Research Essay On Larry Page As A Business Leader.

A research paper on a business leader of your choice. Your research should include the following:

• The leader’s name and position.
• A brief description and analysis of the leaders’ organization.
• An analysis of the leader using leadership concepts.
• Description of how the leader approached change and how he/she created a vision, and strategic direction for his/her organization, and managed change.

The name of the leader and his position

Leadership involves guiding and leading other individuals in pursuit of their desired results and goals. A business leader inspires and motivates other individuals in the process of business activities so as to achieve the desired goals and objectives. For leadership to be of relevance and enable the organization to achieve its desired goals and objectives there are several factors that the leader should put into place so as to enable effective decision making and leadership styles in the organization (Womack, 2015). The paper will identify the name and position of one of the business leaders. It will then provide a brief description of the organization that the leader works for. A discussion on the analysis of the leader using the concepts of leadership will be provided. The paper will include a discussion of how change is approached by the leader, how the vision and strategic direction for the organization was provided by the leader and how change is managed by him. The paper will include a conclusion so as to give a general overview of what has been discussed (Womack, 2015).

The selected business leader is identified as Lawrence Edward Page.  The most common name that is popular among other individuals and organizations is Larry Page. He is the CEO of Alphabet Company. Larry Page is one of the best business leaders that have motivated their followers and other employees to achieve the goals and objectives of the organizations that he has worked for. Larry Page is an American citizen and his career is majored in internet entrepreneurship and a scientist (Rushe and Theilman, 2015). He co-founded Google organization with an individual that is identified as Sergey Brin. He was the former Chief Executive Officer of Google Company before joining Alphabet. This was years before Alphabet was made and founded. Larry Page has worked as a CEO for Google organization for a period of approximately fifteen years before joining Alphabet.

The alphabet is a multinational organization that is located in Mountain View, California in the United States of America. The organization was incorporated in around October 2015. The organization is the parent company of Google and its other subsidiaries.  The other organizations that are operating under Alphabet Company include Android, Google Maps, Search, Hardware and Google Play among others (Rushe and Theilman, 2015). Larry Page and another individual that is identified as Sergey Brin are the ones who came up with an idea of starting Alphabet and making it be the parent company of Google and its subsidiaries. Alphabet Company is also comprised of Capital G, Google Fiber, Loon, Calico, and Waymo among others. Some of the Alphabet's subsidiaries have changed their names after leaving Google and joining Alphabet (Womack, 2015).

The reasons for restructuring the organization are to increase the rate of accountability and transparency in Google Company and its subsidiaries.  Larry stated that making Google organization operate under the new parent company is a great idea as it will make its operations to be cleaner. The accountability and integrity of an organization are important in achieving the required goals and objectives. Google is the main subsidiary of Alphabet Company followed by other organizations. It acts as the umbrella Company or organization (Rushe and Theilman, 2015). The organization has also carried out several acquisitions after it was incorporated in 2015.

An analysis of the leader's organization

Leadership is an ability that an individual can learn and develop. Leaders have the responsibility of continued training, acquiring knowledge and experience so as to improve their leadership skills. The concepts of leadership include the characteristics that a person has which makes him or her be identified as an effective leader (Draft, 2018).  The leadership concepts also comprise of principles and models that are being used by an effective leader. Even though effective leadership is acquired through the process of learning, the leadership skills and knowledge of the leader can be influenced by his or her personal traits and attributes including cultural beliefs and practices. Larry page uses several leadership concepts in his organization. He has personal beliefs and traits that have made him be one of the most successful business leaders around the world (Glowick, 2017).

One of the leadership characteristics that Larry Page has is courage. Larry Page had the courage of coming up with an idea of Google and Alphabet Company and making them be existing organizations that are very successful in terms of performance. Larry Page is a type of leader who is confident of stating that he cannot know everything regarding the operations of organizations. He instead welcomes every idea from his employees so as to come up with effective decisions that improves the operations of the organization and makes the Company achieve its future goals and objectives. It also took courage for Larry Page to create a new holding company, that is, Alphabet and make Google organization act as a subsidiary Company (Draft, 2018).

The other leadership trait that Larry possesses is having a character of creating visions and being innovative. Larry had formulated the vision of Google Company before it was incorporated. He stated that the Company will be valued at approximately $100 billion. Google Company grew and expanded to an extent of its value extremely exceeded the one that had been stated earlier by Larry.  The innovative ideas of Larry have contributed to his successful nature of being an internet entrepreneur and scientist. The fact that he came up with ideas of making Google Company be a subsidiary of Alphabet indicates that he has great visions that should be followed by other individuals and leaders (Caspersz and Thomas, 2016).

