Purpose – Against the background of current leadership theory, this research paper analyses and compares the leadership approaches of two outstanding leaders: Daniel Vasella, chairman of the leading Swiss pharmaceutical organization Novartis and Ricardo Semler, owner of the Brazilian conglomerate Semco. In contrast to many rather abstract, unpractical and pointlessly theoretical papers on leadership this analysis provides a more applied view of leadership by means of the life history approach delivering insight into both leaders’ development and leader personality. Methodology/approach – First, this paper locates the ideas and practices associated with the term “leadership” as a concept through theories that have developed over time and shows how the practices of leading can be derived and understood through chosen theories. Based on this, the specific characteristics and career paths of both leaders are presented and compared so that a final analysis of their leadership approach can be done. The paper is based on secondary sources such as peer-reviewed business journals and literature on leadership. Information about both leaders and their approach to leadership is gathered mainly from published interviews with them. Additional information on Semler is taken from his autobiography. Conclusions – It is difficult to identify an “essence” of leadership, whether that takes the form of personality characteristics or traits, charisma, the ability to transform people or organizations or a brain function. All presented theories of leadership seem to have their raison d’être. Both Vasella and Semler apply a combination of different attitudes and behaviours that characterize their leadership style containing elements of transformational, charismatic, ethical, servant and authentic leadership.
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Predictive models and decision support toolsallow information sharing, common situational awarenessand real-time collaborative decision-making betweenairports and ground transport stakeholders. To supportthis general goal, IMHOTEP has developed a set of modelsable to anticipate the evolution of an airport’s passengerflows within the day of operations. This is to assess theoperational impact of different management measures onthe airport processes and the ground transport system. Twomodels covering the passenger flows inside the terminal andof passengers accessing and egressing the airport have beenintegrated to provide a holistic view of the passengerjourney from door-to-gate and vice versa.This paper describes IMHOTEP’s application at two casestudy airports, Palma de Mallorca (PMI) and London City(LCY), at Proof of Concept (PoC-level) assessing impactand service improvements for passengers, airport operatorsand other key stakeholders.For the first time onemeasurable process is created to open up opportunities forbetter communication across all associated stakeholders.Ultimately the successful implementation will lead to areduction of the carbon footprint of the passenger journeyby better use of existing facilities and surface transportservices, and the delay or omission of additional airportfacility capacities.
Abstract: Climate change is related with weather extremes, which may cause damages to infrastructure used by freight transport services. Heavy rainfall may lead to flooding and damage to railway lines, roads and inland waterways. Extreme drought may lead to extremely low water levels, which prevent safe navigation by inland barges. Wet and dry periods may alternate, leaving little time to repair damages. In some Western and Middle-European countries, barges have a large share in freight transport. If a main waterway is out of service, then alternatives are called for. Volume- and price-wise, trucking is not a viable alternative. Could railways be that alternative? The paper was written after the unusually long dry summer period in Europe in 2022. It deals with the question: If the Rhine, a major European waterway becomes locally inaccessible, could railways (temporarily) play a larger role in freight transport? It is a continuation of our earlier research. It contains a case study, the data of which was fed into a simulation model. The model deals with technical details like service specification route length, energy consumption and emissions. The study points to interesting rail services to keep Europe’s freight on the move. Their realization may be complex especially in terms of logistics and infrastructure, but is there an alternative?
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