IMPACTS OF 7 HABITS IN BUSINESS1

IMPACTS OF 7 HABITS IN BUSINESS1

Impact of “7 habits of highly effective people” in business as Transformational Leader-Case study of AirAsia

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction 2
2. Research Aim: 2
3. Research Objectives 2
4. Research Questions 3
5. Literature Review 3

5.1 The concept of Leadership and development of transformational leadership 3

5.2 The seven habits of highly effective people and its impact on business 4

5.3 Concept of transformational leadership and the associated seven effective habits 6

5.4 Importance of transformational leadership and seven habits on AirAsia airline 6

6. Methodology 7

6.1 Research Philosophy 7

6.2 Research Design 7

6.3 Research Approach 8

6.4 Data Collection and Research Techniques 8

6.4.1 Qualitative Method 8

6.4.2 Quantitative Method 8

6.4.3 Data Collection Instruments 8

6.5 Sampling Technique 9

6.6 Data Analysis Process 9

7. Limitations of the proposed project 9
8. Research Timeline 9
9. Conclusion 10

References 11

1. Introduction

Most of the highly effective people are influenced by certain qualities. The effective people of AirAsia are the example which shows that how they accomplished the leading positions by using their highly effective traits in the organization. The report is based on the seven highly effective habits that help a person in achieving a leading position in the society and his workplace. The seven habits are detailed by Dr. Covey (2008) in his book “THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE.” All the seven qualities detailed by the author will be illustrated and explained in support of a number of journal reviews. In context to the transformational leadership style, the seven effective qualities would be demonstrated in the report.

2. Research Aim

All the seven effective habits explained in the book have specific personality traits that can be utilized in developing leadership qualities of a person. The research aim of the study is to find out the relatedness of the seven habits of highly effective people as transformational leaders. The leaders of AirAsia would be taken as the example to find out the impact of the seven traits about become transformational leaders. Being the largest airline service provider, AirAsia succeeded in the highly competitive market for the dedication and influential business activities performed by its organizational leaders. The study will be researched on how AirAsia could lead the market having its business in 25 countries directed by its highly effective leaders.

3. Research Objectives

The objective of the research is to analyze the seven most effective techniques suggested by Dr. Covey. The practical impact on the leaders of AirAsia in strengthening the productivity as well as the profitability of the organization will also display in the study report. Being in the leading position, the leaders have faced tremendous business circumstances, which they tried to solve by implementing the transformational leadership style along with the seven effective business habits. This research study will focus on explaining the clear relationship and practical scenario of business activities in AirAsia. After a thorough study, some meaningful recommendations will be given to make the research understanding easy.

4. Research Questions

Before conducting the research study, it is essential to set some formal questions which will be targeted to get valid answers. These questions will be directly linked to the aims and objectives of the research. The answers will provide appropriate recommendations to understand the application of seven highly effective habits and transformational leadership style by the leading persons of AirAsia.

5. Literature Review

5.1 The concept of Leadership and development of transformational leadership

Every organization is directed by certain personalities who can perform the management functions effectively and efficiently to strengthen the productivity, profitability and market share of an organization (Gingerich & Mainstone 2008). These leading qualities are the sign of excellent communication skills, effective presentation and implementing appropriate business strategies as and when required in an organization. These personality traits are called as leadership which can be reflected in beneficial results for an organization (Krishnan, 2012). The more effective leadership qualities the managers and officials would bear the more profitable result an organization could accomplish in a highly competitive market. Most of the organizations concentrate on improving the leadership qualities of the managers time to time to get an easy hand in managing the growing business circumstances. Bass (2000) has emphasized in his research article about the importance of leadership in an organization. He has detailed some skills that a leader should posses to accomplish the organizational target given to him. Among a number of leadership styles, the transformational leadership style has the most effective result if it is practiced systematically. Ahmed et. al (2014) has conducted the research on the impact of transformational leadership style in the practical business activities. As transformational leadership focuses on transforming the talent of the employees into effective productivity, so this style solely depends on the motivational ability of the leader in terms of activities. A transformational leader should understand the skill, knowledge, and abilities of the employees by studying their activities thoroughly. Once the leader understands the elements, it will be easy for him to invest them in accomplishing the organizational goal efficiently. Cavazotte et. al. (2013) has suggested that among the other types of leadership styles transformational leadership style has a much reflective impact as it directly invests the talent of the organizational people. The transformational leadership focuses on developing the abilities of the leaders as well as utilizing the abilities of the employees. By developing the transformational leadership styles among the leaders in an organization, the employee development could also be easy for the management (Thamrin, 2012).

