STEVE JOBS, BILL AND MELINDA GATES CASE STUDIES PDF

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LAZARUS, YVONNE NDINDA ID NO. 648878 CHANDARIA SCHOOL OF BUSINESS CASE STUDIES: 1. Steve Jobs 2. Bill and Melinda Gates BUS 6035 COURSE: LEADERSHIP AND ETHICS LECTURER: PROF. MICHAEL KIRUBI Ph.D 0 CASE STUDY 1 STEVE JOBS AND APPLE. QUESTION 1 Explain how each of the five elements of our definition o...

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LAZARUS, YVONNE NDINDA ID NO. 648878

CHANDARIA SCHOOL OF BUSINESS CASE STUDIES: 1. Steve Jobs 2. Bill and Melinda Gates BUS 6035 COURSE: LEADERSHIP AND ETHICS LECTURER: PROF. MICHAEL KIRUBI Ph.D

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CASE STUDY 1 STEVE JOBS AND APPLE. QUESTION 1 Explain how each of the five elements of our definition of leadership applies to Steve Jobs leading Apple 1. Lead Followers Steve Jobs were a leader who provided direction for his followers/ employees. Although known for his sternness and controlling nature Steve went ahead to create a great team some of his early managers went on to be very successful. We are told he went on to inspire loyalty, enthusiasm and high levels of performance through continuous innovation. 2. Influence Influencing is the process of communicating ideas and gaining acceptance of them and motivating followers to support and implement the ideas through change. Steve Jobs was a very influential leader both to his employees, the industry and customers. A classic example is his innovation of the Apple tablet which is a cross between the PC and phone. There was no other product like it in the market but he originated the ideas talked his technical team to production and consequently was able to convince the market (customers) that they needed such a gadget and it gained popularity. 3. Organizational Objectives Effective leaders influence followers to think not only of their own interests but also of the interest of the organization through a shared vision. Leadership occurs when followers are influenced to do what is ethical and beneficial for the organization and themselves. Steve Jobs leadership was that supported

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continuous innovation. This was highly motivating for his employees because they gained a lot of satisfaction from the innovation of new technologies which in turn made Apple a market leader. 4. Change Organizations need to continually change, adapt to the rapidly changing environment. In 1985 Steve was fired from Apple for being controlling and unmanageable. He was considered failure at this point but he learned his lessons and bounced back by starting a new company –NeXT. He did well at next and Apple considered returning him back to the position of CEO. His change abilities are also seen in the way he always something new knowing well the technology industry developing with some technologies becoming outdated too fast. 5. People Leadership is about leading people. To be effective you must be able to get along with people and helping them succeed. Although described as aggressive brutal and blunt Steve Jobs inspired loyalty, enthusiasm and high levels of performance through continuous innovation to his employees.

Question 2 Identify leadership skills Job has that led to his and Apple Success. Which skill is his strongest? Visionary Like many innovative game-changers, Jobs wasn’t looking to replicate what’s already been done. He didn’t like to play the ―I can do it better game.‖ He played the ―I’m going to do something completely different game.‖ This thinking is illustrated with the iPad. Before its introduction into the market, no one

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would have wanted a cross between a Smartphone and a computer. But now, it has stolen the hearts of consumers and revolutionized business operations. Urgency Steve Jobs had a sense of urgency that gave him drive. Many times, he spoke of life and death; time being one of life’s greatest tools for success. He knew that not grabbing onto an idea or waiting ―until it’s the right time,‖ would never cut it. This is why he sought innovative solutions and built products before a customer realized they needed it. Focus In a world full of possibility, one important trait to absorb from Jobs is the ability to focus. This is part of why his products have become some of the most loved in history. He picked a need, developed a product and spent every ounce of energy perfecting the product. He picked technology and made technology his life. His ability to set a goal and stay committed gave way to tremendous success. Adaptability While Steve Jobs’ adaptability is a more subtle quality than his confidence, his ability to be adaptable is something that Jobs used to his advantage in multiple situations. When Jobs was ousted from Apple when he was 30 years old for his lack of empathy and leadership skills, the innovator spent the next 12 years adapting his skills and his unique style of leadership to better fit the needs of the company. He was known by many for being too focused on work to care about others’ feelings which was one of the reasons Apple cut ties with him in the first place, but he adapted, came back and went on to pioneer some of Apple’s greatest creations ever.

