Developing Strategic Management and Leadership Skills (PDF)

The purpose is to determine the dynamics in between organizational leadership and strategic management. In this report we will analyze Impact of management and leadership styles on strategic decisions. The organization has focused on the customers as their priority for their product development. Marketing management of Xiaomi  which is a technology company popular for its high quality low price Smartphone portfolio.  it covers various aspect of leadership in the company. Leadership aligned with strategic management  covers various aspect of leadership in the company. We will discuss international business strategy of Xiaomi. 

Running head: DEVELOPING STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP SKILLS
ASSIGNMENT COVER PAGE
Assignment: Developing Strategic Management & Leadership Skills at Xiaomi
Subject: Developing Strategic Management & Leadership Skills
Programme: Pearson BTEC Level 7
Extended Diploma in Strategic Management & Leadership
Student Name: Lam Cheuk Wai
Student No.: 179148101
Assessor Name: Alfred Yu
Due Date: 13 August 2018

1DEVELOPING STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP SKILLS
Executive Summary
The purpose of the assignment is to determine the dynamics in between organizational leadership
and strategic management. The leaders of an organization have significant role in the success of
the company’s achievements. The case study that has been chosen to analyze in the assignment is
Xiaomi which is a technology company popular for its high quality low price Smartphone
portfolio. The company is relatively new and in a span of less than 10 years has gathered
significant prominence and goodwill in the industry as well as among the stakeholders. The
organization has focused on the customers as their priority for their product development. The
assignment covers various aspect of leadership in the company.

2DEVELOPING STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP SKILLS
Contents
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................3
1.1 Company Overview...............................................................................................................3
Task 1 (LO1)....................................................................................................................................5
1a. Leadership aligned with strategic management of Xiaomi (AC 1.1 and 1.2)........................5
Impact of management and leadership styles on strategic decisions...........................................7
1b. Leadership styles required to adapt the situations of economic recession and management
succession of new leader (AC 1.3)..............................................................................................8
Task 2 (LO2)....................................................................................................................................9
2a. Impact of leadership on strategies of Xiaomi (AC 2.1).........................................................9
2b. Recommendation of leadership strategy that should be adopted by the company (AC 2.2)
...................................................................................................................................................11
Task 3 (LO3)..................................................................................................................................12
3a. The requirements of current leadership with external environmental influences (AC 3.1).12
3b. Leadership required to deal with different emerging situations (AC 3.2)...........................14
Task 4 (LO4)..................................................................................................................................15
4a. Development plan of leadership skills (AC 4.1)..................................................................15
4b. Justification of the development plan (AC 4.2)...................................................................16
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................18
Reference List:...............................................................................................................................19

3DEVELOPING STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP SKILLS
Bibliography..................................................................................................................................22
1. Introduction
Strategic management is the process by which organization take and implement decisions
in order to be a successful venture. Strategic management includes rationalizing and planning
process of the business which will be based on logical data and reasoning. There are a number of
theories and concepts that have been developed by scholars regarding strategic management.
Marketing, Administration, finance, Human resource, operations, organization structure, and
organization culture are some of the subdivisions of strategic management (Wheelen et al. 2017).
Leadership in an organization plays an equal important role in the success and achievement of
the objectives that have been implemented by the strategic management decisions of the
organization. The decisions that are taken in the company are based on the type of leader that
runs the organization as the values and principles of the leader reflects in the culture of the
company as well (Adair2009). For example: if the style of leadership in the organization is
transformational then the culture among the work place will be encouraging creativity and
innovation as transformational leadership drives changes and accepts alterations in the
organization as a positive aspect (Sallehand Grunewald2013). This aspect therefore assures that
there is a direct impact of leadership in the strategic management of the company. The
organization that has been chosen to study the strategic management and leadership is Xiaomi
Corporation. It is one of the leading start-up in the international market and in a very short period
of time the company has gained a lot of prominence in the technology industry on a global
platform.

