21^st Century Leadership

Introduction

The contemporary environment entails a variety of challenges for both the leaders and employees. The consistent, rapidly changing world necessitates leaders with soft cognitive power, divergent thinking, and leaders with capabilities of tolerating stress (Prentice, 2013, 177). Technology is relative to efficiency although the leadership of the current day requires a leader to build trust and enduring relationships within the working environment.  Stiff Competition is pervasive in the modern context, and so, novel ideas in a leader are not just a concept. Instead, innovation exists as a primary requirement to becoming a good manager in the global market. The global market deserves capable leaders who are committed to taking risks, and extensively, motivational leaders to inspire colleagues and employees towards a common goal. It requires leaders who have the skills of establishing interpersonal connections, which enhances the process of addressing the various issues of globalization. For that reason, leaders should characterize different influential skills, preferably, psychology and cognitive-related capabilities to facilitate achievement of business endeavors.

Literature Review

Leadership is a broad topic, and so, there is a wide range of literature on the subject. The pieces of literature mostly highlight the preparedness that a leader should involve while functioning to standout in the ever-changing, multifaceted, multiethnic, interconnected world. The works disapprove the soundness of autocratic, dominant leaders by demonstrating the outgoing influences of globalization on organizational leadership (Prentice, 2013, 177). They posit the importance of engaging different skills including cognitive and psychological-based capabilities when leading in the present world, which encompasses multifaceted models of leadership.

The leadership framework of the 21^st century supposes a wide range of leadership types including designated leadership and active followership, peer leadership, and self-leadership. Appointed leadership or more traditional-related leadership reflects the formal role of a leader to ensure the improvement of public accountability. Active followership characterizes the leadership role to align functioning with participant’s opinions or ideas in a group; inferring that being in control does not necessarily make one a leader (Lapierre & Carsten, 2014, 141). The peer leadership is an informal community-based form of command. The direction is characterized by one’s capabilities to influence acceptance and commitment towards the execution of a group’s activities whereas endorsing the creation of interpersonal relationships (Baker, 2014, 1). According to Bryant & Kazan (2013), self-leadership elaborates personality in regards to ways and capacities including health and wellness, uprightness, and integrity (2). While global leaders are of much use in the leadership models of today, the change is dependent on cultural empathy because cultural empathy tends to validate leadership competency (Thornson, 2010, 15). The literature narrates that cultural understanding is an essential requirement to becoming a global leader owing to its close connection with egolessness. This is to state that global leaders can function with ease from one culture to another by interpreting and understanding the new environments despite cultural differences.

The multicultural environment, driven by globalization, postulates that efficient execution of leadership roles are relative to cooperation (Jowah, p10). Leadership styles have transformed from the driven, commanding models to new, more productive, relationship-based leadership systems. The new systems tend to symbolize the leadership models of the upcoming century where the central theme of leadership will be to build harmonious relations and influences. Administration in the 21^st century is expected to act in ways that will be able to influence community growth, help others while facilitating betterment of the surrounding environment. The principal attributes of leadership will be compassion and integrity.

The studies assert that leadership characterizes the capability to influence togetherness towards a shared objective in an organization, cooperation, and social empathy, which inaugurates peace and chances for a sustainable future (Gentry et al. 2007, 2).  Different styles can enable the attainment of the primary leadership essentials in the upcoming century of more significant developments. However, many agree that constructivist leadership postulates significant, useful influences in the 21^st century.

The drive of constructivist leadership focuses on aligning members within an organization with the roles of a leader because it accepts every member as a leader. The direction mentions the establishment of a democratic, reciprocating and reflective environment where everybody has the freedom to suggest the foremost concerns within an organization. The style serves as a learning process where interactions employed as the immediate basis for inquiring more focused, skillful and interactive leadership within an organization. Competent leaders avail real democratic values through their capabilities and willingness to engage with other members, listen and portray respect for other people.

Contribute uniqueness

The realm of an innovative leader illustrates a leader with the ability to differentiate useful practices from unhelpful activities in a context for better control and management. Innovation infers that a leader in pursuit of compelling achievements combines uniqueness with normal functioning.

Innovation is a potential base for improving organizational performance hence a leader has to be original when performing operational responsibilities to outdo the challenges of globalization (Ladkin & Spiller, 2013, 65). The process of validating originality involves the internalization of leadership concepts; that may be acquired through reading or hearing from other managerial sources. However, it is important to note that the leader has to enact the internalized concepts to enhance the realization of performance practically. The aspect of uniqueness includes significant diversity and is commonly driven by the need to explore for strategic mechanisms of resolving leadership problems in a business context.

The key to resolving the most pervasive issues in a business context requires a leader with unique perspectives, which incline to reciprocate outstanding outcomes (Schwartz & Gimbel, 2000, 65). It is, however, essential to understand that the people within the reign of management determine the viability of a leader’s perspectives to resolving a problem. This is to say that novelty has to be accepted by the major players including co-workers and employees within a working environment for prosperity.

The appropriateness of inaugurating innovative ideas depends on one's abilities to communicate purpose in regards to the appearance of a situation. The rationale for enhancing acceptance is relative to the sources of information (Kowalski & Lasley, 2010, 432). It is thus essential for a leader to apply knowledge of diversified orientations for valid solutions. Also, information from unrelated disciplines should be synthesized to generate communicative ideas.

The importance of comprehensive exploration is profound when a leader is in pursuit of inventive perspectives. The widespread examination is the baseline to uniqueness because it allows the discernment of useful and impractical ideas within the realm of practical situations; implemented by other managerial players of a different organization. Comparing the practicality of other leader's views on similar situations increases chances of developing better and unrelated solutions to a problem hence imposing the essence of uniqueness.

Uniqueness is dependent on the leader’s capabilities to communicate a problem by its concepts throughout an organization. A leader has to convince the other members of the need to accept the new implementations in the body to influence change

Act effectively

There exists a reasonable difference between efficiency and effectiveness, suggestible, ability emphasizes on doing things right whereas effectiveness defines the capabilities of executing the right things. The leadership of the 21^st century proposes that leading is not just getting things done quickly or performing the most tasks within a short period. Instead, leading notes the need to formulate a vision while setting priorities and goals within the work environment. It conceptualizes the need to offset the difference between urgent tasks and essential operations. This suggests that functions should be executed by urgency to avoid functional complexity.

Be resilient

Every human being makes mistakes,  but the difference exists in the process of responding to those mistakes. In response to the increasing trend of organizational goals in the modern world, it is true to state that a leader with bigger goals is prone to making more mistakes than leaders with limited sets of goals. Importantly, innovation is the basis of leadership flexibility to formulating both long-term and short-term solutions for the unrelenting challenges, which tend to change with globalization. Innovation enables a leader to experiment new mechanisms of handling the emerging problems along the line of duty. Additionally, it is more comfortable to venture into more modern discoveries for short-term impacts through innovation. The search for long-term and unforgettable effects relies on one’s willingness to take the encompassing risks and in essence, it means that a leader should not be distracted by failures when performing duties.

Self-confidence is a primary factor to being a leader in the 21^st century, which in most cases is established through past experiences, preferably, achievements. The beneficial fact of self-confidence is that it is a reliable source of encouragement and motivation to performing new challenges through personal qualities gained from the former experiences.

Integrity in the 21^st century has a significant impact on progress development since honesty is a fundamental consideration to the development of long-term commitment. The world has transformed to levels where integrity is measured through audience wisdom. This confirms that leadership is a social context thus it cannot be isolated from the audience. Leaders are therefore forced to declare the practicality of integrity while functioning to gain long-term commitment.

Embrace change

The orientation of the newer business environments requires insists that leaders have to regularly, explore for change. They should not only identify difference but should also enact strategic response to the shift by valuing it as an opportunity. The current orientations of business activities encounter different forms of rapid changes including geographical, economic and technological changes. The changes have successfully outdone the earlier business movements thus new knowledge is necessitated to concur the impacts of globalization in the market. Technological advancement including mobile technologies has reduced space while enhancing accessibility and expertise whereas imposing significant challenges to leadership, however, increasing opportunities.

The reality of new and changing digital-related systems has domineered the whole schemes of healthy living in the contemporary world. The exchange of information has taken new and different directions through which people share opinions and ideas with ease owing to the instantaneous capabilities of the digital systems. People have the freedom to interact with anyone across the world through a channel that suits one's purpose and preference for the diverse digital platforms. As a result, leaders have challenging tasks to maintain the reputation of their organizations in the market. The complexity is facilitated by the fact that it is almost impossible to control the flow of information along the digital platforms due to its diversity and limited censorship within the cyberspace. Therefore, leaders in the current are required to gather and engage with their audience in different environments through the digital media to deliver clarifications whereas receiving the concerning issues in the market.

Stay grounded

Relaxation is a significant threat to the 21^st-century leadership. Instead, Leadership of this era requires patience, compassion, and simplicity for it to stand out. The leadership of today is prone to unpredictable changes, meaning egoism should not distract a leader instead it should motivate one towards the establishment of new measures for continuous changes by globalization. Simplicity is established to endorse the sense that leadership is modernly reliant on collaboration.

This is to mean that hierarchical leadership does not predict or bear productivity in controlling the organization rationale of today. The era's command exists as a collaborative practice that is enhanced through interactive responses. Simplicity intends to influence an understanding that a leader's thinking should be oriented to establishing socialization rather than building independence. It is commonly accepted that every person in the community entails valuable contributions towards leadership success especially in this era of changing social trends and so, the need for leaders to put in place mutual interactive systems for fruitful outcomes.

The hierarchical model of leadership has limited meaning in the current organizations. The craftsman apprentice schemes have been replaced by learning organizations. The organizations have substantial knowledge and capabilities of higher magnitudes, which generally force people to resist top-down models of leadership. Globalization has not only transformed the leadership structure but has also established community with diverse notions of leadership. Rather, the newer generation has identified newer alternatives to satisfaction. People have turned to learning as an appropriate tool for controlling the impacts of globalization instead of relying on leadership-related governance.

