The Impacts of E-Leadership on Business Performance - Research Proposal Example

The impacts of e-leadership on business performance Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Definition of E-leadership Avolio et al. (2009) described e-leadership is a form of leadership that entails interaction of people or teams who are geographically dispersed by means of technology. Leadership is the action of being in control or in authority over a certain or particular team with the main aim of achieving a common objective. The person in authority is called the leader. It is noteworthy that leadership is essential maintaining the overall performance of an organization. It involves exercising control of diverse departments, institutions, states or even countries virtually. This new leadership strategy can be attributed to major worldwide economic changes that often lead to rapid changes in the existing business performance models. Adjustment to this new development in the global market by bridging the time and space niche is only possible by adoption of ICT in organizational leadership. The common and different principles between e-leadership and traditional means of communication, the arising opportunities and challenges are also important. This framework that supports the establishment of virtual teams led by e-leaders who offer technical, operational and human support for the effective sustainability of business synergy has widespread support from many authors (Shriberg, 2009; Jonhson, 2010). Some researchers however agree that leadership goals and structure remain unchanged. Important objectives such as vision, unity of direction, trust building, motivational and inspirational factors are the focus of such studies. All leaders regardless of their means of communication feel the need to confer these values (DasGupta, 2011). Why the research is worth doing Current trends indicate that the goals of leadership remain unchanged but with the emergence of e-leadership it means managers have to incorporate electronically or computer-facilitated systems in terms of virtual teams spread all over the world. The main difference arises from the fact that virtual leaders may never physically meet their fellow workers or employees since the main communication platform is through computerized systems. This new development makes for a change in paradigm and brings new opportunities that are helpful in business such as the ability to instantly communicate with clients, company suppliers and even employees. Businesses can also utilize the available talent within an organization with no barrier brought about by the geographical location thus enhancing the overall company’s performance by assembly of efficient multi-functional teams.. Research questions What are the impacts of e-leadership on business performance? How does e-leadership enhance unity of direction among stakeholders? Why is e-leadership essential in the management of business performance? Objectives of the study To understand the impacts of e-leadership on business performance To understand how e-leadership ensures that stakeholders work together for a common goal To understand the importance of e-business on performance management Literature on e-leaderships describes virtual teams as a single ideal entity consisting of a group of people with complementary skills with the common objective of finding solutions to tackle a particular problem (Hosseini & Chileshe, 2013) These groups are established to handle different tasks within an organization ranging from simple works such as brainstorming and more difficult tasks such as command and control. It is also noteworthy that such teams are created due dispersion of individual in different areas. These people therefore have to work across the time and space gap with help of computerized technologies. The term virtual team purports the incorporation of computer-supported working in the daily operations of an organization (Anderson et al., 2007). Members of virtuals team members are not located in one physical location. There are two main inter-connected forces that challenge global organizational leaders to date. These are: The continued increase in dispersion of company players in terms of company stakeholders’ institutional teams, department, consumers, and any suppliant to the business. Secondly, the ever increasing growth of the communication technology industry which has created an avenue for instant and constant interactions of all these players globally (Zaccaro & Bader 2003). Due to these major changes, most researchers refer to virtual leaders in business as executives or managers who perform their duties and responsibilities by means of electronic channels. Kelly, 2006 postulated that with the exponential growth of technology and their capacity to gain global outreach created by this innovation, e-leadership will be a routine management and organizational leadership feature for future generations. A thorough review of the broad spectrum on e-leadership reveals what mainly constitutes and forms a basis that qualifies for e-leadership in institutions. Avolio, kahai and Dodge, (2000) used the term e-leadership in order to understand how this trend affects overall business performance and leadership qualities. They defined virtual leaders as a social impact protocol brought about by rapid growth in Advanced Information Technology (AIT) that has the capacity to bring changes in the attitudes, behaviors, thought process, and the overall performance and behavior of people or groups within a business institution. They also noted that it is possible for e-leadership to be incorporated at all levels in an organization and can involve one-on-one as well as one-to-many interaction by use of any electronic device. The authors Utilized Adaptive Structuration Theory (AST) in order to understand and study the impacts of technology and e-leadership on each other. From this understanding, a more specific answer on how technology impacts management leadership and how in turn this bring changes to the technological sector could be tailored. The Adaptive Structuration Theory is guided by the principle that human actions stems from a strong guided structure based on rules and resources that form a platform for the planning and eventual accomplishment of intended goals. The authors’ findings cemented the