Leadership, Teambuilding, and Communication Essay

Leadership, Teambuilding, and Communication - Essay Example These three characteristics are therefore an essential part of an organization, and from their study, one can come up with a conclusive understanding of an organization’s performance. This essay takes a look at some of the organizational behaviors at Apple Inc. The company has been a complete success to the extent of being a team leader in its line of production. Apple Inc. itself, however, has had a unique organizational behavior since its formation to its present status. This unique trend has been especially in terms of leadership, which has been attributed largely by the number of times the company has had to change its leaders in order to be able to reach a suitable leader and to deliver the company’s objectives. The following analysis gives an inside look into Apple Inc.’s organizational behavior focusing on the leadership trends, teambuilding activities, and communication level. Leadership theories and interpersonal forms of power at Apple Inc. Appleâ€℠¢s organizational behavior Right from its inception into the technology business, Apple Inc. has had a historic background in its leadership, leading it to become a market leader in its field. The achievement can only be linked to the organization’s dedication and severity when it comes to leadership. Over many years, there have been a number of developmental changes in the organization’s structure and leadership. The organization’s objective of changing the world through a provision of computers to the masses has led to multiple changes within the company that have either been positive or negative to the company’s growth (Freedman & Vohr, 1991). The company was first under a centralized organizational structure in 1983, being run by its co-founder Steve Jobs and CEO Markkula. Under this structure, authority was restricted only to higher levels of leadership which were all under Markkula (Schermerhorn, Hunt, Osborn, & Uhl-Bien, 2010). At its early stage, the organization was made up of five product divisions, an additional four divisions offering product support services and other several administrative departments (Freedman & Vohr, 1991). All the divisions and departments reported to Markkula and Jobs; however, this system was not an effective one. This is because, with time, there started to be divisions of interest within the divisions unto which the newly appointed CEO had to carryout re-organization and restructure of the management system (Apple Inc. 2010). Over the years, there have been several changes in the management of the company including the dismissal and re-appointment of the company’s co-founder Steve Jobs. This essay will forego all the changes that took place in the company and concentrate on the leadership of Steve Jobs and his influence over the company during his tenure as the company’s CEO. Traditional leadership theories The traditional leadership theory was first described by Marx Weber (1947). The leadership theory relates to a style that bases its belief in power being bequeathed to a leader as a way of maintaining tradition. According to Chun Hai (2007), Weber gave the characteristics of a traditional leader as: The leader’s followers gain favor in terms of promotions depending on the office politics. The leaders gain followers, owing to the fact that they are in their current position, but not due to their individual charisma. The leaders get

International Economic Problems Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

International Economic Problems - Coursework Example It measures the average price of goods relative to the average price of goods of trading partners. a. The Calculation of the multilateral trade-weighted annual U.S. dollar exchange rates (USD per unit of foreign currency) with respect to four major trading partners of the United States: Canada, Mexico, China, and Germany, from 2007 (normal time) to 2013 (not so normal time) involves aggregation that take the following form: (Please note that weights are the volumes of US trade (exports + imports) with each trading partners). The weights for the j currencies included in the TWI are then calculated by re-scaling the trade shares so that they sum to 100. The inverse of the share of trade accounted for by the currencies included in the TWI basket, which make up at least 90 per cent of U.S’s total merchandise and services two-way trade. c. Calculate the real value of multilateral trade-weighted monthly average U.S. dollar exchange rates (use CPI of each nation to convert nominal exchange rate to real exchange rate. Index the real values of multilateral trade-weighted exchange rates (2007 = 100). d. With help of excel make two line graphs of the multilateral trade weighted-average monthly exchange rates (the nominal and the real). Write a short essay (about 100 words) on the performance of trade-weighted U.S. dollar exchange rates and its possible effects on U.S. trade with major trading partners. The exchange rate plays an important role in the tradable sector of the U.S. economy since movements in the exchange rate affect both the demand and supply of export and imports. The rise and fall of the exchange rate of the major trading partners of the U.S. is therefore an important point to the analysis of the U.S. economy. The unstable foreign currency value of the dollar over the past years and the increase in the U.S. price inflation recently have caused rippled pressure and concerns on the depreciating value of the U.S. dollar. Both