Leadership and Communication Styles of Steve Jobs - Case Study Example

How Leadership has Changed within the Context of a Globalised Environment: the Leadership and Communication Styles of Steve Jobs Introduction The current business environment, which is characterised by the impact of globalisation and an increase in the number of knowledge-based companies, has occasioned many changes in the way leadership is practised. This paper examines ways in which leadership has changed within the context of the current globalised environment over time. The first part gives the general definition of leadership, leadership styles and the general concept of globalisation. It shows how changes in leadership have occurred with the emergence of and changes in the global environment. In part two, the general leadership style of Steve Jobs and the transformation of Apple Inc. (Apple) are examined. A comprehensive discussion of the management and communication style used by Steve Jobs at Apple in presented in this section. The choice of Steve Jobs and Apple in illustrating the effect of globalisation on leadership was informed by two things. First, the leadership style demonstrated by Steve Jobs is an extensive illustration of how transformational leadership can be used within an organisation in adapting to the impact of globalisation. Secondly, the fact that Steve Jobs was able to lead Apple through an important period of transformation into a truly global company underscores the essence of maintaining a highly effective and flexible culture in the wake of changes brought about by globalisation. Leadership and the Global Environment There are several definitions of leadership. These definitions seek to describe what qualities and practices constitute the practice of leadership. For instance, leadership can be defined as the process of inspiring others to work hard so as to accomplish particular goals (Northouse, 2010, p. 4). By influencing a group of individuals to accomplish particular objectives, leaders play a key role in creating and maintaining coherence and cohesion within an organisation. According to Stranfield (2009), the definition of leadership underscores several important characteristics as follows: one, leadership is a process; two, it involves influence; three, it occurs in groups and lastly, it involves common goals (p. 8). There are different forms of leadership, each of them having different characteristics that distinguish it from the rest. For instance, leadership may either be practiced as a process or as a result of personal traits. Whereas process leadership takes into account how individuals use their knowledge and skills to influence others towards working for a common objective, trait leadership lays much emphasis on the importance of inborn traits and characteristics among individuals, which make them capable of influencing others (Northouse, 2010, p. 6). Also, leadership may take the form of either assigned or emergent leadership. Whereas assigned leadership is derived from official positions and responsibilities given to individuals within an organisation, emergent leadership develops in individuals within an organisational context over time as a result of positive communication that is accepted by the group (Stranfield, 2009, p. 9). In order to accomplish its role within an organisation, the process of leadership is influenced by four important factors as follows: the leader, the situation, the follower and communication (Northouse, 2010, p. 7). These four factors are in turn influenced by various forces such as the nature of the relationship between the leaders, the level of skills possessed by the followers within an organisation, the effect of informal leaders within and organisation and how organised the organisation is (Stranfield, 2009, p. 10). The concept of globalisation has received a lot of attention in the recent past. This is because of its role in the influencing the role of and approach towards leadership within organisations (Lechner, 2009, p. 15). For instance, Brooks and Wilkinson (2011) observe that the current roles of leadership have developed as a result of the influence of globalisation on the practice of leadership (p. 52). Unlike the traditional approach, the perspective of leadership in the current age of globalisation is influenced by three things. The first one is the need for business, civil society and political leaders to work in partnership in order to deal with the challenges of the modern society. The second one is that business leadership in the current society views finding solutions to social challenges as central to creating value. Lastly, business leadership in the contemporary society needs to understand and use major societal forces for the benefit of both their organisations and the wider society. The global context is characterised by globalisation and its increased capacity to drive change in the way trade and economies in the world are manifested (Dimmock & Walker, 2005, p. 123). Also, forces such as enhanced use of information and communication technologies across the world, declining costs of transport and a sharp increase in the level of flexibility within organizations have contributed to the creation of a global economy (Brooks & Wilkinson, 2011, p. 52). This process has been fuelled also by the growing importance of the role of knowledge in the management of organisations in the current society. According to Huberty (2013), globalisation has had a vital impact upon leadership (p. 179). Changes in leadership have been catalysed by changes in the global environment. In the current society, the presence of the global economy has caused changes in leadership in several ways. For instance, the rise of globalisation has triggered new challenges for business leaders (Eoyang, 2000, p. 23). The global economy has resulted into new challenges such as shifting competition bases, increased expectations for business organisations and an increased drive for innovation in the rapidly changing environment (Huberty, 2013, p. 179). These challenges, together with the effect of mergers and acquisitions, have made it necessary for leaders to re-evaluate the practice of and approach towards leadership (Huberty, 2013, p. 180). Many of these complex challenges present in the current globalised context are not only resistant to traditional solutions but also do bear a greater strategic potential impact on businesses (DuBrin, 2011, p. 78). Because of this, the current approach to leadership takes into consideration a collaborative approach in addressing its roles within organisations. Another way in which leadership has changed in the current globalised economy relates to increased information flow and communication