MANAGEMENT
CONCEPTS AND
PRACTICES
CASE STUDY : HOW A LEADER CAN
LEAD TO SUCCESS IN A COMPANY
SUBMITTED TO : MS. PRIYA
SUBMITTED BY : SHELLY ARORA
B.COM. LL.B (Hons)
213 , SECTION D
YEAR : 2015
Acknowledgement
I am using this opportunity to express my gratitude to everyone who supported me
throughout the course of this Management concepts and practices project. I am
thankful for the aspiring guidance, invaluably constructive criticism and friend advice
during the project work. I am sincerely grateful to them for sharing their truthful and
illuminating views on a number of issues related to the project. I will strive to use gained
skills and knowledge in the best possible way, and I will continue to work on their
improvement.
I express my warm thanks to my subject teacher Ms. Priya for giving me opportunity to
work on this topic and without her support and guidance ,I would have not completed
this project.
Furthermore I would also like to acknowledge with much appreciation the crucial role of
the Library staff of the department, who gave the permission to use all
required equipment, books and necessary material required to complete the task, and
thanks to all the people who provided me with the facilities being required and
conductive conditions for my Management Concepts and Practices project. . I choose
this moment to acknowledge their contribution gratefully.
A special thanks goes to my class mate, who help me to assemble the parts and gave
suggestion about the task .
I also acknowledge with a deep sense of reverence, my gratitude towards my parents
and members of my family, who has always a supported me morally as well as
economically.
Any omission in this brief acknowledgement does not mean lack of gratitude.
Thanking you
Shelly Arora
G
LEADERSHIP
Define Leadership - What is leadership?
Leadership is not an end in itself, but a means to bring out the best in people, to inspire and
motivate them to commit their energies, skills and talents to delivering the organizations
vision.
As leadership is focused on the Vision it is all about the 'future' focus. Leadership seeks to find
new opportunities for individuals and the organization to be a success in the future . That
might mean dealing first with very difficult situations that threatened survival today. In tackling
those threats leadership still seeks to create the better future and seize opportunities.
As leadership tackles the future it needs to empower and harness the capability and potential
of the people and other resources which can come together to make that future. To make the
future and vision a reality and create and seek new opportunities leadership is about delivering
successful and useful change.
In all of that a key message is that leadership is all about behaviors that take the people and
organization to a new future.
In making change work Leadership influences the behavior and actions of others. Modern
views of leadership have moved away from influence using authority, position, command and
control, to a focus on influencing by:
Relating to and connecting with people
Building trust
Motivating, inspiring and empowering people
Creating a compelling vision of the future
Communicating that vision in a way that builds commitment to it
Role modeling honesty and integrity.
Qualities That Make a
Great Leader
Having a great idea, and assembling a team to bring that concept to life is the first step
in creating a successful business venture. While finding a new and unique idea is rare
enough; the ability to successfully execute this idea is what separates the dreamers
from the entrepreneurs. However you see yourself, whatever your age may be, as soon
as you make that exciting first hire, you have taken the first steps in becoming a
powerful leader.
Here are some key qualities that every good leader should possess,
and learn to emphasize.
1) Honesty
Whatever ethical plane you hold yourself to, when you are responsible for a team of
people, its important to raise the bar even higher. Your business and its employees are
a reflection of yourself, and if you make honest and ethical behavior a key value, your
team will follow suit.
2) Ability to Delegate
Delegating tasks to the appropriate departments is one of the most important skills you
can develop as your business grows
The key to delegation is identifying the strengths of your team, and capitalizing on them.
Find out what each team member enjoys doing most. Chances are if they find that task
more enjoyable, they will likely put more thought and effort behind it. This will not only
prove to your team that you trust and believe in them, but will also free up your time to
focus on the higher level tasks, that should not be delegated. Its a fine balance, but one
that will have a huge impact on the productivity of your business.
3) Communication
Being able to clearly and succinctly describe what you want done is extremely
important. If you cant relate your vision to your team, you wont all be working towards
the same goal.
Training new members and creating a productive work environment all depend on
healthy lines of communication. Whether that stems from an open door policy to your
office, or making it a point to talk to your staff on a daily basis, making yourself available
to discuss interoffice issues is vital. Your team will learn to trust and depend on you, and
will be less hesitant to work harder.
