Analysis of the Stratigic Leadership at DGB Concepts Limited

Acknowledgements

The researcher wants to acknowledge the contribution of School of Accounting and Management for the vision to start this MBA program.

The researcher also wants to acknowledge the assistance of DBG Concepts Limited the staff of DGB Concepts Limited that allowed the researcher access to their management files, time with the employees to conduct the questionnaire and interviews without which this dissertation could not have been completed.

Abstract

This research project examined the leadership and corporate performance of DGB Concepts limited. The study utilised a hybrid approach research design that surveyed 10 staff members and three (3) contractors and five (5) independent craftsmen to identify key methods of leadership, strategic practices and business strategy.

Analysis of the data showed that there is a perceived alignment of the gap between leadership and the business strategies. The study also provides various recommendations for alignment of the business strategy and leadership, suggesting that correctly aligning these strategies is one way for DGB Concepts to maximise its competitive advantage.

‘I declare that the above work is my own and that the material contained herein has not been substantially used in any other submission for an academic award’.

Table of Contents

1.0       Introduction    1

1.1       Background    2

1.2       Issue    3

1.3       Aim     3

1.4       Research Objectives   3

1.5       Research Questions    4

1.6       Personal Objectives    4

1.7       Structure of Paper       4

2.0       Literature Review       6

2.1       Introduction    6

2.2       Business Strategy       6

2.3       Marketing       8

2.4       Human Resources       8

2.5       Need for Alignment Research           9

2.6       IT Planning     10

2.7       IT Strategic Alignment          10

2.7.1    Relationship between Business and IT Strategy       11

2.7.2    Benefits of Business and IT Strategy Alignment      12

2.8       Models for Strategic Alignment        13

2.9       IT Governance and its importance     15

2.10     Theories Explaining Alignment         16

2.11     Secondary Data          19

2.12     Summary of Literature Review         19

2.13     Conceptual Framework          20

3.0       Research Approach and Methodology          21

3.1       Introduction    21

3.2       Research Philosophy  21

3.3       Research Approach    22

3.4       Research Design         23

3.5       Method and Data Collection  24

3.6       Sample description     25

3.6.1    Qualitative sample      25

3.6.2    Quantitative sample    26

3.7       Research questions     26

3.8       Survey questionnaire design  27

3.9       Data processing and analysis 27

3.9.1    Qualitative data processing and analysis       27

3.9.2    Quantitative data processing and analysis     28

3.10     Delimitations  28

3.11     Ethics  29

3.12     Chapter summary       29

4.0       Findings and analysis 31

4.1       Introduction    31

4.2       Quantitative results     31

4.2.1    Reliability of data      31

4.2.2    Demographic results   32

4.2.3    Overall survey results 33

4.2.4    Communication survey results          34

4.2.5    Competency / Value Measurement survey results    35

4.2.6    Governance survey results     36

4.2.7    Partnership survey results      37

4.2.8    Scope and Architecture survey results          38

4.2.9    Skills survey results    40

4.2.10  Summary survey results         41

4.3       Qualitative results       43

4.4       Analysis          45

4.4.1    Alignment of HR and Business Strategy at DGB     46

4.4.2    Summary of Findings 48

5.0       Conclusion and Recommendations   49

5.1       Conclusion      49

5.2       Recommendations      50

5.3       Implementation          51

5.4       Limitations      52

5.5       Suggestions for Future Research       52

5.6       Personal Development           52

5.7       Summary         53

References……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 55

Introduction:

Why has leadership been defined in so many different ways? Many researchers have attempted define and there are as many definitions as there are theories. 

Some examples are:

“Leadership is the ability of an individual to influence, motivate and enable others to contribute towards the effectiveness and success of the organisation” (House et at 1999 Pg. 184)

Leadership is about articulating visions, embodying values and creating the environment within which things can be accomplished” (Richard and Engle 1986 pg. 206)

“Leadership is the ability to step outside the culture, to start evolutionary change process that are more adaptive” (Shein 1992 Pg2)

For many corporations, there is a controversy as to the difference between leadership and management and many have attempted to assess the effectiveness of leadership.

