The Impact of Leadership and Power on Singtel's Organizational Culture

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the leadership and management practices at Singapore Telecommunications Limited (Singtel), focusing on the influence of CEO Chua Sock Koong. The report examines the company's background, leadership styles, qualities, and behaviors, particularly highlighting the transformational leadership approach. It delves into the impact of power and office politics on the organization's culture and success, assessing how leadership and management strategies affect organizational effectiveness. The analysis includes discussions on how the leader acquires power, delegates authority, and utilizes rewards and interpersonal skills to foster a positive and productive work environment. The report also explores how transformational leadership influences positive office politics and the overall impact on the organization.

Running Head: MANAGING ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Managing Organizational Behavior
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
OBJECTIVE....................................................................................................................................2
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Overview of the Organization.................................................................................................2
Background of the Leader.......................................................................................................3
Leadership and Management...........................................................................................................4
Leadership Style, Qualities, Characteristics and Behaviors....................................................4
Power and Politics...........................................................................................................................6
The Impact of power in the workplace politics.......................................................................8
Organizational Culture and Success................................................................................................9
Impact of leadership /management and Power/ politics on the culture and success of the
organization.............................................................................................................................9
Impact on the culture and organizational effectiveness:........................................................10
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................11
Reference.......................................................................................................................................12

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OBJECTIVE
The main objective of this particular report is to investigate the influence of leadership and
management along with power of politics in the selected case organization Singapore
Telecommunication Limited (Singtel). This particular study also further describes the
effectiveness of leadership qualities of the Chief Executive Officer of the group Mr. Chua Sock
Koong on the organization. Apart from this, the report also aims to identify and examine
critically the leadership and management styles, theories, qualities and other leadership
behaviors which have been adopted by the CEO so that the organization is managed properly.
Notably, the report analyses the impact of office politics and power along with the overall impact
on the culture of the organization.
Introduction
Overview of the Organization
The Singapore Telecommunications Limited is commonly abbreviated as Singtel. The
name was previously stylized as SingTel. It is a famous Singaporean Telecommunications
company along with being the largest mobile network operators in the entire Singapore with
almost 4.1 million subscribers. It has been found from a report that by the year 2017, the
company has formed the mobile subscriber base of 640 million customers. The company began
in the year 1879 as a private telephone exchange company and the current CEO of the company
is Chua Sock Koong (Singtel.com. 2019). The basic products of the company are Fixed line,
broadband, mobile telephony and internet services. It also provides IT and network services. The
operating income of the company is $3.685 billion by the year 2017 and the revenues of the

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company is $12. 322 billion. The company has successfully employed 25,000 employees and the
subsidiaries of the company are Optus and NCS Pte Ltd.
The company has also expanded vigorously beyond the home market and owner of many
regional operators. These are Australian Telco, Optus and Bharti Airtel too which is considered
as the largest Indian Carrier. The market share of the company in Singapore is almost 82 %. The
major investing body of Singtel is the government of Singapore. The Singtel company has broad
investments. It is an active investor on the innovative companies through a special department
known Singtel Innov8 subsidiary (Singtel.com. 2019). This subsidiary started with S$200 million
start-up capital in the year 2011. In the year 2015, the brand identity of Singtel was launched for
the first time. The international submarine cable network of Singtel has taken the responsibility
to provide connections to more than 100 countries all over the world. There are a number of
companies associated with Singtel in order to make it a successful company. It deals mainly in
the mobile phone industry with a subscriber base of 638 million.
Background of the Leader
A true leader is supposed to have all the extraordinary qualities expected of him. These
qualities are beyond the ordinary and suitable for an organization. Notably, apart from the
traditional and mandatory qualities expected of a leader, a leader must have some unique
qualities of his own. It can be his own sensitivity, consciousness, willingness and competency
that helps to promote the organization ultimately by pushing the employees in the right
manner(Asci2015). Hence, it is necessary to know the qualification and educational background
of a successful leader like Chua Sock Koong. The leader of the Singtel company is undoubtedly
a successful leader for the organization and can be considered as a primary reason behind the

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success of the company. He is content with 18 years of huge experience in this field and is able
to sustain in the in this industry with his effective marketing strategies.
Leadership and Management
Leadership Style, Qualities, Characteristics and Behaviors
According to some scholars, leadership is a social process which influences human
feelings, thoughts and the subsequent actions. The leadership styles can be identified by the
leadership qualities of the leader and the level of their ability to influence and inspire their
followers and people around(Bahadur and Tanner 2014). The way they inspire their followers,
impacts indirectly to the performance of their followers and ultimately the performance of the
organization. The understanding of the characteristics and behavior of the leader in different
situations will help to identify his /her leadership techniques in the management of a team and
the entire organization.
The characteristics of Mr. Koong inevitably pose as a motivational leader a and his
managing capacity that directs the members of the team by the help of his clear vision and
strategies. His leadership nature and the unique qualities enable him to control the difficult
situations and making the right type of decisions at the crisis period. He is always eager to listen
to the problems of his subordinates and the other associates. Moreover, he invites the members at
the time of making any critical decision regarding the organization in order to know their
opinions and perspectives. In addition, he accentuates the willingness and spirit of the employees
to achieve new levels of success and solution to the present market trends.
This is the transformational type of leadership which the leader of the Singtel company
practices. This type of leadership is inspirational. The leaders practicing this kind of leadership