4) Sense of Humor
Morale is linked to productivity, and its your job as the team leader to instill a positive
energy. Thats where your sense of humor will finally pay off. Encourage your team to
laugh at the mistakes instead of crying. If you are constantly learning to find the humor
in the struggles, your work environment will become a happy and healthy space, where
your employees look forward to working in, rather than dreading it.
5) Confidence
Part of your job as a leader is to put out fires and maintain the team morale. Keep up
your confidence level, and assure everyone that setbacks are natural and the important
thing is to focus on the larger goal. As the leader, by staying calm and confident, you will
help keep the team feeling the same. Remember, your team will take cues from you, so
if you exude a level of calm damage control, your team will pick up on that feeling. The
key objective is to keep everyone working and moving ahead.
6) Commitment
If you expect your team to work hard and produce quality content,
youre going to need to lead by example.
By proving your commitment to the brand and your role, you will not only earn the
respect of your team, but will also instill that same hardworking energy among your
staff. Its important to show your commitment not only to the work at hand, but also to
your promises. If you pledged to host a holiday party, or uphold summer Fridays, keep
your word
7) Positive Attitude
You want to keep your team motivated towards the continued success of the company,
and keep the energy levels up. Keep the office mood a fine balance between
productivity and playfulness. If your team is feeling happy and upbeat, chances are they
wont mind staying that extra hour to finish a report, or devoting their best work to the
brand.
8) Creativity
Some decisions will not always be so clear-cut. You may be forced at times to deviate
from your set course and make an on the fly decision. This is where your creativity will
prove to be vital. It is during these critical situations that your team will look to you for
guidance and you may be forced to make a quick decision.
As a leader, it is important to learn to think outside the box and to choose which of two
bad choices is the best option. Dont immediately choose the first or easiest possibility;
sometimes it is best to give these issues some thought, and even turn to your team for
guidance.
9) Intuition
When leading a team through uncharted waters, there is no roadmap on what to do.
Everything is uncertain, and the higher the risk, the higher the pressure. That is
where your natural intuition has to kick in. Guiding your team through the process of
your day-to-day tasks can be honed down to a science.
Drawing on past experience is a good reflex, as is reaching out to your mentors for
support. Eventually though, the tough decisions will be up to you to decide and you will
need to depend on your gut instinct for answers. Learning to trust yourself is as
important as your team learning to trust you.
10) Ability to Inspire
Creating a business often involves a bit of forecasting. Especially in the beginning stages
of a startup, inspiring your team to see the vision of the successes to come is vital. Make
your team feel invested in the accomplishments of the company.
Being able to inspire your team is great for focusing on the future goals, but it is also
important for the current issues.
Acknowledge the work that everyone has dedicated and commend the team on each of
their efforts. It is your job to keep spirits up, and that begins with an appreciation for the
hard work.
MICROSOFT COMPANY PROFILE
Microsoft Corporation India is one of the fastest growing subsidiaries of Microsoft
Corporation, the worldwide leader in software, services, and solutions.
The Microsoft India story began in 1990, picked up greatly in the new millennium, and
has grown steadily since then. Now, as India takes its place as a leader in the global
knowledge economy, Microsoft continues to be an active partner in the countrys
growth.
We believe that technology innovation is critical to sustainable economic growth and
social development. At Microsoft India, we work on things that make a real difference in
the lives of billions of people like you.
With annual revenues of more than $32 billion, Microsoft Corporation is more than the
largest software company in the world: it is a cultural phenomenon. The company's core
business is based on developing, manufacturing, and licensing software products,
including operating systems, server applications, business and consumer applications,
and software development tools, as well as Internet software, technologies, and
services. Led by Bill Gates, the world's wealthiest individual and most famous
businessman, Microsoft has succeeded in placing at least one of its products on virtually
every personal computer in the world, setting industry standards and defining markets
in the process.
Microsoft's ambitions are anything but small. The world's #1 software company
develops and sells a variety of products used by consumers and businesses. Its core
products are the ubiquitous Windows PC operating system and the Office business
productivity application suite that are sold in part through PC makers such
as Acer, Lenovo, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and Toshiba, who pre-install the software on
devices. Microsoft also sells directly online and through resellers. Other products
include enterprise applications (Microsoft Dynamics), server and storage software, and
video game consoles (Xbox). It also makes mobile phone software. Microsoft has
acquired Nokia's handset business.
