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1. What did Jack Ma do that was so different from other company leaders? In what
ways is he a revolutionary?
Jack Ma was different from other company because he challenges the status-quo in China.
He can be said as a good entrepreneur and strong man due to he successfully faced all
risk. After the discussion with group members, we found that he has used some
management theory during the process of revolutionary.
Jack Ma is different from other company leaders because he has used Scientific
Management Theory (Taylor,W.F.) on his company management. Jack Ma is able to
developed he’s own revolutionary that means act with conventional wisdom and
longstanding by their own creativity to manage the company although there are major
cultural, technical and economic changes in this era globalization. Also, Jack Ma has
fulfilled one of the principle of this theory is he has scientifically teach, train and develop
his workers. As an example, Jack Ma told his workers need to put more time than others
and out-innovate competitor to reach the maximum level of proficiency while other
companies employees might prefer normally work from 9 to5 office hours only on
working place(1999). This is an efficient for the entrepreneurs to do the innovation that
enable the company can compete with others. Also, a systematic study about the
relationships among people and tasks is needed during redesigning the work process for
the efficiency purpose.
Besides that, based on our group members opinion, Jack Ma also use Administrative
Management theory of Bureaucracy(Max Weber) in his company management.
Hierarchy of authority is one of the important element in this theory and Jack Ma has the
responsibilities to direct and control employees performances to reach organization goals.
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It said like that because Alibaba company was controlled the Chinese e-commerce market
by controlling the platform of the Tmall. He also manages the online setting and indexing
of Taobao retail website. It has showed the power on how to hold accountable for their
actions and to make decisions regarding to concern the use of organizational resources.
Behavioral Management Theory also a theory that implemented in Jack Ma’s company
revolutionary. This theory has implemented well by Jack Ma because he able to motivate
his employees and encourage them to commit at high level. According to Anthea Yan
Zhang, professor from Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University in Houston
said that Jack Ma is the spiritual leader for his staffs and always with lots of energy and
ideas. Ma’s company get the critic during his leading but he is not shirk but face
immediately. So, the decision that he has took is open New York Stock Exchange
(Baram, 2014)(NYSE) through the aggressive competition after getting the despise from
others. An excellent leader characteristic and behavior will lead a company to succeed.
Lastly, we also think that Jack Ma uses the Fayol’s Principles of Management(Fayol,H.).
There are 14principle in this theory and Jack Ma able to fulfill it. It is because he always
be honest and direct to challenge the old standards which that ability to act on one’s own
without the direction from a superior when conducting the company. Also, sometime we
think that Jack Ma has showed autocratic practices in certain incidents during the
management of company. It is because as we know he is the founder and chairman for
Alibaba company by making the all major decision. What has Jack Ma said will be an
order. For example, Jack Ma announced in February there is no any person in Alibaba
company will get the Spring Festival bonus and a hiring freeze was implemented with the
motive to enhance the efficiency(Ma. F.J.,2015).
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2. What is “conventional wisdom,” and why is it necessary to challenge it?
According to Longman dictionary, conventional wisdom can be defined as the opinion
that more people will consider to be usual, normal and right, and it might sometime
showed to be wrong. The public are generally can accept certain ideas, opinions or
understanding common sense that also can be consider as conventional wisdom.
In our group members opinion, conventional is necessary to challenge due to the
enhancement of quality output will be produced. The best example of challenging the
conventional wisdom is Alibaba company. Jack Ma has challenged the status quo in
China and the innovation and successful was occurred . For example, Jack Ma priority
the major owner and customers and the third are shareholders that shows obviously
difference with other companies or organizations. Despite of challenging the status quo
need taking the high risk, but still need to do because without trying we will never know
the outcome will be. So, the careful planning and the solutions need to be considered
clearly in advanced before doing an important management decision.
Conventional wisdom sometime might be good because enable people to satisfy with the
status quo but sometime it should be challenge because it might stopped people from
being creative and creative. For example, Jack Ma is able to become Alibaba company
reach a new level of success that can be seen when his company market value grow to
over $ 200 billion despite his management style is controversial . Also, wisdom can be
developed by ourselves in nature but we might disagree with certain conventional
wisdom due to our personal thinking and behavior. For example, Jack Ma showed
unexpected action by open the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) after failure to reach
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the deal with Hong Kong exchange. This showed that the conventional wisdom could be
wrong and we need to take high risk if we want to challenge it.
