Level 5 Hierarchy Leader (Research Paper Sample)

Level 5 Hierarchy Leader Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Bill Gates Bill Gates is among the most influential businessmen in the global market with regards to the computer industry. The current chairman of Microsoft is also a co-founder of the business empire that has revolutionized the world of computing. Bill is rated by Forbes magazine for many years running as the wealthiest individual in the world. Born in 1955 to a lawyer and a school teacher, he grew up in Seattle, Washington in a family of three siblings. Bill Gates met Paul Allen at Harvard University, where they worked on making programs for the microcomputers available at the time. Bill quit Harvard after his junior year to form Microsoft, which is arguably the largest computer company in the world. The humble billionaire is one of the biggest contributors to charity using his wealth to contribute to projects in poorer countries. He has single handedly improved the lifestyle of children in Africa and Middle East countries. From the wealth accumulated from his company, he has been able to purchase prime land in America, private jets among other luxuries. Bill Gates character and determination in the field of programming can be viewed as the reason for his success in the field of technology. With his ambition to revolutionize the computer industry, Bill Gates can be evaluated as a Level 5 Hierarchy Leader in the field of business. The leader’s willingness to invest his time and money in the unfamiliar computer industry has resulted in many new products from the company which has influenced the way we use computers. The literature review on Bill Gates will focus on his leadership abilities and his qualities as an effective leader in the field of business. The literature review will also evaluate my personal option with regards to the leader and my perspective of a Bill Gates character as a leader (Goffee & Jones, 2006). Literature Review A leader can be characterized by his aggressiveness toward achieving company targets, commitment to excellence and passion in the company. The leader makes decisions for the company to ensure that the organization operates effectively. Bill Gates can be described using these leadership qualities. Since the formation of Microsoft till January 2010 when he stepped down as the C.E.O of Microsoft, Bill Gates was in charge of product strategy in the competitive market. He was an aggressive leader who ensured that the company produced products that were competitive in the market. His aggressive approach ensured that the company produced products that were unique in the market thus market domination. The company ensured that its products were dominant in the market to ensure a stable demand. Communication with other workers in the organization is another quality of a quality leader. During his tenure as the chief executive officer, Bill Gates ensured that he met regularly with senior managers in the company as well as program managers. This ensured that the organization remained focused on the set targets. In this meeting, Bill engaged the managers in the strategies used by the company and flaws in the strategies. Bill was attentive to the details on the strategies being used. These are the reasons why the company has remained dominant in the market. The company has always been a step ahead of other competitors in the market. While as the C.E.O of Microsoft, his role was an executive role in the company. A great quality of a leader is his ability to interact with other workers and work as a team. As the company was in its growth stage, Bill participated as a software developer in the company assisting other software developers to write code. He worked in some development teams officially until 1989 when he officially worked in a development team. A leader should be dedicated towards the operations of the business and should pay attention to detail in the final product. As Microsoft was growing to become the technology giant it is today, Bill was responsible for reviewing every line of code shipped by the company. This ensured that every code written by the company met the product standards of the company. During this time his work was to approve the codes written or to re-write the codes in a manner that how saw fit. A leader should be the decision maker in the organization. The quality of decisions made by the leader determines the success of the organization. Bill Gate was a good decision maker while as C.E.O of Microsoft. The partnership with IBM is one decision made by Bill that saw the image of the company grow exponentially. Bill was also responsible for other decisions such as restructuring the company in 1981, and approving the production of major products in the market that have improved the position of Microsoft in the market (Gallos, 2008). A great leader should have a talent and be ambitious with his talent. Bill Gates was a talented programmer who had excelled in writing codes to be used in the evolving computers. He quit university to pursue his ambition and founded Microsoft. Bill had a vision that many players in the technology business lacked. He envisioned the future and how the world would be dependent on them and created products to make this vision a reality. He made products and marketed them in the emerging markets fighting off existing competition to become a market giant. Bill Gates was also passionate towards technology that made him venture into the new industry and produce products to cater for the needs of the clients. A leader should be bright to ensure that he is a good role model for the other workers in the organization. Bill Gates was a clever individual as a young person performing exceptionally in his SAT and enrolling in one of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning. He was an exceptional code writer who attracted many clients to the company and qualified staff. He was a good role model to the workers at Microsoft and inspired the production of quality products, thus improving the organization's competitiveness in the market. Level 5 Hierarchy Leader As a Level 5 Hierarchy Leader, Bill Gates has founded a charity organization together with his wife whose plan is to alleviate suffering in the world. The organization plans to distribute the Billionaires wealth to charitable organizations and projects in the world. Bill Gates plans to distribute 95% of his wealth to charity through his foundation. The main reason why he stepped down as C.E.O of Microsoft is to focus on his foundation. He stopped working full time and started working part time for Microsoft. His dedication to the less fortunate makes him a Level 5 Hierarchy Leader who inspires workers to follow his example (Perry, 2012). Bill Gates has transformed Microsoft into a great company since its formation. He has maintained a culture of professionalism and ensured that the products produced by the company are of high standards. He is a Level 5 Hierarchy Leader because he is a capable leader and an effective manager. His will to ensure that the company was successful in every project that it undertook. Bill Gates also interacte...