Satya Nadella is Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft. Before being named CEO on
February 4, 2014, Nadella held leadership roles in both enterprise and consumer
businesses across the company.
After joining Microsoft in 1992, Nadella quickly became known within the company as a
leader who could span a breadth of technologies and businesses to transform some of
Microsofts biggest product offerings.
Prior to his role as CEO, Nadella was executive vice president of Microsofts Cloud and
Enterprise group, one of the companys fastest-growing and most profitable businesses.
While Nadella was there, the groups revenue increased by 22 percent, and its profits by
33 percent. Previously, Nadella led R&D for the Online Services Division, guiding the
development of one of the largest cloud infrastructures in the world, to support
products including Bing, Xbox and Office.
As Microsofts third CEO (succeeding Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates), Satya Nadella brings
a relentless drive for innovation and a spirit of collaboration to the role. He says he
joined Microsoft 22 years ago because he saw how clearly Microsoft empowers people
to do magical things and ultimately make the world a better place. Many companies, he
explains, aspire to change the world. But very few have all the elements required:
talent, resources and perseverance. Microsoft has proven that it has all three in
abundance.
SATYA NADELLA AS
LEADER
Microsoft is enjoying a resurgence that many attribute to its new CEO. Satya Nadella is
certainly galvanizing the company, and the enthusiasm of product teams at the
recent Build 2014 conference was noticeable.
Like the White Queen, Nadella has been associated with a few things usually considered
impossible at Microsoft.
He moved from sales to engineering
Nadella was hired from Sun, and his first job at Microsoft was on the WebTV project a
service that went from being a cheap computer for the non-technical to a set-top box
service delivering TV over the internet, losing its founder along with its broader vision. It
was acquired in 1997, just as Microsoft fought off an attempt to reopen the DoJ case
against the company, and killed in 2013 just as Apple was starting to get somewhere
with Apple TV. Although WebTV is the reason Microsoft has a campus in silicon valley, it
never gave Microsoft the foothold in the living room it was hoping for and WebTV hasn't
always been a positive thing to have on your CV at Microsoft.
He saved Microsoft's web search
Enjoy voice controlling your Xbox One? Both rely heavily on Microsoft's Bing search
service, which is really a large machine learning system (just like Google). Bing is still a
distant second in web search, but it's far more successful and works far better
than its predecessor, Live Search. That's thanks to the FAST search team Microsoft
bought to improve SharePoint and the Power Set team purchased for its work on
understanding the concepts behind the things we search for. It's also thanks to lots of
hard work from the Bing engineers and the researchers at MSR and the head of the
division when all of this work was being done, Satya Nadella.
He took over from Bob Muglia and nobody hated him for it
Nadella replaced the much-loved, deeply-respected Bob Muglia as the head of the
server and tools business. It's widely believed that Muglia left because he wasn't 'all in'
on the cloud and didn't believe Microsoft's cloud products were mature enough to focus
on. It's hard to replace a popular leader, but Nadella did it without any backlash even
while taking the direction that Muglia seems not to have agreed with. That's a sign of a
good leader.
He made Azure relevant
The transformation of Windows 7 into a secure, fast, high-performance operating
system went hand-in-hand with the work done to deliver Windows Server 2012, which
has been Microsoft's most successful server OS, with virtualization features that match
and often leapfrog VMware (particularly software-defined networking). But at the same
time, under Nadella, Azure went from being a minimal service that was too far ahead of
what business customers actually wanted, to a powerful way to exploit the efficiencies
of a giant, heavily automated data centre; it became far cheaper to run the server
workloads customers still wanted, and they could be enticed to try out services for
running websites, hosting data and other Platform-as-a-Service tasks.
Today Azure is coming out with new features every three weeks, hosting more
customers than anyone else in the cloud and underpinning everything from Apple's
iCloud to Samsung Smart TV to NBC's streaming of the Olympics.
