Leadership Preferences in Japan an exploratory study

Introduction Japan is one of the most rapidly growing economies in the larger Asian continent. Many researchers have attempted to explore the various ways of life in this country including their institutional management, culture, and other diverse peculiar preferences. This report paper will offer a summary of the work conducted in finding out the most preferred leadership styles by Japanese followers in relation to the appropriateness of the Bass and Avolio’s full-range leadership model.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Leadership Preferences in Japan: an exploratory study specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It will discuss the purpose of the research, the research methodology used, the findings, the problems encountered and their practical implications, and finally the impact of the Bass and Avolio’s and House’s leadership theories. Objective The case study sought to explore the most preferred leadership styles by the Japanese followers. The appropriateness of the entire Bass and Avolio’s model of leadership was also investigated. The research provides a review of the existing literature concerning the various leadership styles and theories, and culture that can be considered to influence the preference of a given way of leadership, especially by the Japanese followers. The case study provides the nine scales of leadership extracted from Bass and Avolio’s full-range leadership model which most western researchers over the last two decades have considered it to have a universal influence. On the contrary, this case study explores the suitability of this model to the led people of Japan. Methods In order to come up with reliable findings and conclusion, the study mostly used a qualitative approach in the collection of data. Templates and numerous contents were also analysed. The data was collected in two phases: Phase 1 involved the use of semi-structured int erviews while questionnaires were used during the second Phase. Three research questions were used: What are the perceptions of Japanese followers regarding contemporary culture? What are the perceptions of Japanese followers towards Bass and Avolio’s full-range leadership model? Are there aspects of leadership not covered by Bass and Avolio’s full-range leadership model, which can be defined as culture-specific conceptualisations of Japanese leadership? This study involved 12 Japanese interviewees (five females and seven males), with an average age of 32.5. The respondents were Japanese employees and they identified themselves as followers under the supervision of Japanese leaders, and were drawn from several industries in Japan. The subjects were asked three general questions at random. The first one sought to know the respondent’s recognition of Japanese leadership; the second enquired the kind of leader that the interviewee would like to work with, and las tly, the subject’s perception of Japanese culture. The data collected constituted Phase 1 and were analysed by template.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Phase 2 of the study involved the use of questionnaires and composed of 57 Japanese respondents (38 males and 19 females with an average age of 33.1) who were drawn from a cross-section of Japanese industries. The questions were a further breakdown of the first three used in Phase 1 into 15 of them. Unlike in phase 1, Phase 2 was analysed by the content of the questionnaires. The language used in both phases was Japanese but the authors translated it into English. Results The interview results (Phase 1): According to the study, most of the interviewees, when asked about the trend of the Japanese culture, their responses implied that the Japanese culture and the management systems have been changing as a result of int ernationalisation, the impact of the bubble economy, and the financial crisis experienced in Asia. Furthermore, they identified a significant change from male chauvinism to gender equality, as reflected in the ever increasing number of female employees in virtually all Japanese places of work. However, two male interviewees suggested that male chauvinism, in their perception, still existed. Two of them suggested that collectivism was still part and parcel of Japanese culture while two interviewees indicated that there had been a significant change from collectivism to individualism. Moreover, two interviewees thought seniority was still part of Japanese work culture. In the contrary, five suggested that meritocracy was on the rise. On the other hand, eleven interviewees provided their responses concerning the Bass and Avolio’s full-range leadership styles. Firstly, despite the fact that idealized influence attributed is one of the five transformational leadership styles which are expected to be the most effective as far as enhancing performance is concerned, only two interviewees approved its use. Nine of them indicated negative attitude towards this style of leadership.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Leadership Preferences in Japan: an exploratory study specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Six interviewees were positive about the use of idealized influence behaviours style of leadership. The collective sense of mission and the keenness towards decision-making exhibited by such leaders was their core reason for liking the style. However, five of the interviewees expressed their dislike, emphasising that in business, what matters most is the â€Å"outcome.