Background
Amazon is the largest online trading company based in the US, a creation of its CEO Jeff Benzos in 1994 during the internet boom. It sells retail goods e.g. jewelry, consumer electronics e.g. e-books and digital content which include e-books, videos and mobile applications. With a market share of over 60 million customers, Amazon is the largest online retailer. Amazon has been most popularly known for its online bookstore where published materials are transacted.
Amazon has about 88,400 employees employed and working in care centers, offices and warehouses all over the world. Acquiring $61 billion in sales revenue and $32 billion in controlling assets, Amazon is the biggest internet trading company globally.
The definition for leadership has been in contention up to this present time; the dominant understanding on leadership has been that of an individual hero which has been widely criticized. The tradition definition of a leader has been that of a single formal authority, possessing the ability to direct and influence the thoughts and actions of people towards the accomplishment of a particular goal. This traditional paradigm mainly related leadership roles and abilities to masculine characteristics and values which limits free entry of females into leadership positions (Fletcher, 2004). Industrial leadership on the other hand has been described as a linear model of the ability to control resources and combine inputs to output to achieve organizational goals. It focuses on and individual’s traits, activities, context, styles that factor into how effective a person in authority undertakes his leadership role. Whatever the description chosen the consistent underlying common factors of influence over others and achievement of a specific goal, are contained in whichever interpretation.
In general leadership is a human interaction process concentrated on social influence, where one person possess the ability to pull together individual efforts by others into aiding in achievement of a common task. This therefore requires that leaders posses several thing to help them be a leader, think like a leader and perform as a leader, capabilities that can only arise where leaders continually self-reflect, train and gain meaningful experience. Leadership is therefore a continuous process of self-knowledge through study of self and sharpening of knowledge and skills related to leadership. Jeff Benzos spent
Several theories have been advanced trying to explain the concept of leadership and the best leadership practices.
- Trait theory (Great man theory)
It assumes that the leader possess particular unique personal traits that consist his charater such as intelligence, resolve, adaptability, masculinity and motivation. These traits are in-born therefore not a associated will everyone, individual with these specific traits are considered as good leaders. However the theory was faulty since leadership is a complex concept involving psychological, intellectual and socio-economic aspects to it; hence leadership cannot be restricted to specific traits. Abilities like problem solving skills, trustworthiness, loyalty, reliability, flexibility, friendliness and consistency are some of the traits associated to good leadership. In contrast research has proven that leaders not necessarily have all the particular traits but can combine and apply several of the traits to produce effective leadership to others.
- Behavioral and style theories.
It advances the thought that leadership is not purely dependant on personal traits but rather, that the success of leadership is determined through the observable actions of the leader that determine his leadership style. Robert Blake suggested that leaders’ behavior can be people or production oriented depending on where a leader intends to improve or concentrate on. Production concern is where a leader only aims to achieve his set objectives while people concern involves the welfare of employees/subordinates. B. Skinner developed the use of positive reinforcement to influence behavior of individuals to encourage continuity of a given behavior in the future, a technique which is still in adoption today to motivate subordinates.
- Engaging style
Encourages a hands-on approach to leadership where the leader is in regular contact with his subordinates, making the effort to know their issues and aspirations in an open and honest environment. This is however a key function of leaders and cannot be ignored by any manager, it particularly concerns itself with equity within the group where every member’s opinion counts. However the final decision depends on the leader but under consideration of the group members input (McLagan & Nel, 1995)
- Autocratic style
Here followers or subordinates are not allowed to give suggestions or complaints nor initiative by the leader. The leader holds all power in the group and his decisions are uncontestable by anyone.
- Laissez-faire style
It is a form of leadership where the leader may not be physically present or otherwise and the group is left to plan and organize for itself. This kind of leadership encourages group members to develop leadership qualities themselves as decision making is their task as they see fit. Power in this form of leadership is much decentralized close to the individual level.
- Narcissistic leadership
It’s a hostile form of leadership style associated with egotistic, arrogant or selfish leaders. The narcissism can however be either positive or negative meant to influence group members. Benzos was criticized over his big talk over an industry he barely knew, but with pride defended his vision and proved Amazon could become profitable.
Relationship-oriented leadership focuses on the wellbeing of the group members. Strengthening of peer to peer and per to leader relationships is paramount thus communication within the group is encouraged (Rost, 2001).
- Participative theory
It mostly encourages the involvement of others in the decision-making process and that leadership should not be subjective but rather a group effort. Stake holders such as the subordinates and peers are allowed to participate in decision-making to increase understanding of the task the group wants to undertake. Better understanding of individual tasks and expectations therefore individuals work in an organized manner. Participation is also important since followers/subordinates work harder on ideas they help contribute and better decisions are arrives at when more people are involved. However some leaders can betray his followers such that they ask for and collect opinions and suggestions of followers but never implement or integrate them into his final decisions.
