What Do People Do When They are Leading - Bob McDonald (Procter & Assignment

What Do People Do When They are Leading - Bob McDonald (Procter & Gamble) - Assignment Example He studied in the US Military Academy where he served in the 82nd Airborne Division for five years. When McDonald left the military, Procter & Gamble (P&G) asked him to join the company and served as the brand manager of one of its leading products. In 2009, the board appointed him as the CEO owing to his 29 years of service and substantial contribution to the international expansion of the company (Kane, 2012). At West Point, McDonald had learned much valuable insights on values-based leadership, which he imparted to his senior executives when he became the CEO at P&G. 2. Leadership Style and Philosophy Bob McDonald firmly believes in innovation, which is for him a driving force that can solve challenges for sustainability (Confino, 2012). The drive for innovation made P&G as one of the first companies to accentuate the importance of crowd sourcing and social media to generate new ideas and leverage change through networking with different groups of people. McDonald considers innova tion as the lifeblood of P&G given that it allocates about $2 billion annually on their research and development, which is approximately over 50% of its competitors combined (PwC 2010, as cited in Nagpal, 2013, p. 31). Considering the future of the company, McDonald also believes that leaders should build an innovative corporate culture, where a stream of ideas and innovation can be generated by more than 50,000 employees and millions of daily interaction with customers. Such approach, therefore, can facilitate the company in improving their processes, products, and customer experiences. McDonald’s leadership principles can also be attributed to his training at West Point, where he learned having a sense of purpose and character through, which he believed was the most significant trait or quality of a leader (Kane, 2012). 3. Personal and Organisational Values As the company’s CEO, Bob McDonald promotes a â€Å"value-based leadership† through which he advocates t he essential values of purpose and character (Hurley, 2012, p. 107). He defines purpose as the belief in the ethics and mission within an organisation while character, as he perceived, refers to an act carried out with personal responsibility and integrity. With his personal values-based leadership, McDonald is recognised both as an individual and global business leader anchored on his belief that outstanding companies and leaders should operate with consistent values and with a clear sense of purpose (Procter & Gamble, 2013a). With regard to organisational values, McDonald espouses a corporate innovation at P&G. Although he recognised the value of sales promotion that can boost the company’s growth, he believes that true innovation can provide a wide range of opportunities for the company to excel in their investments and strategic goals (Kuratko, 2012). Moreover, McDonald’s key points for leadership derived from his military experience can be characterised with stron g organisational and personal values in stimulating action in the workplace and promoting a sustainable competitive advantage (Yardley, Kakabadse, & Neal, 2012, p. 68). 4. How McDonald’s Values Influence Ethical Behaviour of the Organisation Ethical behaviour is the key ingredient of Procter & Gamble’s success, as noted by House and Rehbein (2004, p. 105). Its corporate values reflect their behaviour that influence the way they the company works and toward their business partners (Procter & Gamble, 2013b). In addition, employees at Procter & Gamble are obliged to act in the company’s best interests at all times and take prompt actions in resolving any conflicts of