† Moreover, although it is one of the core transformational styles of leadership, the study had only five interviewees approving the use of inspirational motivation. Some of them suggested that any leader in Japan who talked op timistically about the future was no longer effective following the burst of Japan’s economy. Most of them explained that followers needed a leader who has a proper understanding of managing risk and contingency plans instead of a ‘hopeful’ leader. All the 11 interviewees approved a leader who exhibits the intellectual stimulation style. This was due to their belief that such a leader has the potential of solving the day to day problems and proposing strategies of handling future issues. Individualised consideration, on the other hand, was supported by seven interviewees. The interviewees who approved of such a style considered its effectiveness especially as companies increasingly focused on individual performance and competences. This follows the perceived growth of meritocracy in Japan. Those interviewees who were negative on this style of leadership suggested that group targets might not be achieved if the leader focuses on individual needs. Contingent reward , which is a transactional style of leadership, and supposed to be less effective compared to the five transformational styles of leadership in motivating the workers to optimum out put, was supported by 8 interviewees. They suggested that the use of rewards depending on performance to motivate employees was very effective in enhancing motivation. For the case of management-by-exception active, one interviewee claimed that it was not dispensable while the rest did not endorse it, either. They argued that such leaders cause tension in the work place and hence less motivation of followers. Similarly, management-by exception passive was not approved by any of the interviewees and they expressed their unilateral dislike of the laissez-faire leadership approach.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The third part of the study evaluated the Japanese leadership styles. The opinions of the interviewees on the actual styles of leadership in Japan included directive leadership, participative leadership, social activities outside work, and overtime-work. Two interviewees explained that their leaders embraced directive style of leadership where they give specific orders to be strictly followed, whereas three interviewees mentioned participative leadership. Two of them saw this type of leader as very accommodative and one claimed that the participative style can be problematic if the leader cannot make own decisions. Eight interviewees approved the need for social activities outside work. Seven explained that such activities provide the platform for followers to interact with their leaders and share openly. Furthermore, six interviewees mentioned overtime-work. Most of them thought that there was still overtime-work in most Japanese companies and that the length of the overtime-work d epends, to some degree, on the type of leader in charge. During the study, Protective, network, and gender equality leadership was mentioned by the interviewees. Four interviewees approved the protective leader who can stand up for them and defend them from the onslaught of senior mangers. On the other hand, three interviewees supported the network leadership and expected their leader to help them advance in their career-path by being influential. Furthermore, gender equality was mentioned by three subjects. Two of the interviewees saw it as appropriate for the then current state of affairs in Japan. Only one interviewee considered this idea as being superficial and a western ideology without any relevant Japanese adjustment. The questionnaire results (Phase 2) From the study, 30 respondents, representing 52.6 % felt that the Japanese culture had some convergence with the Western culture as a result of globalisation. 24 (42.1%) thought that internationalisation had not caused any co nvergence between Japanese and western culture, and a low 5.3% were not sure whether there was any convergence. In relation to Bass and Avolio’s full-range leadership model, 51 respondents provided useful information concerning the type of leader(s) whom they would prefer to work with or under. The responses were initially compared with the nine â€Å"assumed categories† from Bass and Avolio’s full-range leadership model. The content analysis method was used in the comparison. From the analyses, 51 % approved the individualised consideration while intellectual stimulation received seven positive comments. Contingent reward, on the other hand, had five respondents supporting it while management-by-exception active had two. Inspirational motivation, idealised influence behaviour, and idealised influence attributed each received one positive comment. Moreover, management-by-exception passive and laissez-faire were approved by none of the respondents. When asked to comment about their individual preferences towards Bass and Avolio’s full-range leadership style, according to the study, most of the respondents did not endorse many of the transformational styles of leadership. In fact, 34 respondents, representing 59.6 % of the respondents, were positive about contingent reward, which is a transactional style of leadership. As for the Japanese leadership styles, the study investigated both the actual and the preferred styles of leadership. 