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Job’s strongest skill was his Adaptability This may be the most subtle and easily missed quality of Steve Jobs, yet is possibly the most important. Documentaries and tribute articles sing praises all day about Jobs, so it can be easy to forget his humanity. He wasn’t perfect. He wasn’t magical. Forbes Contributor, Dave Coursey, even wrote ―Jobs was busy changing the World and minor annoyances like people’s feelings didn’t fit into his plan.‖ Coursey isn’t the first to acknowledge Jobs’ struggle with empathy and leadership skills. In fact, in Let’s Get One Thing Straight — Apple Had No Choice but to Oust Steve Jobs, published by Business Insider, Henry Blodget describes Jobs’ actions as ―out-of-control disruptive behavior and incompetence as the leader of the Mac division.‖ This is why Steve Jobs was stripped of his operating role at Apple and subsequently departed from the organization. Keep in mind; these are descriptions of 30-year-old Jobs. Leaping 12 years into the future, Jobs returned to the company a changed man and went on to pioneer world-changing technology. His struggle with emotional intelligence was life-long, but it was his continuous efforts to grow that made him great. Had Jobs not been open to criticism and able to admit his flaws, he wouldn’t have grown to be a better leader. Without determination and adaptability to change, Jobs would never have left such an amazing mark on the world. Question 3 Identify managerial leadership roles played by Jobs as CEO of Apple. Which role was the most important? a) Entrepreneur Leaders perform this role when they innovate and initiate improvements. They get more ideas for improvement through monitoring. Jobs lived this role with all the Apple products he was apple to develop and launch. While Pixar was still doing great creating animated stories for Disney he was willing to sell it to Disney. That is what entrepreneurs do, they identify with winners other than 4

let a great brand die they are willing to join resources with others to make even greater revenues. The other thing that shows his entrepreneurship prowess is his ability to diversify. Jobs was constantly into something new from PC, to Hollywood film industry to and also the constant innovation with the Apple phone. This really gives him/Apple a competitive edge and remained on top of the game.

b) Team leader When it came to teamwork, Jobs had a highly effective modus operandi with a dark side. He always challenged teams — from those involved in the early product efforts led by Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak onward — to reach beyond the possible. A few strong people thrived on this; rising to become top performers who were highly motivated by the pride they derived from striving to meet the challenge. But many others were needlessly frustrated. The price a leader pays for such behavior is the loss of people who need more encouragement along the way. Such an approach also undermines the emotional commitment of B players, who in most enterprises constitute more than triple the organizational teaming capacity of A players. c) Negotiator Jobs as CEO of Apple represented the Company in routine and non-routine transactions with stakeholders. He had strong negotiation skills in setting of boundaries- such as price and terms of sale/ purchase for products and also in getting the best professionals in the market. d) Figurehead As a figurehead he represented apple in legal, social, ceremonial and symbolic activities. Jobs was outspoken and his control traits we are told almost wreaked havoc with Adobe, we are also told he attracted Samsung. This shows how well he represented his brands and defended them from

