Relationship of Leadership with Strategic Management and Organizational Direction - Assignment Example

Relationship of Leadership with Strategic Management and Organizational Direction Table of Contents Introduction 3 Task 3 1. Linkage between Strategic management and Leadership in Apple Inc. 3 1.2. Impact of Leadership and Management on strategic decisions of Apple 4 1.3. Adaptability of Leadership Style 4 Task 2 5 2.1. Using theories to develop organizational strategy of Apple 5 2.2. Creating leadership strategy that supports organizational direction in Apple 5 Task 3 6 3.1. Use of appropriate methods to review current leadership requirements 6 3.2. Changes in the business environment over the next five years 7 Task 4 7 4.1. Evaluate leadership skills for a specific requirement 7 4.2. Usefulness of methods and programs used by Apple 8 Conclusion 8 Reference List 10 Introduction Strategic management involves devising of major goals and objectives of an organization that eventually leads to the organizational vision while considering the external and internal environment of the organization. Formulation of organizational objectives is followed by its implementation (Kotler and Keller, 2011). The managers and other higher authorities ensure that all the employees are focused on the desired direction of progress and that all the activities are being commenced according to the strategic planning. This is achieved by properly guiding and controlling the subordinates by an organizational leader, who is responsible for the right implementation of the proposed plans (Davis, 2011). Thus it can be stated that the strategic planning and its chance of success is highly related to the leadership techniques employed by the authority. This paper is focused on the relationship of leadership with the strategic planning and organizational direction of Apple Inc. Task 1 1.1. Linkage between Strategic management and Leadership in Apple Inc. Apple is best known for its innovative product line up and holds the number one position in terms of brand image. The company was co founded by Steve Jobs who defined a completely new style of leadership which is quite rare among any higher authorities. The company has always kept its focus on its products and has been known as a trend setter rather than a trend follower (Fortune 500, 2014). Jobs often quoted Henry Ford and mentioned that if people were asked what they want, they would want faster horses. This suggests that Apple’s key objective was to create consumer’s need rather than to satisfy the existing ones. Steve Job had always mapped the innovation cycle of the products by almost 5 to 7 years in the future, which allowed the company to introduce product that never failed to surprise the customers (Elliott, 2014). Thus the strategic planning that drives the success of the company is associated with the leadership of Steve Jobs. Jobs also had the ability to make a strong communication with the target audience, thereby creating a strong desire for Apple products. Therefore it can be stated that in Apple there is a strong relationship of leadership and strategic planning and organizational direction. 1.2. Impact of Leadership and Management on strategic decisions of Apple The leadership style followed by Steve Jobs was highly unconventional and quite rare. He was known for his strong criticisms, high demand of performance and absolute obedience from his coworkers. Jobs’ ability to materialize his visions by bringing the employees, investor and customers in the same vehicle has allowed him to progress towards the organizational success (DeMers, 2014). He was not afraid of taking risk and was ready to learn from past mistakes. He had to ability to develop innovative product designs that had the potential to change the way the world perceived technology. His idea allowed the customers to improve their lives by implementing technology in everyday life. His tendency of impressing authoritative leadership helped the company to stick to the desired organizational direction. However, at the same time it also had some adverse effect on the staffs. Steve Jobs hardly entertained his fellow workers during decision making processes and often exerted force to yield the desired result. This as a result had put severe pressure on the employees. Foxconn is one of Apple’s third party manufacturer located in China. The work overload became so adverse that the workers started to commit suicide by jumping from the factory roof top. As a result, it degraded the work environment and reputation of the company (Campbell, 2013). However, on the other hand it resulted in increased production volume and revenue generation. This incident caused uproar in the media and it has also hampered the stock prices of the company. 1.3. Adaptability of Leadership Style Company’s leadership style is more effective when it has the ability to adapt with the changing market environment and redesign the business activities of the organization. Previously, the product centric approach of Apple did not address any significant CSR activities and exerted severe pressure on the employees to yield the desired result. After Tim Cook took over as CEO he realized that the sharp authoritative leadership may not yield sustainable result. Moreover, in the ever changing competitive market place, the rival firms are trying new ways to gain market share and take over the well established companies (Chun, 2011). This suggests that the company required certain changes in its organizational structure and in its approach towards product development. Tim Cook changed certain work related policies that allowed the workers to have proper work life balance and better work environment, thereby improving their motivational level by reducing work related stress. As opposed to the previously followed product development strategy that did not consider the market trend, Tim Cook decided to pursue a middle path by maintaining its product uniqueness yet adhering to the current market trend and consumer’s demand. As a result Apple had decided to launch a smaller version of iPad and the increase the screen size of the recently launched iPhone models. Thus it helped the company to gain popularity in the increasingly competitive market by catering to the changing needs of the customers (Allen, 2009). Task 2 2.1. Using theories to develop organizational strategy of Apple The need based product development strategy suggests that a company needs to be aware of the changing consumption behavior of the customers, so that it can develop products that are in line with the changing needs of the target market (Elliott, 2014). However, in order to stay ahead of the competitors, simply following the customers’ needs and trends are not enough. The company needs to add more value to the products so as to achieve competitive advantage over its rivals. This can be achieved by product augmentation. This suggests that a product can attract more customers if it possesses a set of unexpected features that the customers has not experienced before. The leadership theories suggest that there are primarily two types of leadership styles, autocratic and democratic leadership style. The autocratic leadership style as followed by Steve Jobs uses the power of authority to yield desirable results (DeMers, 2014). On contrary, the democratic leadership style uses the power of influence to motivate people to voluntarily progress towards the organizational goal. In order to further improve the work environment of Apple, Cook needs to be empathetic towards the workers and employees so that it improves job performance and they can voluntarily engage themselves towards organizational welfare. Although autocratic leadership can be advantageous in yielding short term results, but it is not a viable option in the long term perspective. Autocratic leadership often lacks the contribution of the employees in the decision making process (Barrett and Mayson, 2008). 2.2. Creating leadership strategy that supports organizational direction in Apple The leadership strategy of Apple has always been known for its authoritative nature that does not care about any fellow members when it comes to decision making. This as result has upset a lot of stakeholders. Although this has yielded a higher revenue generation for the company but at the same time it has also affected Apple’s reputation (Chun, 2011). Moreover, this perspective may not be a suitable option in the changing business environment and it may cause a downturn for Apple. Therefore, the management needs to make certain changes in the leadership strategies, which will ensure sustainable growth of Apple in the increasingly competitive environment. Allowing fellow members to actively contribute to the decision making process will increase their motivational level and will lead to increased levels of job engagement. Moreover, introducing a CSR initiative will help the company to increase its brand equity (Adair, 2010). This as a result will help Apple to progress towards achieving sustainable competitive position in the industry. Apple must take care of the Chinese workers in the third party manufacturing plants by employing strict working rules that will ease off their work loads. The higher management must also take steps to look after the welfare of the employees by offering them certain privileges and improving their skills by offering on job training. These steps will ensure Apples’ pursuit towards the organizational vision of being the largest producer of computers and consumer electronic products. Thus the leadership strategies of the company are one of the primary determinants of the organizational direction (Bass, 2010). Task 3 3.1. Use of appropriate methods to review current leadership requirements In order to ensure sustainable organizational performance, a firm needs to ensure that the leadership style employed must be compatible with the current business operations and strategic planning. This can be achieved by reviewing the leadership style of the firm and pointing out the required changes necessary for sustainable growth of the firm. The current leadership requirements of the company can be assessed by the employee satisfaction level and work environment. According to the reports published by Denning (2012), the work environment is characterized by stressful workload and chances of layoffs. At the same time, the employees often at times have complained that their salary is lower relative to the huge revenue generation of the company. This suggests that the leadership style employed in Apple needs to be more people centric. This as a result will increase the motivational levels of the employee, which in turn will increase individual productivity and reduce the rate of layoff. 3.2. Changes in the business environment over the next five years The technology and consumer electronic market is growing at a rapid pace. At the same time, the competitors are trying to devise new competitive strategies to take over the rival firms so that they can grab as much market share as possible. The competitiveness often gets aggressive and the firms tend to attack each other with ambush marketing or price wars. In this business scenario, Apple needs to strengthen the performance of its employee base by increasing their motivational level and driving them to voluntarily engage in organizational welfare. Moreover, the growth of the consumer electronics industry has made it attractive for the new entrants. Therefore, Apple needs to devise new defensive strategies to fend off the new entrants or it can strengthen its position further to pacify any attacks from the rivals. The gradual changes in the business environment require Tim Cook to change his leadership strategies so that he can implement new strategic planning to adapt in the new business environment. The higher management needs to develop new competitive advantage by developing new products and marketing strategies. By involving the employees in the decision making process, the company