Change is a necessary
phenomenon in Organizations. In fact it is said
that the need for change is the only thing that
does not change. Change, according to some theorists
requires a shift in the balance of forces for
and against the change. Others suggest that producing
a change depends on the level of top management
commitment, the type of intervention used, people’s
readiness for change, the level of resistance,
or the organization’s culture (Gardner,
1998). Each of these perspectives is important
in the understanding of and the ability to produce
effective intentional change in organizations.
All organizations need to solve a fundamental
problem when faced with a changing work environment
whether intentional or induced due to internal
and external forces - how to maintain internal
cohesion while producing economic outputs.
Technological developments have created a decentralized
workplace where the roles of workers, employers
and the various other components of the organization
have undergone a dramatic change causing a conflict
as each struggles to retain and reestablish equilibrium
within their environment. The change is causing
the emergence of a completely new wok place. Forces
like telecommunications, virtual organizations
and manager leaders are challenging each and every
aspect of the organization. Large scale organizations
that have a large workforce are thrown into chaos
as they struggle to implement information systems
that will help them become global while controlling
the internal dynamics. Displacement of workers
through downsizing as machines replace people,
changing corporate cultures as mergers and acquisitions
become the norm and a more horizontal work management
as leaders emerge on every level of the hierarchy
trying to control the chaos are factors that have
to be faced while ensuring the competitors do
not take advantage of the chaos.
In such a scenario we look towards the success
stories of organizational heads to determine the
basis of power and success and what theories make
them a success.
In His Book “The America We Deserve”
Donald Trump states, "Rich people who don't
know me never like me. Rich people who know me
like me." Does this mean he doesn't get the
recognition he deserves as a businessman? "I
don't think anybody knows how big my business
is," Trump replied. "People would rather
talk about my social life than the fact that I'm
building a 90-story building next to the U.N.
... They cover me for all sorts of wrong reasons
(The America We Deserve)."
Donald Trump, the big boss of the reality TV show
“The Apprentice” is a very successful
businessman who happens to be one of the richest
men in USA. [Author Unknown, 2004] The reality
show has been a huge success for the NBC and has
been viewed by youngsters all over the world.
In this show, a group of graduate students from
leading management schools in USA are taken along
with a few uneducated but street smart youngsters,
grouped into two teams and pitted against each
other in completing certain fixed tasks. Every
week, assignments are allotted to the team members,
they are judged based on their performances and
one by one , inefficient members are just “fired”
with the very famous line of the show uttered
ruthlessly by Donald Trump “you’re
fired”
The victor at the end of the season is to be gifted
with a prize job of CEO for one of the Trump organizations.
The reality show is really one hot show and there
is genuine cut throat competition among the participant
youngsters. Along with the show, runs the slender
thread of leadership lessons. Every time Donald
Trump keeps testing the limits of their leadership
skills, for the viewers, its time to study why
and how success bestows its glorious protection
for certain special people.
Thus, we find, Donald Trump to be a model employer
and the organization he runs, The Trump Organization,
a model business house of employment. This makes
the man and his organization, objects worthy of
study and emulation. The reality show has been
a huge success for various reasons. Apart from
the fact that Donald himself is the centre of
the show, it kindles the innate human nature in
people to just look into the drama of life from
a distance, watching the competitors get at each
other helps us to understand various management
policies, watch the ruthlessness and courage needed
to forge ahead in life.
The process of researching Donald Trump and his
organization has unfolded the success story of
one the most powerful businessmen in the world
today. Born on June 14, 1946, in New York City,
Donald J. Trump acquired his graduation in Finance
from Wharton University, New York. His dreams
were big and his hard work and talent helped him
forge new paths in the areas of real estate, gaming,
sports and entertainment. His philanthropy and
his foray into the reality TV show made him more
visible to the common masses. It all began when
Trump started working with his millionaire father,
Fred Trump, making deals together. Trump would
later say, “My father was my mentor, and
I learned a tremendous amount about every aspect
of the construction industry from him.”
Starting out with a career in construction, Donald
Trump later entered the totally new world of real
estate. In New York City, the Trump signature
is synonymous with the most prestigious of addresses.
Among them are the world-renowned Fifth Avenue
skyscraper, Trump Tower, and the luxury residential
buildings, Trump Parc, Trump Palace (the tallest
building on the East Side of Manhattan), Trump
Plaza, 610 Park Avenue, The Trump World Tower
and Trump Park Avenue.
Trump was also responsible for the designation
and construction of the Jacob Javits Convention
Center on land controlled by him, known as the
West 34th Street Railroad Yards, and the total
exterior restoration of the Grand Central Terminal
as part of his conversion of the Commodore Hotel
into the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Additionally, the
Nike Town store is owned by Trump, on East 57th
Street and adjoining Tiffany’s. [Trump,
1991]
The Trump International Hotel and Tower are the
greatest of the hotels around the world and have
won awards for excellence from the American Academy
of Hospitality services. The Trump signature buildings
decorate the skyline of cities like New York.,
Chicago, Atlantic City and Las Vegas. The Trump
Organization is one of the world’s largest
operators of hotels and casinos. In Palm Beach,
Florida, Trump has created the magnificent golf
course with beautiful landscaping, water features
and elevations of 100 feet. This golf course is
hailed as the best in the country.
