Leadership

Chapter – Strategic Capability

In the previous chapter, we learned how to analyse the environment that surrounds a company. But, it is also important to study the internal strategic capabilities of the firm, because, since your competitors are in the same environment, that is what distinguishes the companies performances.

Foundations of Strategic Capability

Strategic Capabilities can be defined as the resources and competences (strategic assets) of an organisation needed for it to survive and prosper. Resources are physical and intangible assets a company has such as plant, people and finance for physical and information, reputation and knowledge for intangible. Competences mean the skills and abilities by which resources are deployed effectively through an organisation’s activities and processes.

These capabilities can be divided into two groups, threshold or unique and core. Threshold capabilities are those needed for and organisation to meet the necessary requirements to compete in a given market. These could be threshold resources required to meet minimum customer requirements.

While they are important, they do not of themselves create competitive advantage or the basis of superior performance. This depends on an organisation having distinctive or unique capabilities that competitors will find difficult to imitate. This could be because the organisation has unique resources or core competences.

To survive and prosper an organisation needs to address the challenges of the environment that it faces, discussed in Chapter 2. In particular it must be capable of performing in terms of the critical success factors that arise from demands and needs of its cus- tomers, discussed in section 2.4.4. The strategic capability to do so is dependent on the resources and the competences it has. These must reach a threshold level in order for the organisation to survive. The further challenge is to achieve com- petitive advantage. This requires it to have strategic capabilities that its com-
petitors find difficult to imitate or obtain. These could be unique resources but are more likely to be the core competences of the organization.

Read also about Threshold Capabilities

Capabilities for Achieving and Sustaining Competitive Advantage (VRIN model)
If the aim of a company is to achieve competitive advantage, it must think about sustaining it in the long run. In order to do so, there are 4 steps that should be considered. Value of Strategic Capabilities

First of all, the company must have capabilities that are of value to its customers. Rarity of Strategic Capabilities
Competitive advantage might be achieved if a competitor possesses a unique or rare capability. This could take the form of unique resources. However, it is important to be aware of the ease of transferability of the capability, as it may depend on individuals, for instance. Inimitable Strategic Capabilities

It involves identifying capabilities that are likely to be durable and which competitors find difficult to imitate or obtain. It might happen due to:

1- Complexity Internal Linkages:

it may be the ability to link activities and processes that, together, deliver value. External Interconnectedness: organizations can make it difficult for others to imitate or obtain their bases of competitive advantage by developing activities together with the customer on which the customer is dependent on them.

2- Culture and History

3- Casual Ambiguity

Non-substitutability of Strategic Capabilities

However, the organization may still be at risk from substitution. It could take the form of product or service substitution or competence substitution. In summary and from a resource-based view of organisations, managers need to consider whether their organisation has strategic capabilities to achieve and sustain competitive advantage. To do so they need to consider how and to what extent it has capabilities which are (i) valuable to buyers, (ii) rare, (iii) inimitable and (iv) non-substitutable. If such capabilities for competitive advantage do not exist, then managers need to consider if they
can be developed.

Dynamic Capabilities

The discussion so far has tended to assume that strategic capabilities can provide sustainable competitive advantage over time: that they are durable. However, managers often claim that hypercompetitive conditions (see section 2.3.2) are becoming increasingly prevalent. Dynamic capabilities are an organisation’s abilities to renew and recreate its strategic capabilities to meet the needs of a changing environment.

Cost Efficiency

Customers can benefit from cost efficiencies in terms of lower prices or more product features for the same price. However, for many organizations the management of costs is becoming a threshold strategic capability for two reasons: customers do not value product features at any price and competitive rivalry will continually require the driving down of costs. However, cost efficiency can be achieved by economies of scale, experience, supply costs and product/process design.

Diagnosing Strategic Capability

So far, this chapter has been concerned with explaining strategic capability and associated concepts. This section now provides some ways in which strategic capabilities can be diagnosed. If organizations are to achieve competitive advantage by delivering value to customers, managers need to understand which activities they undertake are especially important in creating that value and which are not. Concepts such as Value chain and value network can be helpful in understanding this.

1- Value Chain

The value chain describes the categories of activities within and around an organization, which together create a product or service. Primary activities are directly concerned with the creation or delivery of a product or service. Each of these groups of primary activities is linked to support activities, which help to improve the effectiveness or efficiency of primary activities. It is important to point out that the primary and support activities vary according to the sector the company is in.

The value chain can help with the analysis of the strategic position of an organization in two different ways: -as generic descriptions of activities that can help managers understand if there is a cluster of activities providing benefit to customers located within particular areas of the value chain. – in terms of the cost and value of activities, as a way of identifying what they should focus on in developing a more profitable business model.