Leaders and managers are completely different and mutually exclusive. Managers are concerned with doing things right (efficiency). Leaders are concerned with doing the right things (effectiveness)

1:1 Background

A Judicious Examination of Strategic Leadership at DGB Concepts’ a company in the interior design field

DGB Concepts’ Limited was formed in 2012 by a young creative designer who wanted to help persons conceptualize their dream homes into reality.

The company has 10 full-time employees and works with three main contractors and 10 independent skilled craftsmen.

The company has grown and since 2012 has moved into its own offices and not operating from within the owner’s parent’s home.

1:2 Issue

DGB Concepts had not made a profit in the first three years since it was incorporated. All projects were not completed in the stipulated time frame, there was a constant change of business partnerships with various contractors and client frustrations were high.

In 2016, the owner and Creative Director appointed a Managing Director with 28 years’ business management experience.

Since then, there has been a turnaround with increased market penetration, increased revenue and profits.

1.3 AIM

To analyse the Leadership at DGB Concepts and did leadership affect corporate performance at DGB Concepts and if it did identify the type of leadership.

To determine how Strategic Leadership can be improved to continue good corporate performance.

The researcher would explore several Leadership research topics such as Group Level Theories, organisational Level Theories, Leader verse Follower, Dyadic Theories, Intra Individual Theories and Contingency Theories.

The DGB Concepts has an objective of doubling its revenue and profits in the next five years and maintaining its positioning itself as a premier interior design firm for both the residential and corporate business sectors and giving value to its shareholders.

1.4 Research Objectives

To analyse the financial performance of DBG Concepts, the Managing Director’s performance over the past 18 months.

To explore leadership literature and theories to identify the types of leadership.

To compare the type of leadership to the actual corporate performance.

To make conclusions if leadership did affect corporate performance and if it did what type of leadership did the Managing Director have that led to improved corporate performance

1.5 Research Question

Is Strategic Leadership applied to the staff at DGB Concepts that contributed to the improved corporate performance of DGB Concepts?

1.6 Personal Objective

To fully understand the relationship between leadership and corporate performance and apply this analysis as the corporate strategy moving forward.

1.7 Structure Of Paper

The paper will be in five parts:

1: Introduction and reason for the research

2: Literature Review

3: Research Method

4: Findings and Analysis

5: Conclusions and Recommendations.

2.0. Literature Review

2.1. Introduction

It is rather obvious that the concept of strategic leadership is a rather complex one. Therefore, there is a considerable number of aspects that should be highlighted in great detail. One should keep in mind that though the concepts such as strategy or leadership existed before, the interest of the scholars towards them is relatively recent. That is why it would be logical to expect that currently there is no consensus on a number of issues associated with it. As a result, a comprehensive literature review is needed to highlight the views of different scholars. This will make the research in question objective and contribute to its reliability.

2.2. Business Strategy

The first concept that should be examined is a business strategy. As it has already been mentioned, the importance of the strategic development of business has been noticed long ago (Achtenhagen, Melin & Naldi, 2013). However, only relatively recently companies all over the world shifted their focus from maximizing the return on investment to applying various models that would improve their performance. This lead to the situation when the short term achievement was seen as less valuable than achievements in the long-term perspective. Strategic leadership, as one can easily guess from the very name of the term, implies that it is designed to achieve the long-term benefits for the company.

2.3. Marketing

Another point that should be mentioned is the role that marketing plays in the contemporary business environment. According to Anderson and Markides (2007), the appreciation of marketing as a tool that is able to contribute to the success of a company has emerged not so long ago. Nevertheless, the companies that were able to make the most out of it are currently enjoying a significant success. It is worth mentioning that marketing allows a company to influence the decisions of the customers. As a result, an organisation no longer waits passively for its products to be bought, but assumes a more active position. Strategic leadership, therefore, has to be closely aligned with marketing.

