Organizational Foundations
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SU_LEA5100_W1_Project_.docxRunning head: LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY 1
LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY 2
Leadership Philosophy Alignment
Leadership Philosophy Alignment
GlaxoSmithKline is a science-led global healthcare company, also known as "gsk," which is the chosen company. The company has three global businesses that operate separately. The businesses are that of research, development, and manufacturing. GlaxoSmithKline innovate pharmaceutical medicines, vaccines, and other consumer healthcare products. The goal of the company is to be one of the trusted, innovative, and best-performing health partners. The values and expectations of the company define the organizational culture to inform the delivery of extraordinary things, making the organization a great place to work. What make the company unique are the values it holds, which are patient focus, respect, transparency, integrity. The paper narrows down its focus on the leadership philosophy of a chosen leader.
Leadership philosophy and behaviors vary from one individual to the other. Each of the organization's leaders holds different philosophies and behaviors. The leader whose leadership philosophy and behaviors shall be assessed is the medicine supply chain leader. Bohl (2019) explains that the leadership philosophy of the leader is leading by making and keeping commitment, character, and integrity, setting goals, and earning credibility along with other leadership qualities. The philosophy was determined by a conclusive observation of the workers under the chosen leader. Equally, two workers were chosen to assess the true value of the leader's philosophy.
The behaviors that support the leadership philosophy of the medicine supply chain leader are as follows. The leader sets goals and uses all resources within and beyond his means to achieve the set-out goals. The leader makes and keeps commitments that will be beneficial to the set-out goals. Bohl (2019) note that objectivity to the commitment is also as a result of valuing human relations and appreciating the fact that communication is vital in such relations. Equally, the leader has managed to uphold integrity, making him a man of character. Integrity has always been achieved in all transactions made by the leader. Because of the values the leader holds dear and acts in their fulfillment, the medicine supply chain leader has earned credibility all along.
The leader is a transformational leader given that the leader aims at initiating change in the organizations, the teams he works with, and to himself. Martin (2015) explains that a transformative leader leads though the vision of making the organization and the work environment better than when he found it. Equally, the leader is at the forefront of motivating his team to do more than what is required of them for their good and that of the organization. The leader is able to set more challenging expectations for the team and achieve high performance. Because of the transformational leadership, the leader has more satisfied and committed followers who believe in the same vision.
GlaxoSmithKline has a particular purpose, and that is to help people do more, feel better, and live longer. The company has a 3-tier strategy it uses to achieve its special purpose. Bohl (2019) outlines the 3 tier of the company is comprised of its research, development, and manufacturing unit. GlaxoSmithKline invests in intensive research, development, and manufacturing in creating innovative products that attain the stated purpose. The organizational structure is fitted to achieve the purpose. GlaxoSmithKline follows a hierarchal structure, in which there are a CEO and supervisors given the responsibility of the different units. The people divided into different units report to the supervisors who report to the CEO. The supervisors correspond to various departments. The chief executive officer makes the overall decisions affecting the company.
The leadership philosophy aligns with organizational design. The leadership philosophy of the medicine supply chain leader is one of making and keeping commitments, acting in integrity hence building character, and setting goals, and earning credibility. On the other hand, the organization works towards bringing high-quality, differentiated, and needed healthcare products to as many people as possible. Bohl (2019) adds that the organization is designed to using the three global businesses, utilize the technical and scientific know-how as well as create a pool of talented people to achieve its purpose. However, some gaps exist between leadership philosophy and organizational design.
The organizational design imposes limits on the choices of the leader mainly because the organization is designed to follow an upper to lower kind of system affecting decision making. Bucolo et al., (2012) explains that the organizational design does not allow for spontaneity, which is needed at times to make decisions effective. The latter is as so given that some decisions are impromptu and spontaneous and hierarchal systems might be detrimental to the effectiveness of such decisions. Equally, the framework of the organizational design does not allow for perceptions of the employees. Perceptions of employees are a significant element to work with, especially with regards to certain leadership philosophies such as the one chosen. Perceptions of employees are also needed to motivate employees to initiate changes that would transform the organization and increase the attainability of achieving its intended purpose.
The leader influences organizational design through efficient performance and continued development from the assigned units. The leader has a flexible network system that is creative and constructive towards the needed change in the organization. The leader has created an open communication process between his team and his networks that creates a favorable working environment towards attaining the organizational purpose. Equally, the positive spirit of the medicine chain supply leader is has been a positive contributing factor to employee's feelings hence enhancing fluidity and innovation (Bucolo et al., 2012). Equally, the philosophy of the leader is one that is remarkable to influencing change in the organization, and hence the organizational design.
The existing gap between the leadership philosophy and organizational design can be bridged through initiating and developing leadership skills and perspectives that are critical for the success of the organization. Therefore, a working environment has to be created to integrate the needed leadership skills and perspectives. The skills are change management, strategic planning, leading employees, and inspiring commitment. The skills sum up what is needed to bridge the gap between leadership philosophy and organizational design by focusing on substantial areas such as employee development and self-awareness that builds up one's leadership capacity. The integration of the skills to the working environment is vital to bridging the gap between leadership the organizational design.
Conclusion
Leadership philosophy acts as the path towards one's leadership. Leadership philosophies define one's leadership qualities, such as integrity, character building, motivation, team development, and decision making, among others. Various leadership philosophies apply to different leaders, hence different organizations. However, leadership philosophy is highly influenced by organizational design. The organization in context is GlaxoSmithKline and the chosen leader in the medicine supply chain leader. The organization design can be both advantageous and disadvantageous to a leadership philosophy of a given leader.
References
Bohl, K. W. (2019). Leadership as Phenomenon: Reassessing the Philosophical Ground of Leadership Studies. Philosophy of Management, 9(1), 10-44. doi:10.1007/s40926-019-00116-x
Bucolo, S., Wrigley, C., & Matthews, J. (2012). Gaps in Organizational Leadership: Linking Strategic and Operational Activities through Design-Led Propositions. Design Management Journal, 7(1), 18-28. doi:10.1111/j.1948-7177.2012.00030.x
