Leadership Problems in Johnson and Johnson

Problems encountered in Johnson & Johnson

J&J consist of more than 250 companies located in 60 countries around the world with several business segments comprises of franchises and therapeutic categories. To manage their business, the structure J&J is based on the principle of decentralized management. (Johnson & Johnson , 2014). As mentioned earlier, Alex Gorsky (chairman and chief executive officer position of J&J) always possesses and portrays an approachable and friendly image towards his employees. In addition, Alex Gorsky beliefs that everyone’s opinion is essential for good decision making. It is not always good to have a leader who always portrays a friendly image towards his employee. This is because it will create a perception of favouritism. (McCarthy, 2011) Employee will feel that their colleagues who have a better friendship with the boss will get more benefits. As a result, these employees would feel left out and reduce their motivation to work hard. In addition, employees that are friends with their boss will take advantage of their boss and there is a risk that the employees would not take him seriously. This is because they will feel that since they are friends with the boss they might feel they could get away with any punishment if they do not perform their work well.

Furthermore, Alex Gorsky believed that having challenging people to argue in choosing the right decision because of diversity of opinion by different members. One of the problems is this requires a lot of time when solving a problem. If a serious or urgent issue arises and requires quick decision, this style may be inappropriate because so many people are involved. Moreover, too many view points and ideas may take the final decision more difficult and may be a source of frustration for the decision maker. The decision maker may feel frustrated because he/she must take everyone idea into consideration. Tentatively, resources are used instead of focusing them...