Example Research On Leadership In Contemporary Organizations Essay Example
Example Research On Leadership In Contemporary Organizations Essay Example

Example Research On Leadership In Contemporary Organizations Essay Example

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  • Published: September 18, 2017
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Carly Fiorina rose rapidly through the ranks of AT & A ; T and Lucent Technologies to go the most powerful businesswoman in the United States when she took the helm at Hewlett Packard in 1999. She became the first adult female to take a Fortune 20 company and was No. 10 on the Forbes magazine 's list of The World 's 100 Most Powerful Womans for 2004. However, she was suddenly fired by Hewlett Packard in 2005.

What are the factors that contributed to Carly Fiorina 's meteorologic rise?

Carly Fiorina became the first adult female to take a Fortune 20 company and this ranking was based on the importance of a adult female 's concern in the planetary economic system, her clout in the company, discharge of her calling and her influence on mass civilization and society. Quickl

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y lifting through the ranks of AT & A ; T and Lucent Technologies, Carly Fiorina became one of the most powerful businesswomen in the United States. She was the group president of Global Service Provider concern at Lucent Technologies Inc and was Mr Rich McGinn 's pick to be the executive frailty president of corporate operations of the company. She had first-class gross revenues accomplishments and an ability to construct consensus.

She would take a batch of hazards. Carly Fiorina was known for being "comfy in uncomfortable state of affairss '' . ( 14-28 )  . She used the chance in AT & A ; T and jumped to the Network Systems group and did surprisingly good at that place. This was all because she was able to acknowledge the telephone equipment fabricating concern unit 's possible for

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a growing in the markets. She added a personal touch that inspired intense trueness among followings.

She would praise the employees who achieved large contracts publically by giving them flowers and balloons. This was non confined to concern ; she even helped vomit household members of the Lucent Technologies employees get emotional support, medical advice and physicians on clip. ( 14-28 ) . She had a savvy attack to clients and there were cases when she achieved make bolding ends in a clip span less than the targeted 1s ( 14-28 ).

In order to originate a transmutation in HP, person was required. ( 14-29 ) So the executive-search commission established a set of standards and she fulfilled four of them already which included an ability to explicate and pass on wide schemes, a deep cognition of operations, a endowment for making a sense of urgency around alteration, ability to craft a compelling vision of HP 's functions in the Internet economic system, so pass on that vision throughout the organisation.

She took over as the CEO of Hewlett Packard in 1999. She had a strong ally in HP board member Richard Hackborn. Both believed that HP had to be reinvented. He fought hard for her assignment. To HP, she brought leading and savvy selling and gross revenues techniques. Her apprehension that what the clients inquire for is non ever the same as what they need was one of her strengths. When she entered HP, she knew that a batch of alterations were required in the company.

She had a vision and was non afraid of stating it to the universe. She had a assurance that she merely has

the power and duty to make what she wanted with her life ( p 14-27 ) and besides knew the importance of confronting up to your ain feelings and saying what is on your head. ( p 14-27 ) She stayed off from the HP manner and brought in a different leading manner and personal appeal. Her meteorologic rise was besides caused because of selling and customer-relations understanding, her personal personal appeal which included characteristics such as ability to laugh easy, direct regard and her willingness to talk her head and most significantly, her endowment for doing this happen rapidly. ( Ancona, Kochan, Scully, Van Maanen, Westney ) ( 2005, p14-26 ).

Harmonizing to Fiorina, the quicker and clearer the truth about what needs to be done is realized and what is acceptable public presentation is clearly defined, the more effectual a leader you would be. ( 14-27 ) .This, she learnt from her parents and she believed that she gained strength from them. She believed in doing alterations at a existent fast gait and harmonizing to the alterations in the market. She made a strong accent on the originative usage of communicating. `` Effective leading requires an apprehension that you do n't have people, that you ca n't command people. They must desire to, they must take to be in the company of others, oriented towards a peculiar mission. That means. A great trade of communicating ; it means utilizing communicating vehicles truly creatively. '' ( 14-31 ) mention it otherwise here.