49 responses were considered useful for the research analysis. The participative leadership was the most mentioned followed by directive leadership. Authoritarian and protective leadership follow respectively. Next, there were the bargaining and laissez-faire, followed by supportive style. The ones that were least mentioned are punctual and egocentric leadership. Further findings reveal that Japanese followers believe that their leaders base their judgments more upon their own abilities, competences, and performances instead of gender differences or age. 68.4 % of the respondents approved the worth of overtime-work. Practical implications From the analysis of the findings of both the interviews and questionnaires, leaders who work in Japan would find this case study very useful. It helps them know the preferred styles of leadership within the Bass and Avolio’s full-range leadership model. The leaders will then adjust accordingly for better results. Implications for future research This case study concludes that it is important for researchers to carry out investigations which are culture-specific, for instance in Japan. The case study further notes that western theories should not be generalised under all contexts. The findings provide the link between traditional and modern leadership approaches. The challenge encountered in the study was the small representation of the Japanese people in the research. Future researches should involve more subjects to enhance the credibilit y of the findings. Conclusion This report has attempted to provide a summary of the research into the suitability of Bass and Avolio’s full-range leadership model to the Japanese context. It has highlighted major findings both from the interviews and questionnaires. The highly endorsed style of leadership was the contingent reward. Notably, this was found to contradict the earlier assumption by the Bass and Avolio’s full-range leadership model which is not comprehensive when it comes to leadership preferences by Japanese followers. This report on Leadership Preferences in Japan: an exploratory study was written and submitted by user D0ct0rSpectrum to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

The Boys and Girls Club Essays

The Boys and Girls Club Essays The Boys and Girls Club Paper The Boys and Girls Club Paper Essay Topic: Marketing The Boys and Girls Club in Billerica is more than a place, its a movement to enable all young people, especially those who need them most, to reach their full potential as productive caring and responsible citizens. By reaching children at an early age and providing positive activities and encouragement, the club provides a compelling alternative to youth crime, gang membership, drugs, and other negative influences that affect youth today. The club promotes the development of young people by instilling a sense of competence, usefulness, influence, and belonging with a goal towards enhancing self-esteem and helping youth achieve their full potential. It is a not-for-profit organization that is continuously trying to raise money to fund its many programs. In addition, it is running a capital campaign to raise $3.5 million for a new facility. Included in the project are new locker rooms, learning center, technology center, expanded kindergarten and games room, the centerpiece being a state of the art gymnasium. When completed, the community will have a facility to be proud of for generations to come. While the organization serves a great purpose and mission, its Internet marketing strategy requires a lot of upgrades. The Boys and Girls club of Billerica should instill a sense of ownership and pride within the community through the new Internet strategy that we are proposing. While the children and youth are the target demographic, the new Marketing strategy will attempt to bring families into the fold. I. Overall Business Objective The following are the three overall business objectives for BGCB: 1. Accelerate fund-raising to meet the $3.5 million capital that needs to be raised for the new building. The strategy should be able to increase donations to the capital campaign and general donations by 12 to 15 percent by February 2010. 2. Increase volunteer enrollment across the board. The strategy should be able to increase volunteer enrollments by 17 to 20 percent by October 2009. 3. Inform target audience about the programs and facilities offered by the Boys and Girls club of Billerica, leading to a 20 percent increase in membership enrollment by February 2010. II. Overall Marketing Objectives The marketing objectives to achieve the above business objectives include: 1. A comprehensive online and offline strategy to generate awareness about BGCB through a targeted print and email campaign using the existing member database. 2. Using social media and other Web 2.0 features to bring youth and their parents into the BGCB fold and generate a sense of ownership with the club 3. Provide a website that encourages repeat visitations through a local online community and enhancing Acquisitions and reinforcing retention. 