Integrative Leadership: A Case Study of BlueScope Steel Ltd.

This paper examines the leadership challenges faced by BlueScope Steel Ltd., a leading steel producer. It analyzes the company's recent performance decline, including a 20% drop in share price and an ACCC investigation. The paper explores various leadership theories, including trait theory, situational theory, transactional theory, and transformational theory, to understand the factors contributing to the company's leadership issues. It also provides recommendations for improving leadership effectiveness and enhancing the company's overall performance.

Integrative Leadership Paper
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Part 1: Leadership Problem.............................................................................................................4
Part 2: Literature Review.................................................................................................................7
Part 3: Lessons Learned.................................................................................................................10
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
Reference:......................................................................................................................................13
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Introduction
It is essential for the development and the growth of the organisation that there are skilled,
experienced and knowledge management which manages and organises the operations and the
functions of the organisation. This also includes the significance of the leaders in an organisation
as they are responsible for leading the organisation to achieve its goals or objectives. This report
is based on the issues faced by BlueScope Steel Ltd in relation to the leadership of the
organisation. This report includes identifying the issues and the reasons for the rise of the issues
in the selected organisation. A literature review of the leaders, its duties, responsibilities, and the
desired qualities is done in this report along with providing the information for various
approaches or theories explaining the concept of leadership. Recommendations are also the part
of this report which is made for the enhancement of the skills of the labor, productivity, and
image of the firm.
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Part 1: Leadership Problem
The organisation taking into consideration for this assignment is BlueScope Steels Ltd. This
organisation is one of the producers of steel which operates its business in Australia, New
Zealand, Asia and other nations (BlueScope Steels Ltd, 2018). It was founded in the year of 2002
and has its headquarters in Melbourne, Australia. The organisation is known for supplying the
products of flat steel which are sold in the market of Australia and New Zealand. The products of
the company include hot rolled rods, Zincalume, steel slab, steel plate, etc. which is used in
suburban houses, building of landmarks or its structures and are also utilised in cars.
In the recent times, the share price of the organisation was down by 20% as the company
presented the report for the financial year 2017 and generated net profit after tax amounting
$715.9 Million which is more than 112% than the profits of the previous year. Moreover, the
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) have also issued a statement that it
will be conducting an investigation on the company about its involvement in a potential cartel to
distribute the product of the organisation in the Australian Market in the year 2013-14 (Jacobs,
2017). Following the investigation, the Chief Executive Officer of the company announced his
resignation.
(Source: Jacobs, S, 2017).
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There are various reasons due to which the organisation is facing such troubles which is related
to the leadership and management. These causes failure in terms of leadership in the company
and these reasons are as follows:
Costing: It is well known that there are various processes through which the raw material is
required to be passed and to get converted into the final and finished products. The process of the
converting the raw material into the finished product includes the cost of various factors. This
includes the labor cost, running of heavy machinery resulting in high usage of electricity, water,
etc, raw material. The rejected products again go through such processes which increases the cost
as well as wastage of time.
Low Utilisation of Potential: It has been seen that the companies operating its business in the
steel and iron industry are unable to make proper utilisation which is caused due to the energy
crisis, incompetency of administration and other uncertain events like a strike. This could be
explained with the help of an example of the BlueScope Steel as in the year of 2011, Blast
Furnace No. 6 at Port Kembla was shut down which reduces the capacity of the production of the
plant by 50%.
Unavailability of the Raw Material: It must be noted that the companies are unable to get raw
material from the local or domestic supplier as it is unavailable or it is available in low
quantities. While facing such issues, the company imports the raw material from a different
nation, the cost of which may fluctuate due to the differences in the foreign exchange rates
(Mabey & Knights (Eds.), 2017). Chinese steel industry provides the raw material at low cost but
now the government has put a tax at the rate of 25% on the Chinese steel raw material.
Unskilled Labour: In the current time, the organisation is facing the shortfall in the number of
skilled labor which is able to perform the work or the task assigned effectively and efficiently.
Due to this, the organisation faces issues in timely completion of the work.
Innovation in Technology: There is no innovation in the adoption of technology as the
company is using old technology which uses more energy, raw material, power, etc. It is
essential that the organisation must adopt new technology that will help in energy saving, cost
saving, and time-saving (Daft, 2014).
