The Importance of Teamwork in the Company - Research Paper Example

Effective Leadership Introduction Every era has witnessed some great people who led the way for others and showed them the right direction towards progress. In the ancient times, these kinds of people might have existed in different forms and ranks but the modern forms of such figures are business leaders or managers. Management is an art and only the leaders who understand the tactics of this art can prove to be effective leaders. Some of the business leaders in the world have not only done remarkable work for the progress of their respective businesses but also for the betterment of mankind. Lot of research has been carried out for the development of effective management theories that have helped leaders to make efficient and progressive decisions. 2. Research Statement The research study will investigate the most effective management theories that have been adapted by business leaders. Power inspires some business leaders to play their part for their organizations as well as for the welfare of the society. Management practices cannot be isolated from the failures since every endeavor has two possible outcomes. Successful leadership can be achieved by the adoption of suitable management strategies and theories alongside endeavors for the betterment of the society. 3. Renowned Business Leader Bill Gates is considered to be one of the most successful business leaders of the current times. He is the co-founder and chairman of one of the biggest companies in the world- Microsoft. Microsoft is the most successful software company because it makes efficient software that appeal to the masses due to their usability and performance capabilities. The company has expanded internationally over the past years; it has over 55,000 employees in around 85 countries around the world (“Business Profile- Bill Gates”). Success of this caliber needs determination and effective management strategies to overcome obstacles in the way. 4. Strategies Adopted by Bill Gates The question that prevails in the mind of almost every layman is: “How did they do it?”. Some might suggest that the success is due to their love for money or marketing tactics. However, most will agree that if one does not have a vision then nothing can be achieved in life. One of the three aspects of “Theory of Business” by Peter Drucker (“Systems Theory”) involves the development of a mission statement and vision since a business without a clear direction and purpose can never succeed. Bill Gates developed the vision of making computers accessible for every common man (Beaumont). His vision was to make computers so common that every house would have at least one computer so that everyone would be able to gain education and other benefits from it. It was due to this vision that Bill Gates turned a small company of 30 employees into a multinational software giant. Bill Gates has been known to follow participative leadership rather than an autocratic one (“Business Profile- Bill Gates”). He has great technical experience therefore understands the needs and challenges of the technical nature of work. He was known to involve his subordinates in the decisions and strategy development so that the employees feel like an important part of the team. Skills theory states that the learned skills and knowledge prove to be helpful in the tasks where leadership is being utilized. Bill Gates adapted the skills theory and continued to improve his technical skills even after he became the CEO of the company. He always stayed involved and closely monitored the development processes of the products so that the quality of the products is not compromised at any step. His skills helped during the monitoring activities because he could understand the technical aspects of any problem and give them valuable guidance towards a solution for his developers. 5. Leadership Traits He is considered to be one of the most successful entrepreneurs of the current times. He has been able to achieve great success due to his risk assessment capabilities and determination. Correct risk assessment capabilities enable an individual to identify the opportunities that would prove to be fruitful for the companies and detect the ones that would require too much investments or efforts coupled with lesser rewards (Thomas). Bill Gates, being the business leader of Microsoft had excellent risk assessment capabilities as most of his endeavors proved to benefit the company and increase his market share in the industry. He has always shown willingness to learn new things and accepted directions from people who had expertise at things that he wasn’t too confident at; for example, in the initial years, he was not a good public speaker but with the passage of the years he got training and improved himself (Nucci). Overall, some of the characteristics of Bill Gates are intelligence, visionary, passion, innovation and risk bearer. 6. Successes and Failures Even a business leader like Bill Gates has some failures besides the feathers in his hat. One of the most recent failures of the company was the launch of a much anticipated operating system of Microsoft Vista. This operating system had been advertised since 18 months before the time of its launch but it proved to disappoint most of its regular users. Some of the reasons of its failure were; too many versions in the market for Microsoft operating systems, slower performance, missing components and drivers (Dvorak). This endeavor of the company took five years to complete and launched in early 2008. However, all efforts went in vain since the outcome did not satisfy the users to a great extent. Bill Gates realized the situation and promised the users about an alternate solution for the computer system- Windows 7. He ensured that all measures would be taken to speed up the process regarding the completion of the respective product. Windows 7 was the next planned product and it offered features that would satisfy the users about the quality of Microsoft products. Windows 7 can be considered as one of the successful endeavors of Bill Gates since it increased to a 10% mark only in its first three months in the market share