What factors drove them to their dramatic autumn?

Carly Fiorina made alterations to HP 's civilization. This was against what was being practiced all the

manner long. HP had been found by two applied scientists and its direction methods had been praised over clip ( 14-29 ) as the company had set the criterions by which other hi-tech houses were judged. With the legendary success and repute, HP was non acute in refashioning the civilization of the company. She made alterations to the vision of the company every bit good by altering it from a company supplying stand-alone merchandises to a company that offered clients an incorporate suite of information contraptions, extremely dependable IT substructure and e-services.

In order to equilibrate the alterations in vision and scheme, she had to do alterations in the organisational construction excessively. So she realigned it ( 14-30 ) . She marketed HP 's new individuality every bit good. ( 14-31 ) . She had ne'er worked for HP before and unlike the company 's laminitiss, she was a seller non an applied scientist. Her expertness was non in operations, it was in gross revenues and selling. Her critics believed that Carly was a ill-mannered foreigner who was non following HP 's established patterns.

She emphasized velocity and suggested the amalgamation between Compaq and HP. Some people felt that she was seeking to make excessively much excessively shortly ( 14-32 ) . She had non been able to convert Walter Hewlett, a board member and boy of co-founder of HP, the advantages of this meeting and despite his dissension she managed to acquire it enforced. This meeting meant cutting down 15000 occupations and reorganising the construction into four big units. Bing a female, there was an issue of gender prejudice. It is really hard for a powerful

and influential adult female to last in a corporate universe which is dominated by adult females. Another of import ground for her ruin is that she centralized the determination devising procedure.

It was a decentralised procedure earlier and some of the insiders wanted more of explicit concluding behind her determinations. She had message boards for pass oning with workers but this was considered an act of being distant and out of touch. Despite Carly Fiorina 's leading path record of success- and popularity- when it came clip to take the elephantine engine of Hewlett-Packard, she displayed an errant certitude in her ability to run the train solo. ( page 90 Google books ) . Other members were needed excessively. But she ne'er realized it. Once, she was photographed before a mock-up of the garage where in the HP laminitiss had begun the concern, she was accused of seeking to link herself to a bequest to which she had non contributed ( 14-31 ) .These issues were all turning her employees and others against her or holding uncertainties about her in their heads.

Deductions for leading moralss that can be drawn from the experience of Carly Fiorina

Leadership moralss trades with just patterns with respects to direction and it is powered via strong rules and values. Ethical leaders function as moral individuals, acting morally in their leading functions and seen as honest and caring persons with just determination devising accomplishments. Ethical leaders must advance ethical behavior in followings. They create positive ethical climes ( Johnson, 2007 ) . Job security is of import for every employee.

Carly Fiorina encouraged her directors to fire the ailing working employees. Her meeting HP

and Compaq led to around 15000 people losing their occupations. This was unethical. After stepping in as a Chief executive officer, she prioritized fiscal public presentation to the employee satisfaction and growing. In one of her meetings she said, "Let me do something really clear. You will do your Numberss. There will be no alibis. And if you ca n't do your Numberss, I will happen person who can '' ( Burrows, 2003, p. 141 ) .

She kept good connexions with employees who performed good by acknowledging their accomplishments. Carly Fiorina offered support and attention to her employee 's ill relation. She was unable to keep good dealingss with the company 's laminitis 's kids. They were upset about the thought of unifying between HP and Compaq. They stated that they would vote their portions but Carly Fiorina reacted in a ferocious manner by imperativeness releases and advertizements against them.

Channel dressing was taking topographic point in HP shortly where in the employees tried offering inducements to the clients in order to sell their merchandises in a greater measure. Carly Fiorina did non promote or deter it. Analysts, who had long looked to HP as a theoretical account of unity, began to oppugn HP 's quarterly studies ( Elgin et al. , 2005 ) . Compassion, humbleness and unity were missing in her. So she is an ethically impersonal leader. ( Trevino et al. , 2000 ) .

What leading lessons can you larn so that you will be a better leader?