2- Value Network

A single organization rarely undertakes in-house all of the value activities from design to delivery of the final product or service to the final consumer. There is usually specialization of role so any organization is part of a wider value network. The value network is the set of interorganisational links and set of interorganisational?links and relationships?that are necessary to?create a product or?service Within the value network analysis, there are four key issues:

-Which activities are centrally important to an organization`s strategic capability and which less central?

-Where are the profit pools?

-The make or buy decision. Historically, vertical integration meant to win a substantial competitive advantage. However, the current trend is to outsource for a potential greatest efficiency of the company. – Partnering

3-Competitive Advantage According to Industry Analysis

A competitive advantage exists if the profit of the firm in the industry is higher than the one of its competitors. This situation exists if the firm masters more efficiently one or several key success factors of the industry: It has a better product-market positioning. The search of competitive advantages implies to adapt the positioning of the firm to the KSFs of the industry. To formulate this strategy, you have to identify the KSF and understand if you are mastering it or not. Thus, you will acquire the required strategic assets to do so and position the company according to that. However, sometimes the strategic assets cannot be acquired because they are linked to reputation, know-how and relations with customers and suppliers.

4- Benchmarking

The main idea of benchmarking is comparing the company to something else. It can be either a competitor or even itself in the past. But, for now, we will focus on the comparison with competitors. The main objective here is to identify distinctive resources and competences, which are in line with the KSF of the industry. Then, you have to acquire additional assets or deploy the resources and competences in a more pertinent context.

SWOT

The key ‘strategic messages’ from both the business environment (Chapter 2) and this chapter can be summarised in the form of an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT). SWOT summarises the key issues from the business environment and the strategic capability of an organ- isation that are most likely to impact on strategy development. This can also be useful as a basis against which to generate strategic options and assess future courses of action. The aim is to identify the extent to which strengths and weaknesses are relevant to, or capable of dealing with, the changes taking place in the business environment. However, in the context of this chapter, if the strategic capability of an organisation is to be understood, it must be remembered that it is not abso- lute but relative to its competitors. So SWOT analysis is really only useful if it is comparative – if it examines strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in relation to competitors.

Most people argue that “failure” is a dirty word and something you should avoid at all costs, especially in the world of business. In the media, we are constantly bombarded with cliché images and stories of how successful people have accomplished fame, wealth and ultimate success in their line of work. Some of the common beliefs are that having ego, pride, self-confidence and other traits pivoting around self-importance could be the key to success. To make things worse, if you experience failure in any shape or form, you are seen as a misfit or a person with limited potential. The sad truth is the media is misguiding the public, especially young aspiring entrepreneurs, and intentionally ignoring other key ingredients that constitute the path to success like humility, passion, conviction, tolerance to failure and the willingness to put in the “hard yards.” As an entrepreneurship coach, I am all too familiar with the reality that today’s generation of business owners are particularly impatient and intolerant to setbacks as they pursue this journey.

The Jagged Road

The path for any aspiring serial entrepreneur is a long-term prospect, most often ending abruptly with no rewarding outcome. It’s a lonely jagged road, full of challenges, fears and painful experiences. I recall my early humble years in business and the constant challenges I faced — dealing with the sceptics, the dirty tricks my competitors played to force me out of the industry, the avalanche of staffing issues. Without a doubt, my patience, tolerance and desire to be a successful entrepreneur myself was tested time and time again.

In a recent with Aussie serial entrepreneur Janine Allis, I was able to mirror these experiences with those of Allis, and intimately explore her successful 16-year career within the retail industry. I was curious to understand her positive philosophy to failure and how she embraced it while building her fame and fortune in the business world.

The Entrepreneurial Spirit

Without a doubt, Allis is an icon within the Australian business community, having built her Boost Juice business from her home into a global juicing empire across 13 countries. Her retail investments, comprising also of Salsas Fresh Mix Grill and Cibo Espresso, yield $2 billion dollars in sales annually. Her story to success is testament to her tenacity, determination and entrepreneurial spirit.

During my discussion with Allis, I discovered that effective leadership is about having humility, being accountable to mistakes and being willing to sacrifice and serve others as opposed to having hubris or narcissistic traits. These are common threads among other great entrepreneurs. Some of my favorites include Bill Gates, Richard Branson and Oprah Winfrey.

A Catalyst to Innovation

In 1985, Steve Jobs was the man who soon became known as “the entrepreneur who hit rock bottom,” after his failed attempts at Apple. His story of failure is not uncommon, and it clearly illustrates the realities and hardships that serial entrepreneurs face.   Despite such humiliating circumstances, Jobs returned to Apple with a new attitude — and the rest is iHistory. He discovered the importance of humility and effective leadership on his endeavour of rebuilding his empire and his reputation. So what can we learn from this story and those of others? What impact does failure have on innovation and achieving long term success? “If things didn’t go wrong, I wouldn’t be the person I am today,” Allis said. “I wouldn’t have a business with the right culture, systems, products. You have to make mistakes to innovate.”

