Organization behavior class in the news report Essay

Organization behavior class in the news report - Essay Example The author pointed out the openness of Grove to learn from his audience, his students. Being an educator at Stanford University, Grove have laid down a realistic case, very truthful indeed because it pertains to the future of his very own company. Tedlow used this incident to show his readers the leadership style of Grove. He wrote a brief biography of the CEO by accident, how, from being an engineer, he strove to become one of the most admired corporate leaders using his past experiences to as guides and educational tools. Tedlow also highlighted Grove's reliance on data during decision-making. He finally pointed out Grove's advocacy in independent thinking. Thinking for one's self using data and previous experiences (and mistakes) as references are cornerstones of Grove's leadership style. In the other article, "Peter Drucker On Leadership" Forbes author Rich Karlgaard used his personal interview with the management guru in plotting out the latter's basic leadership principles. The first point that the author raised is Drucker's emphasis on the question "What needs to be done" For Drucker, knowing what a leader needs to do, as opposed to the asking one's self "What do I want to do," is the key for successful management. Checking one's performance based on the things they ought to do is the next success factor of effective leaders. Drucker further emphasized that effective leaders are mission driven and are willing to turn down other irrelevant tasks to their mission. They also make clear what their current priorities are to their subordinates. A unique leadership style is also required. Focusing on strengths and delegating tasks you are weak at. To save time and money, Drucker also advised leaders to refrain from too much travelling and instead use the power of modern technologies to facilitate communication with subordinates. Karlgaard further warned leaders that misuse of charisma is detrimental to one's leadership. Better be a reliable silent leader than a deceitful charismatic one. Google's CEO Eric E. Schmidt narrowly focused strategy is what author Ben Elgin examines in his article "Google: A $50 Billion 'One Trick Pony'" in Business Week. Elgin showed how the search engine giant preferred to stick with its existing method of generating income than to diversify its advertising product line by exploring other income opportunities. The author commented that Google's singularity in its focus to its text advertisements might hurt the company in the future. Article Comparison These articles show three different perspectives on leadership. The first one is about the hands-on leadership principles accumulated by Andrew Grove. As a practicing business leader, Grove pointed out his first-hand wisdom on how to drive an organization to the top. Based on his past experiences of Grove's failures and successes, Tedlow gave us a picture on how the CEO riskily responded to the leadership problems that he encountered. The second article is more conservative and theoretical. It concerns more on the wisdom gained by an academe and business book writer, Peter Drucker. Drucker based his writings on his researches about CEO's. Being a business professor he gives us theoretical pointers rather than practical wisdom in leading an organization. Karlgaard's article is more of a commentary concerning the soundness of Schmidt's strategy. By limiting is focus on a single product line, Google has become a towering leader in that particular market. Despite these contrasts