Larry Page is also competent and effective. This has been depicted by the results of the Alphabet Company since it started operating. He wanted the operations of Google organization to be more transparent and accountable and this is one of the indicators that show how competent and effective the man is. The operations in Alphabet organization are carried out in an effective manner with every employee acting and following the example of their leader. This has contributed to the production of effective and quality products and services making the organization achieve a greater competitive advantage and a larger market share. Other leadership traits that make Larry Page be one of the most successful leaders include effective communication skills, integrity, straightforward, committed and authentic among others (Caspersz and Thomas, 2016).

An analysis of the leader using leadership concepts

Leadership concepts also include the leadership models and principles that a leader uses or puts into application. There are several models that Larry Page uses in his leadership style. One of the models is a human resource model. This is a type of leadership model whereby an individual interacts with the employees of the organization or the people that are working under him. In this case, there is a relationship that is built between the leader and his subordinates. Larry Page applies this model so as to inspire and motivate his employees to work towards achieving the goals and objectives of the organization (Northhouse, 2014).

The other leadership model that is applied by Larry Page is a political framework model. This is a type of model whereby the leader is aware of what is needed and can achieve the goals. Larry Page wanted to improve the transparency and accountability of Google Company and this made him come up with an idea of developing Alphabet to act as its parent Company. Applying the model of the political framework has also enabled Alphabet Company to acquire other organizations and companies and make them operate as its subsidiaries. Leaders that use political framework usually have visions of building and developing the organization so as to meet certain needs or to fill the gap that exists in the current organization (Draft, 2018).

The other model that Larry Page uses as a leader is Symbolic Framework. This is whereby, the leader acts as an example and other members follow. Larry Page is a good example to his employees and other individuals (Lawrence, Ruppel and Tworoger, 2014). He usually inspires his subordinates and makes them work towards achieving the desired outcomes of the organization. The leader also motivates the employees so as to increase their morale for working in Alphabet Company. This is one of the leadership models that have made Alphabet Company improve its performance as compared to its competitors. In this case, therefore, Larry Page acts as a mirror towards his subordinates (Lawrence, Ruppel and Tworoger, 2014).

There are several leadership principles that Larry Page has. One of the principles states that for an individual to be an effective leader he or she should be aware of himself or herself and he or she should also have self-improvement habits (Turner, 2014). Larry Page knew who he was and has improved his leadership skills through training and experience. The other principle that Larry Page has considered is making sound and effective decisions. This is because he consults every stakeholder before coming into a conclusion regarding a certain decision that has been made. Larry also acts as an example to his subordinates and this is one of the most important principles that a leader should have (Berson, Da’as and Waldman 2015).

The other principles that Larry Page has put into consideration include being proficient, developing a good relationship with his subordinates, creating a sense of responsibility in his employees and ensuring that every operation in the organization has been carried out effectively. The leadership principles are necessary for effective management of an organization's operations (Turner, 2014). This is important in improving the quality of services and products that are being produced in the Alphabet. It also improves the efficiency in operations and reduces the possibilities of mistakes and errors from occurring. Through these principles, Larry Page has developed a team that has the spirit of working together and achieving the goals and objectives of the organization (Berson, Da’as and Waldman, 2015).

Approaching change in a positive way is important for every successful leader. Larry Page is one of the leaders that view change as a way of moving the company or organization to the next step. Larry Page is one of the change agents and he has mastered and learnt the art of change. This has made him be an effective and successful leader (Hickman and Silva, 2018). One of the factors that indicate how Larry Page approaches to change is his decision of creating a new organizational structure. The organization's structure was changed in that Alphabet Company was formed and made a parent Company of Google and other subsidiaries. Coming up with such a decision indicates that Larry Page is a change agent who approaches change positively (Hickman and Silva, 2018).

The other factor that indicates Larry Page is a good change agent is by the fact that the Alphabet has encountered several changes that have made it be more competitive around the world. One of the changes includes acquiring other organizations that were not under Google Company before. For instance, Motorola Mobility is one of the organizations that have been acquired by Alphabet Company after it was established. Technological changes have also been made in Alphabet organization. This has led to improved customer services leading to an increased number of customers and the market share of the organization. The changes that have been experienced in Alphabet Company since its incorporation indicate that Larry Page is a change leader that approaches change positively (Augustine-Shaw, 2015).

Larry Page is also a good change agent through the way he approaches the decisions that are being made by other individuals. Larry Page welcomes any innovative idea from his subordinates. If the ideas are ones that will create a positive impact on the organization, he offers support and makes sure that the idea is implemented into the organization. Creating an organization's vision indicates that Larry Page is a change agent (Friman, 2015). This is because, for an organization to achieve the goals and objectives that have been stipulated in its vision, it should first accept certain changes. Larry Page understands that both internal and external business environment keeps on changing. To adapt to the changes that are taking place within the business environment, the organization should also undergo certain transformations (Hayes, 2018).

