STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

This research reviews the role of the chief executive officer (CEO) in exploiting organizational strengths to gain and maintain competitive advantages for the organization. This review includes concepts, successes, and failures.

Recognition of the crucial role of the CEO to a firm's performance and its ability to gain and maintain competitive advantage is not new. The need of firms to compete globally, however, reinforces the critical role played by CEOs (Walman and Yammarino 267).

Because of the importance of the CEO to a firm's organizational performance, the process of selecting individuals for appointment as CEOs is a critical task for firms (Horton 20). Pasternack, Van Nuys, and Perkins (3) identified four behaviors that lead to CEO success. First, a successful CEO acts promptly once a problem has been identified and its character diagnosed. Equally important to CEO success is that a CEO should not act in a precipitous manner. One need look no further than Alfred Sloan, the CEO who created General Motors, to learn how successful CEOs identify, diagnose, and respond effectively to conditions in an organization's external environment.

Sloan recognized the needs for the development of a critical mass in production and a broad spectrum of product offerings for a firm to be successful in the emerging automotive manufa

. . .
rk computing products and services" (Sun Microsystems 3). Patrick Pittard (1), CEO of Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. observed that the role of the CEO is changing in the contemporary period. According to Pittard (1) the traditional CEO à authoritatively led his multi-layered organization, drawing from years of industry-specific experience to meet stockholder expectations. Strategy and vision originated and emerged through conventional, inwardly-focused channels à. This traditional executive officer was the man in charge and in control. Many factors are interacting in the contemporary period to revise the role of the CEO. Again, according to Pittard (2), the new CEO is Visionary. Coach. Leader. Negotiator. Communicator. Liaison. Strategist. Pace-Setter. à This CEO focuses on the big picture, the broader perspective, to responsibly lead his diversified workforce to international success. Exhibit 2 - Key Leadership Behaviors for Successful CEOs Corporate Situation Key Leadership Factors Rapid Growth Sees alternatives beyond traditions and habits Embraces change easily Effectively communicates clear vision of the future Willing to surround self with needed talent Delegates author
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Christian Timbers, Sloan CEO, Conclusion Paul, Georgetown University, United Airlines, Leadership Corp, According Pittard, Peter Drucker, Nasser Ford's, Retrieved Internet, successful ceos, retrieved internet, retrieved internet 2002-11-4, internet 2002-11-4, successful ceo, success ceo, exhibit 1, traits experiences, five traits, de benedictis, traits successful, traits follows 1, woodstock business conference, firm's external environment, identified five traits,
Approximate Word count = 2936
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page)

More Essays on STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT