Leadership Qualities and Traits Shown by Narayana Murthy and Azim Premji - Essay Example

Executive Summary Leadership as a concept has wide spread recognition and business units wants leader who are able to guide their workforce. Business all around the world are looking for leaders who is able to mould their resources and bring the best out of them. The report tries to find the different leadership style and traits shown by Narayana Murthy of Infosys Technologies and Azim Premji of Wipro Technologies, the advantages & disadvantages this traits provide to the respective industries and the ways in which their working style differs and which is a better one considering the current economic scenario The report highlights different the different leadership qualities and traits shown by Narayana Murthy. The traits identified are charismatic, transformational, strategist, influential & risk taking. Over all it shows that the Fielder Model suits more for Murthy. Also a detail analysis regarding the advantages and disadvantages it accrues has been provided. The report also presents the different leadership qualities and traits shown by Azim Premji. The traits identified are charismatic, reward power, coercion power, risk taking & House Path Goal Theory. Over all it shows that the Behavioural Model suits more for Murthy. Based on it the advantages and disadvantages have been provided for. A critical analysis of the same has been provided for which helps to present the manner in which the different leadership qualities helps their respective organisation and which traits helps the business organisation given the present scenario. This also shows the fact that different leadership traits suits different business models thereby making no model as the best one but stating on the fact that organisations needs to mould their respective personality traits as per the organisation to gain maximum benefit. Table of Content Introduction 4 Purpose of the report 4 Leadership 4 Narayana Murthy of Infosys Technologies 5 Risk Taking Ability 5 Transformational Leader 5 Influential 6 Charismatic 6 Strategist 6 Fielder Model 7 Advantages 7 Disadvantages 7 Azim Premji of Wipro Technologies 8 Charismatic Leader 8 House Path Goal Theory 8 Reward Power 9 Risk Taking 9 Coercive Power 9 Behavioural Model 10 Advantages 10 Disadvantages 11 Critical analysis 11 Conclusion 12 References 13 Introduction Business units all around the world looking for leaders who are able to mould their business grow. This can be seen from the fat that leaders are looking towards new methods to help the business achieve a solution which will help them face the growing global competition. Leadership presents different personality styles like brilliant, lonely, and imaginative and risk takers. Leaders thus have to perform a variety of role which are of prime importance and helps business achieve their set objectives. Different leaders have different traits and their working differs from other. The difference in their traits and working abilities makes organisation achieve their objectives in a different way. Purpose of the report Identifying the leadership traits and style of Narayana Murthy of Infosys Technologies and Azim Premji of Wipro Technologies. Identifying the advantages these traits provide them while conducting business Identifying the disadvantages that come along and ways that will make it more effective. Analyzing the working style of Narayana Murthy and Azim Premji and finding which is a better one after taking into consideration the present economic scenario Leadership Leadership is a concept which is widely recognized by every organisation and it arises due to different personality styles, attitudes, the basic concepts, relationship and self identity towards goal. A research conducted by Angelo (2007) shows that leadership consist of vast array of jobs for the leader and ensuring those roles will ensure success. It lays stress on the fact that different trait of a leader helps in different situations. Leaders look forward to see that they are able to mould the environment so that maximum can be extracted from the employees. Leadership thus looks at ways in which the leader integrates the different roles, culture and people so that each can be directed towards the benefit of the organisation. Thus, leadership is a broader concept and this can be seen from the different leadership style shown by Narayana Murthy for Infosys Technologies and Azim Premji for Wipro Technologies. This will help to find out how their personal style added to the advantage of their organisation and the manner in which differences in their style helped the corporation to grow. N.R. Narayana Murthy of Infosys Technologies N.R. Narayana Murthy, chairman of Infosys Technologies has shaped the manner in which the organisation is performing. He transformed the corporation into a huge business model by integrating different functions. The organisation functions as a IT house and the use of Global delivery Model by Murthy has ensured that the company is able to outsource. “Innovation and moulding the different features of globalization were the prime reason and area of work chosen by Narayana Murthy”. (Murthy, 2010) The leadership traits present in Murthy helped him to change the direction in which the company worked and ensured new programs were launched. Risk taking Ability An important trait which helped Narayana Murthy was the risk taking ability. This can be verified from the fact that he wanted to outsource the IT business and by creating a global delivery system he was able to do so. This trait of his paid rich dividend and also guided him towards a path which could give maximum leverage. Transformational Leader On the transformational front we can see that Narayana Murthy was “able to make his subordinates realize the importance of working, design a compensation package which helped to motivate them and ensured that development was on the personal front also”. (Dixit & Cozy, 2008) He was able to guide his workforce and ensured that they were motivated and compensated accordingly which helped him grow his business. Influential Narayana Murthy was very influential and this can be seen from his ability to ensure that his IT business was outsourced and people liked the product and services supplied by his company. Also the fact that employees understood what he wanted to communicate made him influential and employees were willing to work in the manner provided by