To What Extent Does Leadership Influence the Market Performance of Companies - Case Study Example

To what extent does leadership influence the market performance of companies? Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code: Date of Submission:  Introduction Leadership is an important aspect in the success of any organisation. The organizations which have performed well can be associated with effective leadership which helps to improve the competitive advantage in the global market. Due to competition in the global market, companies are contemplating on how they can improve their competitive advantage by applying various strategies (Carr 2003). One of the strategies which are applied includes strategic planning and organisational leadership. In this regard therefore, this essay will discuss the extent to which leadership influences the market performance of an organisation in the market in relation to Nutrition warehouse which is a warehouse which is growing steadily in the provision of the nutrition products. The company was started in the year 2007 but it has emerged to be among the best warehouses due to its effective leadership strategy (BRW 2013). Extent to which leadership influences the market performance of Nutrition warehouse The executive manager of Nutrition warehouse Grant Mayo who initiated the company. The company has managed to improve its competitive advantage in the market due to the strategies which have been applied by the executive as well as the skills of the employees (Carr 2003). Due to the effective leadership strategies which are applied by the company management, it has managed to improve its market penetration leading to its realization of $16.9 million in the financial year 2012-13. In the first place, the executive of the company has focused on employee skill development as a way of improving the skills of the employees so that they can offer their best skills to ensure customer satisfaction (BRW 2013). The management of the company has considered the ways it an improve its competitiveness by identifying various needs among the employees in terms of skills and developing effective programs to ensure that the employees are well trained and that they maintain the discipline to ensure they are competent when providing the services to the customers. This is one extent to which leadership influences the performance of Nutrition Warehouse in the market. The leadership of the company is focused on how to improve the success of the company by focusing on the skills of the employees. Were it not for the employee skill development, the company could have not realized its profitability and could have not succeeded in the market hence leadership has improved the performance of the company in the market. On the other hand, the success of the company has been influenced by the extent to which the leadership goes to meet the needs of the customers. The leadership of the company is more concerned with the satisfaction of the customers. The leadership goes to any extent to meet the needs of the customers. Focus on the customers has been the strategy which is applied by the company which has led to its success. For instance, one strategy which is applied by the company to satisfy its customers is the listening strategy (Cashman 2000). The leadership of the company encourages the employees to listen to the customers’ needs and then advises them accordingly. The advice which is provided to the customers aims to satisfy them and they could be convinced that Nutrition Warehouse is the best since it provides free advice. In this way, the leadership has managed to influence the buying behavior of the customers by meeting their needs hence attracting and retaining them. In this effect, the leadership of the company has helped to improve the performance of the company in the market leading to its success. In addition, leadership of a company can influence its market performance by setting goals and objectives which are SMART. The success of any company depends on the goals set by the leadership of the company. In this way, the management of the company should consider the goals set if they are achievable and are effective to guide the tasks of the company. Through effective leadership, Nutrition Warehouse has managed to set clear goals which are well communicated and understood by the employees so that they can know what is expected of them (Chan 2002). As a result of this, the employees need to be involved in decision making and this helps to improve their commitment. For instance, participative style of leadership helps to improve the morale of the employees and their performance since they are involved in decision making thus feel part of the management. Therefore leadership is important in determining the performance of the employees which in turn determines the performance of the company in the market (Cashman 2000). In this effect, the goals and objectives should be systematic, measurable, attainable, timely and realistic which help to improve the focus of the employees towards achieving the target. This can be achieved by the leadership style which is implemented by the company which can lead to customer satisfaction as it’s the strategy of Nutrition Warehouse to improve its success in the market. Moreover, leadership style can influence the change implementation process. As the company grows, the leadership process becomes complex and this can determine the success of the company if the change is effectively managed. In the competitive market, the needs of the customers keep on changing and it is significant that the company leadership should develop effective strategies to manage the change. Effective change management helps to improve the focus on the customers and the products and services which are provided (Dimmock & Walker 2006). In implementing change successfully, the management of the company should be able to involve the employees in decision making. The involvement of the employees ensures that the employees could not resist change since they are part of the decision making. Since the aim of any change is to adjust the strategies of the companies to ensure