Value ChainEssay title: Value Chain“LEADERSHIP,” writes the historian James MacGregor Burns, “is one of the most observed and least understood phenomena on earth.” Indeed, there are untold volumes on leadership. Why, then, bother to write still another book about it? Because, although ours is a business dominated society, we have so little detailed discussion of business leadership. There are business chronicles, stories of great corporations and their achievements, some exposйs, and other vehicles of self-justification. There are descriptions of ends attained, of outcomes. There are news reports of spectacular executive success. But nowhere is there specific documentation of the characteristic behavior of business leaders. Nor is it easy to define what a business leader is. The business world is an arena for achievers. Some are great financial manipulators. Some are spectacular marketeers. Some are technical innovators. Some build and rebuild communities. Are they leaders? They are executives, perhaps, but not always leaders.
The minds of CEOs are, in aggregate, a tremendous center of power in society. Upon these minds – how they tick, how they prioritize, how they view the vectors of change depends on the transmission of know-how, technology, capital, and jobs. In addition, as globalization increases, the socioeconomic impact of their thoughts becomes all the greater.
Gone is the day of the stern looking, tight lipped, antisocial dark suit who sits positioned in the large corner office secured by twelve foot walnut doors with gold handles. Todays workers demand involvement and interaction from upper management, no longer do the baby boomers see fit to have P and L figures discussed between upper management only. In order to be a successful CEO in todays society you must be able to demonstrate an understanding of the dynamics of value enhancement, to be aware of opportunities and to exploit them. The future and success of the company depends on how you view the company and how your employees view you. A CEOs understanding can have no limits, adapting to change is just a small step in dealing with the organizations future. When we discuss change we have to keep in mind that, the largest of corporations feel the pressures of change on a global level, competing with our global trading partners such as Japan, China, and Europe. In order to be global a corporation must be able to compete on a worldwide basis and to do this managers must be able to think globally.
Today’s CEO is required to come out of his designation ambit. Sociologists argue that when large organizations falter and fail it is because of bureaucratic rigidity, which Marxist economists contend is the result of capitalistic oligarchic power. Such structural explanations attribute failure to the way the business is organized or the economy is managed. But we know from military experience that while one battalion might have high morale, few casualties, and great combat success, a comparable battalion might have quite the opposite. The same is true of comparable manufacturing plants in the same corporation. Other factors being relatively equal, the most significant difference between one organization and another is neither sociological nor economic. Rather, it lies in a leadership style that gives direction, evolves structure, and allocates power. That leadership style is most relevant to much of contemporary management when it can be viewed in the context of a highly structured organization with
a more diverse workforce, and those who control that leadership style.
Inequality, or the mismanagement of resources, can undermine the role of workers in organizing, sustaining, and implementing work. The greatest failure of corporate structure and leadership tactics is that they allow workers to be exploited, without their knowledge or consent, while those workers who are fully responsible for developing and implementing their strategy still get rewarded. They earn the loyalty and support of most members of their team, all because of the way they do things that do a great deal for the organization, such as creating and implementing work processes and procedures, and supporting personnel for the company and a wide organization. They have the power to make decisions and make decisions that are often perceived as a waste of time and energy. They can also corrupt or steal from the employees of the organization.
On the other hand, the highest degree of corruption is one that is at the root of many of those who run and command. The most successful leaders are those that are accountable and committed to the principles of economic justice, workers’ control, and workers’ best interests in a variety of meaningful ways. They need to bring about an end to the economic instability in their organization, the economic instability of their workforce, the economic instability of their workplaces, the economic instability of their bosses, and other factors that make their organization more desirable. To do those things, these members must be accountable, committed to employees’ best interests, and willing to meet workers’ needs in other ways than by simply organizing, maintaining, and implementing work schedules. That is what makes these workers better organized and disciplined.
Unfortunately, many of the organizations that are struggling today have an opportunity to build a new type of organization to help them deal with their broken culture and inefficiency. Even the best of them are left with enormous problems and are more likely to succeed in their work if they are committed and committed to the values of those ideals. Without a serious job-creating program in place, workers’ productivity will go down the drain as more and more of these groups lack leadership and can no longer compete in the workforce. The results of this crisis will be dire to many.
With a full range of leadership training and an organization-wide organizational training plan, professionals are most at risk of failing and becoming unemployable within a short time if employers fail to support their ability to create and execute long-term value to business owners and employees. With many workers in this highly structured and highly organized context not receiving the training necessary to take these leadership or organizational stances, most likely many of those who are struggling are not even paid what they have been paid for. Instead, the business owners, employees, administrators, management, and the public face a growing financial, business, and ideological problem that threatens to overwhelm many of the small businesses that do not have leadership training, management systems, and staff knowledge.
Inequality is the root problem of big corporations. It is also one of the problems that is driving more and more companies out of America and into the worlds of the West. Businesses that have failed because of the quality and quality of their workforce have lost more of their power over workers’ choices, wages, and decisions through increased efficiency and the loss of leadership talent which was only achieved when employees and managers were under more duress. The majority of the companies that have failed because of the quality of their workforce have fallen to the bottom of the economic ladder.
A great many organizations that are struggling today also seem to have failed because of the fact that only about 10% of their workforce are actually engaged in labor. This is because of a few things:
Too many corporations have been run by unscrupulous unions and political leaders that are simply unable to effectively fight for worker rights and protections. Instead of trying to implement a progressive program for working people that keeps workers in the work-week and increases pay, the corporations that are running these problems are just as likely to exploit and kill workers as to take their workers to beat the clock.
The corporate agenda is highly coordinated by powerful unions, political leaders, and