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2 Table of Contents Introduction... 3 Task The link between strategic management and leadership The impact of management and leadership styles on strategic decisions How leadership styles can be adapted to different situations... 5 Task The impact that the selected theories of management and leadership have on organizational strategy A leadership strategy that supports organizational directions... 8 Task Appropriate methods to review current leadership requirements Plan for the development of future situations requiring leadership Task Plan the development of leadership skills for a specific requirement The usefulness of methods used to plan the development of leadership skills Conclusion References

3 Introduction Leadership is one of the most widely used topics in an organizational context today. Te leadership style adapted or adopted by the organization determines the success or failure of an organization (Cumming and Worley, 2004). Thus, the importance that the leadership of an organization carries is considered a fact of immense importance. The focus of the discussion is leadership aspects along with strategic decisions of organizational context. The selected organization for the discussion is Microsoft Corporation. There are four main aspects discussed in the paper and each covers some important areas in related to the given topic. The conclusions were based on the discussion of the paper and they are presented at the end of the discussion. Task The link between strategic management and leadership Strategic management is one of the important aspects in an organization today. Strategy is simply the long-term direction of an organization. The strategy has long-term direction of achieving organizational goals. Management of the activities involved in strategic direction of an organization is the strategic management. The way in which an organization manages its strategies is largely depended on various organization factors such as the organizational structure, organizational culture, the management style, the leadership style, etc. (Alkhafaji, 2003). Of these, the role that leadership and leadership style of the organization has to play is of utmost importance. Strategic management of the organization consists of various elements such as vision, mission, goals, objectives etc. These are the long-time directions of the organization. The way in which these elements are fulfilled is determined by the leadership strategies of the organization. In other words, the question, How do we get there is answered on the basis of leadership strategy of the organization (Rice, 2001). Thus, the leadership strategy becomes the vehicle through which the strategic elements of the organization are achieved. Hence, the link between the strategic management activities and the leadership of the organization is very much important. In the case of the selected organization also this is same. 3

4 For example, in the case of Microsoft organization, their vision is to create innovative technology that is accessible to everyone and that adapts to each person's needs. Accessible technology eliminates barriers for people with disabilities and it enables individuals to take full advantage of their capabilities ( In order to achieve this vision, the organization uses an effective leadership strategy, democratic and Laissiz Faire leadership style. The reason behind the continuous innovation of the organization is its leadership style where the employees of the organization are given the necessary freedom to innovate and be leaders to them. They are not bound by strict leadership rules and regulations within the organization and thus, there is immense room for creativity and innovation. Thus, Microsoft by being true to its vision is one of the most innovative organizations in the world and one of the top organizations in the world with a strong reputation for is employee friendliness. Hence, it is clear that the strategic management activities of the organization and the leadership are closely related. 1.2 The impact of management and leadership styles on strategic decisions The management and the leadership styles of the organization are almost similar in their outlook to the handling of organizational activities. The outlook of the management and the leaders of the organization have important insights to the strategic decisions of the organization. Leadership is the manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating people in the organization (Wittmann and Reuter, 2008). The management is concerned with taking out the best form people for the success of the organization. Thus, the right combination of these two drivers is very much important for the successful operations of the organization. The strategic decisions of the organization are largely determined by the way in which the organization combines the leadership styles and the management approach that the organization deploys. When consider the case of Microsoft Corporation, their business strategies are; Continuing longstanding commitment and leadership in developing innovative accessibility solutions ( Making the computer easier to see, hear, and use by building accessibility into Microsoft products and services ( 4