options for both the leaders and the workers (Dimmock & Walker, 2005, p. 137). A sharp increase in information and communication translates into increased interruptions and reduced spans of concentration for both leaders and the workers in general. This calls for an increased and selective attention to information that is relevant to a particular situation. In order to manage this situation, leadership in the globalised economy is changing in terms of the relative importance of leadership skills that are important for future development. Current leadership is changing by adopting skills such as risk taking, co-inquiry and paying attention as necessities for developing effective leadership within the context of business organisations (Eoyang, 2000, p. 25; Northouse, 2010, p. 7). Another way in which leadership has changed as a result of globalisation is in terms of what constitutes value, achievement and general performance (Brooks & Wilkinson, 2011, p. 136). Whereas leadership under the traditional approach focused on the importance of watching the bottom line and measuring success in terms of profitability, the current approach to leadership puts much emphasis on taking into account the long-term effects of leadership, redefining success and value of business organisations. As a result of these, business leaders in the current context of a global economy seek to create sustainable value in their operations (Huberty, 2013, p. 198). This entails giving priority to business activities which create value for not only the business shareholders but the wider community as well, so as to build a durable business (Driskill & Brenton, 2010, p. 188). In addition to seeking a new dimension in business value, the rise of globalisation has made leadership change from seeking to satisfy the short-term interests of the business to seeking to satisfy the long-term ones (Stranfield, 2009, p. 16). In incorporating the long-term needs of the business in their decisions, business leaders in the current globalised set-up are channelling resources towards dealing with human, environmental and larger societal issues which are crucial for the long-term success of business (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2010, p. 190). Steve Jobs and the Transforma­tion of Apple Inc. Steve Jobs took up the leadership of the then Apple Computer Inc. following its founding in partnership with Steve Wozniack. In the early 1990s, he left the company to develop a new corporation, Pixar Films, following wrangles with the board of directors. According to O’Grady (2009) the fortunes of the company dwindled after the exit of Steve Jobs (p. 34). Poor corporate performance was illustrated by a decline in quality, poor financial performance and flooding the market with a confusing array of products (O’Grady, 2009, p. 35). It was in 1997 that Steve Jobs was reappointed as the CEO of the company, following decades of poor financial and operational performance. Steve Jobs’ return at Apple in 1997 coincided with a massive restructuring programme that saw the company experience a massive turnaround. Several years later, the company, as a result of the combination of the leadership style of Steve Jobs and the organisational culture created, was able to respond effectively to the effects of globalisation to become one of the most successful companies in the world (Schneiders, 2010, p. 15). This transformation is exemplified by the fact that the company, growing from two employees to more than twenty thousand staff members across the world, has made a mark in the history of the world (O’Grady, 2009, p. 89). The outstanding performance of the company under the leadership of Steve Jobs is also exemplified in the company’s outstanding financial performance in terms of sales, profitability and share value (Schneiders, 2010, p. 16). In essence, Steve Jobs exhibited the qualities of charisma, intellectual stimulation, inspiration and effective use of teams to initiate the transformation of the corporation during the period of his leadership. The Leadership and Communication Style of Steve Jobs In leading Apple to respond to the impact of globalisation, the leadership style of Steve Jobs played a key role. This was exemplified not only by the impact of his personality on the corporate culture of the organisation but also by the effect of his communication skills on the transformation of the corporation in the face of the impact of globalisation. According to Lussier and Achua (2007), transformational leadership seeks to transform an organisation by changing the way things are done (p. 400). In order to achieve their objectives, transformative leaders have a sound understanding of the inner processes and working of the organisation. It is this practical understanding of the prevailing situation within an organisation that enables transformative leaders to implement a visionary plan for the organisation (Lussier & Achua, 2007, p. 402). Steve Jobs fits into this description of a transformative leader. By being charismatic and having a practical understanding of the working of Apple Incorporated, he was able to influence the culture and performance of the organisation throughout his tenure. Also, sound communication skills enabled him to craft and effectively communicate the vision of the corporation to the team (O’Grady, 2009, p. 90). This was important in that it enabled him to win and maintain the confidence and loyalty of both the team members at the corporation and the global consumers of Apple’s products. According to Dimmock and Walker (2005), the transformation of Apple under the leadership of Steve Jobs was in response to the need to create and maintain a high performance organisation (p. 237). Apart from implementing change, such organisations seek to inspire the best performance in employees, develop clear strategic directions and evaluate the overall success in the course of time (Northouse, 2010, p. 146). This was the case for Apple as the leadership sought to utilise different features and resources, such as the personality of Steve Jobs, in order to create direction, opportunity, competence and motivation for the employees (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2010, p. 185). How Apple Responded to Globalisation Apple has been impacted by the rise of globalisation throughout its corporate history. Changes resulting from globalisation have affected different aspects of the company over the course of time. The company has undergone changes in its social, technological, physical and environment as well as financial aspects as a result of challenges that have been created by the impact of globalisation (Schneiders, 2010, p. 21). For instance, globalisation has played a key role in