Lululemon Leadership: Factors, Recommendations, Challenges Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of leadership within Lululemon, examining the social and cultural factors influencing leaders' decision-making. It explores the impact of employee behavior, consumer trends, and Hofstede's cultural dimensions on the company's operations. The report offers recommendations for Lululemon's leadership, focusing on managing people, raising morale, and ensuring staff motivation through effective communication, delegation, and conflict management. Furthermore, it identifies the challenges confronting leaders in contemporary society, such as the need for knowledge, change management, and coordination, providing insights into how Lululemon can navigate these complexities and maintain its market position. This report is a valuable resource for understanding the dynamics of leadership within a modern retail environment.

Management and
Leadership

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
What are the social and cultural factors impacting the leaders within the Lululemon...............3
What are the recommendations that should be adopted by the leadership at Lululemon in
managing people, raising morale and ensuring motivation among staff....................................4
What are the challenges confronting leaders in today's contemporary society...........................6
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Leadership is the art of influencing the people in the organisation to achieve the common
goal. It is concern with directing the people in the organisation to complete a task with the
consideration of achieving business's objective(Tang, 2019). A good leader is one who make
right use of their subordinates so that they can work efficiently. Lululemon is the chosen
organisation for this report , It is the popular yoga and clothing company which is founded in
1998 in Vancouver. It is selling their products in online and offline modes both. It is dealing in
athletic wear and lifestyle apparel. This report will cover the social and cultural factors that is
impacting the leaders and also will suggest the recommendations that should be adopted by the
leadership in managing people. Furthermore, It also analyse the challenges confronting the
leaders/manager in today's contemporary society.
MAIN BODY
What are the social and cultural factors impacting the leaders within the Lululemon.
Leader is the one who influence other to move in one direction and also leads to achieve
the common goal that will help in enhancing the performance of the organisation. They just
motivate the employee and give the direction of the accomplishment of task in an appropriate
manner. There are various factors which influence the decision-making of the leader in an
organisation.
Employee behaviour related factor that influence leaders:
Changing current trends in the market will affect the overall strategies of the business and
leader have to make change in their operations that can meet the needs and demand of the
customers (Stoller, 2020). Income level of the consumer is the important factor that have to
considered while estimating the price of the product and related planning. The leader of
Lululemon will face the changing choices of the customer and their income level and business
have to change their policies in order to make the right use of their resources. It is the main
consideration of the business that influence the overall functionality their aspects.
Factors that influence the employee behaviour:
It is the main consideration that focuses on employees behaviour which includes lack of
coordination among employees which will leads to poor productivity of the business. When the
employees are not efficient enough to complete their task in a appropriate manner this will leads

to poor performance of the employees. Leader may also face lack of motivation among
employees that will be resultant to poor performance of them in achieving business gaol.
Lululemon will face the poor management of managers in their department and this will leads to
slow down of business operations with their poor management.
Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions
It is framework of cross culture communication that is developed by the Hofsteda and it
shows the effect of culture and values on the member of the society that are working in an
organisation. There are six dimensional culture of this model some of them are exlained as
follows:
 Power distance: It is defined as the power is distributes unequally with the
organisation and power is perceived from he followers. A high degree of index is
shows he clear establishment of hierarchy.
 Individual vs collectivism: It is the dimension in which individual related to their
immediate family and loose the bound with the society. On other hand,
Collectivism shows the society in which relationship in formed and extended to
the families.

 Masculinity vs. Femininity: In this dimension, Masculinity is defined as the
preference in the society or getting rewarded for the achievement. On other hand,
In femininity society women are represent the different values as they share
modest and caring opinion equally with men.
What are the recommendations that should be adopted by the leadership at Lululemon in
managing people, raising morale and ensuring motivation among staff.
There are various issues which is faced by the company in managing people, raising their
morale and motivating the staff. Lululemon is facing the lack of communication at the workplace
as employees are not transferring the information at the right person and this is leading to the
create the miscommunication among the staff and all the activities will not be performed with the
right and assigned approach. Leader also facing the issue in delegating the duties and
responsibility to the right person as there are several employees and it becomes tough to give the
duties in the systematic manner and company is moving towards loose as employees are not
effectively working due to inappropriate share of duties and responsibilities.
There are various ways through which a leader can adopt for management of employees
in the organisation and also help in raising morale with help of motivation among the
staff(Wang and Cruz, 2018). This is the main consideration of the employees that can increase
their productivity and profitability in the organisation and various recommendations are as
follows:
Recommendations for managing people – Employees are he backbone for any
organisation and they give their best in achieving the business goal in an appropriate manner.
Leader must adopt the following strategies that are explained below:
 Maintaining good communication- It is the duty of the leader to deliver the right
message to their potential employees so that work according to the direction and
instruction so that they establish a right code of conduct in their business operations.
Effective communication will help in easy accountability to their subordinates and this
will leads to accomplishment of business activities in an effective manner and
organisation will generate higher sale are earn maximum revenue(Phong, Hui and Son,
2018).
 Delegates jobs to the right people- It is important to give the particular task To the
specific person who has a good knowledge of that field so that they can work with their

