21st Century Leadership Style - Essay Example

Introduction

If one takes a close look at the contemporary business world, one will be able to see that it is dramatically different from its counterpart from the past. Indeed, companies today no longer pay all their attention to finding ways to maximize the return on investment, they are much more interested in integrating various scientific theories in order to increase their performance. In addition to that, the successful stories of prominent businessmen are carefully examined so that their valuable experience can be synthesized into guidelines which can later be used by other companies. This paper will evaluate the legacy of Steve Job, claiming that there is a lot what senior executive officers can learn from him. In order to support this claim, the paper will assess Jobs leadership style, the organizational culture of Apple Inc., its approach to human capital management, the way in which he contributed to productivity and the shared vision, evaluate the effectiveness of his practice, the way Jobs motivated people, describe three best practices that can be adopted by other companies.

Leadership style

Speaking of the leadership style of Steve Jobs, one should make several reservations. On the one hand, Pride, Hughes, and Kapoor (2009) believe that he can be regarded as the icon of authoritarian leadership in that sense he always tried to control every part of the company. Indeed, Jobs was involved in every project and always tried to make a valuable contribution. However, he also was strict and could dismiss people if that was needed for the company regardless of any additional factors. On the other hand, Moorhead and Griffin (2011) insist that Jobs should also be seen as a prominent charismatic leader. Indeed, after his death, many feared that Apple Inc. will lose its distinct personality. Moreover, it is quite possible that people were ready to put up with all the strictness because they deeply respected Jobs.

Organizational structure and culture of Apple Inc.

As it has already been mentioned, Steve Jobs was an authoritative leader. That is why it is obvious that there can be no other way that his company could have been structured, but vertical integration (Hill & Jones 2014). Jobs was the CEO and he had a cohort of other senior officers reporting to him. For example, Tim Cook, who is the CEO now, used to be the Chief Operating Officer. Each senior officer had a subordinate officer who were reporting to him who were in charge of different department or region. In other words, it is quite easy to visualize Apple Inc. in the form of a pyramid with Steve Jobs at the top. If once considers the corporate culture of this company, one should note that it was very strong, demanding maximum compliance as well as loyalty.

Human capital management and employee development

It is quite understandable that Apple Inc. would not have become so successful if it had not devoted a considerable amount of time and effort to development of its employees. Thomas, Smith and Diez (2013) argue that the company provides its staff with numerous opportunities for professional as well as personal growth. This includes training sessions that allow the employee to develop new skills. In addition to that, Apple Inc. may be regarded as one of the companies that truly values its employees and tries to create conditions that contribute to continuous retention. That is why it is highly unlikely that employees will leave it and work for the competitors. Another point that should be mentioned is that Apple Inc. rewards generously for loyalty and commitment, sending a clear message to the staff: the longer they stay with the company, the more benefits they will ultimately get.

Jobs influences productivity and vision

There are numerous examples of how Steve Jobs was able to have a positive impact on the productivity and the vision of the company. For example, Apple Inc. was among the first organizations that recognized the potential of China as the supplier of the inexpensive workforce and moved its production there. This was a rather surprising move for a company that was proud that its devices were made in the United States. However, as Hedges and Sacco (2012) state, Jobs not only did not feel sorry for this move but refused to bring the jobs back to the United States, implying that this would have a negative impact on the company. As for the vision, it must be noted that Apple Inc. has always promoted innovation and it was Jobs who is responsible for its most innovative products. For example, iPod was created largely due to efforts of the CEO to find a way to create a device that would provide a superior music listening experience.

Effectiveness in terms of ethical conduct and communication

One should point out that the issue of Ethics has always been one of the most important for Steve Jobs. Consider the following: when he created iPod, people were able to store an incredibly big number of tracks on their devices. However, this could have lead to numerous instances of pirate downloaded. In order to avoid this, Job developed iTunes which was the most ethical way for people to enrich their music library with new songs, pay the fair price for the latter, and adhere to all legal requirements. This means that while actions of Steve Jobs could have caused some controversial consequences, he made sure that this can be avoided.

If one evaluates his effectiveness from the point of view of communication, one will have to admit that every presentation made by him because a major media event. Indeed, numerous journalists and visitors were invited to it and Jobs was able to hold their attention by presenting the product in a rather unusual manner. It has been mentioned that he often used special buzz words, like "awesome", "remarkable" or "unique" to draw the attention of the audience to the special features. Moreover, the phrase "one more thing" has become legendary and has usually been used when Apple Inc. presented a truly new device. One would make no mistake suggesting that Jobs was a very persuasive speaker and his leader status has been largely supported by the remarkable speeches that he gave. Therefore, his effectiveness was amplified by his ability to communicate with the public in order to persuade it to adopt his point of view.

Motivation and loyalty

Steve Jobs was a rather successful CEO because he could motivate his employees to work as hard as they could and ensure strong customer loyalty. Indeed, it was an honor for many developers to work in his team and contribute to the creation of devices that would later change the world of electronics. It has already been mentioned, Jobs was actively using his charisma in order to make people do their best. As for the customer loyalty, it would not be an exaggeration to suggest that Apple Inc. enjoys a remarkably strong loyalty which has not been fading away with years. Indeed, one can simply take a look at the lines that appear in front of the store prior to the release of a new device. Another point that should be mentioned is that similar lines could have been found when Jobs was giving his presentations. Therefore, it is obvious that it was he who contributed to the emergence of such loyalty.

Best practices

There are several best practices that leaders of other organizations may learn from Steve Jobs. The first and the most important one focuses on the development of the distinct image of an organization. Indeed, competition has been so intense and the only way to make sure that potential consumers will choose one's organization is to make it visible and distinct. Secondly, Steve Jobs shows that if the CEO is involved in every project in one's company, then this is the only way in which one can truly have an impact on it. This means that CEOs of other organization should be engaged in many processes in order to feel the grip on the situation. Finally, Jobs proved that technology can become a significant competitive advantage. Of course, some companies may not have a sufficient amount of funds to be used to incorporate new technology. However, this means that they should do their best since this is the only way in which they will be able to ensure their competitive advantage in the contemporary world.

Conclusion

Having examined all the points which were mentioned in the paragraphs above one is able to come to the following conclusion: the legacy of Steve Jobs is something that every person who wants to gain a proper understanding of what role should be played by a CEO should familiarize oneself with. It was a remarkable leader should often make difficult choices, yet was able to charm others with his charisma and was a true visionary. He was able to reinforce the corporate culture of his company and his practice was effective from any point of view, including ethical conduct and communication. There is a lot that leaders of other organizations can learn from him.