Education is Paramount

We observe time and time again case studies and testimonials from successful people about the importance of failure. As educators, teachers and mentors, we must teach our youth how to interpret and manage failure, as well as accepting it in life and within our careers with a positive attitude.  It is my view that a successful career shouldn’t be just about going to a university and securing the right qualification for the right job. In contrast, educators must encourage students to also learn in real workplace enviroments. This philosophy is shared by education provider . Students are encouraged to experiment and adapt their thoughts in a real commercial environment, as well as develop their skills to best handle setbacks while pursuing their commercial endeavours within the company.   In Australia, we must go one step further and also tackle the “Tall Poppy Syndrome,” which is prevalent within corporate workplace culture. This issue has derailed many aspiring intrapreneurs, as well as prevented innovation and new product developments to flourish through fail testing.

Even today security Is a big Issue to us and still likely to continue this way, but progresses are happening all the time. Employers will assume that you would know about these important areas. But they wont always expect you to know everything, but it is important that you have some knowledge about the main issues. If you are interested in a certain area, you will need to do as much research as you can! Also you will need to develop your skills and knowledge in that certain area. Working procedures It’s very good to have some knowledge of typical practices In the IT Industry.

This Is cause of the legislation that Is Included In IT at the moment. Things Like data protection and copyright laws are a part of this. Employers have to make sure they are not breaking any laws, this means they will need their employees to always be aware of what they are doing and the responsibilities they have in these areas. Health and safety knowledge Employers will expect you to have some knowledge In the health and safety area. This Is essential as the employers will expect you to be aware of the risks and the responsibilities you have. For example you might get eye strain from looking at the imputer screen for a long time.

How to stop this from happening is to adjust the monitor at eye level and put it somewhere so there is no reflections coming of the monitor. General Skills Interpersonal Skills In your job, it is most likely that you will be communicating and working with other people. So this will mean that you will need to have good communication skills. This is what most employers look for. Both IT professionals and IT users may be limited to their knowledge of technical areas in IT. Numeric Skills What kind of job role you have will depend on the level of numeric skills you need. These days, nearly every Job role requires basic innumeracy skills.

You will need to be able to carry out day to day mathematical calculations like working out percentages and basic sums. Other areas of IT like programming will require a higher form of mathematical ability. Creativity The type of job you do will depend on how creative you are. For example the employees that work in web design and desktop publishing will be known to be creative in that area as they can come up with lots of unique Ideas to make the web For example you can Just be creative by coming up with ideas for new products or even improving old products or services.

Organization skills It is very helpful if you are an organized person. This is because you will need to be able to do work tasks efficiently. For example the Job that you have been set to do will mean that you need to have the right equipment and information for the Job. This could be going from having something to write with and remembering client’s names or businesses that you might have to visit. Also to look professional it’s very good to be organized. Most employers don’t like it if you come in and say ‘l forgot it’ or ‘l left it t home’ as its very UN-organized and makes you look unprofessional.

Attitudes preferred Determined Your Job can sometimes become very hard and might stress you out a lot but there is always a way to overcome this problem and that is to be determined. A lot of employees who tend to give up easily on work will never impress their employers because it shows them being very UN-professional. But the other employees who have determination to get things done and who want to succeed will look much more professional and will impress their employers. Independent

The first Job you have in IT probably will be with other people instead of you being by yourself. But this doesn’t mean you can’t be independent. Your employer will be expected for you to develop your own ability to work by yourself and to use your own initiative than waiting for other people to give you instructions on what to do. Integrity Your employer will want someone who they can trust. So being honest to everyone and not going making up things is important. Your employer will also expect you to work as you normally would if not better for when your supervisor isn’t there.

Also there could be expensive equipment which means you have to make sure you look after it. Leadership Throughout your Job role and the time you have worked in the business, your employer will always look out for any leadership skills you have in you. For example if you have good leadership skills then you can work well with others and help to inspire and encourage them to get on with work and push through it, or even help them! Good leaders are good when it comes down to organizing and planning things and are not afraid to take control of it all.

Culture is an essential element of organizing in the P-O-L-C framework. Do you think Google has a strong culture? What would it take to make changes in that culture, for better or for worse? Undoubtedly Google has one of the strongest cultures in today’s corporate world. The strong work culture has paid off for Google as it is ranked consistently as the best place to work.

If Google were to remain in the best position in the future, It has to change continuously and evolve accordingly to face the competitors. Google’s cultural innovations might be imitated in other companies as well. It is easy to have a good corporate lifestyle when the company the company is doing very well on the economic front. When company’s resources become more constrained with the maturing of its industry and its business model, these kind of investments will be harder to make. When Google slows down financially it will be difficult to retain great employees.

