1. I
DECLARATION
I, the undersigned, hereby declare that this research thesis is my own original work
and that all sources have been accurately reported and acknowledged, and that this
document has not been previously, in its entirety or in part, submitted at any
university in order to obtain academic qualifications.
____________
DICKSON PHIRI DATE......................
2. II
ABSTRACT.
This paper draws its strength on the importance of strategic leadership to
manage change, especially one that is not envisioned. The question here that
this paper would like to address is “how can new corporate leaders achieve
success when there is an abrupt change in top leadership?” Such change
caused by death, resignations or instant dismissals due to gross misconduct,
can the incoming management succeed? In most situations the new leadership
will not come from internal human resources but from outside. This is true in
developing countries where the company is foreign owned. “How then would
the new management start running the affairs of the company in a country
they have little or no knowledge about?”
The foregone questions describe the true situation that took place at Trentyre
Zambia Ltd, specifically looking at the Copperbelt operations where the Top
Management resigned; the Managing Director, the Company Secretary and
Northern Zambia Director. This left the company in the hands of the middle
management and some junior staff whose knowledge about running a
company was limited. The company was forced to recall one of their Directors
who were based in Malawi who had a lot of knowledge about the Zambian
market to assist. Even he, however, had questionable management skills to
run such a big corporate entity as his background is that of a salesman with
little or no leadership qualities. It meant, then that the new management had
to depend on the help of this middle management to make decisions. Were
such decisions the best for the company? If not, what was the best solution to
such a dilemma?
3. III
Due to the above short-comings and having full knowledge that Zambia is a
strategic market for mining tyres, which contribute the highest Gross Profit,
the company’s Head Office in South Africa appointed new management to run
the South-Central African Cluster which included Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe
and Democratic Republic of Congo. The question was, “how was the new
management which had never stayed in Zambia, who had no idea in the
structure of the mining industry in Zambia and had little or no knowledge
about the general market conditions in this Cluster going to manage the
affairs of Trendier successfully? Do they have the correct leadership qualities
to repel the negative rumours going round that Trendier Zambia was closing
down? How about the big customers who had contracts with Trendier, whose
royalty was going down due to the negative publicity peddled by the
immediate past management, has the new management in the Trentyre North
(Copperbelt) got the qualities to provide strategic leadership to avoid an
impending loss of business?
4. IV
DEDICATION.
First and foremost, I dedicate thesis to God Almighty, for the strength and spiritual
support during the time I was organizing this work. I also dedicate this work to my
wife Valentina and my children, Dickson Junior, Bright, Mercy, Tamanda and
Mapalo. Thank you all for your love and patience with me.
5. V
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my profound gratitude to my thesis advisor, Professor
Kachepa, for being such an excellent mentor, a flexible advisor, and a supportive
teacher. I would also like to thank young Mathias Ndhlovu for his time and valuable
input in the development of this work. I would like to extend my gratitude to my first
born son Dickson Phiri Junior for his relenting help in typing this thesis. Without
him, I would have found it difficult to complete it.
Finally, I would like to express my appreciation to all my friends who assisted me
with all sorts of reading materials such as books, journals and some magazines. Guys,
you are wonderful. Thanks also to my family; especially my parents, the late Mr.
Kawala Mendulo Phiri and Mrs Nyanyiwe Banda Phiri, who are my source of
inspiration and example and also my wife Valentina and all my for their
understanding during the time I was always busy writing this thesis. To you all, may
God The Almighty bless you.
6. VI
LIST OF APPENDICES PAGE
Appendix A. Employee Questionnaire 102
Appendix B. Customer Questionnaire 105
Appendix C. Management Questionnaire 111
7. VII
LIST OF TABLES
T able Page
Table 1. How long have you worked for T rentyre? 48
Table 2. Have you worked anywhere else apart from T rentyre? 49
Table 3. With your currentexperience with T rentyre what do you like about them?50
Table 4. In the same vein as above,what don’t you like about Trentyre? 51
Table 5. How is T rentyre fairing amongst all tyre dealers? 53
Table 6. If it is doing well what do you attribute this success to? 55
Table 7 . If T rentyre is not doing well what would you say are the causes? 56
Table 8. Have you witnessed any loss ofa good customer ifthe answer is 57
yes what could have caused that loss?
Table 9. What do you think has made some big customers to buy from
T rentyre after change of managem ent? 58
Table 10. Ifyou have a relationship with Trentyre,what would you say you
like about them? 70
Table 11. How do you rate T rentyre services amongst the tyre suppliers? 71
Table 12. According to you, (those without a relationship with T rentyre)
would you deal with them if they were to fulfil the condition y0u
have stated above? 72
Table 13. T here are so many tyre brands in the market today, which is your
preferred brand or brands 73
Table 14. Is or are the brands you have picked the one you buy? 75
Table 15. If not what would be your reasons? 76
Table 16. If yes what features are prominent that makes you like this brand? 77
Table 17. Have you ever used Goodyear tyre before? 78
Table 18. Ifyes,how do you rate its performance? 79
Table 19. Ifyou have never used Goodyear tyres,what could be your reasons? 82
Table 20. Do you know the concept ofcost per kilometre? 83
8. VIII
Table 21. If you do know it have you ever practiced it? 84
Table 22. If you have practiced it before, have you ever tried to rate
different tyre brands based on cpk? 85
Table 23. Based on such a rating which tyre brand gave you the lowest
cost per kilometer? 86
Table 24. Fleet inspection or tyre survey is a service offered by most
renowned tyre suppliers, has any tyre supplier ever offered this
service to you? 86
Table 25. Ifyes was it of any help to your firm? 87
Table 26. Please tell s amongst the following was a result of fleet inspection. 81
Table 27 . If you have never been offered this service before, would you be
interested in it? 82
9. IX
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION..........................................................................................................................I
ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................................II
DEDICATION...........................................................................................................................IV
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..........................................................................................................V
LISTOF APPENDICES.............................................................................................................VI
LISTOF TABLES.....................................................................................................................VII
1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 1
1.1 BACKGROUND............................................................................................................... 2
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM................................................................................. 4
2. STATEMENTS OF THE HYPOTHESIS............................................................................. 5
3. THE GENERAL OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY..................................................................5
3.1 SUB-OBJECTIVES...........................................................................................................5
4. SCOPE OF THE STUDY .....................................................................................................6
5. THE SIGNIFICANCEOF THE STUDY.............................................................................. 6
6. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY......................................................................................... 7
7. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY...................................................................7
7.1. SECONDARY RESEARCH............................................................................................... 8
7.2 THE STUDY POPULATION AND SAMPLE....................................................................9
7.3 DATA COLLECTION METHOD.................................................................................... 10
7.4 DATA ANALYSIS............................................................................................................ 11
8. LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................... 11
8.1 INTERNAL SOURCESOF LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................... 12
8.1.1 MANAGEMENT ANDINNOVATION............................................................................. 12
8.1.1.1 Management.............................................................................................................. 12
8.1.1.1.2 Build Talents and Teens......................................................................................... 12
8.1.1.1.3 Have the ability to solve problems......................................................................... 13
8.1.1.1.4 Effective Communicators...................................................................................... 14
8.1.1.1.5 Make courageous decisions. ................................................................................... 14
8.1.1.1.6 Deliver results......................................................................................................... 14
8.1.1.2 Innovation................................................................................................................. 14
9.1.1 SERVICE.......................................................................................................................... 15
9.1.1.1 On-site tyre management.......................................................................................... 16
9.1.1.1.2 Hours Break Down Service..................................................................................... 18
10. X
9.1.1.1.3 Retreading.............................................................................................................. 19
9.1.1.1.4 New Organisational Structure................................................................................ 19
10.1.1 VISIBILITY .................................................................................................................... 20
10.1.1.1 The Goodyear Blimp................................................................................................ 20
10.1.1.2 Signage.................................................................................................................... 21
10.1.1.3 Road-Side Bill Boards ............................................................................................. 21
10.1.1.4 Brochures, Flyers, Pens, T-Shirts, Calendars and Caps.......................................... 21
10.1.2 SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY....................................................................................... 22
10.1.2.1 Women with Drive.................................................................................................. 22
10.1.2.2 Nelson Mandela Business Coalition. ...................................................................... 22
10.1.2.3 Free Pressure and Tread Depth Checks.................................................................. 22
11.1 EXTERNAL SOURCES OF LITERATURE REVIEW........................................................ 23
11.1.1 STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP........................................................................................ 23
11.1.1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 24
11.1.1.2 Definitions of Terms................................................................................................ 24
11.1.2 Environmental variables. ............................................................................................... 32
11.1.2.1 Communication........................................................................................................ 33
11.1.2.2 Management and Leadership.................................................................................. 34
11.1.2.3 Military and Leadership.......................................................................................... 36
11.1.2.4 Religion and Leadership.......................................................................................... 38
11.1.2.5 Politics and Leadership........................................................................................ 41
11.1.2.6 Leadership and Motivation ..................................................................................... 43
11.1.3 Summary........................................................................................................................ 45
12. FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS......................................................................................... 47
12.1 EMPLOYEES QUESTIONNAIRE..................................................................................... 47
12.1.1 Introduction........................................................................................................... 47
12.1.2 The Employees Responses......................................................................................... 48
13. DISCUSSION OF EMPLOYEES RESPONSES............................................................. 59
13.1.1 Introduction................................................................................................................ 59
13.2.1 What is Strategic in Employees Responses? ................................................................. 60
13.2.1. Lack of Respect ......................................................................................................... 61
13.2.2 Use of Abusive Language........................................................................................... 61
13.2.3 Low Salaries............................................................................................................... 62
13.2.4 Poor working conditions............................................................................................ 63
11. XI
13.2.5 Others. ....................................................................................................................... 65
13.3.1 Employees Relationship With Management................................................................. 66
13.3.2 Company Performance.............................................................................................. 66
13.3.3 Poor Communication................................................................................................. 67
13.3.3.1 Lack of Teamwork Spirit......................................................................................... 68
13.3.3.2 Summary............................................................................................................. 69
14.1 CUSTOMERS’ QUESTIONNAIRE ................................................................................... 69
14.1.3 DISCUSSION ON CUSTOMERS QUESTIONNAIRE. .................................................. 91
14.1.3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 91
14.1.3.2 Trentyre Relationship with Customers................................................................... 92
14.1.3.3 Customer Service.................................................................................................... 93
15. ZAMBIA NORTH TOP MANAGEMENT’S RESPONSES............................................. 96
16. CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................. 98
17. RECOMMENDATIONS...............................................................................................100
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................102
APPENDIX A. EMPLOYEES QUESTIONNAIRE..............................................................106
APPENDIX B. CUSTOMERS’ QUESTIONNAIRE .................................................................109
APPENDIX C. TOP MANAGEMENT QUESTIONNAIRE......................................................115
12. 1
1. INTRODUCTION
When there is change of management in any organization, the expectation of all the
stakeholders are always high for the new management to achieve massive success in
a short period. Knowing quite well that the chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of
organizations are not perfect individuals and they operate in an imperfect world, the
stakeholders still behave like a child who believes that his father is the most powerful
man in the world. The market place which is the measuring tape for these CEOs is
mostly measured in terms of profits one make and in a short period for that matter.