4DEVELOPING STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP SKILLS
1.1 Company Overview
Established in 2010, Xiaomi is a privately owned Chinese organization that is reported as
one of the most valuable technology start up in the global platform(Mi.com, 2018). The Logo of
the company is MI stands for mobile internet and also Mission Impossible, as the management
has faced a number of challenges in the early days of establishment(Mi.com, 2018). The
company stands for innovation and is motivated to reach out to the customers with making high
quality technology and making it available for the customers in minimum price. Lei Jun is the
man behind the endeavor and in 2014 Forbes magazine recognized him as the businessman of
the year owing to the rapid growth and expansion of the company. The product portfolio of the
company ranges from Mi phones, Redmi Phones, Mi TV, Smart Devices, audio accessories, Mi
Power bank (Mi.com, 2018). The company is a multinational organization having its operations
and distribution in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, India, Indonesia and
Brazil(Mi.com, 2018). The innovation and the mission and objectives of the company will be
explored and aligned with the leadership styles that have been included in the organization to
bring it to success. One of the qualities that have been observed across the leaders in various
segments of Xiaomi is that the people are experienced in their field and have knowledge and
practical experience. This cumulative experience of the people has enabled the company to take
decisions which have helped in achieving the recognition and success in the industry(Mi.com
2018).
The objective of the company is to be one of the most user-centric mobile internet
company, this decision is taken based on the style of leadership as one of the feature of
transformational leadership is to inspire and reach out in order to provide the best possible
solution in order to build a valuable relationship with the stakeholders(Mi.com, 2018).

5DEVELOPING STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP SKILLS
Task 1 (LO1)
1a.Leadership aligned with strategic management of Xiaomi (AC 1.1 and 1.2)
The company believes in innovation in the product development and makes products
keeping in mind the needs and requirements of the customers. The company is strives to provide
the customers with best quality product at the minimum price possible. The price of the products
are kept low hence this does not mean that the quality of the product is low or is compromised
with. The culture of the company is driven by the loyal customers who are recognized as “fans”
of the company (Adair 2009). The company will develop products and continue to achieve the
milestones in order to reach out to these “fans”. The company works with the employees as a
team in order to provide the customers with the best user experience possible by pursuing
perfection in the endeavor, constantly refining and enhancing the products. The company
continues to launch one product after another with higher specification keeping a check on the
price. Therefore, it can be said that innovation is a large part of the business model. The
company operates in the technology industry specifically Smartphone industry making the
competition very tough and in order to maintain the edge over the other organization the
company has strategic management decisions regarding the price and products development. The
strategic management decisions taken by the company revolves around innovation and thus the
kind of leadership that is prevalent in the organization is appropriate (Gold et al. 2010). Lei Jun
is the founder and CEO of the organization and before MI he was associated with a number of
successful startup ventures, he is a person who is known for having visionary approach in the
business. The kind of leadership style that is incorporated by him in the company can be easily

6DEVELOPING STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP SKILLS
termed as Transformational. Transformational leadership is the style where a leader encourages
and motivates changes and welcomes innovation in the organization (Adair 2009). Such a leader
welcomes changes as an optimistic aspect of the business and in this case Lei Jun is a person
who is always looking forward to change and improve in order to provide the company with
customers with best possible outcome (Gold et al. 2010). As the strategic management decisions
taken by the company is always looking forward for change in the system and in the products
therefore it is important to have a transformational leader, who is far-sighted and is visionary so
that the company can keep up with the dynamics of the industry and accordingly cater to the
requirement of the loyal customers (Adair 2009). Form an employee perspective; a company that
seeks innovation is always encouraging the people to explore their creativity. This aspect of the
company provides the employees with a flexible work culture. The role of a leader is very
important in the way motivation is employed in thework culture. The leader is responsible to
ensure job satisfaction among the people and to grow a sense of commitment among the
employees. The people who are in the higher management of Xiaomi are the leaders in the
organization and each of them share their perspective of innovation with the employees by
motivating and inspiring them with their involvement of the passion for what they create (Gold
et al. 2010).
The role of a leader in a startup company is more prominent than an established
organization as the number of challenges for a company that is new is comparatively more than
an established business (Adair 2009). The role of the leaders in Xiaomi is divided according to
their expertise and their knowledge, the role of the leaders of the departments is to achieve the
objectives of the company and in order to does that ensure the people are motivated and are
excited to work with the company. Not only that the leaders focus on building a team and