The former generations valued leaders by their capabilities to bring about sustainability within the working environments. On the contrary, it is deducible that leaders in the 21^st century will be recognized by their potential to sustain and force superior performance through appropriate alignment of people by organizational mission and standards. The era will be considerate of leaders with abilities to empower followers whereas emphasizing service delivery and collaboration in different levels of an organization.

Aligning

The most prominent challenge of a leader is to align members by the organizational mission and universal values. Formulating a flexible alignment structure is more challenging in extended organizations since arrangement usually focuses on maintaining employee loyalty by organizational culture. In traditional leadership addressed the complexity of alignment through rulebooks, implementation of compliance systems and also by enacting training programs as the basis for controlling employees; systems that lack purpose in a technology-advanced environment. Employees tend to abide by the mission and organizational values through proper arrangement thus the need for aligning employees through policies that do not influence deterioration of workers will lead to compliance. As such, alignment in the 21^st century will be formulated by employees capabilities and promise to agreement rather than the forceful orientation of the traditional leadership.

Empowering

The hierarchical leadership is characterized by the delegation of power from higher management levels towards the employees. In the hierarchical model, the amount of power delegated determines the levels to which employees will comply with the organization's mission and norms and extensively organizational performance. Thus, organizations are bound to delegating limited power to guarantee adherence among the employees. In comparison, leaders in the 21^st century have the obligation of empowering the organization as a whole despite functional levels since leadership holds the accountability of ensuring goal achievement.

Serving

The principal obligation of leaders is to ensure that customers are lined to justifying service. It is arguable that organizations that fail to meet customer satisfaction have less influence in the market in comparison to its competitors with systems that are relative to service value. Moreover, it tends to be a norm in the modern world that employees are more motivated to maintaining customer service over stakeholder standards. Evidently, customer and employee satisfaction sets chances to revenue growth and in due course increasing shareholder value. For that reason, the 21^st leadership tends to put more emphasis on improved service in the market rather than prioritizing organizational expectations.

Collaborating

Similarly, patience is an essential factor in the modern world. It is eminent that not every process guarantee immediate responses, particularly process that focuses to impose long-term changes. Delays should not inaugurate discouragements rather they should be considered as potential opportunities for improvements. Results often take time thus people should be willing to invest in time and other resources in leadership, which will in due course facilitate achievement of sound outcomes.

Patience and compassion tend to infer similar perspectives of leadership in the sense that leadership is dependent on both patience and kindness. Direction is a complex task to handle without communicative determinations and commitment. The complexity deserves still dedication since guidance is usually meant to establish a base for future developments. People are liable to dedicate their skills to the process with a cognitive belief that it will reciprocate desirable results in the future.

References

LAPIERRE, L., & CARSTEN, M. K. (2014). Followership: what is it and why do people follow? http://site.ebrary.com/id/10875704.

BAKER, M. (2014). Peer-to-peer leadership: why the network is the leader. http://www.aspresolver.com/aspresolver.asp?BIZP;2384876.

BRYANT, A., & KAZAN, A. L. (2013). Self-leadership: how to become a more successful, efficient, and effective leader from the inside out. New York, McGraw-Hill.

Gentry, W.A., Weber, T. and Sadri, G., 2007, April. Empathy in the workplace: A tool for effective leadership. In Society of Industrial Organizational Psychology Conference. New York, New York, USA (pp. 1-16). Extracted from https://www.ccl.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/EmpathyInTheWorkplace.pdf

Thornson, C.A., 2010. Development and validation of the cross-cultural competence inventory. Extracted from https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=http%3A%2F%2Fstars.library.ucf.edu%2Fcgi%2Fviewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D2684%26context%3Detd&btnG=

Jowah, L.E., The impact of leadership styles on effective project execution Extracted from https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.skyjournals.org%2Fsjbam%2FPdf%2F2016%2FJun%2FJowah%2520pdf.pdf&btnG=

PRENTICE, A. E. (2013). Leadership for the 21st century. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=663043

LADKIN, D., & SPILLER, C. (2013). Authentic Leadership Clashes, Convergences and Coalescences. Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Pub. Ltd.

SCHWARTZ, M. K., & GIMBEL, K. G. (2000). Leadership resources: a guide to training and development tools. Greensboro, NC, Center for Creative Leadership.

Sample Contracts for Outside Setting (OS) company

A contract is basically a type of an agreement that is legally valid between two parties and which can cause serious trouble in case one of the parties goes against the agreement. There are certain elements which make up a contract and which are recognized by the law. Such requirements include the legality of the relationship agreed, capacity to act for both parties which are legal, interaction between the parties to make it legally binding, and acceptance and the offer involved (Lau et al., 2012). These elements are very important to make the contract valid according to the law and for the law to protect the relationship.

In most businesses which conduct businesses with each other and which are prone to challenges have the advantage of formulating a contract to prevent the actions of one from affecting the other business. For example in our case, Outside Setting (OS) requires having a contract with the manufacturer to prevent actions of the manufacturer that might affect the business of OS. OS is a company that deals with selling of outside furniture to its customers located different parts of the country. The company has also established an online shop where interested buyers can buy goods over the internet. The company also deals with customized goods as required by their clients (Lau et al., 2012). This is a business strategy that is meant to ensure that the company has increased its sales from one level to the next and thereby increase the revenue. Such opportunities and business ventures are prone to challenges such as delays, the requirements and eventually losses to the company. Formulating business contract form is very important to ensure that actions of either the manufacturer or the customer do not cause harm to the business. By formulating the contract to allow for a good business environment, the parties involved must agree and when one does not fulfill accordingly, then court action will follow. A breach of contract can make a company lose money and its reputation and it is therefore very important to avoid court actions while in business due to malpractices.  

Bilateral contract

The manufacturer in many cases has been found to either ignore or not put a lot of effort in answering the emails and other information regarding the customer order and in this case OS store. Not responding to the emails and messages creates a level of untrustworthy or lack of competence and this is dangerous for any business. Confirmations need to be done to ensure that there is no breakage of communication. In this case, OS can benefit from a bilateral contract that will ensure that in the future all emails and messages sent regarding the transportation and shipping of orders by the manufacturer is taken into consideration with the urgency it deserves (Lau et al., 2012). A bilateral contract will reduce the acts of the manufacturer lack of answering emails and eventually shipping products which are not according to the order. On the issue of late and delay in shipment, the contract will prevent the manufacturer from delaying any kind of order made which will in return lead to customer delivery on time. Delaying of products affects the business in terms of customer specifications and deadlines since most people love working on deadlines. In the case that the manufacturers do not deliver on time or deliver orders which are non-conforming, then there are consequences since this will be regarded as a breach of contract which is punishable by law which can end up making the party liable pay a fine of above five thousand dollars. There should be fewer cases of lack of consistency from the manufacturer since the goods sent are already paid for making it very unfair for the manufacturer to consider delivering goods as requested.

Punishments for breaching a contract must be signed and presented before a court of law making them legal if one party goes against the contract (Lau et al., 2012). Such a contract is vital since it increases the chances of the business at OS rising in terms of the revenues. There are serious consequences for parties which decide not to honor a contract. The manufacture after signing a contract will ensure that the liability of the goods ordered will be on the manufacturer and not the company. Delaying in delivering and responding to orders is a threat to the business. In the case where the manufacturer cannot make the delivery, the manufacturer is expected to reply the possibility of delays so that the company can find another supplier for the same products. It is very unethical and irresponsible for a manufacturer to not make deliveries on time or even communicate and therefore getting into a contract will reduce the chances of delays and lack of commitment to work.   

Sales contract

A contract has to be formulated between the customer and the company. Making of customized furniture means that the design has the probability of attracting only the individual who made the request. Therefore if a customer creates an order and wants the company to make the same design as per the preference, then there has to be a contract to be signed. OS has been facing issues with customers canceling orders immediately they are asked to make payment and the delivery to follow. This leaves the company with an added stock which would otherwise be liquid cash for the business. The manufacturer, in this case, OS should not undergo extra expenses and stocking of goods which were not collected by customers on the basis of cancellation (Lau et al., 2012). There should be a formulated document where the customer will give details of the names of the customer, what kind of furniture to be made, the price of the product, a down payment, time of payment, ownership, security interest, other conditions and the agreement. This kind of agreement will ensure that a customer honors the agreement through signing and fulfilling any requirements for the making of the furniture requested.

Having the customer even pay for a down payment for the furniture will ensure that the customer is genuine and this reduces the chances of having the goods rejected to a minimal level. No one is willing to let their money go to waste and so signing a contract will prevent the cases of cancellations. In the case that any party waives on any of the terms and conditions for the contract at any given time, the waiver will now be effective for the specific time and instance the action has occurred. Unless either party claims the upholding of the contract, the chances are that the contract will be rendered not valid. In such a case, the customer will be liable for not honoring the contract if he does not collect the goods as stated in the contract (Lau et al., 2012). Having such a contract is very advantageous to the company since this ensures that the business does not overstock and make furniture which will eventually be rejected by the customers. On the other hand, the contract is very important in ensuring that the customer is satisfied with the end product. Creating customer confidence is very important for the business since this will now create customer loyalty and eventually start gaining referrals which boost the business in huge volumes. In cases where there is a breach of contract, the party liable for the loss will be responsible for compensation to cater for any damages. This is an effective way to reduce the activities which might lead to one party taking advantage of the other party and not honoring the contract. Such actions are very effective for the business to operate without any challenges brought about by customer order cancellation.   

Sales agreement

The internet is one of the major areas where the businesses have gained a fortune through the creation and development of goods and services for customers to access and make any kind of purchase. Online shopping is the best kind of shopping since customers do not have to go from one section to the next looking for what they want. All that is required in to type the name and the products will appear. This is a simple and straightforward way of getting what one wants just by way of clicking or tapping. However, the simplicity of getting what one wants always comes with the challenge of specifications which might be similar to another product and upon delivery, the customer rejects the goods delivered. In such a case, there are chances that the business will suffer from the rejected deliveries and this is an issue for the company (Lau et al., 2012). Wrong interpretation of goods presented as being a binding offer could be a problem for the company. On the online platform, customers complain of having the outline very confusing and this makes it hard for them to get what they want.

