Inspirational Leadership In A South African Context Commerce Essay Example

on theoretical concepts relevant to the research topic. Triangulation of research methods is achieved through observation, interviews, and document analysis as major information gathering techniques. The researcher ensures triangulation of data sources in three steps: Management issues, looking at FNB in a larger context, and FNB's internal issues.

In this section titled "An overview of Leadership in Organizations & South African Leadership and its Manners," leadership is extensively discussed but remains elusive. Understanding leadership comes from experience. According to Rosenbach (2006), leadership is the act of influencing, motivating, and enabling others to contribute to the success and effectiveness of their organizations.In modern organizations, the importance of leadership has increased as a strong work culture and sustainable high performance practices are developed. There have been debates about the relationship between management and leadership functions. Management involves planning, organizing, and implementing, while leadership focuses on vision, charisma, change agents, and motivation.

Traditionally, there are two types of leadership: transactional leadership and transformational leadership. According to Taylor (2006), transactional leadership is defined as a fair exchange between a leader and followers where both parties' self-interests are considered to influence them. This type of leadership is seen as a valuable managerial skill that can lead to good performance.

On the other hand, transformational leadership motivates followers to exceed expectations by creating an awareness of the organization's vision and mission. These leaders empower followers to turn their purpose into action. The choice between transactional and transformational styles depends on each organization's culture and environment.

According to Matthew Valle (WLQ Report [ Accessed on 12th December 2010 ]), in stable environments, leadership processes involve training workers to anticipate problems which affect their performance, satisfaction levels,

and absenteeism rates. In turbulent environments, leadership procedures are crucial for maintaining control and stability.Organizations operating in challenging environments require adaptive leadership processes to overcome obstacles. Since 1994, South Africa has undergone significant political and economic changes as a result of globalization and a new political dispensation. The apartheid era resulted in limited leadership development among excluded races; however, after democracy, measures such as labor legislation and Affirmative Action were implemented to address inequalities. Nonetheless, the current organizational environment in South Africa is further complicated by a combination of first-world and third-world economies, along with a shortage of skilled African workers/managers and issues like corruption, nepotism, and culturalism.

From a civilizational standpoint, tribal leaders inherit their positions at birth without considering their leadership accomplishments. Attitudes toward organizational leadership are heavily influenced by political roles, personal experiences, and biases based on race and gender. The type of leadership and management of diversity in modern South African administrations is shaped by various factors including societal issues like changes in education, healthcare systems, HIV/AIDS, housing, poverty, and increased crime rates. These societal issues also impact both the organization itself and its employees who operate within this social framework.

According to Tinus Burgers (Warren Burgers, 2003), South Africa is currently undergoing a transition from the post-1994 euphoria.During this time, there was a desperate effort by Whites to assimilate with black culture through protests and singing Shosoloza while black people mistakenly believed that white dominance would disappear. However, deep-rooted differences and distrust between races still exist in the country, making leadership in diverse organizations very challenging. Since the democratic elections in 1994, South Africa became a global player as sanctions against the

country were lifted. To remain competitive globally, South Africa has had to adapt to global trends. The rapid pace of technological development has required quick adjustments and departure from traditional management practices. Engineering advancements like electronic webs and cellular telephones have had an impact beyond borders, influencing both employees' behavior and organizational behavior. Consequently, employees are experiencing significant and rapid changes in both the global environment and specifically the South African environment. These changes pose challenges to society across various aspects including individual identities and roles as well as the transformation of major social and financial institutions. In South Africa, administrations face the leadership challenge of letting go of old thought systems while establishing new ones amidst rapid globalization and informationalism.The African leadership model differs from the Western model in that it places greater importance on ethnicity and group loyalty instead of autonomy and opportunism. Interpersonal relations are more important than individual skills, with family wealth taking priority followed by cultural or tribal wealth, often at the expense of the organization's success. Cultural divisions can affect an organization's performance, with leadership exhibiting paternalistic qualities.

Leadership in Africa is characterized by bestowing favors, expecting obedience and respect, and making decisions through consensus. This process takes time and requires tolerance and forgiveness. The African leadership style is autocratic, personalized, politicized, and demonstrates a significant power distance where power is concentrated at the top.

The leader's role involves translating directives from above into actionable tasks for subordinates while providing guidance and support. African leaders prioritize the quality of their hierarchical relationship with superiors over individual or organizational effectiveness. Within this framework, it is considered normal for junior individuals to depend

on their seniors.