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making collective effort to strive and achieve success. As a start up the organization has built a
very coherent culture which encompasses the “fans”, which is a major part of the strategic
management to keep up with the culture of the Company the leaders make sure that the process
of product development or any strategies further taken are based on the customers’ requirement
(Mullins2010). One of the major roles of the leaders of Xiaomi is to be the representative of the
organization, during any product launch or announcement the company is represented by the
founder or any of the co-founders as representative of the company to communicate with the
customers and the stakeholders. The representatives with their communication share their
excitement and their passion for the company. One of the objectives of the company is to build a
valuable relationship with the customers and this representation of the leaders’ help the company
establish the same (Mullins2010).
Impact of management and leadership styles on strategic decisions
Strategic decisions of a company are formulated with the help of rational reasoning for
example: market research. The management of Xiaomi take decisions and employees strategies
based on the culture, values and principles that define the organization, this also includes the
leadership style(Johnston and Marshall 2016). As mentioned above the leadership style that drive
the company is transformational therefore constant change and improvement in the process and
product of the business are the foundation of the decisions that are taken by the management.
The role of a leader is to take decisions for the company in order to achieve the objective of the
business and the style of leadership impacts these decisions. As a transformational leader Lei
Junensures that the process of innovation and change is consistent in the company(Johnston and
Marshall 2016). The objective of the company is to provide a low-cost, hi-specification
Smartphone to the customers, and in order to achieve this objective the company incorporates

8DEVELOPING STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP SKILLS
financial investment in research and development department. For example: the company
continuously upgrades the user interface thus making it easier for the user to utilize the product
to its full potential. The management of the company has a MI Forum where the fans of the
company can interact with the customer service and provide valuable feedbacks for the products
and services (Johnston and Marshall 2016). This decision is taken by the management in order to
understand the requirements and the trends of the industry so that they can cater to the customers
better. This is in sync with the characteristics of a transformational leader as the leader following
this style is always looking forward for development in the process (Mullins2010).
1b. Leadership styles required to adapt the situations of economic recession
and management succession of new leader (AC 1.3)
Any business organization operates in two business environment: internal and external.
While the internal business environment factors are under the control of the management of the
company the external factors are not, therefore the management should adapt to the dynamics of
the industry in order to survive. Political, economic, society, technology, environment and legal
aspect of the environment in which the business is operating impact the decisions taken by the
management of the organization. Economic recession is a part of the economy factor of the
eternal environment and is a situation of crisis for any organization (Bolden2016).Organizations
take decisions according to the dynamics of the external business environment in order to be able
to combat such crisis situations. A leader should be far-sighted so that he or she can be ready to
mange such crisis situation. During recession the purchasing powers of the people reduce which
in turn makes it difficult for any organization to earn revenue through sale; the stock price of the
companies in such situation is also low (Yukl2013). Fiedler's contingency theory of leadership
state that effectiveness of a leaderis not only based on the style but is also based on how the

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leader manages a certain situation. For the case of recession first and foremost the leader should
accept the situation and be able to communicate the crisis and the steps that are going to be taken
with the employees as in the time of economic recession the employees will be apprehensive
about their position in the organization as well as the position of the organization in the industry
(Fiedler2015). Inorder to adapt the situationthe leader must take decisions based on rational
reasoning and ethics (Yukl2013).
In the case of management succession of a new leader, it is important for new leader to
understand the dynamics of the company first. This will help the leader to adapt to a style that is
fit for the organization and is aligned with the culture and the prevalent management of the
company. With the help of simple strategic management tools like PESTEL analysis and Porter’s
five forces, Value chain analysis etc., the leader can understand the factors that drive the
company as well as understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the
company(Morden 2016).
Task 2 (LO2)
2a.Impact of leadership on strategies of Xiaomi (AC 2.1)
The leadership style that is incorporated in the organization leads to the way the
organization run, defines the culture and the structure that is prevalent in the company. There are
a number of types of leadership styles that are employed by the owners and the managers to
support the team in order to achieve the objectives of the business. Strategic management
decisions of the business begin by defining the mission, vision and objectives (Tyssen et al.
2013).Thus the type of leaders in the organization also influence the kind of objectives the
business follow for example: if a leader is transactional in nature then they will be inclined to