full potential and achieve the desired goal associated with the organisation. If leader will
assign with task to the person who is not having a complete knowledge and related skills
then it will decrease the efficiency of the production process and company will slow
down their business operations.
 Be real- All the employee are influenced with the leader and plays an important role in
increasing the efficiency of the employees so It is important for the leader top maintain
the good image in the company so that all the employee will follow the action of their
leader and work in an appropriate manner to achieve the business goal (Ng, 2017). This
will help in increasing the efficiency of the employees.
 Manage conflict- Every organisation will work with the large number of employees and
there may be misunderstanding among employees and create big problem in the company
so it is suggested for the leader to have the better understanding with the employees so
that they can be agree with the prospective of their leader and understand the point of
leader and solve the issue that can lead maintain the good decors in the organisation.
Recommendations for raising the morale- There are various way by which leader can
increase the involvement of employee in the business activities. It will help in creating the good
impact on employee's performance and leads to grow the business.
 Get Employee feedback- When the employees are participating with their full potential, It
will help in getting the best output for the improvement of the business. When the leader
take regular feedback from their potential employees, This will help in maintaining the
performance and production of the company. Lululemon can improve their performance
in the business by initiating the suggestion and recommendations from their customers.
 Train managers- Managers is one who manage all the work flow in the organisation and
also responsible for assigning duties and responsibilities to their employees and make
them capable in order to achieve the business goal(Moon and Jung, 2018). Efficient
managers will establish a right code of conduct for the employees that will help in doing
of every task in an appropriate manner.
 Offer equal employment opportunities- Every employee is equal and deserve a equal
employment opportunities to show their talent and capabilities in the specific job. It is
important that any organisation will not discriminate the employee with any reason and
offer a chance for their development. It will leads to welcome the potential employees in

the organisation and that will give their best in achieving the business goal and leads to
growth and development.
Recommendations for ensuring motivation among staff-
 Recognize the great work- There are many employees in the organisation and it is
necessary to have the right approach of each employee toward their assigned job that will
help in development and motivation of the employees. Leader must examine the
capabilities of the employee and analyse their performance so that best candidate will be
appreciated for their work.
 Celebrate results- When an individual is working with their full potential and giving their
best in achieving the organisational goal. It is important to celebrate the success of an
individual for their hard wok and dedication. This will help in motivation of the
employee in their work place and then employee will work more efficiently and also
influence other for their better performance.
 Take regular break- Effective work can be done, when it is done with the right approach
and help in getting more efficiency in the business. A leader must ensure that each
employee will get the regular break so that they can work efficiently and achieve the high
target sale.
What are the challenges confronting leaders in today's contemporary society.
When it comes to successful leadership, It require attributes like vision, communication,
curiosity and vision in order to influence their employees for their better performance. It also
impact the functionality of the business(Krause and O'Connell 2016). It will help in making the
right of each aspect of business with their efficient knowledge. Leadership in important for the
execution of each task in an appropriate manner and it requires efficient leaders that can be hired
with the right approach of Human resources manager. Organisation must use the latest
technology to build a strong brand image in the market. Changing trends of society in impacting
the functionality of the business and it can be done through the right use of various skills within
the organisation. Several challenges faced by the company are as follows:

 The need for knowledge: It is the attribute which is needed by the employees in order to
improve their productivity in a particular task. A leader must have the good knowledge
related to employee benefit, employment law, compensation policy and various laws
associated with the organisation and the employees. It will help in producing the potential
leader in the organisation that leads to achieve the business goal in the organisation.
Lululemon is the retailing company which need potential employees who can easily deals
with the large group of customer and generate higher profit.
 Change management- Change is the part of life that must be keep on as life goes on, It
is the main consideration for any business that help in attracting the large group of
customer(Hristov, Scott and Minocha, 2018). Leaders must aware with the change and
related advancement in their operation so that it will increase the productivity at larger
scale. Change include the innovation and implementation of new technology in their
products and services so that company can meet the current trends and changes in the
market and this will leads to increase in the market share of the company. Lululemon can
use the innovative technology in the manufacturing process and produce the unique
product that will met the demand of the potential customers.
 Lack of coordination- It is the pathway of managing the each task in an appropriate
manner with the help efficient employee who will work with the common objective.
When the employee are working with proper communication and motivation in the
workplace, It will leads to increase in the productivity of the employees in their job role.
Proper coordination can be establish when the organisation is having right authority and
accountability and each employee can share their opinion freely. This will help in better
understanding between the employees. It is the main consideration of the employees and
poor co-ordination will leads to poor performance of employees. Lululemon can enhance
their productivity and profitability by establishing the proper coordination among
employees and there should be proper accountability.
 Miscommunication and spread of rumour- A leader have to manage the large number
of employees that are having their own thinking and prospective in order to complete
their task in an appropriate manner(Holt, Hall and Gilley, 2018). When the employees
are working with right approach it will not create an rumour in the workplace but if the
employee will not communicates properly and give the incomplete information that will