2.4. Human Resources

It would not be an exaggeration to suggest that the majority of work in a company is performed by the people. That is why Avolio (2007) states that in the long-term perspective, the employees should be seen as the greatest asset that an organisation has in possession. This contributed to the increase of role of Human Resources department as it is in charge of managing the affairs involving the employees. One should not forget about the fact that leaders of a company are also human beings. That is why if an organisation wants to make the most of their strategic leadership skills, it is an imperative to contribute to their personal development.

2.5. Need for Alignment Research

One could have already noticed that a number of aspects that are associated with strategic leadership has been analysed. Nevertheless, the concept in question is perceived as a unified framework. That is why it would be logical to assume that all those aspects are properly aligned. Boal and Schultz (2007) believe that the investigation of the manner in which all those elements are aligned is extremely important since it highlights the very nature of strategic leadership. After all, the concept in question clearly features at least two major elements that shape its nature.

2.6. IT Planning

One of the aspects that should be mentioned in particular when it comes to the examination of strategic leadership as a phenomenon is Information Technology (IT) planning. According to Brunninge, Nordqvist, and Wiklund (2007), the role of technology in the contemporary workplace can hardly be overestimated. Indeed, it is not only that the majority of work is done with the help of it, but also that technology is able to help the company to manage its resources properly and make the most of the potential of the employees. So, it would be logical to expect that IT planning will be performed in a manner that would reinforce activities of other individuals and departments within the company.

2.7. IT Strategic Alignment

As it has already been pointed out, different aspects of the company performance have to be closely aligned in order to improve the efficiency of one another. All this leads to the situation when the development of IT capabilities of a company should be aligned with its other initiatives (Chesbrough, 2010). One should keep in mind that this trend has become widely spread relatively recently for obvious reasons: the inclusion of IT technology in business is a phenomenon that is witnessed within the last several decades. Different aspects of it will be examined in the further sections.

2.7.1. The relationship between business and IT strategy. If one develops a broad perspective on the way in which companies use technology, one will be able to see that the latter is inevitably related to achievement of the business goals. That is why Crossan, Vera, and Nanjad (2008) insist that IT strategy should be perceived as yet another way in which companies are expected to achieve their goals. It is clear that is methods are combined and are aligned, the effectiveness of each will be increased. All this leads to the situation when there is an inevitable link between business and IT strategy which is reflected in strategic leadership as well.

2.7.2. Benefits of business and IT strategy alignment. In order to prove the point which was mentioned above, it may be beneficial to carefully examine the benefits that the alignment of business and IT strategy has. For example, Doz and Kosonen (2010) point out that the proper use of technology helps a company to make the most of the people that are employed. As a result, this leads to the situation when the business goals are achieved more effectively since the employees are able to put their efforts in a way that brings the company forward. In addition to that, the alignment of business and IT strategy makes sure that the progress of the organisation can be monitored and controlled effectively.

2.8. Models for Strategic Alignment

There is a number of models that describe the proper way of strategic alignment. For the purposes of this paper, the most widely accepted one will be analysed. According to it, there are four major domains that are represented in a two by two matrix with rows reflecting external and internal dimensions, and columns standing for business and IT (Hill, 2008). Given all this, there are four major domains that can be identified: business strategy, IT strategy, business infrastructure and processes, IT infrastructure and processes. Through strategic leadership can be placed in business strategy domain, it is clear that it is able to have a significant influence on the rest of the domains.

2.9. IT Governance and Its Importance

It has already been established that IT strategy is inseparably connected to the success of an organisation. That is why it would be logical to assume that the development of it as well as IT technology in general should be properly controlled by the company. Hitt, Haynes, and Serpa (2010) point out that the notion of IT governance is important is it allows the organisation to assume the control over the situation and make sure that the development is closely aligned with the business goals of a company.

2.10. Theories Explaining Alignment

Another point that should be mentioned with this regard is that the alignment between the element which were mentioned in the sections above can be explained in a number of ways. This resulted in the emergence of a number of theories each of which placed emphasis on a different aspect of the framework. A good example is the theory that focuses on the mutual benefit of the alignment. Thus, Hmieleski and Ensley (2007) believe that when the development of business and IT technology is performed in a manner that lets both enjoy benefits, they two contribute to the development of each other since this is the best way for them to express their potential.