On how to deal with the issue, the company has to clearly give details of every product and even offer a picture of the same so that no more complaints regarding the goods being confusing on the eyes of the customers. After the company has cleared the confusion on the online shop, a contract has to exist binding the buyer and the claims to the goods requested. When the customer clicks on the request for an order button, the customer has created a contract and the contract will be received by OS. In this case, if the goods are present the customer will create an order and if the goods requested are out of stock then the order will be rejected. Such a contract is very important for any activities conducted will be legally binding. The buyer in many cases can be typing in words at a very high rate and therefore confusing some words (Lau et al., 2012). It is therefore appropriate for the online shop to request the customer to confirm the number of items requested and the purchase price to eliminate errors. In the case the customer has submitted the order after confirmation, then the contract is valid and the goods are shipped whereas the customer is expected to pay the required amounts. This is the law in e-commerce which reduces the probability of being given wrong orders.

Memorandum

To: Staff

CC: Staff, Management

From: Management

Date: 7-November- 2017 

Subject: Adherence to product delivery and customer specifications

Due to the numerous cases of delays and misinterpretations of customer order, Outside Setting (OS) has decided to formulate laws and contracts that will make it possible for the company to realize its goals and this can only be made possible if rules and way of performing the business are followed. In the past, the company has been dealing with the issue of customers complaining about different deliveries from what they order and this has been a problem for the company. Also, there has been an issue with the fact that some customers are canceling orders which have already been completed and this is causing the company lots of money in expenditure. Therefore, the company has decided to make it clear for every interested customer to sign an agreement which will ensure that there are no mistaken words during delivery or collection of items ordered. A contract will be the best to ensure that both the company and the customers do not go against the requirements of each other. Breaching of contract will amount to serious court cases that will lead to more problems for the involved parties. It is therefore important for both parties in agreement to make a point of honoring the agreement. This move has been established and reached at to prevent further losses to the company and also increase the loyalty with customers. Therefore, any order made by the customers will now be required to undergo a series of processes in order to deal with lack of competence in either purchasing or delivering. Each staff member dealing with customers is now recommended to ensure that there are no cases of wrong orders and wrong deliveries. The aim of the agreement is to allow for a cohesive environment where one can do business and make the customer satisfied with the goods made.

Reference

Lau, T., Johnson, L., & Open Textbook Library,. (2012). The legal and ethical environment of     business.

 The Privacy Rights of Employees at the Work Place

General principles

The protection of the rights of privacy of the workers depends entirely on clear restrictions on the data collected. The principle limit accessing or processing data that is directly connected to a particular employee. The employment contract is also considered and does not entitle an employer to access personal information from a worker. Personal information can only be processed when it is justified. In addition, it is the employers’ responsibility to justify the reason to employee as to why their information is required (Bronstein, & International Labor Office Staff 2009).

When giving reasons as to why certain data is collected, all future uses must be elaborated. Access of the processed data should be limited to the specific purpose they agreed to before the information was collected. The ‘finality principle’ excludes any attempt to use the information for any alternative use such as automated systems and multifunctional use that would spread and duplicate the information far and wide. Therefore this principle subjects any other purpose other than the specified one to two conditions: the new use must be related to the previous use and the employers must take any necessary precautions to avoid any misuse of the information that may result due to altering of the situation. The other condition, however, the principle strictly restricts the use of personal data to only the intended purpose. In short, this principle allows use of personal information and accepts modifications although it safe guard in both accounts (ILO, 1997).

Technical and organizational mitigations ensure the information is secure and handled properly .This requires vigorous and continuous monitoring especially of equipment’s which handle information such as computers. Virtual observations and monitoring should be compensated with limiting information collected in its entire course. The personal data should be only be processed for the intended purpose .Computers must not be used to collect information with the purpose of controlling or monitoring the workers’ behavior and activities. However, this does not apply to a worker who has broken the rules and his data must be processed for disciplinary actions (Bronstein, & International Labor Office Staff 2009).

Collecting personal information

Employees should be the main source of information concerning them. When one is the primary source of their personal information, they will know what to give out and what to restrict from access. This will put them at a better position to decide. Obtaining personal information from a worker does not include consulting former employees. However, the workers must be informed on the reasons as to why the information is being processed. In order to encourage workers to give their personal information, the consequences of withholding the information should be given. The consequences will help them decide on whether to consent or not. For example, lack of personal data requested may lead to delay or denial of claim of benefits. If a third party or company is involved in collecting the information, the employer must safeguard conditions they agreed together with the workers. The personal information and the specific purpose should be clearly articulated to the third parties (Bronstein, & International Labor Office Staff 2009).

Although employers are supposed to give out accurate data, the principle allows workers to refuse to answer questions that are not related to the reason they agreed to give out the information in the first place. In such a scenario, the employer bears the burden for the incomplete or inaccurate responses and therefore he is not entitled to force the worker to respond. Although employers are entitled to a certain amount of personal information, their responsibility to gather information straight from employees does not mean they are at liberty to dictate the means of collection. Principles whose main purpose is to protect the dignity of employees cannot ignore the invasion into employees’ privacy characterized by tests such as those designed to assess the body of workers both physically and psychologically. Due to the various number of tests used, the principle has limited the tests to include only a few approved medical procedures. In addition to this, the ILO has collaborated with world health organization and has regulated the use of psychological tests. The regulations are provided in the human resource development recommendations, 1979(no150) (Bronstein, & International Labor Office Staff 2009).

Securing of personal data

There should be specific measures put in place to ensure technical measures are taken to protect personal information is restrained and protected against loss or unauthorized use and modifications (Bronstein, & International Labor Office Staff 2009).

 Storage of personal data.

This principle only allows personal information which is in conformity with the agreed rules to be stored. Also, medical information related to workers conditions should be kept separately from the other data. The storage of medical data should be handled only by specialized personnel who are familiar with the rules of medical discretion. (Bronstein, & International Labor Office Staff 2009).

 Communicating using personal data

Foreign communication of information should follow and respect the fact that workers’ information should only be used   for reasons which are related to the precise employment tie .Therefore, the information cannot be used for commercial reasons. (Bronstein, & International Labor Office Staff 2009).

Individual rights

The principle states that the employer should provide his employees with regular data so that they can see the need of the data being used (ILO, 1997).

REFERENCES

Bronstein, A., & International Labor Office Staff. (2009). International and Comparative Labor Law: Current Challenges. Geneva: International Labor Organization.

Protection of workers' personal data: An ILO code of practice. (1997). Geneva.

The Household Registration System reform and Migrant Labor in China

Abstract

The introduction of Hukou system in China aimed controlling the migration of rural population to urban areas, but it led to unintended inequalities in the society. This paper offers a literature review of this system, its intended purpose, the negative impacts on the society and various reforms that have been undertaken by the local and national governments. The review includes an introduction to Hukou system, literature review, the reforms adopted and criticism of these reforms. Various benefits of the reforms are discusses and a recommendation of more reforms  is provided.

Introduction

Hukou, the Chinese system of household registration was established for the purpose of registering population in urban and rural areas separately. The Hukou system has led to segregation of urban and rural populations in geographical, economic, social and political terms.  The system has been the basis of a social-economic structure that is dualistic and divisive resulting to two citizenship classes. With initial aim of the system being prevention of labor force in rural areas from leaving the agricultural sector, it has failed to live to the intended positive outcome, by excluding part of the population from the social and economic benefits of a growing economy. The central and local governments have carried various efforts aimed at reforming the Hukou system so that its purpose is not only the elimination of registration of population that has been separated geographically.

Review

The origin of Hukou system in China is traced to the nation’s adoption of Stalinist communism which involved rapid industrialization is the main growth strategy. The strategy was based on increased industry in urban areas using agricultural surplus from the rural peasantry, and for this to succeed, a prevention of rural –urban migration was essential (Kam Wing, 357).  The measures taken by the government to prevent rural exodus culminated in development of Hukou as a registration system for controlling the mobility of the population. The regulation required that internal migration be approved by local government and at this point the Chinese population a basic freedom of migrating and residing willingly in their nation (Kam Wing, 357).  The end results was the creation of two social-economic classes: the urban class comprising of people working in the industrial sector and accessed at least the full citizenship and social welfare ; the rural peasants tied in rural land so as to ensure production of agricultural products as raw materials for industrialization and had to look after themselves (Kam Wing, 358).

 In contrast to common depiction, the system was not aimed at controlling labor mobility and rural-urban population but it was a social control whose purpose was to exclude rural folks from accessing welfare and goods provided by the state. This was also a curtailment to entitlement of people living in rural areas and hence, a form of segregation. By ensuring that the rural population is held at the countryside, the system denied them the economic, political and social opportunities and hence their rights and the end result was an underclass with low market value in the rural areas. It was at the backdrop of the effects of the Hukou systems that the Chinese government, both central and local, saw the need for introducing reforms whose aim was to ensure reverting of the situation (Cai, 34).

