Being Apple Steve Jobs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Being Apple Steve Jobs - Essay Example Though Jobs did not express command-and-control leadership style, though he is known to have been quite abrasive, he does take accountability for Apple’s success by modelling his behaviours against very high standards and then visibly trying to live up to them. Charismatic attitude and inspiration for the rest of the organisational culture is where Jobs maintains transformational leadership style. This style is about building a harmonious, dedicated organisation through ethical behaviours and social charisma. By establishing Apple’s vision to be revolutionary and innovative, he uses his personality as a means to gain support and dedication to achieving greatness for the company. His rock star-modelled speeches at Apple conventions is another aspect of his transformational leadership style that defies the norms of business and puts the company as a leader in change management. Jobs’ leadership style can be analysed using many different leadership templates, such a s change management, innovation management, and many other qualitative tools associated with management theory. Jobs is a people-centred individual when it comes to their autonomous roles at Apple, thus empowering individuals through transformational interactions. Jobs also utilises the public relations word-of-mouth about Apple values, vision and principles as a means to measure his leadership style as a benchmark against other companies that follow these same leadership standards. His transformational leadership style is evident in nearly all of his values and beliefs and how he goes about representing them in all of his interactions with subordinate employees and peers. He even looks to the external markets for opinion and better labour to ensure that the company is equipped to handle ongoing change, another factor that drives transformational style. Jobs should be considered a benchmark for transformational style by other company leaders. Jobs and culture His style can be compar ed to other companies that have more rigid, centralized hierarchies of control where information is disseminated from the top layers without much employee feedback or innovation involvement. Steve Jobs’ leadership style transcends the normal business structure which builds a better organisational culture. Even though he provides an informal and innovative-minded environment to empower his managers and employees, he still maintains strict standards by which employees must live up to. They are either rewarded for their successes or punished (a transactional approach) if they fail to meet his performance standards. This is somewhat duplicitous, a blend of transformational and transactional leadership that is contingent on success. The freedoms he provides, such as casual dress and environments where free movement is tolerated, build more dedication and loyalty to meeting performance and innovation goals. Jobs is able to build a positive organisational culture by taking personal accountability for actions and then applying these same standards to everyone else. Jobs, himself, recognises that his standards include firing individuals who do not meet up to Apple performance obligations, however humanely. This shows that even though individuals experience these considerable

Discussion Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 17

Discussion Questions - Essay Example The other ways of engaging stakeholders is by using evaluation recommendations and organization. Among the seven stakeholder analysis and identification techniques, the most valuable technique involves developing facilitation skills. According to Wholey, Hatry and Newcomer (2010), evaluators need the facilitation skills because they are helpful when it comes to building relationships and managing conflicts among other activities. Developing facilitation skills such as people skills, social skills and technical skills is the most effective way of deal with all work. To improve or develop these skills, evaluators have to keep practicing and look for opportunities and wait for feedback. Engaging with other experienced evaluators is also helpful. Evaluators who work on perfecting these skills are more advantaged than evaluators who do not have the formal feedback when involved. Stakeholders can use the power direction versus the interest grid to determine their influence on each other. Stakeholders understand how influence adds depth to power versus interest grid in different ways. One, the stakeholders are in a better position, to identify the actors that are the key to promoting a smooth evaluation process. In addition, stakeholders gain the power to know where there are existing channels of influence or where such channels need get created. Using the power direction versus the interest grid also clarifies where to get coalition support to promote a smooth evaluation process or formation of findings. The completed power versus interest grid is later used to complete the bases of power-direction of interest diagram. The diagram is used by each stakeholder to indicate the source of power that is available to them. The diagram is also effective in showing the stakeholders their interests which they seek to achieve. According to Wholey, Hatry and Newcomer (2010), power may come from a person’s access or control over different resources. In context to