Impact of Leadership Styles on Strategic Management: A Case Study of Photoshop Worldwide

This article analyses the impact of leadership styles on strategic management using a case study of Photoshop Worldwide. It discusses the suitability of democratic leadership style and the application of trait theory and leadership grid for the development of the organisation. The article also provides recommendations for the managers of Photoshop Worldwide to improve their leadership qualities.

Running head: MANAGEMENT
Management
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Body...........................................................................................................................................3
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................9
Reference..................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
Leadership can be considered as the bridge that binds strategic management with the
target. According to Romager et al. (2017), the existence of leadership helps organisations
gain the required tasks and targets. It is the responsibility of the management to guide the
people and resources as per the rules and values that exist. Leadership helps to set up a
direction for the people within a group. In this regard, a link can be established between the
strategic management and leadership that help in the success of an organisation.
As stated by Yahaya and Ebrahim (2016) the success of an organisation can be
associated with the skills employed by the people that align with one another. Without proper
leadership, strategic management can be formulated mainly because the long term benefit of
an organisation cannot be made without any efficient leaders in the business. Effective
strategic management and leadership skills help in setting up a sensible direction to an
organisation in terms of allocation of resources and setting up of goals.
As a result of this an understanding of the leadership theories can be taken into
consideration so that a clear idea can be made about the leadership choices. One such theory
that can be used is the behavioural theory. According to Anderson and Sun (2017), this
theory states that leaders tend to take actions based on the requirements and expectations
from them. The behaviour of the leader makes them different from other team members and
based on this impact is build on the leadership style that exists.
Along with the behavioural theory, trait theory can also be implemented for
understanding the physical traits required for being a successful leader. It has been pointed
out by Arnold et al. (2015) that most leaders do not possess the traits of adaptability,
aggression and persistence that are required for success. Trait theory helps to understand the
characteristics among the individuals so that a suitable leader can be selected for the
organisation. In this regard, an outline of the form of leadership styles can be identified with
the most common forms being the autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire leadership styles.
According to Bolman and Deal (2017), leadership styles have a mixed impact on the
management as well as the strategic decision of an organisation. For example, in the case of
autocratic leadership, the leaders decide about the strategies without taking any consent from
the team members. This has a negative impact mainly because the members feel left out and

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feels de-motivated to work in the organisation. However, in the case of democratic leadership
style, the leaders take into account the opinion of the members associated with the
organisation. As stated by Tannenbaum and Schmidt (2017) this helps members to remain
motivated in the business and improve upon the performance that can help in the
development of the company.
Therefore, the positive impact of the democratic leadership style can help in the
development of an organisation and the strategic decision can be made by selecting the best
option provided by the group members. As stated by Antonakis and Day (2017) the laissez-
faire leadership style provides excess freedom to the members to decide upon the manner in
which they can make decisions and continue with the development of an organisation. This
can have a negative impact on the strategic decision of an organisation mainly because the
unprecedented decisions can be taken by the employees that may hamper the growth of the
organisations.
Leadership styles can be used in different situations based on the requirements of the
organisation. As stated by Klenke (2016) every situation requires the application of different
styles that can be effective in mitigating the situations. For example, democratic leadership
style can be undertaken while trying to lead from the front. It becomes the responsibility of
the leaders to identify the situation in which leading with an example need to be undertaken.
On the other hand, it is also necessary to set examples for the team members in the case of
working on critical tasks. Leaders need to provide their expertise about a particular task so
that members can respond to the situation accordingly.
The focus of the assignment is to identify the current leadership style that is suitable
for a company. Case study example of a company like Photoshop Worldwide is undertaken to
identify the impact different leadership styles have on the development of the company.
Theories associated with leadership are taken into account for understanding the impact of
leadership on the strategic management of the organisation.
Body
The current leadership style that is apparent in the case study is the democratic
leadership style. As stated by Lussier and Achua (2015) democratic leadership provides team
members with a more participative goal about the decision-making process of an
organisation. It is essential that every member in an organisation be given proper

