Leadership Skills of Steve Jobs and How Global Environment Caused Changes in Nature of Leadership - Essay Example

Leadership within the Globalised Context Name: Institution: Introduction Leadership in the global context is a form of social movement through political and social integration of many states (Robinson & Harvey, 2008). In general terms, leadership refers to directing and communicating to the organisation team through motivation, inspiration and empowerment so as to achieve goals and objectives. Globalisation is the integration and interaction process among companies, people and governments (Ndhlovu, 2012). The concept of globalisation finds its basis in investment and international trades. The main force behind globalisation is the information technology. Globalisation has given rise to the global environment; an environment that has various sovereign states and has exogenous factors relative to the country’s home organisation environment (Nielsen, 2003). This paper seeks to find out how globalisation has changed the way leadership has evolved in the global scale (Hogan & Cvitkovich, 2011). Most importantly, the paper chooses an example of a reputable global leader who has stood the test of time to rule successful in the globalised environment with so many checks and balances from the global community. One such leader is Steve Jobs whom the paper discusses by referring to his leadership qualities as determinant, visionary, passionate and creative Leadership and global environment Leadership refers to the communication and direction of an organisation team through inspiration, motivation and empowerment for the realisation of the organisations goals and objectives (Karaszewski, 2010). A leader is, therefore, an inspirational figure that steers the company towards its success. Leadership styles entail the way the top management organises and coordinates activities within the organisation (Karaszewski, 2010). However, there has been an emerging trend with the global environment. To understand the context of leadership at the global level, it is necessary to understand what global environment means. There are many definitions to the global environment, but in this business context it means an integrated environment where most of the companies operate since they target the same customers (Sheppard, Sarros & Santora, 2013). For instance, Steve Jobs Apple Company is operating in the global context where competitors like Samsung, Nokia among other electronic manufacturers exist. This implies that all the strategies of the company must consider global environment. This is an environment that has a diversity of cultures and management must understand how to satisfy customer needs, which are diverse. Leaders must understand how global interactions take. Multination entrepreneurs like the Steve jobs apple company interact in the global perspective and hence leadership approaches in this company has embraced (Bethel, 2009). How the global environment has caused changes in the nature of leadership Global environment entails a forum where people interact easily. Technological advances have made it possible for people to interact (Hameri, & Hintsa, 2009). Business entities have have grabbed the opportunity that the global environment present to capture the attention of the global market. With globalised environment, the context of leadership has also changed (Bethel, 2009). Leaders must understand how global interactions take place. Multination entrepreneurs like the Steve jobs apple company interact in the global perspective and hence leadership approaches in this company has embraced global interactions (Cohen, 2010). This environment has led to the emergence of leadership competencies within the global context. These competencies are the universal qualities that enable leaders to perform the task within their national scope, as well as the organisation culture. The leaders exercise their skills no matter where they come from (ethnical background), their education background or their employment organisation. Though the need to develop leaders with global competencies is a rising, there is still a gap between human resource requirements at the international level and the how to realise them. The world is experiencing changes that globalisation has brought. There is interconnectedness as well as cultural interdependency within organisations, societies and world cultures (Robinson & Harvey, 2008). Global economies provide a clear manifestation of the global environment. In the globalisation era, the international businesses experience challenges together (Rausch, 2006). This means that global companies experience ups and downs collectively. Leaders of these multinational businesses have to abandon the traditional way of leadership and adopt the dynamic approach while responding to risks and opportunities. Globalisation has also led to the creation of joint ventures. This is because companies have markets and suppliers from different parts of the world and the joint ventures are proving as a form of competitive advantage in the competitive international market. The leadership is, therefore, changing to be cooperative in nature. In addition, the emergence of the global environment has led to the establishment of the New Economic Model which entails sustainability, high income and inclusiveness (Ndhlovu, 2012). The world’s leadership is shifting towards this model (NEM) as a way of national and regional progression as well as global economic positioning. The Steve Jobs (Apple Company) This paper chooses Steve jobs as a global leader. His company (Apple) has many branches all over the world, but the leader was able to maintain good leadership that has since the company achieve prosperity in the technological sector (Bethel, 2009). Though Steve Jobs, unfortunately, passed away recently, he has left a legacy of a sound global leader (Sethi, 2012). In his leadership, he has been a leader who has a passion for what he does and the fact that he is also creative. As a global leader, innovation is the key to success. Steve jobs has steered the company into making innovations that have put the company in the limelight for years. The world has relied mostly on the apple products due to high quality and consistent innovations that Steve Jobs has steered (Sethi, 2012). The organisation culture of Apple is what makes it remarkable. Most customers when asked about Apple products, they are quick to mention elegant, simple and innovative nature of the company (Sethi, 2012). Steve Jobs himself instilled these remarkable values in the company’s culture. The company has the culture of unity from its sales representatives all the way to the top executives. This common culture unites the company. The result of this unifying culture is enjoyment and satisfaction among the customers. Whenever customers interact with