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It is necessary that the managers and the leaders of the company make decisions effectively and
efficiently taking into consideration all the factors that may affect the growth and the
development of the company. The operations of the BlueScope Steel are shown below:
(Source: Sandon Capital, 2015)
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Part 2: Literature Review
Leadership is an old concept which is defined by various authors but the most general and simple
definition of the leadership is that it is an art of inspiring the people. Taking into consideration
the aspect of the company, it can be defined as the art of inspiring the workforce of the company
in such a way which leads their efforts directly to the organisational goals or the objectives. It is
one of the most significant factors for the growth and development of the organisation. It can
also be defined as the combinations of various skills, qualities, and characteristics which
influence the people to follow the person leading them and such professional is known as
"Leader" (Uzohue, et., al., 2016). It is stated that leadership is such an art which can only be
inherited or learned by constant practice or by mentoring or coaching. It is also said that only
such leaders can be successful who are born leaders i.e. the since the birth, there are certain
qualities or traits which are inherited which are the qualities or traits of a leader. But as stated
before that it can be learned. This can be understood with the example of a successful and world-
renowned leader i.e. Bill Gates. He faced various failures at the start of his career but due to
continuing efforts, innovation and passion he established Microsoft which is the leading
company in the software industry. In the old times, the leadership was limited to the prevention
of the error in the plan or the processes and the complying with applicable laws whereas in the
present times, the scope of leadership has been broadening and now leadership focuses on
maintaining the operating activities of the organisation, its growth, development of the
workforce, inspiring the workforce to perform appropriately as per the set standard and directing
their efforts to the achieve the organisational goals (Johnson, 2017). The role of leaders also
includes the maintaining proper relationship with the workforce as well as with the stakeholders.
There are various approaches and theories which are adopted by the leader as per the
circumstances of the business environment for making sure that the organisational goals or
objectives are accomplished. One of the key theories of the leadership is the "Trait Theory". As
per this theory, it is based on the assumption of that an individual is a born leader and it is also
believed that there are certain traits and qualities which are possessed by the person and it is
considered that such person will be a successful leader. Under this theory, identification of
various characteristics based on the behavior of the person that is commonly found in successful
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leaders is done (Germaine, 2012). This theory also provides the answers to the question that
"Why some individuals are successful leaders and why others are not". The trail of the concept of
trait theory starts from the nineteenth century, where "Thomas Caryle" understood and identify
the skills, traits, qualities, and talent along with the failure of such people who were successful.
There are various traits which are found common in the traits of the leadership such as: good
communication skills of the person which influences the people to follow him/her, good and
effective decision maker and such decision must take into consideration the interest of the
workforce and the stakeholders, emotional intelligence i.e. such person must be able to control
the emotions at the right time, confidence, flexibility, such person must be a risk taker, etc.
There are various significant theories which are adopted by the leaders for influencing the
workforce and accomplishing the aims of the organisation. One of the most significant theories
adopted by the leaders is the situational theory which is adopted by the leaders for accomplishing
the goals and the objectives of the organisation. In this theory of leadership, there are various
factors which are to be considered while formulating a plan or implementation of such plan, or
while making any other decision. As per this theory, it is stated that the desires or the wants of
the workforce of the organisation have to be considered by the leader and the leadership style are
to be adopted accordingly. The business environment is unpredictable and it is necessary that the
changes in such environment must be dealt with. It is also stated that the plans or the objectives
of the organisation are changed and it is essential to meet the changes by the leaders which also
includes redirecting the workforce towards the modified objectives (Colbert, et., al., 2012).
Another theory which can be adopted by the leaders of maintaining the operations of the
organisation and to accomplish the goals is Transactional Theory. As per this theory, it is stated
that at the time of workload or more production of the products or goods, it is stated that at such
time, the workforce could be motivated or encouraged by incentive, rewards or implementing the
punishment policies. However, the only drawback of this theory is that the management thinks
that the person can be motivated only by mere money or rewards and the performance of the
workforce will be enhanced. Another theory is a Transformational theory which means that the
leadership style must be changed with the change in time i.e. as now organisations operate in the
global market, leadership style must also be adopted accordingly (Mittal, 2012).
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In the case of BlueScope Steels Ltd, it has been seen that the leaders of the company failed to
maintain and organise the operation and the functions of the organisation. It is understandable
that it is difficult to manage the operating activities of the organisation if it operates its business
in the market of different countries. However, at the same, it is also essential that there must be
the continuous growth of the organisation. But in the case of BlueScope Steels Ltd inadequate
efforts of the management which includes the leaders also lead towards the fall in share price by
20%. It is the duty of the leader to make an appropriate decision which is beneficial for the
organisation as well as the personnel related to it. Leaders are also considered as a risk taker,
however, at the same time, it is necessary that such risk must be calculated and must be taken
with a view of the growth of the company.
As per discussion made above, it is necessary that with the change in market conditions and
other related factors, the style of the leadership must be changed accordingly. It is suggested that
the leaders of the BlueScope Steels Ltd must adopt the situational theory of leadership to deal
with the change in the market situation and trend.
