Strategic Management & Change - Essay Example

?Strategic Management & Change Table of Contents Strategic Management & Change Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Discussion 4 Conclusion 9 References 11 Introduction The business environment has presently turned very competitive and requires considerable expertise on the part of business organizations to ensure efficiency in business operations so as to ensure profitability and sustainability. Ensuring profitability and sustainability requires considerable efforts and activities that can help generate advantage for an organization. Proper planning and vision apart from proper management and utilisation of resources towards encasing on the opportunities of the organization is the key for a successful recipe in the business markets. All these aspects are largely incomplete without a proper leadership. The leadership aspect assumes significance considering the fact that it provides a direction to the entire organization. Without the presence of a leader an organization behaves like a rudderless ship that is inevitable to destruction. Real life examples are very well an indicative of the above assumption. There are numerous examples in which visionary leaders have turned organizations into giants. Examples include Apple and Microsoft and a host of other organizations. The success of both these organizations has been largely accounted to the efficient and visionary leadership of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates respectively in the two organizations. Leadership and its role in shaping a business organization has been a subject of research in academic and professional circles. According to various researches the aspect of leadership is a subject matter of debate. One of the most accepted versions of the definition of leadership states that leadership defines a relationship that comes into effect between the leaders and organisers’ with the followers or subordinates who have the power to bring about changes with their outcomes affecting the shared beliefs and actions (Daft & Lane, 2007, p.4). There has also been a debate with regards to leadership in which the scholars have debated over the virtue of leadership being an in-born trait and the aspect being developed over time with advocates stating that leadership need not be an in born trait and can be developed by any individual upon exposure to proper conditions. An effective leader must not only have the ability to lead but should also have an ability to foresee a vision for the entire organization. An effective leader sets the direction for the organization. The leader is also entrusted with the responsibility of motivating and acting as a guiding agent for the company. It is essentially believed that the functioning of the leader actually defines the actions of the subordinates and in fact the entire organization. Therefore it is very essential that an organization has an effective and visionary leadership who can propel the company towards the path of success. The present study would try to analyse the role of leadership in shaping up an organization towards generating profitability and sustainability. The study would critically evaluate the role of leadership and the extent to which it helps in shaping up an organization towards generating profitability and sustainability in the market and helping generate a sustainable competitive edge in the turbulent business environment prevailing round the globe. Discussion The increased turbulence and uncertainties in the business environment call for the need to ensure effective management in an organization so as to ensure excellence in business. The role of a leader assumes utmost importance in this regard. A research report states that leaders have a crucial role in this regard as they are the ones who have to formulate contingency planning so as to ensure sufficient safeguards for the company in the time of crisis. The report also states that a leader’s ability to foresee the future is very critical and therefore shows the importance of leadership in the survival of the organization. The report largely states that the main aspects of a good leadership program essentially include management, planning and utilisation of resources in a manner that helps generate sustainability for the organization (Lockwood, 2005, p.1-3). There have been various theories proposed on the aspect of leadership that have evolved over the years. There has been a great debate over the aspect of the approach of different theories towards the aspect of leadership. Some theories like the Great Man theory states that leadership is actually an in-born phenomenon with leadership traits being developed since birth. This theory has been contradicted by theories like the Trait theory that leadership is not necessarily in-born but is developed over time (Bolden, Gosling, Marturano & Dennison, 2003, p.6). The role of leadership in creating sustainability has been often criticised by certain authors. It has been mentioned in a research that leaders often tend to make grand plans but do not have any idea over execution and implementation of the ideas. Leaders have been criticised for pushing their views and are often stated to be ignorant about the actual market conditions. They are stated to formulate things by only taking broad aspects into consideration without looking into the ground realities. Organizational excellence according to the author can only be generated by a holistic approach and goes more over formulation of plans. The actual results lie in implementing the