Leadership

Leadership

Tim Cook

When Tim Cook took over as Apple CEO, few people believed he possessed the right leadership skills to take the company to the next level. Instead of asserting himself as the former CEO, Cook sits back, listens to other employees, and gives advice. Another leadership characteristic is shifting focus from making Apple an innovative giant to caring about the environment and its people. Since Cook took over, employees’ factory working conditions have improved immensely. Besides, he has implemented policies that help employees attain medical coverage. Implementing policies that show employees that they are valued boosts their productivity (Champoux, 2020). Also, Tim has shown humility: he finds time to engage customers at Apple’s stores and responds to emails from some clients. Such humility has helped him stay grounded (Dubois et al., 2015), and it is the epitome of the organizational support he enjoys.

Solving Conflicts

One of the successful conflict resolution strategies used at Apple is empathy. It is all about letting employees explain themselves and be heard. Cook’s leadership style is more inclined towards empathy to solve conflicts, helping employees in a conflict attain a win-win solution. Besides, third-party intervention is common in resolving conflicts at Apple. A third party can be a member of the organization with no interest in the conflict at hand and must be supported by all parties (Champoux, 2020). The third party proposes a compromise subject to acceptance by all parties in a conflict.

However, Apple faces hostility in other countries, a direct import of cultural barriers. For instance, the company has been criticized in China for giving a one-year warranty instead of two (Shonk, 2019). Besides, the company was in the spotlight for charging a whopping $90 to replace a back phone cover. The company was being accused of imposing American standards on the Chinese.

Overcoming Cultural Barriers

Apple should take a conciliatory approach when dealing with a country like China. Although apologies are primarily helpful in moments of vulnerability, they come in handy during conflict resolution (Shonk, 2019). Apologizing to the Chinese people and promising to work on perceived maligned warranty policies will create a positive perception.

References

Champoux, J. E. (2020). ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR: integrating individuals, groups, and organizations. Routledge.

DuBois, M., Hanlon, J., Koch, J., Nyatuga, B., & Kerr, N. (2015). Leadership styles of effective project managers: Techniques and traits to lead high-performance teams. Journal of Economic             Development, Management, IT, Finance, and Marketing, 7(1), 30.

Shonk, K. (2019, July). Cultural Barriers and Conflict Negotiation Strategies: Apple’s Apology in China. PON – Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/dispute-resolution/dispute-resolution-in-china-apple-apologizes-for-warranty-policies/

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nit 8.1 Discussion: LeadershipUnit 8.1 Discussion: Leadership
Consider a highly visible businessperson in a leadership position. Consider a highly visible leader whose styles/traits fit in terms of what we have learned from our reading.

What characteristics have made this person successful?
Since all leaders encounter dissension at some point, what characteristics have helped this person handle conflict and what characteristics have hindered him/her?
How could the latter be addressed effectively?
Provide examples and cite all resources.
To recap, focus on applying the various leadership styles to your real-world example instead of providing an assessment of leadership qualities and achievement.