leads to create rumour among employees and leader will face problem in managing
people in the organisation. These wrong actions can be a cause of someone's termination
and organisation will suffer the poor productivity of the employees.
 Weak organisational structure- It is important for any organisation set their goals in
order to build a strong network in the workplace. It will help in smoothing running of
each functions of management that will leads to generate higher profitability and growth
in the organisation. Organisation must follow the centralized organisational structure that
will tell the employee to whom they are accountable and what are their authority related
to their workplace. It will help in easy accountability to their seniors and proper flow of
work that will be complete within a set time frame. Lululemon can establish a good
brand image in the market by accomplishment of their business activities in an
appropriate manner.
 Language barrier- There are different types of employees who belongs from different
regions and having their native language. Sometimes, Employee and leader will face
many challenges in their workplace due to language problem. It is recommended for the
leader to have the god command of different language to manage the employee in order
to make them efficient so that they will contribute in the achievement of business goal.
Language barrier will leads to impact the productivity of the business due to poor
communication among employees. Lululemon should give the training for learning
different language in order to make the effective communication among employees.
 Inappropriate reactions- It is the main consideration of the employees who can work
effectively but fails to understand the someone's prospective or opinion that can leads to
create problem in work place(Hallinger, Dongyu and Wang, 2016). Employees are not
able to able to understand the what the leader have communicated to them and this will
leads to create huge problem in the company. Lululemon should have open
communication for their employees who can say and understand the other's prospective
related to their job.
 Availability of skill employees: It is important to have the potential employees within the
organisation so that they can perform in the appropriate manner with the consideration of
achieving the business goals but the leaders in Lululemon is facing the problem in getting
the skilled employees so that they can make the organisation grow in the large market.

 Selection of suppliers: These are the one who rendered the raw material for the further
process so that company can perform their operation in an effective manner with the
consideration of providing the quality goods but the leader in Lululemon is facing
problem in selecting the best suppliers out of many who can avail the raw material in the
sufficient quantity at right time.
 Government rules and regulation: It is the comprehensive formation of various rules and
regulation imposed by the government in order to follow them within the organisation.
When the company is operating their business on a larger scale, it become tough to
follow all the rules of government.
It is analysed that leader of Lululemon should have right approach to deal with these
challenges in order to make a strict code of conduct that will help in achieving the business goal
in an effective manner. Leader will direct all the employees and motivate them in order to run
their functions in an appropriate manner.

CONCLUSION
It is concluded from the above report that Leader play an important role in the success of
any business with the help of effective management in the business operations. Various leader
formulate their business according their styles of doing business. Leaders are facing the
differentiation of behaviours and attitudes of employees and this decreasing the performance of
the company and also facing the various change in society that will leads to slow done of
business. Further more, leaders are suggested to have proper communication for the effective
work flow and delegate job to the potential employee so that they can complete in an
appropriate manner, also celebrate the success for the motivation of the employees. There are
various challenges which is faced by the leaders in the society. Weak organisational structure,
lack of coordination, miscommunication among employees and staff and also facing language
barrier. The leader face the challenges which are on the basis of both external and internal
factors like they face the problem in motiving the employees or identifying the skilled employee.
The external factors which results in challenges to leader involves high competition, rules of
government and the purchasing capabilities of potential customer.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Hallinger, P., Dongyu, L. and Wang, W.C., 2016. Gender differences in instructional leadership:
A meta-analytic review of studies using the principal instructional management rating
scale. Educational Administration Quarterly, 52(4), pp.567-601.
Holt, S., Hall, A. and Gilley, A., 2018. Essential components of leadership development
programs. Journal of Managerial Issues, 30(2), pp.214-153.
Hristov, D., Scott, N. and Minocha, S., 2018. Distributed leadership typologies in destination
management organisations. Tourism management perspectives, 28, pp.126-143.
Krause, G.A. and O'Connell, A.J., 2016. Experiential learning and presidential management of
the US federal bureaucracy: Logic and evidence from agency leadership
appointments. American Journal of Political Science, 60(4), pp.914-931.
Moon, K.K. and Jung, C., 2018. Management representativeness, ethical leadership, and
employee job satisfaction in the US Federal Government. Public Personnel
Management, 47(3), pp.265-286.
Ng, A.Y.M., 2017. School leadership preparation in Malaysia: Aims, content and
impact. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 45(6), pp.1002-1019.
Phong, L.B., Hui, L. and Son, T.T., 2018. How leadership and trust in leaders foster employees'
behavior toward knowledge sharing. Social Behavior and Personality: an international
journal, 46(5), pp.705-720.
Stoller, J.K., 2020. Leadership essentials for the chest physician: Emotional intelligence. Chest.
Tang, K.N., 2019. Leadership and Change Management. Springer Singapore.
Wang, H. and Cruz, J., 2018. Transformational Leadership in Supply Chain
Management. Available at SSRN 3152702.