Michael Griffin
Professor Rottmann
Leadership in Structured Situations
1 May 2012
The Leadership Style of Women and Men
Introduction
The time has changed when women used to manage family related matters. In early years,
there were several queens and princesses that marked their names in history with their
monarchies, for example, “Queen Hatshepsut and Cleopatra of Egypt, Queen Elizabeth I of
England, and Catherine the Great of Russia.” (Kristof par.2). Their success would actually
put some men to shame. Today, there are thousands of examples of great female leaders
who are admired by the world for their leadership role. They are leading the public like
other male leaders. Researchers are concerned about the differences in leadership style of
women and men. According to some surveys, men tend to have “command and control
environment”. On the contrary, women tend to use “nurturing motherhood” skills
(Edmunds par.3).
Thesis Statement
Men and women have different leadership styles and both leadership methods are effective
and competitive. At the end of the research, it would be clear whether there is difference in
leadership styles of women and men.
Historical Background
There are two main competitors in the beverage industry, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola. Both
companies are very popular and have the highest reputation in the industry. These
companies have similarities and differences in their leadership styles. One of the big
differences is that PepsiCo’s CEO is a female leader, Indra Nooyi and CocoCola’s CEO is
a male leader, Muhtar Kent.
Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo
Early career
Indra Nooyi was born in Madras, India, 1955. She is married and has two daughters. After
getting her Bachelor of Science from Madras Christian College in 1976, she entered the
Indian Institute of Management to barge her MBA. By the time when she got her MBA,
she was supposed to get married by her country’s tradition. However, she did not get
married because of her sister’s late marriage and she had decided to study in the United
States. Her parents encouraged her decision and eventually, she got a scholarship from
Yale University. In 1980 she got her Master in public and private management (Reference
for Business par.1).
She started her career in India, where she worked as a product manager at Johnson and
Johnson. When she finished her Master in Yale University, “she wore a sari to an interview
at Boston Consulting Group and was offered the job” (Brady par.4). She had worked at
Boston Consulting Group for six years as an international corporate strategy director
(PepsiCo par.6). Her career at Johnson and Johnson maybe pushed her to work in the
United States because Johnson and Johnson is one of the popular companies in the United
States and she might want to challenge herself outside her country. Between 1986 and
1990, she worked for Motorola, as a Vice President and Director of Corporate Strategy and
Planning. Her earlier career consists of different fields of experiences, from everyday
products to heavy industrial business. Before joining PepsiCo, between 1994 and 1996
Nooyi was in Asea Brown Boveri, a Zurich-based industrial company as a Senior Vice
President of Strategy and Strategic Marketing Department. She was responsible for the
company’s US business consisting of 10 billion sales. In 1996 she joined PepsiCo
(PepsiCo par.5). Her experiences at different companies made her competent and confident
in herself that she can do anything if she wants. Generally, in her previous jobs she was
responsible for companies’ corporate strategies and development which are the important
part of any business. If she could do strategies in other companies, then she can do at
PepsiCo, and she did that.
Career at PepsiCo
She started as a Vice president of Corporate Strategy and Development in 1996. Her work
was different from others. She was treating people like her own children. Her workers
were “impressed by her willingness to do the right thing for her employees and
consumers” (Schultz par.2). PepsiCo saw that her skill and ability would drive the
company forward and made her the Chief Financial Officer of PepsiCo in 2000. As a CFO,
she was directing the company’s finance, strategy, innovation, investments, and
information technology. In one word, she was multifunctional. If she was not a great leader
but a good leader, maybe she could not do all the tasks. Thanks to her skills and leadership
ways, she was able to lead and move the company toward a bright future. Eventually, in
2006 she was named the CEO and Chairman of PepsiCo.
Today, PepsiCo is operating under her strategy called “Performance with Purpose”
(Bingham and Galagan par.1). Performance with Purpose is defined as maintaining
sustainability in human, environment, and talent. For example, PepsiCo is offering
healthier food choices for consumers and that is human sustainability. Additionally,
PepsiCo is developing innovative ways to reduce the use of energy, water, and packaging
in order to protect the environment. Nooyi thinks that each one of PepsiCo’s 300,000
employees is a leader. She desires to attract and keep the talented employees in the
company and provide them with entrepreneurial culture, where everyone has the
opportunity to develop good ideas (Bingham and Galagan par.2).
She is not only concerned about her employees and the company but also about other
females who would like to challenge themselves in business, especially in top
management. During Wall Street Journal conference she criticized that corporate leaders
are not trying hard enough to increase the number of women in top management. PepsiCo
is trying to make sure that women would represent a big proportion in the company’s
management team. Nooyi said that she would be happy to move this action forward