It is even worse where there is an abrupt change of management due to deaths or
resignations and that the old management was doing very well, the expectation is
that the new management must perform much better than the old one regardless of
how the old management conducted their business. Any negative variations in
performance will be met with stiff penalties such as demotions, being forced to resign
or outright dismissals.
What then can the new management do to achieve congruence in such a scenario? I
say use “strategic leadership” to achieve it. In my own understanding, a strategic
leader is the one who when appointed to a new position, will first of all learn all the
complexities of the organization within a reasonably short period, identify
individuals within the organization to help him point out the success areas and the
problem areas of the company and finally find ways of improving and solutions to the
problems so identified. The new leader must learn all about the company’s
customers, know his/her employees and all the other issues which will affect the
company’s business, including the external environment. Apart from this a strategic
leader must also learn about the country’s economy and its political leadership.
These issues will be vital to the success of the company. Strategic leadership,
13. 2
therefore, is the leader’s ability to learn all the above and be able to
interpret the company’s vision in line with what he has learnt to other
employees and empower them to create strategic change as necessary.
Strategic leadership provides the vision, the direction, the purpose for growth and
the context for the success of the company, (www.1000ventures.com/business). It
also initiates “outside the box” thinking to generate future growth.
Did the new management at Trentyre really minded all the above during the
transition process? Did they mind the relationship which was there before between
management and the customers? How about the employees, were they treated the
same way the old management did? This research is critically looking at these cases
in the changeover of management at Trentyre. The answers to the above questions
should be in the responses from the questionnaires that were distributed to the new
management, to customers and to employees on the Copperbelt Province.
1.1 BACKGROUND
Trentyre Zambia came into being in 1996 owned by Tredcor Zambia. Tredcor Ltd is a
subsidiary company of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. Its main business is to
sell new tyres and tyre accessories (tubes, valves, valve caps, etc). Trentyre also has a
manufacturing plant based in Lusaka which does retreading of tyres. This is where
the old tyre which is not damaged but it is finished, can be taken to our plant to put a
new tread on top (re – tread). By doing this, the life of the original tyre is increased to
the benefit of the owner.
On the Copperbelt, this company started as a small outlet whose office was at
Blackhood Hodge along Kitwe-Chingola Road. At that time, its main competitor was
Dunlop Zambia Ltd. When Dunlop closed its offices and operations in June 2001,
14. 3
most of Dunlop’s business went to Trentyre. This made Trentyre to grow fast and
became almost like a monopoly. Its main competitor after Dunlop, Maxiprest, lost its
only contract with Mopani Copper Mines. This contract was eventually won by
Trentyre. This meant that the whole mining industry was buying most of their tyres
from Trentyre. The contributing factor was mostly the premium Goodyear tyre brand
that the company sells and which is liked by the majority customers. Management
also contributed to this success by providing Mopani, Chibuluma and Konkola
Copper Mines an almost free service to maintain the tyres at their sites.
All business was rosy until about June/July 2011. This is the time when the
Managing Director of Trentyre Zambia resigned to form his own tyre company.
Following his resignation, the whole Top management resigned and followed him.
Some of the Branch Managers and a lot of Trentyre junior staff resigned from
Trentyre and joined the new company. All the employees felt insecure such that
when the new management was appointed, it was not wholly accepted by most of the
employees. There followed strikes which turned out to be dangerous and put the
name of the company into disrepute. Moreover, the strike action by workers,
especially from the mine sites, was handled very unprofessionally by senior
managers. The new management decided that the contract for service should be
discontinued as it was just a headache to the company and yet it was not making any
profits. They did this knowing very well that supply of new tyres was dependent on
the service contract. Despite the advice which was given that the termination of the
service contract, would affect the contract for the supply of new tyres, management
went ahead to terminate that contract, to Mopani and Chibuluma Mines. This finally
took place in April and May, 2012. Management extended the contract to Konkola
Copper Mines to June 2012.
15. 4
It did not take long before Mopani and Chibuluma reacted to this termination of the
service contract. By the end of June 2012, both mines terminated the contracts for
the supply of new tyres. This made management to think twice on the service
contract at KCM. They allowed it to continue for fear of also losing the supply of new
tyres. By the time of this research, this service contract at KCM was still in place. Up
to date, Trentyre has lost Chibuluma Mines, Mopani mines and some of the
contractors and suppliers to these mines who have gone to the opposition. Was there
any strategic leadership in their actions?
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The problem that this study will address is whether the new Trentyre management
provided strategic leadership during the process of transition from the old
management to the new one. This problem came about because of the manner in
which the entire old management resigned from the company to form a new one. The
question here was whether the new management had the capacity to handle the
complex situation that was left by the former directors. This investigation is
important because without the presence of strategic leadership during any change of
management will cause losses to the company such as:
1.1. Customers – the customers relationship with the old management will
determine their allegiance; whether to change to the new management or
continue with the old one. Should the new management fail to handle
issues correctly, then they will lose some of the customers who will go with
the old management.
1.2. Employees – as it were with the customers, the wrong handling of the
employees’ welfare can backfire on the new management. There might be
a lot of resignations which may cost the company dearly due to new
16. 5
recruitments and unsatisfied customers. During the training period
customers may be forced to receive shoddy jobs from the trainees and
eventually decide to go to the opposition.
Looking at the above issues, it is incumbent upon the new management to know how
to treat the situation in order to succeed. These two (2) cases are the main problems
that this study will address. I have the belief that this research will bring out
pertinent issues which will require further investigation.
2. STATEMENTS OF THE HYPOTHESIS
This research is based on four (4) hypotheses. These are:
2.1. The achievement of personal goals is a catalyst for a successful strategic
leadership.
2.2. Without education, strategic leadership cannot excel.
2.3. Teamwork and strategic leadership are greatly related.
2.4. Lack of communication is the reason for the failed strategic leadership
work.
3. THE GENERAL OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The general objective of this study is to “look at what strategic leadership is
and assess if the new management at Trentyre followed its principles to
avert a catastrophe posed by the loss of the entire old top
management”. The problem is whether the new management at Trentyre has
provided good leadership to sustain the market share that they found and grow it.
This problem will be analysed from the perspective of the employees and the
customers in the towns of study.
3.1 SUB-OBJECTIVES
The sub-objectives of the study are:
17. 6
(1). New Management’s competence in providing strategic leadership in the wake of
the abrupt change caused by the resignation of the top management.
(2). Employee/new management relationship in decision making.
(3). Customer relationship with new management
4. SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This study is delimited to Trentyre Zambia Ltd, a subsidiary of the Goodyear on the
Copperbelt. In particular the study will look at the impact of the new management on
sustaining its customer base and improve on it around the Copperbelt Province. To
be specific the study will cover 4 strategic towns namely Ndola, Kitwe, Mufulira and
Chingola. It is believed that the result from these towns will be representative enough
of the whole Copperbelt province.
5. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY.
May I mention it never in the history of Goodyear/ Trentyre Zambia has a research
such as this one been. Therefore, being the first of its kind, there are so many
challenges that I have; the biggest of which is the non-availability of published data
on Trentyre Zambia and it’s management. This study will bring about the feeling of
the market Customers) and the employees on the change of management at Trentyre.
In other words, management will be assessed by its own employees and the
customers. This will help management to know whether it is moving in the right
direction or else it has to change its course. The assessment that will come from the
customers can also help Trentyre management to re-strategise if it is not doing well
or maintain and or improve the same strategies if they are working well.
To the general readership, this study can help in understanding some of the reasons
why companies maintain or lose customers when there is an abrupt change of
management as what happened at Trentyre Zambia in the year 2011. It is also meant
18. 7
to show the general business community how the employee/management as well as
management/customer relationships have helped or destroyed Trentyre’s tyre
market. This study can impart good knowledge in the management of change the
Trentyre way.
6. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
Being the first of its kind, the significant limiting factor of this research was
documented sources of data for literature review. There were very few written
sources of literature on Trentyre. Even some of the information to do with its history
could hardly be found. The other limiting factors were:
a. Time – due to the fact that i am an employee and I have to satisfy my
company, the only time I had was after hours and weekends to compile my
report. This made it very difficult for to do it in time.
b. Financial Factor – this research was not sponsored. This meant that I had to
use my limited finances to organise data. As a result of this, I found it difficult
to collect all the data that that was going to form part of this research with my
limited time.
7. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
The methodology of the study specifies how the study will be carried out to research
the stated objective of determining whether strategic leadership principles are being
practiced in Trentyre or not. Parahoo (2006), states that the methodology selected
for research should be the one most suited so as to achieve an answer to the proposed
research question. For the purpose of the proposed research question of this
researcher, descriptive qualitative research design has been chosen. Qualitative
research is a systematic, subjective approach to describe life experiences and give the
19. 8
meaning (Burns and Grove, 2009). This is the research which allows the researchers
to explore behaviors, feelings and experiences in depth, quality and complexity of
situations through a holistic framework (Holloway and Wheeler, 2002). The
following section provides a brief description of the research methodology that will
be used in this research. In contrast, quantitative research is formal systematic
approach which incorporates numerical data to obtain information about anything
(Burns and Grove, 2009), which is not suitable for this study. Being a novice
researcher, I have chosen the simple descriptive qualitative study.
The following section will in brief describe how the data will be collected in both the
secondary and primary research.
7.1. SECONDARY RESEARCH
Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, (1997:38-42) recommended that during the secondary
research process, the foundation of the study should be built on a critical literature
review. Perry (1998) recommends that most PhD studies should follow a deductive
approach. In this approach the literature is used to help the researcher identify
theories and ideas to be tested through the use of data. In this way a theoretical
framework can be developed. An extensive literature review has been conducted in
strategic leadership where previous research published in books, journals, articles
and relevant sources on the internet, other working papers, government documents
and web pages have been analyzed. This information has been collected both from
the Trentyre internal documents and from other authors who have written a lot on
Strategic Leadership.
7.1. PRIMARY EMPIRICAL RESEARCH
Empirical research, also known as primary research, refers to sources of information
that have originated directly as a result of a particular problem under investigation
20. 9
(Mc Danliel & Gates, 2001:25). As proposed by a number of authors (Tull &
Hawkins, 1993:51-197; Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 1997; Hair, Bush & Ortinau,
2000) the methodology section of the primary research section should address the
following decision stages:
1. Specifying the type of study, defining the target population and sample size.
2. Describing the data collection method, determining the research instruments
to be used and specifying how the collected data will be analyzed
My research will use the email survey as a method of data collection. This survey
design allows for the collection of a large amount of data from a sizeable sample in a
highly economical way, but a common problem of email surveys is the low response
rate (Tull & Hawkins, 1993:188). Since the possible low response rate is one of the
main concerns of the researcher, a combination of email surveys and door-to-door
delivery of questionnaires will be used to improve the response rate.
7.2 THE STUDY POPULATION AND SAMPLE
The sample selected for this study consisted of the top 8 transporters in the towns
under study out of 30 identified, 8 managers from mining companies mainly Mopani
and KCM out of a total of 20, 13 Trentyre employees in Kitwe and Ndola out of 17 and
all the 1 Area Sales Manager of Trentyre Zambia. In short the total population this
researcher considered was 30 transporters, 20 managers for Konkola Copper Mines
and Mopani Copper Mines, 17 employees and 1 director of Trentyre Zambia totaling
68. My sample was 30. All these were selected basing on the researcher’s judgment
and experience with them. They have been treated as key informants (Seidler, 1974).
Their responsibilities in their organizations give them a unique and comprehensive
21. 10
view of strategic leadership activities. Zahra (1991:206) states that CEOs and
directors responsible for strategy formulation and implementation, are familiar with
the organization’s environment, strategy and structure and are able to see their
organization “holistically”. As the top ranking individual responsible for strategic
direction in an organization, they are often called upon to evaluate major new
ventures, to approve financial support for projects and are involved in evaluating
ongoing activities.
7.3 DATA COLLECTION METHOD
The data for the empirical study was collected by emailing questionnaires to some
companies while others were delivered by hand, especially to those where this
researcher do not have close contact. The advantage of sending questionnaires by
email is that a lot of respondents can be reached at a very low cost and in a short
period. It is, however, a very unreliable method especially if the researcher is not
known by the respondents. The response rate is also very low with this method of
data collection. The other problem is that, for busy executives, they can easily ignore
the email because there are so many important things they need to do for their
companies than answering a questionnaire.
On the other hand, the hand delivered questionnaire ensures confidence that it has
been received by the respondent. The respondent feels duty bound because he would
like to get rid of the researcher. As a result, the response rate is moderately high with
this method. The biggest enemy of this method, however, is cost. It is very expensive
to collect data if delivery has to be done door-to-door.
The combination of the two brought about a reasonable response rate to warrant a
good conclusion of the research.
22. 11
7.4 DATA ANALYSIS
The data collected from the three categories of the questionnaires was analyzed
according to each question from the questionnaire using a simple descriptive
qualitative technique which will, thereafter, be presented in tables and charts using
software called Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 16.0).
8. LITERATURE REVIEW.
Very little literature has been found about Trentyre and its management in relation
to strategic leadership. With the limited literature, the review is divided into 2 main
parts namely,
A. Internal
B. External
Under internal literature review, the following areas have been looked at:
I. Management and Innovation
ii. Service
iii. Visibility
iv. Social responsibility
From the external literature review, the following areas have been covered:
i. Strategic Leadership
ii. Management vs. Leadership
iii. Strategic leadership in Different Fields
iv. Leadership and Motivation
23. 12
8.1 INTERNAL SOURCES OF LITERATURE REVIEW
This is the literature gathered from the company’s publications and also those
posted by the company on the internet. The main concentration is on
literature that touches on the main concern of the research; “Strategic
Leadership”.
8.1.1 MANAGEMENT AND INNOVATION.
8.1.1.1 Management
Trentyre is a trading company for Goodyear. Goodyear manufactures tyres
and distributes them to many Trentyre branches to be sold. It is Goodyear’s
policy to ensure that the right people are appointed in the right positions to
lead the company to high heights. In March 2007, Goodyear appointed Mr
Mike King to be in charge of Trentyre operation throughout the world.
According to Goodyear’s website www.goodyear.com/mission/leadership-
traits.html, Goodyear will be driven by leaders who:
8.1.1.1.2 Build Talents and Teens.
Goodyear encourages its employees to get the necessary skills so as to
stand a chance to take up senior positions in the company and country
where they operate. In South Africa, Goodyear contributes to the
engineering pool with a valuable stream of qualifying apprentices.
The Wingfoot Clan (2012), in its issue 1 of this magazine the recent
appointed Instrumentation Technician, Mr Everton Fisher, made his
mentors proud with his extra efforts. Fisher did not only pass his trade test
certificate after 3 years instead of the usual 4 years, but he also achieved
the highest mark in the country.
24. 13
The issue of building talents is paramount in Goodyear in order to foster
innovation and good leadership. According to Goodyear’s “On Track”
(2012) magazine on page 16, within the Goodyear’s group of companies, a
pipeline of development ensures that high performing individuals are
withered to the full potential, enriched by courses like the 2012 tailor-
made innovation leadership programme held at the Golden Institute of
Business Science (GIBS) at the University of Pretoria. This programme was
titled “Innovation Leadership” because it was about building talents in
three specific areas as it was a reported in this magazine and thus;
(a) Leading yourself – how you lead your life for your benefit and the
benefit of those around you. This will include how you present yourself
to others.
(b) Leading others – how do you lead others will emanate from how you
managed to lead yourself. If a person has failed to manage his own way
of living, he cannot manage to lead others. A person’s personal success
will have a lot of bearing in the way he or she will lead others.
(c) Leading change – Only visionary leaders will manage to lead change.
People who have no vision will not manage to lead change because they
will after all act like a blind person who cannot see where he or she is
going and, therefore, cannot lead others. It is through such
programmes that Goodyear nurtures good leaders in the company.
8.1.1.1.3 Have the ability to solve problems
Leaders are there to help provide solution to a number of problems
faced by the company. This of course should be with the assistance of
25. 14
the other members of the company. Leaders must be articulate,
intelligent, caring and understanding.
8.1.1.1.4 Effective Communicators.
In the Goodyear corporate/Goodyear mission publication
(www.goodyear.com/mission/leadership-traits.html), a good leader is
one who unambiguously communicates to his/her subordinates. Clear
communication requires clear understanding of instruction and policy
pronouncement. This will further have an effect on reduced accidents
and costly mistakes.
8.1.1.1.5 Make courageous decisions.
In the Wingfoot Clan (2012), Rolf Rohrmuller, Cluster Director,
Namibia, Botswana and Angola refused to conduct business in a certain
manner in Angola which placed the security of, both himself and his
family, at risk. In most cases risk decision are highly paying and need
courageous workers who do not fear failure to make them
8.1.1.1.6 Deliver results.
Lastly Goodyear will be driven by leaders who will deliver results. A
leader in name only without result is not worth it
(www.goodyear.com/misssion/leadership-traits.html).
8.1.1.2 Innovation.
In the words of GYR’s chairman R.J.Keegan, Innovation can be
defined as an improvement of a production, process or service from its
current state to a point where it has greater value to our customers.
