Assignment:
Few CEOs have been subject to as much criticism and attacks as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Most famously, he was portrayed as the villain in the move The Social Network. Shareholders have complained about his leadership and failure to increase the stock price of Facebook, and others have claimed he is socially inept and too young and immature to be a CEO of a multi-billion dollar corporation.
However, in spite of this criticism Zuckerberg is unarguably one of the most successful CEOs and entrepreneurs in corporate history. His small project that he created while he was a college student has become world dominant in the social media business and is still growing and expanding. So in spite of all of the criticism he clearly has been a successful leader.
For this assignment, do some research in the online library and find out what you can about Zuckerberg's leadership style. Take a look at both the criticisms as well as what you think he is doing right or what lead him to his strong success.
Here are a few articles to get you started:
Facebook's leadership: Time for an update? (Jun. 13, 2010). The Washington Post. [Available on Proquest]
Bailey, B., & May, P. (2014, Feb 03). Facebook at 10: Zuckerberg pushing for change. Oakland Tribune. [Proquest]
Lesley, C. T. (2012, Jan 27). Job at Facebook not for sensitive types. Toronto Star. [Proquest]
Once you have finished your research, write a 4- to 5-page paper addressing the following questions:
1. How would you describe Mark Zuckerberg's leadership traits? Explain your reason and refer to specific leadership traits from Theories and Leadership Approach (2014) and page 211-212 of Hiriyappa (2009).
2. How would you describe Mark Zuckerberg's leadership style? Was it transformational, transactional, autocratic, participative? All of the above, or none? Refer to concepts from pages 204-2010 of Hiriyappa (2009) and either Kendrick (2011) or Kirimi, and Barine (2012) as part of your answer.
3. Consider both the positive and negative aspects of Zuckerberg's leadership style and traits. What is good, and what is detrimental to Facebook? Did the good outweigh the bad?
Assignment Expectations
• Answer the assignment questions directly.
• Stay focused on the precise assignment questions, don't go off on tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background materials.
• Make sure to use reliable and credible sources as your references. Articles published in established newspapers or business journals/magazines are preferred. If you find articles on the Internet, make sure they are from a credible source.