notion that technology is paramount in the creation of organizational structures of which leadership is a major pillar although transformation in the organizational structure continue to bring changes in leadership and technology. It is therefore essential to understand that leadership and technology complement each other by this continued transformation in both sectors. Avolio et al. Also studied advanced Information Technology (AIT) by examining the Group Support Systems (GSS). As depicted by the research, GSS gives a clear picture of the Potential effects that could arise due to the interaction between leaders, business teams and individuals through AIT at any institutional level. Kissler (2001) commenced his research based on the question the qualities of leadership required to enhance e-business performance. Prior to the emergence of e-leadership brought by technology, Kissler noted that most business challenges facing an organizations were due to changes in the market structure. He positioned the past as a prologue to future challenges by studying previous market changes that support this view. The beginning of this review focused on past leadership structures in various successful companies such as Dell Computer, Cisco group and British Airways. He suggested that modern e-leaders are also likely to face similar challenges as experienced by other leaders. According to his research, mitigation of discontinuous change in e-leadership can be attained by absorption of key actions in the daily running of organizations such as enhancing mind share within organizations, accurate proximity management, alignment of organizational strategies and the development of cohesive values in people. E-leadership also helps cut operational costs and increases the management knowledge scope. This in turn creates a better competitive advantage for institutions (Zaccaro & Klimoski, 2001). E-leaders however experience challenges brought about by this new developments among them; Bridging the inalienable distance gap with workers, suppliers and customers, how to communicate efficient with teams all over the world and convey accurate information/instructions, convenient means to inspire employees and how to build trust with members they may never get to meet. This paper review articles on the skills required to succeed as an e-leaders by exploring existing research on virtual teams’ communication structure, the optimum level of vitality, ethics and culture among others. For the existence of a collaborative virtual team, e-leaders should develop viable means for communication that ensure the absence of physical presence is not noticeable. This can be attained by enacting global and multicultural spirits, developing team cohesiveness by encouraging social relationships among team members and regular presence on forums through various means such as the internet. This transformational type of leadership has been attributed to high performance level attained by e-teams (Purvanova and Bono, 2009) with teams’ communication through computers. There is need for such leaders to ensure collaborative surroundings among members through promotion of tools that facilitate the sharing and creation of valuable information. E-leaders can also enhance cohesiveness by knowing each and every member of the e-team, ensuring prompt availability of key resources to all members, freely talking to members regardless of the existing cultural difference and implementing strategies that ensure effective utilization of the labor resource. The main challenge facing e-leaders to date is the capacity to build trustworthy partnerships with the individual in every team. This is confounded further by the fact that leaders do not personally know the members. This calls for such leaders to create alternative means through which trust promotion can be accelerated (DasGupta, 2011). Smits (2010) calls for the incorporation of apprenticeships to establish relationships among team members. This in turn facilitates sharing of knowledge and information which is a necessity in trust creation among peers. E-leaders therefore have the added responsibility of coming up with common objectives on sympathy that govern e-team perceptions while also incorporation motivational schemes that helps integration of members into one efficient team. Various researchers support the adoption of a three phase model to help build trust among members (Zaccaro and Bader, 2003; Samartinho et al., 2012). The initial phase of this model calls for the recognition of benefits arising from this relations since it generate a synergy that may bring and hold members to together. The second phase focuses on sharing of knowledge which build high trust levels among members and makes it possible to forecast actions and behaviors. The final phase requires the creation of a common goal, value or intents that enhances reliance on the capabilities, talents and actions of the other members. Hart and Mcleod (2003) studied the communication procedure used by e-leaders in business organizations from a select group of three institutions and seven e-teams and postulated a leadership template to govern communication. From the authors, the minimum criteria for qualification as a virtual team is if face-to face meetings occur less than once in any given month. The research was based on the study of interactions among one hundred and twenty six members for a duration of two weeks. The messages relied in this time period were categorized into seven major categories namely; informational, personal, resolution based, digressional and play oriented, planning, opinion and feeling and helping or learning. Ad detailed analysis of these messages and subsequent personal interviews with the members showed the following; i. There is growth in personal relations as message exchanges continue to rise ii. Upon growth of personal relationships among members, personal communication content reduced. iii. Strong personal relationships bring frequent but short communication. iv. Proactive efforts in finding solutions to common challenges develops personal relationships. The research concluded that strong relationships are not only paramount for task-based actions in e-teams but also for professional development and personal satisfaction. Hanna (2007) conducted a worldwide e-leadership study of the World Bank as