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competition as well as creating useful integrations in the industry in the quest to gain competitive edge. e) Resource Allocator Leaders perform resource allocator role when they schedule, request authorization and perform budgeting activities. Deciding how to allocate/spend the company’s limited resources is an important task and one of the biggest challenges that affects success of a company. Steve jobs played this role well by identifying what projects where worthwhile for Apple Company to invest in. and as a result coming up with some of the industry leading products. In my opinion the most important role Steve Jobs played was being entrepreneur- by identifying opportunities and setting structures on how to pursue and accomplish by providing great leadership to his team/ employees. Question 4 Which level of analysis is the primary focus of this case? Question 5 Explain how each of the leadership theory classifications applies in this case, and which is the most relevant. a) Trait Theory Early leadership studies were based on the assumption that leaders are born, not made. Leadership trait theories attempt to explain distinctive characteristics accounting for leadership effectiveness. Researchers analyzed physical and psychological traits or qualities such as high energy level, appearance, aggressiveness, self-reliance, persuasiveness and dominance in an effort to identify a set of traits that all successful leaders possessed 6

b) Behavioral Leadership Theory By the 1950s, most of the leadership research had changed its paradigm , going from trait theory to focusing on what a leader really did on the job(behavior). Researchers attempted to identify differences in the behavior of effective leaders versus ineffective leaders. Behavioral theories attempt to explain distinctive styles used by effective leaders, or to define the nature of their work. c) The Contingency Leadership Theory Both the trait and behavioral theories were attempts to find the one best leadership style in all situations. In the 1960s, it became apparent that there is no one best leadership styles in all situations. Contingency theory attempts to explain the appropriate leadership style based on the leader, followers and situation. Contingency theory emphasizes the importance of situational factors, including the nature of the work, the external environment, and the characteristics of the followers. d) The Integrative Theory Most recently, theorists have conceptualized leadership more broadly with a mutual influence process. Integrative theories attempt to combine the trait, behavioral and contingency theories to explain successful, influencing leader-follower relationships. Researchers try to explains why some followers of some leaders are willing to work so hard making sacrifices to achieve the group and organizational objectives or how effective leaders influence the behavior of their followers. e) From the Management to the Leadership Theory This is a shift from the older autocratic management style to the new participative leadership style of management.

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Successful leaders are also good at managing and successful managers are good leaders. The focus is how to integrate management and leadership or on developing leadership skills of managers and employees.

Question 6 Without Steve Jobs, will Apple’s performance deteriorate and go back in to a crisis of near bankruptcy again? Why or why not? The death of Steve Jobs at age 56 comes at a crucial period in the history of personal computing — an industry he almost single-handedly created, first with the Apple II, then the Macintosh, then iTunes and the iPod, and now the iPhone and the iPad. Apple is worth net of $76 billion, but it faces challenges from seemingly every corner. In my opinion Apple’s performance is going to deteriorate with the demise of Steve Jobs due to the following reasons; it has been 5 years since his death but I think with time the company might suffer 1. The difference between a Leader and a Professional Manager Steve Jobs was a born Leader and Tim Cook is a ―professional manager‖ hired or promoted to run a company. Tim will not have the same motivation that a Steve the founder did. In my opinion that is the single-most important reason that comes to mind. If one looks at Steve Ballmer, John Chambers, Tim Cook, these guys are all employees who have or soon will become billionaires since they were hired to run their respective companies. More than likely, even if the company stagnates or just performs in line 8

with the indices, these guys have or will walk away billionaires when their time is done. The founder Leader in the companies above are already billionaires many times over thus their motivation will be everything else but money. 2. Leaders (Founders) have a great sense of responsibility compared to Hired managers. Another very important reason is the fact that a founder will feel a personal sense of responsibility to shareholders/employees/stakeholders far more strongly than a hired gun will. A hired gun- Tim just won’t have the same level of empathy/responsibility to the group that a Steve Jobs had. 3. Steve Jobs commanded a lot of respect Within a company and as a founder he carries a lot more weight and commands far more respect than a professional manager does. After all, a hired CEO is also an employee of the company just as the security guard is or the trainee is. I’m not saying that a hired CEO is not effective but rather that a hired CEO will never be as effective as the founder. A directive coming from Steve Jobs is not the same as a directive coming from Tim Cook. 4. Risk Taking As a leader and founder Steve Jobs almost always risked a lot to get his company off the ground whether its money, sweat equity, having to beg/borrow/steal so to speak to get his ―baby‖ off and running. In rough times a founder will also be a lot more to bet his or her own money once again (if required) to turn things around. A hired manager will more than likely walk away when things are not going well with the company.