Masculinity remains dominant across all cultural groups present in Africa. Managerial ideologies focus on unity, loyalty, conflict avoidance, promoting humaneness (UBUNTU), group decision-making, and interdependence.The text highlights that managerial styles in South Africa are a combination of Western values and autocratic legacies from apartheid and colonization. From an African standpoint, leaders who are kind, considerate, and understanding are preferred over those who are excessively dynamic, productive, and demanding. These leaders have genuine authority but are expected to use it sparingly and in a humane manner. The ultimate goal is to construct a new South Africa by incorporating African concepts that aim to end apartheid.

The case study revolves around First National Bank (FNB), which is a Financial Services Industry in South Africa formed through the merger of Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), Momentum, First National Bank (FNB), and Southern Life in 1998. FNB consists of three main business sectors: banking (First National Bank and Rand Merchant Bak), insurance (Momentum), and health.

According to exhibit 1 in the case study, Firstrand also divides its profits into four clusters: Retail, corporate, wealth, and health. However, South Africa faces unique challenges when it comes to leadership that aligns with African principles.

The leadership style in South Africa is inspirational and shares common elements with African leadership approaches. The text discusses how African leadership focuses on community while inspirational leadership emphasizes individuals.The text highlights the significance of spirit and spirituality in African principles like Spirituality - UBUNTU, Indaba, and ISITHUNZI, as well as their role in Inspirational Leadership. The First National Bank in South Africa is provided as an example of Inspirational Leadership. Research shows that spirit and spirituality are important

components of inspirational leadership in South Africa. High-performance and innovative organizations require strong management skills, a motivated workforce, diversity promotion, fair treatment in the labor market, and environmentally conscious workplaces. In managing leadership within organizations, Inspirational Leadership integrates the concepts of spirit and spirituality. However, the First National Bank faces a challenge when it comes to dealing with employees from diverse cultures due to its global operations. Implementing leadership strategies within these varied work environments becomes highly challenging. This emphasizes the need for transforming one's approach to leadership because there exists a close association between Inspirational Leadership and African spirit. Anderson (1999) presents a graphical representation that effectively illustrates the relationship between leadership and learning organizations. According to Anderson's model, effective learning organizations prioritize building healthy communities and high-performance teams which are led by effective team leaders.
The process discussed in the text above leads to the development of individuals and teams, resulting in effective team members and leaders. It is essential for individual and team success (Anderson, 1999).

African Spirit incorporates three key principles of leadership: UBUNTU, INDABA, and VUKA. UBUNTU represents a leadership style rooted in African humanitarianism that prioritizes caring for people first. INDABA promotes openness and inter-ethnic harmony when expressing individual opinions. VUKA signifies awakening and liberating oneself.

The connection between Inspirational Leadership and African spirit can be seen in the African Renaissance movement. This movement embraces a humanistic system of thought that values individuals' intellectual capabilities to lead fulfilling lives rather than relying solely on religious beliefs. The movement also advocates for the distribution or state control of land, business, and industry ownership instead of concentrated ownership by a few individuals (Anderson, 1999).

To

address cultural differences within First National Bank, an integrated approach combining individuality and Bolshevism has been implemented. As a response to these concerns, the bank has appointed two new leaders as part of its restructuring process aimed at achieving growth while reducing costs. The expected outcome is improved customer service through transforming employee leadership styles.The VUKA Program, also known as the "Wake up" program, aims to transition the company from operating independently to developing a shared vision and mission. Senior management actively participates in this program as an initial step towards making a difference in the organization's transformational journey. The main goal of the program is to involve all staff members, representing the diverse South African population, in creating a work community.

The initial two-day session of the VUKA plan focused on various topics such as Barrier breakage, emptying, visioning, re-visioning, leading and answerability, and understanding the alteration. While the plan had its merits and limitations, it was discussed in research on leadership by Klenke (2008) and explored by Rosenbach (2006). Other authors like Bratton (2007), Valle (2002), Burger (2003), Weeks (2003), Nkomo (2004), Blunt and Merrick in their 4th edition of Leadership Dynamics book, as well as Lennart, Jerker, and Henock's chapter on institution building and leadership in Africa also contributed to our understanding of leadership.

The First National Bank website provides details about the bank while the MLQ Report website offers a transformative leadership assessment. Anderson's book, Transforming Leadership is published by Blackwell and explores the potential of organizational leadership. It can be located at British Library.