GLOBALIZATION

Final Project, Milestone 1: Evaluating Leadership Style and Their Impact

KENNEDY CHINEDUM OKEZIE

Department of Business Management, Nexford University

BUS 5010: Culture in Global Business Environment

Professor Dr. Stacy Wassell

June 17, 2020

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Kennedy Chinedum Okezie

Bus 5010: Module 3

Instructor Name: Professor Dr. Stacy Wassell

Date: June 24, 2020

Evaluating Leadership Style and Their Impact

It has become a glaring fact that the success of every organization or

business venture depends on the leadership style of the CEO. We are oblivious of the fact that

leaders are keen to achieve success to make profit as well as build a sustainable brand that

improves productivity and increase share capital. In fact, no leader embarks on a business

venture for a jamboree, suffice it to note here, that for every serious investment to attain a level

of global competitiveness and this, and depends on the practical innovations of an effective

leader. In most cases, ideas put in place does not translate to the required result, especially when

there is a missing jigsaw in the process which in most cases depends on understanding the

cultural differences that play out in a particular environment.

For the purpose of this paper, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates leadership

qualities that help to achieve landmark success in computers and technology are renowned for

their leadership styles and can be classified as factors applied under two types of economy (Open

Economy and Command Economy) as the case may be.

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SIMILARITIES BETWEEN STEVE JOBS AND BILL GATE

1. Passionate and fearless:

a. Steve Jobs and Bill Gate are both passionate in their quest to make a difference not

minding the overwhelming challenge they faced in the process of achieving their

goal.

2. Power In-depth Knowledge:

b. They shared a clear expert knowledge of the business they are venturing into, which is a

key factor in their roles as leaders.

3. Capacity to influence:

b. They both shared a modest quality of influencing those around to believe in their

vision.

4. Reward Power:

c. They both shared an effective reward power of the resources at their disposal to influence

their followers to buy into their vision despite their shortfalls.

5. Imaginative Risk Takers:

d. Their imaginative ideas, led to landmark creativity and development of software in

the IT sector across the globe embarking on project without knowing fully what the

outcome would become.

6. Analytic and practical Intelligence:

e. This idea is a key defining factor in their success story, each time they seem to hit the

wall, they are able to resolve the challenge with analytical reviews, which often led to

breaking new grounds within the industry. Despite the fact they are both school drop
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outs, they were able to make informed decisions to revolutionize the IT industry the

creation of Apple and Microsoft software.

DIFFRENCES BETWEEN STEVE JOBS AND BILL GATE

1. Autocratic: Steve Jobs was an autocratic leader who revels in berating followers without

empathy when they fail to match up with his expectation.

2. Team Player: Bill Gates is more of a team player that gives his followers some sense of

belonging that they are in this together.

3. Philanthropist: Bill Gates runs a philanthropic foundation known as the Bill and Melinda

foundation to cater for impoverished communities across the globe.

4. Self-Centered: Steve Jobs practically thinks and believe in himself alone according to an

article in Bumblephone Leaders Essay May 14, 2018 “While at Next Corporation, he had

to lay off people and didn’t want to give anyone a severance package.”

5. Public Nuisance and a Bully: Steve Jobs as outlined in the Bumblephone Leaders Essay

“He used to: park his Mercedes in handicapped spaces; periodically reduces subordinates

to tears, and fires employees in angry tantrums.

6. Monopolist and anti-competitive: Bill Gates over the years had experience loads running

battle in the court for what is considered as his unethical attributes.

7. Unethical: Steve Jobs unethical attributes is based on the denial of his first child out of

wedlock and he ran the Apple Corporation with fear instilled in the minds of the workers.

The Bumblephone Leaders Essay encapsulates this factor by noting that “Inside Apple

Incorporation there is a culture of fear and control around communication.”

8. Ethical and Unethical: Bill Gates is a mixture of both attributes.

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Identification of a business leader from Nigeria and a comparison of his style to that of

Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, highlighting their similarities and differences

CHIEF MICHEAL ADENIYI AGBOLADE ISHOLA ADENUGA

Having reviewed the similarities and difference between the leadership

qualities of Steve Jobs and Bill gates, one name readily comes to mind as a business leader with

similar characteristic is Nigerian’s Telecoms giant and owner of the Globalcom network Chief

Michael Adeniyi Agbolade Ishola Adenuga who runs the operations of Globalcom Nigeria

1. Autocratic:

a. He possess a similar trait with Steve Jobs, berating workers with demystified

fear amongst all his workers.

