Contrasting Two Leadership Styles - Coursework Example

Contrasting two leadership styles Introduction There are different leadership styles which various leaders employ today. This should be the real casebecause in the first place, there are also different leadership theories making attempt to define or explain styles that each leader exercises. However, what is clear is the point that leadership styles can be created due to existing need in an organisation which ended up to building a specific environment such as in construction project for instance. Similar to a construction project environment, an organisation like Apple Incorporated should have to be more dynamic in its approach as it continuously seeks to achieve higher level of competitive advantage, discover or create product offerings and excellent services that are cut above the other. As a result, Steven Jobs ended up highly dynamic in his approach on how to motivate employees to think and create new innovative ideas. Jobs emphasises creativity to the highest level. His very strategic point is to recognise that employees are important asset or resources in the organisation and each idea they created is not superior to the other within the group. The thought that there is going to exist an idea that may turn out higher than the rest is due to the existence of definite criteria within the organisation. This according to Jobs should be the ultimate basis in accepting which idea to be chosen but it does not mean the rest would not be substantially superb. Jobs therefore is combining an effort to motivate his employees to do more, compete with each other in a positive way, and recognise the individual strengths to be maximised for the organisation’s advantage. There are also some leaders who learned to be tougher because that is necessary in order to achieve the organisation’s ultimate goal and image. Microsoft for instance is one of the toughest companies in the world today. As the leading global corporation in the world for many years now, its dominant force in its industry is a picture or symbol of power, strength and opportunity. As a result, it is important on the part of Microsoft to remain always on top, ensure growth, increase productivity, manage resources and learn more about its competitors. Not only that, Microsoft has to ensure that it is giving the right products for its consumers. Thus, for many years it specifically rely positively on feedback mechanism from the customers as it seeks to continuously improve its product and service offerings. As a result, Bill Gates learned to substantially dream twice as much and be more concise in empowering its subordinates to work and live in his vision. As a successful leader, Gates never failed to encourage his subordinates to dream bigger and even more than that. Gates encourages them to keep on dreaming in order to achieve even the hardest possible things to be realised. This is the reason why inferiority has no place at Microsoft. It definitely does not find its way there. As a result, Gates is so tough at using the individual weaknesses for his advantage. This is his opportunity to apply strong political power. As observed, Jobs and Gates are two renowned leaders of our time in the business world. As leaders, they also show different styles in leadership. It therefore remains a critical point to emphasise that the very nature of their specific approaches as leaders can be substantially explained by how they meet the needs of their organisation. Thus, they have to create a strong foundation for their respective organisation. They have to create a specific environment not only to differentiate their organisation from the other, but in order to gain competitive advantage. Competitive advantage is a way to gain economic advantage or better financial performance (Royer et al., 2008; Gamero et al., 2009). The purpose of competitive strategies is actually to meet corporate goals but it actually also creates specific environment of the organisation (Porter, 1998). It is at this point in which leaders try to remarkably create specific styles of leadership. In other words, leaders’ styles of leadership are important factors that could help the entire organisation achieve its corporate goals and even economic objectives (Byrne and Bradley, 2007). The styles of leaders are important point for the success of an organisation and in obtaining its goals because leadership is an integral component of the implementation process. The success of the implementation process in an organisation requires that leaders have clear path especially in implementing their leadership skills. Leaders therefore may find some ways to improve their styles in order to achieve things the way they envisioned them to be. It is therefore clear that there is a strong connection between leadership and the achievement of organisational objectives. However, it is also illustrated that leadership styles are most likely to come out as specific responses of leaders in creating organisational environment or a built environment. As stated earlier, the success of Apple Incorporated and Microsoft depends greatly on their leaders. However, Jobs and Gates must have created specific leadership styles in order to effectively implement the things they viewed to be essential for the success of their organisations. This paper tries to elaborately discuss two leadership styles, transactional and transformational by comparing and contrasting them in the context of cases in a built environment. Thus, the proponent includes leadership theories in this paper in order to have substantial foundation in creating arguments regarding the point that leadership styles obtained by leaders are just results of their response on the built environment. In other words, leader’s style exists as necessity to survive in an environment where there is a need to employ the best opportunity for their leadership skills. Thus, the leadership capacity of leaders