the products, they receive warm welcome whether they are visiting Apple stores, using iPhones or calling the support centre (Sethi, 2012). The culture puts consumers as first priority with the organisation needs coming second. On the other hand, Steve Jobs Company has been hiring staff with company’s culture in mind (Bethel, 2009). This company has proved to the world that strong organisation culture steer company that is at bankruptcy to the great success in a few years. Leadership skills of Steve Jobs Steve has good leadership styles, but the most outstanding are his executive and participative nature (Sethi, 2012). The theory is that the leader must have flexibility implying that the style can be adaptable for any situation. When the apple company was bankrupt, Steve Jobs used the executive leadership skill to revive the company (Kallis, Martinez-Alier & Norgaard, 2009). He executed actions and strategies that helped in lifting the Apple Company. On the other hand, he also embraced the participative leadership skill. This style is mostly applicable when the company wants to increase commitment and motivation. Steve has been a leader who identifies profiles of the staff who can help the organisation realise good performance. Employee development is vital in ensuring their commitment to the company (Rondinelli & Heffron, 2009). Steve jobs has used participative leadership style in developing employee skills, and also helped individuals who have leadership potential in realising their potential. Most critics questioned the communication style of style jobs. In different management articles, they claim that Steve Jobs was a dictator and arrogant while reacting to issues and situations (Sethi, 2012). However, these contradictions are baseless because leadership can be situational and the way a person communicates will depend on the situation a leader has found him or herself (Barhem, 2008). If not for his good communication, then Steve jobs could have achieved success in the Apples Company. He was a genius in terms of communicating within the organisation because Apples Company cuts across different cultures. Steve jobs also realised the need for cultural tolerance in organisation communication. A summary on the leadership skills of Steve Jobs presents an array of lessons that modern leaders can take into account. This leader had a good vision throughout is lifetime (Moreland, 2011). He had a good background and his belief in sublimation of power helped in shaping the Apple at the technological and humanity era. As a visionary leader, he wished the company would develop products with a simple interface and elegant design (Karaszewski, 2010). For instance, he was against the Microsoft’s idea of developing operating systems that run on the multiple third party platforms (Moreland, 2011). One of his achievement is the limiting his software in running Apple products, which managed the user experience. The leader also lived his vision through appropriate actions. He built a good team, carefully chosen business partners, did good advertisement (Gabrielsson, Darling & Seristö, 2009). Personal grooming was also leadership skill and achievement that made him a good leader. He presented himself well and had good conduct while attending business meetings. He was also an inspirational leader through his visions, which made him command respect from business associates, as well as competitors. Moreland (2011) states that the world needs more leaders who can develop clear visions and eventually stand by the vision like the way Steve Jobs did. Steve jobs also had focus and determination (Moreland, 2011). Steve had downplayed distractions and made his success path clearer. He joined Apple in the year 1997, when the company was experiencing financial disaster, but he selectively eliminated products and projects that were at par with his vision. This moved freed up Apples resources and made it survive the financial crisis. He was also too willing to upset others and once faulted president Obama for his failure in upsetting others (Sethi, 2012). He termed Obama’s character as weakness. His determination also made him not to flatter with his fellow top ranks and other company employees. He was also an intense man who demanded devotion from employees that he had carefully selected as his team. Though his characters were sometimes extreme, the employees willingly put up with it because Steve made them believe in impossibilities. Steve jobs also believed in the creation of a company with simplicity as its ultimate sophistication and where engineers had the freedom and desire in expressing themselves (Moreland, 2011). One of his achievements was the impact he made on the music industry (Moreland, 2011). He introduced the iPod and iTunes that enabled artists to sell their music online. The other achievement is the introduction of the Apple stores as well as the publishing industry. Through his determination, he wanted to introduce electronic textbooks that would have replaced the hardcopy textbooks which are not easy to update (Sethi, 2012). His leading theme was simplicity among the user experience and he made it a leading slogan in the company’s vision. His determination paid when the Apple finally became the most valuable product worldwide. His predecessors can borrow a leaf from his determination style of leadership How globalisation has impacted on the Apple Company Globalisation has affected both the value and cost culture of the company (Head Start, 2013). Globalisation has enabled the company to adopt a good value culture. Apple applies a strategic planning strategy that focuses on value pricing to its customers. The customers pay for the real value of the products. However, globalisation has seen Apple extend its market to many customers with different purchasing powers. Though the prices may be high, the management has observed the customer satisfaction culture as a new trend in the global business environment. Globalisation has also influenced on the cost culture of the company. The company has adopted the buyer power to acquire services at lowest prices (Sethi, 2012). This allows the company to keep large profits, and it gives lowest share to the works. On the other hand, the additional costs on the customers will represent the smallest portion of the total costs. This culture ensures that the company maintains its stock price in the long run. The cost culture changes in the modern world are as a result of the companies wanting to achieve competitive advantage over their competitors (Kachaner & Deimler, 2008). The steep formula, how has globalisation affected any group? The steep formula is a model that comprises the social, technological, economic, ecological and political company components (Ndhlovu, 2012). These elements make up the organisations external environment, and they affect decision