First, the leader must possess the appropriate accomplishments required by that occupation place, in this instance, operational accomplishments. A leader 's success or failure depends reasonably

much on moral logical thinking as it does on strategic thought ( Paine, 1996 ) . The leader must besides possess virtuousnesss such as unity, compassion and humbleness. One of the errors committed by Carly Fiorina is the drastic alteration which she tried to convey approximately in the company in a really short stretch of clip. Her vision was for the company 's benefit but her schemes were non implemented with the consent of all members of the board.

Besides, before doing a immense alteration to the cultural organisation of the company, plans must be well- idea of. Stressing on velocity, every determination was taken in a haste. Decentralized determination devising had been followed traditionally ; all of a sudden interpreting this to a centralised attack did non truly work out. This should hold been thought of. The employees should be convinced to hold faith in the company every bit good as their higher-ups. This leads to a sense of trust by the employees on their superior and besides a squad spirit. Job security should be provided. They should be recognized depending on their public presentation degree. A company is enhanced by its motivated employees and directors and a immense company like HP requires many workers.

It is non a good thought to deprive them off their occupations because of company meeting. Before thought of schemes, the company background must be studied good and so should its public presentation degrees, net incomes, loss and economic informations. Leaderships must take hazards after sing market conditions and the company 's capacity to keep back it. Ethical motives are non to be forgotten. Consumers are of import and merchandises must

be invented harmonizing to the demands of the client. The company 's net income sharing program followed earlier was better than the 1 introduced by Carly Fiorina where in all employees received fillips if the company achieved its coveted marks. The board of members must be more active, oversee the function of the CEO and see to it that ethical patterns are entirely conducted.

Dick Fuld rose from a humble bond bargainer in Lehman Brothers to go its CEO in 1994. In 2006, Institutional Investor magazine named him America 's top Chief Executive. In 2008, Fuld was named to Barrons ' list of the universe 's 30 best CEOs and dubbed "Mr Wall Street. '' Yet, in 2008 Lehman declared insolvents and the American Congress summoned Fuld to Washington for a deeply mortifying Inquisition. `` You 're the scoundrel today, '' one Congressman told him.

What are the factors that contributed to Dick Fuld 's meteorologic rise?

Dick Fuld started his successful calling at Lehman Brothers in 1969. He was nicknamed 'Gorilla ' because of his aggressive nature and enormous inner and mental strength. "He exuded ill will, '' explained Ken Auletta, media critic for New Yorker magazine. But Fuld became a favourite at the company and besides played a portion in maintaining Lehman 's name integral. '' Under Fuld 's leading, Lehman achieved great highs. His committedness to the success of Lehman Brothers and its stockholders was sincere. "Equally long as I am alive this house will ne'er be sold. '' Fuld told Wall street diary. And if it is sold after I die, I will make back from the grave and prevent it.

The media painted Lehman

as one large happy household, with all staff sharing in the success of the others. Yet in the hardheaded universe of investing banking this is seldom the instance, and it was non the instance with Lehman Brothers. The Lehman Brothers staffs were non making excessively severely either. The staff received a disproportionately high per centum of their wage in Lehman stock and options.

The house earned a repute for its leading direction through three primary achievements: First, the company kept employees ' wages in line with net incomes, with the ratio of compensation costs to gross grosss vibrating about 51 per centum. Second, Lehman maintained a strong focal point on U.S. authorities bonds, planetary fixed income, and recognition derived functions at a clip when the equities and investing banking markets were losing propositions. Finally, the house retained its best directors by passing them significant parts of stock in the house. In 1994 employees owned 4 per centum of Lehman ; by 2004 they owned 35 per centum.

What factors drove them to their dramatic autumn?

All can non remain at the top and you need more than beastly strength. Dick Fuld lacked forbearance and delicacy which was really much required for his function. His major mistake was a error which many leaders do: he underestimated his challengers and overestimated his ain strength. His obstinate and chesty nature overpowered him and he ended up displaying confusion and ambiguity about how to turn to the recognition crisis. However, the two chief grounds to which his ruin can be attributed are: he failed to size up his opposition and refused to discontinue contending. This blinded him from seeing any possible ruin

or any marks of failing in himself or Lehman.