is not inherent but substantially learned from their immediate environment. Contingency and behavioral theory Prior to the discussion of transactional and transformational leadership, the basic foundation and argument of this paper is in line with the view that the capacity of a person for leadership is not inherent. This can be further explored in the behavioral and contingency theories of leadership. In these theories, it is assumed that leadership can be learned (through teaching) or observed, and there are certain factors in the environment that could substantially affect the leadership styles of a person (Northouse, 2009; French et al., 2011). According to Cherry (2012), success in leadership may be influenced by the qualities of followers, characteristics of the situations and leadership styles. Qualities of followers Aside from directly looking at the leaders’ quality and their leadership styles, it is also important to take a view at the effectiveness of leadership in a group based on the qualities of followers. There is no wonder why Jobs eventually used the opportunity to improve the working attitude and qualities of his subordinates as this would eventually affect the implementation of his leadership style. Jobs simply illustrated the fact that good leaders cannot eventually perform their best without achieving highly empowered, committed and exceptionally high quality followers. Improvement of followers’ quality is a must. In an organisation, there are different strategies that could be employed in order to achieve followers of high caliber. There are two important strategies that could be applied, mentoring and learning and growth. Mentoring involves application of human qualities such as trust, commitment and emotional engagement which eventually are the building blocks of forming relationship between two individuals (Alfred and Garvey, 2010). This is therefore a more personal approach of teaching an individual because of a dynamic interaction. The mentor can listen effectively to his subordinates which means there is going to be a very effective two-way communication process. When the mentor listens, this would imply additional learning on what input has to be given to the subordinates to facilitate and boaster learning effectively. Mentors can also ask their subordinates and vice versa, which means accumulation of learning is ensured to be at a fast pace. On the other hand, mentors can also pose challenges and the success of it would eventually depend upon the response of subordinates. Mentoring therefore in general context is a way to improve follower’s quality. Another important action that is substantially applied in an organisation is the learning and growth strategy. In the balanced scorecard, learning and growth perspective ensures the achievement and implementation of developing human resources through effective measurement of their output (Pangarkar and Kirkwood, 2009). In other words, improving the quality of human resource is an integral component in an organisation prior to achieving its success. The above illustration on how to improve followers’ quality at work only implies that based on the contingency theory, the success of leadership in an organisation can be significantly attributed to the subordinates. Characteristics of situation In the case of Apple Incorporated, its main goal is to achieve competitive advantage in its industry. Jobs actually just responded to the situation resulting to come up with an initiative of motivating his subordinates with the right words and appropriate vision suited to their circumstance. Modern marketing tries to point out the fact that each organisation needs to create a need for their product offerings in order to achieve competitive advantage specifically through differentiation strategy (Porter, 1998; Kotler et al., 2008; Boone and Kurtz, 2011). Furthermore, the strength of the marketing effort focused on customer centricity or customer value is said to affect the achievement of this competitive advantage (Gebauer et al., 2011; Zhou et al., 2009). Due to the need to stay a cut above the other, Jobs primarily attempted to create innovative creation of new products and superb marketing strategies for Apple Incorporated to substantially reach remarkable market share. This is a specific case in which it tries to imply that leadership is substantially influenced by the prevailing situation of the leader’s immediate environment. Leadership styles Jobs’ leadership style is different from Gates’. Although, they might have basic common styles as leaders, there is always something distinct with how they managed their subordinates and created remarkable direction for their organisations. Based on the characteristics of situation in their organisations and the immediate environment, Jobs and Gates learned to adjust to different circumstances and chose the best possible way in order to achieve their distinct corporate goals. If leaders have different styles, it therefore opens the possibility that leadership is not inherent but substantially affected by the environment through the characteristics of situation and even the qualities of the followers as already discussed in the previous sections. Teaching Teaching from the behavioural perspective is viewed to be another way in order to learn leadership. Leadership can be thought. In fact, the presence of various books discussing how to become effective leader could be substantial proofs that leadership is not inherent but can be thought. In addition, certain study reveals that character has significant role in leadership (Quick and Wright, 2011). This is supported by various psychological perspectives and actual experience pointing out that character simply can be thought or formed (Arthur, 2011; Feldman, 2010). This therefore implies that since character can be learned and has significant influence in leadership development, the ability to lead is therefore not an intrinsic capacity