5.2 The seven habits of highly effective people and its impact on business

The seven habits proposed by Covey (2008) are based on seven qualities that highly effective people posses can be elaborated briefly to understand how the habits impact practically. All the habits are based on directive principles that are needed to be executed by the leaders to reflect the business activities. The seven habits can be explained in detail as below: –

Be Proactive: Being proactive is the habit of investing the time and energy in solving a problematic situation than getting worried unnecessarily. A proactive person always thinks responsible for the duties and work he is assigned to accomplish. An organization faces tremendous business circumstances in its day to day operation, which needs calm and proactive persons to think about the solution than stepping back by getting worried.

Begin with the end in mind: The second habit is based on making a strong and strategic imagination before planning to execute it. The author suggested that the habit consists of two points. They are making a plan through the imagination and executing it, the result of the execution is solely based on the planning visualized. In an organization, it is necessary to plan new and innovative strategies to compete with the other marketers and changing trend. A person having this habit can execute a strategic plan for solving the business goal. Most of the managerial activities in an organization need to implement some innovative ideas in minimizing the business challenges, which can be done with an effective imaginary mind.

Put First things first: This habit emphasizes in considering the important aspects of life to do first on priority basis. It is not easy to perform all the tasks or to accomplish all the plans, but by performing and accomplishing the important ones, the possibility of getting succeeded can be possible. In an organization, a manager is assigned with a number of business targets to accomplish, by utilizing this habit, a manager should focus to accomplish the important goals first. As if an important task is undone, it affects more than a less important task; so a manager should develop his analysis skills to choose the vital ones first.

Think win-win: In the competitive arena, it is essential to record the win by performing strategically, but in context to an organization the win-lose principle doesn’t give useful result always. As per this habit suggested by the researcher, a manager should always perform a win-win situation to avoid any conflicting situation in future. Suppose, in dispute resolution or grievance management situations the management focuses to create a win-win situation, which would increase the problematic situation rather than solving it. The win-win thinking style proposes for appropriate communication and relation with the stakeholders all the time in an organization.

Seek first to understand, then to be understood: A good understanding is the basic of all types of actions. Without understanding properly, no-one can perform his task comfortably. This habit focuses on taking a decision after going through a systematic process from understanding to decision making. The author has given a number of steps to understand and take an appropriate step; the steps are evaluating, probing, advising and interpreting. In an organization, the decisions taken in a hurry or the work performed without understanding the goal always give negative results. Hence it is essential for the managers and employees to go through the suggested process to get positive result in an organization

Synergize: The word synergize refers to the cooperative mind to perform teamwork along with other team members. It is always said that two heads are better than one and hence it is better to perform in a group or team rather than performing individually. In an organization, a manger has a team consisting of assistant managers, senior executives, and executives. If the manager performs the task individually with an aim to grab the credit alone, then the result will be the opposite. If he directs his team with full cooperation in accomplishing the business goal together, then the result will be surely positive. This habit is an essential point of highly effective persons in an organization.

Sharpen the saw: An individual consists of a number of traits which is categorized into four types by the author. They are physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. If a person wants to become successful, he needs to control, upgrade and direct the traits properly without any fault. All the traits are interlinked with each other, and the failure of one affects the other three traits. A manager should always develop all the traits to perform better in an organization. A manager having sharp or strong psychological traits can also direct the employees in a right direction without any fault.

All the habits discussed are highly effective if utilized systematically by someone in an organization. The habits are also helpful in strengthing the personality of a person which could earn him status and leading position in the society as well as in the organization. The author has identified most effective habits and provided its exact importance in the development of the personality of an individual.