(Goodyear Corporate Responsibility report, 2007). Strategic leadership
26. 15
will be a failure if it does not innovate. GYR and all its associates which
include Trentyre believe that innovation is critical to our business, our
customers and other dealers. In this issue of the corporate
responsibility, GYR believes that products and services quality will
never be accomplished without innovation and as a matter of fact, GYR
regards innovation as one of the main traits of strategic leadership.
9.1.1 SERVICE
Strategic leadership will fail terribly if the services they render to their clients
are not liked or appreciated. Service can mean an intangible product produced
and sold to the customer directly such as banking, accountancy, legal services,
entertainment and education (W.J.Keegan, 2004). It can also mean a job done
to a customer who has bought intangible and/or tangible products such as
carrying a customer’s goodies to his/her car, fitting a customer’s new tyre at
no extra cost, free product use technical advice, free or at little cost backup on
products bought by a customer etc. The second set of service is meant to add
more value to the product/service bought by the customer. John burnet, 2008
define a service as “a deed, a performance or an effort”. Burnet goes further
to say that a service is a product that is consumed at the same time it is
produced. For example, a football match a musical entertainment or a dance
festival. Strategic leaders who deal in tangible products can use good services
to win customers to themselves. Services can also be used as a means to
cultivate a sense of trust in a customer about a given company and its
products. Some companies are identified by the service they provide. Some of
the services that Goodyear/Trentyre provides to its customers are:
27. 16
9.1.1.1 On-site tyre management.
Goodyear and Trentyre have put service as a means to win and keep its
customers. In its magazine, “On Track, 2012”Glen Duffield, the Goodyear
National Commercial Accounts Manager, wrote that, “Excellent services will
maintain New Business”. This was in reference to the newly acquired
customer, Coca-Cola. Goodyear through its associate Trentyre entered into an
agreement which entailed Trentyre being in charge of the complete tyre
management of all the 26 Coca-Cola depots in South Africa. According to
Glen, in the magazine On Track, pg 7, the agreement with Coca-Cola is that
Trentyre will ensure the smooth running of its fleet and also in driving down
the overall CPK (cost per kilometre). He concluded by saying “it is an
impressive selling tool”. This deal which was dabbed the Coca-Cola Fortune
proved to be a success for Trentyre.
On the same topic, Samantha Steffens, Goodyear’s Country Procurement
Manager, said the Coca-Cola Fortune has come a long way with Trentyre,
having started with a service of just a couple of depots in 2004. In 2011, they
decided to nationalise the contract. Because of Trentyre’s record of excellent
service and willingness to adapt to the Coca-Cola Fortune way of doing
business, the contract was awarded to Trentyre. This was not just cost benefit
to the company, but also about positive relationships, further said Samantha
(On Track, 2012)
The contract at Coca-Cola Fortune encompasses a fleet of more than 800
vehicles, which is about 10,000 wheels all serviced by Trentyre. Trentyre has
technicians stationed on site at most of Coca-Cola depots, (On Track, 2012).
28. 17
Glen who is the brain child of the Coca-Cola Fortune lastly commented that,
“Excellent service and great communication will ensure Trentyre longevity
in maintaining this blue chip contract into the future”. (On Track, 2012).
In Trentyre as it is in Goodyear, service is regarded as strategic tool to remain
afloat.
In one of the internet based publication, the 3D Car Shows, titled, Trentyre
moves confidently into consumer territory, Trentyre has introduced what is
called an On-Site Tyre Management for consumers. This is a service where a
Trentyre team of experts is permanently stationed at the dealership such as
Hyundai East Rand. The Trentyre teams at such dealership provide services
such as fitting and balancing tyres as well as wheel alignment of vehicles. The
Business Manager for Trentyre Boksburg commented that by maintaining a
professional service to Hyundai East Rand, we hopefully will be able to grow
our business relationship into the future.
Trentyre has been offering this on-site tyre management service to the mines
and other clients all-over Africa. Trentyre offer full tyre management solution
including tyre bay management, effective tyre maintenance in accordance to
the customer operational requirements, pressure check top-ups and timely
advice on the way tyres are performing. (www.trentyre.co.za/mgt tyre-
mgt.php. Trentyre provides skilled technicians to take over the daily
responsibility of tyre maintenance which includes tyre fitting, operational area
inspection, tyre performance monitoring and timely advice to operators when
they have tochange their tyres. Included here are pressure checks, tread depth
checks, rim component check, wheel studs and wheel nut checks and check on
oil leaks on the hubs which have effect on the tyre performance.
29. 18
At the end of the day, detailed reporting is done and presented to
management of the host company for action. Reports such as tyre surveys
(which shows the pattern of pressures in tyres, missing valve caps, missing
valve extension, missing wheel nuts and studs, leaking oil, signs of mechanical
failure on the tyres and general performance of the tyres) and scrap tyre
reports, (which shows reasons why tyres which are no longer in use were
scrapped) are all presented to the host company for action. The scrapped tyres
can be due to operator abuse, manufacturing faults, mechanical failure or
unavoidable operation faults. These reports provide a platform to put up
proactive measures that will ensure effective use of the tyres and are presented
to the owners of the company so that they can take corrective measures. On
the other hand, when this service is in place, operators are well aware that
they are under check such that they are always careful in their work. This will
ensure a prolonged tyre life and this has an effect of reducing tyre costs (Tyre
Management System).
9.1.1.1.2 Hours Break Down Service.
The other service that is emphasised by Trentyre, especially in South Africa is
the 24 hours break down service and the tyre repairs. These services can be
conducted at any time and at any place throughout South Africa. This service
has further been extended through the line of rail up to the Democratic
Republic of Congo via Zambia. This service entails Trentyre attending to all
tyre problem break downs such as repairing punctured tyre and replacing
burst tyres with new ones.
30. 19
9.1.1.1.3 Retreading.
The retreading of finished tyres to extend their lives is one other integral
element in TMS (Tyre management service). This service reduces the cost
which benefits the owners of such tyres (Press Room).
9.1.1.1.4 New Organisational Structure.
In its magazine the Wingfoot Clan (2012: p. 5). Goodyear has established a
new Organisational structure called the “Product Business unit”. Effective,
February 1, 2012, Goodyear has divided its business into three categories
namely:
(1) Consumer
(2) Commercial
(3) Off-the road (OTR). (Wingfoot Clan, 2012).
(i) Consumer products- these are tyres sold to customers who own small
vehicles which fit tyre sizes 10” to 20” such as 145R10, 155/80R13, up
to 275/40R20. These are termed consumer tyres because most of their
users are individuals or small business units who mostly buy these
tyres for their own personal use.
(ii) Commercial products- In this category are tyres ranging from 8.25-20
way up to 445/65R22.5. These are tyres used mostly by commercial
business units such as transporters, freight forwarders, large
wholesaler and large supermarkets. They are mainly used to transport
merchandise from one point to the other or are hired for such business.
(iii) OTR (Off the road) and specialised products- In this category we can
consider mining tyres- OTR and farm tyres.
31. 20
The purpose of introducing the new structure according to Jean-
Jacques Wiroth, Managing Director Goodyear Tyre and rubber
holding’s was to create an integrated focused group organisational
structure to consolidate existing resources and to ensure alignment
with Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regional structures. This
will ensure Goodyear and its associates such as Trentyre view business
in the same manner according to product business units (PBUs) (The
Wingfoot Clan page 5). Mr Wiroth said “We are confident that our new
PBU structure will achieve our business goals and will directly
contribute to building our plans for the future growth”.
The other notable strategic leadership role played by management at
Goodyear/Trentyre is that of dividing Trentyre into clusters. One
cluster consists of Zambia, Congo DR, Malawi and Zimbabwe while the
other one is that of Botswana, Namibia and Angola. The cluster means
the grouping of such countries according to their proximity.
10.1.1 VISIBILITY
Trentyre/Goodyear considers visibility as one of the major strategic
leadership actions. The following are sure ways of making it a point that
Trentyre/Goodyear is noticed by people everywhere:
10.1.1.1 The Goodyear Blimp
The Goodyear blimp as can be seen below is an airship operated by
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company for advertising purposes.
32. 21
Goodyear began this airship in 1911 and produced its own blimp, which
was called “The Pilgrim” in 1925. The blimp is fitted with the LED
technology which allows the airship to display bright, multi-coloured,
animated words and images to attract the attention of the onlookers.
SPIRIT OF INNOVATION
Figure 1: The Goodyear Blimp
10.1.1.2 Signage
At every Trentyre/Goodyear sales point, there are always signages
mainly of Trentyre and Goodyear names which are always in blue,
yellow and white colours. Any passersby can easily notice the presence
of the company in that area.
10.1.1.3 Road-Side Bill Boards
Trentyre/Goodyear has identified certain strategic positions in
different areas in which they operate where they have put-up billboards
to signify their presence. In Kitwe, the billboards are at Wusakile
Township roundabout. Wherever they have not yet fixed the billboard,
the company use what we call, “A-Flames”, as it is at the entrance to
our Ndola Branch.
10.1.1.4 Brochures, Flyers, Pens, T-Shirts, Calendars and Caps
Every year Goodyear/Trentyre produces tens of thousands of these
items for advertising purposes. They are distributed to the various
branches and other associates for onward distribution to clients at no
33. 22
cost at all. These items can be found in offices, houses and in vehicles to
always remind the customers of the Trentyre/Goodyear in their
presence.
