Leadership - Bill Gates - Term Paper Example

Leadership - Bill Gates Leadership - Bill Gates Transformational leadership is the type of leadership where the leader in question communicates a vision and inspires their workers. An example of a transformational leader is Bill Gates of Microsoft. Transformational leadership is not in any way a kind of normal leadership. Transformational leadership leads to a total rejuvenation of the corporation as well as a transformation of its position in the corporate world. For instance, Bill Gates transformed Microsoft from its moderate revenue of 1 million dollars in 1978 to being a corporation worth more than 3 billion dollars in the 21st century (Strother, 2010). He can singularly be credited with launching the personal computer revolution that has helped billions of people to acquire personal computers and also changed the settings of the business world. Microsoft is today a very big corporation that employs more than 71,000 people in different facilities all over the world. Gates has for a long time functioned as the Chief Software Architect as well as Microsoft’s CEO (Strother, 2010). Transformational leadership helps companies to form different ideas which are then implemented. The corporate resources are injected into research to form more cutting-edge products. Transformational leaders usually have personal characteristics that assist them to inspire these type of changes in organizations (Mullins, 2010). Bill Gates, for instance, is known to be an aggressive, charismatic, and knowledgeable man who is also a visionary and an introvert. His original vision was to ensure that every home would have at least one personal computer. To this day, Bill Gates goes annually to Washington’s Hood Canal to come up with ideas about how to continue with the transformation of Microsoft. Microsoft employees are at this time encouraged to submit proposals of how they think the company can benefit from new services or products (Strother, 2010). If Bill Gates is impressed with any of these ideas, he returns to the Microsoft headquarters at Redman to develop the idea further. Due to practices such as these, Microsoft still maintains a strong vitality that has seen it continuously create innovative products. Microsoft has several research institutions; each of which are unique. It also has a suggestion box that allows employees to give their suggestions as well as recommendations to its managing directors. Bill Gates uses participative as well as delegative leadership styles to engage his employees. He has in the past allowed Microsoft’s research teams to freely create the products they feel are necessary to the company (Strother, 2010). In spite of the trust he shows his workers, he is also careful in his selection of the products that will alter the company. As a CEO, Bill Gates has in the past stated that his managers ought to have their own individual influence. At Microsoft, every manager is expected to rule as the CEO of his own department without necessarily returning to the company’s CEO for every other decision. Bill Gates has in the past stated that managers ought to be responsible for their own actions and decisions. Gates, however, still exhibits some type of participative leadership by demanding that his managers to be imaginative and capable of solving complicated issues without returning to him for advice on a constant basis. This type of leadership is beneficial for the organization as the managers do not feel overly controlled, but are still responsible to their firm’s CEO (Joynt, 2011). This type of leadership also allows an organisation to be able to remain innovate and develop; qualities that are necessary in today’s competitive business world where knowledge has become the most valued asset (Robbins & Timothy, 2008). Bill Gates is also a leader who is highly visible, and likes to spend time communicating with employees or even enthusiasts of his work. This enthusiasm for the different aspects of the computer industry is usually evident in his workers. Gates enthusiasm for his work allows him to inspire his workers with a shared vision for the future. Organizational Design Due to the size of the Microsoft corporation, it has developed its own exclusive mix of organizational design. Microsoft uses the theory of coordinating work with tasks. In addition, Microsoft’s workers are tutored on how to accept continuous reorganization as a fact of their working lives (Ibarra & Hansen, 2011). Many other high-tech companies have adopted Microsoft’s vision of using research to lead. Microsofts ever-expanding research division encourages its personnel to publish and contribute freely in the open exchanges that are a part of the academic conferences. Microsoft, under the encouragement of Bill Gates, views itself as a part of a collaborative and expansive, system of firms and personnel. There are many people who would feel that it is hard to assess a company like Microsoft or a business leader like Bill Gates on the basis of ethics. Bill Gates has a responsibility to ensure that his company remains competitive in the present business market. In most cases, this means employing all means to make sure that it eliminates its competition. Many people who are uncomfortable with the tactics that are used by big corporations to achieve this would feel that Bill Gates, whose company has become one of the most competitive due to his proficiency in this area, cannot be recognized as an ethical leader. This can be assumed to be a valid point depending on one’s perspective (Odom, 2010). Bill Gates led his small company into uncharted waters in the seventies. As an unknown entity, his company had to learn brass tactics in order to survive and remain relevant. The fact that no employees of Microsoft had to be fired because he remained alert and steered his small company through all issues that could have destroyed it may seem to his employees to be a good example of an ethical leader. His ability to rewrite rules and learn even as he was leading his small company is, to some, indicative of a type of genius. He fulfilled his responsibilities to his works by ensuring the success of Microsoft. In addition, Bill Gates has acted in a way that shows his commitment to social responsibility. He supports numerous foundations, the most famous of which is the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. These charities help to improve living conditions for many of the world’s citizens in many ways. Bill Gates has also given millions of dollars to developing nations to fight diseases such as A.I.D.S., reduce poverty, and help in educating the masses. In developed nations, Bill Gates has channeled funds into ensuring that normal citizens have access to technology in public libraries. Bill Gates’ example has even been copied by other business moguls such as Warren Buffet, who has contributed to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. Part Two If I met Bill Gates, I would be very curious about his inspiration. Some of the questions I would ask him would include: (a) What makes you want to assist people you have never met? So many people are less wealthy than you are but have never contributed to any cause other than themselves. What makes you different? (b) What does it feel like to be the richest man on earth? What kind of odd reactions do you get from people around the world when you are introduced to them? (c) How did you get over any setbacks you suffered on your way to the top? Is there a particular personality that you believe is more conducive than others to becoming successful? (d) Is being rich a matter of chance or luck…or do you sincerely have to work at it constantly even when you do not feel like you want to? (e) How did you keep your dream alive even in the midst of setbacks? Did you share it with people, if any, and how did you react to those who ridiculed you for having odd dreams? Even before you were extremely rich, did you somehow sense, or feel, that you were fated to become one of the select few that reach the top? One of the most important things I would want to know about Bill Gates is how he maintains an ordinary personality in spite of having so much. There are so many people who have so much less wealth than he has who ruin their lives the moment they have a bit of money. It is a concern because those who ruin their lives are in the majority. People who use their money to do good and invest huge amounts in the lives of others are in the minority. Also, there are hardly any people who grow rich and remain with steady family lives. Most of the time, they try to make erroneous changes in their personal lives and end up ruining their children’s lives. Some even engage in illegal activities and are incarcerated or lose even more money than they made in the first place. Bill Gates is in the minority, in that he appears to have a steady family life in spite of his billions. I would share with Mr Gates my dreams for my future and ask him to point out which ones were practical and what he felt I should concentrate on in order to achieve my dreams. On parting, I would request Bill Gates to send me a number of his beliefs on what is the meaning of life as well as the values he lives by. References Ibarra, H., & Hansen, M. (2011) Are You a Collaborative Leader? Harvard Business Review, 8 (7), 68-74. Joynt, P. (2011). Managing across culture - issues and perspectives, London: Thomson Learnin Mullins, L. J. (2010). Management and organizational behavious. Harlow: pearson higher education. Odom, L. (2010). Leadership ethics – is doing the right thing enough? New York: Xlibris Corporation. Robbins, S. P., & Timothy, A. J. (2008). Organizational behavior, London: PrenticeHall Strother, R. (2010). Bill Gates: Microsoft founder. New York: ABDO. Read More