Leadership

Leadership in Organizations

Leadership in Organizations

Introduction

Leadership in an organization has an important role for all parties involved, and has lately taken on an investigative role especially in North America. It has been observed that before the 80's, leadership was based around the trends and development of traits, styles and contingency approach. Since then however, new alternate approaches have been making headway in large scale organizations to characterize leadership traits, motivational factors, perception and achievement of goals and so on( Katz, 1955). Marketing and management philosophies have been helping organizations create strategies and plans which have been tested in theory and hence are applicable on real life situations. These management philosophies can only be defined as a set of ideas that make up the best management practices, and can thus be standardized for others. Although these standard practices cannot cater to every organization out there, they have a true enough affect if the theory is correct. To examine the marketing and management styles and leadership practices in multinational organizations, one must analyze the different and sometimes opposing management philosophies of organizations. Therefore, in this paper, I will be analyzing the American retail establishment Walmart's front, as well as the U.K based, high street retail store Debenhams, in order to examine both their successes and failures.

Discussion

Organizational cultures are meant to define reporting relationships as well as task allocations, interactions and their structures, departmentalization and lastly, formal coordination mechanisms and inter-departmental communication and hierarchy (Daft, 2010, p.22). There are several types of organizational structures, such as a bureaucratic structure, a functional structure, divisional, matrix, horizontal or hybrid structures.

Meanwhile, organizational structure is the system through which shared meaning can be analyzed within an organization, with its particular symbols, patterns of beliefs, communicative structures and practices. Thus it can be said that the organizational culture transforms an organization through creating a common understanding among employees about goals, as well as their behavior patterns. Organizational culture and structure are equally affected by employees every move, as well as the complexity and formalization of the organizational structure as time moves forward(Daft, 2010, p. 405).

The two organizations I chose to analyze both have very different cultures and structures as per the organization. Although both cater to employees from diverse backgrounds, the organizational culture isn't one that is likely to put their employees in a position of performing the duties of a leader. Walmarts organizational structure is slowly deteriorating with time, as it focuses more and more on temporary gains and in sustaining business. Meanwhile, Debenhams being more high-end, has a hierarchy that is very stern If compared to Walmart. It focuses on delegation and individuals tasks, and since the organization has so many sub-structures, also has a strong focus on diversifying and catering to the purchasing power of customers. Walmart's organizational culture is based more around culture and recognition of national values or even seasonal factors, but Debenhams is more inclined towards competitive advantage as it has competitors such as Marks and Spensers and Alders to deal ...