10.1.2 SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Social responsibility is helping the communities in which the company
operates. It is a strategic leadership effort which ensures that the
community in which the company’s employees live is a better place. In its
Corporate Responsibility Report, (2007, pg 20-23), Goodyear outlines
major primary community activities focused on safety innovation,
translating a variety of initiatives to help keep citizens safe and secure.
This strategic charitable effort takes different forms in different countries
where Goodyear operates and some of them are as follows:
10.1.2.1 Women with Drive
In the Asian Pacific Region, Goodyear held autocare events throughout
2007. Here women were targeted and taught car care and service
techniques to keep them safe on the road. The women learnt how a
vehicle operates, ways to keep it dependable, how to check tyres and
oil.
10.1.2.2 Nelson Mandela Business Coalition.
Goodyear continues to provide assistance and support to citizens
suffering from the effects of HIV/AIDS disease (Goodyear Corporate
Responsibility Report, 2007, pg. 21). Goodyear helps both with
financial and material support to improve the quality of lives in Africa.
10.1.2.3 Free Pressure and Tread Depth Checks.
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In Zambia, Trentyre/Goodyear encourages motorists to have their
pressures checked by the qualified tyre fitters at all its branches.
Motorists are assisted to check the life of their tyres to ensure their
safety on the road.
11.1 EXTERNAL SOURCES OF LITERATURE REVIEW
According to the researcher’s understanding, this is the literature collected
from books, journals, any published articles, newspapers, government
gazettes, and on internet on the topic of the researcher’s interest. This
information has got nothing to do with, in this case, Trentyre/Goodyear as a
company under research. It is simply the general overview as propounded by
scholars on strategic leadership.
11.1.1 STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP
“Some must follow, and some command, though all are made of
clay”. Longfellow
The above quote is a somewhat realistic perception of life in today’s world of
business, the political arena, and even in religion. Associate Editor Kevin
Miller of Leaders (Myra, 1981), contends that: Leadership is a puzzling,
paradoxical art. It demands both broad vision and attention to
detail. It simultaneously calls for uncanny intuition and hard-
headed analysis. It means often standing alone, yet proves itself
in its ability to rally people. Leading isn’t easy”.
However, leadership is not optional; it is essential. It is essential for
motivation and direction. It is also essential for evaluation and
accomplishment. It is the one ingredient essential for the success of any
organization (Swindoll, 1985,). Maxwell (1998) suggests that “everything
rises and falls on leadership and any endeavour you can
35. 24
undertake that involves other people will live or die depending on
leadership”.
11.1.1.1 Introduction
A search of the literature determined that the subject of strategic leadership
has been studied in business, but not very much is available in research on
government, religion, or more importantly for this work, on Trentyre Zambia.
Therefore, there is a lack of guidance in Trentyre literature for strategic
leadership.
While other literature on strategic leadership for other businesses has been
found, Trentyre Zambia has lagged behind in literature guidance. There is a
clear need for more study on strategic leadership at Trentyre if there is to be
any meaningful or desired change, both in people attitude and management
leadership qualities.
This literature review is designed to provide a context, looking first at
definitions of terms used in this study, followed by a section on strategic
leadership. The literature review on strategic leadership section will be
followed by a breakdown of tactical and strategic leadership aspects from
different professions. The organization of this literature review material is
designed to give a full and rich context to the considerations of strategic
leadership, and what experience has taught leaders in the movement from
tactical to strategic leadership that can be applied to government, businesses,
religion and law enforcement leadership.
11.1.1.2 Definitions of Terms
11.1.1.2.1. Tactical
Webster’s defines tactical as characterized by skilful tactics or adroit
manoeuvring or procedure of or pertaining to a manoeuvre or plan of action
36. 25
designed as an expedient toward gaining a desired end or temporary
advantage (Webster Dictionary, 1989, p. 1447).
11.1.1.2.2. Tactical Leadership
Tactical Leadership is the leadership that facilitates an immediate response to
a pressing problem (Justice Africa, 2004). Tactical Leadership is a leadership
style used when the objective is very clear, a plan for achieving the objective
has been developed, and the members of the collective effort are being led in
the execution of the plan (The Dorothy A. Johnson Centre for Philanthropy &
Non-profit Leadership Strategic, 2004).
11.1.1.2.3. Tactical Values
Tactical values are the day-to-day ways we conduct ourselves to achieve the
end goals. Tactical values define the "means" to get to the desired "ends."
There are always more tactical values than strategic values for there are more
ways to get somewhere than places to go. Tactical and Strategic components
exist in organizations whether they are effective or ineffective. Whether they
are industry leaders or on the brink of bankruptcy, they have strategic values
that chart their course and tactical values that guide their policies and
procedures. Tactical Values are the values that actually guide our decision-
making, priorities, and policies in the workplace (Decision Point, Inc, 2004).
11.1.1.2.4. Strategic
Strategy is the gentle art of re-perceiving; move away from what is known by
clearing the mind, clearing the place, and clearing the beliefs (John Kao,
Professor, Stanford Business School, 2006). Strategy is the art of making use
of time and space. I am less chary of the latter than the former; space we can
recover; time never (Napoleon Bonaparte, 2005). Strategy is about stretching
limited resources to fit ambitious aspirations (C.K. Prahalad, Professor,
University of Michigan, Business School, 2006).
11.1.1.2.5. Strategic Values.
37. 26
A strategic value is an event or idea that will produce a comparative advantage
to the business. Strategic values chart the course of the business. Many
companies develop business strategies for the sake of doing so without the
intention of using a framework to design and implement strategy. Such
strategies become a bunch of statements that sit on corporate mugs and logos.
Strategic value is more than a just strategy. It involves the assessment of ideas
in terms of their strategic value to the business and the implementation of the
chosen ideas.
What business strategy is all about, in a word, is competitive advantage. The
sole purpose of strategic planning is to enable a company to gain, as efficiently
as possible, a sustainable edge over its competitors. Corporate strategy thus
implies an attempt to alter a company's strength relative to that of its
competitors in the most efficient way.
Strategic thinking must integrate what executives learn from all sources; from
their own and other’s experience, from analysis of financial data, and from
trends in the larger environment—into a coherent sense of direction for the
business. Strategic planning is not strategic thinking.
One is analysis and the other is synthesis; strategic thinking assures resiliency
and informs coherent decision-making in a rapidly changing environment.
(Bennett & Brown, 1995, p. 170)
Strategic leadership is multifunctional; it involves managing through others,
and helps organizations cope with change that seems to be increasing
exponentially in today’s globalized environment (Huey, 1994, as cited in
Amin, 1998,). It requires the ability to accommodate and integrate both
external and internal conditions, and to manage and engage in complex
information processing. Firms use the strategic management process
successfully through effective strategic leadership (Hitt & Keats, 1992, as cited
in Amin, 1998,). Strategy is the framework of choices that determine the
nature and direction of an organization. (Freedman & Tregoe, 2003, p. 15)
Strategy is concerned with what an organization aims to be, and why.
(Freedman & Tregoe, 2003, p. 17)
38. 27
Tactical is what to think about and how to do it (skills), strategic is what needs
to be done and how to think about it (assessment, decisions, priorities,
alignment, critical reflection). Tactical is looking at a piece of the puzzle,
strategic is looking at all the pieces of the puzzle.
11.1.1.3. Definition of Strategic Leadership
11.1.1.3.1. Introduction
Conventional wisdom presumes that strategic leadership of organizations is
primarily provided by chief executives, presidents or general managers
(Kotter, 1982). This in essence in not the case as the impact of individuals on
organizational performance has been known to be ambiguous or
inconsequential (Salansik & Pfeffer, 1977). An individual is unlikely to succeed
to run the company without involving others. The truth of the matter is a
leader lead through others. Failure is paramount to a leader who is self; who
wants everything to himself. Strategic Leadership refers to the creation of an
all inclusive sense of purpose and direction which guide integrated strategy
formulation and implementation in organizations (Hosmer, 1982). No one
person can carry out this task on his/her own. Summer (1980), says strategic
leadership is a multifaceted concept which includes functions such as
integration of societal ethics with organizational ethics, the alignment of
philosophies regarding the roles of a leader, society and the organization and
the alignment of the organization with respect to influence and power in
society.
11.1.1.3.2. What Strategic Leadership Is
Different scholars and other academicians have defined strategic leadership in
many ways. Rowe (2001) defines strategic leadership as “the ability to
influence others to voluntarily make day-to-day decisions that enhance the
long term viability of the organisation while at the same time maintaining its
short-term financial stability”. Another scholar, Davies defines it as “having
the organizational ability with strategic orientation to translate strategy into
39. 28
action, align people and organizations, determine effective strategic
intervention points and develop strategic competences (Davies, 2004)”.
Davies highlights the concept of “adaptive capacity”, a strategy that enables
leaders to change and learn through asserting that mastering chaos,
complexity and change requires new ways of seeing and thinking (Sanders,
1998). The strategic leader’s eyes are strategically future oriented. A strategic
leader has influence over the organization by aligning its systems, culture and
organizational structure to ensure consistence with strategy (Beatty and
Quinn, 2010). Strategic Leadership is about setting and not just reacting to
agendas, it’s about identifying problems and initiating change that makes for
substantial improvement rather than managing change (Pearce, 2008). One of
the influential and interesting definitions of strategic leadership is that
provided by Barron, (1995). He defines it as “practicing existing abilities and
skills and influencing others to train in new formats for new leadership
models”. Specifically to obtain successful educational management within the
organization, leaders should think strategically about where changes are
needed and why. Barron (1995) further advises that new leaders should be in
possession of three fundamental skills, which are:
a. Problem solving
b. Decision Making Ability
c. Creative/critical thinking.