5 Promoting innovation of accessibility in the development community and working with industry organizations to encourage innovation ( Building collaborative relationships with a wide range of organizations to raise awareness of the importance of accessibility in meeting the technology needs of people with disabilities ( When consider the above strategic decisions of the organization, the leadership style that the organization adopts should be one that promotes creativity, innovation and delegation. Thus, the existing leadership styles of the organization, democratic and Laissiz Faire leadership style is very much important. The decisions are made at the top level and the achievement of them lies in the employees of the organization. Thus, the freedom that the leadership style gives for the employees is important (Gilley and Eggland, 2000). When consider the Microsoft Corporation, their success in the industry so far makes it clear that their leadership and management styles have been effective. One of the most important aspects to be remembered is that the leadership style used by the head of the organization. Bill Gates is considered of the important and successful leaders in the world, because of his inspirational leadership to the others. Thus, in the top most position, the leadership styles is inspiration and down the line, it is democratic and Laissiz Faire, which can be considered one of the successful approach to make strategic decisions of the organization. 1.3 How leadership styles can be adapted to different situations Although an organization can have one, prominent leadership style practices in their operations, there can be instances where the same leadership style will not be effective as in other cases. In other words, the situational requirements determine the type of leadership that should be adopted. For example, if we take a situation where a change management activity is taking place in an organization, there can be a complicated situation in the organization where different parties in the organization may bear different reactions to the change both positive as well as negative (Johnson et al, 2011). In such a context, a leadership style such as democratic and Laissiz Faire leadership styles will not be effective, as they will give unnecessary power for different parties to influence change management activities in a negative way. In such as context, 5

6 the most important leadership style will be autocratic leadership style where the tight reins will help organization to achieve the change management objectives as planned and expected. However, autocratic leadership style may not be effective for day to day operations of the organization. Strict leadership styles are not suitable to take the best out of people in the organization. In such a context, the leadership style can be one like democratic and Laissiz Faire leadership styles. Thus, the different situations require different leadership styles for the success of the organization (Bateman, and Snell, 2004). When consider the case of Microsoft organization, as identified in the previous section, the leadership style of the top leader of the organization is inspirational or rather the transformational leadership style. Transformational leader identifies the needed change, creates a vision to guide the change through inspiration, and executes the change with the commitment of the members of the group. The characteristics of transformational leader are identified as enthusiastic, energetic, passionate, visionary, and etc. It is this leadership style that has helped Microsoft Corporation organization to be one of the leading innovative organizations in the world. Being positively change oriented has helped them to excel in their operations. Thus, the unique combination of leadership styles within the Microsoft organization can be considered one of their success drivers. Most importantly, they have adapted different leadership styles to suit the situational requirements and thereby gained immense success in the industry. Thus, selecting the leadership style that suits the organizational requirement can be considered one of the important strategic decisions of the organization as in the case of Microsoft Corporation. Task The impact that the selected theories of management and leadership have on organizational strategy The discussions in the previous section made it clear that different situations require different leadership styles and strategies. However, this is not to state that there should not be a consistent leadership style in the organization. The leadership and the management styles that organization adapts should have a positive impact on the organizational strategy (Bruce, 2006). As identified 6

7 through the discussions in the previous section, there are several leadership and management styles in the organization. One of the important leadership style used in Microsoft Corporation is the transformational leadership style adapted by the head of the organization, Bill Gates. Transformational leader identifies the needed change, creates a vision to guide the change through inspiration, and executes the change with the commitment of the members of the group. There are four main aspects that can be identified in this leadership style namely; Intellectual stimulation Individualized concentration Inspirational motivation Idealized influence (Dobson et al, 2004). There are four main aspects that are strategically important for Microsoft Corporation namely; accessibility of the products and services, leadership and awareness, innovation and collaboration (windows.microsoft.com). The transformational leadership style aids these strategic aspects in an effective way in other words, the leadership style of the organization as well as the strategies of the organization go hand in hand. The other leadership style important for the organization is democratic leadership style. This leadership style allows the employees of the organization to act on their accordance to achieve the stated larger goal (Johnson and Scholes, 2002). For example, if we take, innovation, there are aspects that Microsoft Corporation talks about; reducing complexity of accessible development, engaging in research and development, and people-centric product design. It democratic leadership style that facilitate these strategic directions of the organization. When consider the management styles, there are various management styles that can be identified such as behaviorist approach, socio-technical approach, decision theory approach, management science approach, systemic approach and contingency approach (Blaire and Hitchcock, 2005). In the case of Microsoft Corporation, the management style that is being 7