of a person, but rather can be learned. Observation Leadership is not inherent because it can be observed. Aside from the fact that it can be learned, it can be substantially observed. In fact, in leadership, three interrelated areas must be aligned including the environment, strategy and organisation (Crossan et al., 2008). This only implies that substantial observations are required in order to successfully implement leadership. For instance, a leader necessary has to conduct observation in his immediate environment in order to successfully implement his leadership styles. Furthermore, observation is not just enough. This should result to strategy implementation which is necessary. In fact, the ultimate way to influence behaviour of the group and organisational members is through specific strategy implementation in an organisation (O’Reilly et al., 2010). At some point, this remarkably includes strategic leadership approach. However, implementation of strategic leadership moves can only be effectively performed by evaluating or conducting observation in an organisation. In fact, Jobs started everything with his critical observation of his immediate environment prior to formulating a significant leadership approach at Apple Incorporated. In the same way, Gates never started everything without prior observation of the world market for computer technology. Transactional leadership Transactional leadership is often used in business in which successful employees are rewarded while those who fail may be punished or reprimanded (Cherry, 2012). This is just the common understanding about transactional leadership, but it is also actually about transitory implementation of leadership with members (Lussier and Achua, 2009). This means that a need for redefinition of relationship between two parties is necessary once transactions ended. This makes sense considering that a reward or punishment is always associated with the follower’s final output. Transactional leadership therefore is about implementation of power. A leader in this case must have substantial control over the implementation of either a reward or punishment on the actual output of the follower. This control should be highly associated with power. Therefore, transactional leadership definitely involves the use of organisational power in order to be consistent in redefining of relationship within an organisation. Bill Gates: A transactional leader Gates actually gained support and compliance from his subordinates which eventually made him an effective leader. He can eventually implement remarkable goals because of his organisational power. Gates set his goals based on promised rewards for a desired performance. Furthermore, because of his great organisational or political power, Gates loves to intimidate his subordinates and that what makes him responsive to prevailing issues. In fact, Gates listens to current events and surrounds himself with people who have something to say about them (Kramer, 2006). Leaders who are responsive to prevailing issues and have the ability to reinforce everything with power they have particularly on exploitive innovation within a team are known to be in the transactional leadership style (Jansen et al., 2009). Transformational leadership Transformational leadership is about motivating and inspiring a group by showing the importance and value of a task to each member (Cherry, 2012). Based on a study, transformational leaders are found to be good at trying to stir up emotions of their followers and this is effective in leadership and achieving economic advantage (Lee et al., 2011). This is just a way of forming new followers. Transformational leadership is also said to endure especially in its application in creating change (Lussier and Achua, 2009). Thus, a well designed change process is a remarkable advantage especially if transformational leadership is performed. Steven Jobs: A transformational leader Although Jobs might have strong organisational or political power just like Gates, one basic distinction of the former’s leadership style with the latter was his ability to stir up the emotions of his followers. This was his way to motivate and inspire his followers. Specifically, Jobs was able to recognise the individual strengths which have special impact on the success of Apple Incorporated to come up with new innovative products from time to time. As a transformational leader, Jobs substantially used to convey his vision to his subordinates resulting to consistent achievement of economic performance of Apple Incorporated for the past consecutive years. In fact, Apple Incorporated is one of the potential market leaders in its industry nowadays in which Jobs was able to significantly contribute in the making of it. After all, transformational leaders like Jobs are found to have good visions and management skills and as a result they potentially develop certain norms within an organisation and create or transform new followers (Zhu et al., 2011). Analysis: the contrast In the first place, transactional leaders promote stability while transformational leaders go for change in both followers and organisation (Lussier and Achua, 2009). Of these two approaches in leadership, the clear emphasis is placed on the level of dynamic change within a group. The two of them are strong enough to maintain an organisation as seen from the case of Microsoft and Apple Incorporated. However, it seems that the only point that differentiates them from each other in their quest to go for change is on how they are used based on the leaders’ ultimate objectives for the organisation. Jobs and Gates may have the same economic goals, and these are to cover a wide market share and to become the leading provider in their industry, but their approaches substantially differ on the context of human resource. Jobs has the ability to create change by placing the entire control within his team while Gates on the other hand remarkably placed