applied in the numerous institutional set up and governmental institutions. This was intended to bring out the various factors that help propel growth and performance enhancement by the incorporation of information and communication technology. In government, the study found that: i. There is considerable shift in behaviors of heads of states, prime ministers and CEOs towards engagement in e-leadership ii. Countries continue to develop institutional structures reliant on information technology to take advantage of this development iii. Many states globally have set up independent and strong ICT agencies with branches globally that brief the president directly, and finally. iv. As e-leadership programs in governments continue to flourish, countries are beginning to fully integrate e-leadership into other sectors such as business. This has encouraged the business world to also use e-leadership to spur business growth and improve performance. Business leaders have also set up similar agencies as governments that collect, analyze and report on the current market standings. These agencies can be globally distributed and govern med by competent e-leaders who are aligned to accomplishment of various markets strategies and enhance the overall business performance. Business CEO and executives of powerful corporation have taken up information technology to engage with employees worldwide. This trend has affected the leadership structure in such institution and more ways to engage in e-leadership continue to be explored. E leadership requires another form of leaders created by virtual means as opposed to physical means according to Kerfoot (2010). It calls for the apt management of different work teams whose members are distributed globally or even regionally thus members predominantly rely on electronic media for communication and coordination. He refers to e-leaders as boundary managers who motivate, operate and coordinate businesses from a distance while also developing self-management values of the members. Kerfoot examined the healthcare industry and found that e-leadership was rapidly being used in place of traditional method since these new innovation offer great support to the health system communication forum. For effective leadership, such leaders must learn to overcome barriers brought about by time, space or even language. Development of new skills is however necessary for the creation and sustainability of optimum performance in virtual groups. In conclusion, the author noted that e-leaders must focus on coaching as opposed to supervision of business operations. A thorough evaluation on work team environments focusing mainly on leadership behavior and its implications on core values in business such as commitment and satisfaction of workers was carried out by Watson (2007). In today’s globalized businesses, distance between workers continues to increase and this study aimed to uncover if the traditional values of leadership were eroded by the distribution of work teams and how this affected their overall performance. Fundamental issues raised concerned; effects of distribution of members on management behaviors, Forms of leadership that yields positive results on workers satisfaction and commitment and the importance of physical interactions between workers and managers.. Physical interaction was correlated to negative impact on commitment or satisfaction. The study showed that there are significantly higher levels of satisfaction or commitment on employees who physically interact with managements. Employees who are co-located with management also had better opportunities for career advancement than virtual members. In conclusion, the study found that spatial distance curb the overall performance, satisfaction and commitment of employees. Virtual leadership is not only essential in today’s global businesses but also in regional enterprises according to Colfax, Santos and Diego (2009). This occurs in cases whereby workers with special or specific talents or capabilities are unwilling to relocate to new business environments. In the past, key workers with expert or technical know-how on specific company operations were relocated to foreign locations as companies expanded. In today’s global operations, the needs of employees are a major consideration in order to maintain commitment and high-performance of workers. This has resulted in transformational leadership as economic changes ring. The necessity of e-leadership has become a key focus on management as virtual leadership and communication challenge the traditional set up of business operations. Virtual teams and leadership are now essential and this has resulted in business management paradigm shift towards ICT communication. It however requires more training for managers and group members, trust building and delegation in order to incorporate all members through inclusive communication. The study concluded that e-leadership that effectively manages virtual teams and operation will In future expand to all global operations. The concept of e-leaderships differs on various perspectives but central to all the values needed are two main features: First, it is a procedure that requires considerable levels of influence and two, it occurs in groups aiming at accomplishing a particular goal. In the current global markets context, it is paramount for organization and business to incorporate e-leadership by taking advantage of emerging technological advancements and changing the existing business leadership models. This change aligns collaboration of leaders with a common goal with online communities thus creating an information and knowledge sharing network that provide technical, operational and human support to global enterprises. E-leaders have a major voice on the overall performance of organizations by overcoming space, time, language and cultural barriers through use of computerized systems. It is therefore crucial for business leaders to engage this new trend in management that although minimizes face-to-face interactions expand the business outreach of businesses. References Avolio, B. J., Walumbwa, F. O., & Weber, T. J. (January 01, 2009). Leadership: Current Theories, Research, and Future Directions. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 1, 421-449. Shriberg, A. 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