5.3 Concept of transformational leadership and the associated seven effective habits

Edwards and Gill (2012) have explained the concept of transformational leadership through their research article. The leadership style focuses on converting minimum resources into optimum productivity. As most of the organizations don’t have optimum resources to utilize so it is crucial to utilize the limited resources strategically. An effective leader always aims at minimizing the cost of production by finding the best alternative solution. The seven effective habits are concerned with the growth and development activities in an organization. As transformational leadership already aims the same, hence there is a close relationship between the two concepts. A transformational leader will be more effective and successful if he performs the habits suggested by Covey (2008). The Transformational leadership is a leadership quality whereas the seven habits are the suggestions to implement in the activities done by the transformational leader in his daily activities. May be the motive same, but the concepts differ from each other. It is not essential that the seven habits can be followed by the managers or leaders in an organization, but also they can be practiced by the employees under the guidance of the supervisors or managers. An effective leader always tries to keep his team as well as his organization on the positive side of the market competition to enhance the probability of achieving the leading position.

5.4 Importance of transformational leadership and seven habits on AirAsia airline

Many leaders of different organizations are following transformational leadership style due to its effectiveness in getting a positive result in business activities. The proposed organization taken in this research study is AirAsia, which is the largest and leading airline service in Malaysia with its presence in 25 countries. Its international presence got possible due to the dedication and engagement of the leading officials deliberately. Being originated and started as a domestic airline in Malaysia in 1993, AirAsia has expanded its international airline service within a very short period (Tan & Yap, 2015). The transformational leadership qualities of the AirAsia officials made the success possible. The seven habits suggested by Covey (2008) can be utilized in practicing the business development activities. In the combination of the seven highly effective habits and transformational leadership style, it would be easy for the managers of AirAsia to grow the airline business in more countries. All the functional activities including management, finance, marketing, customer service, and other sub-functional activities can be strengthened by using the seven highly effective habits. The managers from the concerned departments should gain appropriate knowledge about the habits to guide the employees in practicing it in their day to day activities.

6. Methodology

6.1 Research philosophy

Research philosophy is the basic principles that need to be followed by the researcher in accomplishing the research objectives (Mkansi & Acheampong, 2012). In this research study, the importance of transformational leadership in context to the organizational case of AirAsia has taken into consideration as the research philosophy. Also, the probability of utilizing the seven habits in the development of the organization will be mapped through a systematic research process. To accomplish the philosophy of the research, it is essential to collect the data from different sources to analyze it perfectly. In this study, a number of resources used to make the research philosophy successful.

6.2 Research Design

To accomplish the research objectives, it is essential to choose the suitable research design methods. There could be a number of research design methods, but the vital ones are exploratory, experimental, and descriptive design methods (Creswell, 2014). To conduct the study the exploratory and descriptive research design methods have taken into consideration. Due to no specific background of the research case, the exploratory research done through different original and secondary sources. The result derived from the exploratory research has briefly analyzed and explained in the descriptive research. Both the research designed later utilized in understanding & clarifying the research aim, objective and research questions.

6.3 Research Approach

The research approach can be of two types; inductive approach and deductive approach. Both the approaches have a significant role in conducting the research successfully. When inductive approach suggests in the following particular to general statements, the deductive approach proposes for general to specific. (Ihuah & Eaton, 2013) In this research study, the case is based on deductive research as the statement of the aim and objective follows generally to a particular issue.

6.4 Data Collection and Research Techniques

6.4.1 Qualitative Method

The qualitative method of data collection refers to the theoretical and observational studies which can’t be recorded in numeric format. The method is essential in understanding different concepts, theories, statements, explanations, and suggestions given by different researchers (Williams, 2007). In this research study, the primary study is the book written by Dr. Covey about the seven habits and the supportive journals are based on the concept and application of transformational leadership and other points used throughout the report. The study conducted by using the qualitative method helped in the preparation of study report.

6.4.2 Quantitative Method

The quantitative method of data collection refers to the record maintained in conducting the surveys, observational or experimental researches, and questionnaires (Castellan, 2010). In this case, three managers of AirAsia are taken into consideration in a non-probability basis whereas 50 employees of the organization are taken randomly to conduct the quantitative research. Mostly, questionnaire method is used in this case to conduct the quantitative study.

6.4.3 Data Collection Instruments 150

The research study would be easy with the use of different data collection instruments. They are a questionnaire, page blank, feedback forms, sales records, historical documents, and personal attributes of the researcher (Johnston, 2014). The current case study uses a number of questionnaire as the primary data collection tool and the personal attributes as the secondary data collection tool. For the questionnaire, a number of 15 questions for the employees and 20 questions to the managers were asked to achieve the research aim and objectives.