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opportunities to express their views so that they can develop and grow in the business.
However, it is necessary to understand that despite the participation of the members, the
leaders hold a final say in the ultimate decision that is taken in a team. Democratic leaders
also take decisions regarding the contribution made by the groups (Covin & Slevin, 2017).
In the case of the Photoshop Worldwide, the company need to undertake democratic
leadership style so that it can provide the required support to the employees. As seen from the
case study, employees associated with the company can relive the dream that they have. As
evidenced from the words of Leow Wee John, Photoshop Worldwide can help him to create
books and publish it. The manner in which every responsibility was divided between the
employees prove the fact that the company believes in division of work and providing extra
responsibility to every member that is associated in a team.
At the same time, it has been seen that the manner in which Photoshop Worldwide
managers treat its employees point to the fact that the company believes in the adoption of
democratic leadership style for business purpose. As stated by Ansoff et al. (2019) the
application of democratic leadership style can help employees maintain a balance between
the work life and personal life. This is evidenced from the fact that Photoshop Worldwide
maintain a stable balance between the families and the employees. At the same time, the
company also provides appropriate training facilities to the employees so that they can
contribute to the development of the company.
In this regard, an understanding of the suitability and the appropriate nature of the
leadership style can be made, that can benefit Photoshop Worldwide. Doz (2017) identified
the characteristics that can be related to democratic leadership. The assessment of the
suitability of the leadership can be attributed only if the leaders associated with Photoshop
Worldwide can fulfil the characteristics related to the development of the company and
employees. One such characteristic is to encourage every team member to share ideas. As
seen from the words of Leow Wee John, the creativity of the people is welcomed in the
company. From the case study a desire of Leow Wee John, to publish own book is provided
which signifies the nature of leniency that is provided to the employees.
Such leniency can be attributed to the characteristic of democratic leadership style in
which leaders provide opportunities to the employees to take decisions. At the same time,
Hill (2017) stated that members associated with a group can feel engaged with one another.
From the case study it is seen that the company likes to spend time with every candidate so

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that they can be an asset for the organisation. This can provide in building up engagement
with the employees before being pushed in a team. Hence, Photoshop Worldwide can
contribute towards the development of the team with the bonding of the team members.
Apart from this, it is already evidenced from the case study that employees are
provided with an opportunity to create encouraging idea. The company provides
opportunities for every member to continue with the development of creative ideas so that the
growth of the company can be ensured. As stated by Wheelen et al. (2017) creative ideas help
in identifying the manner in which a balance in the mentality of the short term and long term
goal of the company can be maintained. Hence, it can be said that Photoshop Worldwide can
grow in the operations of the firm with help from the contribution made by the employees.
Hence, based on the analysis of the case study it can be said that Photoshop
Worldwide can develop in the industry by the application of democratic leadership. The
strategic decision that is undertaken by the company is done by the help from the employees.
The democratic leaders need to posses and apply these characteristics that can help in the
development of the creativity of the employees. As stated by Lasserre (2017) the strong
democratic leaders can provide Photoshop Worldwide with an opportunity to live up to its
name in the hopes that the company and the employees thieve for success in the competing
environment.
After analysing the suitability of the form of leadership it is necessary to apply the
theories associated with leadership in order to understand the suitability of the practises
required for the development of Photoshop Worldwide. The application of trait theory can be
associated with the development of the company and the leadership forms that can be
associated with it. As stated by Morden (2016) it is necessary to understand the leaders that
are born with the trait to continue with leading an organisation. The trait theory helps in
understanding the application of the leadership traits and the manner in which Photoshop
Worldwide can continue with its development.
It has been seen that the application of trait theory can be associated with the
development of certain characteristics among the leader. One such characteristic can be the
development of physical traits, intelligence traits as well as social characteristics. Leadership
motivation helps in the development of confidence among the employees. According to
Michael, Storey and Thomas (2017), understanding of the business is necessary for the
development of an organisation. In the case of Photoshop Worldwide, the employees need to

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understand the manner in which estimation can be made about the approach to the leadership
techniques so that trait theory can be used as per the characteristics of the employees.
The reason behind the application of this particular theory in the case of Photoshop
Worldwide is the fact that non-leaders may possess the characteristics required for the
development of an organisation. From the case study it can be seen that most of the
employees aim to be creative and engage in the development of the theoretical concepts that
can be associated with the development of the company. For example, the division of the
work load of the employees can provide the company with an opportunity to understand the
issues that are faced within the company. Hence, as stated by Morschett, Schramm-Klein and
Zentes (2015) the development of the trait theory can help in the development of an
organisation by identifying the suitable employee with the leadership traits.
In this regard, the application of a leadership grid can be taken into account for the
development of Photoshop Worldwide and for improving the strategic managerial decision
making activity of the organisation. According to Frynas and Mellahi (2015), a leadership
grid relates the behaviours that are made by the leaders and are basically of two types that
included the task orientation and the relationship orientation. The task orientation involves
identifying the achievement of the employees in terms of monitoring and rewarding the
employees. On the other hand, relationship behaviour ensures that every employee feel good
about working in an organisation and the manner in which working conditions can be used in
an effective manner.

