Business Research Proposal
Project Aim
The aim of this project is to evaluate the effective leadership style used by a multinational company based in Prague, Czech Republic.
Objectives
- The objective of this research is to identify the leadership style of AGS Worldwide.
- What leadership styles are there?
- What are the advantage and disadvantages?
- Does AGS have a policy guide for managers?
- What leadership style is predominant?
- What are the common leadership styles?
- What are the factors that influence AGS to adopt the leadership style?
- What are the principles behind the chosen leadership style?
- Why the chosen leadership style is more effective than the other?
- What percent of multinational companies use the same leadership approach?
- What companies were successful in using the same leadership style?
- What major considerations were made in practicing the leadership style?
- What are the necessary adjustments needed in order to effectively practice the identified leadership style?
- How the leadership style impact companies including AGS
- Draw conclusions
- Make recommendations on effective leadership approach.
- Emphasize AGS leadership style as more effective in an international setting.
- Recommend techniques in handling negative responses in practicing the identified leadership style.
- Elaborate the benefits of the leadership style in achieving corporate goals.
Rationale
Several researches have been done regarding leadership. However, most of the available studies were conducted on the general tenets of leadership alone and only few were made in which leadership was studied through analyzing a company. This method of synthesizing the elements of leadership from the company’s perspective provides realistic evidence pertaining to the effectiveness of the particular leadership style. Theories about leadership are the fundamental knowledge that defines the leadership practices of company executives. However, understanding the theories and learning about leadership by studying a real company is different. Theories are presented by books and other literature, but leadership in an actual firm is a demonstration of leadership realities that manifests in the firm’s overall performance. Therefore, learning how AGS and its key executive’s leadership style impacts the firm shall provide a useful insight that would contribute to the development of other leadership skills.
Having an effective leadership style is essential to today’s multinational corporate environment particularly for companies such as AGS. Being an international player means being exposed to a diversity of people in the organization. A leadership style might work effectively in a familiar group, but that particular style might not be appropriate in another set of individuals. The same principle applies to the leadership style of AGS Worldwide because their authoritative style might be appropriate in their home country, but not in their overseas branches. This means, the company is expected to be flexible and can easily adapt to different leadership styles that are considerably acceptable to the other group. Since the fundamental tenets of leadership is to be able to influence the people to take part in the organization’s endeavors, it is important for the organization leaders to also adapt to the environment within the group of followers. If AGS for example only relies consistently on a single leadership approach, there is a possibility that the firm might not be able to achieve its goals when expanding to a new market group. AGS Worldwide is a great example of a company that is consistent with their leadership style, but possesses a kind of adapting skills that enabled them to tap into the international markets.
The rationale for this research is to determine the type of leadership that the company is using, which could be a detrimental factor for their success. The research will also demonstrate that the company’s choice of leadership style could also be adopted by the other firms if they wish to enter the international business arena. This research will focus on the study of leadership strategies of multinational firms and how each approach differs in other firms. In order to effectively synthesize an analysis, an exploration of an international firm will be needed and to use as a point of comparison. A multinational company based in Prague, Czech Republic will be the center of this research focusing on the company’s leadership style. AGS Movers Worldwide is a removal and relocation company that also offers various services such as storage, packaging, risk insurance and forwarding. AGS started in 1996 as a family business and through the years of relentless growth, the company has expanded to become a multinational company with services reaching customers and partners in key cities around the world.
Literature Review
Stroup (2004) emphasized the strategic role of senior executives in an organization in his article. The discussion about organizational leadership argues that leadership is not always about the leader’s dominant characteristics, but also includes the ability to self-organize and create a propulsive force that will drive the organization towards its stated ends (Stroup, 2004). The article is a useful source of insights about the characteristics of an organizational leader. In addition, Stroup (2004) also stipulated the core values that senior executives must adhere upon in order to lead the organization towards its end goals.
Stroup’s (2004) article is an important starting point of discussion before further studying AGS’s leadership style. It provides essential introductory insights to the research about leadership and its relation to the company being analyzed. After the introducing the context of organizational leadership to the research, the topic of discussion will then be switched to the introduction of the company being analyzed. In this case, important information about AGS Worldwide will be presented in this section to provide a background about the company. AGS Worldwide movers present itself through their company website, wherein the historical background and essential information about its business can be found. Alain Taieb, the current AGS Group Chairman recounts the core objectives of the company and its future plans through his letter to the consumers in their company website (agsmovers.com). The website is also a good source of information that will best describe the company as a whole and their business engagements. This information are important for the research because they provide a clear description of how the company started and what are the factors that helped them grow from just a Prague-based family business into a global business empire (agsmovers.com).
