Leadership in Organizations

Table of Contents

Introduction3

Discussion4

The learning organization5

The leadership style7

Participative strategy8

Team-based structure8

Strong adaptive culture9

Empowered roles10

Horizontal structure with open communication10

Knowledge Management11

Leadership in the learning organization14

Conclusion16

References19

Leadership in Organizations

Introduction

The contemporary organisations of today are different to the ones that existed in the past in terms of techniques, management styles and structures. Historically, traditional management is very much rooted in the ideas of the industrial revolution where a company's competitiveness and success, within a more or less stable environment, depended on the efficiency and control processes while new ideas were seen as a disturbance and workers were not encouraged to think for themselves. These leaders gave directions to direct report subordinates, often with a rather impersonal approach.

However times have changed and factors such as globalisation have made the environments to shift from a more stable environment of little change, to a constantly and ever changing dynamic environment. Rapid technological changes, increased competition and power of suppliers, as well as changes in customer needs and demands may alter the demand and supply for goods and services quickly. What was high in demand and what worked well and efficiently yesterday, may be in low or no demand or may not work or be highly inefficient today (Coulson-Thomas, 1997). Therefore businesses find themselves in a rapidly changing and very competitive global environment, in which the old paradigm of control, power and stability does not hold anymore. Instead, just like biological organisms, organisations are forced to constantly learn and adapt to the changing environment if they are to survive, proper and remain profitable.

Discussion

For an organisation to change, by constantly learning and adapting, it requires leaders which influence employees towards a common shared vision, and adopt a culture of change, innovation and creativity. Organisations are paying more attention to the idea of learning and changing in order to become a 'leaning organisation' and thus have a competitive advantage. In today's businesses to have a competitive advantage can be very difficult, especially since technical advances, products, infrastructure and strategies can be copied and duplicated by competitors. Therefore you must generate your own best practices, which involves people; leaders and employees working together and with the environment. The knowledge, drive and enthusiasm cannot be duplicated. This becomes the new competitive advantage (Daft, 2005). However, leaders may face resistance from employees as change is often perceived as disruptive, especially from people who have a high self-interest in preserving the status quo of the organisation, or simply are insecure and scared as they fear the unknown. In this last example, a 'communication champion' leader would be required to openly communicate a clear vision and strategy and help employees understand the benefits of change. Leaders must also create an open communication climate to share information and knowledge among employees.

This essay examines the recently evolved techniques of 'learning organisations' and 'knowledge management', and the use of effective leadership to properly develop and integrate these techniques into the culture of the organisation to change and adapt to the dynamic environment to prosper and remain ...