Do you think Google’s unique culture will help or hurt Google in the long run? Google’s unique culture might not help Google as it is helping today. I think so because the corporate life style, more benefits to employees are very much imitable by other companies. Any company that is doing very good financially can adopt these measures. There comes a point in future where the core competencies matter. In the current trend Google is losing its employees Facebook. It might be difficult to retain great minds with this unique culture.

What are the factors responsible for the specific culture that exists in Google? The factors responsible for the specific culture that exists in Google are

• The Founder values and principles which was committed for end user
  satisfaction over the more money in shorter time frame.
• Keeping the employees happy is other value Google is bound to. It provides best in class work environment to motivate and retain the creamy layer in the technological field.
• .Encouraging employees to risk taking and innovation. Every engineer is allowed to use 20% of their time to work on the project of their interest.

What type of decision-making approach has Google taken? Do you think this will remain the same over time? Why or why not? In Google the decisions are made in a team. It is not based on the gut feeling of a senior person that is implemented top down. All the decisions are based on the supporting data.

I feel that this might not remain the same over time. As the head count of the company increases, competitive pressure rises, it becomes more and more difficult to follow this approach of decision making. There may be a need of centralized decision making.

Do you see any challenges Google may face in the future because of its emphasis on having a risk-taking culture? I see that Google may face many challenges because of risk taking culture because of its emphasis on risk taking culture. Risk taking may not always yield the right results. When this approach is over used it might hurt the revenues very badly. Google should not take risks without sufficiently prepared for its consequences. Read also G oogle’s business model relies on which of the following to generate revenue

How might a leader like Nooyi influence PepsiCo’s use of P-O-L-C tools beyond her obvious role in the leadership dimension? Beyond her obvious role in the leadership dimension, Nooyi has a very positive influence on PepsiCo’s use of P-O-L-C tools. She is very much liked and respected by everyone. She listens to people around her .With her diverse background she has an appreciation for diversity which adds value to
the company. She assumes that people have good intentions which helps her to avoid misunderstandings and show empathy toward them.

Do you think Indra Nooyi’s vision of “performance with purpose” has been effective? Why or why not? I feel that Nooyi’s vision of “performance with purpose” has totally been effective. In the current trend where people are very health conscious in choosing the food and drink they consume, Nooyi adopted measures to address the obesity issues by improving the nutritional content of PepsiCo. She was the key person in PepsiCo’s acquisition of healthy product lines such as Quaker oats and Tropicana. She is the driving force for reducing PepsiCo’s reliance on high-sugar, high-calorie beverages, and she made sure that PepsiCo removed trans fats from all its products before its competitors. She also wants to drive PepsiCo as an environmentally sustainable company.

 How does charisma relate to leadership? Do you think the CEO of PepsiCo possesses this characteristic? Charisma often relates to leadership. Charismatic individuals have a magnetic personality that strikes their followers. They have a vision around which people can gather. They are energetic and make sure that employees have confidence in them. They address the status quo challenges Undoubtedly CEO of PepsiCo Indra Nooyi possesses this Characteristic. She has the ability to motivate and drive people with her charisma. She has proven this by the results that PepsiCo is shown in the recent times.

What makes Indra Nooyi so successful at her job? Is it her level of authority, or is it something else? I feel Indra Nooyi is a great leader. It is not only her authority that has led her to be so successful in her job but also her goals and her charismatic personality. She has the advantage of having come from a diverse
background, which adds value. She listens to people around her and motivates them. She has a likable personality and earned enormous respect in her job. She is role model for other business leaders today.

What do the types of advisors that Indra Nooyi relies on tell you about her values? Nooyi relies on advisors such as the ex-CEOs of PepsiCo. She is a very collaborative person and she seeks help and information when she needs it.

How much passion does Indra Nooyi seem to bring to her role as CEO of PepsiCo? Indra Nooyi brings in lot of passion to her role as a CEO of PepsiCo. She is a leader with the vision of achieving performance with purpose. She is bent on making PepsiCo a environmentally sustainable company. She is tackling the one of the biggest health problem

The Concept of Follower Readiness As It Relates To Situational Leadership Model

The model suggests that successful leadership is accomplished by selecting the right leadership style, based on the level of followers readiness. Emphasis on the followers in leadership effectiveness reflects the reality that it is the followers who accept or reject the leader. Regardless of what the leader does, effectiveness depends on the actions of his or her followers.

Fred Fiedler, developed the Leadership Contingency Model; and, I think that situational leadership uses the same two leadership dimensions that Fiedler identified: task and relationship behaviors. However, Hersey and Blanchard delved a step further by considering each as either high or low; and also, combining them into four specific leader behaviors: telling (high task-low relationship). The leader defines roles and tells people what, how, when, and where to do various tasks. It emphasizes directive behavior; selling (high task-high relationship).