customers satisfaction, market research should be done to determine the needs of the customers. This implies that the leadership of Nutrition Warehouse is not too rigid in implementing any change. This can be determined by the success of the company (Dimmock & Walker 2006). Therefore the leadership of a company influences its performance in the market by determining the involvement of the employees in decision making so as to implement effective change successfully. Leadership of the company can also influence the market performance of the company through communication. The stakeholders of the company should understand the mission and vision of the company so that they can contribute to its success. Effective communication enables the employees and the customers to have a positive attitude towards the operations of the company. They will develop loyalty into the company’s products and services (Alix & Ms Jo 2011). For instance, the employees can improve their productivity when they understand what the company wants to achieve at the long run. This can only be successful the employees are aware of the mission and vision statements which act as guidelines for their operations. Communication therefore is important in ensuring that the stakeholders understand the main aim of the company and this helps to improve information sharing. For instance, Nutrition Warehouse has a strategy of listening to the customers concerning their nutritional demands before responding to their needs appropriately (Alix & Ms Jo 2011). Through this free advice, the company has managed to satisfy the customers better by meeting their needs in terms of free advice. The customers are convinced that Nutrition Warehouse is the best company since it listens to the needs of customers and then respond to them effectively. The leadership of a company can also influence its market performance by determining the motivation of the employees. Good leaders consider the needs of the employees as well as the needs of the customers. Due to economic constraint globally, the management of the company should be able to motivate the employees through effective compensation and rewards. This is because the quality of products and services which are provided by the employees depend on their motivation. Motivated employees offer quality services to the customers (Boas 2007). However, the motivation of the employees depends on the leadership style which is implemented by the management. Autocratic style of leadership lowers the morale of the employees since they are not involved in the management of the company instead they are expected to perform according to the orders which are provided by the leaders. On the other hand, the employees should motivate the employees through financial and non-financial rewards. The non-financial rewards include promotions and recognition. In this way, the leadership will influence the market performance of the company by improving the motivation of the employees through effective rewards. Finally, the leadership determines the market performance of a company by determining the structure of the company. This implies that leadership of the company can improve the market performance of Nutrition Warehouse by ensuring that the tasks and duties are effectively delegated to the employees. This includes communication strategy and the ways tasks are allocated in the company. The leadership of the company should delegate tasks to the employees effectively and the areas where they are specialized (Warren 2003). This is one way in which the productivity of the company can be enhanced. It is the responsibility of the management of the company to determine the most effective way to delegate duties. For instance, the marketing employees should be assigned duties related to marketing like marketing research while the management information system expert is allocated the tasks related to technology. Therefore the leadership can determine the market performance of the company by developing effective structure which in turn improves the quality of services which are provided to the customers leading to improved market performance (Boas 2007). Conclusion This essay has discussed the extent to which leadership can influence the market performance of the company. Leadership is important in improving the success of the company in the company. Poor leadership leads to poor performance of the company since the needs of the customers will not be met due to bad leadership. The main ways in which leadership influences the market performance of the company is that it helps to develop the skills of the employees through training programs, leadership can help to determine the motivation of the employees, and it helps to determine the communication strategy which enables the employees to understand what they are expected to do. In these ways it can be determined that leadership influences the extent to the success of the company in the market hence there should be effective leadership which involves employees in decision making. References Alix, W & Ms Jo M. (2011). Leadership and Management in Health and Social Care: Level 5, South-Western Cengage Learning, Mason. Boas, S. (2007). Strategic Leadership as Management of Meanings, Thomson Learning, London, UK. BRW 2013, Fast 100 2013:8. Nutrition Warehouse bulks up, retrieved on 4th October 4, 2014 from http://www.brw.com.au/p/entrepreneurs/fast_nutrition_warehouse_bulks_up_MigINovI31s3SWvFQDDcSJ Carr-Ruffino, N. (2003). Managing diversity: People skills for a multicultural workplace. 5th ed. Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing. Cashman, K. (2000). Leadership from the inside out: Becoming a leader for life. Provo, UT: Executive Excellence Publishing, Inc. Chan, A. R. (2002). Guiding change journeys: A synergistic approach to organization transformation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Pfeiffer. Dimmock, C. & Walker, A.D. (2006). Educational Leadership: Culture and Diversity. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Warren, B. (2003). On Becoming a Leader: The Leadership Classic Paperback – April 2, Pearson Education Limited, London. Read More