Also, conventional wisdom needs to be challenge for the benefits of public. Nowadays,
many companies caught in the scandals, bankruptcy and taxpayer-funded bailouts
problems. It showed that we need to make a change or reformation on a company
management and the governance status quo policy. The main motive of challenging the
conventional wisdom is to increase the transparency and the credibility of an organization
or company. The trustworthy from public is an important key to the success of a company.
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3. Why did so many people criticize Ma and Alibaba?
People criticize Ma and Alibaba because he remarked that the shareholders are his third
concern after partners and customers. Many people said that customers are tertiary status
and should not be on the top of an organization .It is because customers will have public
relation problems and this will give some effects to the company .
Other than that, based on the report from a Chinese regulatory agency said that most of
the goods sold on Alibaba’s website are counterfeit . Pirate problem also an issue to be
critised. Alibaba company claimed that all the goods sold on their website like handbags ,
shoes and other goods are all made by the company itself . But after the report had been
carry out by customers claimed that Alibaba company had cheated them . They criticized
that Ma and Alibaba are not honest in doing their business .
Ma and Alibaba got another critic when China’s State Administration of Industry and
Commerce (SAIC) said that the Alibaba company has not done enough to stop the
Internet for the sales of illegal goods by it was denies by Ma . According to SAIC, there
are some employees of Alibaba company accept bribes that permitted merchants to sell
goods such as illegal wine, handbag and others without getting the required license.
Many of the samples that showed in the Taobao retail website has not licensed products
through the investigation.
Also, Alibaba company had offered stock shares to the public on the New York Stock
Exchange(NYSE) . There is added by the critism from American analyst as they said that
it is do not fair for another company when Alibaba shares be on the NYSE as it is a
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Chinese-based company . In addition , people said that Alibaba company do not deserve
to be in the NYSE as before this they sold goods that do not belong to them .
The other reason is Alibaba’s website , Taobao which had violated marketing rules and
had a poor consumer rating system. So, the westerns accused the Alibaba company for
stealing intellectual property and selling illegal product to their customers . This is unfair
and will give an impact to the company that produce the product because the buyer can
get the same product in a cheapest price .
In addition, Ma and Alibaba have been criticized by saying that he is challenging the
corporate governance status quo .It is said like that because lots of models of corporate
governance failed to uphold the trust that society or even their investor s put in them .
The scandals, bankruptcies, and taxpayer-funded bailouts of recent years have only
brought into public view a system of corporate governance that has been long
characterized by secrecy , greed and lack of transparency .
Ma and Alibaba company hold on the principles building trust with customer , partners
and shareholders . This make people criticize Alibaba company as the governance ageold paradigm does not apply this principles in their companies on doing business. Ma
does not look back as he believed in what he done .
Another critic come when people said Ma only own about ten percent of the shares .
They said it could bring Ma and Alibaba company down the line , in other word instable .
People always look down on what Alibaba done and what they had achieved as they felt
the competition in doing business would becoming too great between Chinese-based
company . It is hard to get into American business and Ma able to do it . SAIC report that
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had been carried out created more critic on Ma and Alibaba as they do not want another
company challenge them .
Due to the expectation of people on Alibaba were too high but when Alibaba reported its
latest earnings in late January , the good news was that profits better than expectation but
the sales missed estimates. So, another critic of Alibaba is that like Amazon . People said
that Alibaba are a company for Amazon . This is because Alibaba has stakes in soccer
team and movie studio in addition to a mobile video game . The company is also looking
to expand beyond China and United States is definitely one of Jack Ma’s big target .
Alibaba company also had been accused by U.S. government and others for allowing
sales of counterfeit goods but Wednesday’s report was the first time Chinese government
has criticized a company that is leading star in an Internet industry communist leaders are
eager to develop. So, people criticized Alibaba when Alibaba.com and Taobao were
named in the “notorious markets” each year from 2008 to 2011 but noted that the
marketplaces had been removed from the list .
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4. Jack Ma’s sudden emergence “rocked the boat” in China and around the globe.
Are lots of other business leaders likely to follow his example, and challenge the
status quo?
Jack Ma’s make the decision sudden emergence “rocked the boat” in China and around
the globe because he challenges the status quo. It would said like that because Jack Ma
put the customers and his employees as priority compared to the shareholders that show
his management style is different with other company. Nowadays, Jack Ma becomes one
of the richest and successful people in China despite there are many people critic and
disagree with his mode of operation.
