Leadership Styles and Company Transformation

This assignment analyzes the leadership styles of Satya Nadella (Microsoft) and Steve Jobs (Apple) and their influence on company transformation. It compares Nadella's approach with traditional models like laissez-faire and explores how Jobs' visionary leadership led to Apple's resurgence. The assignment utilizes case studies, articles, and scholarly works to understand the complexities of leadership in dynamic business environments.

Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
P1: Compare different organizational examples where there has been an impact of change on an
organization’s strategy and operations.........................................................................................................3
P2: Evaluate the ways in which internal and external drivers of change affect leadership, team and
individual behaviors within an organization................................................................................................4
P3: Evaluate measures that can be taken to minimize negative impacts of change on organizational
behavior.......................................................................................................................................................6
P4: Explain different barriers for change and determine how they influence leadership decision-making in
a given organizational context.....................................................................................................................7
P5: Apply different leadership approaches to dealing with change in a range of organizational contexts. 10
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................10
References.................................................................................................................................................12

Introduction
Organizational change can be defined as the technique by which management structures as well
as business processes can be reviewed and modified so as to be in tune with new situations and
market environment. There is often a need to induce deep organizational change so as to
maintain the overall competitive edge over rivals. The present study has thus laid emphasis on
discussing the change in leadership that took place in Microsoft and Apple. Microsoft
corporation is an American multinational firm that is known for selling computer software’s and
other services. It is the largest software maker of the world in terms of revenue (Langone, Key
and Alder, 2014). In the similar lines, Apple is also an American multinational firm that designs,
develops as well as sales computer software, hardware and similar services. It has been regarded
as largest information Technology Company of the world as per revenue figures (Bryant, 2014).
The present research thus discusses one of the changes that took place in the organisations so as
to assess how the change created an impact on the strategies and overall operations of the above
mentioned firms. This is followed by assessing the internal/external drivers to change and how
they affected overall leadership, team as well as employee behaviours. Focus has also been given
on assessing barriers to change and how the impact can be reduced to minimum.
P1: Compare different organizational examples where there has been an impact of change
on an organization’s strategy and operations.
The present section discusses the organizational change in leadership that took place in both the
companies being Apple and Microsoft. Apple Company was in a great difficulty during 1996 as
Mac product line launched in mid 1990s was very complex. There was further great hardware
confusion in an effort to create modern mac operating system. Most importantly, there was a
need to introduce modern operating system for the company (Kodama, 2017). It was the time
when Apple has just a few months of cash left in the bank. The firm nearly attained the state of
bankruptcy as it stood still and was not ready to innovate. Although the officials tried to invest
heavily in the research and development areas but there was absence of any output. It
differentiation had eroded to a great extent especially with respect to Microsoft company
(Golson, 2011).

The company then underwent a drastic change in the year 1997 when Steve Jobs joined the
company as interim CEO that soon became a permanent position. The company asked for and
also received 150 million dollar investment from Bill gates and the money was then used to
increase the advertising activities and highlighting those products that were offered by Apple
(Mitchell, 2014). Jobs at that time was further aware about the fact that future growth was
needed by Apple and need was to create products that was wanted by the consumers and the one
that would appeal to the mass market. This led to discontinuation of Macintosh series which then
needed a replacement. This resulted in creation of iMac which was a high performance computer
designed by Jobs and Jonathan Ive that gave the company a much needed hit with selling of
800000 units in the very first 5 months after the launch (Beleaguered: Apple Bottoms Out, 1996
to 1998, 2017). It was an extraordinary vision as well as leadership style that saved Apple and
guided the firm to become one of the most innovative technology companies in the world.
Microsoft had experienced a phenomenal success by its operating system and office
products but started struggling in the year 2013. Due to turf of war between its various units that
acted more like competitors than partners of the same firm. The lack of innovation led the
company attain stagnant growth and it was undertaken by compactors like Google and Apple.
Microsoft had maintained a good legacy in Silicon Valley but there was c need to bring changes
in the strategy so as to be able to compete with counterparts such as Apple (Palmer, 2017). It
was only after the joining of Satya Nadella as the CEO in the year 2014 that a major
restructuring took within the company as he gave new set of goals to the employees being
reinventing the productivity and overall business processes of Microsoft; building an intelligent
cloud platform followed by creating personal computing (Brunett and et.al., 2014). During the
same time Satya Nadella even merged the Microsoft Research Group so as to create a new AI
and Research Group.
P2: Evaluate the ways in which internal and external drivers of change affect leadership,
team and individual behaviors within an organization.
Leadership can be defined as a practical skill that encompasses the ability of a person to
lead, direct as well as guide the employees, team and the entire firm (Ximénez and Sanz, 2014).
The concept aids in creating a future vision for employees and also motivates them to get
engaged with the vision. It thus brings together that skill set which is needed to attain the
objectives of the company. In this regard, there is a presence of various internal and external