The leader provides both directive behavior and supportive behavior; participating (high relationship-low task). The leader and follower share in decision making, with the main role of the leader being facilitating and communicating; and also, delegating (low relationship-low task). The leader provides little direction or support. An example of task behavior, for instance, is when I asked my neighbor to show me how to prepare a dish referred to as “arroz con pollo” in her culture. It is a chicken and rice meal that is full of flavor and is truly delicious.

She was very precise and descriptive in telling me what and how much ingredients to use. Also, she clearly explained the steps required to properly prepare the meat and rice.

Four Levels of Follower Readiness

The four levels of follower readiness applied to what I’ve read as follows:

• Level 1: the follower is unable, unwilling, or insecure; lacks confidence, commitment, and motivation.
• Level 2: the follower is unable but willing, motivated, or confident; lacks ability but confident with leader’s guidance.
• Level 3: the follower is able but unwilling or insecure about performing task alone.
• Level 4: the follower is able and willing or confident.

A high school student, in example of a level 2 follower, is hired for his very first job as a crew member at a local fast food restaurant. Although he does not have any prior experience, he is motivated and confident that he is able to learn the task with on-the-job training provided to him by his supervisor.

Four Leadership Styles

1. Style 1, Telling: is characterized by demonstrating, guiding, explaining, and giving feedback on performance. An example, “Just stand by and observe me perform this task. I’ll give you an opportunity to try it as well, so don’t worry. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask me. I’m here to help you in any way you may need. ”
2. Style 2, Selling: is characterized by coaching, persuading, instructing, and clarifying. It is very similar [in terms of structure] to Style 1. The difference is found in the higher amount of supportive behavior provided by the leader, whom engages in more listening and advising. If necessary, the leader will help the follower gain necessary skills through coaching methods.
3. Style 3, Participating: is characterized by supporting, collaborating, facilitating, and reinforcing. The leader shares responsibility for decision-making; the leader does not tell or direct the follower.
4. Style 4, Delegating: is characterized by a hands-off approach that gives the follower room to make and implement decisions.

Matching Leadership Style to Follower Readiness:

Situational Leadership Model R1/S1-Directing low readiness, telling:

The follower has low ability, low willingness; lacks motivation and/or insecure. The leader has high task focus, low relationship focus. It may be a situation where a follower cannot perform a task or lacks confidence (motivation). In this case, the leader will take a guiding role by telling the follower what to do, how to do, and when to do without any concern for the relationship. R2/S2-Guiding low-to-moderate readiness: The follower has some ability and is willing; motivated and confident. The leader provides high direction combined with high support. Coaching is still needed because of followers limited experience. Also, two-way communication is highly used to build followers motivation and confidence to learn new things.

R3/S3- Supporting moderate-to-high readiness:

The follower has high competence, is able but unwilling or insecure. The leader has high relationship focus and low task focus. In this case, the follower is capable of performing a task but is refusing to do so. The leader needs to be available and become a good listener, in essence, find out why the follower is refusing; hence, persuading them to cooperate by encouraging the follower to take the lead.

R4/S4-Delegating to high readiness:

The follower has high ability and high willingness; secure and motivated. The leader has low relationship and low task focus. At this level, followers have less need for support or praise. They have sufficient knowledge, skill, and confidence to perform the task. Although feedback and recognition is not a strong desire, it is welcomed by the follower. Followers need the leader to provide them enough space to [independently] get the job done. The leader gains more freedom at this level and may keep watch from a distant to ensure all is well according to the organizational goals.

Leadership Style Applied by Lewis

Based on the information I have learned from this case study, Lewis varied in utilizing different leadership styles based on the type of situation she was faced with during here tenure at Staples, Inc. In my initial reading of her case study, she explained that company merger distractions were going on and some issues were taking place without resolve. In this particular situation, Lewis pointed out that as a new person on board she wanted to clarify what her goals were for the organization. She wanted things to happen quickly; and, in fact she incorporated the Style 1 leadership due to follower readiness being at an R1 level.

Lewis further explained that when things appeared as a new problem or when a sense of timing is obvious; she intervenes and demonstrates an effective way to complete the task to make change happen quickly. When Lewis became director of operations in 1994 for New England, she concluded that the stores were not performing highly due to a lack of effective leadership. She used the Style 1 type leadership which resulted in her replacing several store associates over a course of one year. Lewis’ leadership style was described by one of her followers as hardworking, inspiring, with disarming charm.

It seems that Lewis achieved referent power based on the leadership skills she possessed and demonstrated. Based on the various opinions mentioned throughout this case study about Lewis’ leadership style, her followers gained trust, acceptance, affection, willingness to follow, and emotional involvement for her as their leader. One example is when Krasnow asked her to lead the marketing and advertising merger team. She found her followers readiness level at R3: able but unwilling or too apprehensive to do what she needed as a leader to accomplish her goals.