the entire control of the human resource on his organisational power to implement desirable corporate goals for promising rewards. Furthermore, transformational leadership can be associated with social intelligent leadership and transactional leadership can be linked with political intelligent leadership. Socially intelligent leaders are after of maximising the strengths of followers while politically intelligent leaders love to intimidate by using generally their powers and the followers’ insecurities or weaknesses (Kramer, 2006). Kramer added that the point of contrast also lies on these two types of leadership’s willingness to use hard power. As noticed, compared to transformational leadership, it is the transactional leadership style which potentially tries to elaborate a strong use of organisational or political power in order to obtain corporate objectives. Jobs loves to maximise and emphasise the individual strength of his followers and this is one of the basic characteristics of a leader in the context of both social intelligent and transformational leaderships. On the other hand, Gates loves to intimidate but he uses this opportunity to exercise his political power. In fact, the entire Microsoft Company is a great intimidation by itself to modern entrants in the computer technology industry. Gates sees to it that the new entrants should be highly intimidated by strengthening Microsoft’s competitive advantage and even its economies of scale. In fact, for many years, Microsoft established the opportunity to be the leading source of various computing specification. According to Porter (1998), the economies of scale are one of the basic competitive advantages of organisations like Microsoft in order to deter any possible existence of new entrants. Although the great part of Microsoft success can be attributed to the high value given for consumers’ feedbacks, the entire credit is still attributed to Gates’ leadership styles. Gates never initiates moves without proper deliberations with experts. He always sees to it that a proper communication is initiated before he proposes a decision. Although he is one of the great intimidators in his industry, with strong political power to take control of his business, he substantially appreciates the thought that he needs to listen as well. This is his main advantage to other leaders with strong organisational power. Thus, in transformational leadership, it is therefore sufficient to apply other necessary styles in leadership, but the bottom line is to maximise power. In addition, creating, sharing and exploiting are three processes involved in managing knowledge in which transactional leaders are good at doing the former, while transformational leaders are good at implementing the two remaining processes (Lussier and Achua, 2009). Creating, a significant process in managing knowledge needs to be widely understood in the case of transactional leadership. Transactional leaders try to establish their main point in placing a great emphasis on the issue of effort and reward especially for profit making and even change (Walumbwa et al., 2008; Rowold and Heinitz, 2007; Nordin, 2011). They specifically would try to create the opportunity on how the follower should exert great effort just to obtain a reward. Thus, in order to create better result, transactional leaders attach great importance to motivating followers through using reward system. On the other hand, sharing and exploiting knowledge are other important distinctions of transformational leadership from transactional leadership. Jobs never wasted time of reminding his followers how they are valued in the company. Each substantial idea within the team at Apple Incorporated is encouraged in order for the followers to share always their best for the benefit of the organisation. This is one of the possible and even effective ways that Jobs envisioned to remarkably come up with differentiated yet highly competitive product Conclusion The whole point of this essay remarkably emphasises in great detail, with various evidences that leadership is not inherent, but rather can be learned or observed from the perspective of behavioural and contingency theories of leadership. This is the basic foundation of the argument that leadership styles are results of the leaders’ built environment. In the case of Apple Incorporated and Microsoft, their main objectives are in line with reaching a wider scope of market share and competitive advantage in the industry where they belong. As a result, Jobs and Gates ended up formulating different leadership styles which they substantially believed to be crucial in achieving their respective corporate goals. Transactional and transformational leadership styles are viewed in this essay to differ based on how organisational power is applied, how knowledge is managed and how they take control of the human resource. Based on these three important aspects, one could never point out which among these two leadership styles is efficient or effective in a group because Microsoft seems to be closely applying transactional leadership while Apple Incorporated is employing transformational leadership. However, these two organisations are gaining remarkable success in their respective industry which only proves that even there are remarkable differences between the use of leadership styles, the whole point would always boil down to how they primarily address the organisation’s corporate objectives and the leaders’ leadership skills. References Alfred, G., and Garvey, B. (2010) Mentoring. 3rd ed. London: Pocketbooks. 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Journal of Business Research. 62(11), 1063-1070. Abstract only. Available from: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296308002154 [Accessed 7th April 2012]. Zhu, W., Avolio, B. J., Riggio, R. E., and Sosik, J. J. (2011) The effect of authentic transformational leadership on follower and group ethics. The Leadership Quarterly. 