him. This made him an influential leader and employees were willing to listen and work on his advice. Charismatic Leader Narayana Murthy characteristics can be seen from the fact that he was “enthusiastic, self confident and able to clearly communicate with the employees”. (Dixit & Cozy, 2008) The fact that he was able to outsource IT solution by creating a Global Delivery system shows his vision to globalize and integrate the different cultures. Narayana Murthy while doing so ensure efficiency was maintained. “People belong to different caste, country, creed, colour, and region which affect the manner in which they carry out their duties”. (Innah, 2009) Thus Narayana Murthy ensured that his charismatic quality helped him outsource his business to different parts which helped him integrate the culture. This highlight the confidence and vision he had as a leader. Strategist He was a strategist and his global delivery plan is an example in that direction. IT solution providers require a group thinking process so that they are able to make new products. He was able to draw strategy on that front. Group Thinking is a phenomenon which involves people from various backgrounds, culture, religion, and caste to come together and discuss upon something thereby arriving at a consensus. This helped to ensure that the decisions arrived were better as new suggestion used to creep up. Narayana Murthy was able to draft a strategy for the same thereby enabling growth. Fielder Model Narayana Murthy thus followed the Fielder Model. This is on the backdrop of using all powers i.e. “legitimate power, informative power, personal power, referent power and expert power”. (Dixit & Cozy, 2008) The ability of Narayana Murthy to influence the workers and ensure that they work in a directed way helped him even punish and use his dominant powers to achieve the goals. Thus his qualities enabled him to ensure growth for the organisation. Advantages The model and different leadership styles and traits presented by Narayana Murthy help to provide the following advantage Narayana Murthy was able to influence the employees and integrated the culture by ensuring a global supply of IT solutions because of his charismatic quality Narayana Murthy was able to motivate the workforce by using his transformational qualities. It ensured that an employee gets incentive to perform better. This made the hard working employees to put in more effort and also having a strong bench always ensured that the organisation was not short of talent. Narayana Murthy being a strategist was able to draw vital plans like the Global Delivery System. Since IT involves brainstorming it thereby helps to “come up with various new ideas and the best one can be chosen based on the requirements of the company”. (Tim, 2005) This is a requirement in the IT field and he was able to use it best. Disadvantages The model and different leadership styles and traits presented by Narayana Murthy also had certain disadvantage as follows Using the coercive powers made certain talent leave the organisation and work elsewhere. Employees to match the requirements of Narayana Murthy over stressed themselves leading to inefficiency. Narayana Murthy traits needed approvals from the management thereby delaying the decision process. Azim Premji of Wipro Technologies Azim Premji, the chairman of Wipro Technologies has shown several leadership traits which has transformed their company to be the world biggest R&D service provider. He ensured that Wipro transforms “into a multinational company integrating the different culture to design soft wares which the world requires”. (Raman, 2009) His vision to grow and convert his company into a market leader was shaped due to various leadership traits demonstrated by Azim Premji. This helped him transform the company to be a world leader in R&D. Charismatic Leadership Azim Premji was “enthusiastic, self confident and able to clearly communicate with the employees”. (Dixit & Cozy, 2008) The fact that he was able to mould his employees and ensure that they become the largest provider of R&D in relation to IT made the employees understand the core of his business idea. He understood the relationship between motivation, job satisfaction and culture and tried to mould the three to the advantage of the organisation. He made use of it and his enthusiasm made him able to communicate clearly and get the work done. This thereby transformed into a world leader who demonstrated different traits. House’s Path Goal Theory Azim Premji made use of the house path goal theory and used this ensured that employees talent was recognized and they were compensated accordingly. Working in the IT sector it is important that the talented employees who are capable of designing software’s are compensated properly. Azim Premji ensured that there was clarity in the job as to what needs to be done and a feedback process was present to bring the necessary changes. For this he ensured that “employees are motivated to work harder and they know that their hard efforts would lead to good appraisal and this appraisal will result in incentives like bonuses, promotions and so on and this would lead towards the satisfaction of employees as his personal goals will be achieved”. (Robbins, Judge, Millet, Waters-Marsh T, Organisational Behaviour, 2008) Thus, he ensured that the employees were motivated and programs designed to suit their needs. Reward Power One of the leadership traits shown by Azim Premji is reward power. Designing software’s and ensuring that it works in different situation is important in IT field. Azim Premji ensured that proper reward was given to person who performed their work properly. For this he ensured a mechanism which differentiates between the hard workers and the others. Azim Premji ensured that a mechanism was in place which differentiated it so using the reward power helped him shape the company into a global company. Risk taking Ability The other important trait which helped him was the risk taking ability. For this Azim Premji ensured that “an employee is given a specific goal he has to achieve it and the goal is made in such a way that it brings the best out of him”. (Jacob, 2008) This ensured that employees who had the requisite skill were able to deliver. This helped him take different projects which were risky and ensured it was done satisfactorily. Coercive Power Azim Premji also used coercive power. Since, IT involves a lot of technical work and