8 practiced is a humanistic approach where the organization is people-oriented in their approach to management. This goes hand in hand with the leadership strategy adapted y the organization. Thus, the effective combination of the leadership style and the management style of the organization can be considered one of the success factors behind the operations in the organization. 2.2 A leadership strategy that supports organizational directions The discussions in the previous sections made it clear that the leadership and the management strategy that the organization adapts are important in supporting the organizational decisions in their operations. The discussion so far analyzed various leadership styles and of them, the transformational leadership style appeared to be the most successful and effective one when consider the operations of Microsoft Corporation. There are four aspects addressed through transformational leadership style as discussed namely; intellectual stimulation, individualized concentration, inspirational motivation and idealized influence (Bruce, 2006). Intellectual stimulation is about encouraging creativity in the organization. One of the core strategies of Microsoft Corporation is to engage in innovation. Thus, this aspect of the transformational leadership style facilitates the creativity and innovation of the organization. Accordingly, aspects such as innovative product designs, user friendly devices and etc have become part and parcel of product development of the organization. The individualized concern is about paying attention to the followers individually. Collaboration in the strategy decision of the organization is linked with this aspect (Bernard, 1990) The next aspect of the transformational leadership style is inspirational leadership. The transformational leader is willing to help, support and guide the followers when and where necessary and he/she has the qualities such as friendliness, no personal biases, effective communication skills and etc. It is the ability of the transformational leader to motivate the followers of him/her by letting them feel the passion for achievement of the desired vision These become the inspirational leadership qualities by the leader of the organization. These qualities are important for the leader to inspire and motivate the others in the organization. When consider the leadership and awareness strategic decision of Microsoft Corporation, this leadership quality of the transformational leader becomes very much important. 8

9 As per the Kotler, (2000), Following management and leadership theories are very needful for the Microsoft company for their success. Corporate governance- The ideas surrounding corporate governance are increasingly useful for small organizations as well as the very biggest. Corporate governance also offers interesting perspectives for leadership, authority, ego, wealth creation, greed, ethics, risk and etc. The Psychological Contract- Many other experts have contributed ideas to the subject since then, and continue to do so, either specifically focusing on the psychological contract, or approaching it from a particular perspective, of which there are many. Maslow s Hierarchy of needs- Most f us motivated by needs, Abraham Maslow s hierarchy of needs states that we must satisfy each need in turn, starting with the frist, which deals with the most obvious needs for survival itself. Task Appropriate methods to review current leadership requirements For an organization to review the leadership requirements of the organization, there are various methods that can be used (Leopold & Harris, 2009). Simply, a thorough analysis is required in order to determine the current leadership requirements of the organization. One of the important methods to analyze this is to conduct an analysis of the strategic elements of the organization (Torrington et al, 2002). Simply, the strategic elements of the organization determine the type of leadership strategies required for the organization. In the case of Microsoft organization, the strategic elements are; 9

10 Vision to create innovative technology that is accessible to everyone and that adapts to each person's needs. Accessible technology eliminates barriers for people with disabilities and it enables individuals to take full advantage of their capabilities Mission to enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential. Strategic goals These were discussed in details in the previous sections. In order to achieve these vision, mission and goals in future, it is important that the best suit leadership style is selected. Conducting a SWOT analysis is the next method that can be used. The SWOT analysis helps the organization to analyze the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the organization (Amasson, 2010). In the case of Microsoft Corporation, a SWOT listing can be done as follows; With the strong brand name of the organization will be a great opportunity to face current market situations. Because, company brand name is give good impressions to the customers. Look in to the economic climate, Most important areas are Human, Financial, physical and availability of resources. Microsoft having separate CSR work for the keep organization in customers mind. Some of CSR event can be noted as follows. Donating $ 1.7 Million to support Rebuilding of Gulf States Microsoft recognizes critical Role of software in understanding, Managing and reducing Companies impact on the environment Microsoft Announces partnerships and programs to benefits more than 80 million people in Latin America by 2010 As per the repots release by Microsoft they have system to collect and innovate new technology for their system. They are having seminars and competitions to the world and pick good innovation ideas to their company (White, 2004). 10

