Leadership Style Nissan Company Case Study

Question: Discuss about theLeadership Stylefor Nissan Company Case Study. Answer: Introduction Organizational behavior refers to the study of the behaviour of employees in the organization (Stahl and Brannen, 2013, p. 22). This is different behavior which is different from the personal behaviour which is portrayed by the individuals when outside the organization setting. Organizational behavior is determined by certain factors such leadership, motivation, job satisfaction and opportunities for career development among others (George, 2015, p.1). This task focuses on the leadership style of Carlos Ghosn, a CEO of Nissan company whose leadership style transformed the company which was operating on losses to become profitable. This was highly attributable to his renowned transparency, analytical and listening skills. Nissan Company Case Overview Nissan Company had been making consecutive losses before Carlos Ghosn took over its leadership. This was caused by poor management and producing above capacity. When Carlos took over as the CEO of Nissan, the first step he took was to identify why the company was making losses. The reasons he identified were: lack of focus on profits, lack of customer focus; there was no sense of urgency, the absence of a clear vision and the existence of silos. Another problem that Ghosn identified was the seniority system. Employees promotion and pay depended on how long they had stayed in the firm which denied young people an opportunity to promote their talent which would be of benefit to the organization (Stahl Brannen, 2013, p.495). To overcome this Ghosn had to use a leadership style that would transform the organization. Ghosn Leadership Styles Analysis The leadership styles portrayed and adopted by the various leaders vary from one to dispute to another. The scholars argue that effective leadership style should be flexible to enable the leaders to make decisions in various situations (Renault, 2015, p. 6). The flexibility of the leadership style facilitates the leader to lead effectively and influence his or her subordinates in achieving the objectives of the organization. Similarly, Ghosn seems to adopt appropriate and suitable leadership styles the got each stakeholder in attaining the core goals of the company. Alternatively, the CEO showed appreciation of other managers in the lower radar and always considered their opinions when making decisions. Ghosn leadership style was that of transparency, simplicity, and consistency. Ghosn communication was simple, and his facts were clear when trying to convince the managers of the need for change. This made them understand clearly on the important steps that they needed for reviving the company. Ghosn was perceived to be open and transparent, and this made him be entrusted as the final decision maker after discussions with the executive committee. Consistency was an attribute that Ghosn considered important, and this enabled him to stay focused on his duties. For instance whatever he said to the press was what he said even in a one-on- one meeting. According to Barmeyer and Mayhofer (2015, p.348), leader's simple communication with his or her subordinates makes him approachable. This leads to development good relationship between the leaders, and thus they can share any information which they feel it may be good for the progress of the organization. Another leadership style used by Ghosn was that of simple formality. He was friendly to employees and listened to their opinions and was never aggressive with people since he considered their emotions and convictions. Ghosn considered specific actions and had clear timelines. Subordinates of Ghosn understood that they had to meet their targets and commitments even though the system was flexible. Showing off the employees' appreciation improves their motivation, and as a result, the overall performance of the organization improves (Stahl and Brannen, 2013, p. 498). In his leadership style, Ghosn identified the importance of the company having realistic ambitions, the need to stretch its goal and to offer a fair reward to the employees. Ghosn challenged people to work harder beyond their limits. This made the employees realize that they were capable of doing more. However, he was realistic about the capability of the workers. Ghosn ensured that the goals set were met by being demanding which kept the employees focused on their tasks. Ghosn believed that high return should be compensated with a rise in salaries and this motivated employees to work harder (Stahl Brannen, 2013, p.497). Ghosn used hands-on delegation in his leadership style. He was close to the operations, and his ability to go deeper into details concerning operations was unique. He was the head of different committees in the organization in which he participated in decision making. He delegated duties depending on the on the confidence he had in person and he would set clear targets and would meet with the person on a regular basis. If he lacked confidence in someones ability, he would not fully delegate the task until he got to the root of the problem (Stahl Brannen, 2013, p.500). Another leadership style that Ghosn applied was work/life balance. He did not work while at home and did not attend meetings scheduled on weekends. His leadership style showed that he valued his family. This helped him to strike a balance between work and family since leaders who fail to achieve this lack motivation leading to deterioration of their professional and personal lives. Ghosn practiced global leadership while working for Nissan. He had experiences from difference nationalities, and this enabled him to be conversant with different styles of communication. This enabled Ghosn to develop a leadership style which was consistent but flexible across various cultures. This helped in the publicity of Nissan Company which portrayed the company in a positive light (Barmeyer and Mayhofer, 2015, p.348). Conclusion The leadership style applied by Ghosn transformed Nissan to be one the most profitable companies. He understood that organization behaviour was paramount in any organization hence had to come up with ways to help in setting up an organization structure that was conducive for employees to work in. He realized that employees had to change their mentality towards work by encouraging them to perform above their capacity. He emphasized on the need to reward them fairly by increasing the returns to their work if they worked above their capacity which led to the transformation of Nissan Company. References Ahmadjian, C., 2015, July. Surviving the Ghosn Shock: The Effect of Institutional Logics on Buyer-Supplier Tie Dissolution and Creation in the Japanese Automotive Industry, 1984-2005. In 27th Annual Meeting. Sase. Barmeyer, C. and Mayrhofer, U., 2015. Case study III RenaultNissanDaimlars. International Business Strategy: Theory and Practice, p.348. George, E., 2015. The Novel Designed Car for Future. Advances in Automobile Engineering, 4(1), p.1. Ignatius, A. and Ghosn, C., 2016. Making the Car a Mobile, Connected Workspace. Lephart, T.S. and Kleiner, B., 2015. Excellence in Team Leadership. Journal of International Diversity, 2015(4). Lucas, H., 2013. Carlos Ghosn: Multicultural leader as CEO of Nissan and Renault. Docs. School Publications. Mohapatra, S. and Roy, S., 2015. Renault, Duster. 2015: dusting away competition or facing a dust storm? Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, 5(2), pp.1-18. Stahl, G.K. and Brannen, M.Y., 2013. Building cross-cultural leadership competence: An interview with Carlos Ghosn. Academy of Management Learning Education, 12(3), pp.494-502.