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make profits more than taking other responsibilities of the people and the planet. There are a
number of types of theories that are developed over the years by scholar in order to understand
the style of leadership among the individuals. Some of the examples are: Transformational
Leadership, Transactional Leadership, charismatic leadership, situational theories etc. As the role
of a leader of an organization is taking decisions and implementing them, the strategies that the
leaders make in the process of business are based on the type of leader they are ((Tyssen et al.
2013). In the case of Xiaomi, the leaders are transformational in nature, therefore any decisions
that the management formulate comprises of a change in the process of product.
The leaders of Xiaomi are transformational as the company runs on the business model
where innovation and change plays are large role. The objectives of the company to focus on the
customers and be responsible towards the society and the environment are derived from the
values and principles that the leaders of the organization share (McCleskey2014). The optimistic
approach towards the business and the industry is also the culture that drives the success of the
company and the leaders play an important role in establishing the same among the people
associated with the company. The leaders of the company believe that something wonderful is
about to happen is what defines the company. There are multiple layers of leadership in the
organization which maintains the consistency and understanding in the process of business. The
leaders of each department is responsible in their own ways to run the segments, however the
style of leadership is similar as the culture of the company is based on innovation and the passion
to offer the customers with high quality products (Sethuramanand Suresh 2014).
Jun Lei is the founder, chairman and the CEO of the company; he is a man with vision
and is responsible for developing the objectives and the vision of the company (Mi.com 2018).
The values and principles of the company are also aligned with his outlook and principles. He

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has the experience of working as a leader in other IT organisations as well and through his tenure
he has learnt a number of aspects for developing Xiaomi. In 2011, he gathered all his experience
to invest in this company. He is a transformational leader as the company believes in change,
which is a major part of transformational leadership. The competitive strategy of the company is
to provide the customers with products of high quality parallel with some of the leaders in the
market in the affordable rate (Mi.com 2018). Thus, Lei invests in research and development, Lei
believes that technology has to evolve and as the company is based on technology it is only
fitting that the growth is aligned with the innovative approach not only in the products but also in
the process of business. Change management is a big part of transformational leadership as the
leader is responsible of strategizing change, communicating with the employees and ensuring
that they are committed to achieving the objectives of the company (Sethuraman and Suresh
2014). One of the major features of a transformational leader is the optimistic approach towards
change and Lei has always been optimistic towards the products he has developed and provided
the market. Focus on the product development and quality has been the central idea which has
led to this confidence in him (Mi.com 2018).
He has gathered a team of leaders to participate in the endeavor and look after the various
departments of operations. Lei is more of a transformational leader as he encourage and motivate
the subordinates to strive to innovate and make changes in the process in order. His participation
in among the team helps the subordinates to be focused in their work and achieve short term
goals at a time. Lei has gathered an experienced team to lead the organisation as he as a
transformational leader respects the talent of the other leaders (Mi.com 2018).
Other members of the management team of Xiaomi are: Bin Lin, Wanqiang Li, Feng
Hong, liu De, Wang Chuan, all these people are the co-founders and the vice president of the

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company (Mi.com 2018). These are the people who are responsible for various decisions and
policies. Wanqiang, leads the e-commerce department (Mi.com 2018), he joined the company
from the time it has been founded and has significant contribution towards the development of
the hardware and software. Similarly all the other people associated with the company also share
the values of Lei and have a positive approach towards change and bring about change in the
process of development (Mi.com 2018).
2b.Recommendation of leadership strategy that should be adopted by the
company (AC 2.2)
The above analysis shows how the leader of Xiaomi has adopted the transformational
leadership approach in running the organisation. However, here are some of the
recommendations to improve the approach as well. The leadership strategy that the company
should adapt in order to keep up with the internal and external factors of the business
environment is firstly have a visionary approach towards the operations of the business. Apart
from being motivational and ethical in nature the leaders must strategies in a way which will
make the company keep up with the innovation business model. In order to innovate and create a
product or service that is disruptive the leaders have to be far-sighted in order to understand the
requirement and scope of the future. The leaders must use their knowledge and market research
to analyzethe future expectation in order to incorporate disruptive innovation in their product and
service portfolio.
One of the most important reasons for the company to approach this is because there is
intense competition in the market. The company develops electronic goods and the flagship
product is mobile phones or smart phones. The market that the company operates in is
significantly competitive, and thus the approach of leadership should be aligned with

