Timothy Dixon
Leadership Paper
Saint Leo University
Instructor: Amy Heath

Leadership Paper This research paper will be concerning the differences and comparison of two iconic business leaders. Mr. Murdoch and Mr. Iacocca both have made names for themselves in the business world in their own way. It is my pleasure to convey the background and leadership styles of both leaders.
Rupert Murdoch background Mr. Murdoch was born March 11, 1931 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. His nationality is Australian-American. In his early years he was raised by a publicly prominent Lady Elisabeth Murdoch and Australian newspaperman Sir Keith Murdoch. “The young Murdoch was educated at private schools and Oxford University in England” (Johnson). He worked as an intern at the London Daily Express under the leadership of Lord Beaverbrook. It has been said that the London Daily Express was the main influence in Murdoch’s development; where he learned to embrace the idea that newspapers were meant to entertain, not educate. After his father’s death in 1953, Murdoch returned to Australia to oversee the operations of the Adelaide News and Sunday Mail. His hands-own commitment and extraordinary approach enhanced movement, and soon was able to add the Perth Sunday Times and additional newspapers in Sydney under his tutelage (Johnson). Furthermore in 1973 Murdoch moved into American newspapers market with the purchase of San Antonio Express. Rejected in his attempts to acquisition the National Enquirer, Murdoch created a rival tabloid in 1974 National Star. His defining moment(s) were in the 1980’s when he formed the empire News Corp the world’s largest newspaper publisher. Moreover, the launch and merge with British Satellite Broadcasting to form the highly successful BSkyB. “Today his business empire is a truly global one: in all, he has over 750 businesses in over fifty countries. At the end of 2002 his holding company, News Corporation, was worth some $42 billion, with revenues of 16 billion” (Rupert).

Rupert Murdoch leadership Style Mr. Rupert Murdoch is a Transactional leader with an intuition decision-making style to complement. For Example, after purchasing MySpace he fired founder Chris Wolfe and hired Owen Van Natta former COO from Facebook; after only ten months he was dismissed. He believes in “grabbing opportunity when they arise and giving them up just as quickly” (Martin). Furthermore, as an Authoritarian his impulsive decisions are quite vast, but creative. Mr. Murdoch loves competition which shows with his numerous acquisitions of the news media as well as Fox Broadcasting, and the National Football League broadcasting rights. His openness to new experience is what drives the reckless purchases, yet his genuine identity is of a shrewd businessman. “Seek leverage over everybody you do business with—being able to punish people is an effective and incredible currency” (Murdoch). “Sometimes you have to pay a high price for an opportunity” (Murdoch). These two quotes are perfect examples of the type of idealist businessman Mr. Murdoch is.

Lee Iacocca Background Mr. Iacocca was born on Oct. 15, 1924 in Allentown Pennsylvania. He grew up in a very loving family and parents Nicola and Antonietta, that made him and his sisters feel special. His father owned a restaurant that barely helped them get through the depression. Lee would earn money for the family by carrying grocery bags home for customers in his wagon. Lee was educated at the prestigious college Lehigh University where he earned an engineering degree. In August 1946 he became a trainee-engineer for Ford’s famous River Rouge plant (Bloomsbury). “Iacocca got to see every stage of automobile production, from the extraction of coal, through the manufacturing of cars on the assembly line” (Bloomsbury). After graduating from his trainee engineering apprenticeship, he decided to pursue sales. Unfortunately, he was not your typical extraverted salesman. He was an Introvert that worked hard until he became sales manager in 1949. His defining moment(s) were in the 1950s called the good years for Iacocca. To combat poor sales at Ford Automotive, he introduced a new financing plan called “56 for’56” (Bloomsbury). It allowed the less fortunate purchasers to pay a 20% down payment followed by three $56 payments. The plan was a success, and immediately went companywide making him an overnight star/innovator within the Ford ranks (Bloomsbury). Furthermore, while playing a leading role in the decision to abandon a proposed new model (the Cardinal), which incurred a $35 million loss. In its place rolled the first Ford mustang off the assembly line.

Lee Iacocca Leadership Style Mr. Iacocca was not only transformational, but has an initiating structure style of leadership. After joining Chrysler as the CEO he quickly realized that the company was losing money and fast. Being an instinctive leader he eradicated excess inventory, renegotiated contracts with Hertz and Avis, recruited a plethora of new talent, and made an enormous layoff (Bloomsbury). Some may call him a heroic leader; with his most bold approach in going before the Senate and House of Representatives to secure a loan guarantee for $1.2 billion. My most favorite quotes are as follow: “We at Chrysler borrow money the old-fashioned way. We pay it back” (Iacocca). “If you’re not scared, you’re too stupid to work here” (Iacocca). Also, as an authoritarian he lead by example by cutting his own salary to just $1 dollar to increase the success of the company. Mr. Iacocca is an inspirational innovator that saved Ford and revived Chrysler.
Compare/Contrast both Leaders Mr. Murdoch is an impulsive shrewd businessman that historically globalized the media. Mr. Iacocca is a frugal businessman that changed two of the three largest automotive organizations in America. They both are authoritarians that want what’s best for the company by any means necessary. Moreover, each individual are intuitive decision makers that believed in the main objective for the organization “revenue”.

Conclusion Mr. Murdoch and Mr. Iacocca are both iconic in their perspective that revolutionized the industries. Although they have different leadership skills, their decision making styles are the same. In the world of business there are many ways to lead an organization to produce revenue. Relentless persistence with intuition may be risky, but it will broaden the chance for success.

References
Johnson, E, & Edward, J 2008, 'Rupert Murdoch', Great Lives From History: The Twentieth Century, p. 1, Biography Reference Center, EBSCOhost, viewed 9 October 2013.
'Lee A. Iacocca' 2010, Lee A. Iacocca (Biography Today), p. 1, Biography Reference Center, EBSCOhost, viewed 15 October 2013.
'Lee Iacocca' 2007, Bloomsbury Business Library - Business Thinkers & Management Giants, p. 19, Biography Reference Center, EBSCOhost, viewed 15 October 2013.
Martin Peers, Suzanne Vranica and,Stephanie Kang. (2007, Aug 02). News in depth: Deal tests media titan's instincts; rupert murdoch's long-sought purchase of dow jones could change the landscape of business journalism. The Wall Street Journal Asia. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.saintleo.edu/docview/315331692?accountid=4870
'Rupert Murdoch' 2007, Bloomsbury Business Library - Business Thinkers & Management Giants, p. 31, Biography Reference Center, EBSCOhost, viewed 16 October 2013.