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BILL GATES AS CHARISMATIC LEADER.
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Analyzes Microsoft leader's foresight & vision, organization, development process, philosophy, transformational ability.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Analyzes Microsoft leader's foresight & vision, organization, development process, philosophy, transformational ability.

Paper Introduction:
Executive Summary A great body of research exists that suggests that organizations can effect changes, whereas others suggested that organizations tend to are victims of inertia. Bill Gates has been the topic of more research papers than any executive in current history. It can be said that his company Microsoft has helped create the computer age. In this analysis, the theory of a charismatic leader is applied to Bill Gates. His management style is analyzed within the framework established by leadership theorist Conger who suggests that a charismatic leader is one who has both vision and strategy. Gates himself is quoted from his Playboy interview, as well as concepts and ideas from his 1995 book, The Road Ahead. The analysis concludes with recommendations that would be made to Gates,

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[online]. [online].Available: www.galstar.com/~ichudov/info/BillGates-interview.html Conger, J. (1999, March 28). Gates as MBA Gates states: "Of my mental cycles, I devote maybe ten percent tobusiness thinking... Process, by the way, is aterm that occurs quite frequently in Gates' book. Microsoftpublishes an extensive Web site for their Microsoft partners, and accordingto that site, Microsoft develops new products with a four-phase systemdevelopment cycle. The charismatic leader. First, there is an Envisioning Phase in which a Vision/Scope idea fora new software product gains interest and approval for further development. Third, and finally, I would urge him to follow his own precepts whenannouncing software. The road ahead,New York: Viking. (1999, March 29). Primary models are:(1)Decentralization (in which there is a flattening or elimination oforganization charts and putting decision-making responsibility andauthority at multiple locations); Dispersal (which decentralizes managementresponsibility as well as physically relocating people); Work teams (groupsof pros --designers, engineers, IT professionals, and so on -- that areassigned task-related projects and goals). In 1995, Gates wrote The Road Ahead, which is a clear and concisevision of where information technology will take society.The book was co-authored by Nathan Myhrvold and Peter Rinearson, Because ofGates' notariety, the book was number 1 on the New York Times' bestsellerlist for seven weeks. (1995). Galstar. One ofHumble's best-known comments is "Business just has to become ever moreglobal. What is not seen is thatthat click triggers code that has some 1,2 characters in it. Stories of business success don'tinterest me in the same way" (The Bill Gates interview, 1999, Online). In Conger's view, the charismatic leader isdefined by his foresight and vision (Conger, 1989). Under Gates' leadership, Microsoft's mission is to continuallyadvance and improve software technology. It was a risk that's paid off immensely. Second, I would urge him to apply the Microsoft Solution Framework, asystem designed to help organizations effectively handle the constantchanging parameters of their software and hardware requirements (Solutionsframework, 1998, Online) to his own business. (1999, March 28). Conger could have been writing about Gates, whose foresight andvision regarding personal computing have been an essential element of thesuccess of Microsoft and the software industry. It can be said that his companyMicrosoft has helped create the computer age. Compare that pattern with the way Microsoft runs. Gates as a Transformational Leader In the purest sense, Gates is probably the most "transformational"leader the world has known. Thinking global andmaking global doesn't mean marketing global. (Process model, 1998, Online). In his now famous PlayboyInterview he said: "We bet the company on Windows and we deserve tobenefit. Organizations have to deal with new technology, and with upgradesfor existing technology, much of which you have created. This phase is typified by the Scope Complete/Firsttest milestone. The next phase of the Microsoft vision is a Project Plan Approvedmilestone (Fayol would have loved this since it contains a listing of allthe steps needed to complete the vision and meet all required elements ofcustomer satisfaction (Solutions framework, 1998, Online). I wouldn't want toput it on my business card... First, he has great abilities at transformingpeople into performers. [online].Available: www.microsoft.com/MSF/applic.html Team model. It is generally agreed that the main goal ofstrategic leadership calls for the leader to create the strategy and theform of an organization. If anything, organizations can expectto face the need for even more change in the future, at an ever-fasterpace. According to the Microsoft web site, at this point, it could be a programthat "helps you plan an enterprise architecture that adapts to (or drives)industry change. In that book, Gates' constantly emphasizes that organizing is thefirst step in turning a strategy into a reality. The analysis concludes with recommendations thatwould be made to Gates, should the opportunity arise. That statement says reams about his attitude toward business, so itis ludicrous to think of him as an MBA.Or even to think of him in acollege, since he is averse to the big pronouncements. Theprimary literature concerns essays and theories about transformationalleadership, usually divided into categories such as visionary, orcharismatic (Conger, 1989). What Gates and his partners did was create asystem that would tell computers what to do. Most things can be made anywhere by anybody as the knowledgeincreasingly flows globally to make this possible. DOS was an invention that IBMthought might work, and offered Gates a buyout. For instance, werehe to read this paper he would probably know of Fayol, but really wouldn'tsee himself as a disciple (even unknown). That will be the right approach" (Johnson, 1995, 15). The Bill Gates interview. In the first place, college requires discipline, and Gates prefers toremain a free thinker. Published in 2 countries, the book sold more than4 , copies in China alone. In this analysis, the theory of a charismatic leader is applied toBill Gates. It was a software company that was built around DOS, an acronymfor Disc Operating System. [online]. Organizing has the goalof maximizing the results of the product life cycles, and businesses useseveral systems for achieving this. Microsoft. He created a company that uses all of thetraditional staffing models, for instance, including the regulartraditional method of new hires. In the second place, Gates does not think in alinear fashion, as much academia attempts to do. Gates as a Leader If this is the way Microsoft purports to operate, and since BillGates does run the company, then it can be assumed that Gates is the chiefmanagement force. Prioritized Recommendations to Bill Gates First and most important, I would urge him to accept the fact thatorganizational change is a reality of the modern world, and that reality isnot likely to change anytime soon. In retrospect,committing to the graphics interface seems so obvious that now it's hard tokeep a straight face" (The Bill Gates interview, 1999, Online). BILL GATES: A CLASSIC CHARISMATIC LEADER It has become increasingly clear that the concept of leadership hasdrawn heightened attention from scholars and management theorists. Available: www.microsoft.com/MSF/ infra.html Gates, W., Myhrvold, N., & Rinearson, P. Think globally, but marketlocally. A graphic interface simplified this. Gates was referring to the fact that after IBM began using DOS as anOEM system in its PCS, there grew a need to simplify DOS, which is terriblyburdensome. Thiseliminates the well-known problems that plague some project developments,including: (a) The project turning into something it wasn't designed to be;The project taking too long to develop and costing too much; (c) Someoneadding more features; (d) The project is complete, on budget, but now itsnot needed anymore. Whether he is a Primary Motivator (a leader who determines whataspects of a worker's personality can be most successfully tapped) is inquestion; however, his belief in the Paragrowth model (or profit-sharingwhere as the company becomes successful, the employee also shares in thesuccess) is well documented since a large number of Microsoft employees aremillionaires, a fact that Fayol would heartily approve as a primaryincentive for production. Gates maintains an activeinvolvement in key management and strategic decisions at Microsoft, andplays an important role in the technical development of new products. He often refers to slogans and jargon, and doestrust certain writers like consultant and author John Humble who ismentioned in Gates's latest book, Business at the Speed of Thought. [online]. Microsoft becomes surprisingly Fayolistic in its Third Phase"Development." Both Fayol and Gates call this process management. Available:www.microsoft.com/MSF/process.html Solutions framework. (1999, March 28). Microsoft. Bill Gates has been the topic of more research papersthan any executive in current history. Available:www.microsoft.com/MSF/team.html Process model. Microsoft. He is a more "spatial"thinker, interested in Fuzzy Logic and AI. In 1996, while redeploying Microsoft aroundthe Internet, Gates rewrote and rethought the book to reflect his growinginvolvement with interactive networking as a major milestone in humanhistory. Unless I've been fooling myself. When Iread about great scientists like, say, Crick and Watson and how theydiscovered DNA, I get a lot of pleasure. (1995). Johnson, M. Some of these he uses are: (1) Contract(where a professional is brought in to solve one aspect of a problem); (2)Flex (where workers are brought in as needed); (3) Shared (where likeskills are shared by several units); and (4) Outsource (turning certain non-critical steps over to specialized companies for fulfillment). His management style is analyzed within the frameworkestablished by leadership theorist Conger who suggests that a charismaticleader is one who has both vision and strategy. Executive Summary A great body of research exists that suggests that organizations caneffect changes, whereas others suggested that organizations tend to arevictims of inertia. Gates himself is quotedfrom his Playboy interview, as well as concepts and ideas from his 1995book, The Road Ahead. Gates turned it down,which was a bold step for a young computer nerd. Managing in the next millennium, Oxford:Butterworth-Heinemann, Ltd. (1999, March 28).Microsoft. A "Why Not" Philosophy Gates' management philosophy can be summed up as "Why Not?" and hefreely admits that he has few "management heroes" (The Bill Gatesinterview, 1999, Online). Much of this is attributed to the historical fact that Gates isMicrosoft. Workers at Microsoft claim that Gates is a believer inMBWA, or "management by walking around." Gates himself attributes this tohis inability to stay in one place for very long (Gates, 1995, 23). San Francisco:Jossey-Bass. For instance, one canopen a document file with one click of a mouse. A., (1989). Business isn't that complicated. Deploy systems better with infrastructure model.

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