course material

1. A Great Business Leader
A Great Business LeaderIn the current economy, organizations of different sizes and types
struggle for survival and growth in a competitive, dynamic, and complex world. For the
company to achieve its strategic goals and objectives, nobody can question the significant of
having an effective and reliable leader. According to Corrigan (2007), the effectiveness of a
leader is measured through his or her capability to be self-driven, concise, creative, result-
oriented, and visionary. However, one major problem is that there is no leader who can
embrace all these qualities. Some of the leaders may be effective in being result-oriented
while others may excel in being creative. Maximizing on one’ s capabilities has proven
pivotal for the success of an organization. Steve jobs, the former Apple CEO, demonstrated
effectiveness in the leadership traits especially in this dynamic economy.Great Business
Leader: Steve JobsSteve Jobs was the greatest business leader in the current time, and he
was famous for his unconventional leadership style. He ensured that there was interaction
between different levels of management, and it was vital for the development of new ideas
in the company. Having a less complex communication channel in the organization; Steve
Jobs encouraged his workforce to work extra-hard when given the opportunity (Howell,
2012). He was accustomed to delivering criticism on workers who had vague ideas on their
innovations; however, he encouraged them to work further on the new ideas and not dwell
on the setbacks. During his time as the CEO of Apple, Jobs combined his visionary ability and
sheer genius in developing long-term strategies for the company. He was able to foster
cordial relationship among staff, customers, government, and investors; as such the results
were indisputable.Corporate Social Responsibility and Managing EthicsThe CEO understood
the significance attached to corporate social responsibilities (CSR), and the need to increase
its operations across the globe. Giving back to the community is the best way of showing
appreciation on the support in which the society has given the company during its time of
operation. Steve Job ensured that he outlined the need to have policies that govern ethics
and CSR operations within the entity (Corrigan, 2007). Ethics, illustrated in the code of
conduct of the company, deals with corporate governments, the strategies of having an
effective procurement, environmental health and safety, and information disclosure. Apple
is focused on enhancing safe working conditions for its workforce, and the supply chain.
The workers of the company are treated with dignity and respect, and the company is
obligated to enhancing friendly environmental conditions. When making decisions on the
procurement process, the CEO was cautious to observe the guidelines stipulated in the
company’ s ethics.Leadership StyleThe leadership style of Steve Job can be assessed based

2. on different theoretical perspectives. He is known for his charismatic leadership style
through his assessment of the significance of information technology in the current society.
The CEO stimulated people’ s thinking and perception in society on the use of computers
through arguing that computers can be used as business and scientific tools (Gifford, 2013).
The speeches that Job delivered were inspiring, and the audience were encouraged to
purchase the products offered by the company. However, Job can also be described as
partially a charismatic leader demonstrated by his narcissistic traits of ignoring the needs of
workers and extreme self-promotion. However, such traits are common for leaders who are
passionate for success in a dynamic environment. The leadership traits can be best
described by Path-Goal Theory, Situational Leadership theory, Managerial Grid, or Fiedler’ s
Contingency Theory (Gallo, 2011). For instance, taking Fielder’ s Contingency Theory, an
appropriate leader should demonstrate most favourable traits of task orientation in the
economy, and this should supersede relationship-oriented traits between the leader and the
co-workers (Gallo, 2011). Job was known for being directive leadership especially on
product appearance and specifications, and in some instances, he failed to address the
consideration of perception of co-workers on appearance of the products. The success of
Job was demonstrated by his persuasive and negotiating skills on certain aspects of the
products that were market-commanding.Strategic Decision MakingThe co-founder of Apple
was characterized by his ability of being a perfectionist in the economy, master of
marketing, taskmaster, and visionary (Gifford, 2013). The technique that made Steve Job
outstanding was his ability to bridge the gap existing between theoretical aspects and
practical nature of operations in the economy. The hallmark for Job was making a smart
decision; though sometimes they were not necessarily brilliant ideas. The decision making
process for the company was based on the key fundamentals for success that included
loving every initiative that one undertakes. Unless a leader does not possess the passion on
a certain field of operations, the success would not be realized with ease. Job was known for
his passion on the computer developments, and the need to have competitive and new ideas
in the economy. It was this love for his work that pushed him towards achieving the feat
that most leaders are yearning to achieve. Steve Job’ s decisions were also based on the fact
that every decision made on a product should be successful. When a leader is optimistic of
the operation he or she undertakes, the success would be realized with ease (Doeden,
2012).Team DevelopmentJob understood the significance attached to teamwork, and he
fostered on building team work among the work force. Job focused on increasing the
group’ s productivity through encouraging workers to be innovative and creative. He also
developed initiatives of rewarding top performing team members, and this encouraged
workforce to increase their innovativeness in the economy (Doeden, 2012). Job also
developed a supportive environment which is based on mutual trust and accountability.
Mistakes are bound to happen, but Job considered problem solving to be a team effort. In
some other companies, the solutions are made at top-level management where problem
solving process does not involve numerous parties. Job also recognised individual
accomplishments and increased their operations in the long run.ConclusionSteve Job is,
indeed, an undisputable leader of the 21st century. Being the founder of Apple inc. Job made
sure that the company blossomed during his tenure in office as the CEO. This is attributed to

3. his magnificent leadership skills, which was characterized by self-driven abilities, concise,
creative, result-oriented, and visionary traits. Steve Job performed well in numerous fields,
during his tenure, and it included corporate social responsibility and the ability to manage
ethics, and his leadership style allowed the co-workers to work independently and form an
opinion on the necessary course of action. In addition, Job demonstrated team development
skills, and the strategic decision making strategies enhanced the success of Apple In.—
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results are unquestionable.ReferencesCorrigan, J. (2007). Business leaders: Steve Jobs.
Greensboro, N.C: Morgan Reynolds Pub.Doeden, M. (2012). Steve Jobs: Technology
innovator and Apple genius. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications.Gallo, C. (2011). The business
secretes of Steve Jobs: Presentation secretes and innovation secrets, London: McGraw-Hill
Professionals.Gifford, J. (2013). 100 Great Business Leaders: Of the world’ s most admired
companies. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish.Howell, J. (2012). Snapshots of Great Leadership,
London: Routledge.