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encouraging innovations along with having a visionary approach towards these policies as the
repercussion of the policies as well as opportunities in the industry has to be grabbed in order to
maintain an edge over the other competitors in the market (Mora-Whitehurst 2013).
The creation of a new market and new values in the industry disrupting the existing
market is called disruptive innovation (Christensen et al. 2016). Incorporation of disruptive
innovation will help the company to attract a larger and new market which will make opportunity
for the company to grow and expand as well (King and Baatartogtokh 2015). Xiaomi has already
established that the company is focused on the customers and with a disruptive innovation idea
the company can reach out and create valuable relations with the “fans” or loyal customers. The
strategy for encouraging a disruptive innovation is suitable for Xiaomi as the leadership style that
has been identified is transformational. The leaders of the organization can motivate the research
and development and invest in a project that is disruptive in nature (Paulsen et al. 2013). (Noruzy
et al. 2013).
Visionary leadership is fitting to the concept of disruptive leadership as the innovation in
this concept has the potential of setting ground breaking bench marks in the industry (Mora-
Whitehurst 2013). A visionary leader looks out for any opportunities in the industry before they
are visible to other in order to grab this scope (Mora-Whitehurst 2013). The leaders of Xiaomi
should seek for the visionary leadership as they have the resource and capabilities of disruptive
innovation. The innovation and change strategy of the company is also aligned with this
leadership strategy. The leader of Xiaomi are all experience in their own field and thus have the
skill and potential to imitate strategies which would lead to a path breaking innovation. The
focus of the company is on the electronic good and providing the best quality at a price point
which is affordable for the target market.

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Task 3 (LO3)
3a. The requirements of current leadership with external environmental
influences(AC 3.1)
The external environment elements are not under the control of any organization thus the
dynamics of the factors have to analyze during the formulation of strategies (Choudhary et al.
2013). Thus it is important for organisations to analyze the same in order to keep the
management decisions in sync with the dynamics of the element. It is important to understand
that The target market that the company serve are people who are in the age group 18-45 and
these people are mostly independent in terms of their income as well as have are a part of the
middle income group who accept advancement of technology and like to incorporate in their
lifestyle, however does not have a lot of disposable income to spend on a mobile phone (Dhapola
2018).
In order to understand the requirements of the current leadership aligned with the external
influences it is important to analyze the external environment of the company first. PEST
analysis of the company will help in determining the external environmental factors that affect
the company (Gupta 2013).
Political: The company operates in the Asian countries like Mainland China, Hong Kong,
Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia and India. It also has its operation in the
Middle East & Africa along with Brazil (Mi.com 2018). The leader of the organization always
looks ahead to expand the market and innovate the products in order to grow. There are various
tax laws, trade barriers, labour laws etc in the countries jurisdictions which the companies have
to abide. As a leader it is the duty to understand the political conditions of a country which are

15DEVELOPING STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP SKILLS
favorable for the strategic management and policies of the company and try to expand the
operations and initiate change (Ho2014).
Economic: As the target market of the company is based on the medium income group the
company has its operations and distributions in both developed countries like mainland china and
Hong Kong etc as well as in India and Brazil where the development is on the growing trend.
The leaders are required to have a visionary approach as recommended above in order to be
prepared for any kind of changes in the economy. Based on market researches and forecasts
regarding the economy decisions should be taken (Dhapola 2018). For example: if the economy
of a country is going through a high degree of inflation then the company should focus on this
situation and take decisions which will be best in the interest of both the company as well as the
other stakeholders (Ho2014). Factors such as GDP of the country, inflation rate, employment
rate in the country as well as the minimum demand and supply of the products which the
company has to offer to the people of the country (Gupta 2013).
Societal: Acceptance of the product or service in the society is important in order to ensure that
there is demand for the product. Culture, heritage, traditions, believes, festivals are an important
part of the society in which the products of Xiaomi are available (Ho2014). The leaders of the
company should use these aspects in order to align the utility of the product and also promote the
products to suite the requirement of the customers based on the various background that Xiaomi
serves. It is an opportunity for the company to serve a wide variety of communities as they can
plan their marketing campaign accordingly (Ho2014).
Technological: The acceptance of advancement in technology is important for the company as it
runs in the electronic and technology industry (Dhapola 2018). The company is aligned with

