In writing your report you are expected to utilise leadership and change theory in your critical assessment of Jack Ma

Assessed Coursework

Case study: Evaluate the leadership of Jack Ma

“Alibaba, a company started out of Mr. Ma’s apartment in 1999, is now a technology colossus worth more than American stalwarts like eBay and Hewlett-Packard”. This is one of the sentences of an article by David Barboza which appeared in The New York Times in 2014. In this article Barboza recounts, how Jack Ma the founder of Alibaba has revolutionised e-commerce in China. The article is entitled “The Jack Ma Way”.

The article can be downloaded at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/07/business/international/at-alibaba-the-founder-is-squarely-in-charge.html

Your task is to prepare an evaluation of the leadership and management style of Jack Ma. The Barboza article should be your starting point. You are then invited to supplement the information in this article by wider reading. You need to find out how his career has progressed since The New York Times article. You will find extensive information about Jack Ma on the web.

Your report should be about 2,500 words excluding references, typewritten – Ariel 11 point, single-sided, 1.5 line spacing. A 10 per cent variation in word count is acceptable. Submission date via Turnitin will be agreed in class.

In writing your report you are expected to utilise leadership and change theory in your critical assessment of Jack Ma. In so doing you may, among other issues, wish to consider the following issues:

• Is Jack Ma a manager or a leader or both? Set out your rationale underpinning your answer.

• The characteristics and skills that have helped him drive the company forward.

• What could be the consequences of taking his style too far?

• Will Jack Ma be the right person for Alibaba during the times ahead, or does the company now require more of a ‘manager’ than a ‘leader’?