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Figure: Leadership grid
(Source: Lasserre, 2017)
The leadership grid involves five dimensions in which employees can be placed based
on the manner they which they provide productivity to the organisation. In the case of
Photoshop Worldwide, the application of the leadership grid can be useful in order to
understand the manner in which the company concerns about the people and the concern of
the production. As stated by Hanson et al. (2016) the leadership grid is useful to understand
the wants of the company along with the leaders. Along with this, the grid can help in
understanding the leaders that require more focus in the development of its characteristics.
From the figure an explanation of the different traits of the leaders are made and
based on the analysis, it can be seen that for Photoshop Worldwide, the appropriate
leadership element that can be developed for the organisation is the team management.
According to Trigeorgis and Reuer (2017), team management trait takes into account the
productivity of an organisation as well as remains concern about the people. From the
analysis of the case study, it has been seen that Photoshop Worldwide tries to balance the
work life and the family life of the employees. This provides evidence that the organisation
takes care of the workers and ensures that the workers get to spent substantial family time for
the development of social relationships.

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Therefore, based on the analysis of the case study an assessment about the
experiences within the organisation can be made. The fact that Photoshop Worldwide takes
into account the behaviour of the employees makes the company one of the best in the
business. According to Albers et al. (2017), experiences of the employees can help in the
development of an organisation. In the case of Photoshop Worldwide, the leadership styles
that are adopted by the organisation highlights the care it takes to ensure the enhancement of
employee productivity as well as the work that is conducted in the organisation.
Therefore, an analysis of the requirements within the organisation also needs to be
taken into account so that Photoshop Worldwide can continue with the development of the
employees. According to Bettis et al. (2016), it is necessary to develop leadership qualities
that can help in the development of an organisation and the leaders that provide guidance to
the employees. In this regard, a form of recommendation can be provided to the managers of
Photoshop Worldwide so that they can improve upon the characteristics they possess for
handling the firm in a better manner. Qualities such as honesty and integrity are required to
develop the trust of the employees by guiding the employees with the right opportunity in the
business.
Honesty and integrity can help in the development of the employees with the view
that they can continue with earning the trust of the leaders. For example, Leow can be honest
about the manner in which the books published have received feedback. According to Engert,
Rauter and Baumgartner (2016), honesty and integrity of a leader can have a positive
influence in the development of an organisation mainly because it can help in inspiring others
about the competence that is possessed in the business. Along with this, the leadership quality
needs to pertain the effectiveness of the business organisations with definite improvement
about the integrity of the business.
At the same time, commitment and passion is also required from the leaders.
According to Romager et al. (2017), the passion of the leaders help in the development of the
work of an organisation and based on the manner of applying the effectiveness of the team
leaders. In the case, it can be said that for Photoshop Worldwide, development of
commitment and passion within the organisation can help in the development of proper work.
Therefore, the passionate productivity that is longed by the organisation is taken into account
by the development of commitment towards the organisation. For Photoshop Worldwide,

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commitment towards creativity can help in setting the same for the development of the work
activities within the organisation and help to build proper work culture in the organisation.
Conclusion
Therefore, it can be concluded that for the development of Photoshop Worldwide, the
application of trait theory as well as democratic leadership can help in the development of the
organisation. The justification based on the application of trait theory as well as the
democratic leadership style can be attributed to the fact that the company requires to be
compassionate towards the employees with the intention of earning the highest productivity.
In this regard, it can be said that the source of recruitment that requires to be adopted by the
company also need to be taken into account. This is mainly because the recruitment process
helps in the development of suitable candidates which can enhance the contribution of the
organisation.
Evidence from the case study, point to the fact that Photoshop Worldwide takes care
of the candidates that it intends to hire. This is mainly because the company aims to maintain
a proper balance between the short term mentality of a candidate as well as the long term
mentality of the candidates. This helps in the development of strategic decision of a company
that also includes the changes that are required. Different opportunities can be provided to the
people so that a chance can be got at growing in the company. Along with this, it is necessary
that the managers and the leaders trust the business instinct it has so that it can continue with
the development of the creativity that highlights the organisation.
Therefore, it can be said that the leadership skills and qualities that are required for
the promotion of the company at a next level need to be taken into account by the managers
of Photoshop Worldwide. Without proper assessment of the candidate, it can be difficult for
developing strategic management within an organisation. The application of democratic style
of leadership can help Photoshop Worldwide, to develop authenticity in the creativity
department and hope that long term objectives of the organisation can be attained in a proper
manner. The application of trait theory also helps Photoshop Worldwide to understand the
suitable leadership style necessary for the organisation. The source of recruitment of these
leaders is from the internal sources since promotion is provided to the employees that are
capable of taking the responsibility of leadership.

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