2.11. Secondary Data

The role of secondary data in the process of examination of strategic leadership may not be underestimated. One should keep in mind that any company requires data in order to develop an objective vision of the reality (Jansen,Vera & Crossan, 2009). This way it will be able to align its forces with the conditions in which it operations. As a result, the development of strategic leadership is closely related to collecting secondary data since it allows a company to measure whether it has been successful.

2.12. Summary of Literature Review

It has been successfully shows that strategic leadership is closely aligned with a number of other important elements that should be considered. It has been proven that the concept of business strategy plays an important role since it make up an important part of nature of the concept in question. Moreover, the links between marketing and strategic leadership have been proven. The impact of Human Resources has been explored. A considerable part of literature review was devoted to the examination of the links between strategic leadership and IT technology. It was shown that the two are able to have a positive impact on each other.

2.13. Conceptual Framework

For the purposes of the paper, the concept of strategic leadership will be understood as follows. There are five major concepts that comprise it. They are strategic influencing, strategic planning and thinking, strategic leadership team, strategic acting, strategic learning. Each of these aspects represent a specific dimension of the concept in question. Thus, strategic influencing stands for the ability of a leader to have an impact on the current state of affairs; strategic planning and thinking requires a leader to think one’s actions carefully, a strategic leadership team shows that it is important to have a group of dedicated employees; strategic acting focuses on the necessity to perform actions that will have a positive impact on the reality; finally, strategic learning put emphasis on the need to learn from the past mistakes so that new knowledge can be acquired in the future.

3.0 Research Approach and Methodology

3.1 Introduction

It is essential to point out that the current paper is a research that was designed according to specific principles. That is why it is essential to make sure that those principles are known to the public since this will allow them to determine whether all the necessary procedures were adhered to in the course of exploration.

3.2 Research Philosophy

Speaking of the research philosophy that will guide this research, one will have to mention realism. According to Jing and Avery (2011), it may be placed almost in the middle of the spectrum between positivism and interpretivism. Positivism argues that the knowledge exists objectively and it has to be collected while interpretivism insists that everything, including the knowledge of the reality, is constructed subjectively. So, realism is able to avoid those two extremes: it accepts that there is an objective reality that has to be studied; however, it also puts emphasis on the need to interpret the result of the research properly. So, the operations of DGB Concepts represent the objective reality and the examination of strategic leadership will constitute the interpretive part.

3.3 Research Approach

If one considers the research approach that is used by the author, one will be able to see that it can be best described as deductive. Kaiser, Hogan and Craig (2008) suggest that a deductive research aims to collect a number of objective and general facts in order to work out specific inferences about the reality. This is exactly the manner in which the researcher will approach the issue. First, the information about the activities of the company will be collected. Then, it will be analysed in order to identify the role of strategic leadership in the company.

3.4 Research Design

The research will be designed in the following manner. First of all, after the participants were found, they will be provided with a questionnaire. They will be expected to answer simple questions regarding their experience with DGB Concepts. This will provide the research with the primary data on the topic (Ke & Wei, 2008). Secondly, the information that has been obtained from the people will be analysed in order to identify trends and manifestations of strategic leadership. It is important to state that both qualitative and quantitative aspects of the data will be taken into account. Finally, the results will be presented in form of inferences and recommendations.

3.5. Method and Data Collection

As for the method of the research at hand as well as the manner in which data was collected, one should note that the author relied on surveys as the primary source of data. It is worth pointing out that they surveys were designed in a manner that would allow the participants to express the information in the most appropriate manner; that is, they will provide answers that will highlight different aspects of cooperation with DGB Concepts (Kuratko & Audretsch, 2009). It is worth mentioning that the results of the surveys will be analysed after they have been collected.