But the truth about Fuld 's return seems to be much larger, and suggests that non merely did Fuld have compensation in surplus of what Waxman suggested but that he besides took out in hard currency more than $ 500 million. He was pull stringsing information and prevarication and cipher in the company was able to detect this.

In the pursuit for greater net incomes, more hazards were taken and small attentiveness was given to those courageous plenty to rede cautiousness. In fact cautiousness was non a word frequently heard at Lehman Brothers. The unchecked greed would take to dramatic effects.

There was excessively much of greed lifting. A few, who could recognize that something bad might go on, advised and warned. But this was to no help. Fuld was purchasing many houses as his fast one was to repackage mortgage loans into bonds. With an addition in the strength of the lodging market, the thought or scheme was looking promising. The company reported record net incomes. Lehman 's stockholders reaped a 17-fold addition. But everything had been built on quicksand: chancy mortgages that could ne'er and would ne'er be repaid.

The most absorbing penetration into Fuld comes from Andrew Gowers, a former editor of the London Financial Times, who in June 2006 joined Lehman Brothers in London as caput of corporate communications. In a singular history of the concluding yearss of Lehman Brothers, published in theA Sunday TimesA on 14 December 2008, Gowers cast a visible radiation on the civilization of Lehman Brothers and the mind of its foreman. "To state he was surrounded with a cult of personality

would be an understatement, '' said Gowers.

He called Fuld "about unbearably intense '' , and said he inspired great trueness and fright. "Those closest to him slaved like courtiers to a mediaeval sovereign, '' Gowers said", second-guessing his tempers and preferences, fussing over minute inside informations of his agenda down to the flower agreements and insulating him from trouble-from about anything he might non desire to hear. '' How does a CEO run a concern hearing merely good intelligence?

This was Fuld ; s mistake. There was somewhat any opportunity where in anyone could or would dispute him. And while this might non hold mattered in the 55 quarters of unbroken net income, Gowers said it bred `` a fatal complacence '' . Basically, no 1 would wish to be bossed over and be treated like a slave.

Fuld was acquiring a intimation that problem might loom around him shortly. During a imperativeness briefing at the World Economic Forum, in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos, he told assembled newspaper editors "this could be the twelvemonth when the markets crack ' . If merely he had trusted his ain intuition. Fuld mentioned possible problem in the US lodging market, the job of the surpluss of leveraged finance and the danger of gyrating oil prices-and the explosive combination of all three. His statement to the editors comprised that the company was to be alert for some clip and non put excessively much. But others believed that the operational authorization of the house had been handed over by Fuld to a long standing associate called Joe Gregory. Now, this was non considered to be a good thought because Gregory

was non a hazard director.

Gregory was actively urging divisional directors to put even more aggressive stakes in billowing plus markets such as the mortgage concern and commercial existent estate. In one Lehman-led trade in June 2007, it bid $ 15bn for America 's biggest flat company-a trade signed off by the full executive commission and later described as "the worst investing Lehman of all time made '' .

The trade was known to be extremely hazardous and finally prostration. But the board merely had no other options. Gowers characterized the corporate administration construction at Lehman as about pre-programmed to neglect: an overmighty CEO, a top lieutenant tidal bore to delight and hungry for hazard, an executive squad non noted for healthy argument and a power battle between two cardinal participants. Furthermore, the board of managers was packed with non-executives of a certain age and deplorably missing in banking expertness. It was a toxic combination. The adult male in the center was Dick Fuld.

Deductions for leading moralss that can be drawn from the experience of Dick Fuld

Dick Fuld had wished to be an air force pilot but stopped believing about it after he got into a fist battle with a dominating officer. Some say he did this in defence, protecting a younger plebe who was being mistreated. This shows his inability to digest unfairness go oning to others. Dick Fuld was good cognizant of the wealth he inflicted on others, but pig-headedly nescient to what might go on if he made a incorrect move. ( books.google.com ) Fuld was a combatant for the underdog. He was a company adult male and non selfish. He was sincere in

his committedness. He was non a quitter. It was a affair of pride for him when the company became belly-up. There were many demeaning Inquisitions taking topographic point. But merely because a force which was larger than his ain had been strong-arming him, he wanted to contend boulder clay so stop.