A very common definition of strategic leadership is the one provided by
Harvard Business Review, 81(8), 38-45, which says, “Strategic Leadership is
the ability to anticipate, envision, maintain flexibility and empower others to
create strategic change as necessary”, (Insearch of Global Leaders, 2003).
Strategic Leadership involves managing through others, managing an entire
enterprise rather than a functional sub-unit and coping with change that
continues to increase in the current competitive landscape. Because of the
complexity of the competition and technological advancements, strategic
leaders must learn to effectively influence human behaviour in uncertain
environments. The management of human capital may be the most critical of
the strategic leader’s skills (M.A. Hitt and R.D. Ireland, 2002).
40. 29
11.1.1.3.3. A Strategic Leader
As the definition of strategic leadership says, the manager’s job is to apply a
combination of decisions regarding the whole concept of his/her business. It
involves making strategic choices amongst so many so that the scarce
resources are well utilised to satisfy the market’s wants over a long time.
According to Bryson, (1995, pg 32), a strategy can be defined as a pattern of
purposes, policies, programmes, actions, decisions or resource allocations that
define what an organization is, what it does and why it does it. For a strategic
leader, therefore, it is imperative that he/she knows the company’s policies,
programmes and purposes for him/her to be able to achieve its goals. Such an
alert leader will also be able to help other employees to understand the
company’s reason for being and how to achieve its goals. Competent strategic
leaders also establish the context through which stakeholders, such as
customers, employees, and suppliers can perform at peak efficiency (J.E. Post,
L.E. Preston and S. Sachs, 2002). In the absence of such leadership, that is
when a company is left with a void leadership, for reasons best known to the
owners, the ripple effects are widely felt both within and outside the company.
Within the company, there is likely to be a crisis of morale, a crisis of
confidence and of course a crisis of productivity amongst employees.
Moreover, stockholders may panic and may sell their shares because they are
not sure anymore about the safety and future of their investment.
Outside the company, suppliers of raw materials, semi-finished and finished
products may refuse to render credit facility to such a company for fear of
losing their money (D.C. Carey & D. Ogden, 2000).
The epitome of strategic leadership is the ability to manage the firm’s
operations effectively and sustain high performance over time (M. Maccoby,
2001).
However, a strategic leader, while perhaps taking more time, would address
the opportunity for organizational improvement and learning in a
systems/contingency mode. Again, while Vecchio’s (1995) more tactical view
that “Leadership is the process through which leaders influence the attitudes,
41. 30
behaviours, and values of others, Byrd’s (1987), states that, “Strategic
leadership is the leader's ability to anticipate, envision, maintain flexibility,
and empower others to create strategic change as necessary”. An explanation
of strategic change is when the leader can change the strategy being used by
the organization; “modifying its behaviour to reflect new knowledge and
insights” (Wheelen & Hunger, 2002, p. 8). Hitt and Keats (1992) say that “It
requires the ability to accommodate and integrate both external and internal
conditions, and to manage and engage in complex information processing.
Firms use the strategic management process successfully through effective
strategic leadership”.
To continue with the above example, the fundamental solution/strategic
leadership context would use an open (external, environment) system answer,
realizing that any loss of middle career or end-of-career personnel will cause a
domino effect. More qualified people will need to be tested, backgrounds
investigated, hired, trained, and promoted. Therefore, a strategic leader would
do risk assessments, succession planning, consider demographic changes, and
engage in other contingency planning, while understanding that doing
something to any part of the system will affect other parts of the system. In
this manner, unintended consequences can be minimized while addressing
the source of the problem; a strategic plan for hiring, training, and retiring.
While the principal and ultimate responsibility for law enforcement strategic
leadership lies with the chief of police, managers within the organization
should strive toward strategic leadership in order to both make the
organization successful and to prepare themselves to move from being
predominantly a tactical leader toward being more of a strategic leader.
John Kotter (1990) and others think that organizations are under-led and
over-managed and retired Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, USN, (1986), in his
retirement speech said, “You manage things, you lead people”. While most
would agree with these ideas, strategic leadership emphasizes both leading
and managing. However, because of the realities, conditions, and complexities
of today’s world, strategic leadership is a paradigm shift for many leaders. It is
both difficult to implement and somewhat complicated to learn, especially for
those who are hands-on, do-it-yourself leaders.
42. 31
These types of leaders typically stay so busy leading tactically, that they do not
have time to develop themselves or subordinates through education,
delegation, and mentoring, nor do they have time for critical reflection, action
learning, or critical self-reflection, (Mezirow, 1990, p. 30). Persistent self and
subordinate development is key to strategic leading and is accomplished
through frequent reflection and continuous lifelong learning. A related issue
that precludes continuous learning is the political environment that demands
the chief be available at the beck and call of the mayor or city manager. This
atmosphere does not encourage, and sometimes actually penalizes the leader
for these educational experiences because of the distance and travel costs to
seminars and training. Most leaders, tactical or strategic, learn something
every time they resolve a problem. A lessons’ learned aspect should be a part
of every situation. However, it is more important for a lessons learned
assessment to occur in the greater context of strategic leading rather than a
situational, tactical (symptomatic) learning. For example, if a law enforcement
leader finds someone in the executive branch of a local, state, or federal
government difficult to deal with (policy, budget, personnel incident, etc.),
and the learning is that the leader decides not to deal with that person again, it
could be a good tactical response, but not necessarily a good strategic
response. Because most of our developing leaders have not been taught or
mentored in strategic leadership, tactical leaders many times find themselves
in a vicious self-defeating circle when they are placed in the chief of police
position. In Management of Organizational Behaviour, Hersey and Blanchard
(1993) give a definition of strategic leadership when they write through a
strategic model, “organizational performance is the product of many factors,
including organizational structure, knowledge, non-human resources,
strategic positioning, and human process”. A strategy is a broad integrated
plan of action to accomplish organizational goals. Because a strategy is an
integrated plan, all of the factors or variables are interrelated. Integration is
not only essential to meeting current business and social needs, but, it is
essential to the change process necessary to meet future business and social
needs of the organization (Hersey and Blanchard, 1993, p. 403). In their
book, The Art and Discipline of Strategic Leadership, Freedman and Tregoe
(2003) say that: “Strategic leadership requires a combination of art and
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discipline”. What is meant by art? It means thinking that is creative, out of the
box, and blue sky. Examples include the creation of alternative strategic
visions for top team assessment, new product development, the crafting of
what-if scenarios, the identification of decision-making criteria, and the
design of a new culture that is strategically aligned. Creativity is also required
in other activities such as communicating the strategy and supporting
ownership of and commitment to it. Discipline is essential, both in the
thought process involved in strategy and in its execution; the strategic leader
needs to craft and implement a plan, the leader needs to ensure consistency of
decision making throughout the organization when so many options are
available and the strategic leader must be sure to regularly monitor, review,
and update strategy (Freedman and Tregoe, 2003, p. 3)
11.1.2 Environmental variables.
These are expectations of governmental and regulatory bodies, the local and global
communities where the organization operates, economic and technological trends,
threats and opportunities, and trends in society at large. In attempting to identify
what components or competencies are involved in strategic leadership, Freedman
and Tregoe (2003) write about characteristics and traits of successful strategic
leaders. They say strategic leaders have “Good judgment, passion and courage. They
collaborate with others very well. Above all, they have got good strategic thinking
ability. Apart from the above, strategic leaders must show creativity,
expressiveness, tolerance for ambiguity and a sense of stewardship for the future”.
In describing the leaders of today, Freedman and Tregoe refer to Keith Alm of
Hallmark International who says that “those who are not strategic leaders had no
generation of new ideas, no forethought regarding dynamics in their own markets,
and relationship to the consumer”. Strategic leadership requires strategic leaders to
initiate processes that ensure their organization scans the environment to maintain
an awareness of societal, international, technological, demographic, and economic
developments. The primary role in this environmental scanning process for the
strategic leader is to interpret the scanned data to determine the organization’s
response. For example, if the Marketing Manager learns from the Marketing
Executive in charge of Market Intelligence that competitors have slashed the prices
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of a given product in the market, the Marketing Manager needs to interpret this data
and then explain to relevant stakeholders what this observation means to the
company. He then needs to solicit for ideas from his senior managers and other
stakeholders for the type of action to take in order to decide a course for the
organization, and influence external decision makers to collaborate on solutions. In
short, strategic leaders are always wary of the happenings in the areas of politics,
economy, social/culture and technology. These areas offer both opportunities and
threats to businesses.
11.1.2.1 Communication
Freedman and Tregoe (2003) propose that communication is a strategic
unifier in the achievement of all the company’s goals. They further write that
the ultimate goal of communication must lead to behaviour change. This is no
one time event. At every opportunity, communication about the specific
changes individuals and teams are asked to accept, help them make the leap to
action. Strategic leaders must strive to always inform others the processes of
setting goals, developing job descriptions and performance expectations,
evaluating priorities, managing projects, acquiring new skills, implementing
systems and processes, and modelling new values and beliefs. These events
signal that the times they are changing, and are a call to climb on board.
Freedman and Tragoe (2003), further writes that no communication is
successful unless it answers the question “What does this mean for me?” This
is the core message for every stakeholder. When you’re asking individuals and
groups to change their behaviour and align their efforts with the strategic
vision, they’d better understand what you want them to do and why.
(Freedman and Tregoe, 2003, p. 171).