Reviewing the company’s history and the evaluation of their current status as a firm is the primary step in pointing out the type of leadership that aided the company to succeed. In fact, the company has now evolved into a multi partnership with other investment firms, which created “Mobilitas,” the prime holdings company under the AGS umbrella. Mobilitas (2011) released a communication report for 2011 about its current progress and future growth initiatives. The report also discussed the crucial role of the company’s chairman in terms of leading the corporation to reach its current position. The company president’s commitment to its investors and consumers was also highlighted in the report stipulating the Mobilitas plan to integrate social responsibility into the company’s core values. The code of ethics and Global Compact principles were the major initiative of Mobilitas Chairman and CEO Alain Taiebin ensuring the company is heading the right direction. Corporate Diversity Charter was signed in 2011 by the company and its international partner to demonstrate its leader’s commitment to providing equal opportunities. This also includes the integration of young people in the workplace as the company recognizes the capacity of the new generation of employees in terms of innovation (Mobilitas, 2011).
Further evidence that supports the hypothesis of whether AGS leadership was based on an argumentative approach is the study published by the European Union’s Eurocadres (2010) about the European model of responsible management. The study focuses on female leadership and the European Union’s view about the leadership style practices of female leaders. It was concluded from the study that leadership styles are considered as alternative ways or pattern of interactive behavior that leaders follow in order to fulfill their role (Eurocadres, 2010). However, the authoritative leadership style observed in AGS Worldwide is more of a cultural perspective towards business than a strategy for organizational transformation (Eurocadres, 2010). This idea supports the argument that AGS leaders particularly it’s Chairman and CEO is indeed practicing authoritative approach in leading his organization because the study by Eurocadres is suggesting the differences between a male and female leadership style. In addition, Bass (2000) emphasized in his article that organizations are adaptable to culture, which manifests in leadership style illustrated by the firm. Therefore, the ability of the company such as AGS to change is lower because of its adopted culture of leadership.
However, AGS have proven itself in terms of nominal growth as a firm even if its executives are using authoritative style of leadership. This is because the adopted leadership style of the company provides a concise definition of tasks and directives (Hemmrich, 2011). According to the white paper wrote by Hemmrich (2011), authoritarian leadership is similar to a military chain of command. The leaders uphold their positions and their instructions are being passed on to the next in command. The employees on the other hand are not in the position to question o give their opinion regarding the given directives. The leaders expect the subordinating staff to offer their unconditional obedience with no criticism involve in the process. This is exactly the same manner the AGS leaders manage their people in the organization (Parry and Bryman, 200). The most obvious advantage in this approach is that decisions can be made quickly and the employee’s responsibilities are clear with the leader having the highest level of control during the process (Hemmrich, 2011). AGS’s success was a result of its leader’s assertiveness towards business and need to produce results.
Research Design
Since the focus of this research is about the multinational company AGS Worldwide and its leadership style, it is also necessary to obtain supporting data about authoritative leadership approach as stated by the hypothesis. Secondary sources are also an important component that is needed in completing this research project since the company’s information is paramount to the study. Therefore, the company’s website will be used as the main source of relevant data about the company. The possibility of criticism of the findings is inevitable, that is why supporting details will be used as support. It was mentioned earlier that the research assumes that AGS leaders are using the authoritarian approach. Therefore, the study will also evaluate the advantages of authoritarian style for the company along with data stipulating analysis of the company’s leadership behavior and compare that to the tenets of the authoritarian approach.
Inquiries will be sent to the company through their communication portal in the website to request audience from any executive in the company that would be willing to answer the research questionnaire. The questionnaire will contain information pertaining to their leadership approach and how their chosen style of leadership impact the organization. The acquired data from the questionnaires will be utilized as a justification to the assumption that authoritarian leadership prevails in the company. The responses from the company correspondent are crucial to this research because it will stand as a validated proof to the claims made by this research.