Fuld was large on mentions to warfare, seeing Lehman Brothers someway as being at war with the competition. "Every twenty-four hours is a conflict, '' he said, adding that staff should ever" think about the house, do the right thing, protect your client, protect the house, be in it, be a good squad member '' . As if to endorse this up, Fuld ended the pattern of insouciant frock at Lehman Brothers. "If you dress sloppy, you think sloppy, '' he said, and he was peculiarly pleased one clip when a journalist remarked that he could descry Lehman Brothers employees by their garb. The adult females dressed cautiously and the work forces about entirely in white or bluish shirts and ties. The employees were the military personnels, in their uniforms, and Fuld was the leader.

He was still seeking to implement military patterns in Lehmen excessively. He wanted subject and orders to be followed. The most absorbing penetration into Fuld comes from Andrew Gowers, a former editor of the London Financial Times, who in June 2006 joined Lehman Brothers in London as caput of corporate communications. Gowers cast a visible radiation on the civilization of Lehman Brothers and the mind of its foreman. "To state he was surrounded with a cult of personality would be an understatement. ''

He called Fuld "about unbearably intense '' , and

said he inspired great trueness and fright. "Those closest to him slaved like courtiers to a mediaeval sovereign, '' Gowers said," second-guessing his tempers and preferences, fussing over minute inside informations of his agenda down to the flower agreements and insulating him from trouble-from about anything he might non desire to hear. '' How does a CEO run a concern hearing merely good intelligence?

This civilization would be Fuld 's undoing. It meant that no 1 would, or could, dispute him. And while this might non hold mattered in the 55 quarters of unbroken net income, Gowers said it bred  "a fatal complacence '' .

In populace Fuld has tried to minimise what he cadged from Lehman. Last twelvemonth a squad of research workers at Harvard Law School released a survey that found that, between 2000 and 2007, Fuld cashed in Lehman portions deserving $ 461 million and standard hard currency fillips of $ 61.6 million.

What leading lessons can you larn so that you will be a better leader?

Weakness is strength unharnessed and strength is failing good harnessed. Derailed leaders seem to miss consciousness of and concern for others. This type of penetration informs us as to the demands, desires, hopes, and tempers of others that we might react suitably. It involves empathy, consideration, and general heed to the involvements of others. It deals with understanding and humbleness.

Signals should non be ignored. A focal point on obtaining the coveted end should non neglect to do you see the signals of problem. Board members, media and co-workers should non be ignored. Their words provide the signal which should be carefully paid attending to.

The leader must understand his manner

every bit good as the state of affairs. A leader 's accomplishment at pass oning is extremely of import during times of crisis and alterations ( page 291- text ) At such times, leaders should remain composures and listen harder as the leaders set an illustration to their squad, they should be seeable ; people should be assured that their leader is with them, otherwise this has a negative impact on them. The leader should talk the truth and at the same clip, control rumours. Finally, the leader should pass on a vision for the hereafter, that is the people must hold something deserving awhile to look frontward to ( 292 ).

Besides, there should be no fright of the leader. This makes people lose their power, have a low degree of assurance, committedness and motive. This manner, jobs are hidden, employees are scared of talking up. This can include issues such as hapless working coworkers, benefits or suggestions for the betterment of the organisation. Leaderships can move from love instead than fear to liberate employees and the organisation from the ironss of the yesteryear ( 146-147 ).

Fear- based motive: I need a occupation to pay for my basic demands. You give me a occupation, and I will give you merely plenty to maintain my occupation. Love- based motive: If the occupation and the leader make me experience valued as a individual and supply a sense of significance and part to the community at big ( carry throughing higher demands of bosom, head and organic structure ) , so I will give you all I have to offer.

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