The link between Strategic Management and Leadership

1.1 Introduction

1.1.1 Strategic Management

Strategic management is “Systematic analysis of the factors associated with customers and competitors (the external environment) and the organization itself (the internal environment) to provide the basis for rethinking the current management practices. Its objectives are to achieve better alignment of corporate policies and strategic priorities.” (www.businessdictionary.com,n.d).

Strategic management is all about analysing of the position of the business now and where it wants to be in long term and what are the means and plans to get there. It is all about defining the business, objectives, goals of the organization.

1.1.2 STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP

Strategic leadership is “refers to a manager’s potential to express a strategic vision for the organization, or a part of the organization, and to motivate and persuade others to acquire that vision”. (www.managementstudyguide.com,n.d). It’s a leader’s point of view, for making a strategy so that all the aims and objectives of the organization can be meet and it helps in achieving success for the organization.

1.1.3 Link between Strategic Management and Leadership

Leadership and management are both skills that an organization should possess, courtesy of a chosen leader, with the support of its personnel. A good leadership can be attained through a practice while an effective management is learned through course. A leader is the spearhead of the group going to a direction. And once they have found the direction, manager will take over to have consistency and make the group proposer after being established. Manager’s decisions are based on the book or ethics that every member constructed but leaders decide based on their institutions.

1.2 MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP IN WIPRO

WIPRO stands for “Western India Pine Refined Oil”. It was started as a vegetable oil trading company in 1945 from an old mill at Amalner, Maharashtra, India. This was founded by Azim Premji’s father, M.H Preji.

Azim, a graduate person in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, when he finished his studies and then came back to India, unfortunately his father died and after that he took on the leadership of the company at the age 21. He restructured it and transformed WIPRO into a consumer goods company that produced hydrogenated cooking oils/fat company, laundry soap, wax and tin containers and later set up Wipro Fluid Power to manufacture hydraulic and pneumatic cylinders in 1975.

In 1977, when IBM (International Business Machines) was asked to leave India, Wipro entered the information technology sector.

In 1979, Wipro started to develop its own computers, and in 1981 they started to sell their finished products. This was the first in a string of products that have made Wipro one of India’s first computer makers. Wipro Technologies hired managers who held their employees to strict performance standards.

In 1980 Wipro moved into software development and started developing customized software packages for their hardware customers. This expanded their IT business and subsequently developed the first Indian 8086 chip. Since 1992 Wipro has begun to grow its root offshore in United States and by 2000 Wipro Ltd ADRs (An American Depository Receipt) were listed on the New York Stock Exchange site. The company’s revenue grew by 450% from 2002 to 2007.

Then Wipro started a highly appreciated initiative called WASE – Wipro Academy of Software Excellence in 1996. Under this program, some of the brightest science graduates are selected and enrolled in an MS (Software Engineering) program in collaboration with BITS, Pilani.

MAJOR DIVISIONS

IT Services: Wipro provides complete range of IT services to the organization. The range of services extends from Enterprise Application Services to e-Business solutions. Wipro’s enterprise solutions serve a host of industries such as Energy and Utilities, Finance, Telecom, and Media and Entertainment.

Product Engineering Solutions: Wipro is the largest independent provider of R&D services in the world. Using “Extended Engineering” model for leveraging R&D investment and accessing new knowledge and experience across the globe, people and technical infrastructure, Wipro enables firms to introduce new products rapidly.

Technology Infrastructure called as TIS.

In the Indian Market, WIPRO is a leader in providing IT solutions and services for the cooperate segment in India, offering system integration, network integration, software solutions and IT services. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azim_Premji)

1.2.1 Leadership in Wipro

From the last few years wipro has exhibit the leadership qualities to the employees as well as to the company. Some of the practical examples are as below: wipro is service oriented and at the same time employee centric. i.e., wipro believes in giving excellent service to its clients and at the same takes a very good care of their employees.

1.3 Conclusion:

Nowadays with the advent of globalisation, competition is increasing and the companies are struggling to get better market position. All the companies are implementing strategies so as to maintain the market position. WIPRO has been so much successful because they are applying management strategies in their day to day life and the company employees are following the strategies in a great way. The employees there really cooperate and that is another reason behind the success of the company. Management of strategy is very much important unless the company fails during the implementation and the managers should be efficient. Development of strategy and implementation is not an easy task. Rather it’s very much complicated. WIPRO became successful because of the efforts of its managers and employees in the execution of strategy. Company acquired good results on the application of the strategy and other companies are following the strategy applied by the successful companies. This report can help other companies as they get to know the reason behind the success of WIPRO. As competition is increasing day by day the companies should work really hard in attaining their goals and they should work really hard. Management and leadership in WIPRO is excellent and the leaders are cooperating with the employees in making decisions. The employees are given an opportunity to take decisions by the managers and this gives the employees a good feeling about the company. Thus it can be concluded that the only reason behind the success of the company is its leadership skills and the proper implementation of the strategy.

1.4 Bibligropahy:

The Strategic Development of High Potential Leaders, Strategy and Leadership, in press, S. Stumpf, R. Fulmer and J. Bleak.

Leadership and beyond: The need for strategic management skills. Advances in Strategic Management, 1988, Vol. 5., S. Stumpf.

Strategic Management definition

Readmore: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/strategic-management.html#ixzz16CKYbPyy

Strategic leadership definition

http://www.managementstudyguide.com/strategic-leadership.htm

Wipro

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azim_Premji) date 20th November 2010

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