drivers of change in both Microsoft as well as Apple. In case of Microsoft, the internal drivers to
change are inclusive of internal problems in organization that was faced in different units and a
requirement to bring in innovation in its product and service offerings (Langone, Key and Alder,
2014). While external drivers that led to restructuring were an urgent need to survive in
competitive environment so as to be in par with firms like Google and Apple followed by
attaining enhanced growth and profitability figures. In case of Apple, Internal drivers of change
has been an urgent need to innovate and attain growth while external drivers included need for
new technology and meeting up the demand of consumer by providing an easy to understand
hardware component (Ximénez and Sanz, 2014).The drivers of change as discussed for
Microsoft as well as Apple has put a huge impact on leadership, team as well as individual
behavior within both the firms. These are as follows;
The internal and external drivers of change within Microsoft led to change in leadership
as well as he focused more on its employees so that they can achieve more and more. Prior to the
process of change the employees basically lacked a positive sense of purpose within the
organization that had created a set of dissatisfaction and low morale in them. The change aided
the leaders to provide the employees with the sense that there work had real meaning to the
organization as well as themselves (Easter and Brooks, 2017). Within just a few days the
employees were able to assimilate themselves into the new culture. The staff members started
working with more compassion and energy and had positive feelings about the things around
them. Nadella further encouraged innovation with the employees in such a manner that there was
a start of free idea flow within the company. The drivers to change further impacted the
individual and team behavior as the employees who were in competitive spirit in different units
of Microsoft feared for their loss of position and power authority. But the need for innovation
made the team members feel that they were free to express their ideas and opinion. Also the
concept of engagement undertaken by Nadella further made the employees embrace change
drivers in a positive manner (Brunett and et.al., 2014).
The drivers to change also affected the leadership style in Apple as Steve Jobs became
extremely focused to the work so as to clear confusion about hardware system and streamlined
the team members in such a manner that they were able to achieve the best from just four
systems (McCray, Gonzalez and Darling, 2011). His leadership further introduced an innovative
knack within the employees that led to creation of revolunitary products such as iPod portable

digital audio player, Apple iTunes among others (Fell, 2011). The drivers to change further
impacted the individual and team behavior as employees under the leadership of Steve jobs
started to work on making an easy to understand hardware which was greatly possible under the
focused approach adopted by Steve jobs. However the leadership style of jobs further made the
employees develop fear towards the unknown (Ximénez and Sanz, 2014). This was particularly
applicable to not so competent employees who started getting anxious about their job safety.
P3: Evaluate measures that can be taken to minimize negative impacts of change on
organizational behavior
Various measures can be taken by Apple as well as Microsoft it if wishes to minimize the
negative impacts of change brought in management on the overall organizational behavior.
These are as follows;
Involving employees in change process – it is very essential to involve the staff members with
respect to any change that is taking place in the organization. This can be done by ensuring that
there is a presence of effective communication channel in contrast to a negative informal one.
This will make the employees better off while they deal with the change. This strategy was
adopted by Satya Nadella on his first day as a CEO of Microsoft company. He did this by writing
an open email to the employees’ clarifying the purpose of his presence and where how he wants
to change the company for the better (Brunett and et.al., 2014). Effective delegation in this
regard can be the strategy which can be undertaken during initial change process by the
management. This will indulge a sense of involvement in the employees and also make them
share responsibility for change.
Taking meeting and interview sessions – it is very essential for the management as well as the
supervisor at Microsoft as well as Apple to understand the overall feelings of employee with
respect to changes brought in the firm then only the issues faced by them can be addressed. This
can be done by interviewing those employees personally who are not happy with the change.
There fears, need and concerns can then be worked upon.
Raise levels of expectations – The expectation about employee performance is required to be
raised as lot of work happens during change process. But the managers at Apple and Microsoft
should also understand that realistic goals are kept for the employees so that they are not
frustrated and fear failure (Langone, Key and Alder, 2014). This is most likely to happen as
employees during the process of change alter their work pattern hence need time to set with the

newly formed habits. In this regard, the management can give a little push to employees for
working in a hard and smart manner thereby raising their overall expectation level in terms of
performance.
Asking for employee commitments - negative impacts of change can be minimized to a great
extent if personal commitment is asked by supervisors of Apple and Microsoft from the
employees. An increased assurance should also be given to the employees that there problems
will be heard as well as worked upon.
Maintain good channels of communication – It is very essential for management team at Apple
and Microsoft to ensure that employees are completely informed and also have access to the
relevant answers (Ximénez and Sanz, 2014). The supervisors as well as managers are required to
be careful listeners, specific in there data and also clear up the rumors as well as misinformation.
Maintaining positive attitude towards change - Impact of change can be minimized greatly if the
management keeps a positive attitude towards the changes. This was done by Nadella as he made
the employees increase their belief about overall future of Microsoft which was never done
before by Bill gates or Steve (David, 2017). Hence managers and supervisors should maintain a
positive approach, be enthusiastic and keep on motivating the employees. Compensation can also
be given to the employees if they give extra efforts such as suggesting great ideas for innovation
in technology or render increased support to the fresher among others.
Training sessions -Training and development activities can be undertaken for the employees so
as to make them new skills. This will further give them more time to prepare for change and it
will be easier for them to transit into new roles.
Thus if all or few of the above mentioned strategies is followed by the organizations then the
negative impact caused account of organizational changes can be minimized to a great extent.
The need here is to ensure that strategies are as per the needs and requirement of the changes.
P4: Explain different barriers for change and determine how they influence leadership
decision-making in a given organizational context.
Different barriers for change and their impact on leadership and decision making within
Microsoft can be understood with the help of Force field analysis. The change to be introduced
in Microsoft is with respect to merging a few units performing similar functions into one. The
goal or vision for change was to reduce the clashes that were taking place between different units
followed by providing the employees with a better work culture. This was followed by

