Leadership and Management II
Abstract
In this paper you will read about how Costco uses effective leaders within its company to empower their employees and create a working environment that is enjoyable. This paper will aim to answer three questions: 1.) How does the flexible leadership theory apply to Costco’s operations? 2.) What is the CEO’s role in all of this? 3.) Can this work in your organization? If not, why?
After reading the Costco Case Study found in Gary Yulk’s book entitled Leadership in Organizations (7th Ed.), positive thoughts about how leadership has emerged and a feeling of confidence became eminent. Leaders really can be effective leaders and run a very productive company as shown by Jim Sinegal who is CEO of Costco. His outlook on the company is very inspiring and motivating for those reading the case study.
In looking for more information, another article by Gary Yukl came up in a search query entitled; how leaders influence organizational effectiveness, from the Leadership Quarterly magazine. In this article he really breaks down into separate sections what his flexible leadership theory is really all about. While reading this article and relating back to the Costco case study, one can see a correlation between the way Jim Sinegal manages/leads and how Yukl describes his flexible leadership theory.
In this article Gary Yukl (2008) outlines the flexible leadership theory as conceptualized primarily at the organizational level, and it includes four sets of variables: (1) organizational effectiveness, (2) performance determinants, (3) situational variables, and (4) leadership decisions and actions. He goes on in the article to explain the importance of each variable. He explains that effectiveness depends on three different primary performance determinants; (1) efficiency and process reliability, (2) human capital and (3) adaptation to the external environment (2008).
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References: Britt, J. (2010). Learn to Influence Others. Advisor Today, 105(5), 61. Retrieved from Business Source Complete database. Nahavandi, A. (2009). The Art and Science of Leadership (5th Ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. Yukl, G (2008). How leaders influence organizational effectiveness. Leadership Quarterly, 19(6), 708-722. doi: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2008.09.008. Retrieved from Business Source Complete database. Yukl, G. (2010). Leadership in Organizations (7th Ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education. ----------------------- Costco 8