http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904875404576528981250892702.html
I completed my analysis on a Wall Street Journal article regarding Apple CEO Steve Jobs. This article discussed Steve Jobs announcing his resignation as CEO of Apple and the major impact it plays on Apple and the market as a whole. Steve Jobs was an extremely effective leader as the CEO of Apple. Mr. Job’s leadership helped to keep the company from bankruptcy, but also to become the leading company in its market. I feel that Mr. Jobs has unique traits, skills and an overall leadership style that sets him apart from other successful business leaders. The major leadership traits seem to fit him very well, but two seem to fit better than others. Mr. Jobs seems to excel in the areas of intelligence and determination. Mr. Jobs seems to be outstandingly intelligent in the world of computers and technology. He is an effective leader in this manner, because he knows much more about the field than most people. Mr. Jobs also excels in the area of determination. As the article mentions, he was always looking for new product ideas and ways to create new products. Mr. Jobs showed a great deal of determination in creating new products and quality products.
Mr. Jobs was also very successful as a leader because of the skills he possessed. I found relating this article to the Basic Administrative Skills model to be very interesting. The model shows that as a top manager the level of technical skills decreases. In the case of Mr. Jobs, I think that his level of technical skills was extremely high as he continued to push Apple toward the development of new products. Mr. Jobs seems to be very hands on and a technical leader in the Apple Corporation. I also compared Mr. Jobs to the Skills Model of Leadership, which I analyzed his individual attributes and competencies. Mr. Jobs seems to excel in the areas of general cognitive ability and crystallized cognitive ability. It seems that Mr. Jobs was extremely intelligent in the area of technology that I would guess improved over his tenure working for Apple and developing many new products. What stands out to me is the amount of motivation that Mr. Jobs seemed to have. The article says the Mr. Jobs was always pushing for new product development and design. I feel that Mr. Jobs has an outstanding amount of motivation that helped him as a leader. The two skills that Mr. Jobs seems to excel in are problem solving skills and knowledge. In dealing with creating new products or daily challenges as a CEO, Mr. Jobs would constantly be faced with problems that do not have a right answer, and in some cases, problems that nobody else has faced before. Because of the overwhelming success of Mr. Jobs, it seems that Mr. Jobs excelled in problem solving skills. Mr. Jobs also excelled in the area of knowledge, specifically in the field of technology. Mr. Jobs created new products and designed products that had never before been thought of or created. Because the products that Mr. Jobs created were so successful and led Apple to being such a powerful company, it seems that Mr. Jobs overwhelming excelled in the competency of knowledge. Since Mr. Jobs excelled in various competences, we can see the outcome in the overall performance of Apple as it dominated the technology market.
Using a styles approach, I would classify Mr. Jobs as a team management style. Mr. Jobs worked very closely with co-workers and designers in developing new products. He was very open to their ideas and worked closely with them, which shows that Mr. Jobs has a high concern for people. Mr. Jobs was also very innovative and always working on designing and developing the next new products, which shows he has a very high concern for production. Based on these results, I would classify Mr. Jobs as a team management style leader.
Lastly, Mr. Jobs was a very unique leader in a few ways. Mr. Jobs created a culture and was such an important visionary for Apple. He motivated the company into creative new innovations that lead Apple to becoming the technology giant it is today. As the article states, Mr. Jobs had such a hand in the innovation, creativity and daily operations of the organization. Overall I observed that Mr. Jobs was an extremely effective leader for Apple, which was evident when the stock price fell after his resignation as CEO. I think the major question that is posed is whether the organization can continue with Mr. Jobs? How much resistance with Mr. Cook face since Mr. Jobs seemed to be well liked and very successful at leading Apple? How will Mr. Cook fill the shoes of Mr. Job is he has a less technical approach to leadership? What do you feel is the long term outlook for Apple
Kyle Burrows
I do believe that the organization can continue without Mr. Jobs. Even though Mr. Jobs was an influential leader, there are several others that have helped to make Apple the successful company that it is today. As stated in the article, Steve Jobs strongly recommends that Mr. Cook be his successor. That means that Mr. Jobs has faith in Mr. Cook to continue to lead Apple to provide great quality for its customers. In order to have the respect that Mr. Jobs had, Mr. Cook will need to demonstrate that he is cut out for this position. He can do this by demonstrating that he has a concern for people and is willing to listen to suggestions. Apple itself is valued by many and known for its efficiency. In the long term, as long as Mr. Cook displays integrity and can contain peoples trust, I believe that Apple will continue to be valued by many people and will grow even more profitable. - Michelle Fulkerson
ReplyDeleteMichelle - I think you have a very valid point. Mr. Cook was named a successor by Mr. Jobs. I do agree that with hard work and mastering skills such as integrity and trust he may be successful. What do you think about the resistance to change that Mr. Cook will face from employees or possible customers, since Mr. Jobs was rather well liked? I think another question is the amount of innovation that Mr. Jobs brought to Apple - what will it take to replace Mr. Jobs and can it be done?
ReplyDeleteKyle Burrows
Kyle- I believe in the short term Apple will suffer from the loss of Jobs. I do agree with Michelle that in the long run Cook will be successful in running the company. I believe with the years of career experience derived from working with Jobs, Cook will be able to continue to keep Apple successful. Jobs instilled the culture of using work teams. While his presence will clearly be missed, I believe that his culture and way of thinking has been instilled in the others that he has lead. I believe the culture that Jobs instilled is possible to replicate without him. Do you think his presence is necessary to operate under this culture or do you think Cook and others are able to replicate Apple's past success?
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ReplyDelete-Clay Gruenwald
Kyle- I think that there my be a quite a few people resisting change and accepting a new leader. However, I feel that in order to work for Apple you have to embrace both change and innovation, as you can see by their products. In the end I think resistance is going to be short lived especially because Jobs has hand picked Cook to take his place. Another thing that I noticed in the article is the Cook has stepped into Job's shoes every time Job's takes a medical leave. I feel that this shows Cooks knowledge, he has been trained by Jobs for so long that he is able to easily handle the everyday tasks that have been given to him. He has learned the facts about the company but also the strategies and complex reasons behind them. I Think that it also shows his determination to keep Apple running smoothly while Jobs was on medical leave. Altogether, I think that Cook will be a great successor to Jobs, after all if Job's thinks he can do it, I think it will be safe to say that Cook can handle it. -- Brittany
ReplyDeleteThere are definitely people resisting the change of a new CEO for Apple. However, I think that if Cook utilizes his assigned leadership well, he will emerge as an influential leader. Being able to flow smoothly during such a big change is already a great example of being a good leader.
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Kelsey Van Gieson
I agree that with good leadership and being able to overcome some tough resistance to change, Mr. Cook will be able to lead Apple into a very successful future. Mr. Cook has been with the organization for a long time and has many of the technical and conceptual skills that it will take to run the organization successfully.
ReplyDeleteKyle Burrows
Kyle- I do agree that Mr. Cook will be an influential leader. There may just be some people that will test his abilities and compare his leadership skills to Steve Jobs. -Michelle Fulkerson
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