22(5), 801-817. Abstract only. Available from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1048984311001068 [Accessed 7th April 2012]. Appendix. Articles The effect of authentic transformational leadership on follower and group ethics Original Research Article The Leadership Quarterly, Volume 22, Issue 5, October 2011, Pages 801-817 Weichun Zhu, Bruce J. Avolio, Ronald E. Riggio, John J. Sosik Abstract We propose a theoretical model to examine how authentic transformational leadership influences follower individual and group ethical decision making. We investigate how follower moral identity and moral emotions mediate the effect of authentic transformational leadership on follower authentic moral action. Furthermore, we explore how authentic transformational leadership develops group ethical climate, which in turn contributes to enhancing group ethics and to developing follower moral identity and moral emotions. Future research and practical implications are discussed. Market orientation, competitive advantage, and performance: A demand-based perspective Original Research Article Journal of Business Research, Volume 62, Issue 11, November 2009, Pages 1063-1070 Kevin Zheng Zhou, James R. Brown, Chekitan S. Dev Abstract This study assesses how customer value affects a firms market orientation and consequently, competitive advantage and organizational performance in a service industry — the global hotel industry. The findings show that if a firm perceives its customers as valuing service, the firm is more likely to adopt both a customer and a competitor orientation; if the firm thinks its customers are price sensitive, the firm tends to develop a competitor orientation. Moreover, the greater a firms customer orientation, the more the firm is able to develop a competitive advantage based on innovation and market differentiation. In contrast, a competitor orientation has a negative effect on a firms market differentiation advantage. Finally, innovation and market differentiation advantages lead to greater market performance (e.g., perceived quality, customer satisfaction) and in turn, higher financial performance (e.g., profit, market share). Contingent reward transactional leadership, work attitudes, and organizational citizenship behavior: The role of procedural justice climate perceptions and strength Original Research Article The Leadership Quarterly, Volume 19, Issue 3, June 2008, Pages 251-265 Fred O. Walumbwa, Cindy Wu, Bani Orwa Abstract Using a sample of 212 bank employees, we developed a model in which procedural justice climate perceptions and strength mediated the relationships between contingent reward leader behavior and follower satisfaction with supervisor, organizational commitment, and rated organizational citizenship behavior, controlling for perceived supervisor support. Results from the HLM analysis showed that procedural justice climate perceptions and strength completely mediated the relationships between contingent reward leader behavior and followers satisfaction with supervisor and levels of organizational commitment, and partially mediated the relationship between contingent reward leader behavior and supervisor rated organizational citizenship behavior. Implications for research and practice of our findings are discussed. Employee voice and strategic competitive advantage in international modern public corporations – an economic perspective Original Research Article European Management Journal, Volume 26, Issue 4, August 2008, Pages 234-246 Susanne Royer, Jennifer Waterhouse, Kerry Brown, Marion Festing Abstract Achieving competitive advantage through a broader consideration of stakeholders of the firm is examined. The inclusion of other significant organisational actors such as managers and employees as stakeholders capable of creating competitive strategic advantage for the firm is considered. Findings indicate that competitive advantage within an economic perspective may be garnered by establishing a broader conceptualisation of stakeholders of the firm. It is concluded employees may be characterised as hybrid stakeholders, as they are a mix of residual risk bearers and input suppliers of strategically highly relevant resources and that ways of articulating employee voice is a key element of gaining competitive advantage. The aim of this paper is to analyse internationally operating modern public corporations from an agency theory point of view with the focus on the role of a suite of stakeholders including shareholders, managers and employees. The economic reasoning demonstrates that the employees’ voice is an important component of business from a strategic perspective irrespective of the type of institutional environment present in any given country. Transformational and charismatic leadership: Assessing the convergent, divergent and criterion validity of the MLQ and the CKS Original Research Article The Leadership Quarterly, Volume 18, Issue 2, April 2007, Pages 121-133 Jens Rowold, Kathrin Heinitz Abstract This study aimed at empirically clarifying the similarities and differences between transformational, transactional, and charismatic leadership. More specifically, the convergent, divergent, and criterion validity of two instruments, the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5X) and the Conger and Kanungo Scales (CKS), was explored. It was found that transformational and charismatic leadership showed a high convergent validity. Moreover, these leadership styles were divergent from transactional leadership. With regard to criterion validity, subjective (e.g. satisfaction) as well as objective (profit) performance indicators were assessed. Firstly, results indicated that transformational as well as charismatic leadership augmented the impact of transactional leadership on subjective performance. In addition, transformational and charismatic leadership both contribute unique variance to subjective performance, over and