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Comparison between two retail companies picked are Walmart and Costco

The two retail companies picked are Walmart and Costco whose 2017 Financial statement links are provided below: WALMART https://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/ wmt/financials?query=income- statement COSTCO https://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/ cost/financials?query=income- statement Both organizations are well known brands and position themselves well with their customer base. Walmart’s value proposition is “We save people money so they can live better”. On the other hand, Costco’s value proposition is “All-in-one convenience and everyday affordability”. Both retailers focus on cost saving for their customers. Looking at their financial statements and by analyzing them a few key areas are evident when comparing the two organization. Looking at the current ratio and quick ratio we can determine the short-term solvency of each organization. The current ratio can be determined by dividing the assets by the liabilities. Walmart’s current ratio sits at 0.86 while Costco’s sits at 0.99. The quick ratio is c...
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What does Contingency theory suggest?

Contingency theory suggests that leadership style is un-changing regardless of one's environment, while situational theory suggests that the organizational structure already in place dictates the type of leader that someone is (Vroom & Jago, 2007). I choose to elaborate on the latter theory, situational. The foundation of situational theory is that a leader is a product of their environment. The criteria by which the leader is   chosen   dictates who holds the position (Vroom & Jago, 2007), therefore predicating how one will behave in the organization. Situational theory is the most logical of the two theories because people are adaptive creatures. They behave in ways that meet the goals they have in the moment. Another reason situational theory is the most logical is that environments ultimately choose their leaders (Fairholm & Fairholm, 2009). Whether top management that is out of touch with employees does the hiring, or if it is a more democratic hiring...
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Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory

Situation Leadership more formally called the Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory, this model focuses on leadership style and the maturity of those being led. Situational Leadership means “choosing the right leadership style for the right people,” according to Blanchard and Hersey. It also depends on the competence and maturity of the followers. In this era, leaders look less like bosses and more like partners. The theory puts forth the idea that leadership styles hinge on four behaviours: telling, selling, participating and delegating. Spahr, P. (2015, Oct 30) The maturity levels range from an incompetence or unwillingness to perform the task, to a willingness and ability to perform.  The idea is that a successful leader will adapt leadership techniques to fit the maturity level of the group in question on a situational basis. However, even if you’re a top leader in the organization, you can’t achieve your goals without the support and   contributio...
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Benefits of situational leadership

 I like to question a lot of mainstream concepts. I believe that there is a lot of opportunities for a smart and thoughtful businessman to make a lot of money on teaching leadership concepts and ideas. The fact that leadership doesn't have a standardized definition and that leadership researchers haven't been able to identify in an objective way what differentiates non-leaders from leaders (Bennis, W., & Nanus, B., 1985), there's a lot of business opportunities for thought leaders to define their own version of leadership and influence others to believe in the same leadership concepts and philosophies.  According to Germaine, M. (2008), over the last decade, we have seen several leadership theories influence the business community. Based on the work of Germaine, M. (2008), we are able to understand that we successively had the Great Man Theory (1900s), the Trait Theory (1940s-1950s), the Behavioral Theory (1950s-1960s), the Contingency Theory (1960s-1970s), the Part...
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Exploring the Path-Goal Theory

Introduction It was during the 1970’s when Drs. Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard developed the initial paradigm of situational leadership, with the fundamental idea that some situations require a leader to direct others, whereas alternative situations provide an environment where support and wider delegation is better (Beheshti, 2018). This basic idea of situational leadership, effectively how situations impact leadership, has blossomed into a network of theories (Vroom & Jago, 2007). One such theory is known as the ‘Path-Goal’ theory which emerged shortly after Hersey and Blanchard’s initial work, which was built upon by the psychologists Evans (1970), House (1971), Dessler (House & Dessler, 1974), and Mitchel (House & Mitchel, 1974). As more theories emerged, situational leadership got demarcated into situational and contingency-situational theory types, with the Path-Goal theory falling into the latter (Vroom & Jago, 2007). Specifically, contingency-situational theor...
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Experience with situational leadership

Situational leadership theory approach is that a leader should adapt to the circumstances or situation. Contingency Theory asserts that the leader should match the situation (wip5014, 2013). The theories are similar in that they focus on the importance of the situation but have different expectations of the leaders. For our discussion, I will focus on situational theory. Basic foundations The situational theory maintains that there isn't a prototypical leadership style and that a leader's strategy can be chosen to match the situation (Piyu, 2019). Vroom and Jago (2007, p. 19) state that "The traits of leaders reflect the mechanisms by which they are selected, and their behavior is constrained by the situations that they face." This definition translates into the most capable leaders match their style to the situation. Adaptability is the focus of this model of leadership, the needs of subordinates, and the requirements of the situation need to be considered (Piy...
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Example of Situational Leadership

Situational leadership style           As outlined by Russell in 2011, there are many leadership theories including the situational leadership theory. An effective leader would be able to select the right style out of four options according to the internal and external environment s/he faces and to the maturity of the followers: 1) participating, 2) delegating, 3) directing and 4) selling according to the Blanchard & Hersey theory ( Spahr, 2015).   A leader, who masters situational leadership, would probably encourage one’s skilled team to find solutions by themselves while telling new comers what to do and closely monitoring their actions.           Spahr highlight in 2015 five different prerequisites for effectively leveraging situational leadership. Firstly, the leader should be flexible and demonstrate flexibility to adapt his/her leadership style and communication to the need of...
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What is Situational leadership?

Situational leadership is a strategic methodology that leaders use to develop people. The theory itself works on the assumption that a leader will adapt to their style based upon the needs of a given situation. ("Situational Theories of Leadership | Principles of Management," n.d.) The current version of this theory is based upon work done by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard. The theory has four focal leadership styles: Telling, the leaders decides and the workers do. Selling, the leader is still in charge, but creates and motivates buy-in from team members. Participative, the leader works with the team to make decisions. Delegation, the leader assigns decision-making authority to members of the team. ("What is Situational Leadership? How Flexibility Leads to Success," 2014) The four styles are paired with the maturity level of the team members as follows: ( Maturity levels and leadership styles , n.d.) Per the work done by Hersey and Blanchard (a...
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