The reforms

 Reforms of the Hukou system were on the basis of socioeconomic reforms that were started at the rural areas. At the start of the reforms, a system of household responsibility was introduced with an aim of solving the problem of lack of incentives and this resulted to improved agricultural labor productivity. It also led to release of excess labor which had been piling up during the pre-reform period. The major reason for this reform was not to abandon of the system which meant that there was no clear blueprint and this saw labor movement to non-agricultural sectors and from villages to urban centers (Cai, 35). The transfer of labor involved the rural population relocating to TVEs (Township and Village Enterprise) especially before the governments allowed rural-urban migration. The initial intention of the central government before mid-1980s was to allow leaving the land but remaining in the rural areas but the TVE creation occurred only in local villages or smaller towns but remained very uneven among various regions. There was no creation of enough adequate employment in the non-agricultural sector for the migrating laborers. The farmers resulted to migration across regions and breaking down institutional bottlenecks and the local and central governments resulted to relaxing such institutional obstacles for the labor mobility. The TVE development stagnated in mid-1980’s which saw rural laborers migration from rural areas to towns and cities and across various regions and this was enhanced by the removal of institutional obstacles (Cai, 36). The government could not allow the rural peasants into the long-distance transportation and marketing of products in other places away from local markets. This heralded the beginning of farmer’s rights to carry out business outside local towns, and the permission to work in smaller town in nearby areas was granted. By the 1988, the farmers were allowed to run their enterprises in towns or even in cities but under the self-sufficient staples (Cai, 36). The local and central governments relaxed rural migration restrictions which indicated a certain level of reform in the Hukou system in 1990s. By that time, the planned system was still in operation while the Hukou system was not serious observed in an institutional setting so that it restricted any actions taken by laborers or by the government (Cai, 36).

 The development of market economy by the Chinese government in 1990s is considered to be milestone that differentiates the first and second phases of reforms on Hukou system. The was a big demand for labor which was generated by increase in export-oriented and labor-intensive sectors especially in coastal regions and the surge of employment opportunities in urban areas  private sectors. Various measures were adopted due to expansion and integration of labor markets aimed at eliminating institutional barriers that hindered labor mobility. For instance, the rationing system and urban employment opportunities are part of these reforms. The rationing system that was adopted in mid-1950s restricting the staple food supplies and such necessities needed in urban areas were removed (Cai, 38). The massive unemployment and layoffs in late 1990s due to financial crises in East Asia and macro-economic downturn resulted to adoption of subsidy program for lay-off, unemployment insurance program, pension regime and program for minimum-living standards by the government. The aim was the protection of urban workers, improved development of labor market environment and liberalization of labor market. Through this, labor mobility would be encouraged while establishing different kinds of ownership across businesses, regions and sectors. By allowing the entry of rural folks into urban areas, couples and children who had been separated were able to re-unite, while elderly people could get city Hukou status with their children. Even though resistance to such reforms occurred in parts of major cities, the Hukou system was afforded a legitimate basis at the national level (Cai, 38).

Even though the mobility of labor led to some reforms, the system still served similar traditional roles: urban laborers had the priority in securing employment and migrants were excluded from accessing social welfare in rural areas. A competition for job opportunities existed between the unskilled laborers in urban areas and migrants workers but urban governments protected urban workers while migrants were discriminated against. At the same time the governments established preliminary systems to protect urban workers which included all those laborers with urban Hukou status (Cai, 38). 

 The reforms also came in form of ad hoc measures in 1970’s where small number of workers from the rural to fill the labor needs in cities.  The temporary workers employed on contract lacked an urban Hukou, and therefore, could not access social services. The practice of allowing the laborers from rural areas to fill the unwanted positions in cities was gradually enhanced during early 1980s (Kam Wing, 358). The state made the deployment of rural peasants to meet the labor demand in industries its major strategy and the rural-Hukou became the basis of industrial export. Such laborers also filled the law low-end service positions in the urban areas.  The rural migrant laborers earning low wages and hence, minimum living standards are also not entitled to the benefits offered by minimum protection policies. Since they have temporary status and permanent ineligibility for urban Hukou, the migrant workers will always be vulnerable and can be expended easily (Kam Wing, 359). The workforce formed by poor laborers with no urban rights can be attributed to the situation where China has the most efficient production in the world due to the low cost.  The rural-urban migration by rural peasants still continues presently and this has delayed the point and time of labor surplus exhaustion which is a turning point highlighted by Lewis development model in a market with labor surplus. The direct relationship between Hukou system, migrant labor and industrial economy can explain why there little increase in wages for such workers even where the economy is growing rapidly and the ability of China to price its exports below major competitors – other developing countries (Kam Wing, 360).

The rapid growth of Chinese economy over the past decade has resulted to increased labor demand and for once, the challenge of more labor demand than supply is being experienced. The problem has been widespread since 2003, while the wages for migrant laborers has been increasing on a yearly basis (Cai, 38). Such an increase has also been seen in agricultural sector wages and this shows the link between surplus labor reduction in agriculture, reduced unskilled workers in cities and resulting increment in wage for all sectors.  As per Lewis definition, this may be a sign that Chinese economy has attained the Lewis Turning Point (Cai, 39). The same year indicates an onset  of new phase of reforms in Hukou system and the turning point is essentially manifested in market labor alteration so that the labor market no longer has unlimited labor supply but labor shortages becomes frequent.  As the economic reforms in China focused on market orientation, the Hukou system tried to unify labor market in urban and rural areas (Cai, 39). In addition, the conflict between local workers and migrant workers has eased, since the economy no longer guarantess unlimited labor supply while the labor market is dominated by structural factors but not workforce magnitude.  Provisions of social welfare programs like social security are becoming socially pooled on the basis of individual contributions and public finance which makes compatibility more important than competition between the urbanites and new comers (Cai, 40).

 The local governments have also adopted policies that have encouraged development of institutions of labor market that formally recognize migrant workers.  The institutions’ evolution has involved regulations aimed at workers’ protection and de-regulations aimed at liberalization of labor mobility.  The efforts employed in improving Hukou systems for better working environment include policies such as, “2008 Employment Contract Law and Labor Disputes Mediation and Arbitration Law” (Cai, 41). The governments have also frequently increased the scale of adjusting minimum wages while at the same time attempting to improve the participation of newcomers in coverage of various programs such as social insurance. These provisions apply even if the laborers migrate across different provincial boundaries (Cai, 41).

Criticism on Hukou system reforms

The reforms on Hukou systems have faced a lot of criticism from within and outside the country. The various adjustments adopted by the central and local governments are seen to have not led to enough alteration the essence of Hukou system which is dualistic structure in economy and labor market. There is still discrimination against workers within rural Hukou.  The migration workers are still disadvantage a situation that was made worse by the 2008-2009 financial crises experienced globally where most of those who lost their jobs were migrant workers from rural areas (Kam Wing, 361).  

Moreover, the difference between the rate of urbanization and the size of population in non-agricultural sectors has resulted to the perception among policy makers and various scholars that the forms have not yielded positive progress and that there has been an overestimation of urbanization level. The migrant workers who are considered urban residents continue to be excluded from equally accessing many services offered by the urban governments. For instance, the workers face challenges during enrollment of children in schools, lower rates of participating in programs for social insurance and have no guarantee for minimum standards of living (Cai, 42).

Despite such criticisms, the benefits arising from such reforms cannot go unrecognized especially in terms of facilitating employment opportunities and improved working environment for the migrant workers. In addition, the social lives of the migrant workers, their parents or children have been improved greatly in comparison to the pre-reform periods when this population was forced to fend for itself in rural areas. The improved access to welfare services provided by urban governments can be seen as positive results of such reforms. In addition, the acceptance of migrant workers in towns has enabled farmers to operate their enterprise where they can access larger market for their products and this improves their living standards. The reform have also allowed enrollment of migrants children to education and this is important in providing necessary technical skills as the economy expands. The measures adopted by the local governments have also led to stabilization of labor market especially after 2008-2009 financial crises when businesses production capacities could not be fully utilized (Cai, 43). This means that the measures for Hukou systems new reforms are feasible and have been adjusted to align to the real needs of a person’s locality (Cai, 45). The few recognized limitations can be addressed through urgent reforms that include workable measures that will ensure that the Hukou system yields maximum benefits to the urban and rural populations.

Works Cited

Chan, Kam Wing. "The household registration system and migrant labor in China: Notes on a debate." Population and development review 36.2 (2010): 357-364.

Cai, Fang. "Hukou system reform and unification of rural–urban social welfare." China & World Economy 19.3 (2011): 33-48.

Innovation in the public sector

Innovation in public sector refers to new approaches in the management of organizations, rewarding people or even new communication techniques.  It involves creation, development and implementation of realistic ideas through which public benefit will be achieved.  These ideas should be partly new, have to be implemented and even useful in the improvement of services delivery to the members of the public (Mulgan, 2014). Government agencies around the globe are continuously innovating new approaches in provision of services like organization of health, social security and even using technology to achieve such improvements. This innovation also covers policy formulation and partnership with non-government agencies to develop new ways of doing things so as to enhance the operations of organizations and improve benefits to the public (Mulgan, 2014).

The case of Bridge the Gap

A case in example for this kind of innovation is the Bridge the Gap, which is a new program funded by the Department of Health through Excellence and Strategic Development in England.  The initiative involves building on the existing evidence to enhance the integration of employment and health services and that way help individuals with various health conditions. The goal of the program is to offer the public appropriate services which will assist them get employed and manage such conditions in an improved manner (Shehabi, 2015).  The BTG program is a social prescribing service that centered on a person and connects individuals with the right support sources in various sectors including in the community.  It links clients, comprising of unemployed individuals but having health conditions, with information sources and even voluntary sector.  The program achieves its goals through two ways that involve social prescribing; the first includes direct pathway where a person is referred a support service that is focused and secondly, a person is referred to social-prescribing services not related to work but with positive effect on them (Shehabi, 2015).

 The innovation on this program is implemented in partnership with two organizations which include the Pathways Community Interest Company and Fit for Work Team Ltd.  The partnership has greatly been involved assisting individuals whose health conditions are long term and whose employment rates is disproportionately lower as compared to people without such conditions( Shehabi, 2015).  The interventions undertaken by BTG have been shown to improve the benefits to such individuals by liking the employment gap and health thereby helping to address the great inequality faced by people with long term health conditions.  The program offers holistic service through bio-psychosocial and comprehensive assessment centered on an individual.  This is achieved through an action plan that is developed using the input of a person and a manager of their case. By using the bio-psychosocial model, a motivational and practical support that is individually tailored is offered to the client so as they can move close to employment and this contributes to better health outcomes.  The barriers to one’s wellbeing and work are identified and an action plan is developed.  Obstacle to related to unemployment status is also discussed while those clients who are not able to achieve work readiness may withdraw as they please (Shehabi, 2015).  