3.6. Sample description

For the purposes of this paper, the following sample was designed. First of all, one should note that the overall number of the participants is 18. There are ten people who are currently employed by the company in question. There are three contractors that have been working with DGB Concepts for a certain amount of time. There are also five craftsmen who are not employed by the company per se, they do contracts from time to time. As one can easily see, though the sample is not particularly big, it includes people who represent different backgrounds (Maak, 2007). This is important since it allows a researcher to highlight different aspects of the issue.

3.6.1. Qualitative sample. If one considers the qualitative part of the sample, one should point out that it was designed in such a manner that would engage different perspectives on strategic leadership. The research tried to make sure that both the internal dimension and the external dimension of the issue is highlighted (Mazzola, Marchisio & Astrachan, 2008). Thus, the people who are employed by the company reflect the internal dimension while the contractors as well as the craftsmen who work independently reflect the external dimension. All this shows that the topic in question will be examined from a number of points of view.

3.6.2. Quantitative sample. As for the quantitative part of the sample, one should note that it is not that impressive. All in all, 18 people participated in the research. The majority of them were people who are employed by the company. Some might suggest that this particular size of the sample will make it not very representative. It is true that it may be rather difficult to make a reliable decision based on the responses of only 18 people; however, the fact that they come from the strategically important backgrounds improves the value of their answers. Therefore, it is quite obvious that those the quantitative element of the research is not quite impressive, it still enabled the author to produce meaningful results.

3.7. Research Questions

Now, it may be important to carefully examine the research questions that guided the author. They are essential for the understanding of the goals that the researcher was trying to achieve (Memon, Mangi & Rohra, 2009). They will also provide insightful ideas about the perspective that the researcher had about the topic. Thus, the major question of the research at hand can be formulated as follows: Has strategic leadership applied to the staff at DGB Concepts contributed to the improvement of corporate performance of DGB Concepts? This is the primary question that the researcher was trying to answer.

3.8. Survey Questionnaire Design

It has already been pointed out that the research will rely on a survey that will be distributed among the participants as the source of the primary data that has to be analysed. That is why it is quite logical that the design of it will be aligned with the goals that the researcher will try to achieve (Mumford, Campion & Morgeson, 2007). It is worth mentioning that there are different types of questions that the survey in question features. Some questions were included purely for administrative purposes, that is identification of the general characteristics of the participants. Those questions are not linked directly to the topic under investigation are were used solely to provide a general perspective on the people who participate in the research. On the other hand, there are also questions there were designed specifically to provide the data that deal with the topic in question. These questions are found closer to the end of the survey.

3.9. Data Processing and Analysis

Given the nature of the data collected, it is clear that several data processing techniques will be used. Speaking of the analysis of the quantitative data, it is crucial to point out that several statistical methods will be used (Năstase, 2010). The primary goal will be to find the correlation between the problem under investigation and people who participated. When the qualitative data is analysed, the researcher will look for the general trends that describe the relationship between the company in question and the people who participated.

3.9.1. Qualitative data processing and analysis. As it had been mentioned in the sections above, the research at hand will collect different kinds of data. There will be data that features qualitative nature. One of the best ways to analyse this kind of information is to compare the answers among the participants and look for the general trends that will represent the correlation between the topic and the actual state of affairs (Orlitzky, Siegel & Waldman, 2011).

3.9.2. Quantitative data processing and analysis. If one considers the way in which quantitative type of data will be processed and analysed, one will have to point out the following. First of all, the size of the sample is not that big which means that it would not be correct to rely on approximation as it will distort the results. Several statistical methods will be applied to the quantitative data in order to determine whether there is a correlation between the characteristics of the topic and the characteristics that describe a certain group of the people.

3.10. Delimitations

The researcher does have full confidence that all information would be made available for the research as DBG Concepts is keen to keep on the path of improve performance. With the Trinidad and Tobago economy in recession for the past three years, DGB Concepts as a young company considers this type of research key as part of their strategic planning that for the next 5 years. That is why the research at hand will focus on the areas that are of great importance for the company and will be used by it to improve its performance (Phelps, Parayitam & Olson, 2007). This resulted in placing focus on the role of strategic leadership over other strategically important elements. That is why the sample size was chosen accordingly.

