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.
MULTIFILE
Promotor Prof. dr. ir. J.M. Versendaal, Open Universiteit Co-promotoren Dr. ir. R.G. Slot MBA, Hogeschool Utrecht Dr. ing. M.M. Zoet, Zuyd Hogeschool Uit de Nederlandse samenvatting: "Het is voor organisaties van belang om besluitvorming en zogenaamde 'bedrijfslogica' goed in te richten. Organisaties in het algemeen, en zeker ook overheidsinstellingen, maken meer en meer gebruik van (semi-)geautomatiseerde besluitvormingsprocessen bij het leveren van hun producten en diensten. Organisaties krijgen grip op de nale-ving van wet- en regelgeving door de besluitvormingsprocessen goed te beheren. Een adequate vertaling van wet- en regelgeving naar producten en diensten is hierbij no-dig. Business Rules Management (BRM) maakt een en ander mogelijk. Het meeste onderzoek dat wordt uitgevoerd naar BRM kan worden geclassificeerd als technisch (vanuit een informatietechnologieperspectief). Echter, onderzoek naar de implementatie van BRM in de organisatie (vanuit een informatiesysteemperspectief), inclusief het beschouwen van allerlei organisatorische aspecten, ontbreekt groten-deels. Bovendien houdt het bestaande onderzoek naar BRM niet altijd voldoende re-kening met de praktische toepassing van onderzoeksresultaten; met andere woorden: kan een organisatie de voorgestelde theorie of het opgeleverde resultaat daadwerke-lijk gebruiken?"
from the article: "Purpose – The importance of contextual factors is increasingly recognized in the field of business process management (BPM). The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relation between BPM maturity and process performance and the uncharted differences of two contextual factors (size and sector) in this relation. Design/methodology/approach – An empirical investigation is presented based on a sample of 165 organizations. Using partial least square-multi group analysis (PLS-MGA) differences between size and sector are investigated. Findings – Overall, information technology, resources and knowledge and process measurement are the most pivotal BPM maturity dimensions that contribute to a better organizational process performance. The results showed no differences between private and public organizations in the relation between BPM maturity dimensions and process performance. In contrast, product organizations benefit more than service organizations from continuous improvement of their processes. Moreover, utilizing IT technology is more beneficial for small organizations rather than large organizations. Originality/value – There is a clear lack of empirical studies investigating the role of context. This research extends the limited body of literature that investigated contextual factors in the field of BPM. It is the first study to add size and sector in the posited multi-dimensional model of BPM maturity dimensions and process performance. The results provide guidance for scholars and practitioners that work on BPM practices in different contexts."
