Reference no: EM132614341
Jack Ma: New Sense of Leadership
Alibaba and its kinetic leader Jack Ma have blended the best of Western and Chinese technologies, culture and management to create the world's largest ecommerce company and perhaps soon to be biggest and most diversified global technology enterprise. The company's Sept. 19 IPO raised more than $20 billion and gave Alibaba a market cap of $240 billion. It also made Jack Ma, already the richest man in China, one of the wealthiest men in the world with a net worth of more than $18 billion. Alibaba is not just an ecommerce company. While its three main platforms Taobao (a consumer-to-consumer company) Tmall (a business-to-consumer firm) and Alibaba.com (a business-to-business operation). The company also has interests in electronic payments, cloud computing, streaming entertainment, supply-chain infrastructure and investment funds. It is poised to expand its technology interests and platforms on a global basis.
Jack Ma used to be an autocratic leader. However, he found that this type of management will limit employees' freedom and ideas. Thus, he allows his employees to take part in decision-making because he believes that the best decisions come when everything is agreed upon by the majority. He always listens to his employees' opinions without arrogance and encourages members in the team to present their ideas, which can help the company improve all the time. Mr. Ma's transformational and visionary leadership style is interesting. He can integrate these two leadership styles, leading employees perfectly. For transformational leadership style, he is a man that has high motivation power. His employees are willing to work without force, which can bring out the ability of the individual at the same time. Likewise, with his visionary leadership style, Jack Ma is very visionary. He can see the possible way to start the business earlier than others. Furthermore, he has advanced communication skills. He knows how to speak to inspire people, which can benefit the company
Another distinguished characteristic of Jack Ma is the way that he is leading his employees. He does not position himself as a boss, forcing people to be underlings, but he treats them as important people in the company, which can gain loyalty from them. They are willing to work hard, which benefits the company. While, in Thailand, most companies give priority to job position and generation. Therefore, people who work in lower positions or new generation employees do not have much chance to present their ideas, which leads the company to lose new ideas.
The following are four elements of Ma's management style that entrepreneurs and small-business owners can follow to build the next Alibaba.
1. Be like Forrest Gump.
Like Forest Gump, Ma has always seen the world and its possibilities almost as if through the eyes of a child, believing technology could be magic and life truly a box of chocolates -- but one that a person never knows what he will get inside. Successful entrepreneurs do not let setbacks get them down and they see both what's impossible and possible, but the difference is that they focus only on the possible. Indeed, Ma never let himself get down, even when he made $15 a month as a teacher while supplementing his income peddling on the street. Nor did he become discouraged when KFC, a hotel and the police turned him down for jobs. He kept on believing that if someone sticks to his principles and works hard, anything was possible.
2. Innovate on the shoulders of giants.
Ma has consistently understood that innovation is not always synonymous with invention. Like Steve Jobs, who did not invent the digital music player, and Bill Gates, who did not invent computer operation systems, Ma built his most successful properties on the foundations of what came before. For example, eBay had long been established as the largest and most successful consumer-to-consumer ecommerce site in the world when Ma launched Taobao. What Ma did was adapt the concept specifically for China, knowing that culture, history, philosophy and mind-set were as important to success as functionality.
3. Soar with eagles.
Jack Ma has surrounded himself with the smartest and most capable and innovative executives and managers he could find. He never believed that he was an expert at everything and that as a founder he had earned the right to micromanage every aspect of his business. At a time when it was very unusual, Ma was open to bringing in foreign executives to further his goal of blending East and West. Entrepreneurs need to let others have control and should do what is right for their business not their ego.
4. Take your business but not yourself seriously.
Ma has worked hard from Day 1 to build a unique culture at Alibaba. Ma has built a culture of participation, inclusion and fun. He exhibits high energy and is outspoken, fun loving and charming. He has created an atmosphere such that Alibaba employees treat him like a combination of father figure, inspirational guru and band leader. The result is a super loyal, hardworking group of executives, managers and employees who would follow Ma to the ends of the Earth. He combined that with his love and understanding of China's culture and consumption habits to make an all-encompassing technology success that is positioned to become the first truly global Chinese brand.
Discussion Question
1. As per the above case study, which leadership style is most appropriate for Jack Ma and why?
2. Do you believe that Alibaba is a learning organisation? If yes, then justify it as per above case.
3. In the above case there are four elements of Ma's management style. Find out five major activities done in Alibaba from the above four elements.