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Google in providing the operating system and with every launch of a new mobile the company
ensures that the specifications are aligned with the upgraded version of Android. Even if the
model that has been bought previously by the customers, they enjoy the android update once it is
available (Gupta 2013). The transformational leadership approach of the company allows the
leaders to develop products which are not only advanced but are also using friendly and are
independent of other technical barriers (Dhapola 2018).
Xiaomi is an organization that has distribution and operation in the international market
and the company is also trying to expand the business further (Gupta 2013). The leaders of
Xiaomi have to adapt to the political situation of the country so that there is support from the
government in terms of expanding the business as well as proving opportunities in the process of
business. The company has been trying to enter the US market and in order to do so the current
leaders have to be in sync with the Trump Government (Haselton 2018). Understand the tax
policies and trade agreements in order to ensure the process of business is smooth. In India
Xiaomi has launched products with the Make In India campaign which is one of the flagship
project of the current Indian government and has received immense success in the process
(Dhapola 2018).
Similarly the company has to understand the dynamics of the economy of the country in
which they want to invest so that there are less chances of the failure of the venture. All the
economies in which Xiaomi has been investing is developing, thus proving the company with a
scope of placing the product in their market and keep up with the process of innovation and
development. A feature of a developing economy is the opportunities it has in terms of
acceptance of new products and new company (Gupta 2013). The leaders of the company has to
determine the income level of the people of the country where the products will be made

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available as it should be in sync with the price of the product in order to sell the items. The
leaders have to understand the dynamics of the economy and use the scope and advantages in the
process. On the other hand, the analysis should be in depth so that the threats in the economy
also can be forecasted and mitigation strategies can be implemented. The leaders should choose
their policies and develop actions which are aligned with the country’s economy for example the
wages of the workers etc. (Gupta 2013).
The dynamics of the society and technology are bound together as a technology
associated company, it is very important for the company to understand the acceptance of
development of technology in the society. The changing trends in the society impacts the needs
and requirements of the customers (Ho2014). Xiaomi is a company that focuses on the customer
feedback for improvement of their products and innovation in the product development.
Therefore, the leaders of the company has to understand the society and its trends in order to
keep up with the changes in that can be implemented in the product or process (Ho2014). The
technology that is available in the country also has to be determined and checked by the
company before investing as the infrastructure that is available in the country should be in sync
with the technology that the company will provide the customers. For example if the country do
not have provision for 4G connectivity then there is no point in developing a product for the
country with 4G facility (Ho2014).
The leaders have to stay in sync with the external business environment and develop
strategic management decisions for the development and expansion of the company. Xiaomi is
trying to set foot in the US market and in order to do that the company has to investigate the
dynamics in order to determine the right mode of entry and effective communication in order to
market the products in a desirable way (Ho2014).

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3b. Leadership required to deal with different emerging situations (AC 3.2)
A leader should be ready to face any situation in the process of operation. It is a given
fact that there will never be same situation throughout the time. The changes in the external
business environment, posses several challenges for the leader and the organization (Cheema et
al. 2015). The leaders should be ready and should also have analytical skills to forecasts and
anticipate threats (Mora-Whitehurst2013). For example a recession is a global issue that every
organization has to face, the leader should have strategic contingency plan in order to deal with
such situation. The decisions are expected to be based on ethical as well rational analysis of the
internal environment, stakeholders etc.
Fiedler explains the contingency leadership theory, which is one of the theories of
leadership that can be adapted by a leader in order to deal with challenging emerging situations.
It explains that it is important to focus on the control of a situation along with the style of
leadership as well. There are three aspects of the leader that has explained to be significant in the
process: firstly, the relationship with the leader and the member, the clarity in the process of
setting goals and developing tasks to achieve the objectives and lastly the quality of proving
rewards and penalties. This theory emphasizes on the personality of the leader than the skills that
they have acquired (Cheema et al. 2015).
A leader has to be visionary in order to deal with emerging situation; visionary leadership
is a contemporary extension of the theory of transformational leader, where the far-sighted aspect
of the style is highlighted (Mora-Whitehurst2013). A visionary leader is a person who takes
decisions even if the goal is short term, the impact of the objective will have a long term effect.
Any decisions and policies created by should have a long term impact and is also analyzed on a
long term basis. The emerging situations should be dealt with the skills of a visionary

