Leadership Analysis: Supervisor Ar'bie Hassan at Schneider Electric

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of leadership within Schneider Electric, focusing on the leadership style of supervisor Ar'bie Hassan. The report begins with an introduction to the company and the chosen leader, followed by an analysis of the importance of leadership in an organization, discussing key concepts such as mission, vision, and organizational culture. It then delves into the four frames of reference for leadership: structural, human resource, political, and symbolic, examining how each frame influences leadership approaches. The core of the report presents an observation of Hassan's leadership style, derived from an interview, highlighting his symbolic frame of reference and emphasis on shared interests, integrity, and customer focus. The analysis identifies Hassan's situational and charismatic leadership qualities, his ability to motivate the team, and his approach to challenges. The report also explores Hassan's ability to make difficult decisions and his use of power. A reflection section concludes the report, summarizing the key findings and the overall effectiveness of Hassan's leadership style. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of situational leadership and the benefits of a friendly and supportive leadership style.

Running head: LEADERSHIP: ANALYSIS
Leadership: Analysis
Name of Student:
Name of University:
Author’s Note:

1LEADERSHIP: ANALYSIS
Table of Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................2
Analysis:..........................................................................................................................................2
Importance of leadership in an organisation:...............................................................................2
Leadership frames of reference:..................................................................................................2
Observation:.................................................................................................................................4
Reflection:........................................................................................................................................7
Conclusion:......................................................................................................................................8
Bibliography:...................................................................................................................................9

2LEADERSHIP: ANALYSIS
Introduction:
The company which has been chosen in this particular assignment is Schneider Electric.
The name of the leader that is the supervisor chosen is Ar’bie Hassan. A questionnaire has been
formulated in order to interview the leader and to understand the nature of his leadership and his
particular style. The questionnaire has a total of eight questions which aim to understand the
different aspects of a person’s leadership. The questions aim to understand the contribution of
the leader to the team and to the company as a whole. It also helps in understanding what the
leader does to motivate his team.
Analysis:
Importance of leadership in an organisation:
The concept of leadership is the ability and also the willingness to take the ownership of
the organisation which is combined with the intrinsic drive to perform what is best for the
specific organisation. For the concept of leadership to be effective to any particular organisation
it needs to be ensured that it is built on a solid foundation and consists if a clear mission and also
a vision for the future, a specific strategy and also a particular culture which is conducive to the
concept of success (Yukl 2013).
The necessity for leaders to understand these concepts are essential for the effectiveness
as well as the personal growth. In case the leaders help their team members work effectively the
organisational goals can be properly achieved. The ability of the leaders to manage their team
ensures that their team performs to the best of their ability (Crevani, Lindgren and Packendorff
2010).

3LEADERSHIP: ANALYSIS
Leadership frames of reference:
There are four frames of reference for a leader. These include those of structural, human,
political and symbolic. The frames of reference in connection to leadership are crucial to
determine how the situations are defined and what actions are taken. These frames of reference
determine how the situations are defined and whatever actions are to be taken. The outlook of
different leaders is different and so are their frames of reference.
The leaders who follow the structural frame of reference give major amount of emphasis
on the setting of goals. These leaders often give too much pressure on the goal establishment.
Therefore it might lead to problems of the team members if they feel that their problems are not
being understood by their leaders. The structural frame of reference focuses on the architecture
of the organisation (Levay 2010).
The human resource frame of reference is that where people are the most valuable.
Leaders with a human resource frame of reference give the most value to the people who work
under them and their team members. In this particular scenario if the leaders give importance to
the people only, often it might happen that the goals of the organisation might be hampered in
the process. The human resource frame focuses on the people and their relationships (Gardner et
al. 2010).
The leaders who have a political frame of reference, consider that the organisation might
have several areas of ongoing or existing conflict which might be responsible for changes in the
organisation. This frame of reference can prove to be toxic for the overall organisation as a
whole and can deter the creativity of the organisation (Babcock-Roberson and Strickland 2010).

4LEADERSHIP: ANALYSIS
The symbolic frame of reference is the system of shared meaning and value. This frame
of reference allows the leaders to have their faith is the meaning shared by members infusing
creativity, passion into their work as well as an overall positivity (Yukl and Mahsud 2010).
Observation:
From the interview which has been conducted with the supervisor of the organisation it
has been found that he mostly holds the symbolic frame of reference with respect to leadership
and gives a great amount of emphasis on the fact that there is shared interests and proper
importance given to each member of the team. This does not imply that he allows his team
members to neglect the organisational goals and become inefficient. It can be said that Ar’bie
Hassan has great value for integrity and also the demonstration of honesty and trust in all the
actions of the organisation. It has been seen from the interview that the values of integrity,
customer focus and respect for the people find paramount importance to the organisation. From
this it can be said that the leader is focussed towards the needs of the organisation. Hassan is of
the opinion that an all-round focus is important for the success of the organisation. He is genuine
as a leader as he gives due respect to people and focuses on the positives of each of the team
members.
It can also be said that leader did not in any way wrongly utilize his or her power. He
tried to uplift the people as much as he could so that they got the zeal to perform their tasks
better and much more enthusiasm. He was not afraid of challenges and did not deter from
explaining them to the team. He also made sure that the team remained motivated at all times in
order to perform whatever work was necessary effectively. It can also be stated that the
leadership style of Hassan was to a certain extent situational as well as charismatic.