- Situational and Contingency theories.
Situational theory suggests that the behavior of leaders are determined by the kind of predicament/situation they are meant to address. The action taken by a leader should not be unidirectional to a specific situation but rather the style of leadership will vary depending on what he hopes to achieve. In advancing the situational theory the contingency theory discredited the trait theory and corrected that the actions of a leader are dependent on the kind of situation he find himself in, since according to Carlyle and Spencer the state of affairs leaders find themselves in determine the kind of traits that will be expressed and not the other way around as the traits theory suggested.
- Functional theory
It assumes that groups work well if there is a clear hierarchy of command with a leader given most authority to assign tasks and manage subordinates. People are motivated by rewards and disciplined through punishment methods determined by the leader. This theory promotes cohesion of the group members and increased efficiency due to the defined tasking and consequences to actions taken. Jeff Benzos has Amazon structured towards task specificity and is departmentalized under departmental heads who report to him.
- Transformational theory
People will generally listen and respect a visionary kind of leader who inspire and motivates them. These leaders have an exciting vision or goal which he markets with the aim of portraying integrity and building trust with individuals. They lead by example and encourage members even when times get tough. Their key goals are to create progress towards achieving their vision and the followers mental state. Jeff Benzos made a bold decision by exited from a well paying position at D. E. Shaw & Company so that he could work on the amazons business plan with only a vision. Despite controversy if online trading was a feasible idea Benzos was able to sell his idea and work towards achieving his objective of taking advantage the high volumes of internet commerce. Times magazine recognized and implored Amazon’s role in popularizing online shopping by awarding Benzos “Person of the Year”.
In the current business state where there is high competition in almost every thinkable industry, engagement and communication have been heavily invested into by companies (Warren, Gretchen & Cummings, 2001). Leaders have had to change from the traditional and largely autocratic models of leadership where subordinates believed that leaders are born not made (J. Rost, 1993). Individuals knew that leaders had specific traits only possessed by a few people and those who possessed such traits were automatic leaders given any situation. Leadership was a linear concept where if people with leadership traits were put in leadership positions, they would certainly thrive in organizing their groups and achieving set objectives (Wood, 2005). However through years of experience leadership has moved from being a combination of masculine traits to produce a specific behavior to by the leader, to focusing also to the adaptability of a leader to varying situations and their interpersonal capabilities.
Every leader should be effective and target focused but should also be balanced at the same time. Follower/ subordinate motivation and welfare should be areas of concern for all leaders, therefore transactional styles of leadership experience more content subordinates unlike autocratic leadership. However where high efficiency in the tasks to increase productivity are required autocratic style of leadership are most effective. Engagement style of leadership requires that leaders have exceptional interpersonal skills since leaders should be in continuous communication and contact with the subordinates (Janasz, Karen & Beth, 2011) Benzons goes to the extent of asking his employees to give ideas for the company’s email newsletter. Employees welfare in today’s business environment has become a sensitive issue partly contributed to strong trade unions, however a personal relationship should be built between leaders and their groups. Employee interests, initiative and hard work should be appreciated through recognition and motivation. Motivation can range from the simple act of recognition of accomplishments to material motivation e.g. money. Management encourages its employees to give their suggestions to help in making decisions concerning tasks, therefore subordinates feel included in leadership process therefore encouraging them to work harder.
Situational approach to leadership has also become a vital skill for today’s leaders. Leaders who have different behavior depending on the situation faced by the group in achieving a goal are good leaders. Leaders should always be flexible to use the most effective style, and not to confine themselves to a single approach. For example a customer complaint causes a state of panic in Amazon a characteristic of dictatorial leadership in fear of punishment, this contrasts the transactional approach used during normal business.
References
Rost, J. (1993). Leadership for the Twenty First Century. Greenwood Publishers, Wesport.
Fletcher, J. (2004). “The Paradox of Pos Heroic Leadership: An Essay on Gender, Power and Transformational Change”. The Leadership Quarterly.
Wood, M. (2005). “The Fallacy of Misplaced Leadership”. Journal of Management Studies.
Warren, B. Gretchen, M. and Thomas, C. (2001). The Future of Leadership: Today's Top Leadership Thinkers Speak to Tomorrow's Leaders. Pfiffer.
Janasz, S., Dowd, K. and Beth, S. (2011). Interpersonal Skills in Organizations. McGraw-Hill.
McLagan, P. and Nel, C. (1995). The Age of Participation: New Governance for the Workplace and the World. Berret-Koehler Publishers. San Francisco.