Lewis found her followers exceedingly disconnected from the strategic objectives of merchandising and operations. She adapted the leadership style 2 behavior because she believed if they knew more about each other (in terms of each other’s job responsibilities) and the marketing results, inclusive of knowing more about company’s overall objectives, they would do a better job. One of Lewis’ followers described her leadership style as a style 3 explaining that, “She asks the kind of questions that provoke real interaction, so it really is a joint discussion. . . In another example of follower readiness is when Lewis was asked to move into merchandising as vice president and divisional manager for furniture and decorative supplies. She entered the department as an “outsider” and the people who reported to her followers had a strong experience base. Lewis couldn’t afford to waste time having her followers teach her because she needed matters to repair quickly. As a result, Lewis used the participating leadership style #3, which she shared the responsibility for decision making with her followers, however, facilitating and communicating with them as well.

One follower maintained that he initially worried that Lewis were a micro-manager, but he soon realized that she inspires dialogue and debate to ensure that her team dug deeply in their decision making. The readiness level of her followers on this team was at a R4: both able and willing to do what was asked of them. Lewis and her team developed a successful strategy for turning the department around by “replacing over 75% of product assortment. ” Although Lewis started off by using leadership Style 1 as director of operations, she shifted her leadership style according to the maturity of her followers in each situation.

As the maturity of her followers improved to her organizational goals, she shifted her leadership style ranging from a “telling” style 1 to a “selling” style 2, to a “participating” style 3; and, finally, to a “delegating” style.

References

1. Suesse, J. M. (2000).  Jeanne Lewis at Staples, Inc. (A) (Abridged). Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing. Pp. 1-14 (78-91).
2. Hersey, P. , Blanchard, K. H. , and Johnson, D. E. (2008). Management of organizational behavior-leading human resources (9th edition). New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

However, Many research and studies done fail to make solid evidence of gender being a determinant of leadership style , but just give tendency of what seem to be happening, and giving a general feeling. In choosing leadership style a leader considers certain variable which may influence her/ his decision and not necessarily because of the gender factor. The studies also fail to show empirical evidence that a person chooses leadership style just because of gender only. Also the sample normally used is limited and thus can not give more reliable results.

In spite of these entire research findings psychologists, also warn us not to make conclusions that male and female do have some kind of innate management leadership style. It is probable that women, having been aware of how people recent the “bossy” kind of leadership kind only soften they approach when dealing with their workers. However, more studies need to be carried out in this field incorporating other factors that may influence leadership style to get a more reliable data. (Eagly, A. H. et al 2003) Other studies; Compare and contrast studies with each other;

Many studies tend to agree that women are more inclined to Participative or transformational leadership style. As Eagly and Johnson revealed in their studies that women are like leadership style which was more interpersonally oriented while men were found out to embrace task oriented leadership style. The study concluded that women were more democratic. This argument is also supported by Denmark, (1993): who observes that women leadership style is inclined to partnership model, a manner to develop human relationship on the basis of making links.

Subsequently, sociologist also revel that management style of women is different from that of men. Women are observed to be less hierarchical; women leaders organize their management on a broader base. Thus this concludes that women like leadership style that is participatory and more democratic; they will involve themselves in supporting and correlating with their groups. However, these studies may vary in the degree of how participative women leaders can be in their groups. (Denmark, 1993)

However, Maher, (1997) contrast Cann, and Siegfried, (1990) as when he analyzed differentiation in transformational and transactional leadership style in religious leaders in a accordance to gender and examining residence hall administrators and residence hall administrators assistants, he found that they was no noteworthy gender dissimilarity in transformational or transactional leadership style. What studies mean to the practice of Organisational behaviour; According to the studies it is clear that gender plays an important role in leadership styles.

This will also have a direct impact on the organization’s leadership as it style may or will be affected by the gender personality on the top. However, studies show that women and men are similarly effective in some way. Yet, in many cases management efficient in an organisation depends on the management gender differences. For instance, women have been observed to be more guiding and coaching in their leadership style which is more welcomed by female workers in an organisation. Women also have been observed to be more transformational leaders, working as role models, motivating and helping workers to achieve creativity and dedicated.

This kind of approach is more effective especially in the current less hierarchical model of organisations. Yet again, not all organisation is similarly and participatory leadership style may not work customary male dominated organisation for example, the military. (Gardiner and Tiggeman, 1999) Organisation practice will have to differ accordingly, as studies carried out by Eagly and Karau (1995) show, women and men are all effective. The leaders and managers analyzed in the studies were mostly first line supervisors working in laboratories.

At the time the studies revealed that women were more effective in a setting where the organisation was more dominated by women. Similarly, men were found to be more effective in organisation which is male oriented or dominated. Thus, in organisation management, women will get more positive management approval if they are working in sectors which are typically women populated. However, if they are working in male populated sectors it will be much effective if they adapted a more commanding approach.

