Introduction
All leaders have power. The one thing that delineates one leader from another is how power is used efficiently and effectively. This paper is about how Patagonia and Enron fare as companies and the leadership styles they employ in managing their organization.
Corporate Power and Leadership in Patagonia
Patagonia Inc. is a clothing company that "makes high-performance outdoor and sports apparel [and] employs [more than] 1,200 people" (HP and Patagonia: Two Similar, Yet Different, Leadership Styles, 2005) since the company started in 1973. It is known as one of the highly environmentally conscious businesses around the world. Yvon Chouinard, the founder and owner, believes in "management by absence" (Chouinard, 2006) and hires individuals who challenge the norm and standard practices the company follows to come up with better alternatives. His approach in leading his company is very democratic. He even encourages his top-level managers to meet face-to-face with subordinates instead of the usual email practice.
The company promotes a culture where the employees' welfare and job satisfaction are considered of prime importance. Employees are provided with excellent working conditions and benefits package, including flexible time, daycare facilities, and health-friendly cafeteria food.
Michael Crooke, Patagonia president and CEO, recognizes that when some aspects of the organization is "thriving, another part may be dying" (HP and Patagonia: Two Similar, Yet Different, Leadership Styles, 2005), thus, a leader must be able to discern the dynamics happening within the organization. The company also firmly believes in developing metrics to ensure that everyone's goals are aligned to the company's goals.
Corporate Power and Leadership in Enron
Enron Corp. is an energy trading and advertising leader that filed for bankruptcy in 2001. Prior to its bankruptcy, it enjoyed tremendous success and following, with Fortune naming the company as ""America's Most Innovative Company," "No. 1 in Quality of Management," and "No.2 in Employee Talent"" (Free et al., 2007). As a company, Enron built a cult culture focusing on "charismatic leadership" (Tourish n.d.) in leading the organization. With this method, leaders appear to be larger than life and employees see themselves as someday having the same privileges as the leaders. Enron also espoused "intellectual stimulation [and consideration]" (Tourish n.d.) that provided visions of better life and higher earnings for Enron employees as compared with those working in other companies. Employees were often told how good they were and that the company valued them. Some employees began thinking they have the perfect kind of working environment and could never imagine themselves working at other company settings. Apart from ego stroking, the company also promoted a common culture (Tourish n.d.) and behavior. Thus, those who went beyond the norm may soon find themselves fired or reassigned to other projects.
The Comparison
In driving their companies to success, both companies used power and influence although in varying levels and methods. Patagonia used power and influence positively by giving the employees three things: freedom, trust, and empowerment. By allowing employees to manage their own time, employees felt less threatened about work and their working environment in general. As the company empowered the employees, this sent the message that the company trusts the employees to perform their duties and responsibilities. By doing so, employees worked even harder and job satisfaction remained high.
Enron, on the hand, used power and influence to manipulate the minds of employees in thinking that they were the best, but do not let the employees to maintain their individuality. In its efforts to unite the employees to its corporate standards, the company does not allow any forms of expressions or avenues for questions about the goals and future of the company. Thus, anyone who voices his or her concerns about the company, including how company money is spent or invested, faced severe consequences.
Conclusion
Power is inevitable for leaders holding positions in companies. However, the manner at which power is used determines how strong and influential the leaders will be in keeping the employees in line and happy at work. When used correctly, power will yield positive results for a company. Otherwise, it can break a company no matter how successful it was initially.
References
Chouinard, Yvon. "Let My People Go Surfing." Patagonia (2006): n. pag. Web. 1 Dec 2012.
Free, Clinton, Mitchell Stein, and Norman Macintosh. "Management Controls: The Organizational Fraud Triangle of Leadership, Culture and Control in Enron." Ivey Business Journal (2007): n. pag. Web. 1 Dec 2012.
"HP and Patagonia: Two Similar, Yet Different, Leadership Styles." Knowledge At Wharton. Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. 2005. Web. 30 Nov 2012.
Tourish, Dennis. "Charismatic Leadership and Corporate Cultism at Enron: The Elimination of Dissent, the Promotion of Conformity and Organizational Collapse." N.d. Web. 1 Dec 2012. Retrieved from < http://www.rickross.com/reference/general/general782.html>.
