Leadership

1. INTRODUCTION

In today's business world, effective leadership is gaining precedence over effective management. If effective management principles alone were once considered as the essentials of organizational and business success, today the success of organizations and businesses are equally or perhaps more dependent on effective and futuristic leadership. With the information and communication revolution of the late 1990s, many glorious business corporations of the past have been doomed to failure, the reason often being attributed as the failure of the leadership to lead and steer the organization through the fast paced changes in the business scenario brought about by the revolution. The paper presents an analysis of the skills and qualities that contribute to the success of present day leaders and business organizations by studying the concepts and theories of successful and effective leadership and decision making, the significance of organizational assessment and enhancing organizational culture and analyzes Pfizer Inc as a case of effective and successful leadership.

Before attempting to analyze the concepts and theories of successful leadership, an understanding of the concept of leadership, its distinction from management, the importance of effective leadership in present business scenario etc would be imperative.

Leadership and its Importance

Ever since the development of modern management, business and management experts have considered leadership as an important attribute to effective management from a people management perspective. Leadership essentially involves influencing people to strive willingly for the accomplishment of group or organizational objectives. Chester I Barnard defines leadership as Ð''the quality of the behavior of individuals where by they guide people or their activities in organized effort." This and other earlier definitions of leadership emphasize the behavior of leaders in defining leadership.

Later, James Cribbin identified leadership as a process and imperceptibly suggests the external and internal situations that would impact the process of leadership, by defining managerial leadership as "the process of influence on a group in a particular situation at a given point of time and in a specific set of circumstances that stimulate people to strive willingly to attain organizational objectives, giving them the experience of helping to attain the common objective and satisfaction with the type of leadership provided." [Cribbin, 1972] This definition, while emphasizing the people management function of leaders, also suggests the significance of decision-making in leadership.

As said, Cribbin's definition identifies leadership as a process and focus on the relationship of a leader with the subordinates. In modern management practice, the nature of leadership is often discussed in terms of the Ð''interaction' among the people involved in the process -- both leaders as well the followers. Accordingly leadership does not imply the trait or action of a leader, but a "collaborative endeavor," by the members of the team. Thus the core of leadership is relationship and not the traits or behavior of the leader [Rost, 1993]. The post-industrial leadership models are exemplified by collaboration, power sharing and empowerment, which make leadership complex and diverse, mutually shaping and spontaneously changing [Rogers, 1992] and hence highly challenging.

Thus the modern concept of successful leadership rejects the idea that leadership revolves around the leader's styles, behaviors and/or charisma and signifies the level of collaboration, power sharing and empowerment that a leader extends to the group. Appropriate decision making skills, futuristic approach, envisioning ability etc are other attributes of a current successful leader. According to Caudell, a successful leader today is highly sensitive to the forces, which impinge on him; he accurately understands himself, his followers and the impinging environment. [Caudell, 1994]

Leadership and Management

Since contemporary literature defines leadership as a process, it is often mistaken with management. According to John Kotter, leadership and management are two distinct and complementary systems of action, both being essential for success in today's business environment [Kotter, 1990] The complex business organizations of the twentieth century led to development of management discipline, so as to primarily address organizational complexities. Along with that, the last decade of twentieth century witnessed wide-ranging changes in business operations, brought about by globalization and the technology boom, which brought the issue of leadership to the fore. If effective management helps to cope with complexities, effective and successful leadership helps to cope with change. It is worthwhile to note that organizations with strong leadership and weak management and those with weak or ineffective leadership and strong management are equally unsuccessful. Thus both are complementary and the real challenge is to combine strong leadership and strong management and use each to balance the other.

[Kotter, 1990]

The Importance of Leadership and Decision-Making in Present Business Scenario

There is little disagreement among management scholars and business experts today, regarding the significance of successful leadership for the effective and successful operation of a business organization. [Goleman et al., 2001] The rules of conducting business have changed since the globalization of world economies. Though the advancements in information and communication technologies have significantly improved the productivity and effectiveness of organizational management, many businesses fail to steer ahead in the present business settings characterized by tough global competition and increasing diversity in workplaces.

Computer technology has revolutionized the methods of production and distribution shifting from mass standardization to mass customization and individualization, and calls for highly innovative management practices. Also, unlike in the earlier years of twentieth century, workplaces are increasingly diverse as a result of globalized workforce, and pose a challenge to the leadership, both at the top level and divisional level. High employee turnover rate, dealing with global clientele/customer and adapting to fast changing market requirement are further challenges faced by management today, which calls for people-centered, strategic, result oriented and visionary leadership so as to be successful. Thus leadership today involves a great level of right and timely