Bmg449 Behavioural Sciences : Organizational Assessment Answers

“Pick an aspect of OB focusing on improving human performance. Argue the business case for why organisations should focus on this important area and provide an in-depth best-practice example of an organisation effectively doing so”

Introduction:

Organizational behavior is the study which assesses the human behavior in the settings of organization, and it is also considered as interface between the human behavior and the organization and also between the two or more organizations itself (Post, 2017). Leadership plays very important role in the success of any organization, and organizations fail to work effectively in the absence of effective leadership. Organization is created for the purpose of achieving the frame of objectives, and these objectives are achieved by the human group. Therefore, it is necessary to control this human group with effective leadership. 

This paper discusses the one aspect of organization behavior that is Leadership by stating the business case for the purpose of analyzing the importance of this aspect. Leadership is a valuable process of social influence under which individual supports its team mates, subordinates, other employees, and external employees. It is generally defined as ability of the management for taking sound decisions and others to perform as well. In other words, leadership means directing the others towards achieving the common goal. There are various institutions which adopt different leadership styles for increasing the performance of their employees. Apple Inc is one the leading US based multinational corporations which tries to enhance the effective performance of the employees by adopting different leadership styles. Lastly this paper is concluded with brief conclusion.

Leadership & its importance:

Leadership is essential for effective business, and for achieving the objectives of organization, good leadership is the most important factor. Following facts highlight the importance of leadership:

• It helps in influencing the behavior of people, which means manager can influence its subordinates with his ability of leadership.  Leader brings the human group under his control in such way that human group putt their best efforts in achieving the objectives stated by organization. Therefore, good leaders always receive good results from their followers.
• Leaders help their followers in fulfilling their needs, which means leader must establish personal relationships with their followers, and he also help their followers for the purpose of fulfilling their needs. There is an important question related to this approach which states why any human group follows a particular person? The answer to this question is very clear which states that leader of the group provide the security to its followers, and also the opportunity for earning wealth, right to work, and understand their feelings. This is the reason people follow the leaders. If person consider the above mentioned needs of the employees, and they willingly accept that leader.

Types of Leadership:

Before discussing the leadership style adopted by Apple Inc, it is necessary to understand the different leadership styles and characteristics of leadership. There are various types of leadership style for the purpose of leading the organization or other people. It must be noted that not all of these styles are suitable for all kind of situations. Some of these styles are stated below:

• Autocratic leadership: in this type of style it is the leader who holds all the authority and responsibility, which means leader can make all the decisions by their own and they does not consult with their employees. They make the decision and communicate those decisions to their subordinate and also expect from the employee the prompt implementation of the decision. Generally, Steve job was considered as autocratic leader by some of his employees because decisions made by him are made with very minimum consultation. Decisions made by Steve allowed him to respond to changes occurred in business environment very quickly such as environmental changes includes dealing with their competitors like Microsoft. Because of his manipulative behavior, Steve was considered as autocratic leader. In various meetings his behavior was considered as rude and obnoxious. Steve needs everything perfect, and because of this quest he has domineering presence which make some of his employees fear him.
• Democratic leadership: in this subordinates of the organization also participate in the decision making process and it mainly focus on the contribution of subordinates. Steve job show very less democratic skills in his career, as he is considered as autocratic leader. Later, Steve put various efforts to make his leadership democratic, and when jobs relied on his employee’s and accepts their contribution then also Apple begins their ascent. However, leadership style of Tim Cook is different from Steve Jobs, current CEO of the company. Apple shows huge growth in the leadership of Tim Cook because he shows immense confidence in his member’s. Tim appoints number of experienced and skilled peoples in their areas and this creates the chain for delegating the authority the current success of apple was built (Forbes, 2011).
• Strategic leadership style: strategic leadership style includes the person as leader who is the head of the organization, and it is not necessary that organization leader must be at the top of the organization. As per the observers of industry, Job is the visionary leader who had the ability to grab the opportunities and think differently. Because of the visionary power of the Job, apple transformed as one of the biggest companies in the world from mere a struggling unit. Steve Jobs vision to make the best products make the Apple a market leader in the technology industry. Jobs were considered as the best architecture of these products. He mainly focuses on the innovation, and combined the technical vision with the consumer expectation for the purpose of creating such products which became benchmark for the industry.
• Transformational leadership: it mainly focuses on the leadership which helps in initiating the changes in the organization, groups, oneself and others. In Apple both type of leadership styles are used such as transactional or transformational. Transformation leaders help in initiating the changes in the organization, groups, oneself and others. Steve Jobs was the transformational leader because he initiates the changes at workplace, and help their followers in adopting these changes.  
• Team leadership: team leadership involves the formation of future picture such as where organization stands and what it will stand for (Nanjundeswaraswamy, 2014). Steve Jobs always prefer team leadership, as he was considered as the most visionary leader and he always grabs opportunities. Steve usually adopts the changes and always makes changes in his strategies for adopting these changes. On the other hand, Tim Cook shows confidence in his member’s, and he appoints number of experienced and skilled peoples in their areas.