thoughts into action. Moreover the business environment is largely very turbulent and it is not possible for any leader to accurately predict and rest assured about the contingences that can arise over the time frame (Deb, 2006, p.260-268). However, the above argument can be refuted by analysing successful business like Apple. The company was under severe pressure when its profit and revenue margins were dwindling and its products were no longer popular and were considered outdated. However the fortunes of the company changed when the legendary CEO Steve Jobs took over the reins of the company. The new CEO stressed upon a change and envisaged that innovation was the missing link in the company due to which its products were being rendered unattractive. The CEO had a vision that unless there was innovation the company would not be able to survive. Hence he envisaged a culture of innovation and its diffusion into the entire organization so as to help manufacture products that are innovative. The company under his leadership went on a differentiation strategy that included manufacturing products that were unique to the world. What followed was the launch of products like iPod, iPad that completely changed the fortunes of the company. The role of the leader assumes considerable importance in this case as he used to personally launch products. This success story of Apple can be very well linked to the aspect of leadership and shows how the leader can help generate competitive advantage for an organization. This example from the industry is very well an indicative of the fact that leadership is very crucial in ensuring the success of an organization. In the case highlighted above, the company was struggling to meet its ends and the reason for that can be attributed to the lack of vision and inability to foresee the future and formulate appropriate strategies. It also shows how the business environment and market needs are changing with the passage of time and also to the fact that leadership is a prime aspect that can help organizations steer themselves towards the path to success. Douglas McGregor in 1960 stated that leadership is essentially a process of exercising an authority over subordinates and a means to showcase powers so as to generate loyalist and followers for the leader (Gill, 2006, p.13). This aspect has significance in present organizations in which top bosses try to inculcate petty politics into the organization. There are many business leaders who pursue a divide and rule policy in order to gain loyalists within the organization. This creates undue lobbying that ultimately serves to take care of the petty interests of the individuals. In such cases it has been clearly observed that organizational interests take a back seat that ultimately results in fall of organization. The famous case of the fallout and fraud at Enron Corporation is a clear illustration in this regard. The leaders of the company use fraudulent strategies to ensure fulfilment of their personal goals and ambitions. This attitude of the leaders of the organization ultimately led to the downfall of the entire organization that was once a global giant. This illustration again highlights the nature and importance of leadership in the success or failure of an organization or business. The aspect of leadership and its importance becomes even more critical in small and medium enterprises or start ups. This is mainly because these organizations are in an early stage of growth and their future prospects are largely dependent upon the leader of the business. The leader and his strategies are perhaps the sole determinant of the direction in which the company would go about in the future. Organizations like Infosys started as small start ups, however the visionary leadership of its founder Mr. NR Narayana Murthy has shown how effective leadership can help not only generate ideas but to also transform these ideas into reality. Leadership is therefore very vital in the present business environment that is constantly changing with a very high degree of uncertainty. An effective leader has the ability to induce fresh ideas into an organization and set the ball rolling for the entire organization. A good leader not only generates ideas but also ensures that the individual interests and other aspects of the employees are fulfilled. Democratic leaders are also known to take into account views of all the quarters before taking a vital decision. These types of leaders and their leadership skills have shown how vital the aspect of leadership is towards generating a competitive advantage in the market. The importance of leadership in business has also been acknowledged by governments across the world. The UK government was quick to understand the importance of this vital aspect and its role in shaping businesses. This is essentially more important in capitalist nations like UK where the economy is largely dependent on the performance of the business organizations that are largely into private hands. The UK government realising the importance of this fact has set up centres of excellence in management and leadership so as to help promote effective leadership traits and also to induce leaders to develop the best practices so as to help generate a competitive edge in the market. The government realises the importance of leadership in the business organizations and has taken active steps to help in creating leaders who would emerge as world class leaders so as to help generate organizational excellence. The government realises that the sustainability and growth of the