3.11. Ethics

The researcher has taken every step to have the entire research project conducted in a responsible and ethical manner. The researcher has taken into consideration the protection of participants, safety of the researcher, recruitment and informed consent, anonymity and confidentiality. The researcher has applied to the university for an ethical review of the research project and presented the ethical respondent questionnaire and form for evaluation. DGB Concepts being a privately owned company had to seek permission from the creative director/owner to undertake this research (Quong & Walker, 2010). Also the researcher has signed a confidentially agreement that if any information that could be considered a competitive advantage maybe be discovered that approval would be sort first before it becomes part of the study. The ethical standards of the research as in line with Anglia Ruskin University standards.

3.12. Chapter Summary

This chapter successfully examined various aspects of the research. It has been shown that the researcher will be guided by realism as the dominant research philosophy. The major approach that will be used is deduction. The research will be structured in the following manner: the participants will be asked to answer the questions of the survey; they the answers will be collected and processed. The sample includes 18 people. The research will be conducted in accordance with the Anglia Ruskin University standards.

4.0 Findings and analysis

4.1 Introduction

Every previous chapter focused on an abstract aspect of the research. Now, it may be beneficial to present the actual results that were obtained from the analysis of the answers of the participants. It has been mentioned several times before, that the survey provided the researchers with both quantitative as well as qualitative data. That is why it would be logical to expect that they will be analysed in different ways. The following sections will represent the findings as well as their analysis.

4.2. Quantitative results

It is worth pointing out that one of the peculiarities of the quantitative results lies in the fact that they are represented in numerical values. In other words, this type of results shows a specific aspect of a complex notion. Nevertheless, one should point out that not everything associated with strategic leadership can be easily reduced to a numerical form (Resick, Whitman, Weingarden & Hiller, 2009). This means that this kind of data will be somewhat limited as it represents only a certain aspect of the topic that is under investigation and not in its entirety.

4.2.1. Reliability of data. If one considers the reliability of the data that was obtained one will have to focus on several points. First of all, one should keep in mind that the size of the sample that was used during the research was not particularly big. This is likely to have a negative impact on the reliability of the data which was collected (Schoemaker, Krupp & Howland, 2013). However, one should not forget about the fact that the participants represents different aspects of the issues in question that they were selected proportionally to their importance. That is why the majority of the respondents are the people who are employed by the company, the second biggest group includes independent craftsmen, and the least represented group includes contractors.

4.2.2. Demographic results. Now, it may be useful to consider the demographic aspect of the results that were obtained. It is worth mentioning that the people who participated in the survey shared a number of characteristics due to objective reasons: they were not minors because they would not have been able to be employed by a company; they had a similar level of education with variations when employees of higher ranks were engaged. That is why there was not significant disparity in the results (Smith, Binns & Tushman, 2010). however, there were some differences in terms of job experience and length of cooperation with the company. Thus, it was found that those who are more proficient are able to value the effect of strategic leadership more than the novices.

4.2.3. Overall survey results. It may also be beneficial to carefully examine the overall results of the survey. To begin with, it is essential to point out that the majority of the respondents expressed appreciation of the concept of strategic leadership in various ways (Strand, 2014). This shows that regardless of one’s job experience, the nature of the relation with the company or the position, strategic leadership is able to have a positive impact on the performance of a company. It is clear that if applied properly, this concept might because the source of competitive advantage of the company in question.

4.2.4. Communication survey results. If one considers the part of the survey that examined the peculiarities of communication, one should point out that the majority of answers support the idea that strategic leadership implies a proper level of communication. What is even more important is that it was found that the role that the person plays as well as the relationship that one has with the organisation does not matter when it comes to the value of communication (Uhl-Bien, Marion & McKelvey, 2007). That is why the latter is particularly important for strategic leadership.