In similar manner men will have to take a different leadership style which is more democratic when working in women dominated organisations to have an effective leadership. (Eagly and Karau, 1995) Conclusion; Leadership is a very important aspect in any organisation. This is because it greatly determines the success therein. There are various leadership styles that can be incorporated in overall running of an organisation. There is authoritarian leadership which involves telling the employees what needs to be done and how the task should be done or participative more democratic.

Gender plays an important role in deciding which leadership style an individual will adapt. Many studies reveal that women are more inclined to democratic leadership style as opposed to men who are more autocratic in their leadership. Leadership style adapted goes along way in ensuring the success of an organisation. However, more research need to undertaken in future to reveal and certain how true this studies are. As psychologist warns gender alone can not be used to determine the leadership styles adapted by a person.

Today, more organisations are adapting a more democratic leadership styles and women may be in a better position of organisation leadership in the current world.

Reference: Butterfield, A. and Grinnel, J. P. (1999): Re-viewing gender, leadership, and managerial behaviour: Do three decades of research tell us anything  In G. N. Powell (edition); Handbook of gender and work; Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Sage. Cann, A. and Siegfried, W. D. (1990): Gender stereotypes and dimensions of effective leader behaviour. Sex-Roles, Carli, L. L. , and Eagly, A. H. (2001): Gender, hierarchy, and leadership: An introduction. Journal of Social Issues,

Japan, the home country of tech giants Sony, Panasonic, and Sharp, has faced several talent recruitment challenges that have overturned the amounts reputation of excellence to a reputation that “Is no longer considered to be on the cutting edge of cool. ” The appeal to work in Japan and for a Japanese firm isn’t appealing for any longer for several reasons. For a country with companies that “were next to Western firms in popularity’, Japan now has a smaller economy than China and has a less practical workforce compared to the skilled and specialized talent of the young in China, the West, and India.

Beyond Japan’s poor performing economy, Japan has also faced some political mishaps that also made the country less appealing for the monger talent. With Japan on the brink of a territorial war with China, recruitment by Japanese firms of young Chinese talent has “fallen by more than half this heavy. Another struggle that job seekers face is Japan’s strict and strong traditional sense and its stubbornness in letting go of traditional work ethic practices and Japan’s “way of professional life. Japan’s limited use of the English language has also scared many International talents from seeking employment In Japanese firms. American, Chinese and European new graduates don’t want to Invest In the time or energy it would take to adjust their way of life to the Japanese way of life. The most important challenge to the shortage of young talent in Japan is, the belief that traditional Japanese companies don’t give new talent much responsibility.

Furthermore, the Japanese still feel that employees should start of small and “learn the ropes over time” whereas the Chinese and western firms hire new talent to utilize their abilities, strengths and specializations. Tankard points out however that there are some Japanese firms such as Reawaken and Deana “that are no longer following the rotational belief that new hires should be given a reprieve to prove themselves. ” These firms also disagree with Japan’s traditional “one-size-fits-all approach” which recently hasn’t proved successful as exemplified by Sony lack of innovation and technological advancements.

Firms like Reawaken and Deana, have been successful in outsourcing students from MIT and Indian universities and have already given them excellent quality production both successfully and satisfactorily. As many firms are slowly transitioning to this approach, several firms are also using mergers and acquisitions as a gateway to obtain high-quality talent. Taking explains how companies such as Reawaken and NET Data, who are expanding globally through acquisitions, have been successful because they have access to larger pools of talent.

Analysis Introduction

Over the past decade or so, Japan has seen a downward shift in economy, innovation, employment opportunities, and popularity. Even before the earthquake and tsunami that struck the Japanese islands, several large Japanese corporations such as Sony, Sharp, and Panasonic that were known as industry leaders and were dollied by the rest of the world, experienced horrible financial performance strictly due to a change in talent management requirements and practices that had proven to be more successful than the Japanese professional traditions.

It’s important to ask; how do the Japanese do things differently? Japanese firms do a number of things extremely well. One is to train their people carefully, a strategy that many successful U. S. Firms also employ. Management attitudes toward quality also are quite different. The Japanese philosophy is that anything worth doing in the area of quality is worth overdoing. Workers are trained for all Jobs on the line, even though they eventually are assigned to a single workstation.

This method of “training overkill” ensures that everyone can perform every Job perfectly and results in two important outcomes or if someone is moved to another Job, he or she can handle the work without any additional assistance and the workers realize that management puts an extremely high value on the need for quality. The Japanese do not accept the common U. S. Strategy of building a product with quality that’s “good enough. ” Although Japan seems to believe that it’s traditions ND it’s the professional way of life is the only and correct way of life, many Japanese natives including Mr.Highchair, the CEO of Reawaken, believe that this one-size-fits-all approach no longer works in emerging Japanese corporations. The training that Japanese firms used to give and that traditional firms still give using the “training overkill” method is insufficient compared to the education and training that Mr.. Highchair states makes Chinese talent more suitable. It is important to relate the findings by Taking to concepts that we have analyzed in section three of the course text and in specific, chapter ten which cuisses international training and management development.