above the respective other leadership style. Secondly, transformational leadership had an impact on profit, over and above transactional leadership. This augmentation effect could not be confirmed for charismatic leadership. Furthermore, transformational leadership augmented the impact of both transactional and charismatic leadership on profit. Implications for leadership theory and practice are discussed. Character-based leadership, context and consequences The Leadership Quarterly, Volume 22, Issue 5, October 2011, Pages 984-988 James Campbell Quick, Thomas A. Wright Abstract The study of character in leadership cannot be totally separated from attention to the unique context within which the leader acts or from the study of the consequences of the leaders actions. We respond to the five questions raised by Hannah and Avolio (in press) while enlarging the dialogue along several new lines of thought. We honor the importance of leadership science while emphasizing the art of the leader who masters the practice of leadership. While there is no universal, one best way to lead or one enduring and integrative theory of leadership, we remain convinced of the significant role of character in the study of leadership. How leadership matters: The effects of leaders alignment on strategy implementation Original Research Article The Leadership Quarterly, Volume 21, Issue 1, February 2010, Pages 104-113 Charles A. OReilly, David F. Caldwell, Jennifer A. Chatman, Margaret Lapiz, William Self Abstract Research has confirmed that leader behavior influences group and organizational behavior, but we know less about how senior leaders ensure that group and organizational members implement their decisions. Most organizations have multiple layers of leaders, implying that any single leader does not lead in isolation. We focused on how the consistency of leadership effectiveness across hierarchical levels influenced the implementation of a strategic initiative in a large health care system. We found that it was only when leaders effectiveness at different levels was considered in the aggregate that significant performance improvement occurred. We discuss the implications of these findings for leadership research, specifically, that leaders at various levels should be considered collectively to understand how leadership influences employee performance. The Influence Of Emotional Intelligence, Leadership Behaviour And Organizational Commitment On Organizational Readiness For Change In Higher Learning Institution Original Research Article Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, Volume 29, 2011, Pages 129-138 Norshidah Nordin Abstract This paper intends to examine the relationships of emotional intelligence, organizational commitment, and leadership behaviour in influencing organizational readiness for change. A total of 169 academic staff of Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) participated in this study. They were selected based on stage and cluster sampling from the main and branch campuses through at Malaysia. The findings revealed that 44.1% of the variance in readiness for change is explained by emotional intelligence, organizational commitment and transactional leadership behaviour. The practical implications of these findings are discussed in relation to readiness for change context. Do emotions play a mediating role in the relationship between owner leadership styles and manager customer orientation, and performance in service environment? Original Research Article International Journal of Hospitality Management, Volume 30, Issue 4, December 2011, Pages 942-952 Yong-Ki Lee, Young “Sally” Kim, Moon Hyun Son, Doo-Jin Lee Abstract This study examines the dynamic relationships among leadership style (transformational and transactional), emotion in service employees, customer orientation (dimensions of enjoyment and needs), and job performance. The study proposes a model based on existing literatures and examines the mediating role of service employees’ emotion in the relationship between leadership style and their customer orientation. The study found that all four elements of transformational leadership have a significant effect on positive emotion. Emotion is found to have a significant influence on both enjoyment and needs dimensions of customer orientation and to partially mediate the relationship between leadership style and customer orientation. Strategic leadership for exploration and exploitation: The moderating role of environmental dynamism Original Research Article The Leadership Quarterly, Volume 20, Issue 1, February 2009, Pages 5-18 Justin J.P. Jansen, Dusya Vera, Mary Crossan Abstract This study advances prior theoretical research by linking transformational and transactional behaviors of strategic leaders to two critical outputs of organizational learning: exploratory and exploitative innovation. Findings indicate that transformational leadership behaviors contribute significantly to adopting generative thinking and pursuing exploratory innovation. Transactional leadership behaviors, on the other hand, facilitate improving and extending existing knowledge and are associated with exploitative innovation. In addition, we argue that environmental dynamism needs to be taken into account to fully understand the effectiveness of strategic leaders. Our study provides new insights that misfits rather than fits between leadership behaviors and innovative outcomes matter in dynamic environments. Hence, we contribute to the debate on the role of strategic leaders in managing exploration and exploitation, not only by examining how specific leadership behaviors impact innovative outcomes, but also by revealing how the impact of leadership is contingent upon dynamic environmental conditions. Competitive advantage through service differentiation by manufacturing companies Original Research Article Journal of Business Research, Volume 64, Issue 12, December 2011, Pages 1270-1280 