Covey (1991) writes that a strategic leader can provide direction and vision,
motivate and build a complementary team based on mutual respect if he is
more effectiveness-minded than efficiency-minded, more concerned with
direction and results than with methods, systems, and procedures.
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The strategic leadership literature ideas and concepts are built upon the
voluminous work done previously on leadership from different perspectives. It
is instructive and helpful to see the evolution of leadership theory as each
theorist’s work builds and expands on predecessors’ studies. Following are
samples from academic, military, religion, government, business, and even
law enforcement, that informed not only the above strategic leadership
literature, but build the foundation for this study of Trentyre strategic
leadership.
11.1.2.2 Management and Leadership
Some writers take an academic approach, and in order to break down the
aspects into segments that can be analyzed and explained, they separate
duties and/or actions into the categories of leaders compared to managers.
Often the definitions for managers, while not named as such, are closely
aligned with tactical leading while definitions of leaders are similar to
strategic leading. The following list is one illustration.
Conger and Kanungo’s Differences between Managership and Leadership
A Manager Work
1. Engages in day-to-day activities: Maintains and allocates resources.
2. Exhibits supervisory behaviour: Acts to make others maintain standard job
behaviour.
3. Administers subsystems within organizations.
4. Asks how and when to engage in standard practice.
5. Acts within established organizational culture.
6. Uses transactional influence: Induces compliance in manifest behaviour
using rewards, sanctions, and formal authority.
7. Relies on control strategies to get things done by subordinates.
8. Supports the status quo and stabilizes the organization.
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A Leader’s Work
1. Formulates long-term objectives for reforming the system: Plans strategy
and tactics
2. Exhibits leading behaviour: Acts to bring about change in others congruent
with long-term objectives.
3. Innovates for the entire organization
4. Asks when and why to change standard practice
5. Creates vision and meaning for the organization and strives to transform
culture.
6. Uses transformational influence: Induces change in values, attitudes and
behaviour using personal examples and expertise.
7. Uses empowering strategies to make followers internalize values.
8. Challenges the status quo and creates change.
____________________________________________________
Note. From Charismatic Leadership in Organizations, by Conger, J. A., &
Kanungo, R. N. (1998), Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publication. Copyright 1998
by Sage Publications, Inc.
Other writers like Stephen R. Covey, in Principle-Centred Leadership (1991)
writes about management versus leadership, and says whereas leadership is
similar to strategic leading, management is akin to tactical leading. He
suggests that leadership deals with direction; with making sure that the ladder
is leaning against the right wall. Management deals with speed. To double
one’s speed in the wrong direction, however, is the very definition of
foolishness. Leadership deals with vision that is with keeping the missions in
sight and with effectiveness and results. Management deals with establishing
structure and systems to get those results. It focuses on efficiency, cost benefit
analyses, logistics, methods, procedures, and policies. Leadership focuses on
the top line. Management focuses on the bottom line. Leadership derives its
power from values and correct principles. Management organizes resources to
serve selected objectives to produce the bottom line. (Covey, 1991, p. 246)
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In the sixth edition of Management of Organizational Behaviour, Hersey and
Blanchard (1993) write that: Management and leadership are often thought of
as one and the same thing. We feel, however, that there is an important
distinction between the two concepts; leadership is a broader concept than
management. Management is leadership in which the achievement of
organizational goals is paramount. Leadership occurs any time one attempts
to influence the behaviour of an individual or group, regardless of the reason.
(Blanchard, 1993). In leadership, there are three general competencies and
these are:
(a) Diagnosing—being able to understand the situation you are trying to
influence.
(b) Adapting—being able to adapt your behaviour and the other resources you
have available to meet the contingencies of the situation.
(c) Communicating—being able to communicate in a way that people easily
understand and accept
11.1.2.3 Military and Leadership
Similarly, since strategic leadership literature and practice are built upon
work done previously, it is instructive to review the literature from the
military point of view, especially since they are possibly the first to make the
distinction between tactical and strategic leadership. The former U.S. Army
General who became the 34th President of the United States, Dwight David
Eisenhower (1890 – 1969), is credited with saying that leaders should “not
lead by hitting people over the head; that is assault, not leadership.”
Generals, the Chief Executive Officers of the military, need to manage assets,
not only from an organizational or fiscal standpoint, but they need to have a
strategy for what it takes to wage war. A large part of waging war is leading
people. From one military perspective, one of the first paragraphs in the
United States Marine Corps’ (USMC, 1986) leadership manual, entitled,
Leadership Readings and Discussions, posits: An individual’s
responsibility for leadership is not dependent upon authority.
Marines are expected to exert proper influence upon their
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comrades by setting examples of obedience, courage, zeal,
sobriety, neatness, and attention to duty. A later paragraph reads;
“Effective personal relations in an organization can be satisfactory only
when there is complete understanding and respect between individuals.
Commanders must strive for forceful and competent leadership throughout
the entire organization. They should inform the troops of plans of action and
reasons therefore, whenever it is possible and practicable to do so.
Commanders will endeavour to remove on all occasions those causes which
make for misunderstanding or dissatisfaction. They must assure that all
members of the command are acquainted with procedures for registering
complaints, together with the action taken thereon. Commanders must build
a feeling of confidence which will ensure the free approach by subordinates
for advice and assistance not only in military matters, but for personal
problems as well” USMC, 1986). The manual refers to a change in relations
between officers and enlisted personnel after the World War. The text calls it a
comradeship and brotherhood. It goes further and says the relationship
between officers and enlisted men should in no sense be that of superior and
inferior, or that of master and servant, but rather that of teacher and
scholar. In fact, it should partake of the nature of the relation between father
and son, to the extent that officers, especially commanding officers, are
responsible for the physical, mental, and moral welfare, as well as the
discipline and military training of the young people under their command
who are serving the nation in the Marine Corps. (USMC, 1986, p. 1-A-3). In
the same manual, (US Marine Corps Manual, 1986), General John A. LeJeune,
a famous USMC General, is quoted as saying, “Military leadership is the sum
of those qualities on intellect, human understanding and moral character
that enable a person to inspire and to control a group of people successfully”.
The manual defines command as, “The authority a person in the military
lawfully exercises over subordinates by virtue of his rank and assignment or
position”. It defines management as, “The process of planning, organizing,
coordinating, directing, and controlling resources such as people, material,
time and money to accomplish the organization’s mission” (USMC, 1986, p.
1-B-1). Finally, it defines leadership as, “the process of influencing [people] in
such a manner as to accomplish the mission” (USMC, 1986, p. 1-B-1).
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The manual addresses the concept of values that control the way a
commander’s Marines receive, comprehend, and obey orders they are given.
The values identified are personal values, for example, honesty, responsibility,
loyalty, moral courage, and friendliness; social values, including, “social
responsibility, loving, interpersonal relationships, social consciousness,
equality, justice, liberty, freedom, and pride in our country” (USMC, 1986, p.
2-A-2); economic values, such as “equal employment, stable economy,
balancing of supply and demand of productive goods, money, private
property, pride of ownership, and taxes”; political values, including “loyalty to
country, concern for national welfare, democracy, and the ‘American Way,’
public service, voting, elections, and civic responsibility; and religious values,
such as “reverence for life, human dignity, and freedom to worship” (USMC,
1986, p. 2-B-3). Obviously, these are more strategic than tactical
considerations.
11.1.2.4 Religion and Leadership
From the realm of a Biblical perspective, according to Swindoll (1985), there
are several positive characteristics of good leadership. First, sensitivity to the
needs of the people you are leading is required. Words seldom associated with
competent leaders who accomplish great things are gentleness and
tenderness. However, those leaders who exhibit these characteristics show
their people that they care about them personally and are attuned to the
things important to the individuals. He quotes the following reference from
the Bible, “But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother
tenderly cares for her own children” (1 Thessalonians 2:7). All of the scripture
that is quoted above and in the following paragraphs is taken from the New
American Standard Bible (1978) version of Paul’s letters to the Church at
Thessalonica. Secondly, the leader must have affection for the people being
led. To those who are disciplined and determined, speaking of love and
warmth might also be a surprise. This characteristic denotes a fond affection
and should be considered invaluable in an atmosphere of hostile competition
and emotional trauma. This attribute fosters open communication, including
downward communication, lateral communication, and upward
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communication. Again he draws a reference from the Bible, “Having thus a
fond affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the
gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to
us” (1 Thessalonians 2:8). Both of the first two aspects are related and also
directly relate to the third. Authenticity of life is the third characteristic of
good leadership and it is closely tied to the first two aspects because leaders
who have sensitivity to needs and affection for people must somehow
demonstrate those traits. Not only do these kinds of leaders issue directives,
they open up themselves with truth through the authentic reality of their own
lives. These leaders practice what they preach, without pompous air, not
distant, demanding despots who are aloof, living in a world of secrecy. This
aspect of being approachable and accessible engenders personal and
organizational trust. Again Swindoll (1985) quotes from the Bible, “Nor did
we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labour and hardship
we kept working night and day so that we might not be a burden to any of
you; not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer
ourselves as a model for you, that you might follow our example” (1
Thessalonians 2:9-10).
Finally, a good leader needs to be enthusiastic in affirmation through
exhorting, encouraging, and imploring. Swindoll (1985), again quotes from
the same reference, “You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and
uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers; just as you
know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of
you as a father would his own children, so that you may walk in a manner
worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory (1
Thessalonians 2:10-12).” In other words, a leader needs to be a cheerleader.