High returns require high risks. So, not as many company leaders as braver like Jack Ma
to take high risk in challenge the status quo. Based on our group member opinion, we
cannot deny by saying that Jack Ma is really success in his business but it too risky to put
the shareholders as the third important category after his customers and employees.
While, as commonly know normally a company or organization priority is to maximize
the profit for shareholders. So, his company might lead to public relations issue with
outside world if they control over the right.
After the discussion, we found that The CEO of the Yahoo! Inc., Bartz is the best
example of leader who does not satisfied with the management of Jack Ma. It is because
the previous CEO of Yahoo! Inc., Jerry Yang who held nearly 39% shares of the Alibaba
but only 25% voting right and it showed unfair. She also critics Jack Ma about he lost
part of the social capital from Yahoo! Inc. Bartz was not satisfied with Jack Ma’s job in
Yahoo! Inc. China. According to Bartz, she has claimed that Yahoo! Inc. may execute its
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majority shareholder right in October 2010 and expressed her intention to join the board
of directors of Alibaba. This decision is giving the rise to corporate the conflict between
Yahoo! Inc and Jack Ma (Kong, 2014). So, by putting the shareholders as the third
important people will make the shareholders feel do not satisfy and the conflict between
two parties may occur. It is because shareholders have the mindset by thinking
themselves are more important that customers and employees because they are the person
who invest to the company and should have the voting right. But, Jack Ma has challenged
it.
While from the other side, many business leaders or entrepreneurs are started to accept
and believe nothing is impossible in the management field after seeing the success of
Jack Ma and his company. Jack Ma has become the role model for other companies and
motivate them to make the innovation by likely to take risks and challenge the status quo
despite do not follow Jack Ma style in their management. Also, in this recent years
people who involve in the entrepreneurship have showed significant increased that
includes Malaysia. These kinds of new entrepreneurship are more likely to challenge the
status quo rather than follow the traditional way like Jack Ma did.
Through the Jack Ma and Alibaba case study, we have learnt that every business have its
own risky. Also, a good leader should not be afraid of the risky and problems. We learnt
from mistakes even Jack Ma also failed many times before getting success. According to
Ma, he failed twice in his study due to weak in Math because but he able to manage such
big company-Alibaba nowadays. Also, Ma rejected by three other institutions that were
the police force, Harvard University and Kentucky Fried Chicken (Leung, 2015). These
are the some examples of obstacles facing by Ma.
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In short, the other business leaders do not follow the management style like Jack Ma did,
but Jack Ma has become their motivation for them to take risk in the business and
challenge the status quo.
Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook is one of the best example which get the critic
but still uses his own management style in organization operation. According to
Hisdustan Times, the India’s Save The Internet coalition has criticized Mark projectInternet .org. The reason is it might bring confusing to the whole emerging market users
through this project by thinking that internet and Facebook are one and the same. But
Mark argued with his view by saying that Internet .org is a free service basically and
emphasis that all web services should be accessible equally.
Based on our discussion, sometime Mark Zuckerberg’s management way is same with
Jack Ma. Both of them priority human skill in their company management that mean they
are able to work well with other partners and people both individually or in a group.It is
because both of them also the person who play important role in decision making process.
Otherwise, both of them often encourage employees to express their views and opinions
that is not same like some conservatism organization. For example, Mark Zuckerberg use
an hour to have a public question and answer meeting for his company on every Friday in
his own company management that can increase the motivation of his staffs.
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References
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Kong, A. (2014). International Conference on Management and Engineering. Shanghai, China.:
DEStech Publications, Inc. .
Leung, I. (2015, April 27). 7 ways Jack Ma achieved game-changing success. Retrieved
September 17, 2015, from e27: http://e27.co/7-ways-jack-ma-achieved-game-changing-success20150427/
Shontell, A. (2014, September 23). Alibaba’s CEO Told Employees 2 Things They Needed To Do To
Be Successful: Beat Americans And Work Longer Hours. Retrieved September 18, 2015, from
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Waddlell,D.,Jones,Gareth,R.,George&Jennifer,M. (2011). Contemporary Management. In
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Wall, M. (2015, April 17). Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg hits back in Internet.org India row.
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