Leadership is considered very important element of organization behavior because it results in higher performance by the team members, and it also motivates the employees and boost their morale for the purpose of adopting the change occurred in both internal and external environment. It also facilitates the success of organization by creating the responsibility and accountability of members of the organization. In other words, leadership enhances the value in organization.

After considering the above facts it is clear, that Steve Jobs generally possess different traits of leadership, which helps the company in achieving this success and position of market leader in this industry.

About the Company:

Apple is the American multinational corporation which operates mainly in the consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. Best products of the company include the Macintosh line of computers, I pod, I phone, and I pad. Software of apple also includes the Mac OS X operating system, media browser of I tunes, productivity software related to work suit, et. (Rawlinson, 2017).

Leadership style adopted by Apple Inc:

Leadership is generally considered as skill, sometimes person born with that skill or it has been developed with the passage of time because leading the team of people is difficult task. On the other hand, unique leadership styles are adopted by the Apple Company such as planning, designing, organizing, structuring, managing the change, implement human resource management, understanding and encouraging team work, motivate the employees and also rewards the employees, framing the strategy for controlling the link function, etc.

For any organization leadership is considered as driving force and for the purpose of conducting the operations of the organization it is necessary to apply efficient management skills. Steve Job was the most responsible person of the Apple. Since the formative stages of the Apple mention of Apple or Steve jobs will be considered as reference to each other. For the purpose of summarizing this argument Apple is considered as Steve jobs and Steve jobs as Apple. Decisions made by Steve jobs were the reason of success of Apple (McInerney, 2011).

At the formative stage of Apple, leadership team was made for the purpose of design and made innovative and new products, and this was attained by employing passionate individuals and also hiring those employees who wants to make best out of the world. They also considered the visionary leadership which was characterized by perfectionism, quickly adopting the changing environment and also develop those skills which help them in meeting the challenges off this competitive world. It must be noted that leadership at Apple not only provide power to employees and staff but also motivates these employees and staff for the purpose of achieving the set goals. In Apple both type of leadership styles are used by the Apple that is transactional or transformational. As stated above, transformation leaders helps in initiating the changes in the organization, groups, oneself and others. Steve Jobs was the transformational leader because he initiates the changes at workplace, and help their followers in adopting these changes. 

Not much has changed from the time when Steve Jobs worked at executive level and the time when he was out. Current leadership style of the Apple includes team with skills in every field such as from the marketing of the products to the research and development. Leaders of the organization are also motivational and also focus on attaining the objectives of the company. For different process of innovation, different leaders are appointed by the company. Apple specialized their employees for getting market ready and the management also ensures that there is strong willingness among the stakeholders of the company for achieving the targets of the company (Shetty, 2010).

There are various specialists who agreed that leadership is the back bone of every organization because leaders not only develop the company but also possess such skills which increase the productivity of the company. Therefore, without its leaders company will never be succeeded. After considering the above fact that leadership at Apple was both transactional and transformational for the purpose of achieving the goals, it is clear that company is willing to adopt the changes occurred in competitive world. In Apple, leaders are the most important person because they state the duties and responsibility of staff and employees from the management level till the employees worked at lower cadre.

Leaders use various and best methods for the purpose of communicating the vision to the employees of the Apple company, and because of this leaders was able to set the goals and it is also their responsibility to ensure that each employee understand the goals and aware of them.  Steve Jobs always ensure that goals set by him clearly communicated to their teams, and he further takes steps to make sure that employees understand the goals clearly. 

Challenges faced by Leaders: however, it must be noted that for Apple it is very difficult task to replace the leader, and the most difficult task for Apple is to replace the CEO of the company because Steve Jobs was the icon and driving force for the company. He was very important and even most important personality of Apple but because of health challenges it becomes necessary to replace him. Investors got worried because this was the serious matter for the company’s shares and the future (Dudovskiy, 2017).