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style inspires the workers to find better ways to achieve the organizational goals or personal
goals too. It elevates the morale of the followers and strengthens his inner will. These leaders are
called the quiet leaders and possess confidence, courage, and the will to sacrifice for something
greater. The transformational leaders specialize in working to the change of the system. They
also face the challenges and take the initiative to solve them by finding suitable experiences
which prove that the old patterns need to be changed. They are always enthusiastic to know what
needs to be changed and put effort to maximize the capability and capacity of the team members.
These leaders focus more on the empowerment strategy than execution strategy. The leader of
Singtel company holds all these characteristics and also practice the ethical leadership up to
some extent. He promotes the transparency of communication within the team and the team
members. These leadership characteristics will help the organization to retain their sustainability
in the long run.
As a transformational leader, Mr. Koong motivates the subordinates by posing as a role
model for them through his exceptional thinking patterns and unique behaviors. The workforce
of the Singtel company is facilitated by the perfect work process and efficient use of advanced
technologies keeping in terms of progress in the whole world. No, wonder it has been possible
due to the leadership and management qualities of Mr. Koong that has taken the organization a
different level within few years. He has focused more on the selection of right and talented staff
in the organization which is the strength of the organization. He has introduced the use of digital
media and technology in the recruitment process of the Singtel company. This process helps to
shortlist the more impressive and innovative individuals who also hold the capability to imagine
out of the box and exceptionally. This can also be added to his leadership style which is
beneficial for the organization in strengthening the workforce with talented people. The

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abundance of innovative employees in the workforce enables the organization to respond quickly
to adverse situations and adopt the change when necessary.
Apart from this, Mr. Koong positively involves himself in the establishment of credibility
and faith within the organization as well as the clients outside of the organization. Taken for
instance, he ensures that during the time of festival in Singapore, all the staffs as well as the
clients receive attractive gifts that ultimately stimulates strong relationship with those people and
the organization. He also motivates the staffs with non-financial gifts such as appreciation and
acknowledgement. The establishment of strong relationship internally and externally helps the
organization to increase the productivity, secure new contacts, facilitate better quality generate
more revenues to the organization.
As a whole, it can be seen that the leader of the Singtel company Mr. Koong acts as an
ideal transformational leader and takes the organization to higher levels with his exceptional
performance through few years. Hence, it is apparent that the transformational leadership paves
way for the organizational effectiveness and performance. The leader Chua Shock Koong is not
only a successful leader but also an innovative strategist who can easily derive unique solutions
in critical situations.
Power and Politics
It is highly essential to know the way Mr. Koong acquires power and authority by
practicing his transformational leadership qualities in the Sintel company. This power and
authority is needed to execute certain objectives and influences the followers too up to greater
extent(Jian and Fairhurst 2017). The transformational leaders are supposed to stabilize the
communication levels as well as the delegation levels at the time of pushing more power on the

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followers. Mr. Chua Shock Koong has adopted the strategy to delegate the power and authority
to the mangers and the employees of the company so that they feel motivated and maximize the
productivity of the organization along with understanding the importance of the organizational
vision.
The active approach of Mr. Koong in achieving the organizational goals dynamically
while keeping the reputation of the organization intact has raised him as an efficient
transformational leader(Day, Griffin and Louw 2014). Since the most critical attributes of
transformational leadership are self-criticism and risk acceptance, these have been the special
concerns of Chua Shock Koong(Igbaekemen and Odivwri 2015). Hence, the leader of the
organization always examines his own weaknesses and takes the initiative to improve on them.
He is also frank to the employees and happily accepts if anyone has issues with his leadership
style and management strategies. With a variety of excellent management strategies, expertizes,
skills and abilities he can establish the Singtel company as one of the largest telecommunication
companies in future.
Moreover, the transformational leadership qualities induce a type of compulsion in order
to reciprocate the behavior of rewarding the employees in the organization. Mr. Koong utilizes
rewarding as his power and provides useful feedbacks to each employee so that they can improve
on their qualities(Hargreaves, Boyle and Harris 2014.)After the completion of any important
project, he identifies the positive and negative qualities of each employee and makes them aware
of it. He also knows how to keep the employees happy and provides them performance –based
bonuses and salary increments when necessary(Okomgboeso 2017). It is also notable that he also
understands properly, that positive appraisals, acknowledgement of the talent and service of the
employees along with attractive financial rewards can retain the employees for a longer period.