economy of the nation is directly dependent upon the success of the business organizations. However critiques have also pointed out that leadership alone cannot help an organization to succeed in the present turbulent business environment. The advocates of this school of thought state that leadership can only control the internal aspects of an organization. They have argued that leaders have no control over external environment and can only speculate the factors affecting the external environment of organizations. These factors have a considerable impact on the business prospects of any organization. The advocates have stated that aspects like innovation and other such aspects require efforts that are more comprehensive and holistic than just formulating strategies by a leader (Prosser, 2010, p.4-6). However the arguments stated above are quite relevant but in spite of this leadership can act as a catalyst in pushing the aspects like innovation that are considered to be critical to the success of an organization in times of turbulence in the business environment. Leadership can also play a role in handling of the external environment of a business organization. An effective leader has the vision to accurately make predictions and foresee the movement of the markets. An effective leader is able to gauge the pulse of the market as well as the minds of the customers whose satisfaction of the needs and wants is considered to be the most crucial step in ensuring the success of an organization in the market. An effective leader has a very constructive and important role in building up aspects like innovation and other aspects that can help organizations take advantages of the opportunities of the external environment. The role of a leader in this regard assumes importance as he/she plays the crucial role of managing and using the internal resources in a manner so as to take advantages from the opportunities of the external environment and reduce the internal weaknesses by using the internal strengths and external opportunities prevailing around an organization. This shows that even aspects that are considered to be uncontrollable and beyond human control as stated by the critiques can actually be very well leveraged to gain benefit by the leaders. In any successful organization it is the leader who is the first to identify the internal strengths and weaknesses and also the opportunities and threats of the external environment. A leader sets the tone for the entire organizations and shows the direction so as to help achieve the goals and objectives. A leader also has an eminent role in laying down the vision, mission and objectives of the organization. These aspects are the foundation stones for any business organizations operating in the modern business environment and largely define the success or failure of the organization. These vital aspects form the main basis for setting up of any new project or a new product or service in the market. Hence it is evident that leadership is a very important aspect and plays a vital part towards the sustainability and profitability of any organization. Conclusion The analysis of the aspect of leadership in the study shows considerable importance of the aspect in defining the success or failure of an organization. The business environment is characterised by high turbulence and fluctuations that call for effective learning as well as the ability to foresee the future and make adequate strategies so as to ensure sustainability of the organization. In real life there are numerous examples of legendary individuals who have shown great leadership abilities and have shown how efficient leadership can help in generating efficiency in business organization. Leaders like Steve Jobs have shown how an effective leader can change the fortunes of a business organization. However there has also been a debate with regards to the role of leadership in shaping a business. The study conducted above leads to a conclusion that although it is very true those external environmental factors are largely beyond control of any individual. However a visionary and effective leader has the capability to effectively to leverage upon the strengths of the internal environment so as to leverage upon the opportunities of the external environment in an attempt to reduce its weaknesses and minimise the threats. The role of a leader is a very comprehensive and holistic and involves an entire gamut of activities that can help generate a very significant impact upon the prospects of a business organization. The role of a leader also assumes considerable significance in the present turbulent environment and assumes the role of a captain who can guide the organization towards the path of success. References Bolden, R., Gosling, J., Marturano, A. & Dennison, P. (2003). A Review Of Leadership Theory And Competency Frameworks. [Pdf]. Available at: http://centres.exeter.ac.uk/cls/documents/mgmt_standards.pdf. [Accessed on January 5, 2012]. Daft, R.L. & Lane, P.G. (2007). The leadership experience. Cengage Learning. Deb, T. (2006). Strategic Approach to Human Resource Management. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. Gill, R. (2006). Theory and practice of leadership. SAGE. Lockwood, N.R. (2005). Crisis Management in Today’s Business Environment: HR’s Strategic Role. [Pdf]. Available at: http://www.shrm.org/Research/Articles/Articles/Documents/1205RQuartpdf.pdf. [Accessed on January 5, 2012]. Prosser, S. (2010). Effective people: leadership and organisation development in healthcare. Radcliffe Publishing. Read More