Outcomes

There are many positive outcomes that have been associated with the adoption of the program and innovation of new ways to help unemployed people with long term health conditions.  These include personal value and fiscal benefits.  The personal benefits arising from the program includes an improved health and health gains wellbeing including self-esteem, reduction of isolation, emotional well-being and positive functioning. Fiscal benefits includes taxpayer savings related to the outcomes of the project such as reduced payments on unemployment benefits since these individuals are in gainful employment, more output from more employment , better health outcomes and hence lower costs related to health care and access to training(Shehabi, 2015). The program adopts new approaches to addresses social issues especially unemployment that has the potential to solve other related issues. The new ways brings more social benefits associates with enhanced wellbeing, and this positively impacts on a person’s family and the entire community. The relationships especially in family settings are maintained since financial, housing and legal matters are tackled using the approach. Greater benefits include lowering vices such as crime (Shehabi, 2015). The greatest of all these intervention is providing constant services of a case advisor or manager using phones and the involved conversations are important to the client.

Strategies encouraging innovation

Working in public services means that managers must succeed since they are tasked with offering solutions to challenges, some which are dire, in the community. The working environment of public managers involves a problem space that has no strong basis of assessing one solution over another but managers must proceed still (Bason, 2010). This is the reason for using innovative strategies that will ensure that the outcomes of their actions are beneficial.  The method for coming up with new ideas involve understanding  how social issues are experienced  and how they use various services and then improving them (Hughes, Moore, & Kataria, 2011). This seems to be the basis of Bridge the Gap model, since the program involves understanding how individuals with long-term health conditions face unemployment issue and how to improve services aimed at improving their lives through employment and better health.  The invention of the new program involved the application of two innovation strategies, which comprises of replicating, altering and improving on existing ideas and using partnership with non-governmental agencies.

The Bridge the Gap program development involved altering the approach used in assisting unemployed individuals with long-term health conditions.  The previous strategies and efforts employed in assisting these individuals seems to have failed to deliver the desired results, as the unemployment rate for people with health conditions remained high relative to their peers who are healthy. The BTG program improved on such program by providing a link between these individuals and sources of such employment opportunities. This involves moving away from the idea of having these individuals depend on government support for finances by improving their employability through training. Such improvement is due to the understanding that generation of new ideas is rare while their implantation is difficult due to risk involved (Hughes, Moore, & Kataria, 2011). Hence, allowing people who are being offered public services to get involved in looking for solution for their problem is an improved approach. The other strategy involves partnership with non-governmental organizations - Pathways Community Interest Company and Fit for Work Team Ltd - to improve service delivery to the people with long-terms health conditions but unemployed.  Partnership makes it possible for public sector to take advantage of capabilities other stakeholders in terms of experience and resources in the provision of services (Hughes, Moore, & Kataria, 2011). The Department of health is able to exploit management skills and consultation services provided by the two partners to help the involved individuals to improve their employability and health outcomes.

References

Mulgan, G. (2014). Innovation in the Public Sector; How can public organisations better create, improve and adapt?. London: Nesta, 11.

Hughes, A., Moore, K., & Kataria, N. (2011). Innovation in Public Sector Organisations: A pilot survey for measuring innovation across the public sector. London: Nesta.

Bason, C. (2010). Leading public sector innovation: Co-creating for a better society. Policy Press.

Shehabi, A., (2015).Addressing the health obstacles to employability A mid-term evaluation of the Bridging the Gap programme. Work Foundation.

Changing the Retail Story

            From the video, I learnt important techniques that govern the operation of a retailer.  First and foremost, a retailer should always be well located. He or she should choose a location where customers can be easily accessible, a place where anybody passing can be able to view the products (Rachel, n.p). A retailer should have a variety of products needed by the customer. A retailer should also be able to come up with new products so as to maintain the relationship with customers. Creativity and innovation is also another approach that retailers should embark on. For instance, retailers should always think of how to simplify dealings with customers, for example, improving the format of delivery, packaging, and payment so as to make it easier for the customer. It is also good to be flexible; a retailer needs to revise and change his or her brand as soon as possible to suit the needs of the customers at that particular moment.

            Retailers should also learn to run business differently. It is always good to be monopolistic; this prevents duplication of ideas from others. It is also good to always come up with new things; this helps when it comes on how to deal with the changing customer behavior. It is also important for retailers to invest on invention, for instance, a retailer should do all means to reach all categories of customers. There are those who can be reached online, others can be reached physically by extending goods as near as possible to them (Rachel, n.p).  Lastly, I also learnt that, it is important to get customers’ feedback on the impact of the product. Customers will always respond whether the product worked better for him or her, or whether the product did not work. This will always help the retailer to strengthen the quality of the product to fit customers.

Work cited

Rachel Shechtman at TEDxHollywood. Changing the Retail Story: (2013). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbnWY-swsK0

Quality leader

1. Introduction

To some people, quality leaders are born while to others, they are made. However, it is widely accepted that for one to be a good leader, they must have some qualities that sets them apart and such qualities enable them to make effective decisions, communicate the decisions to followers and influence them to accept and follow them. While some people are born leaders, most quality leaders are made through development in a continuous process of training, experience, self-study and accumulating the relevant experience. Various theories have been advanced in an attempt to point out the basic idea of good leadership which holds that leadership is an ability possessed by extraordinary people. The evolution of this leadership idea formed the basis of leadership study traits but was later replaced by transactional leadership, situational leadership and transformational leadership. Quality leadership is not about a position that a person occupies but is about acquisition and honing of specific skills that enables one to lead a team in organization towards an intended direction.  The leaders have some philosophies or beliefs which they have adopted and which enables them to perform their tasks in an organization. Quality leadership needs that balanced attention be provided for both strategy and tactics but such a balance is tactical and is mostly tilted in way that it favors tactical requirements. The purpose of this paper is to provide a discussion on quality leader, the beliefs, theories of leadership and a recommendation on how quality leadership can apply in management.

1. Beliefs of quality leaders

Leaders in an organization need more than a great idea and forming a team to actualize the ideas which are just the initial step in achieving success in an organization. The ability to have a conceived idea executed is what set aside organizational leaders from other individuals such as entrepreneurs. When resources in an organization are scarce and tight and such are needed to run an organization, there are normally high levels of stress. When the set goals and visions are not achieved successfully as per the laid out plan, it becomes easy for emotions to get quite high and take a toll on the team (Dinh et. al 2014). In such situations leadership gurus are able to bring everything under control through due to their deeply held beliefs.

Being positive even in worst situations

Quality leaders understand that they cannot have motivated team if they do not show a positive attitude.  They do this by creating a positive environment when things are not right and through creation of relaxed atmosphere an organization’s workplace. Even when the team is undergoing worse situations like reduced team morale, great leaders maintain positivity while looking for ways to sustain the motivation of the team and solve problems (Hess & Bacigalupo, 2014).

Honesty

Regardless of the position held by a leader in terms of ethics, when one is leading a team it is necessary to maintain the bar high. The leaders understand that the organization and employees reflect them and if their behavior and decisions are ethical and honest the followers will do the same (Dinh et. al 2014).

Delegating

 Quality leaders understand that achieving the set vision requires an efficient team and the leader has to trust their team with this vision, otherwise progressing to the next step may be impossible.  The leader remembers that trusting the team indicates strength but not weakness. In addition, delegation of tasks to the right departmental team is an essential skill that can be developed as the organization is growing. Delegation requires the identification of team strength, capitalizing on these strengths and improving the team while at the same time freeing up some time and focusing on various tasks that cannot be delegated (Dinh et. al 2014).

Embracing failure and managing various set backs

The quality leader knows that failure is inevitable and hence, they have to be prepared to manage them. They maintain calmness while using logic while thinking through such a situation, utilizing the resources and looking for solutions.  The leader believes in providing leadership amidst setbacks. For instance, after encountering a serious setback in the development process for Ford Quadricycle, Henry Ford established the Detroit Automobile Company but after another failure, he persisted until Ford Motor Company achieved its success (Schlichting, 2016). This shows the need for persistence even amidst any failure.

Effective communication

This involves a complex process of listening and giving back which makes it easy for leaders to communicate well and understand their team and different ideas they may have. The leader understands the need for clear communication with other followers; interpret them properly while not taking away their suggestions.  Dalai Lama is good example, whose leadership is anchored on benevolence and understanding which is enabled by effective communication (Lin, Hu,& Fuchs, 2016).

Inspiring other people

A quality leader believes in developing the skills of other individuals around them and more so their skills and abilities. Developing other people will simplify the work being done by a team and as members improve and even grow, their morale will be boosted. Moreover, the leader may develop certain skills which they do not have and which are necessary in an organization.

• Leadership theories

There are various theories that have been advanced with an aim of exploring the qualities that sets apart leaders from their followers. From followers’ perspectives, leadership consists of all what is done by the leader, which determines whether their objectives will be achieved and the success of organization and employees.  The earliest theories put their focus on specific qualities which differentiated leaders and their followers, but subsequent theories focused on other variables like level of skills and situational factors.

Great man theories

These theories assume that leadership ability is inherent and that quality leaders are born but not made. The great man theories mostly present quality leaders as mythic m heroic and can rise to leadership whenever it is needed. The use of the term great man implies the primary thinking that leadership is a quality in male more so in relation to military leadership (Martin, Breunig, Wagstaff & Goldenberg, 2017).

Trait theories

The trait theory is based on the assumption that individuals inherit some specific characteristics and qualities which makes them outstanding and hence best suited to lead. Such theories largely highlight some specific behavioral characteristics or personalities which are common in leaders. The problems arise when trying to explain various individuals with such qualities but are not in leadership, if at all certain traits are an indication of leadership qualities (Martin, Breunig, Wagstaff & Goldenberg, 2017).  This represents a problem in trying to use trait theories as a basis of explaining leadership.