19DEVELOPING STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP SKILLS
leader(Taylor et al. 2014). He or she should be able to analyze situations and take actions to
mitigate any risks in the process. Another major aspect is the willing to take a risk and also to
take change as a positive impact form the change (Cheema et al. 2015).
Task 4 (LO4)
4a. Development plan of leadership skills (AC 4.1)
Skill Reason Delivery mode Time
period
Measurement Comment
Communication/
Mass
Communication
Having a good
communication skill
is very important for
any organisation. In
this case the
communication is
not internal but
external. The leaders
of the company has
to connect and
communicate with
the customers and
other stakeholders.
To educate the
customers, it is
important for the
company to
educate the
customers
regarding the
products or the
services as the
customers are
sometimes
unaware of the
advantages of the
upgraded
versions of the
technology that is
provided by the
company. So that
they can
understand the
privileges that
they are getting
for the price that
they pay for the
products. Xiaomi
is a consumer
oriented company
and always
focuses on the
needs and
requirements of
the customers,
Promotion mix:
Digital platform is
the best mode of
delivery for the
skill. The company
is associated with
the latest
technology and
innovation it is
only fitting that the
company will
choose the
promotion should
be on the digital
platform. The
company has
significant presence
in the social media
circle which can be
used to promote the
products and
educate the
customers
regarding the
products and their
features. The target
market of the
company as
explained above
looks for a product
that has value
associated with it
Six
months
Communication is a
skill that either
people have to
develop in order to
make it effective. In
this case what is
recommended is that
the leaders of the
organisation should
be more upfront in
the communication
attending to the
customers and
educating them
about the products or
services. Not only
that there are a
number of times
when there is an
official
announcement of
some policy etc
Attend regular
classes with
communication
experts for the time
period to not only
educate the
customers but also
the people.
In order to measure
the progress the
This will help the leaders
to explain the people
understand the utility of
the product. It is important
for the leaders to be able
to connect with the
customers; this will also
help in achieving the
objective of creating a
valuable relation with the
customers.
Xiaomi is a customer
centric organisation and in
order to develop products
and services the company
has to align with the
customers need. The
communication skill
development of the leaders
will help the leaders to
directly communicate,
pass information and
educate the people at the
same time.

20DEVELOPING STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP SKILLS
however. It is
important for the
customers to
completely
understand the
technology in
order to align it
with the needs.
As a leader of the
company it is
essential to make
the customers
aware of the
facilities they
have and the
services that can
avail by using the
products.
therefore unless
they feel that they
are getting the right
amount of value for
their money they
will not choose the
brand over the
other competitors
in the market.
The leaders should
also play an active
part in
communicating
with the customers
on the social media
platforms. There
are a number of
followers of the
leaders of Xiaomi
on social media, the
leaders can use this
platform to connect
and communicate
with the customers
as well as other
stakeholders on a
personal level. As a
transformational
leader this would
be a positive
change in the
process of business.
Traditional
methods of market
research help in
understanding the
perspective of the
customers but by
connecting and
communicating on
a personal level the
customers feel a
part of the process
which furthermore
helps the
management to
understand their
requirements.
people should focus
on the type of
information that is
shared, the way the
information is
communicated to the
customers is
important as it
impacts the
influence on the
customers. The
feedback from the
stakeholders can be
an important
measure for the skill
development.
Another
measurement of the
success of the skill
can be understood
by the number of
views and likes and
comments of the
customers, this is
like an extension of
the first measure,
here the number or
the statistics of the
social media
platforms can help in
determining the
success and outreach
of the
communication
campaign. Since it is
associated with the
communication mix
of the company the
evaluation of the
effectiveness of the
communication plan
will also help in
understanding the
success of the skill
development plan.
Adaptability: this is
a quality in the
The leaders have
to adapt to the
This skill will be
developed by
One year This skill can be
measured with the
As Xiaomi is a relatively
new company in the

