Application of a Leadership Theory in Johnson & Johnson Activities - Case Study Example

Concepts of Leadership al Affiliation Concepts of Leadership A world renowned global organization with evident applications of leadership theories and concepts is Johnson & Johnson. For one, it has been existing for more than 127 years since its inception in 1886 (Johnson & Johnson, 2013). Their length of time in existence attests to the exemplary leadership practices manifested by the organization’s management team; in conjunction with their ability to capitalize on their strengths and make effective use of the opportunities that abound within the external global environment they operate in. In this regard, the current discourse aims to achieve the following objectives: (1) to apply one of the leadership theories from the course text to the organization by explaining how the theory works and through the inclusion of pertinent examples; (2) to explain the effect of power and influence that leaders have on followers in the organization; specifically addressing and explaining the responses to the following questions to wit: (a) are the followers receptive? (b) would you recommend another strategy?; (3) to evaluate the role and effectiveness of transformational and transactional leadership in the organization; (4) to assess the traits and characteristics of an effective team leader within the organization; (5) to explain how the leadership supports vision, mission, and strategy in the organization; and (6) to explain the response to a hypothetical scenario where: if one would be seen as a leader in the organization, what would be changed and why? Application of a Leadership Theory One leadership theory that is apparently applied in Johnson & Johnson is the competing values frameworks (CVF) model which reportedly “brings together the organization, its changing environment, and leaders’ competing roles, and also enables a descriptive and prescriptive examination of leaders’ roles and activities with regard to their effectiveness” (Weiss: Contemporary Leadership Effectiveness, 2011, par. 1). This value is best applied by the management team and leaders of Johnson & Johnson through their explicitly designed guiding philosophy, termed “Our Credo” (Our Credo). As one reviews this guiding principle, it could be deduced that the organization, through the management team and leaders, have pledged responsibilities and commitments to the following, in this order: “to the doctors, nurses and patients, to mothers and fathers and all others who use our products and services” (Our Credo, n.d., par. 1); “to our employees, the men and women who work with us throughout the world” (Our Credo, n.d., par. 2). “to the communities in which we live and work and to the world community as well” (Our Credo, n.d., par. 3); and finally, “to our stockholders” (Our Credo, n.d., par. 4). By identifying the stakeholders who they pledge responsibility, accountability, and commitment to, the organization has acknowledged that the actions of leaders are governed by responsibilities to mankind – which takes a more holistic and macro-environmental perspective. Thus, the CVF model is clearly applied since the strategies and policies that were designed to product and market their products on a global scale, takes into serious account these identified stakeholders who form part of the CVF model. An example of the application of the CVF model is through the message relayed by the Chief Executive Officer, Alex Gorsky, who avered that: “Our citizenship priorities are fourfold: advancing human health and well-being; safeguarding the planet; keeping our business strong; and conducting business responsibly” (2011 Responsibility Report, 2011, p. 4). From these statements, it could be deduced that the scope of responsibility of its leaders span beyond the organization, to every human being within this planet – including environmental protection, sustainability, and responsible governance. In addition, the CEO has identified that the organization has earmarked different products and services that were designed to address to the increasing health needs of the global population. From the same letter, Alex Gorsky noted that “we launched a number of innovative new products to address unmet health care needs across the globe, advanced our pipelines, and strengthened our product portfolios and leadership positions in many areas, including immunology, oncology, surgical devices, and emerging markets” (2011 Responsibility Report, 2011, p. 5). These are examples that leaders at Johnson & Johnson take a macro-environmental perspective in designing strategies to launch product and services for a wider population. The Effect of Power and Influence Leadership style has been classified in various ways. One of the lessons learned in terms of manifesting a particular leadership style or approach distinguishes how leaders apparently use power and authority. Therefore, according