Westpac Case Study: Management Concepts and Leadership Theories

This report delves into the issue of female leadership within the Australian business sector, analyzing a case study centered around the departure of Gail Kelly from Westpac. It investigates the underrepresentation of female leaders and societal preferences for male candidates, highlighting the potential for improved financial and non-financial outcomes with female leadership. The report critically examines transactional and transformational leadership theories, comparing their strengths and weaknesses in the context of the Australian business environment. It argues that transformational leadership, with its emphasis on employee inspiration and collaboration, is particularly well-suited for female leaders seeking to gain employee confidence and drive organizational success. The report also provides recommendations for Westpac and the broader Australian business market, suggesting changes in leadership approaches and perceptions to foster a more inclusive and effective leadership landscape.

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

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Executive summary
The report focuses on the issues that arise in Westpac and the Australia business market. The
focus is on the effectiveness of female leaders and the response that they receive. The report
analyses a case study that deals with the reason behind the departure of Gail Kelly from
Westpac. The contribution made by her and the overall contribution that a female leader can
provide to an organisation is stated in the report. Comparison between transactional and
transformational leadership is made in order to identify the difference and similarities
between the two styles. The report also suggests the appropriate style that needs to be adopted
in order to gain success in the market. Recommendations are provided which suggests
changes to be made in the situation of Westpac and the perception that the people in the
Australian business market have about female leaders.

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Table of contents
1.0 Introduction..........................................................................................................................2
2.0 Identification of issue...........................................................................................................2
3.0 Critical discussion................................................................................................................3
4.0 Recommendation..................................................................................................................5
5.0 Conclusion............................................................................................................................6
Bibliography...............................................................................................................................7

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1.0 Introduction
The report focuses on the issue of leadership of women in Australian business sector.
The report analyses a case study situation that occurred in Westpac because of the departure
of their female chief executive. The issue, in this case, is the low rate of female leaders and
the fact that every company want to be led by a male candidate. This issue is worthy of
researching as female leaders consist of about 3% in Australia. This report identifies the issue
in depth and discusses the issue using transactional and transformational theories. The
arguments based on the issues are discussed as a part of the recommendation.
2.0 Identification of issue
The management issue, in this case, is the fact that the number of women leaders in
Australia are on the decline. Most of the business organisations prefer to be led by a male
candidate as per stereotype perceptions. However, research has shown that with the presence
of a woman on board, companies improve in terms of financial as well as non-financial
situations. The management function that can be linked with the issue is the style of
leadership that is followed in business organisations. Leadership is the ability to inspire
people and changes in an organisation. Proper analysis of the current and prediction of future
situations make a leader effective in organisations (Antonakis & Day, 2017). In this regard,
two such theories can be used that defines the making of leadership qualities among
individuals. These theories include the transactional and transformational styles of leadership.
These two leadership styles can help in the effective analysis of the situation. The topic at
hand is worthy of future research as the number of female leaders in Australia is as low as
3%.
Furthermore, women have been discriminated based on the status of pregnancy and
the fact that some of the women are mothers as well. This raises the question of effectively
managing work life and family life. Hence, opportunities regarding leading an organisation
are often lost to them. It has also been seen that most women reach the top of an
organisational hierarchy by accepting the dominant nature of their managers. Research has
shown that the introduction of female leaders in the organisational set up has helped an
organisation gain success at every level of business. Although men have dominated most of
the time in the business market, the contribution of women in leadership cannot be
overlooked based on certain discriminations.