5LEADERSHIP: ANALYSIS
Hassan can be considered to be situational because, based on the interview with him as
well an overall verbal discussion, it can clearly be stated that, he was not strict to the point of
being oblivious to the situation of the workers. He tried to be understanding towards the needs of
the workers and help them whenever they needed it the most. He also had stated that on several
occasions he sorted the work patterns for the people and tried to ensure that their work load
would be a little less.
Hassan as a leader was not even afraid of challenges. He stated that at the time of
challenges he had to work a bit hard to persuade his subordinates that they might be afraid of
taking up risks in their work. In case of the Schneider Electric, there were challenges faced when
the electric utilities’ costs were to be reduced for ensuring that the level of operational excellence
is to be maintained. The teams also had to balance the demands peaks and the low levels of
intermittent production. Often it happens that the team members feel a bit frustrated as explained
by the leader and therefore they need a little bit of motivation. Hassan is not someone to ignore
the needs of his employees. Thus as a leader he is responsible as well as dependable.
The success of Hassan as a team leader is adequately reflected in his popularity among
his team. Everyone considers him to be dependable and noteworthy as a responsible person. It is
the opinion of the team that Hassan is very capable as a team leader and as a friend. Hassan has
been believed to be a friend, a philosopher and a proper leader who assists the team in moving
forward specifically it times of need. This can be regarded to be the true spirit of a leader. The
friendly attitude of Hassan was responsible for keeping the employees at ease. This outlook also
helped the people become more and more concerned towards the vision of the organization. In
difficult situations Hassan has been by the side of his team and has helped in their individual
assessments, on the other hand he himself has made it a point to understand the point of view of

6LEADERSHIP: ANALYSIS
each of his or her team members. Therefore it can be said that he has embodied the situational
leadership style in this particular sense.
Due to his friendly attitude and helpful nature as a leader, Hassan has received adequate
help and support from his team members which has helped him in overcoming difficult
situations. The regular meetings organised by the him, has also helped in making sure that the
team has a proper commitment level and consideration towards their leader as well as their
organisation. The regular meetings which have been organised by the Hassan as a leader have
helped the team members understanding the proceedings of the organisation and their importance
with respect to the organisation. They did not remain uninformed at any stage of the
organisation.
It can also be said that Hassan was responsible and understanding as a team leader and
never failed to understand that his words and actions might have a severe impact on the team
members. That he was considerate is evident from the fact that when a team member particularly
performed well he tried to utilize it as a personal learning experience for his team members apart
from congratulating the member, he motivated him to perform even better for his personal
growth as well as the overall growth of the organisation. Hassan also ensured that the members
of his team took examples from their own achievements to help them perform better in the times
of stress.
The difficulties of decision making are also inherent with the responsibilities of a leader.
As a leader Hassan feels that the choice of a particular person who underperforms is extremely
difficult. This shows that there is a sense of truthfulness and integrity in his decision making. In
case of leaders who are not considerate, the decision of suggesting names of employees for

7LEADERSHIP: ANALYSIS
attrition is not a major issue. This is something which Hassan has shown to be completely
opposite. Hassan has not ever made wrong use of his power or influence. He tried to increase the
output and effectiveness of his team at all possible stages.
As a leader despite possessing a formal position and having a legitimate power to govern
his employees, Hassan never misused his power which is the sign of a great leader. He also
helped his team members attain their respective objectives. As a leader he was not coercive but
only tried to push his team members to success. This helped his team as well as the overall
benefit of each of his employees.
With regard to the responses which Hassan received from his team members, it can be
said that they complied to his decisions in majority of cases and they even agreed to his decisions
on most occasions and this was because he was less of a leader and more of a friend to his team.
With respect to the concept of resistance, it can be said that he did not face any sort of
resistance from the members at any time because they complied with his decisions. A problem
could be faced in case Hassan was an autocratic leader, but he was actually a situational leader
who helped all his team members under any consequences.
In view of the concept of commitment it can be said that the team members were
extremely committed to the viewpoints of Hassan and adopted his viewpoint under all situations.
Reflection:
From the complete study of the information and the leadership style of Hassan, I can
safely say that he was a proper leader in the true sense of the term. He fulfilled all his
responsibilities to the best of his ability. As a team, Hassan headed one which were dependent

8LEADERSHIP: ANALYSIS
and independent in both measures. The team members where independent when it came to taking
their personal work decisions and were dependent when it came to relying on their leader for
taking major decisions. In form of a leader, Hassan displayed confidence, control over suitable
information, organisational centrality and also the capability of coping with uncertainty. It can be
said that the control of valuable information pertaining to the company can cause the leader to be
liable for such information. Hassan however, never misused any information which he had
control over.
Conclusion:
Leadership is the most crucial aspect of any organisation and this needs to be maintained
and taken care of at all stages and at all levels of the company such that its smooth operations
can be taken care of. Schneider Electric and its supervisor Ar’bie Hassan is an example in point.

9LEADERSHIP: ANALYSIS
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psychology, 144(3), pp.313-326.
Crevani, L., Lindgren, M. and Packendorff, J., 2010. Leadership, not leaders: On the study of
leadership as practices and interactions. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 26(1), pp.77-86.
Gardner, W.L., Lowe, K.B., Moss, T.W., Mahoney, K.T. and Cogliser, C.C., 2010. Scholarly
leadership of the study of leadership: A review of The Leadership Quarterly's second decade,
2000–2009. The Leadership Quarterly, 21(6), pp.922-958.
Humphreys, J., Zhao, D., Ingram, K., Gladstone, J. and Basham, L., 2010. Situational narcissism
and charismatic leadership: A conceptual framework. Journal of Behavioral and Applied
Management, 11(2), p.118.
Levay, C., 2010. Charismatic leadership in resistance to change. The Leadership
Quarterly, 21(1), pp.127-143.
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Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 62(2), p.81.
Yukl, G.A., 2013. Leadership in organizations. Pearson Education India.