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On the other hand, the interpersonal skills of the leader Mr. Koong is supportive of
interactive with different types of people in the Singtel company organizational hierarchy and the
employees too. It is necessary to make strategic planning and nourishing strong relationship at all
levels of the organization. He equally promotes diverse culture in the organization and inspires
the employees in the workforce to respect each other and maintain a healthy working
environment.
The Impact of power in the workplace politics
It has to be noted that politics generates from the point of power. When power is used to
control the tasks and the workforce, they execute some responsibilities and improve on different
individuals, organizations and groups in implementing proper control on the workforce, politics
inevitably originates(Boyd et al. 2017). The aim of the transformational leadership is to ensure
that some elements are implemented on the organization so that positive office politics are
established and the staffs and kept on higher spirits all the time(Josanov-Vrgovic and Pavlovic
2014). Hence, Mr. Koong also utilizes his referent power to inspire the followers and strengthen
the team spirit. He motivates his subordinates to create positive politics in the
organization(Okomgboeso 2017). There are always two ways of looking at the organizational
politics. It can either be seen as a social influence that functions for the benefit of the
organization or as an effect that works against the goals of the organization(Oltean 2016). The
organizational politics can be referred to as the pursuit of self-interest and agendas within the
organization not regarding the effect they are leaving in the organization in the due course to
achieve the respective goals(Salaman 2016).
The feedback process introduced by the leader of Singtel company Mr Koong along with
the individual appraisal program is helpful enough. According to this program, the employees

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receive proper feedbacks from their leaders, subordinates as well as the customers(Van Kleef
2014). This method is effective because it discards the power of reward in the company and
replaces it with a fair rewarding method(eMarketingeye Pvt Ltd. 2017). It is one of the most
effective policy that promotes positive politics in the workforce and ultimately strengthens the
loyalty of the employees towards the Singtel company where they work in.
Organizational Culture and Success
Impact of leadership /management and Power/ politics on the culture and success of the
organization
With the help of effective transformational leadership qualities, the leader of the Singtel
company, Mr. Koong can easily mold the performance of the employees, incease their self –
confidence and morale significantly. This will ultimately empower the organizational culture and
spread trust, innovation and loyalty in the organization(Oltean 2016). The followers recognize
his for his positive way of working. The activities of Mr. Koong influences the subordinates so
much that they admit his efficiency which enables them to focus on high-quality work and
innovative solutions that are aligned with the international standards too(Thomas 2015).
The leader also arranges various training, coaching and mentoring programs at regular
intervals at all the departments of the organization(Tung 2014). The use of modernized
technologies has also been facilitated by Mr. Koong in the company which keeps track of daily
production and tasks along with supporting the employees improve on their follies and
concentrate on the innovative ideas(Zoltan and Vancea 2015). The leader holds the expert power
too, which has enabled the staffs to trust him and have faith on him thereby making them listen

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to his directions(Luhana 2014). Nevertheless, the employee holding capacity of Mr. Koong has
helped the organization to rise fast
The success of the organization can be measured in many ways. The productivity, size of
the company, its property assets, revenues and market share serve as indicators evaluating
company success(Van Kleef 2014). The experience of Mr. Koong that he has gathered through
these years and the level of his commitment to the Singtel Companyis instrumental in the growth
and success of the company(Van Wart 2014). As a whole the success and reputation of the
company can be said to have been facilitated by the exceptional leadership qualities of Koong
and his vast knowledge in this field.
Impact on the culture and organizational effectiveness:
The leadership and the culture of the organization is highly influenced and that is pretty
evident with the ease that the company is enjoying in incorporating the transformation to the
digital format from the traditional form (Singtel.com. 2019). The change was not easy to be
managed but the culture and the leadership of the organization was able to manage this with the
introduction of the open communication. The leadership in Singtel is significant in managing the
work life balance of the employees. The improvement in the spirit, team work and the integrity
inside the workplace is of great significance in the realization of the vision of the company for
the employees of the organization. Hence, the improved culture of the organization can be
considered as the key responsible factor in the emergence of the company as a leading
multimedia and ICT solutions company.

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Conclusion
Therefore, from the above discussion, it can be said that in the selected case organization,
the Singtel company there is a strong leadership style existing. It is the most suitable leadership
style practiced by the leader Mr Chua Shock Koong. It is effective for the company because it
keeps in terms with the organization and thee contemporary world. In fact, this leadership style
helps in enhancing the organizational performance and maintaining the culture balance in the
organization. In a nutshell, the leader of Singtel, has the right approach in the leadership and
management style which has successfully transformed the organization to a different level and
retain its reputation.