4. Target local businesses and corporations and their employees to encourage them to donate and make a difference in the local community III. Business Situation /SWOT Analysis III.1. Internal Situation Performance Analysis The performance analysis for the Boys and Girls Club is based on the following factors: The aspect that we need to focus on is Donation and Volunteering. It is ok to talk about these other things, but since our paper deals with those two topics we should add those as factors. * The number of members added each year and total numbers of members. * Participation of the members, including hours each member spends per week/month in the club. * Access the percentage of kids in the community who are in need of these kinds of clubs. * Analyze the nature of the programs offered in the club. Try to improve the existing programs or add new ones. * Concentrate on the traffic in peak hours and implement the Divide and conquer strategy by providing more programs during the peak hours. * How many hours the club is open on weekdays and weekends. Relax the restriction of time constraint by providing extended hours. * How strong the relationship is between the staff and the parents. * Provide online survey to the members. This collects feedback from the kids as well as the parents, which can be channelized to improve the club performance. The survey should be a simple Yes/No 10 questions with a comments section. The survey can be distributed to the email list. The management Strategy will change depending on the activities and workers. The more activities and workers, the more the structure needs to be managed1. Data on Programs of a Similar Nature We need to also add some Capital campaign examples. Capital Campaign is what pays for the building Website Sponsorship Program: This program displays the advertisement for the sponsor website with a membership cost per year. The advertisement also provides direct link to the sponsor website. Cars for Kids Program: This program accepts donation of the vehicles. The vehicles are transported free of charge. The proceeds are utilized for the youth programs. The club will provide receipt, which can be used for tax deduction. Resource Availability and Allocation The club is overseen by a group of concerned community leaders from all walks of life. Lawyers, accountants, architects, insurance agents, bankers, parents of members and other professionals make up this group3. Brainstorm the ideas for fundraising within the volunteers and the staff. This brings out many new ideas that can implement with ease, since the ideas originated from them instead of being forced with an idea. The professional maintenance like website management and money management can be allocated to paid employees. Other tasks related with building design, contractor maintenance, fund raising for the building, material management can be allocated to volunteers who has experience in the related fields. III.2. External Situation Markets Kids Programs Demographics Age group for the programs Town of Billerica and surrounding areas. Competitors * YMCA in Woburn, Lowell Reading YMCA has good reputation and brand name, which attracts members. YMCA has high reliability, which leads to more funding turnovers. * Other Boys Girls clubs in nearby towns like Reading, Lowell. * Private gyms: Golds GYM, Bally Total Fitness, Fitcorp Getronics Fitness Center, Nautilus Plus, Best Fitness, The Club Fitness Health Sport Inc. The private gyms collect expensive fees from the members and hence they have more money to spend for marketing. They also host high standard websites maintained by professional resources. Technological Infrastructure The Website Grader service provided by HubSpot graded the website for Boys and Girls Club of Billerica as 19/1004. The grading depends on various parameters including search engine data, website structure, site performance and traffic. The Search Engine Optimization for the website presents these potential problems existing in the Clubs website: * Very few metadata keywords present in the website available for search engines. * No headings found. This prevents the signal to the search engines, what the website is about. * Most of the images in the Clubs website do not have the alt attribute. The Alt attribute provides the alternative content for images, which can be used by the search engine crawlers. * Interior page analysis provided the same keyword and description for 3 different pages within the main page. * The readability level is Secondary/High School, which is good in perspective of the members. But the readability level should be in much higher level in order to impress all level of target audience. * The time of expiration for the domain of the Clubs website is set to expire in 7 months. In general the search engines penalize the website with domains which are set to expire soon. * Permanent redirect for the website is missing, which reduces the credit from the search engines. * Google Page rank is 3, Google indexed page is 56, Traffic rank is not rated, Inbound links to the website is very less, and the website is not listed in major online directories. * RSS feed is not found. Poor quality website will lead to serious drawbacks to the Clubs growth. The members visiting the website will not take the clubs mission serious if the website doesnt appeal to them. The Clubs website is definitely in need of content management system. Redundant use of the logos, images and information across the pages should be reduced. Content Management System also provides a single access point for the standard templates, newsletters etc. Vinay do u have any feedback on Content management system for this website? Value Chain The Boys and Girls Club is a Non-profit Organization run by few staff and volunteers. This leads to unorganized programs and inconsistent online marketing plans. The club can be focused to function within the value based framework by making it more entrepreneurial in how it manages social programs, recognizing and measuring social value in the delivery of services and products, using logic models for assessment and measurement, and making the connection between emotional intelligence and effective leadership5. These are the external factors, which affect the value chain