making as well as the freedom of the company. The social external environment of the current world represents an integrated global community that is dependent on the internet. The global social behaviour has provided the Apple Company with an investment opportunity. People depend on phones and computers for communication which this company is ready to provide to them. However, satisfying the global consumers requires leadership that covers the global context (Schwartz, 2011). Technological component of the external environment provides companies with innovative opportunities. Most important is the ecological aspect of globalisation. The world is moving towards ecological sustainability thus companies must take social responsibility and use electronic components that least pollutes the environment. Global IT manufacturing companies like Apple are now shifting towards proper management of their e-wastes (Kallis, Martinez-Alier & Norgaard, (2009). The economic concept of the globalisation entails integration of business ideas Kallis Martinez-Alier & Norgaard, 2009). Companies are currently considering economic mergers as a way of embracing international business cooperative strategies (Kachaner & Deimler, 2008). The traditional culture of individualism is fading away because cooperate business initiatives are realising success. Moreover, the concept of business integration is compelling leaders to understand the new trends in the global business management. One of the emerging issues of globalisation is the International Relations. Human resource management in organisation is now taking place in the global because businesses are now multinational in nature. Finally, the political aspect of the external environment affects activities of the international companies. International institutions are advocating for the millennium goals. United Nations is encouraging world leaders to consider the millennium development goals of reducing climate change and poverty reduction (AusAID, (2013). Good international leaders should show their philanthropic natures by taking part in global activities aimed at making the world a better place for human habitation. How leadership style has changed with the concept of globalisation The current leadership style concerns ethical issues. The global environment requires leaders to uphold certain ethical standards (Sheppard, Sarros & Santora, 2013). Traditionally, the morals of leaders never received publicity like the current world is facing. Ethical concerns have made leaders reconsider their leadership strategies. Leaders are now creating working environments that are suitable to all. One of the ethical issues is the cultural issue. The global workplace represents a diverse population. Matters to do with culture and religion are very sensitive thus leaders must make sure that people mingle with without religious or ethical stresses (Robinson & Harvey, 2008). For instance, Apple Company has many employees with different background, but they still co-exist since the organisation structure enables people to treat each other with respect. This has enabled Apple to establish its branches in many parts of the world through the late Steve Jobs. Globalisation has also seen changes in leadership with regard to quality, attitude and decision making (Rausch, 2006). The current global leaders are aiming for quality in their organisations. They want their consumers to receive the utmost fulfilment with good feedbacks. For example, the Apple Company making sure that consumer get the worth of their money by delivering quality products to them. On the other hand, there is quality in terms of support services to the customers. Furthermore, globalisation has influenced the way leaders make decisions. Leaders think over decisions carefully before delivering them. The decision a company makes will either make it compete in the global market or fail in the international business arena. However, the business operations and decision making are cooperative in nature. Companies are now engaging in multinational joint ventures which mean that they make decisions collectively (Kachaner & Deimler, 2008). Concisely, the leadership in the global environment is adopting an intense attitude. Leaders have determinations in whatever they do, and quitting is never an option. Leaders will do whatever it takes to realise their goals even if they experience setbacks. How the apple company has remained competitive in the globalised environment The apple company has remained competitive in the global environment due to its constant innovations (Schwartz, 2011). The company has a number of inventions and embedding of new applications in its products. The management and its team of innovators have taken advantage of the good working environment that allows for innovations. On the other hand, the company encourages cross-cultural exchanges so as to harness business ideas and choose from among the best possible business ideas. Communication is key to success of every organisation (Kachaner & Deimler, 2008). Its excellent leader, Jobs, was indeed a great communicator. The organisation continually encourages and communicates to employees on how their work is vital in achieving the companies’ goals and objectives. Employees in this organisation receive good appraisal for jobs well done and tasks well executed. When Steve Jobs was giving accreditation or criticising employees, he was always precise and communicated a little information in such situations (Moreland, 2011). This has made the company survive in the global environment era. Conclusion In summary, leadership in the global context entails taking responsibilities at the international level. Leadership has changed because the world has become a global village where people interact and share ideas freely. However, leadership style has changed with the change in the global business perspectives. It now takes courage and determination global leaders for a company to survive the competition. As a result of globalisation, companies have also changed their leadership styles. For instance, Apple Company had to adopt visionary leadership style so as to realise its goals. Leadership changes also manifested itself in the way companies make their decisions. When Steve jobs Apple Company in 1997, he had to make sober decisions on which products and projects to retain that were in line with his vision. Though the company has seen the demise of its great leader, it has still remained competent in the global market due to innovative leadership that Steve’s predecessors have embraced. References AusAID, (2013). Millennium Development Goals. [Online]. Retrieved from Barhem, B. (2008). Are global managers able to deal with work stress? Journal of Accounting, Business and Management, 15(1), 53-70. Bethel, S. (2009). 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