4.2.5. Competency / Value Measurement survey results. It may also be beneficial to examine the results of the part of the survey that focused on the manner in which competency as well as value was measured. It is worth mentioning that the majority of the respondents argued that strategic leadership should be performed by the individuals who are capable of doing it properly. In order words, there is an objective set of skills that are required for success in this field (Zahra & Nambisa, 2012). That is why it is essential to keep in mind that strategic leadership should be performed by those people who are capable of performing it effectively.

4.2.6. Governance survey results. A part of the survey was also focused on the issue of governance. The majority of the participants agreed on the idea that governance should be performed in a manner that would make it aligned with the business priorities of the company. That said, it is clear that they approved of the role of strategic leadership in shaping the manner in which various aspects of the company’s performance were managed. Though there have been different opinions regarding the extent to which this should be allowed, the participants agreed that the involvement of strategic leadership is beneficial for the performance of the company.

4.2.7. Partnership survey results. There was another part of the survey that highlighted the aspects of partnership. On should keep in mind that the participants represented different dimensions of the operation, namely the internal and the external one. That is why the idea of partnership is particularly important since it reflected the views of the people on nature of the relationship with the company. The vast majority of the respondents agreed that partnership is likely to benefit form strategic leadership performed by the representatives of the organisation since it will make the latter more predictable and more stable which is useful for doing business.

4.2.8. Scope and Architecture survey results. Another point that should be mentioned with this regard deals with the concepts of scope and architecture. It may be useful to assume that the successful performance of strategic leadership is likely to have a significant impact on the structure of the organisation. The respondents agreed with the idea that strategic leaders should be provides with a significant amount of power that would allow them to introduce meaningful changes into their organisation. This way they will be most effective in their position and contribute to the development of the performance of the organisation in general.

4.2.9. Skills survey results. Finally, the last aspect that was highlighted in the survey focused on the skills that are necessary for the successful performance of strategic leadership. The majority of the respondents agreed on the idea that such a person is expected to have a set of skills that will differ one from other employees and will enable a person to make the right decision in different situations. It is true that there is no single set of skills that a person is expected to develop in order to be successful. However, one would make no mistake arguing that there are some generic skills that will facilitate one’s cooperation with other people and will make sure that the goals of strategic leadership were achieved correctly.

4.2.10. Summary of the survey results. As one can easily see based on the results which were presented above, it is important to keep in mind that there are several aspects that should be included in the discussion. Thus, it was shown that the majority of the respondents agreed on the idea that there is a clear correlation between strategic leadership and proper performance of an organisation. Many pointed out that this can be explained by the quality of communication. Other believe that a person who performs strategic leadership activities is expected to have a certain set of skills to be successful.

4.3. Qualitative results

Now, it may be beneficial to look through the qualitative results that were obtained from the survey. Speaking of them, one should point out that the respondents generally agreed that strategic leadership is a complex phenomenon that is hard to define. However, they all felt that it is able to have a positive impact on the performance of an organisation due to the fact that enables a person to make the most of the available resources and opportunities. Therefore, it is clear that there is a direct link between strategic leadership and the improvement of the performance in the minds of the respondents.

4.4. Analysis

When it comes to the analysis of the data which was obtained, it may be important to keep in mind that it presented the subjective views of the people who were in different positions. That is why a common denominator had to be found in order to make sure that their answers could have been compared. As a result, it may be useful to note that certain adjustments were made in the course of the analysis. However, the adjustments that were made above did not affect the nature of the answers. That is why the results are perfectly reliable and might be used for further investigation of the topic.

4.4.1. Alignment of HR and business strategy at DGB. It has been successfully shows that there is an objective need for alignment of the Human Resources practices as well as business strategy. The results insist that strategic leadership should be performed by those employees that are capable of contributing to the current situation the most. This means that the Human Resources department should find a person who will have the most appropriate set of skills and will be able to have the greatest impact on the proposed position. Therefore, it may be useful to suggest that the department is question should be in charge of finding the best person for this kind of position.