In order to obtain the intended results of this research several approaches will be used such as administering a survey questionnaire. The questionnaires will be answered by the staff asking about response to the company’s leadership approach. The information to be obtained from the survey is essential to the research as it will provide a significant contribution in identifying whether or not the leadership style was is effective. On the other hand, an interview with AGS’s top management such a manager and a top executive will be done to achieve the desired information that will answer the second objective outlined for this research.
Intended Methods
Qualitative research will be the method to use for this study and findings will be obtained by analyzing related resources. Interviews with one of the managers and one from the executive department will be the primary source of information to be used in answering objectives one and two. In addition, a survey questionnaire will be administered to a minimum of 30 staffs, which is 10% of AGS employees in their Prague headquarters. The manner of administering surveys will be done through company contacts, email, friends and relatives that have a direct or indirect association to the company. The main tool to be used for the survey will be provided by surveymonkey.com. The reason for choosing that method is to maintain the anonymity of the correspondents. The website offers a reliable tool in measuring the statistical analysis of the responses. Secondary information gathering through reliable sources such as books and journals will serve as supporting data that will corroborate the interviews and survey. The need for secondary resources entails valid representation of the theories and related data that are relevant to study about leadership styles.
Data and Information Sources
Primary – Interviews and Survey Questionnaires
Secondary
- Web source – AGS website, Forbes and Money.CNN.com
- Other sources – Books, journals, newsletters and related research about leadership
Analysis
There will be no complex software or tools that will be used in conducting the research because the study will employ the design of a qualitative research. The variables will be used to synthesize and conclude the given hypothesis. In addition, the findings will also be compared to existing study about authoritarian leadership and argue on the favor of the conducted research findings by refuting the principles provided by existing literature. This design will adhere to the requirements of a qualitative research and structured to be a useful source for future research on leadership.
Ethical Considerations
Conducting a research entails a list of responsibilities and ethical standards that needs to be observed during the process. Given that the topic will incorporate a leadership evaluation of an actual firm. Therefore, great consideration to caution and responsible writing will be observed due to the sensitivity of the topic that may or may not offend the subject firm. Choice of words will and at all times to be checked to maintain professionalism and to avoid making biased arguments that may have a negative implication towards AGS’s reputation as a firm. It was mentioned earlier that a request for correspondence will be sent to the company for the purpose of information gathering. However, if the company denies my request the decision will be treated with utmost respect and will refrain from persisting. In case of denial to request for correspondence occur, the contingency plan would take effect by obtaining information from alternative yet reliable sources.
If given the opportunity that AGS granted the request for correspondence, the company will be assured that they would be given an absolute discretion as to complete or not complete the interview questionnaire. In addition, disclaimers will be indicated in the questionnaires that the responses made by the company representative will be treated as his sole opinion on the given topic and that the company does not share liabilities that may be caused by the representative’s opinions. The representative especially AGS will also be assured that any information they deemed confidential will be omitted and will not be mentioned in any section of the final research paper. Furthermore, assurance will also be given to the company that the information being requested from them will be used solely for the purpose of this research. Considering the ethical rules in writing, appropriate citation of the sources used for this research will also be observed to avoid plagiarism.
Bibliography
agsmovers.com [online]. (N.D.). Available from: <http://www.agsmovers.com/letter-from-our-chairman>. [Accessed 13 January 2013].
Bass, B. (2000). The Future of Leadership in Learning Organizations. Journal of Leadership. 7, pp.3.
Eurocadres (2010>. Female Leadership: For a European Model of Responsible Management. European Union: Bruxelles.
Hemmrich, A. (2011, February). Project Leadership. (1). GoTo Meeting, UK.
Mobilitas (2011). MOBILITAS/ Communication on progress 2011. Press release, issued 18 April 2011.
Parry, K. and Bryman, A. (2006). Leadership in Organizations. In: Clegg, S., Hardy, C., Lawrence, T. and Nord, W., (ed). The SAGE Handbook of Organization Studies, London: SAGE.
Regional Language Network (2005). Czech Republic –people, culture, language A guide for businesses. Press release, issued 2 September 2005.
Stroup, J. (2004). managingleadership.com [online]. Available from: <http://managingleadership.com/blog/2004/07/15/what-is-organizational-leadership/>. [Accessed 13 January 2013].