In the next section, I plan to discuss some training functions discussed in the text that Japan can adopt when dealing with outsourced new talent that has proven successful to the both the firm and the talents development. The text does serve a great role in pointing out five concepts that the Japanese can adopt to drive better usage of outsourced talent and it’s global workforce. These concepts are: I. “think and act globally’; iii. “empower teams to create a global future”; lb. “make learning a core competence for the global organization”; . ND “both the global organization and its individual members must constantly reinvent themselves”. [Pages 255-256, International Human Resource Management, E (Global HARM)] I’. Think and Act Globally For Japanese firms to succeed in thinking and acting globally, global Japanese corporations must train talent to think of all markets in the world and strategies how to succeed in each individual market and not only the Japanese market. A decade ago, Japan did not have to think and act globally as Japan led markets and industries into thinking that their ways were the best ways.

The Japanese were persuasive in their practices due to the success and strength of global Mines such as Sony and Panasonic who led the world at one in innovation, financial success, and employment satisfaction. Develop Global Leadership Skills Another practice Japanese firms need to succeed is they must also challenge talent with global learning ideas and a build it’s forefronts to develop global leadership skills. Reawaken and Deana exemplify how through trust, all firms can build leadership in talents. In Japan the traditional way is to start of small and slow and build your way up.

Unfortunately, this out dated practice is no longer suitable for today’s working generation, which is always looking for advancement. Giving an talent the tools they need is usually enough to get the talent thinking on their own feet, accomplishing tasks with autonomy, and leading others successfully through cooperation, respect and integrity. lb. Empower Teams to Create a Global Future Japan must also empower teams to create a global future to be able to be successfully and competent in foreign and domestic markets.

Japanese Mines can empower teams by creating expectations that require for talent to work on projects tit other international divisions. By allowing for talents across multi-regions the ability to perform organizational projects will allow for talents to build better problem-solving skills. As we learn through the course, different regions have different traditions, standards, regulations and ways of doing things. By allowing for cross-team cooperation, talents can find unique approaches and develop practices that can suit headquarters or several regions beyond those involved. With firms in Japan seeking mergers and acquisitions, empowering teams to cooperate globally should only become easier.

Make Learning a Core Competence for the Global Organization firms strong focus on its goals and missions and task execution. Justine mentions that because of his firms focus, he believes that he will “emerge with a strong set of engineering skills” that he wouldn’t gain elsewhere. With out much realization Deana has really become a core competent global organization that focuses on developing a learning atmosphere throughout all of the firm’s doings. By doing so Japanese firms, like never before, can adopt an ability to learn and project outcomes much faster than competitors, which creates a sustainable advantage. ‘. Constant Re-invention of the Firm and the Talent “Training-overkill” and other traditional training practices followed by the Japanese are efficient for production, but not advantageous or beneficial for the development of the talent. Training-overkill and practices where Japanese talents are trained on every aspect of the position and how to resolve every problem can be detrimental for the growth of the talent.

A talent needs to be able to confidently analyze, assess, and gather thoughts on the talents self-development in order to make the next move to advance his or her career. Reassessing also creates room for a talent to seek lateral promotion and assist in creation of strategies that allow for the talent to reach success. In today’s highly competitive and everyday globally changing economy, it is important for training practices to encourage talents to strategies to avoid stagnation and lack of interest in their positions.

Conclusion

The challenges that Japan currently faces are not challenges that are impossible to overcome. With the success of Japanese firms such as Deana, Reawaken, and NET Data, it’s only a matter of time that these firms’ successes are recognized. Their constant mission to veer away from the norms of the Japanese tradition that they know don’t work and veer towards new strategies that develop the firm globally will be the testament to their success. With their continuous efforts to train talent to world standards and beyond, these firms can only perform as well as the talent they recruit. It’s also important to realize that with Japanese firms moving toward outsourcing special talents, that innovative standards that were once prevalent in the nation, will soon return.

Discussion Questions

If the Japanese were to outsource, how can the “new’ hiring strategies and raining models prepare the talent for today’s challenges while keeping the Japanese way of doing things in tact. Mention three new attributes found in new hires from China, India and the Western hemisphere that can be merged with former Japanese practices and traditions. 2. As discussed in the analysis, the Japanese are known for “training-overkill”. Will the new strategies found in several Japanese firms, such as Reawaken create inefficiency? Will hiring talent based on specific skill-sets be challenging for Japanese who are acclimated to training for every position? How will this affect Japan’s strict