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Part 3: Lessons Learned
It can be clearly seen that various theories are discussed above which can be adopted by the
leaders of BlueScope Steels Ltd. One of these theories includes the adoption of the leadership
style as per the transformational theories. As it is a theory which is formulated in accordance
with the current market situations, the leadership style as per this theory focuses on enhancing
the performance of the workforce so that the goals of the individual as well as an organisation
can be achieved within a stipulated period of time. It also enhances the effectiveness of the
management as it broadens the vision of the organisation and helps in establishing the adequate
communication channels which leads to an easy exchange of the information and data within the
organisation or between the different departments of the organisation (Allen, 2014). As with the
change in time, the situation of the market and the people also changes, it is necessary that the
policies and the plans are made in accordance with the time. It must be understood by the
management of the BlueScope Steels Ltd that the success of the organisation depends upon the
performance of the worker, therefore, it is necessary that the workers are motivated or encourage
properly. This also includes sharing information with the workforce so that it is easier to
communicate the change in plans or objectives of the company (Mittal, 2012). This also helps in
generating trust and believes in the eye of workers for the organisation and this motivates the
employees for working more effectively and efficiently.
Another theory which must be adopted by the management of the BlueScope Steels Ltd is a
situational theory. As per this theory, it is more suitable that the leader of the organisation must
adopt the situational leadership style. It means that the decisions of the leaders must be made in
accordance with the change in situations i.e. change in internal and external factors which
influences the operations and the functions of the organisation (Amanchukwu, et., al., 2015).
Due to such style of the leadership, the employees or the workers of the organisations are
motivated as per the workload. Meanwhile, the organisation must focus on the enhancing or
develop the skills of the employees so that the productivity of the employees is increased and
employees can contribute more towards accomplishing the goals of the organisation. For this,
training programmes or sessions must be organised by the company from time to time so that the
employees or the workers can understand the working condition as well the current market
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scenario. This also includes providing training for possessing the skills for understanding the
skills for operating or working with new technology.
There various other theories or style which can be adopted by the leaders of BlueScope Steels
Ltd such as participative leadership style. As per this style, the opinions or the suggestion from
the employees or the workers are invited so that decision can be made by taking the interest of
the workforce. This provides a feeling of recognition in the organisation to the worker and they
get motivated automatically. For the success of the organisation, it is required that the wants of
the workforce must be satisfied and they must be included while making big decisions.
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Conclusion
From the study made above in relation to leadership, it is concluded that the significant role is
played by the leaders in the success of the organisation. It is the leader who is responsible for the
inspiring and influencing the workforce and directs their efforts towards the accomplishment of
the set goals and the objectives of the organisation. The failure of the leaders of BlueScope
Steels Ltd is mentioned in this report. There is a number of theories, leadership styles which can
be adopted by the leaders of BlueScope Steels Ltd. based on the situations of the market and the
requirement of the workforce.
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Reference:
 Allen, J., (2014). Situational, Transformational, and Transactional Leadership and
Leadership Development. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, vol. 5, issue 4, pp. 1-14.
 Amanchukwu, R., Stanley, R. & Ololube, N. (2015). A Review of Leadership Theories,
Principles and Styles and Their Relevance to Educational Management. Scientific and
academic publishing, vol. 5(1), pp. 6-14.
 BlueScope Steels Ltd. (2018). Our Company. Available at:
http://www.bluescopesteel.com.au/our-company. [Accessed: 08.06.2018]
 Colbert, A., Judge, T. & Choi, D. (2012). Assessing the trait theory of leadership using
self and observer ratings of personality: The mediating role of contributions to group
success. Elsevier, vol. 23, issue 4, pp. 670- 685
 Daft, R.L. (2014). The leadership experience. Cengage Learning.
 Germaine, M. (2012). Traits and skills theories as the nexus between leadership and
expertise: Reality or fallacy? Wiley online library [Online]. Available at:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pfi.21265/abstract. [Accessed: 08.06.2018].
 Jacobs, S. (2017). BlueScope is being investigated, its CEO has resigned and shares are
down 20%. Business Insider Australia. Available at:
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/bluescope-steel-shares-are-getting-smoked-2017-8.
[Accessed: 08.06.2018]
 Johnson, W. (2017). Theories on Leadership Management. Chron [Online]. Available at:
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/theories-leadership-management-43407.html. [Accessed:
08.06.2018].
 Mabey, C., & Knights, D. (Eds.). (2017). Leadership Matters: Finding Voice, Connection
and Meaning in the 21st Century. Routledge.
 Mittal, R. (2012). Charismatic and Transformational Leadership Styles: A Cross-Cultural
Perspective. International Journal of Business and Management, Vol. 10, issue. 3, pp. 1-
8.
 Sandon Capital. (2015). Bluescope Steels Ltd. Available at:
http://www.sandoncapital.com.au/site/images/pdfs/1506_Sandon_BSL_AU_presentation.
pdf. [Accessed: 08.06.2018]
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 Uzohue, C., Yaya, J. & Akintayo, O. (2016). A Review of Leadership Theories,
Principles, Styles and their Relevance to Management. Journal of Educational Leadership
and Policy, vol. 1, issue 1, pp. 17-16.
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