Situational leadership

This theory holds that for a leader to be effective, he needs a rational knowledge of the prevailing situation and the right response instead of a charismatic leader having a large group of followers dedicated to him or her. The focus of this theory is that a leader will focus the needed tasks or on how they related with his or her followers and implies a leadership style where it is necessary to relate the syle of leadership and followers maturity. The leaders are task –oriented and hence define roles to be undertaken by followers, provide specific instructions, create patterns to be followed in the organization and even develop communication channels (McCleskey, 2014). On the other hand m leaders who are relation –oriented show concern for other people and try to minimize emotional conflict, ensure equal participation and attempt to create harmonious relations. However, there are various problems that arise from this theory which includes no internal consistency, ambiguities and internal inconsistencies. The other limitation involves research revelation that no specific style of leadership can be considered to universally fit and behavioral theories depended on other types like abstract leadership whose identification is difficult (McCleskey, 2014). 

Transformational leadership

This theory has been widely studied in the leadership field and various research have linked it to management success , effectiveness of middle level manager , military leadership , virtual teams , leadership in cross-cultural groups , emotional intelligence and personality. In transformational leadership theory, charisma is a very important element. A transformational leader is one who increases the consciousness level of followers in relation to the value and need for desired results and the methods used in arriving at these results. The leader is able to convince the followers to go beyond their self –interests for the organizational sake and at the same time elevate follower’s Maslow need level, beginning with the lower security and safety level to the highest needs for self-actualization and even achievement (McCleskey, 2014).In this theory for aspects are very important and include inspirational motivation, idealized consideration, intellectual stimulation and consideration for individuals.  Inspirational motivation and idealized influence are aspects that represent charisma. A transformational leader will demonstrate all the aspects to varying level so as to achieve the desired organizational results through the efforts of the followers. Idealized influence involves followers wishing to emulate some qualities to which they attribute a leader and they are impressed by his or her behavior. Inspirational motivation relates to the ability to offer inspiration and motivation to followers and having a common challenge or meaning with the followers (McCleskey, 2014).

Transactional leadership

This theory focuses on certain exchanges that happen between a follower and a leader, which makes it possible for the leader to achieve performance objectives that they have set. The exchanges also allow the leaders to finish the tasks needed, maintain the present organizational situation and at the same time offer motivation to followers by way of contractual agreement.  The leader is also able to direct the follower’s behavior towards attaining the set goals and at the same time placing emphasis in extrinsic rewards. The leader is able to avert any unnecessary risks and focus on enhancing the efficiency in an organization (McCleskey, 2014).   For transactional leadership, followers are able to accomplish their self-interest, reduce any anxiety at the workplace and focus on comprehensible objectives of an organization like higher quality, lower costs and higher production level. The theory highlights the connection between leaders and their followers as being different gratification exchanges designed to maximize gains for an individual and the general organization.  Transactional leadership can be described as exchanges between a leader and his or her follower and it is aimed at benefiting both.  The leader uses contingent rewards, corrective coaching and even negative feedback to influence the follower (McCleskey, 2014).

1. Recommendation to management

While there are many ideas included in many theories of leadership, little consensus exist on what makes up effective leadership. The knowledge on leadership is wide but fragmented with many propositions on the best leadership qualities that constitute an organizational leader. An increase in challenges facing organizations especially businesses requires a leadership quality that will provide solutions as they are needed.  An increase in economic systems organization comes with great risks and competition which means that organization management has to remain on their toes (Vann, Coleman & Simpson, 2014).  Quality leadership is needed at the management level to provide guidance on how to obtain solutions for more productivity and better competitive edge. Leadership as a method is passed on through communication channels, both formal and informal. The appropriate style of leadership will be determined by the situation prevailing in the industry, market, organization and the leader’s personality and ability to influence. In competitive global environment, a hybrid leadership will play a key role in bringing success to a business organization in the global market.  The hybrid leadership is all about renaissance since it is different in many than past styles of leadership. The leader should have qualities that will help an organization to sail safely through many challenges in the current global market (Nazir, Soomro, Ahmad &Waheed, 2014).

The management of an organization should be at the hand of a leader with blended abilities and qualities which will help them to succeed in the present environment.  The environment is bringing about disconnects and sour relationship between a  manager and employees and this acts as a catalyst for organizational leaders to transit from just supervisory roles to mentoring and coaching roles.  This involves building capacity of employees. The environment is also littered with cases of unethical behavior among some organizational leaders and the impacts of these behaviors have been felt by many people and thereby, tainting the perception of the world on leaders.  A leader should be able to build trust among his followers, or employees by reconnecting the relationship between an employer and employee (Nazir et. al 2014).

The aim of hybrid leadership is to enable followers to maintain an optimal performance level.  The leadership should embrace the various positive traits described in the leadership theories and steer the organization towards growth and development. The focus should be on both feminine and masculine traits which a leader can use to come up with aptitude and enhance the performance of an organization. For instance, transformational leadership aims at creation of new opportunities for the organization’s employees and transactional style assist in improving the current structure. Eliminating the various aspects of leadership that counterproductive will enable leaders, followers and organizations to perform at optimum level.

1. Conclusion

While some people are born leaders, leadership qualities can be imparted on a person to develop his leadership skills. Trait leadership theories tend to view leadership qualities as being inherent but other theories describe a leader as being made though experience, training and education. The various leadership styles proposed these theories have limitations, and in the current challenging environment, a hybrid leadership is important since it focuses on combination of positive aspects of these theories.

References

Vann, B. A., Coleman, A. N., & Simpson, J. A. (2014). Development of the Vannsimpco leadership survey: a delineation of hybrid leadership styles. Swiss Business School Journal of Applied Business Research, 3, 28-38. 

 Nazir,B., , Soomro, S., Ahmad, A., Waheed ,A.,(2014). Hybrid leadership and Employees Capacity building. International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Volume 5, Issue 1

 Dinh, J. E., Lord, R. G., Gardner, W. L., Meuser, J. D., Liden, R. C., & Hu, J. (2014). Leadership theory and research in the new millennium: Current theoretical trends and changing perspectives. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(1), 36-62. 

Schlichting, N. M. (2016). Unconventional leadership: What Henry Ford and Detroit taught me about reinvention and diversity. Routledge. 

Hess, J. D., & Bacigalupo, A. C. (2014). Enhancing management problem-solving processes through the application of emotional intelligence skills. Journal of Management Policies and Practices, 2(3), 1-17. 

Lin, F., Hu, C., & Fuchs, A. (2016). How Do Firms Respond to Political Tensions? The Heterogeneity of the Dalai Lama Effect on Trade.

 McCleskey, J. A. (2014). Situational, transformational, and transactional leadership and leadership development. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 5(4), 117.

 Martin, B., Breunig, M., Wagstaff, M., & Goldenberg, M. (2017). Outdoor leadership: Theory and practice. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.  87.92

Jack Ma Leadership Style

Introduction

Jack Ma is a captivating illustration of an effective leader. Jack MA is a Chinese business entrepreneur who is the initiator and executive director of Alibaba Group. Alibaba Group is an international internet business with the Chinese origin. Jack Ma’s intentions were to utilize the general authority of the internet and his business to support more international business across nations beyond China and assist in the growth of SMEs globally (Alibaba Group, n.d.). in terms of global entrepreneurship, Jack Ma was categorized as the 30th most authoritative individual and has received several rewards for the same being the 2nd most authoritative leader in 2017 (Alibaba Group, n.d.). For Jack Ma, his power in entrepreneurship has not be driven by monetary value rather by his desire and commitment to bringing transformations. He is mainly objected at changing the manner in which business is conducted and supports China in being the most successful in e-business. For this reasons, Jack Ma is a leader that through experience owns exemption potentials, abilities and a differentiated leadership style which has made him an effective leader (Linshi, 2014). This paper will particularly address Jack Ma’s leadership styles including a relative evaluation of transactional, transformation characteristics and his tendency to utilize motivational and inspirational approaches.

Jack Ma is more of a transformational than a transactional leader because he is charismatic, holds an authoritative vision, communicates his vision effectively, capable of developing trust and holds an appealing self-interest (Linshi, 2014). Transactional leadership can best be described as the authority of a leader over his employees via the use of punishment and rewards in order to motivate them. On the other hand, a transformational leader is the primary motivator in the workplace and encourages high participation not in regard to the related value but commitment and satisfaction from their roles. Jack Ma is a particularly delightful and attractive leader who always focus on ensuring that his employees acquire a sense of comfort and happiness while working for the company (Avolio & Yammarino, 2013). In order to encourage the employees to work for transformation, he has developed an interesting working surrounding within the company through the organization of often training programs and events. As the company’s leader his worker has utmost admiration of his traits and in this context, he is perceived to be an authentic leader to the workers which has been essential in the acquisition of trust and loyalty (Avolio & Yammarino, 2013).

As an authentic leader Jack owns an influential character sense which has assisted him in creating a strong foundation for the corporation through trust (Linshi, 2014). Jack believes that effective leaders should not limit their humor character only because they are in control since those traits are needed in building long run relationships (Linshi, 2014). Jack utilizes motivational leadership in transforming thoughts and perception of the employees and all other stakeholders. This is because he acknowledges the fact that it is not possible to ensure that every individual believes in what he focuses on and in order to draw every individual in the same direction he is guided by having a strong mission and willingness to change. For him, a leader is that one individual who focuses on what the workers offers rather than the value to be achieved. All this cannot be achieved without the presence of a precise mission (Linshi, 2014). He does not rely on penalties and rewards but he states that those that sacrifice their personal motives for the wellness of the company deserves nothing less than recognition and rewards.