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CASE STUDY 2 BILL AND MELINDA GATES Question 1 What do you think Bill and Melinda Gates personality traits are for each of the big 5 Dimensions. Compare the two. Personality Trait Dimension

Bill Gates

Melinda Gates

Surgency

1) Bill Gates tends to be in Melinda I quite the opposite of

Includes;

charge.

Bill when it comes to Dominance;

a) Dominance

2) A demanding boss.

b) Extroversion

3)

c) Energy/Determination

presentations

Interrupt in

a) She

is

loving

and

during

charming; she wins people

―Bill‖

over by being persuasive. b) She is compassionate and

meetings. 4) Wants logical answers to be

not afraid to get involved

presented

when she travels the world

by

his

team

to help solve its problems

members. Agreeableness

–although not a very friendly Melinda has very strong people

Includes;

person,

Gates

carry

the skills;

a) Sociability/Sensibility

sociable traits.

b) Emotional intelligence

1) Founded the Bill & Melinda

the Foundation- their plan

Gates foundation.

is to give away 95%of

2) Spent millions of dollars in

their wealth during their

charity every year.

lifetime.

3)

Several

a) Melinda and Bill Founded

of

his

early

employees are millionaires.

b) Spent millions in Charity c) Melinda

has

more

influence than Bill when it comes to investing their

10

assets

in

Philanthropic

assets. She drives the Bill and

Melinda

Gates

Foundation. Adjustment

Bill emotional stability traits.

Includes;

–

a) Emotional Stability and

b) Self-confidence

1) Does not release his Emotional stress

Narcissism

towards

and

self-

a) She is a strong team

2) Has self control and

builder who strives for

calm

collaboration

and

good

under

pressure. –

stability

his confidence;

employees. –

Melinda has also shown traits of

and

in

decision making

3) Faced all the legal hassles and accusations of monopolizing the World Wide Web.

Conscientiousness

1) Founded Microsoft in as a 1) Melinda gates is a total systems

Includes;

partnership firm in 1981.

thinker who constantly sets and

a) Dependability

2) Convinced IBM to include achieves goals

b) Integrity

his operating system software

c) Achievement

in their PCs. 3) Microsoft was the third largest public company of the world in 2004, ahead of IBM. This proves his achievement over the time.

Openness

–willingness to try new things.

Includes;

1) Full of ideas and imaginary has more influence than Bill when

1) it has been said that Melinda

a) Flexibility

visions on what changes are it comes to investing their assets

b) Intelligence

going to occurring future and in Philanthropic assets.

c) Locus control

preparing for the same. 11

2)

Bridging

all

home

entertainment into one single access and control. 3) Encourages his employees to think out of the box and recognizes their achievements as well.

Question 2 Which of the traits of effective leaders would you say has the greatest impact on Bill and Melinda Gates success? Compare the two Leadership Trait 1) Dominance

Bill gates

Melinda Gates

Bill Gates is dominance in his management whereas he led the team and he takes the full charge over the team.

Even

the

meeting

that

conducted with Bill Gates is named as ―Bill‖ Meetings proves that he is dominance. He also interrupts the meeting and questions the meeting members. This shows that he is dominance in his management. 2) Passionate/ High energy

Bill Gates is high energy person who actively participate in the firm’s primary

activities.

management

Besides

activities,

he

the also

participates in software development. Even

he

participates 12

in

and

coordinates business units although he is no longer hold Chief Executive Officer Post in the Microsoft firm. 3) Self confidence Bill Gates has serious self confidence which was highly contribute to his success. Even from his young age, Bill Gates self-confidence was visible whereas he, who was in his 20s, handling small Microsoft Company, convinced the giant IBM firm to include his ...