11 3.2 Plan for the development of future situations requiring leadership A comprehensive analysis helps an organization to select the best suitable leadership style for the success of the organization. However, the identification is not sufficient, a properly laid plan is necessary in order to get the maximum benefit of the leadership strategy that is being adapted. Thus, a plan can be set in order to determine the future situations requiring leadership. Following is the process that can be used in this regard. Vision, mission, goals and strategic elements of the organization As discussed in previous sections, first it is important to analyze the strategic elements of the organization in order to determine the required leadership style for the organization (Mullins, 2005). The previous sections discussed these aspects in detail 11

12 Situational analysis This is where the SWOT, PELSTEL and other methods discussed in the previous section come into play. These methods should be used in order to determine type of leadership as well as possible future requirements that will emerge for the leadership aspects of the organization. This is one of the important steps in the process. Analyzing the existing leadership styles of the organization This is another important aspect in the plan for a future leadership requirement for the organization. This step is closely linked with the situational analysis of the organization. The effectiveness of the current leadership style should be analyzed against the performance of the organization, the satisfactory level of employees, etc. (Montana and Charnov, 2008). This step helps the organization to analyze the performance of current leadership of the organization as well. Consider the strategic decisions against the required leadership strategies This helps the organization to determine the type of leadership that should be adapted by the organization. If the current leadership styles are effective in the case of strategic decisions, the leadership styles can be continued (Foot, 2002). If not, steps should be taken in order to change the leadership styles so that the strategic decisions can be made effectively. Take measures to establish the new leadership styles If the current leadership style is not effective, steps should be taken in order to establish a new leadership style. This should be done in a systematic way as in the case of change management so that the new leadership style can be established successfully. Evaluation After the establishment of the new leadership style or the continuation of the existing leadership style, it is important that the same is evaluated so that it can be determined whether the leadership style is effective or any changes should be done to the leadership style. 12

13 In this way, a systematic process should be in place in order to determine the best leadership style for the organization. Task Plan the development of leadership skills for a specific requirement The requirements for future should be analyzed in advance so that the plans can be done in order to be successful in future. In the case of leadership of the organization also this is the same. The future needs of the organization should identify in advance in order to prepare the personnel for the role in future. One of the challenges that is ahead of the Microsoft Corporation is the increasing competition in the market. In order to face this fierce competition, a comprehensive leadership should be developed within the organization. The comprehensive leadership style should focus on the personal skills where the ability to perform a task in his or her own way by an individual and also professional skills also should be taken into consideration. Some of the aspects that should be paid attention in the leader are; The charisma of the person Communication effectiveness in both oral and written aspects (Hitt et al, 2010). Time management skills Multi-task handling skills People skills of the person Problem solving and decision making abilities The knowledge about the company as well as the industry, the competitors, related industries and etc. (Huffington et al 2004). In order to meet the competitive landscape in future, it is important that the organization look into these aspects in the leader. One of the important aspects that should be paid attention in this regard is not dependent on one leadership style which is prevalent in the organization currently. In other words, a future need should always be future oriented and thus, the alternative 13

14 leadership styles available for the organization should be taken into consideration (Johnson et al, 2011). For example, if Microsoft is going to face a crisis situation in future in terms of operations in future, they might have to consider alternative leadership strategies such as autocratic leadership. The organization should always be predictable in order to face the challenges in future. Accordingly, in determining the future leadership of the organization, there are various aspects that they can take into consideration such as; Forecasted sales and profits of the organization New products and services to be launched Expansions, growth strategies, alliances, and partnerships to be engaged (Daft, 2010). The activities of the competitor The trends and changes in the industry Strategic elements and decisions of the organization (Cole, 2002). All these aspects should be taken into consideration for the development of future leadership in the organization. 4.2 The usefulness of methods used to plan the development of leadership skills The discussions in the previous sections used various methods and models in order to analyze the need for future leaders in the organization and also the effectiveness of current leadership. Various models used in this regard gave a comprehensive idea as to why, how and what aspects should be taken into consideration when making decisions in relation to leadership strategies of the organization. SWOT analysis is one of the models used in this regard and the usefulness of this model in terms of the organization as well as for future needs is very much important. Giving a comprehensive idea about the strengths and weaknesses of the organization is one of the important aspects of the model (Kets de Vries, 2011). This analysis gives an idea as to what strengths should be used in order to deliver effective leadership strategies within the organization. Further, it helps the organization to identify the weaknesses that they face and the steps should be taken in order to 14

