen 2009). During and after the financial year that the company made loss, Mr. Chew made major cost cutting measures that included cutting the salaries of employees, but keeping their jobs until the situation improved (International Air transport Association, 2009). However, the airlines continued development of the employees and it eventually came back to profitability in 2010 (IATA, 2009). The impacts that Mr. Chew leadership style had on the Singapore airline’s employees was improvement of their motivation during the crisis. The assurance that they would not lose their jobs but receive lower wages provided the much needed security and incentive in an industry that witnessed many job cuts. In addition, the continuous staff improvement program enhanced their skills and performance. Mr. Loon Lin, a flight dispatcher in the airline commented that job security and emphasis on staff development were reasons that made him look forward to work in the airlines every day (Heracleous & Pangarkar, 2009). The impacts of Mr. Chew leadership were strong from the senior most position to the lower levels and hence his fitness level was high. Conclusion The transformational leadership model in this case is restricted to a particular situation, when the financial airline was facing financial crisis. However, in different situations, the model does not indicate universally acceptable leadership standards that are efficient. During the period, it is apparent that aviation industry was facing a lot of pressure to make profits and cut costs in such an economically trying period. In such circumstances, Doganis (2006) noted that leaders change their leadership style to achieve the set objectives, and Mr. Chew is not an exception. In this case, it was important for Mr. Chew to adopt a leadership behavior that ensured that employees remained committed to the airline, while at the same time meeting the organization’s goals of cutting expenditure to enhance profits. According to Brian and Mark (2010), leadership style is the approach used to direct, motivate people and implement plans. Though leadership styles are applicable to specific situations, Colins (2006) argues that successful leaders do not necessarily stick to one style, but they change into the most applicable one as the situation demands. However, transformational style raises several questions, especially in management and leadership. Anne (2007) noted that while leadership provides new directions for achieving a particular task, management entails how those directions are executed. In this case, transformational leaders inspire followers to change, while the management motivates them to improve on their performance. In this case, the leadership style of Mr. Chew succeeded because of a favorable management structure that ensured execution of the introduced changes, while enhancing motivation levels of employees in the airline. Transformational leaders have diverse behavioral traits, but the result is determined by how they enhance production while paying attention to the needs of their followers. The major limitation is that it is efficient in knowledgeable and skilled employees especially in senior management levels (Anne, p 34, 2007). References Adrian, G. 2010. The orange revolution: how one great team can transform an entire organization. Edinburg: Pearson Leadership and Management Books. Anne, D. 2007. The future of airlines in Asia and Europe amidst high fuel costs. Mckinsey Quarterly. 4(2): pp 67-78. Austin, N. & Peters, T. 2008. A passion for excellence: New Jersey: Focus Books. Borg, J. 2010. Mind power: change your thinking, change your life! Chicago: Pearson Leadership and Management Books. Brian, T. & Mark, T. 2010. Now build a great business: 7 ways to maximize profits in any market. New York: Barnes and Noble. Colins, H. 2006. Global aviation industry in perspective: rethinking security and risk resilience. Mckinsey Quarterly. 3(6): pp 89-101. Daniels, H. 2007. The status of the airline industry in South East Asia: SIA in perspective. 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