to Weiss (2011) under the contingency approaches to leadership, the power and influence that a leader exemplifies depends on the preferences and value sets that leaders possess, the characteristics of the followers, as well as the situation. For instance, position power, was defined as “the degree of influence a leader has over subordinates—hiring, firing, discipline, promotions, and salary raises. Position power is high when the leader has power to direct, evaluate, and reward or discipline subordinates. Position power is low when the leader lacks such power” (Weiss: Situation Defined, 2011, par. 4). Leaders who exude high position power could therefore influence their followers to achieve defined goals. The degree of effectiveness depends on the manner by which leaders are able to apply a particular leadership style that fits the personalities of the followers and the tasks at hand. For instance, leaders could effectively apply the path-goal theory which posits that “a leader’s effectiveness also depends on matching his or her style with the followers’ characteristics and demands of the task situation, and then taking steps to influence performance and satisfaction” (Weiss: Path-Goal Contingency Theory, 2011, par. 4). Thus, the strategy applied to influence followers to fulfill an identified goal would depend on the noted factors. For example, at Johnson & Johnson, leaders enjoin employees in sharing time and efforts to assist community members, especially during the Hurricane Sandy. As noted, the organization has pledged to assist victims of Hurrican Sandy through ensuring continued supply of its products, assisting through donations, actively engaging the employees, as well as supporting the workforce. The leaders’ messages were: “in addition to ensuring that our healthcare products are available to customers, we also have committed more than $5 million in product and financial support to relief efforts and we are putting additional resources and processes in place to quickly funnel aid to those most affected by the storm” (Hurricane Sandy Relief, 2013). These shows that the leaders’ styles, behaviors, and unselfish commitment to help others reverberate to the employees, who share the same vision and were receptive to the leaders’ identified goals. Role and Effectiveness of Transformational and Transactional Leadership Both transformational leadership and transactional leadership are crucial in the organization. According to Hamilton (n.d.), “transactional leadership can be summarized simply as transactions between leaders and subordinates, in an effort to improve performance of subordinates… (While) transformational leadership lies on the opposite end of the spectrum, in that this type of leadership strives to inspire and “transform” their employees in order to improve their performance” (p. 4). Thus, leaders and managers at Johnson & Johnson could be characterized as transformational, transactional, or even both, depending on the qualities that are predominantly exuded. Hamilton noted characteristics of transactional leaders as: contingent reward, management by active exception, management by passive exception, and laissez-faire leadership (n.d., p. 4). Concurrently, the characteristics of transformational leaders are noted as: “Charisma/Idealized Influence, Inspiration, Intellectual Stimulation and Individualized Consideration” (Hamilton, n.d., p. 4). A balance of these characteristics and traits are needed to ensure that tasks are implemented, as explicitly defined; and that performance would exceed that which is expected. Traits and Characteristics of an Effective Team Leader Within the Organization From the discussion of the traits theory, it was evident that there are indeed, identified characteristics that define an effective leader, especially one who is tasked to lead a team. From those which were noted by Weiss, the following traits would make an effective team leader within the organization: social intelligence (“the understanding and awareness of their own and others’ emotions, feelings, behaviors, and thoughts, as well as the ability to self-monitor and respond to different situations” (Weiss: Trait Theory, 2011, par. 3); optimism, and emotional intelligence (“a person’s ability to be self-aware (recognize one’s emotions when experienced), notice emotions in others, and manage emotional cues and information” (Weiss: Emotional Intelligence, 2011, par. 1). These traits make the leader adept at discerning the emotions, feelings, and thoughts of the team members and could anticipate the members’ needs, drives, or requirements, to facilitate the team towards achievement of the identified goals. Since Johnson & Johnson is a global organization, specifically more than 250 companies which are strategically located in 57 countries (Company Structure, 2013), it was revealed that the different business segments could be comprised of diverse teams. The business segments noted were: consumer, medical devices and diagnostics, as well as pharmaceuticals (Company Structure, 2013). An effective team leader would therefore be expected to exude the abovementioned traits and characteristics, and at the same time, be cognizant that their respective teams are working towards achieving the overall organization’s goals through the Credo, as the guiding principle. Explanation on How the Leadership Supports Vision, Mission, and Strategy Johnson & Johnson’s mission, vision and strategy have been incorporated in their Credo, or guiding principle. As evident from all of their correspondences, announcements, policies, and procedures, all employees across the organizational hierarchy are expected to abide by these principles. As explicitly noted regarding the management approach: “The overarching philosophy that guides our business is Our Credo, a deeply held set of values that have served as the strategic and moral compass for generations of Johnson & Johnson leaders and employees. Above all, Our Credo challenges us to put the needs and well-being of the people we serve first. It also speaks to the responsibilities we have to our employees, to the communities in which we live and work and the world community, and to our shareholders. We believe Our Credo is a blueprint for long-term growth and sustainability thats as relevant today as when it was written” (Our Management Approach: Our Credo: Our Guiding Philosophy, 2013, par. 1). Thus, through the leaders’ behavior and consistent support to their guiding principles of serving the needs and well-being of the people in top priority, the rest of the actions and behaviors of their followers are expected to emulate their example. If One Would be seen as a Leader in the Organization, What would be Changed and Why? If one would be a seen as a leader in Johnson & Johnson, in terms of applying leadership theories, nothing is to be changed. For one, the actions and behaviors of leaders, as well as followers, have been expressly directed from their Credo; which clearly stipulated the guiding principle for their commitment and responsibility to manufacture products and offer services that would serve the best interests of mankind. As such, by thinking others first and foremost, more than employees, communities and even stockholders, at the last, only manifest the organization’s unselfish stance in doing everything positive and productive towards the betterment of others. As a result, they have existed for more than a century and have received awards and accolades, in the process. However, one also believes that even the best organization or leader could still improve. Leadership training and development programs should continue to exist to train potential future leaders to head the organization. Likewise, since its products and services are anchored in medicine and health, various researches should be continued with the aim of finding cure through advances in medicine and technology. Thus, as a leader of this organization, one would promote greater thrusts in research and development to assist in the discovery of new drugs (possibly cheaper ones) and providing services that enhance delivery and greater access to health care. Finally, as a leader, one would encourage continued growth through updates in knowledge and new applications in various fields of endeavor: leadership, management, health care, product manufacturing, globalization, cultural awareness, among others. By constantly assuming a proactive stance, one would be willing to embrace new opportunities and at the same time, be regularly apprised of threats that could impinge on the continued success of the organization on a global sphere. References 2011 Responsibility Report. (2011). Retrieved from Johnson & Johnson: http://www.jnj.com/wps/wcm/connect/e265d6804bc83ae392f6ffbf30c50c56/2011-responsibilty-report.pdf?MOD=AJPERES Company Structure. (2013). Retrieved from Johnson & Johnson: http://www.jnj.com/connect/about-jnj/company-structure/ Hurricane Sandy Relief. (2013). Retrieved from Johnson & Johnson: http://www.jnj.com/connect/caring/patient-stories/hurricane-sandy-relief Our Management Approach. (2013). Retrieved from Johnson & Johnson: http://www.jnj.com/connect/about-jnj/management-approach Hamilton, M. (n.d.). The Interaction of Transactional and Transformational Leadership. Retrieved from Online Journal of Workforce Education and Development: http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1078&context=ojwed Johnson & Johnson. (2013). Our Timeline. Retrieved from jnj.com: http://www.jnj.com/connect/about-jnj/company-history/ Our Credo. (n.d.). Retrieved from Johnson & Johnson: http://www.jnj.com/wps/wcm/connect/c7933f004f5563df9e22be1bb31559c7/jnj_ourcredo_english_us_8.5x11_cmyk.pdf?MOD=AJPERES Weiss, J. (2011). Leadership Effectiveness: Characteristics and Theories. In J. Weiss, An Introduction to Leadership. San Deigo, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Read More