Leaders and Leaderships
Leaders and Leadership
An Analysis of Kevin Rollins and his Leadership Style
MBA 517 –T
Outcomes
This paper will discuss some elements on what makes an effective leader and how their leadership style can transform a company. This paper will specifically discuss the leadership style of Kevin Rollins, who was the chief executive officer of the computer giant, Dell from 2004-2007 (BBC 2007). In 2004, Mr. Rollins took over the CEO position from the company’s founder, Michael Dell. This transition allowed Mr. Rollins to take over the day-to-day business operations, take on new responsibilities, and develop the opportunity to grow as a leader. Mr. Rollins utilizes transformational leadership and focuses on his own continuous improvement, direct communication with his subordinates, and taking responsibility for his actions as CEO.
Elements of Leadership
From the case, we analyzed Kevin Rollins Leadership style and gathered that he has five distinct elements. First, he is a formal leader. As CEO, he is given the authority to allocate the company’s resources the way he feels will make the company more productive and profitable. He was given this power when he succeeded Michael Dell as CEO. Another element to his leadership is his need for continuous improvement. After the huge decline in revenue Dell decided to sell its products in Wal-Mart stores in order to reach lower income consumers as well as continuing to sell directly from their website, however, Rollins saw that in the long run this could actually cause the company to lose money because Dell only provided their products in certain retail stores. This demonstrates how he jumped right in to tackle the company’s biggest problem: not meeting their projected revenue, and how he comes up with ways to improve their current situation. Mr. Rollins has said,
An Analysis of Kevin Rollins and his Leadership Style
MBA 517 –T
Outcomes
This paper will discuss some elements on what makes an effective leader and how their leadership style can transform a company. This paper will specifically discuss the leadership style of Kevin Rollins, who was the chief executive officer of the computer giant, Dell from 2004-2007 (BBC 2007). In 2004, Mr. Rollins took over the CEO position from the company’s founder, Michael Dell. This transition allowed Mr. Rollins to take over the day-to-day business operations, take on new responsibilities, and develop the opportunity to grow as a leader. Mr. Rollins utilizes transformational leadership and focuses on his own continuous improvement, direct communication with his subordinates, and taking responsibility for his actions as CEO.
Elements of Leadership
From the case, we analyzed Kevin Rollins Leadership style and gathered that he has five distinct elements. First, he is a formal leader. As CEO, he is given the authority to allocate the company’s resources the way he feels will make the company more productive and profitable. He was given this power when he succeeded Michael Dell as CEO. Another element to his leadership is his need for continuous improvement. After the huge decline in revenue Dell decided to sell its products in Wal-Mart stores in order to reach lower income consumers as well as continuing to sell directly from their website, however, Rollins saw that in the long run this could actually cause the company to lose money because Dell only provided their products in certain retail stores. This demonstrates how he jumped right in to tackle the company’s biggest problem: not meeting their projected revenue, and how he comes up with ways to improve their current situation. Mr. Rollins has said,
Cited: ( 2007, February 1). BBC World News. Dell founder returns to lead firm. Retrieved March 14 2010. From http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6319537.stm Booth, Cathy. (2003, July 28). Dell: Kevin Rollins/Round, Rock, Texas. Time. Retrieved March 14 2010. From http://www.time.com/time/2003/survivors/rollins.html George, M. Jennifer & Jones, R. Gareth. (2008). Understanding and Managing Organizational Behavior. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Rivlin, Gary (2005, September 11). He Naps, He Sings, and He Isn’t Michael Dell. The New York Times, pp. 3.1.