He made 'devices and services' make sense
On his very first day as CEO, Nadella described the 'devices and services' strategy, which
Steve Ballmer had been pitching since the One Microsoft reorganized last year, and got
people to understand it by using the word 'software' which is what everyone
associates with Microsoft. Devices was never just Surface and Xbox; it was always about
Microsoft finding a way to be relevant on all the different devices we use today from
Kindle to iPad and Android phones to wearables such as socks that sense how fast
you're running. And services was never just Microsoft's own services such as Office 365,
Azure and Bing; it was always about working well with other services like the way you
can sign a document that lives on Office 365 using the DocuSign app on your iPhone
because the services work together.
Ballmer never managed to clearly explain the breadth of the 'devices and services'
vision; under Nadella, Microsoft has announced and launched multiple examples,
from Office for iPad to Cortana (a Bing service on a Windows Phone device).
Innovation trumps institutional structures.
Nadella has a mandate to effect a change in culture at Microsoft. But what is the right
mindset to try to develop throughout an organization that employs more than 100,000
people? Nadella says the top priority should be "recognizing innovation and fostering its
growth." Making that happen is "not going to come because of an org chart or the
organizational boundaries," he says. "Most people have a very strong sense of
organizational ownership, but I think what people have to own is an innovation agenda,
and everything is shared in terms of the implementation."
LEADERSHIP TRAITS
Satya Nadella started his new role as CEO at Microsoft early this month with a
promise to "change the world through technology." Although it's way too early to see if
he will succeed in achieving that lofty goal, it's not too early to hear about the business
philosophies that will guide his effort.
Leadership philosophy
After accepting the esteemed position, the 47-year-old has been gaining recognition for
his thoughtful demeanor and ability to bring out the best in employees. Below are six
key takeaway points from Nadellas leadership style that we can all benefit from, as
leaders in our own right.
1. Never stop learning
Nadella loves to learn. He buys more books than he can read, and signs up for online
courses. Improving skills and widening our breadth of knowledge keeps us on our toes,
and generates respect from others. After all, how can we ask our employees to stay in
top mental condition without holding ourselves accountable to do the same? Nadella
says he finds inspiration in people who are doing interesting things in new ways and
puts this into practice in his own life.
2. Choose to create impact
When asked why he accepted the daunting positing of Microsoft CEO, Nadella said that
it came down to one thing: impact. The position of CEO is one that will enable him to
take human potential and apply it to the world in significant ways. How many other jobs
offer the same opportunity? Rather than let the power go to his head, the CEO has
stayed humble in his new influential position, feeling honored and excited by the
challenges and possibilities that lie ahead.
3. Find ways to innovate
Nadellas primary goal is clear: to remove any and all obstacles that are in the way of
innovation. He also wants to focus on the type of innovation unique to his company.
Everyone can innovate but what can your company innovate differently and better
than others?
4. Make meaning a priority
One of Nadellas strongest qualities is that he thinks about his employees, often. This
might seem obvious, but its not often put into practice: many of todays CEOs disregard
employee health and satisfaction in favor of less meaningful things. Nadella understands
that his employees need to feel that their work has meaning. He motivates his staff
by tapping into their underlying sense of fulfillment.
5. Be a team player
Those who knew him from his school days back in India say that Nadella was always a
team member, ready to accept any challenges that came his way. Like many Indians,
Nadella grew up with a love for the sport of cricket. He even attributes the game to
much of his business success: I think playing cricket taught me much about working on
teams and leadership that has stayed with me throughout my career.
6. Direct, dont control
As leaders, we need to collaborate with our teams not control them.
Of Nadellas leadership style, his colleague and peer Bill Hilf says:
He is very inclusive. He brings people in and gets them excited to work on stuff, and
thats what I think his magic is his authenticity and the way he is able to inspire
people and not just push them. He can inspire them to do great work and get them
motivated and excited. Thats really about him as a person: Whether he was running a
technology company or a non-profit, he would have the same demeanor.
Our collective challenge
As in the field of computer technology, most industries in our present age dont respect
tradition and thats a good thing. What they do respect, in Nadellas words, is
innovation on a go-forward basis. And so, it becomes our collective challenge to find
ways to make our companies thrive in the current business climate. How can we enable
people to do more, create more, and play more? Nadellas recipe for success includes
amassing talent, resources, and adding heaps of perseverance to find solutions to the
worlds present and future needs. The world is changing, fast. What are you doing to be
the leader of tomorrow, today?