21DEVELOPING STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP SKILLS
leaders to be able to
adapt to any
situation and
incorporate changes
in order to restore
equilibrium state.
This theory can also
be called situational
leadership, where
the leader has the
quality to take
decision based on
situations.
However, in this
case the leaders in
the organisation are
transformational in
nature and this
requires the leaders
to be able to adapt to
situations and
circumstances and
take decisions for
the company as well
as for the
stakeholders of the
company.
changes in the
technology first
in order to
incorporate the
same in the
product or
process
attending
leadership
conferences and
seminars. There are
a number of
seminars and
conferences held
around the world
which has scholars
and leaders from
around the world
taking sessions
about the
leadership.
help of the ways in
which crisis or risk
is managed by the
leaders. All business
organisations are
open to certain kind
of risks the
dynamics of the
external
environment is not
under the control of
any leader of any
organisation thus,
the leaders of
Xiaomi should be
able to measure their
success in achieving
this skill with the
help of the ways in
which they deal with
the crisis situations,
the impact of the
decisions that are
taken and the ways
in which the
decisions further
impact the business.
market, the company has
be ready for a number of
challenges like expansion
in other countries,
competition in the market,
addressing the issues in
the products or services
etc. Adaptability is an
important skill among the
leaders as it helps in
helping the company cope
with difficult situations.
4b. Justification of the development plan (AC 4.2)
Technology is a large aspect in the business environment and impacts the decisions o of
the leaders in several ways. Technology can be invested in the product or in the process of
business. Adapting to the changing trends of the business can be an issue with traditional
business organizations. Xiaomi is an organization that operates in the technology industry and is
in sync with the trends of the industry. There are various departments which deal with various
kind of technical work that is required to manufacture the products. The company introduces
several aspects of their products which are upgraded regularly therefore in order to address
technological challenges the company has to ensure that the leaders are accustomed to the

22DEVELOPING STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP SKILLS
technological infrastructure of the countries where they have their operation or distribution
(Cheema et al. 2015).
One of the major technological challenges that Xiaomi can face is the lack of knowledge
among the people regarding their products. For example, if the company has introduced a feature
in the Smartphone which is unknown among the people then the utility of the added feature is
zero among the consumers as they will not understand how to use the feature or how this feature
is going to help. Therefore, the leaders have to develop mass communication skill which will
help them to address the feature and educate the people at the same time. It is important for the
leader of the company to be a spokes person for the company and its products. This is a person
upon whom the customers as well as other stakeholders can bank upon with their investment. Lei
is the CEO of the company and is present in most of the press conferences, but this is just one
way in which he interacts with the stakeholders, his ideas and views should be given a better
platform as he represents the company and is liable for the stakeholders and their vision for the
company. All the upgrades and the innovations are encouraged by the leaders and thus
communicating regarding the same with the stakeholders should also be undertaken by them at
the initial launch stage of the products. The leaders of Xiaomi should also concentrate on the
marketing of the product where people should be educated and made aware of the utility of the
features and how it will be worth the money they will be paying for the product. The leaders
should take communication class with some experts and should ensure there is continuity in the
class interval. The classes should be spanning over a period of six months. As a company that
operates in the technology industry the company does not face challenges in accepting the trends
in the technology (Cheema et al. 2015).

23DEVELOPING STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP SKILLS
Adaptability is another skill that has been chosen because it is important for the leaders to
have the skill to adapt to situations. It has been discussed that the leaders have to be dynamic in
order to keep up with the changes in the external environment. The industry in which the
company operates has a very competitive market and in order to keep an edge over the other
players in the market, the management or the leaders will have to keep adapting to the situations.
This is also aligned with the style of leadership that is observed in the organisation, a
transformational leader looks forward to change and adapting to situations would require change
and efficient change management. As comparatively new organisation, Xiaomi has observed
significant growth and success in the market the challenge is to hold the position considering the
intensity of competition.

24DEVELOPING STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP SKILLS
Conclusion
It can be concluded form the above discussion that the process of integration of
leadership with Strategic management is significant for the development and growth of the
company. Xiaomi is an organization that has captured the attention of the target market based on
the price and the quality of the products and their advanced features. The management of the
company follows transformational leadership style as they encourage change and innovation in
the process as well as in the product. The company is drive to provide the customers with the
best quality product at the lowest possible price. Operating over just a decade the company has
achieved bench mark in the process of operation and in the global market. Xiaomi can
incorporate visionary leadership style in the future in order to ensure there is a continuous flow
of production.

25DEVELOPING STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP SKILLS
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