shaping the organisational culture of the company. According to Lechner (2009, p. 239), cultural systems within organizations are products of complex relationships between four different things: shared knowledge or beliefs, patterns of everyday practice, the artefacts that underlie the culture of the organisation and the connection between ideology and practice within the organisation. According to Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson (2010), Apple has developed and maintained a highly adaptive type of corporate culture (p. 171). This is type of corporate culture seeks to anticipate and adapt to changes in the business environments resulting from the impact of globalisation (Robinson & Harvey, 2008, p. 470). It is argued that this type of corporate culture depends on the leadership in order to satisfy the interests of different stakeholders in a corporation, which include the employees, customers and the shareholders (Driskill & Brenton, 2010, p. 178). For the case of Apple, the company has been able to adapt to social changes resulting from the impact of globalisation in the course of time. This has been achieved by effective use of communication skills and the role of the personality of Steve Jobs in creating an adaptive corporate culture within a highly flexible and effective organisation. Also, the cultural values of Apple have been influenced by the character and traits of Steve Jobs over the course of time. His attributes of being a high-tech visionary and exhibiting traits of arrogance affected the culture of the organisation by attracting a group of highly talented individuals who believed in the superiority of the company’s products in the market (DuBrin, 2011, p. 187). It is observed that the rise of globalisation creates cultural dissonance within organisations (Robinson & Harvey, 2008, p. 476). Since differences exist between cultures and these differences can bring about undesirable effects on an organisation, many organisations have sought to address these issues in terms of ethical conflict and alternative strategies, problem solving approaches and organisational commitment (Driskill & Brenton, 2010, p. 188). Also, many strategies that have been employed by organisations to deal with issues of cultural dissonance as a result of globalisation have varied from being completely adapted to the culture of the host country to insisting on adoption of the culture of the home country of the organisation (Robinson & Harvey, 2008, p. 479). In order to address the effects of cultural dissonance that result from globalisation, Apple has sought to develop a leading multicultural organisation that is characterised by the following features: one, organisational identification by all groups who make up the organisation; two, having a bias-free culture within the organisation and three, ensuring that informal networks and practices within the organisation are developed and maintained. Also, by creating structural integration within the organisation where job status is not correlated to cultural backgrounds of individuals and achieving cultural mix in leadership positions, the leadership of Apple has created a leading multicultural organisation that is able to respond to the cultural dissonance that results from globalisation. Another way in which the leadership of Apple has adapted to changes that result from globalisation has been through creating teams that ensure effective utilisation of diversity among different employees when tackling particular tasks (Schneiders, 2010, p. 21). The teams at Apple Inc. have enabled the company to gain a competitive edge in the market by developing revolutionary products for the global market. It is also important to note that Apple’s response to globalisation has been reflected throughout its history. From a small company that was founded back in 1974, the company has internationalised into a global player that not only distributes its products across the whole world but also has developed a global and culturally diverse identity over the course of time. The company has followed a global strategy that has been characterised by the need to seek and exploit opportunities for growth, reduce operational costs and diversify risks as it seeks to satisfy the competing demands of global integration and responding to specific needs of local markets (Driskill & Brenton, 2010, p. 193). In the process of developing a global strategy, the company has developed a truly global approach that is characterised by acting for many dissimilar countries by responding to their demand with standardised products (Driskill & Brenton, 2010, p. 206). Under this model, the company is developing and delivering standardised products to the global market through a worldwide channel of distribution. This means that the company assumes a global culture with similar needs when designing its products (O’Grady, 2009, p. 93). Also, Apple has responded to challenges of globalisation by reconfiguring its value chain to respond to the challenges created by globalisation (Huberty, 2013, p. 180). The company has ensured that its research and development, production and marketing activities are distributed across the world in different but appropriate locations (Huberty, 2013, p. 180). The efficiency of this system remains the responsibility of the central headquarters of the company. This approach has enabled the company to respond to changes in transport and distribution channels across the world. Conclusion In essence, globalisation has created a situation in which leaders find themselves faced with a number of challenges which they need to address for the future benefit of their organisations. These challenges include increased communication, greater speed of transportation, increased access to infrastructure and working across different time zones and geographical boundaries. It has been argued that the Apple Inc. had to respond to the challenges of globalisation by adopting and developing a global strategy in the course of time. Technological, economic, social and cultural changes in the course of time have created both advantageous and disadvantageous conditions for the organisation. Whereas access to finance, global markets and related economies of scale have presented the company with advantages in the market, the need to address increasing competition, increased customer demands and volatility have proven to be disadvantages to the corporation. This situation has forced the company to make continuous changes in its culture, strategy and direction over time. These changes were driven by the transformative style of leadership adopted by Steve Jobs throughout the period of transformation. 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