This can also be compared to a father sitting in the bleachers, yelling
encouragements to his child playing a game until his voice turns hoarse. It
would not occur to the father to say, ‘Take my child out of the game!’ after a
poorly executed play. Rather, he would shout the more loudly in exhortation.
Likewise, when a subordinate fails, the leader must give him the opportunity
to fail, dust him off and send him back into the game. This kind of treatment
encourages a continual flow of ideas coming from employees. These four
aspects are relationship oriented and development centred, and are therefore,
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strategic in nature. Swindoll (1985) says that just as there are at least four
positive characteristics, conversely, there are four aspects to omit for effective
leadership. First, is deception, and from the Bible, “For our exhortation does
not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit” (1 Thessalonians 2:3). A
leader must not be double-tongued, employ a hidden agenda, or have
improper motives. A few years ago, Elton Trueblood, as cited in MacDonald
(1981) said, It is hard to think of any job in which the moral element is lacking.
The skill of the dentist is wholly irrelevant if he is unprincipled and
irresponsible. There is little, in that case, to keep him from extracting teeth
unnecessarily, because the patient is usually in a helpless situation. It is easy
to see the harm that can be done by an unprincipled lawyer. Indeed, such a
man is far more dangerous if he is skilled than if he is not skilled. Swindoll
(1985) continues that there are many leaders with power and brains, with
riches and popularity, but a leader who exhibits the attributes of integrity,
skill, and sincerity are too rare.
The next negative characteristic to avoid is flattery. “But just as we have been
approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as
pleasing men but God, who examines our hearts. For we never came with
flattering speech, as you know”, (1 Thessalonians 2:4-5a). There is a fine line
between a leader who must please people and a leader who gets along well
with people. However, once the line is crossed, not only do the employees not
respect the leader, the leader loses self-respect because of fence-sitting and
hedging the truth to attempt keeping peace at any cost. In effect, the leader is
relegated to a follower who wants to be called a leader.
In order to stay away from this ill, leaders must know and respect who they
are before trying to get other people to like them. A telltale sign of this
insecurity is flattery in place of decisiveness. Swindoll (1985) asks two
questions in this regard: “Do you know yourself? And, do you like yourself?”
He submits that if these two pieces are not in place, you probably cannot build
any meaningful leadership accomplishments in your life. Unless you are at
peace with yourself, you will not be able to conquer the need to flatter.
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Another negative aspect is greed, “For we never came with flattering speech,
as you know, nor with a pretext for greed. God is witness (1 Thessalonians
2:5).” Swindoll (1985) says that when a leader is a people-pleaser, anyone can
see it, it is public knowledge; but greed can be hidden from people, because no
one knows the leader’s motive. He calls greed a motivational cancer, because
greed does not stop at healthy and necessary competition. Martin (1974) says
Greed has three facets: “love of things, love of fame and love of pleasure”; and
these can be attacked directly with frugality, anonymity, and moderation.
Reduction of greed will be translated into stepped-up vitality, diminished self-
centeredness, and a clearer awareness of our real identity. For a permanent
commitment to working with the tools of the spiritual life provides a
disciplined basis for liberation from greed’s tentacles.
The last negative consideration, according to Swindoll (1985), is
authoritarianism. He renders this example from the Bible, “For we never
came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God
is witness—nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or others, even
though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority” (1
Thessalonians 2:5-6). Here Swindoll (1985) writes that Paul, as an Apostle,
was the highest titled person in the Church, but instead of playing the role of
the high and mighty, he restrained himself. Leaders often fall into the habit of
throwing their weight around and taking advantage of their position. Swindoll
likens this kind of a leader to one who plays games.
11.1.2.5 Politics and Leadership
Certainly, no study of the literature would be complete without looking at how
our elected and appointed leaders in government view tactical or strategic
leadership. Politician John W. Gardner was appointed Secretary of Health,
Education and Welfare (HEW) by U. S. President Lyndon Johnson’s in 1965.
Gardner made a career in working on Government issues, both in and out of
Government service, first at a post teaching psychology at Connecticut College
for Women. He then began Government employment in analyzing enemy
propaganda broadcast to Latin America. World War II attracted him to the
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Marine Corps and the Office of Strategic Services, the intelligence arm of the
American War effort. After the war he went with the Carnegie Corporation,
then the HEW Cabinet position and, on to the Urban Coalition. Later he
worked on the Commission on White House Fellowship, at Common Cause,
and finally Positive Coaching Alliance. As an author he wrote On Leadership:
Can We Be Equal and Excellent Too? (Gardner, 1990); proposing that the
world is in a state of threat levels. War, terrorism, globalism, AIDS, illicit
drugs, environmental concerns, nuclear incidents and economics all ebb and
flow in spectacular media coverage. The list could be extended by anyone
moderately informed. He says that to discover solutions to the issues,
incidents and crises is difficult, if not impossible. To muster the required
resources, to direct the energy needed, and to maintain the commitment for
the long-term solutions, can only be done through leadership. Gardner
ponders; suppose that we can no longer summon our forces to such effort.
Suppose that we have lost the capacity to motivate ourselves for arduous
exertions on behalf of the group. A discussion of leadership cannot avoid such
questions. Effective leaders heighten motivation and confidence, but when
these qualities have been greatly diminished, leaders have a hard time leading.
Shared values are the bedrock on which leaders build the edifice of group
achievement. No examination of leadership would be complete without
attention to the decay and possible regeneration of the value framework.
Gardner (1990) says that leadership is dispersed throughout all segments of
society; government, business, organized labour, the professions, the minority
communities, the universities, social agencies, and so on. This is a strategic
view of leadership that uses a systems/contingency view in leading. He also
writes that today’s world is characterized by vast and interdependent
organized systems. Gardner (1990) proposes that in developing this kind of
leadership, the first step is not action but rather the first step is
understanding. The first issue of concern is how to think about leadership.
Gardner (1990) apparently does not agree with the trait theorists, but believes
that most of what leaders have that enables them to lead is learned. He writes
of what he calls “leadership in this country today”. He cautions against
confusing leadership with power. He says a military dictator has power. The
thug who sticks a gun in your ribs has power. Leadership is something else.
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He also says not to confuse leadership with official authority, which is simply
legitimized power. Meter maids have it; the person who audits your tax
returns has it. Confusion between leadership and official authority has a
deadly effect on large organizations”.
Gardner (1990) says that a leader must exercise political judgment, achieve
workable unity in a pluralistic society, establish trust and serve as a symbol for
what the agency is about. The leader must enable and empower by, sharing
information, sharing power, building confidence, removing barriers, seeking,
finding, and husbanding resources, resolving conflicts, and providing
organizational arrangements appropriate to group effort.
Gardner (1990) addresses the media aspect as part of the strategic leadership
perspective. That is, the means of communicating are unimaginably greater
than ever before. So despite the wonders of modern communication, the
leader has to compete with other distractions, both in giving and receiving
information. Gardner (1990) also writes about the importance of networking,
(the process of creating or maintaining a pattern of informal linkages among
individuals or institutions). Likewise, building community among constituents
of all types is not just another of the innumerable requirements of
contemporary leadership. It is one of the highest and most essential skills a
leader can command.
11.1.2.6 Leadership and Motivation
Richard Holden (1994) wrote that the ability to get the organization from
where it is to where it is supposed to be rests with the twin concepts of
leadership and motivation. It might be said that leadership provides the
organization’s focus and objectives, while motivation provides the
organization’s will to succeed. (Holden, 1994, p. 46). He also wrote that the
ability to lead is the single most important managerial skill possessed by an
administrator, and that leadership assumes willingness on the part of others
to follow. Holden (1994) further says that the primary skill necessary for
effective management is the ability to interact well with people. Additionally, a
leader needs vision, sales ability, tenacity and be skilled in building a support
55. 44
network both within the organization and among various societal and political
groups and finally, a leader need to posses infinite patience. This is a strategic
view. Holden (1994) continues by saying that there is an art of leading and
makes the following assertion; over the past 50 years there has been a
substantial growth in the area of management training. Business schools
continue to prosper; police management training is a growing phenomenon
around the world. Despite this trend it must be acknowledged that although
administrative skills are often enhanced by these programs, leadership skills
appear to remain relatively constant over time. Holden (1994) touches on a
very pertinent question regarding a key aspect of any kind of leadership,
especially strategic leadership. How does one teach commitment to ethical
behaviour to a person who did not acquire this from parents and childhood
friends? Honesty and integrity are crucial to effective management, but these
traits are also learned early in life. How then can they be learnt in a school?
Later, Holden (1994) addresses lifelong learning when he writes; a primary
reason that poor managers cannot learn to be good managers may be their
unwillingness to acknowledge that there is anything about management they
need to learn. Holden’s (1994) writings that come close to describing the
difference between tactical and strategic leadership and the
systems/contingency approach are as follows: the Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) is in a position to view the needs of the overall organization from the
perspective of neutrality. CEOs must have a clear understanding of the various
strengths and weaknesses of an organization’s many parts so that they can
understand the capabilities of the organization as a whole. Additionally, the
CEO must know what the organization is attempting to accomplish.
William (Bill) Bratton (1998) wrote about the strategies and leadership it took
to change the New York Police Department (NYPD). He wanted to change it
from an agency that never focused on crime where no one is held accountable,
that was a fearful, centralized bureaucracy with little focus on goals into a
complete turnaround. He was Commissioner for a short 27 months, but he
accomplished his goal by reducing serious crime in New York City by 33%,
including the fact that the murder rate was cut in half. He was successful
