WEEK 8: COLLABORATIVE COURSE PROJECT FINAL PAPER

JP Morgan Chase’s history dates back over 200 years, making them one of the oldest financial institutions in the United States. Today, they are a leading global financial services firm with a presence in over 100 markets. With over 250,000 employees, they serve millions of consumers, small businesses and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients. With assets of $2.6 trillion, JP Morgan Chase is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management.

JP Morgan Chase is built on the foundation of more than 1,200 predecessor institutions that have formed who they are today. Their roots trace back to New York City, and their heritage firms include J.P. Morgan & Co., The Chase Manhattan Bank, Bank One, Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co., Chemical Bank, The First National Bank of Chicago, National Bank of Detroit, The Bear Stearns Companies Inc., Robert Fleming Holdings, Cazenove Group and the business acquired in the Washington Mutual transaction. Each of these firms, in their time, was closely tied to innovations in finance and the growth of the U.S. and global economies.

JP Morgan & Co. Timeline

Some of JP Morgan’s other big achievements in banking include the introduction of the first retail banking credit card in 1958, and by 1969 they were the leading provider of banking credit cards. The familiar octagon logo was introduced in 1960, which was one of the earliest abstract logos, and paved the way for abstract corporate identities. They also introduced the first ATM in Rockville Center on Long Island in 1969. Home banking was also a first through the television that was introduced in 1985 called Channel 2000. This service worked over regular telephone lines and allowed bank customers to view their bank and department store balances on a television screen, pay bills, and shift money among accounts.

JP Morgan and their predecessors have a long history of helping those in need, and they continue to do so. In 2011, they joined the 100,000 jobs mission which helped provide jobs to military veterans and their spouses. In 2014, they pledged over $100,000 to help with the revitalization of Detroit Michigan’s economy. And most recently, in 2015 they established the JP Morgan Chase Institute, a global think tank that is dedicated to delivering data-rich analysis and expert insights for the public good. They help decision makers to understand and appreciate the scale, granularity, diversity, and interconnectedness of the global economic system, as well as use real-time data and thoughtful analysis to make smarter decisions to advance global prosperity.

Description of the Problem

Importance of Participative Leadership

In today’s era, survival of any organization has become a challenge which can only be accomplished through changes in system, procedure, structure, and technology. Also, changes in the mindsets of managers and employees is accompanied with the former mentioned changes, which gave rise to the importance of human resources. Specifically, employees act as the workforce that convert strategies and plans into actions resulting in an organization’s success (Alipour & Taleghani , 2016). In addition, decision making plays an important role in making or breaking an organization. Its enhancement and betterment can be possible when employees are provided with opportunities to participate in it. It also adds to the flexibility and comfort for matters involving management for problem solving. Furthermore, employees’ level of job satisfaction and motivation increases with every step towards participation in decision making. Outcomes of such participative leadership are evident through improved decision making, increased job performance, and depleted turnover rates. Barriers towards adopting changes are eliminated as participative leadership style enables enhanced efficiency of every employee as their presence in non-operational areas is valued.

In contrast, autocratic or directive leadership style only limits the employees to their job expectancies. Although this type seems to be effective in transfer of information, it is mostly seen as task-oriented, rules and regulations, and authoritative where employees are least facilitated towards decision making activities (Asgari, 2014). Consequently, employees are least likely to adapt to organizational objectives and may affect its overall performance. Further, directive leadership results in lower levels of employees’ acceptance of management decisions. This can increase their demotivation, job dissatisfaction, and increased turnover. In comparison of the two leadership styles, a significant relationship between organizational commitment of employees and leadership style of management is observed. Autocratic leadership style is accompanied by a lower degree of employee commitment and motivation towards involvement in decision making.

A solution to JP Morgan Chase’s problem could be the implementation of participative leadership. One of the key benefits of participative leadership is the increased number of opinions involved in decision-making (Cleverism, 2016). Introducing this type of leadership is ideal when improving overall employee morale. Even when decision-making relies on the leader’s final decision, employees’ opinions are considered. Employees having avenues to influence the direction the team or the organization takes allows them to have a feeling of inclusion which could convert to self-motivation while performing their job duties. Participative leadership can also be helpful in employee retention. As employees feel more engaged, they tend to want to remain in the organization, which in the end helps the organization cut costs.

Four specific dimensions of participative leadership will be identified that are believed to be beneficial when improving JP Morgan Chase as an organization. They are listed as follows:

· Participation in work decisions

o   This dimension leaves the decision-making in terms of organizational objectives for the leader. The subordinates are only included in decisions regarding the work (Cleverism, 2019).

· Short-term participation

o   Under this dimension, subordinates are only temporarily included in the decision-making process. While the timeline is limited, the participation often has a higher impact on the actual results (Cleverism, 2019).

· · Informal participation

o   Under informal participation, there are no operational channels for subordinate participation in decision-making, but there can be specific situations in which this type of activity occurs. This framework has no set rules or procedures, but everything is set on the go (Cleverism, 2019).

· ·         Representative participation

· This dimension sees a three-level participation framework. There is the leader, the representatives and the employees. The representatives have the consultative power and certain influence in decision-making, representing the wishes of the employee. They act as mediators between the leader and the subordinates (Cleverism, 2019).

Leadership and organizational behavior come down to individuals. Making a successful team and a self-supporting society takes demanding work, and there is not a viable replacement for it. Groups succeed with practiced restraint, collaboration, and the drive to execute reliably and steadily. Jamie Dimon, the chairman, and CEO, beliefs “People are our most important asset” this is what a company should express. The long–term growth and success of JPMorgan Chase depends on our ability to attract and retain our employees. Maintaining a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive is not only the smart thing to do — it’s the right thing to do.” (JPMorgan Chase & Co, 2020)

Propelling African American Pioneers is a different variety methodology planned for drawing in, enlisting, holding, and driving top ability inside the African American network, and proceeding to characterize JPMorgan Chase as a business of diversity. The procedure is intended to grow their sourcing and advance initiative greatness and maintenance at all levels from inside the African American network. The process recognizes execution greatness and opens doors for improvement and progression for representatives.

JP Morgan promotes associate’s representatives to their networks to help comprehensive development in the spots where they live and work, including volunteerism, not-for-profits, and mentorship. Programs that have been created by JP Morgan are:

·         Tech for Social Good – this program focuses on the surrounding community. Its core focus is empowering, uplifting, and guiding people through technology.

·         Fellowship Initiative – This program is geared toward educating and improving disadvantaged young men of color.

·       Service Corps – This program concentrates on strategic placement matching the expertise of the individual employee to work on challenging non-profits. (JPMorgan Chase & Co, 2020)