Heiko Gebauer, Anders Gustafsson, Lars Witell Abstract This paper examines the relationship among the complexity of customer needs, customer centricity, innovativeness, service differentiation, and business performance within the context of companies that have made a service transition from pure goods providers to service providers. A survey of 332 manufacturing companies provides the basis for the empirical investigation. One key finding is that a strong emphasis on service differentiation can lead to a manufacturing firms strategies for customer centricity being less sensitive to increasingly complex customer needs, which can increase a firms payoff for customer centricity. In contrast, the payoff from innovativeness appears to be higher if the firm focuses its resources on either product or service innovation; that is, a dual focus does not work well. This paper discusses the implications of these findings for researchers and managers. The whole relationship between environmental variables and firm performance: Competitive advantage and firm resources as mediator variables Original Research Article Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 90, Issue 10, July 2009, Pages 3110-3121 María D. López-Gamero, José F. Molina-Azorín, Enrique Claver-Cortés Abstract The examination of the possible direct link between environmental protection and firm performance in the literature has generally produced mixed results. The present paper contributes to the literature by using the resource-based view as a mediating process in this relationship. The study specifically tests whether or not the resource-based view of the firm mediates the positive relationships of proactive environmental management and improved environmental performance with competitive advantage, which also has consequences for financial performance. We also check the possible link between the adoption of a pioneering approach and good environmental management practices. Our findings support that early investment timing and intensity in environmental issues impact on the adoption of a proactive environmental management, which in turn helps to improve environmental performance. The findings also show that a firms resources and competitive advantage act as mediator variables for a positive relationship between environmental protection and financial performance. This contribution is original because the present paper develops a comprehensive whole picture of this path process, which has previously only been partially discussed in the literature. In addition, this study clarifies a relevant point in the literature, namely that the effect of environmental protection on firm performance is not direct and can vary depending on the sector considered. Whereas competitive advantage in relation to costs influences financial performance in the IPPC law sector, the relevant influence in the hotel sector comes from competitive advantage through differentiation. Transcendent leadership: Strategic leadership in dynamic environments Original Research Article The Leadership Quarterly, Volume 19, Issue 5, October 2008, Pages 569-581 Mary Crossan, Dusya Vera, Len Nanjad Abstract Adopting a cross-level mixed effect model, this paper proposes transcendent leadership as a framework for the key responsibilities of strategic leaders in todays dynamic contexts. A transcendent leader is a strategic leader who leads within and amongst the levels of self, others, and organization. Leadership of self includes the responsibility of being self-aware and proactive in developing personal strengths. Leadership of others involves the mechanisms of interpersonal influence a leader has upon followers. Leadership of organization comprises the alignment of three interrelated areas: environment, strategy, and organization. Propositions are presented regarding the relationship between leadership of the various levels and firm performance. Cultures influence on leadership efficiency: How personal and national cultures affect leadership style Original Research Article Journal of Business Research, Volume 60, Issue 2, February 2007, Pages 168-175 Gabriel J. Byrne, Frank Bradley Abstract Personal and national cultures derive from peoples personal values and pervade the role of effective management leadership and successful firm performances. This paper explores the differences of the two aspects of cultures on effective leadership. Researchers now hold that the Porterian analysis of competitive advantage has become fungible due to the entry of myriad international competitors. Effective leadership style is now the single most important antecedent in maintaining competitive advantage and in supporting firm performances. The researchers collected data on CEOs using Schwartzs framework, in three EU countries. They state hypotheses, test them and derive implications and conclusions. Personal character and tomorrows citizens: Student expectations of their teachers Original Research Article International Journal of Educational Research, Volume 50, Issue 3, 2011, Pages 184-189 James Arthur Abstract Research evidence from UK primary and secondary schools suggests that students expect teachers to engage in character development and values education and that this assists in their holistic learning. This article is based on a major UK research study which indicates that explicit and implicit attention to values in schools is positively welcomed by students. Students of all ages believe that the teacher can make a difference in contributing to their personal moral development. According to the students in this study, a successful values education program relies on the teacher as model and mentor, as well as pedagogue. This article considers the role of teachers on the character development of young people aged 10–19, largely based on the perceptions of over 5000 students in England. The data includes documentary analysis, interviews and surveys with teachers and students. Read More