Leadership

INTRODUCTION

Microsoft represents a new approach in organizational design. Whether Microsoft can be classified as a world class organization, all depends on individual perceptions and definitions of world class. But the fact is that Microsoft is a world class brand name, which has captured the world market due to its shrewd business strategies. A world class and effective organization should be able to maintain and extend that advantage by continuing to produce new quality products and services through extensive research and innovations.

To be effective in today's informational economy, organizations need to be creative to be ahead of the competitors. Product and service innovations breed success, while knowledge and information are the driving force. Flexibility in organizational structure allows fast decision-making in order to react swiftly to new form of competitions.

A world class organization is "An organization which has acquired the position of best of the best in the world in its given business and continuously strives to beat its own standards so as to retain that position" (Khan, 2005).

The definition above closely describes Microsoft as it continuously dominates the global market. Microsoft operates within an organization that embraces techno-business convergence where information is raw material. There are needs for innovations to increase competitiveness and productivity of the products and services. In that sense, its main focus is entrepreneurship.

The techno-business environment also requires adoption of new paradigms, which are based on flexibility of structures, such as networking, outsourcing etc. The focus is on flatter, flexible structures and team empowerment, as reflected in the organic structures and learning organizations. These structures nurture skills and knowledge. The learning process is not only through error and rectifications but also through research and experimentations of new technologies and procedures. In most situations, the environment encourages convergence of specific technologies into some integrated systems. In a softer aspect of management, the focus is now on enlightened global leadership.

Part A: MICROSOFTENING THE MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS

This section discusses a few management theories, concepts or approaches, and looks at how Microsoft applies these to its management styles and strategies. Due to space limitations, complete coverage of all theories, concepts or approaches is not possible. Three main concepts have been selected for this purpose; leadership, culture and structure. Other concepts, such as motivation, team, philosophy, strategy, operations, knowledge management, product design etc, will be applied based on relevance.

The Generals of Leadership

"Leaders matter most when projects and problems don't easily break down into to do list." (Steward, 2004).

The study of leadership, one of the most important elements of management, is crucial to an understanding of human relations in modern organizations. Leadership is even more crucial in this era of transformation and informational economy.

"Global competition, characterized by networks that bind countries, the phenomenon of an increasingly borderless world, and intense pervasive changes have pushed the limits of business excellence to new frontiers never seen before" (Khan, 1999).

Leadership is an issue because in the context of today's informational economy, organizational management does not suffice. Global competition, product and service innovation, fast moving technology and the pressure to achieve first-to-market have rendered management, on its own, obsolete. According to the literature, there is an explicit belief that leadership is qualitatively different from the management. Leadership issues will be in questioned if business fails to meet its targets.

"In recent weeks, the spotlight has been on big names such as Sony Corp, The Walt Disney Co and Hewlett-Packard Co, corporations that have seen or will soon see changes at the top because of failures to meet business targets of to revive flagging sales" (Nathan, 2005).

Effectively, Microsoft is led and managed by two vastly different characters. Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer have successfully joined forces and create a bigger wave in the form of Microsoft Corporation. However, in a book titled 'Business The Bill Gates Way', Gates is described as more than a quiet person, "Bill Gates is a modern business phenomenon: the greatest of the cyber-tycoons. His is not simply a story of technical brilliance and enormous wealth; it is one of remarkable business vision and an obsessive desire to win. It is also about a leadership style that is radically different to anything the business world has seen before." (DearLove, 2002).

Gates is more empowering than powerful. He is also more team-centered than ego-driven. He focuses on emotional quotient and embedded the fun factor into work. In contrast, the great Jack Welch, displays power, ego and is results oriented. Both leaders have put a different meaning to leadership.

"I was brutally honest and outspoken. I was impatient, and to many, abrasive. My behavior wasn't the norm, especially the frequent parties at local bars to celebrate business victories, large or small." (Welch, 2001).

Some Wall Street analysts, and academics alike, have described Welch as 'the most important and influential business leaders of the 20th Century'. Management experts felt that Welch's reputation as a leader could be attributed to four key qualities: he was an intuitive strategist; willing to change the rules if necessary; highly competitive; and a great communicator.

Welch belongs to the personalists camp or the 'trait theory'. The focus is on personality variables, which determine a person's leadership capabilities. They believe that leaders are born and not made. However, this 'Great Man' theory has an issue of consensus on what constitutes the right traits.

On the other hand, Gates is more of a transformational or sometimes referred to as charismatic leadership. The focus is on intellectual stimulation and empowerment. There is also much emphasis on vision. This theory emerged in the 1980s when change became rapid and there was much uncertainty. Leadership had to move beyond solely management and project a deeper motivational force.

Transformational leadership "motivate us to do more than we originally