Leadership styles

Jack Ma has made several influential investments in diverse sectors globally with the use of several leadership styles. To begin with, Jack is a visionary leader (Kux, 2016). This is an individual who is not discouraged by the existing poor scenarios and focuses on the opportunities of transforming the existing environment into one that is characterized by desirable outcomes. Despite the fact that his tries have failed in several instances he has grown to be more authoritative and braver which ultimately turned into his extensive success today. In this, context, he is an effective visionary leader that normally focuses on creating well in the worst scenarios. Secondly, Jack utilizes coaching leadership (Kux, 2016). This leadership approach is mainly centered on personal development and demonstrating to individuals on how transformation can be created in reality. Jack Ma is guided by his philosophy which holds that an essential investment is the one that is made of young individuals since creativity and innovativeness in this segment is particularly high and cannot be destroyed at any cost (Linshi, 2014). For him, those that surround him in the workplace understand that he does not offer any bread because he trains them on how they can create their own production to feed their hunger and that of others. He is also an authoritative coach to all his workers and community which can best be derived from his advisory functions that he plays in different companies across the globe.

Further, Jack Ma is a pacesetter because he exploits opportunities and ensures that they grow to be the most influential investments. For Jack Ma is particularly focused on developing e-commerce in China thus setting a higher pace for all the contemporary businesses (Kux, 2016). In addition, he inspires for change. In that, he focuses on the issues that hinder the development of the contemporary business particularly from the internet which inspires most to transform in order for better performance and value to be acquired (Bertocci, 2009). He also utilizes perseverant leadership style. A perseverant lead involves the engagement of someone who does not fear to fail. In that, it is through failure that one acquires better experience and better means of escaping such failures in the future. Jack believes that being afraid is the most destructive failure that can ever occur (Kux, 2016). This means that the most effective perseverant is the one that will still attempt in repeated instances regardless of the number of instances that one is bound to fail. This is the normal Jack Ma who has been recognized globally for his repeated attempts despite the existing challenges and obstacles. For instance, Jack once attempted to be admitted to college on two distinct periods but failed but he later passed on his third attempt. On the other hand on countless instances, he has been denied some working roles following strict assessments. More so he has been rejected several times which accounts to ten or more by the Harvard institution in addition to his China pages exploration but has remained persistent (Kux, 2016). This makes him a perseverant leader.

Major leadership skills that Jack Ma has demonstrated as an effective leader today

Every effective leader is characterized by certain traits that make them different. This can be the manner in which an individual delivers their beliefs or the manner in which they respond to different scenarios. Some of these qualities can be obtained via different learning procedures while others grow with working experience (Kux, 2016). From the analysis, Jack Ma’s primary skill that makes him unique revolves around effective communication. In that, as a leader, he is inspirational, motivates and inordinate communicator of his bold and huge goals. Through his communication, he is able to unleash his perspectives and thoughts in thorough descriptions for all his audiences to adopt. This kind of communication has helped in throughout the leadership in acquiring unlimited success in the contemporary society (Kux, 2016).

In addition, Jack Ma is persistent and is not willing to quit. Regardless of the situation, he is committed to achieving the best (Bertocci, 2009). Despite the fails that he has experiences he has not given up at any given moment. Most people tend to quit due to the lack of perseverance.  Jack Ma also holds great qualities regarding the potential to acquire better opportunities in regard to undesirable situations. In the initial attempts to create China page across the globe he failed and despite the increasing pressure from established companies such as Amazon, he continued to try. All these qualities differentiate Jack as a more differentiated leader based not only on his success but also influence globally (Bertocci, 2009).

Conclusion

Based on the above analysis of Jack Ma’s leadership styles it is apparent that premeditated leadership is needed for the general growth of a company. Jack Ma is a transformation leader who is focused on motivating his employees based on values rather than anticipation. He is a charismatic and highly motivated leader who is focused on motivating his employees to achieve greater heights through inspirations and motivations. Jack Ma’s persistency, effective communication and willingness to transform have made him successful and different from all other entrepreneurs across the globe.

ReferencesTop of FormBottom of Form

Avolio, B. J., & Yammarino, F. J. (2013). Transformational and charismatic leadership: The       road ahead. Bingley, UK: Emerald.

Alibaba Group. (n.d.). Senior Management: Jack Ma, Executive Chairman Alibaba Group.          Retrieved from Alibaba Group: http://www.alibabagroup.com/en/about/leadership

Bertocci, D. I. (2009). Leadership in organizations: There is a difference between leaders and managers. Lanham, Md: University Press of America. Lanham.

Kux, S. (2016). Success from Jack Ma, Self-Made Billionaire and CEO of Alibaba. Retrieved from http://www.lifehack.org/articles/work/8-keys-success-from-jack-self-made-billionaire-and-ceo-alibaba.html

Linshi, J. (2014). 5 Life Lessons From Alibaba Founder Jack Ma. Retrieved from Time: http://time.com/3423708/5-life-lessons-jack-ma-alibaba/

 Development of a team 

Team building activities help group’s members to bond, develop trust and have fun together. This increases their chances of being productive while they are a team. Team building   exercises also increase the morale of the members and help them to communicate better .Moreover it helps them to familiarize with the personalities of each other thus creating a bond. The long term benefits of team building will enable the team to combine their different skills to perform tasks that will see goals of the team fulfilled ; plan and solve challenges in quick succession and encourage the team to remain focused to the set objectives. Team building exercises should be fun and exciting. Some of the team building exercises that can be undertaken by the group’s members include skiing, cooking as a team, wine tasting among others that may make interactive easier and  memorable. (Middlewood, Debenham, & hoopla digital, 2012)

 Trust in a group can be built by   promoting transparency and open communication between the group members and even the supervisors of the groups. Outlining code of conduct of the group helps in the promotion of transparency and gives a clear guidance on how the group should handle itself and its activities. Advising the group to avoid blame games will help to build constructive critism that will see the group work harmoniously and reduce conflict among themselves. One of the benefits of code of conduct in a group is to create defined objectives and purpose which help to improve efficiency. Open communication is one of the tools of building trust and ensuring cohesiveness in a group. Encouraging socializing will result to knowing each other on a personal level .This can be done by creating an atmosphere that is friendly. A friendly atmosphere will also enable members to know each other at a more personal level than just the role they play in the group. The supervisor may start by sharing personal information about themselves such as hobbies and music interests. This will encourage socializing to continue even after work and one of the main result of socializing in a group is increase in productivity. (Middlewood, Debenham, & hoopla digital, 2012)

 Team building may cause cliques among group members as they align themselves based on what they like about each other resulting to other members feeling isolated. When this arises, the best way to handle it is to discuss it openly with all members. Ask them questions on what they think on the effects brought about by creating cliques. Collect the information from their opinions to create a solution that will favor all the member of the group and create unity at the same time. Trust is an important element in team building. Whenever a group supervisor notices existence of trust issues he or she should carry out a survey. A questionnaire can be distributed to the group members .The members of the group while filling the questionnaire should remain anonymous. Results should be discussed among the members and implemented as agreed. (Emergency Capacity Building Project, 2007).

There are two ways of measuring team performance and that is by observing individuals and the group as whole. At the individual level, a group member can be assessed against the role he plays in the group and how well they can work with other members. Does the member finish their work? ; are they on time? , do they arrive on time during meetings? , what are their attitude towards work? These questions will also reveal the attitude and behavior of the individual towards the group. The result of that individual member can then be checked and verified. The accuracy of the data the individual provides to the group can also be examined and evaluated. Therefore , at the individual level two things can be checked and that is behavior and work performance .At the team level ,effectiveness can be measured through; how well the team work together and their ability to solve problems as a team.( Emergency Capacity Building Project, 2007).

References

Emergency Capacity Building Project. (2007). Building trust in diverse teams: The toolkit for emergency response. Oxford, England: Oxfam GB.

Middlewood, G., Debenham, A., & hoopla digital. (2012). 43 team-building activities for key stage 1. United States: Andrews UK.

Strategic Leadership Mid-Term Exam

Question 1

The order in which internal and external evaluation is performed while conducting a SWOT analysis is important. In that, the internal analysis should proceed then after its completion the external one can then be conducted. In that the ability of the business to succeed in the market is not only determined by the external opportunities and threats rather it is fueled more by the inner weaknesses and capabilities of the company (Sengupta, 2005). The analysis must begin to consider the advantages and weaknesses that the firm has in meeting all the needs of the target consumers. The advantages are the firm’s core competencies that position it an advantage in meeting all the markets requirements (West, Ford & Ibrahim, 2015). It is only by solving the internal limitations that the company can venture into business and should all be integrated together. After this then the existing opportunities and risks of that venture are assessed to determine how the internal strengths can be utilized in overcoming such hurdles and attain success.

Question 2

Based on the market scenario I will not lend my roommate the money that he needs to open a pizza restaurant in Washington, DC. This is because despite the fact that it is apparent that the market has high pizza and convenience foods demand the market is already saturated with the fresh restaurants that are being opened on regular basis. In addition, there are other well-established firms that are based in the market providing similar services such as Door-Dash, Pizza Hut, Dominos, GrubHub and Uber Eats.  Both the new and the well-established firms create high competition that will be challenging for a new restaurant to overcome. Regardless of the low entry barrier, such firms have already dominated the market and therefore, a fresh business will need more investment in creating awareness and familiarity of its presence. Consumers mainly trust well-recognized brands particularly when it comes to meals and it will be difficult to gain a significant share (West, Ford & Ibrahim, 2015). In addition, the presence of many restaurants in the market means that every restaurant only owns a small share in the market that is characterized by low profits. In other words, there is no opportunity for my roommate to acquire profit with his pizza restaurant because of the presence of many companies in the market most of which are well recognized and successful. The best opportunity for such a business would be in emerging market where competition is low and the chances of making high profits are high.