15 eliminate them or to turn them into strengths through the use of effective leadership strategies within the organization (Marchington, & Wilkinson, 2006). PESTEL analysis gives an idea about the overall external environment of the organization. Macro environmental factors are beyond the control of the organization (Robbins, 2003). Thus, the leadership should be competent enough to face these challenging macro environmental factors effectively. Thus, a thorough environmental analysis done through a model like PESTEL helps the organization to be predictable in leadership strategies that they wish to deploy in future and also to shape the current leadership strategies of the organization as well. Hence, PESTEL analysis also become very much useful in determining the future leadership needs of the organization. Porter s Five Force analysis is another closely related model that can be considered effective. This model determines the attractiveness of an industry (Amos et al, 2009). This also determines the type of leadership required by the organization to meet the future needs of the organization as well. Thus, this model can also be considered effective to determine the type of leadership required by the organization. Conclusion Leadership is one of the important determinants of the success or failure of an organization. Many successful organizations such as Microsoft Corporation have excelled in their operations due to the effective leadership they received from their leaders. Hence, it can be concluded that having the right leadership style in the organization is one of the success factors that lead the organization to glory (Witcher and Chao, 2010). The theories and practical aspects discussed in the paper became useful o understand the importance of leadership strategies play in the organization. 15

16 References Alkhafaji A. F. (2003) Strategic Management: Formulation, Implementation and Control in a Dynamic Environment, Routledge, USA Amasson, A., C. (2010), Strategic Management: From Theory to Practice: Routledge, Oxen Amos, T., Ristow, A., Ristow, L., and Pearse, N. J. (2009) Human Resource Management, Juta and Company Ltd Armstrong, M. (2008) Strategic Human Resource Management: A Guide to Action, Kogan Page Publishers Bateman, T. S., and Snell, S. A. (2004), Management: The new competitive landscape [2nd Ed.]. McGraw-Hill: New York. Bohlander, G., and Scott, S. (2010) Principles of Human Resources Management, South Western Cengage Learning. Blaire, A., and Hitchcock, D. (2005) Business and Environment, Taylor and Fransis library: UK Bruce, A. (2006) How to Motivate Every Employee: 24 Proven Tactics to Spark Productivity the Workplace, McGraw-Hill Professional Burmfitt, K., Barnes, S., Norris, L., and Jones, J. (2001) The Competitive Business Environment, Nelson Thomas Limited: UK Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2004), Organization Development and Change, 8th Ed., South-Western College Pub Cole, G.A. (2002) Personnel and Human Resources Management, 5 th ed. ELST, London Daft, R. L. (2010) New era of Management, South Western Cengage Learning Dobson, P., Starkey, K., and Richards, J. (2004), Strategic Management: Issues and Cases, Wiley-Blackwell, London 16

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18 Mullins, L. (2005) Management and Organizational Behavior, 7 th ed. Prentice Hall, Pearson Education, Edinburgh Robbins, S. (2003), Essentials of Organisational Behaviour, Prentice Hall International, London Torrington, D., Hall, L., and Taylor, S. (2002), Human Resource Management 5th Edition FT Prentice Hall, Harlow. White, C. (2004), Strategic Management, Palgrave Macmillan, USA Witcher, B., and Chao V. (2010) Strategic Management: Principles and Practice, Cengage Learning EMEA, UK Wittmann, R., and Reuter, M.P. (2008) Strategic Planning: How to Deliver Maximum Value through Effective Business Strategy, Kogan Page Publisher 18