In Apple, control of the company is in the hands of the leader of the company and also on the stakeholders of the company. Generally, controlling of any organization also includes the reviewing the goals of the company and accounting results. In case results of the company do not reflect the goals of the company then it is necessary to make those for the purpose of achieving these results. There are various ways to control the company such as designing and structuring of organization, check the financial result of the company, identifying the behavioral organization and also frame the reward system. These factors not only control the organization but also help in resolving the issues if ultimately results are different from the goals of the company. Directors of the Apple adopt some of these factors which lead the company towards the success.

Steve Jobs was considered as an unconventional leader, and his management style was not considered in any text books. He was not known for his consultative or consensus building approach. He was the high maintenance co-worker who also wants excellent performance from his staff and also known for his blunt delivery of criticism.  But he also has ability to combine the ability of its staff, investors and customers for the purpose of framing the vision of the Apple.

It must be noted that after the failure of Lisa, jobs mainly concentrate on developing the cheaper machines with different OS, and this results in Apple Macintosh (Mac) with a new Mac OS. For developing the Mac, jobs hired brilliant and young designers and engineers.  Job tried to put the spirit of rebellion in the mac development team and he named them as Pirates.

As per the experts of industry, Steve Jobs was considered as visionary leader who has ability to grab the invisible opportunities and he think differently. Steve Jobs was driven, ambitious, and demanding. As per some analysts Steve jobs was the leader who was resistant and persistent leader who can easily face challenges (Laashinsky, 2015).

Conclusion:

It is clear from the above facts that Apple is able to refine its product portfolio in the industry of consumer electronics and computer by their leadership and innovation strategy. Company also revolutionized the design and manufacturing of its various products for the purpose of meeting the challenges of competitive world. As stated above, both transactional and transformational in the Apple. Competitive edge of the Apple was the top in the race of multinational companies because of the diversification of its product line.

From the above statements it is clear that company needs to see that they are whether addressing the current challenges which can become the problems in future. Company badly needs the successive plan for the purpose of replacing the Steve Jobs that was iconic CEO of the company. Those teams which are changed with innovation must also consider the future needs of the organization.

References:

Dudovskiy, J. (2012). Apple Leadership – an Effective Leadership by Tim Cook that is Difficult to Sustain. Available at: https://research-methodology.net/apple-leadership-and-apple-organizational-structure/. Accessed on 25^th July 2017.

Laashinsky, A. (2015). Apple’s Tim Cook leads different. Available at: https://fortune.com/2015/03/26/tim-cook/. Accessed on 25^th July 2017.

Shetty, N. (2010). Leadership Style at Apple. Inc. Available at:  https://www.managementparadise.com/forums/foundation-human-skills-f-h-s/221088-leadership-style-apple-inc.html. Accessed on 25^th July 2017.

McInerney, S. (2011). Steve Jobs: an unconventional leader. Available at: https://www.executivestyle.com.au/steve-jobs-an-unconventional-leader-1lcmo. Accessed on 25^th July 2017.

Lombardo, J. Organizational Behavior. Available at: https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-organizational-behavior-definition-and-history-of-the-field.html. Accessed on 25^th July 2017.

Mukhopadhyay, S. Emerging Aspects of Organizational Behaviour. Available at: https://nptel.ac.in/courses/110105034/SM_Web/Module%20six%20modified%20Ch24.pdf. Accessed on 25^th July 2017.

Post, J. (2017). 11 Ways to Define Leadership. Available at: https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/3647-leadership-definition.html. Accessed on 25^th July 2017.

Nanjundeswaraswamyst, T. S. (2014). Leadership styles. Available at: https://www.mnsu.edu/activities/leadership/leadership_styles.pdf. Accessed on 25^th July 2017.

Chand, S. 4 Different Types of Leadership Styles. Available at: https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/business-management/4-different-types-of-leadership-styles/2550/. Accessed on 25^th July 2017.

Management notes. The Essential Impact of Context on Organizational Behavior. Available at: https://www.managementnote.com/importanceof-ob/. Accessed on 25^th July 2017.

Rawlinson, N. (2017). History of Apple: The story of Steve Jobs and the company he founded. Available at: https://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/apple/history-of-apple-steve-jobs-mac-3606104/. Accessed on 25^th July 2017.