6.5 Sampling Technique

There are two types of sampling techniques mostly used by researchers; they are probability and non-probability sampling techniques. Both the techniques use as per the scenario of the case (Barreiro & Albandoz, 2001). In this research study both the types of sampling techniques are used in preparing the report. The sampling made in the case of employees was based on probability sampling technique where as the selection of managers is a case of the non-probability sampling technique.

6.6 Data Analysis Process

The data analysis process has done by using the research philosophy, research design methods, research approaches, data collection techniques, data collection instruments and sampling techniques. Mostly, the qualitative data are used to understand and write the journal reviews where as the quantitative report based on the probability and non-probability sampling techniques are done to know the answers from the organizational staffs of AirAsia.

7. Limitations of the proposed project

In preparing the report comfortably, there were many obstacles and limitations that restricted to make it more briefly. The timeframe provided was not sufficient to conduct the quantitative research efficiently. In the other hand, the study of limited journals also restricted the accuracy of the qualitative report. The seven habits were useful, but the application examples were not available in detail on the internet, and hence the relatedness and comparison couldn’t be done perfectly.

8. Research Timeline

Gantt Chart

Main activities/ stages

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Topic Assortment

Data collection commencing from secondary sources

Creating layout

Literature review

Creation of the Exploration Plan

Selection of the Apposite Research Techniques

Primary data collection

Analysis & Interpretation of Data Collection

Findings of the Data

Conclusion of the Study

Formation of Rough Draft

Submission of Final Work

9. Conclusion

The research study conducted on the seven highly effective habits in context to the organizational case of AirAsia indicates that the usefulness of the habits can be proved as effective for the organization. As well as the transformational leadership style used by the managers of AirAsia demonstrates the usefulness in accomplishing the organizational objectives. The entire report was based on the research aim and objectives set at the beginning of the report and followed the same till it is achieved.

References

Ahmed, F. et. al. (2014). The impact of Transformational Leadership on Employee Motivation in Telecommunication Sector. Journal of Management Policies and Practices, 2(2), 11-25.

Barreiro, P. L. & Albandoz, J. P. (2001). Population and sample. Sampling techniques. Management Mathematics for European Schools Reviews, 1(1).

Bass, B. M. (2000). The Future of Leadership in Learning Organizations. The Journal of Leadership Studies, 7(3), 18-40.

Castellan, C. M. (2010). Quantitative and Qualitative Research: A View for Clarity. International Journal of Education, 2(2).

Cavazotte, F., Moreno, V. & Bernardo, J. (2013). Transformational Leaders and Work Performance: The Mediating Roles of Identification and Self-efficacy. Brazilian Administration Review, 10(4), 490-512.

Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research Design, (4th ed.), London: UK, Sage Publications.

Covey, S.R., 2008. The 7 habits of highly effective people personal workbook. Simon and Schuster.

Edwards, G. & Gill, R. (2012). Transformational leadership across hierarchical levels in UK manufacturing organizations. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 33 (1), 25-50.

Gingerich, E. & Mainstone, L. (2008). Value-Based Leadership. The Journal of Value Based Leadership, 1(1).

Ihuah, P. W. & Eaton, D. (2013). The Pragmatic Research Approach: A Framework for Sustainable Management of Public Housing Estates in Nigeria. Journal of US-China Public Administration, 10(10), 933-944.

Johnston, M. P. (2014). Secondary Data Analysis: A Method of which the Time Has Come. Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries (QQML), 3, 619-626.

Krishnan, V. R. (2012). Transformational leadership and personal outcomes: empowerment as mediator. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 33(6), 550-563.

Mkansi, M. & Acheampong, E. A. (2012). RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY DEBATES AND CLASSIFICATIONS: STUDENT’S DILEMMA. Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 10(2), 132-140.

Tan, B. S. & Yap, E. H. (2015). SUSTAINABLE GROWTH OF THE COMMERCIAL AVIATION INDUSTRY IN MALAYSIA USING A SYSTEM DYNAMICS APPROACH. Journal of Engineering Science and Technology, 10(9), 1150-1161.

Thamrin, H. M. (2012). The Influence of Transformational Leadership and Organizational Commitment on Job Satisfaction and Employee Performance. International Journal of Innovation, Management, and Technology, 3(5), 566-572.

Williams, C. (2007). Research Methods. Journal of Business & Economic Research, 5(3), 65-72.