can derive a wide variety of innovative ideas to choose from. Moreover, this will also help the employees to increase their motivational level and will strengthen the employee base. Task 4 4.1. Evaluate leadership skills for a specific requirement Apple’s business structure has changed over the years after Tim Cook took over the position of CEO after Steve Jobs’ death. Cook successfully identified that the rigid approach taken by Jobs towards the company’s operations may not yield a sustainable growth for the company (Chun, 2011). Therefore certain changes were required in the leadership of the company along with the management system and the organizational direction. He recognized that the changing market environment requires a change in the leadership and management strategies. Therefore, the leadership style of the company needs to be changed in order to guide the firm towards the new strategic management. Previously, the business structure of Apple was focused only on catering the niche customers with a very narrow product line. With the leadership of Tim Cook, the strategic management and the organizational direction was changed. He realized that in order to sustain in the changing market environment, he needs to address the current purchasing behavior of the customers. Keeping this in mind he decided to follow the growing trend of larger screen sized mobile handsets. This suggests that he has adopted a more flexible approach to leadership thereby guiding the company towards a sustainable growth. 4.2. Usefulness of methods and programs used by Apple The company has taken a series of step to redesign the business structure of the firm, which has slightly changed its positioning. Apple has widened its target customer base, by increasing its product line by launching iPad mini, iPhone 5c and iPhone 6 plus along with iPhone 6. Moreover, the company has decided to follow some of the ongoing market trends as opposed to its conventional nature. This as a result has allowed the company to gain higher customer preference and increased customer base. The decision to introduce a cheaper version of iPhone allowed the company to target the mass market thereby increasing its customer base and its revenue generation. Moreover, under the leadership of Tim Cook, Apple has also followed the market trend of smaller screen size of tablets and introduced the iPad mini. This as a result has allowed the company to gain market reputation and increased sales (Chun, 2011). Tim Cook has also initiated CSR activities to help certain under developed countries. The establishment of project “Red” has helped several people in Africa. Moreover, he has also initiated several development programs for its workers and suppliers to help them improve their knowledge and skills that will help them serve the company in a better way. Cook has also fixed the basic working hours for the workers in the supplier firms, so that they can have a better work life balance. These changes brought by the Tim Cook’s leadership have allowed the company to gain a better reputation in the business market and to attract potential investors (Elliott, 2014). It has also improved the working condition of the company. In the near future the company can implement a more seamless communication flow in the hierarchy, which will allow the employees to have a proper access to organizational knowledge. Moreover, implementing a democratic leadership style will eventually allow the employees to have their own freedom of work, thereby increasing their motivational level (Halpern and Lubar, 2007). Conclusion The strategic management of a firm is largely dependent on its leadership style. The pursuit towards the organizational direction can only be successful when the employees are guided properly by the authority (Adair, 2010). Although Apple has always been a subject to controversies regarding its previous leadership styles adopted by Steve Jobs, but it has also helped the company to increase its production levels and to meet the customers’ demands. A particular leadership style is only compatible with a certain market environments, therefore the rapid change in the market scenario demands for a different approach in leadership for Apple. Tim Cook has successfully devised the changes in the strategic management and redesigned the organizational direction by making changes in the operational procedures, redesigning the target market and changing the business structure. This as a result has allowed the company to gain higher consumer preference and strengthen its brand equity thereby ensuring future sustainability of growth and competitive advantage. Reference List Adair, J., 2010. Strategic Leadership: How to Think and Plan Strategically and Provide Direction. 5th ed. London: Kogan Page. Allen, D., 2009. Leadership and Teamwork Essays. 6th ed. London: McGraw-Hill Education. Barrett, R and Mayson, S., 2008. The founding fathers on leadership. 4th ed. London: McGra-Hill Higher Education. Bass, B., 2010. The Bass handbook of leadership: Theory, research, and managerial applications. New York: Simon & Schuster. Campbell, M., 2013. Apple supplier Pegatron accused of violating Chinese labor regulations. [online] Available at: [Accessed on 10 February 2015] Chun, R., 2011. CEO Tim Cooks greatest opportunity. [online] Available at: [Accessed on 10 February 2015] Davis, A., 2011. Leadership, Teamwork and Trust. 3rd ed. New York: Harper Collins. DeMers, J., 2014. Heres The Simple Secret To Apples Marketing Success. Available at: [Accessed on 10 February 2015] Elliott, S., 2014. Technology Titans Lead Ranking of Most Valuable Brands. [online] Available at: [Accessed on 10 February 2015] Fortune 500, 2014. Apple. [online] Available at: [Accessed on 10 February 2015] Halpern, B.L. and Lubar, K., 2007. Leadership Presence: Dramatic Techniques to Reach Out, Motivate and Inspire, 4th ed. New York: Gotham Books Kotler, P. and Keller, K., 2011. Marketing Management. 14th ed. 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