of operating systems whereas Vista was able to attain 16% market share after two years of market exposure (figure 1). Figure 1 also proves the fact that Bill Gates has sustained himself as the market leader over the years since only 8.75% of the users use products other than Windows operating system. Figure 1: Operating System market share (Dvorak) 7. Bill Gates Impact on the Society His vision made computers very common in our societies; as a result of his endeavors, he gave the world around 0.5 billion computer systems (Nucci). This contribution facilitated the integration of computer technology in almost every field of life ranging from education to business, medicine to travel. He has always been known as a generous person with great sensitivity towards the poor and needy. It is due to this reason that Bill Gates has now given up his day job at the offices of Microsoft and joined his Melinda and Gates Foundation full time to benefit the society in every possible way. The foundation has over $37.5 billion in its funds to establish schools, provide for hunger etc (Stepanek). 8. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Stephen R. Covey presented some points that can be considered as a complete framework for personal growth and improvement (Covey). The leadership style and personality traits of Bill Gates can be analyzed with respect to the 7 habits that have been proposed by Stephen R. Covey. Be Proactive Bill Gates always ensured that he and his company were always looking at all the possible issues themselves rather than just reporting issues and waiting for their solutions. This is called a proactive approach in which you tend to be prepared for issues with effective solutions rather than having a reactive approach. Begin with the End in Mind Bill Gates developed a personal mission of making computers common in the world so that every house would have a computer. It is after the development of his personal vision that he developed the mission statement and purpose of his company (Beaumont). He established a computer company that made user-friendly software. Microsoft products made computer operation convenient for all ages due to which they became an integral part of any society. Put First Things First The concept behind this habit is that the key roles should be identified in life and then justice should be done with all of them by giving them the due time and efforts. This habit reflects from the lifestyle of Bill Gates. At first, he devoted his life to the success of the company while providing a flexible and amiable working environment for his colleagues. Then, after acquiring great success in his business, he decided to put the welfare of others before his business. This is when he gave up his day job at Microsoft and joined his foundation. Think win-win Bill Gates always got involved with deals that would prove to benefit both the concerned parties equally since otherwise relations do not have the same commitment from each side. In 1980, IBM contacted Bill Gates for the development of the operating system for their first personal computer. They offered him hefty amount of money that proved to benefit his newly established company in many ways. It was a win-win situation for IBM as well since they trusted the caliber of Bill Gates and believed that he would produce a remarkable product (Squidoo). Seek first to understand then to be understood As stated earlier, Bill Gates was very accepting towards other people’s suggestions as he believed that listening to other people’s opinions brings innovation and creativity in the tasks. He always aimed to understand the others before he could explain his own viewpoint (“Business Profile- Bill Gates”). Synergize Bill Gates realized the need of teamwork and mutual trust. It is due to the effective communication practices that Microsoft achieved such great success and expanded their business around the whole globe. Bill Gates stressed on teamwork spirit throughout the years when he used to work full time at Microsoft offices (Eckstein). Sharpen the Saw The concept behind this habit is that sometimes the production process should be left aside to improve the production capabilities in terms of mental, physical, social etc. Microsoft offers its employees great opportunities for employee development and personal growth (Brundage). 9. Conclusion Bill Gates is one of the most successful and influential business leaders of the current times. He does not only have business success but also has great humanitarian work to support his good name. He made computer systems so accessible to the common man that there are currently around half a billion systems present in the world. He always followed a participative style of leadership rather than an autocratic one. He valued the opinions of others and accepted guidance wherever he needed it. His leadership style and success shows traces of the seven habits of highly effective people; the traces of the habits indicate the degree of effectiveness that is found in his leadership. Works Cited Beaumont, Claudine. “Bill Gatess dream: A computer in every home”, Telegraph, 27 June 2008. Web. 1 Dec 2010 Brundage, Michael L., “Working at Microsoft”, n.d. Web. 4 Dec 2010. “Business Profile- Bill Gates”, Investing Value.com, n.d., Web. 3 Dec 2010 Covey, Stephen. R. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, 1990, ISBN-10: 0671708635. Dvorak, John. “Vistas 11 Pillars of Failure”, PCMag.com, 21 April 2008, Web. 4 Dec 2010 Eckstein, Morgan. Drake. “The Importance of teamwork in the company, Helium, http://www.helium.com/items/433488-the-importance-of-teamwork-in-the-company Nucci, Cora. “A Peek Inside Bill Gates Head”, Information Week, 27 June 2008, Web. 3 Dec 2010. Protalinski, Emil. “Windows 7 surpasses 10% market share", Ars Technica, 2 April 2002, Web. 2 Dec 2010 Squidoo, “Gates Windows to success”, 2010, Web. 4 Dec 2010 “Systems Theory”, Three Sigma Inc., 2003, Web 2 Dec 2010 Stepanek, Marcia. Maldonado, Cristina. “Rockefeller 2.0: Gates re-launches philanthropy”, MSNBC, 24 June 2008, Web. 4 Dec 2010Contribute Ma Thomas, Bill. “5 Entrepreneurial Leadership Characteristics”, ArticlesBase, 11 April 2008, Web. 1 Dec 2010. Read More