2. Philanthropy:

b. Despite his handed management style, he is a philanthropist with a heart of

giving donation to a just course and less privilege.

3. Ability to influence:

c. He possess an uncanny ability to influence everyone to buy into his vision just

like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.

4. Thrive on criticism:

d. In respective of the criticism against Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Chief Michael

Adenuga they all thrived in their businesses.

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DIFFERENCES

1. SECTIONALIZED BUSINESS

a. Unlike Steve Jobs and Bill Gates whose investment is global, Globalcom Nigeria

operates in Nigeria and few African country

2. SERVICE OREINTED BUSINESS

b. Adenuga provides is a serviced delivery firm but Steve Jobs and Bill Gates deliver

products and service to its consumers.

3. IMGINATIVE RISK TAKER:

c. Chief Michael Adenuga, despite knowing the risk at investing in the Nigerian

Telecoms sector took the risk of investing in Nigeria telecoms with the desire to cause

a turn around,

4. RELENTLESS BUSINESS DRIVE:

d. Chief Adenuga, imbibes a relentless and aggressive business drive to conquer all he

sets his mind to do and this quality has seen him building an empire of businesses.

An Explanation of How Leadership can overcome the issues faced by Global Businesses While

entering New Markets

As it had discussed time after, there are series of challenges that

entrepreneurs’ would encounter while venturing into global business which includes but not

limited to understanding cultural differences, communication, regulatory laws and rules etc., It
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only requires foresight leadership to overcome these challenges by creating a winning formula

before entering into a new market.

Howbeit, leadership has many definition by different school of

thoughts for example Susan Ward in an article published in April 24, 2020 defines leadership, as

the art of motivating a group of people to act toward achieving a common goal.” While the

Thesaurus dictionary defines is as the capacity to guide the actions of a person or group both

definitions encapsulates the clear meaning of leadership in a new business environment.

The success of an investment is highly dependent on the

effectiveness of the leadership in place and it also, accounts for how most of the issues facing

global investment are handled and as a leader, your responsibility is to plan for risks eventualities

which propels one’ drive with optimism. The task facing leadership is further highlighted in

Chloe Demrovsky’s tweet stating that “it is easy to be a leader during a time of growth and

success but the true test comes during dark times”.

Therefore, to address the challenges associated with starting up a

global business in a new environment, it is important to carry out a survey to get the right

information embarking on a comparative review and understanding the cultural differences

between one’s existing environment and the proposed environment because it creates the

platform for breaking barriers and the provides a clear to invest in learning the common spoken

language in such country. Secondly, regardless of one’s experience in business, you must employ
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the services of a local a solicitor educate one in the areas of regulatory laws in the country before

and after the registration of the business. Thirdly, it is important carry out an independent

market research on similar companies selling or providing similar services and selling same

products.

Fourthly, one must evaluate how the communication and

technological system operates in order to determine the best approach to employ. Fourthly, it is

necessary to review and analyze the fluctuating or stability of the local currency to help plan the

cash flow and financial management. Lastly, the leadership must pay adequate attention towards

the recruitment of a dedicated workforce with the right skills and attitude i.e who are willing and

ready to align to meet the company's vision. This is taking into cognizance that a wrong

workforce can derail the progress of the business and a right workforce simplifies the delegation

of duties and responsibilities.

References 

Challenges of operating a business in a global economy - by Nicky LaMarco January 25, 2019

Comparison in Leadership styles for Steve Jobs vs Bill Gates - May 14, 2018

Profitable Ventures Magazine - Copyright 2020

Steve Job’s Revolutionary Leadership style and what we can learn from it – Natalia Kassim

Leadership lessons you can learn from Steve Jobs – Joseph Carvey May 9, 2017

Journal of Organisation Culture, Communications and Conflict - by McLaurin, James Reagan