employee who are not capable of doing so become a liability for the company. Azim Premji ensured that such employees were punished. Azim Premji ensured that “a combination of reward and punishment is used to compensate employees to ensure that their behaviour are directed in the correct direction and yield positive results both for the organisation and employee”. (Barnett, 2010) He also ensured punishment for employees who faltered on their job thereby using coercive traits to bring the best out of them. This thus helped to ensure that the employees who were capable of delivering a good job performed well. Behavioural Model The overall qualities and styles demonstrate that Azim Premji followed the Behavioural model. This is because he had shown consideration and also initiates structure. On the consideration front he had given the leverage to the employees to work in a better way by empowering them and on initiate structure he ensured that the goals set were achieved by making the necessary changes. Advantages The model and different leadership styles and traits presented by Azim Premji help to provide the following advantage Azim Premji was able to mould the employees and culture which helped him become the largest R&D provider in relation to IT in the world showing his charismatic quality. Azim Premji by compensating the employees by using the house path theory ensured that talented employees were motivated to work hard. This made the hard working employees to put in more effort and having a mechanism to help them proved fruitful. This thereby added to his quality and ensured growth His quality of taking risk helped in the growth of the company. His behavioural leadership model ensured that he was acting both as considerate and at the same time initiating a structure to get the work accomplished. This improved flexibility and coordination among the employees. Disadvantages The model and different leadership styles and traits presented by Azim Premji also had certain disadvantage as follows Using coercive and reward power together confused the employees and also made them feel they were over exploited. The behavioural model in certain situations had the behaviour of both managers and the employees to be low or high thereby influencing the growth pattern Critical analysis A look at the critical analysis will help to understand the difference in the leadership traits shown by different leaders and will help to find the areas where their core competencies lies and will also help to find out areas which is better. Point 1: The overall traits and the models used by Narayana Murthy and Azim Premji shows wide scale differences in the mechanism used by them. Azim Premji uses the behavioural model where as Murthy uses the Fielder Model despite being in the same industry. The present economic scenario propagates the Behavioural Model. As this model considers the minute of changes and the leaders in this dynamic world needs to encounter those changes. Since, Azim Premji had given the leverage to the employees to make soft wares which gave him a leader in R&D he ensured that the goals set were achieved by making the necessary changes which is missing in the Fielder Model. Still, it is difficult to judge a perfect model as both the organisations are performing extremely well based on their structure so differentiating and arriving at a perfect model is difficult. Point 2: Azim Premji using the House Path Goal Theory is better placed compared to Narayana Murthy where no such mechanism is devised but instead employees are paid accordingly to their efforts thereby not differentiating between the prospective employees. The fact that Premji uses the House path Goal Theory ensures that there was clarity in the job as to what needs to be done. This is something missing in the compensation process of Murthy. Also having a specific theory ensures that the advantage which accrues to that theory gets inducted in the compensation package. This is thereby ensuring that the employees are able to get a better response. Point 3: The traits of Narayana Murthy shows that he uses “legitimate power, informative power, personal power, referent power and expert power” (Dixit & Cozy, 2008) where as Azim Premji uses coercive and reward power as their leadership quality. It shows wide scale a difference as both the leaders uses different ability. The usage of different powers give different advantage but in this case Narayana Murthy using the different powers is better in comparison to Premji as he uses a variety of skill to ensure that employees understand the matter. Also the fact the using coercive and reward power together confuses the employees as they are unclear on the mechanism that will help them reap benefit. Thus, the quality of using “legitimate power, informative power, personal power, referent power and expert power” (Dixit & Cozy, 2008) is better in comparison to coercive and reward power. Conclusion Leadership thus is a very important part for every organisation and both Azim Premji and Narayana Murthy using the different personality traits were able to mould their respective organisation towards growth. There is no model which is perfectly correct but leaders need to ensure that they mould their traits according to the requirements and bring the necessary changes in their working manner to help the organisation achieve success. References Angelo C, (2007), “Transcendental Leadership versus management in hospitality industry”, International Journal of Knowledge, Culture and Change Management, Volume 8 (1), 61-70, retrieved on September 10, 2010, from http://ijm.cgpublisher.com/product/pub.28/prod.766 Barnett T, (2010), “Reinforcement Theory”, Encyclopaedia of Management retrieved on September 10, 2010 from http://www.enotes.com/management-encyclopedia/reinforcement-theory Innah A, “the effect of cultural factors in consumer buying behaviour”, 2009 Jacob M, (2008), “Locke’s Goal Setting Theory”, Understanding SMART Goal setting, Mind Tools Ltd Dixit N & Cozy G, 2008, “How Successful is N.R. Narayana Murthy”, News, Business Daily Robbins, Judge, Millet, Waters-Marsh T, (2008), “Organisational Behaviour”, 5th Edition, Pearson Education Raman S, 2009, “Azim Premji of Wipro Technologies”, Department of Commerce & Management Studies, Indian school of Business Tim B, 2005, “Group Thinking”, Critical Thinking on the web, Austhink Murthy, 2010, “N.R. Narayana Murthy”, Management Profiles, Infosys Technologies Limited Read More