for any Non Profit Organization, and they apply to the Boys and Girls Club of Billerica: Reference: exinfm.com/training/pdfiles/course15.pdf The strategic planning for the Internet marketing is portrayed in the following logic model: The strategic plan for the online marketing should have a well-defined mission, an outline for the goals, objectives and activities, assessment of current resources and a strategic analysis. The club should set its mission of increasing the funds inflow through online marketing, increase number of volunteers to work on the marketing objective. III.3. SWOT Analysis: Strengths: * The club has nationwide network, which proves its brand name popularity. * The club serves as a secure place for the kids to spend after school hours. * The club serves as a second home for the kids. * Inexpensive fee structure provides opportunities to the low to mid income people. * Community based, which makes kids and their parents more connected to the community. * The technical infrastructure already exists, which maintains the clubs website. * The location is accessible by public transportation, and pick up service is available from the Billerica public schools which makes it convenient for kids and low income families. * Local business support the club to improves the community. * Good relationship between parents and staff members, which improves the quality of service. * The club attracts members with special events like Elementary School Dance, Movie Night and Family Swim Night. * Board members are diverse in age, gender, religion, occupation, skills and background. * Board members share passion and have strong ties to the community. * Good relationship with the administration in the target schools. Weakness: * Board Members dont attend the meetings on a regular basis. Some of them dont contribute either money or time. * Outdated website design with poor navigation between the pages. * Fundraising is very critical. * Fewer programs offered to the kids in peak hours. * Historically challenged in identifying grants from government organizations and local and corporate businesses * Deficit of experienced people resource allocated for marketing. * Inadequate online and offline communication with parents. * Data captured through online database is not being effectively utilized to improve volunteering and philanthropic performance. Opportunities: * Availability of long-term grants provided by large corporations and Universities. * Teenage kids have afterschool hours which need to be utilized in a useful and secured place like the Boys and Girls Club. * Build a relationship with local school districts to introduce innovative programs to help teenagers in the community. * Volunteers from the local community who get personal involvement in improving the club. * A large talent pool of qualified software professionals who can be signed up to volunteer with building a new website and email distribution program. Threats: * Fundraising is becoming increasingly difficult in the current economic climate. * The private gyms and YMCA in the town offer more activities and choices to the kids and parents combined. * Bad reputation created by improperly trained staff. * Higher risk of personal injury claims. * Resistance from parents and families. * Competition from other non-profit organizations. The Boys and Girls club should focus on its weakness and threats to decrease them and concentrate on its opportunities available and utilize them to improve the Marketing Strategy. IV. Marketing Problems and Opportunities Problems related with volunteer programs: * The volunteer program plan for any marketing idea is not consistent. * The volunteers need to be screened before they are in charge for sensitive data or given any responsibility. A simple background check and reference from others will add to the reliability of the person. * Volunteers need to be supervised for a particular period, so that * Training should be provided to the volunteers until they get accustomed to the program. This requires additional resource. Marketing Opportunities: * Search Engine Optimization The technique used to make the website attractive to the search engines6. This includes: adding keywords in the websites title or in link, link popularity based on how many sites linked to the Clubs website, developing content that others want to link to which is called link-baiting, get listed in the online directories. * Attract the offline members to clubs website through FAQ section and support questions. * Banner advertisements are available free of cost which increases click through traffic. * Simple bookmark reminder pop-up window will request visitors to bookmark the website. * Promote volunteer programs for high school kids. This can be added to their community volunteer hours for their school curriculum. The club provides certificates for their volunteer service. * Select board members who currently work in media like newspaper, television or radio. This helps to market the new campaign launched in the club. * Advertise the benefit for the donors when they donate like Tax deduction in bold. This attracts large corporations and wealthy donors. * Local business which is willing to advertise in the Clubs website. * Whenever the club related members interact with outside people, they should encourage them to visit the clubs website. * Offline marketing is to include the website address in all the club related material and communication like brochures, business cards, letterhead, T-Shirts, Coffee cups, press releases, event announcements and invitations.