4.4.2. Summary of the findings. As it has been mentioned before, there were two types of data that were identified by the researcher: quantitative and qualitative. Both proved the connection between strategic leadership and improvement of performance. The findings argue that regardless of the position that a person occupied within or outside the company as well as the experience that one has had with the mentioned company, strategic leadership is able to have a positive impact on the performance. The only various was found in the manner of appreciation of this phenomenon with more experienced individuals valuing it more.

5.0. Conclusion and Recommendations

5.1 Conclusion

Having examined all the points that were mentioned in the paragraphs above, one is able to come to the following conclusion: strategic leadership should be seen as one of the major aspects that contributes to the performance of the company. This has been shown in various dimensions. The people who are employed by the company expressed their point of view, arguing that strategic leadership provides them with certainty that the company is going in the right direction and does everything that it can to achieve success in the given field. In other words, even the ordinary employees are able to appreciate the positive impact that strategic leadership has on the performance.

Another point that should be mentioned with this regard is that the individuals who were not directly employed by the company, but were in a direct interaction with it also could appreciate strategic leadership as it was performed by the company. The contractors felt that this made the organisation more predictable and stable which had a positive impact on the way in business was done with it. What is even more important is that there was a direct link between strategic leadership and performance established. This means that the company should pay a considerable amount of attention to the former in order to improve the latter.

5.2. Recommendations

If one considers the set of recommendations that the company in question might benefit from it may be logical to mention the following ones. First of all, DGB Concepts should embrace the potential of strategic leadership to become the source of sustainable competitive advantage. In other words, if the company invests into its employees enough to make sure that they are capable of achieving the needed goals, then it will be able to make the most of this phenomenon. Secondly, the company in question is also expected to adjust its organisation in order to allow the individuals who are placed in strategic leadership positions to have a positive impact on the performance. Otherwise, it would be impossible for them to perform their role properly.

5.3. Implementation

Given the nature of the recommendations which were stated above, the following process of implementation seems to be reasonable. First of all, it is important for the Human Resources department to conduct a careful audit of the skills that the currently employed individuals have. It is critical to find those who have the set of skills that will make the most effective in a strategic leadership position. Secondly, the senior management should initiate the change in the organisational structure, making sure that new positions for the future leaders are created. This will enhance the productivity of the latter.

5.4. Limitations

In spite of the fact that the study has been conducted in a manner that would eliminate the bias and prejudice on behalf of the researcher, it may be useful to acknowledge the existence various limitations that can be identified in the study. To begin with, one should point out that the research in question primarily focused on a single aspect of the improvement of performance, that is strategic leadership. However, there are numerous other ways that can be mentioned as well. Another limitation that should be highlighted is that the size of the sample was not particularly impressive.

5.5. Suggestions for Future Research

Even though the research was conducted in a manner that would ensure that the all questions will be answered in full, it is clear that there is a need for further investigation of the topic in question. For example, it may be beneficial to examine the manner in which strategic leadership is perceived by the senior management and whether they are willing to create new positions and adjust the organisational structure even more to amplify the positive impact that strategic leaders are able to make. It also goes without saying that the size of the sample of future studies can be increased.

5.6 Personal Development

The research at hand has greatly contributed to the personal development of the author as an individual and as a professional. It was shown that strategy plays an important role in the development of a company and is able to become a source of the sustainable advantage of an organisation. This can be applied to the personal life as well: this idea calls for the necessity to have a broad understanding of the future and the needed to align one’s current actions with the future actions. That is why it would not be an exaggeration to suggest that the researcher has gained a lot of knowledge that can be applied in other fields while conducting the study.

5.7. Summary

It has been proven that strategic leadership is able to have a positive impact on the performance of the company and even become a sustainable source of competitive advantage. It was recommended that DGB Concepts searches for employees that will have the required set of skills in order to act in the position of a strategic leader. Furthermore, it may be useful to adjust the organisational structure in order to enable the leaders to have a significant impact on the current situation. The research features several limitations and many of them can be handled in future studies performed by other scholars.

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"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

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"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

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"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

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