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3.0 Critical discussion
In order to analyse the issue, the use of leadership theories can be taken into
consideration. One such theory that can be applied is the transactional leadership theory. It
has been stated that transactional leadership focuses on the supervision of an organisational
performance (Boezeman & Ellemers, 2014). In this style of leadership leaders, make the
followers compliant by using both rewards and punishments. Leaders involved in this type of
leadership wait on the results of the performance of the employees. Providing punishment as
well as rewards to the employees indicates that the employees are treated based on each result
received (Breevaart, et al., 2014). Leaders using this type of leadership style do not take the
past and overall performance of the employees into consideration.
It has been seen that this type of leadership is effective in situations that require
excellent quality of work or to manage any crisis. In this regard, it can be said that
transactional leaders are expected to set up the goals and ensure that the employees are
rewarded for their performance. However, punishment can also be provided to the employees
underperforming in the organisation. This type of leaders also focuses on increasing the
efficiency of the employees by performing such acts (Bolman & Deal, 2017). However,
despite this transactional leadership are faced with certain criticisms. It is seen that this type
of leadership style affects the creativity of the employees as the employees remain in fear of
failure. In this context, it can be said that the employees are also held accountable for any
failure that happens in the organisation (Carter, Mossholder, Feild, & Armenakis, 2014).
Based on the situation at hand, it can be said that adopting a transactional leadership
by female leaders may not be good. This is mainly because of the fact that the people do not
prefer female leaders. The less popularity of the female people coupled with the adoption of
transactional leadership style may be the cause of the further decline of female leaders.
Despite the fact that every employee is judged on spot, the fact that it hampers the progress of
the employees is a huge negative factor for this type of leadership (Chemers, 2014).
Another form of leadership is the transformational leadership. This type of leadership
can be related to the participative form of leadership style in which leaders and employees
work together in order to help an organisation. Every decision taken by the leaders are
communicated with the employees and viewpoints of the employees are taken into
consideration. The leaders provide the subordinates with an inspired vision to implement
changes in the organisation. It has been seen that transformational leadership style helps to

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enhance the morale and job performance of an employee (Chen & Chen, 2013). This creates
an interest among the employees in terms of completing a particular task in an efficient
manner. However, despite the advantages of the theory, it is met with certain criticisms as
well. These criticisms highlight the disadvantages that the application of this leadership may
present.
For example, one such criticism faced by the transformational leadership style is the
lack of attention to detail (Dong, Bartol, Zhang, & Li, Journal of Organizational Behavior). It
is seen that most of the time a transformational leader fails to build a strong corporate
structure that makes working in an organisation more effective. The big picture is taken into
consideration without the concern of the small details. Apart from this, it is seen that
transformational leaders work via motivation. They encourage employees to work hard but if
the managers do not provide encouragement to the leaders, the leaders fail to incorporate the
skills. This is a huge disappointment as most of the times it is stated that self-motivation is
important for success (Daft, 2014).
In the case of the situation in Westpac and the Australian business, the adoption of
transformational leadership style can help in increasing the reputation of women. The 3%
women leaders that exist in the Australian business can adopt this type of leadership in order
to create an impact in the organisations. This can help in gaining the confidence of the
employees in terms of wanting female personnel to lead an organisation to success. It is
already an established fact that women at the highest level in an organisational structure can
help in gaining financial and non-financial success (Fairhurst & Connaughton, 2014).
4.0 Recommendation
After analysing the different leadership theories and the situation faced at Westpac
and the Australian business, it can be said that in order to be successful, female leaders need
to ensure that they develop a proper leadership style. The adaption of transformational
leadership style can help the females gain the confidence of the employees. It is already
established that females tend to be more compassionate than men are. Hence, the support that
the female leaders can provide can help Westpac to develop the business. From the case
study, it is seen that the female leaders are appreciated for maintaining the balance of the
organisation in terms of financial as well as non-financial issues. Hence, this can be an
advantage in terms of gaining the confidence of the employees. Proper leadership style can

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help in maintaining this reputation of the female leaders. In this regard, it can be said that the
success rate of transformational leadership can be attributed to success attained by certain
organisations. In this regard, it can be said that Forming Circles Global is one such company
that has tasted success with women in the lead. The fact that this company have used the
females well has suggested that proper training provided to the women can be effective for an
organisation. Apart from this, another factor that can be considered is that the women
employees can be provided with proper training. This can help the women employees to be
developed in the organisation and they can be possible leaders in the future. The current
stereotype that surrounds women leadership can be overcome by the application of the
transformational leadership style. However, in order to apply this style, it is necessary to train
the women employees in Westpac and other Australian business organisations.
5.0 Conclusion
Thus, it can be said that in order to be successful in business it is important for female
and male workers to work harmoniously with one another. The success of an organisation
depends upon the rate at which employees and employers coordinate with one another. In the
case of Westpac, the departure of Gail Kelly can be considered as a huge problem for the
company. However, with the application of the transformational theory of leadership, it can
be possible for the female employees to emerge as successful leaders in the business.

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Bibliography
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