Question 3

The primary competitive advantages that southwest airlines have is differentiation and cost leadership strategies. In that, for the company to sustain its low pricing strategy, it has focused on creating a business approach that revolves around minimal operating expenses. In addition, the company’s approach is concentrated on efficiency, consumer experience, logistics solutions and motivated workforces (West, Ford & Ibrahim, 2015). The company is guided by the belief that workers are an essential aspect of business and should always be inspired to achieve higher. On the other hand, consumer satisfaction and differentiated consumer experience are at its core. This approach has assisted the company in attaining efficiency and in turn reducing its operating expenses (Singh, 2008). It is such competitive advantages that have ensured and sustained its relevancy in the face of intense competition and operative threats. The company’s competitive advantages are fueled by having the right staffs, consistent improvement, and flexible policies and rewards that are aimed at motivating its employees to achieve high.

Question 4

I do agree with the raised notion from the article that it is only large multinational companies can be innovative. This is because unlike such firms like Apple and Nike which started as small firms prior to growing into the international industry it should be acknowledged that innovation today is in a new level and competition is particularly high. This means that in order for a company to be innovative much resources, recognition and stability are required which is not possible for small firms which are trying to be established in the market and acquire recognition (Singh, 2008). Innovation is very expensive and takes so many risks and a large share in the international market is necessary for such a venture.

Question 5

In my opinion, these companies are mainly using both forward and backward integration. This is because the firms use vertical integration and some form of merging with the suppliers. Forward integration refers to a business approach that incorporates vertical operations where business operations are extended to incorporate the primary control of actual supply (Singh, 2008). The oil and the pipeline company are involved in a form of vertical integration where the company is shifting down to the supply network. This is a form of backward integration that reflects some sort of a unification that is mainly aimed at reducing the expenses of operations while improving its revenue gains and ensuring that the corporations become more competitive by achieving high stability and efficiency.

Question 6

Market diversification is a business approach that involves getting into fresh markets where the business does not exist while at the same time generating fresh products that are to be supplied in the market (Knecht, 2014). In my view, if Gore Company had not engaged in corporate diversification that ensured that it was situated in a different market then its market and competitive advantage would have been lost. This is because the value of a company is bound to increase as its sales increases. Economies scale is vulnerable because it results in the general rise of the company’s revenue while lowering its operating expenses when being compared with the scenario where the market diversity had not been exploited (Knecht, 2014).

Question 7

It is widely known that in order to succeed in the technology business one mush focus on being the first, the finest or least priced (Singh, 2008). In the phones world android owned by Google became the cost leader which attracted most consumer’s sensitive of prices but in need of innovation. On the other hand, Apple has positioned itself as the firm and the leading in terms of quality. Microsoft despite acquiring success in the computing market failed to compete either through cost leadership or even quality. Their products become highly prices when equated to what the android devices were priced which led to its loss in the cost aspect (Warren, 2017). More so not even a single of its operating systems was characterized by the high quality when compared to that of firms such as Apple.

Further, Microsoft killed its own investment by venturing on a development that was not compatible with the Android version by trying to be differentiated. This move was expensive and therefore means that its products would be characterized by particularly utmost prices thus discourage purchase. By focusing to be the innovation leader the company did not consider the needs of the market. In addition, it focused on a strategy that had already been occupied by Apple which competes on the basis of quality and therefore lost its competitive benefits that it would have gained by being characterized by minimal pricing (Singh, 2008).

References

Knecht, M. (2014). Diversification, industry dynamism, and economic performance: The impact of dynamic-related diversification on the multi-business firm. Wiesbaden: Springer Gabler.

Sengupta, S. (2005). Brand positioning: Strategies for competitive advantage. New Delhi [u.a.: McGraw-Hill.

Singh, M. (2008). Strategic management and competitive advantage. New Delhi: Global India Publications.

Warren, T. (2017). Windows Phone Dies Today. Retrieved from https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/11/15952654/microsoft-windows-phone-end-of-support

West, D., Ford, J. B., & Ibrahim, E. (2015). Strategic marketing: Creating competitive advantage. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

 Executive Summary

Performance in an organization comprehends a lot of diversity considering that different factors need to be considered to enhance performance. The pervasive factors that tend to induce significant challenges to the achievement of organizational goals entail leadership and managerial characteristics. The manager and the leader play an essential role in ensuring employee coordination, cooperation, and commitment in my organization where I work as an employee in the production segment. Therefore, my journal highlights the roles of organizational management; managers have to guarantee goal accomplishment by generating cordial relationships with employees at different occupational levels. The organizational structure allows teamwork for increased creativity in production. Importantly, the composition comprises groups of diverse backgrounds. As a result, managers and leaders have the responsibility if ensuring coordination and commitment through effective planning. Moreover, managers are bound to conduct their roles in ethical ways while exemplifying employee motivation.

 Unit 1: Leadership; Managing in the 21^st century

The topics on organizational efficiency include significant complexities, which commonly underline a potential association between leadership and managerial influences to the accomplishment of goals in a work environment (Gilbert, 2017). The most pervasive concept in most orientations implies that leaders and managers hold essential roles that determine the effectiveness of goal attainment. They both develop the basis for valuable performance considering that managers are tasked to ensure coordination whereas leaders are responsible for influencing dedication among the employees towards goal achievement in an organization. Some tasks, however, may require managers to present some fundamental leadership skills. For instance, certain situations may allow managers to exercise headship to facilitate performance by directing people to a specific goal (Gilbert, 2017).

Cooperation and coordination in an organization necessitate viable leadership and managerial skills for positive performance. In my group where I work as an employee in the production segment, the manager is tasked to both the administrative and leadership practices since the company majors in small-scale production.  It is a customer-based organization hence the manager has the responsibility of ensuring that employee needs are met efficiently to facilitate production growth (Gilbert, 2017). The director has the mandate to organize the entire production process including the engagement of raw materials and deployment of workers in regards to one’s expertise and set goals for quality production. The manager also monitors the progress of the already acting processes to make sure that they work for the general goals of the organization. Through evaluation, the manager finds it easy to discern and diminish chances for acts that deviate from operational obligations by ensuring that employees remain focused towards specific goals (Forbes, 2010).

On the other hand, as a leader, the manager is responsible for influencing commitment within the departments which significantly maximizes chances for production growth. Notably, my leader exemplifies characteristics of a transformational because he is usually determined to cause operational changes for production improvement. Moreover, the leader emphasizes the need for a flexible production environment (Gilbert, 2017. To attain this goal, he merges educational competency with other primary attributes of a transformational leader including persistency and forwarding looking (Gilbert, 2017). Significantly, the transformational leadership underlines the goal of expanding production hence all employees work towards the objective through customer satisfaction.

References

J.C. Penney's Fair and Square Pricing Strategy
1.  Evaluate the overall effectiveness of the "Fair and Square” repositioning strategy? How well or poorly do all the elements work together or work at odds with one another to deliver a coherent whole? What elements are missing?

Fair and square is a transposing strategy which is value based, where J.C. Penney is trying to increase value through everyday low prices, hence changing the perception of the customers, making them to see the company as an everyday shopping, rather than a company which only strives on promotions (Elie & Jill, 5). The store aims at capturing value with its new strategy, and not to create. The elements of the strategy are well organized in the sense that they allow the customer to see the value of shopping in the store, hence increasing the number of customers, which translates into huge profits. On the other hand, the failure of the store to conduct a marketing research, is its main mistake, simply because the strategy may not be as effective as the management of the store thought.

2. What do the 1st and 2nd quarter results indicate about the “Fair and Square” strategy?

The 1^st and 2^nd quarter indicate the new strategy had a considerable negative impact on JCP (Elie & Jill, 9). 

3. Are the first two quarter results enough to validate or invalidate the changes? How would you respond to them?

The first two quarters are enough to invalidate the changes, since the revenue earned from products sold after the implementation of the strategy dropped 86.5% to 84%, in a period of 6 months. This explains why the strategy is not a success, and should therefore be done away with, or JCP should start a promotion to boost the sale of its products (Elie & Jill, 10).

4. Are the results due to a faulty strategy or to a faulty execution of a solid strategy?

The results are due to both a faulty strategy and due to a faulty execution of a solid strategy. This is basically because, the company did not conduct a market research, to understand what customer want. In addition, the company did nothing to show the customers, the reasons for lowering the prices (Elie & Jill, 10).

5. Is J. C. Penney a brand that can be Target‐ized or Apple‐ized? Why or why not? In what fundamental way does J.C. Penney differ from these two brands? Does Johnson’s plan address these differences in ways that make the success of J.C. Penney’s new strategy more or less likely?

JCP can be Target-ized, however it cannot be Apple-ized, due to the following reasons: Target-izing would allow JCP to add expensive products to its product mix thus targeting customers who may be willing to pay more to purchase stylish products (Elie & Jill, 11). JCP cannot be apple-ized because the products purchased from the store do not require any form of professional advice or assistance.

JCP is different from target simply because its main goal is not necessarily to be on the lower end of the market as a mass merchandizer. In order to address this difference, JCP is pairing high-end brands with cheap brands, to create a market for both products (Elie & Jill, 12). On the other hand, JCP differs from Apple, because of its target market, consumer purchase process, and the product line of breadth. JCP consequently fails to address these differences, due to poor customer service, and poor buying process, which affects the efforts of the strategy.

6. Do you agree with the changes Johnson is making to the pricing scheme that are set to take effect August 1st? Are they enough to turn things around?

I do not agree with the changes in the pricing scheme which JCP is set to make on August 1^st, if the company wants to continue with EDLP (Elie & Jill, 12). If the company eliminates Fair and Square, then the ads which it had earlier on ran, will have gone to waste, a factor which will confuse the customers, and also affect the company’s profits.         

7. What should Johnson do now? Looking 1 year out, will J.C. Penney be a stronger or weaker brand if he stays on the current course?

            Johnson should conduct a market based research, to understand the needs of the customers (Elie & Jill, 14). In addition, he should also focus on a single strategy, which will enable the company to forge forward, and forget about promotions. In so doing, JCP will be able to attract most customers, hence increasing profits.

Reference

Elie, Ofek. & Jill, Avery. J.C. Penney’s “Fair and Square” Pricing Strategy: Havard Business School. 2013. Print.