The other aspect that makes Larry Page to be identified as a change agent is his capability to identify existing gaps in the organization. He identified that Google needed operations that are more transparent as and accountable. This is a gap that was present in the organization before administering the change of making Alphabet be the parent Company of Google and its subsidiaries. The leader also identified that processes and operations needed to be more effective and efficient. This is what led to structural transformations in the organization (Kaufman and Cletzer, 2017).

Larry Page also took effective steps while administering the change that was taking place in the organization. He worked hard to ensure that every step in implementing the change was carried out as required (Mayfield, Mayfield & Sharbrough, 2015). This is because if the change process is not executed in accordance with how it was planned, it will be ineffective and the outcome will not be as desired. Larry Page puts into consideration the organization's culture while administering the change process. This is an effective way of introducing change into the organization. It also ensures that the principles and values of the company have not been distorted by the changes that have been made. This character trait indicates that Larry Page is a good change agent and leader who should be emulated by other individuals that desire to be successful leaders (Mayfield, Mayfield & Sharbrough, 2015).

A competent leader is one that comes up with an authentic vision of his or her organization and acts towards achieving the vision. Larry Page came up with a good vision of Alphabet organization by first, determining the objectives and goals that the company needs to achieve in the future (Glowik, 2017). The leader has a powerful sense of coming up with visions as he shares his opinions with his subordinates. The vision statement in Alphabet Company is not only recorded in Company documents, charts and other equipment in the organization, but it is also practised through teamwork and cooperation (Schäfer and Schulz, 2018).

Larry Page has a positive attitude and this contributed to his possibility of coming up with an effective vision of Alphabet Company. Larry Page views the possibilities of certain events occurring rather than viewing the challenges and impossibilities (Northouse, 2014). He has abilities to solve problems and this makes it easier for him to identify the opportunities that are present. This is one of the ways that has made Larry be a great leader that can come up with effective visions for the organization (Freiling, 2016).

A good vision creates an effective strategic direction for a company. In order to offer a strategic direction for Alphabet Company Larry has enforced on effective teamwork and communication. Communication strategies have been put in place so as to ensure that every member of the organization is informed on the matters concerning the changes that are being carried out in the organization (Schäfer and Schulz, 2018). This is essential as it enables the employees to know what is expected of them and this will be easier in achieving the organization's goals and objectives.  It also reduces the chances of resistance to change to occur as the opinions of every stakeholder will be put into consideration during the decision-making process (Freiling, 2016).

Incorporating ethical standards and values while coming up with the vision of the organization is one of the most important aspects that were put into consideration by Larry Page (Mea and Sims, 2018). This is because; the ethical values that are practised within an organization determine the reputation of the company towards the public. Protecting the reputation of the company is very important for the success of the organization. Larry Page has ensured that all the values and principles of the organization have been followed and that the organization's culture is also maintained. This has enabled the reputation of Alphabet Company to be good and thus increasing the market share and competitive advantage of the organization (Mea and Sims, 2018).

Managing change involves how a leader makes the change process to be successful. This will determine the results that will be obtained after the change process.  Larry is a good change management agent. One of the factors that indicate this is that he ensures that the change process meets the planned cost and budget line. While Google's structure was transforming and Alphabet was being formed, there were several costs that were met so as to make the implementation process to be successful (Plotke, 2018).  Larry Page ensured that the costs were as planned and there were no ambiguous costs that rose up during the process. He accomplished this by ensuring that the resources that were allocated for the change process were used effectively and that there was no waste (Daft, 2018). He also ensured that the resources were effectively monitored and supervised to prevent issues of fraud cases to arise. The internal control systems were also competent in monitoring the activities that were being carried out (Goetsch and Davis, 2014).

The other factor that indicates that Larry Page is a good change management individual is that the structural changes that took place in Google were carried out on time. The transformation process experienced no delays and every step of the change process was able to meet the deadline that was set in the plan. Effective time management skills indicate that Larry Page is a good leader who can effectively manage the changes that may take place in the organization (Frimann, Keller & Thomassen, 2015). Being able to maintain the norms and practices of the organization also indicates that Larry Page is a good change management individual that should be emulated by others (Vergauweet et al, 2018).

Conclusion

A good leader is known by his results and character traits. This has been identified through Larry Page, who is the CEO of Alphabet Company. Leadership skills are acquired through a continuous learning process and experience (Maltorana and Smith, 2016). Being a good leader involves applying good leadership concepts that comprise leadership characteristics, principles and models (Martorana & Smith, 2016). A good leader is also one that is capable of coming up with an authentic vision and strategic guidelines of his or her organization. He should be able to approach change in a positive manner and manage it effectively. From the above discussion, it is evident that Larry Page is one of the most successful business leaders around the world (Vergauweet al, 2018). 

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