reinventing the business processes of the company, creating personal computing as well as an
intelligent cloud platform. The internal forces of change in this context was competitive rather
than collaborative approach between different units of Microsoft, decrease in team morale, an
urge to increase profitability of the company and the need to induce innovation. External drivers
in this regard were inclusive of competition from similar technology firms, technological
development among others.
However there is also a presence of certain forces that resisted the process of change to
be brought within Microsoft. These included fear from staff as they worried about unknown in
terms of job and power loss. Some managers did not wanted to comprise with the existing
organizational structures as it suited there position and work responsibility. Some further feared
loss of control over the environment as the employees may start feeling powerless as well as
confused if they are asked to change their manner of working. Change in management may also
make the employees less competent as certain employees wanted to stick to their own way of
working and did not wished to learn new skill (Langone, Key and Alder, 2014). The transition
was not going well with them hence they resisted the overall process of change. There was
further a possibility that leadership change may make the people lose their comfort zones as well
as support system. This tendency was quite prevalent in employees at upper level as working
under the leadership of Satya Nadlle may get challenging for them (Brunett and et.al., 2014).
Scores has now been assigned to each force starting from weak (1) to strong (5) as per the degree
of influence each one has on the plan.
1 2 3 4 5
Forces that
favor
change
process
Competition
in different
units of
Microsoft
decrease in
team morale
increase
profitability
of the

company
need to
induce
innovation
competition
from similar
technology
firms,
technological
development
Forces
against
the
change
process
Fear of
unknown
comprise with
the existing
organizationa
l structures
loss of
control
Make the
employees
look less
competent
Decrease in
support
system
As per the above analysis, it is clear that company should cause a merger of few units into one.
This will not only aid in bringing a reduction in clashes but also improve the overall morale of

the employees. Innovative strategies can then be implemented in the company after the internal
politics has been controlled to a great extent. An overall increase in growth and profit figures can
also be seen followed by enhanced technological development which is the need in order to
compete with the rival firms.
P5: Apply different leadership approaches to dealing with change in a range of
organizational contexts
Various leadership approaches are used in both Apple as well as Microsoft in order to deal with
the changes in best possible manner. For example, authoritative style of leadership can be used
when there is a need to bring changes in vision and a proper direction is needed by the
employees. For example, there may be a requirement to bring change in the vision of Apple to
empowerment the consumers with the latest computer technology. Then steps are required to be
taken in the same direction in form of meeting up the consumer demand and offering customized
products and services to them. In the same lines, coaching style of leadership may be needed
when Microsoft or Apple employees are to be trained with respect to change in technology
which is entirely new for the employees (Ximénez and Sanz, 2014). Hence the managers may be
required to guide the employees one on one basis so that overall performance can be improved
and long term strength with respect to technological usage can be developed within them.
Transformational leadership may further be required within the organization if change occurs in
the firm on account of merger and acquisition strategy. The need in this regard will be to ensure
that trust and confidence is developed within the followers and new policy can be easily adopted
by them (Brunett and et.al., 2014). There can be usage of democratic leadership style by senior
officials where in every employee can be involved in decision making process so that the
changes can be well understood by them and they get accustomed with it soon. Leaders here can
encourage the employees to share the ideas so that free flow of discussion can take place. They
must also ensure to communicate the decision back to the employees so as to gain acceptance on
the same (David, 2017).
Conclusion
From the above report it can be concluded that both Apple and Microsoft underwent same kind
of change being in terms of leadership but in different course of time. Both were facing crisis but
things became different when a leadership change took place in other organization and there has

been a no looking back since then. There was a presence of many internal and external drivers
for the company that demanded changes. Apple was completely out of technological innovation
while an internal struggle was taking place amongst the different units of Microsoft. It can
further be concluded from the report that many barriers can be faced by firms during the process
of change such as fear of unknown, loss of control, Decrease in support system etc. The negative
effects can thus be minimized by use of proper leadership and communication style, Involving
employees in change process, taking training sessions among others.

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