Further, Trump and NBC are partners in holding
rights for the three largest beauty pageants in
the world : The Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss
Teen USA Pageants. [Laroche, 2004]
Donald Trump, in an attempt to share some of
the secrets of his success, wrote his autobiography,
“The Art of the Deal” which was an
instant bestseller of all times. The sequel to
this book, “Surviving at the Top”
was a huge success as well. He has written two
more books all of which deal with issues most
important to the American people today and hold
his views regarding American social, political
and economic issues. Furthermore, he is involved
in numerous civic and charitable organizations
and is a member of the Board of Director for the
Police Athletic League and United Cerebral Palsy.
He has won numerous awards for his various accomplishments
in life.
Donald Trump is a star tycoon in the real sense
of the word. In the reality show, The Apprentice,
he gives us a glimpse into the characteristics
that have made him so successful in life. He is
a man of great vision. In the assignments he gives
the participants he shows his skill at leading.
From selling lemonade, the assignments guide
them to showcasing their skills in sales, marketing
and team building. In the manner he analyses their
actions and points out their faults he shows how
observant and studious he is. He was the leader
who found fault with the winning team in a particular
episode for not granting interview to a prospective
client. In his firing style, Donald Trump shows
how effective decision-making and crisp communication
skills have helped him build his organization
into an empire. He comes across as a man intolerant
of sloppiness, sluggishness, arrogance and carelessness.
[Arena, 1999]
To work in the organization led by Donald Trump,
people need to be driven by high ambitions. They
must be able to think “Big” like him.
It would be a pleasure and a privilege to work
in an organization that is lead by such a great
man. His immense zest for life and success is
so very contagious. He is bossy in the real sense
of the world and his leadership style is almost
dictatorial with the beginners. But we find him
adopt a coaching style with the participants as
episodes keep moving. With his own subordinates
in the company, we find him delegating work with
ease and confidence. Thus Donald Trump proves
himself to be an effective leader with situational
leadership skills, following the golden principle
of “Different strokes for Different people”
with élan. [Barret, 1992]
Donald Trump is a man of power and as such, he
does hold an air of arrogance to his persona.
His body language is aggressive and he is impatient.
There is an air of ruthlessness when he “fires”
one of the team every week. He sometimes fails
to listen to the other side of the story and trusts
his own impulsive judgment. These would be some
of the negative traits apparent during the gaming
show.
Up to the fifth episode, Donald Trump just didn’t
seem to care about the fact that the women in
the show were flaunting their sexuality during
their assignment. A glass of lemonade was sold
with a kiss for free.
Would I work for Donald Trump if given a chance??
Of course I would! I believe the energy in him
would motivate me to reach greater heights in
my own level of performance and his high standards
would help me grow both in knowledge and in experience.
The ease of firing that is evident in the leadership
style of Donald Trump makes the organizational
climate a bit unstable. Anyone working under him
cannot afford to make a single mistake. This would
create insecurity in the minds of the workers.
Also, the ease of communication would be threatened
if the sword of firing is kept dangling on the
employees all the time. [Hurt, 1993] Everyone
needs a second chance . If people are constantly
afraid that they might make a costly mistake,
innovation and creativity get stifled. Money alone
will not guarantee the smiles of the employees.
The boss needs to be someone who can understand
their problems too.
A controlling and fault finding leader would only
drive people away from the organization. Also,
if the organization is closely tied with the single
individual at the top, it would remain unstable
and when the leader slips, there is every chance
that the great empire he controls will collapse
too, as we’ve seen in the Martha Stewart
case.
Technology can be the tool to accelerate growth
in an organization. Judicial use of technology
would improve time management, labor management
and project management. Every organization has
a projected image and that image depends on the
ethics of the leader. A good leader should be
one with a good sense of ethics. His goals should
be met through pathways fenced with high values.
Donald Trump does that by his acts of charity.
The success of a company is usually measured
by the value of its stock. The shareholders are
people who have invested in the company and hence
they study every single step that the organization
takes, be it forward or backward. But sometimes,
a false sense of well being is created, when the
labor force is cut down or salaries sliced. The
organization needs to keep in mind that success
depends on the organization’s ability to
create interdependent partnerships where everyone
takes responsibility for positive results. Long
term strategies should be designed by the top
management to enable the formation of such interdependent
partnerships.
Doug Smith, co-author of The Wisdom of Teams (1993),
wrote ten guidelines of change the first of which
suggest that people do not change because someone
tells them they should. Change is a mode of improving
the condition of the internal and external environment
based on individual action. The planning theory
allows the management to assess, control, improvise
and implement changes through flexible formulas
that reduce conflict and chaos and allow maximum
potential in terms of success. “Performance
objectives give people the best means to assess
and improvise their way through change" (p.
74) large organizations cannot depend on any approach
other than one suggested as is claimed, by William
Churchill, “"If we do not take change
by the hand, it will surely take us by the throat."
Planning strategically is the only way to face
change.
Thus we see that, Donald Trump has proved beyond
doubt that he is a man of great vision and strength.
The world looks up to such great achievers to
study the standards set by them. As such, his
responsibility towards the world at large is enormous.
In his reality show and in his actions outside
the show, Donald Trump needs to be the very model
of good leadership. May he continue to teach the
youth of today, the way to success…
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