Carlos Slim As A Transformational Leader

Table of Contents

List of Figures …………………………………………………………….. ii

Introduction………………………………………………………………….1

1 Grupo CARSO…..………………….………………………………………1

2 TELMEX………………………....................................................1

2a) TELMEX Organizational context………………….………….....2

3 CARLOS SLIM HELU…..………………..………………………………..4

4 Conclusion………..………………….………………………….……….…6

References…………………………………………………………………….7

Appendix A…………………………………………………………………….8

List of Figures

Figure 1 Two conceptions of the TELMEX Organizational context……..……......2

Figure 2 Organizational Tensions within TELMEX………………………………..…..3

Figure 3 Bass’s Model of Leadership styles ……..…………………………………..5

Figure 4 Bass’s 4 I’s factors for transformational Leadership………….……………..6

Introduction

The scope of this paper is both to present an organization (TELMEX), and critical reflection of the Leadership style of Carlos Slim, whilst considering the Leadership theories learned on the Leadership module.

This paper presents the tensions existing within TELMEX, before and after Carlos Slim leaded, and how he transformed it as one of the best companies in the world.

Also at the end of this paper, is a brief description of the transferable learning taken from the Leadership class.

1) Grupo Carso

Grupo Carso is a group of Companies owned by Carlos Slim, and it was created back on 1990 on Mexico City. CARSO stands for Carlos Slim, and Soumaya Domit; Soumaya was his last wife.

Grupo Carso is in Mexico the biggest group, and gathers all the companies owned by Carlos Slim; such as mining, cement, paper, manufacture of metals, department stores, restaurants, automobile tires, but one of its majors firms is the telephone company known as TELMEX, which later on integrated on America Movil, being the largest mobile company in Latin America.

In terms for analysis of this essay, it will be used TELMEX, to determine the context, culture of it.

2) TELMEX

TELMEX is the main Company where Carlos Slim (thereafter refereed as Carlos) lead for more than 10 years, back in 1990 he purchased from the Mexican government TELMEX, after 10 years of making it growth, and improve operational efficiency (Medina, 2002), he purchased America Movil in 2010, which allowed him to expand, and purchase in Central, and South America several telephone local firms.

2a) TELMEX Organizational context

In 1950 when TELMEX was established, it was known for its paternalistic control of its workers (Dominguez 1982 ), but this control was not uniform, because the male workers outside plant control of their work, while the female workers were used to do the clerical work, and had a degree of workplace domination that did men (Velazquez,1978 ).

Before Carlos purchase of TELMEX (1990), the company was characterized for its aggressive treatment of its employees, Beckham the current CEO, had established a command structure of domination, and control ( Martinez,1982 ), at the time has being recorded an interview with one employee saying:

We were piece workers, they controlled us all, we had very difficult shifts, and no fixed schedule for meal breaks, you couldn’t leave to go to the bathroom. They controlled us. We were like people machines (Velazquez, 1978).

By December 1990, TELMEX was purchased from Carlos, and then privatized as a part of the consortium CARSO, now with the new ownership Carlos wanted to improve the company, and initially he wanted to modernize (Dubb, 1998), and the speed of the change was greatly accelerated, operators had to try to ignore the threats of the change, but when faced with the positive change, operators began to got together and ask support from their union, because they had no longer enjoyed the protection of department transfers, that they previously had (Medina,2002).

As a result Operators were successful only in preserving the seniority rights for transferees, but the final agreement with Carlos regarding modernization of all TELMEX, reached in April 1992 (Dubb, 1998), among others things Carlos made for the first time in TELMEX history, that the high paying male plant jobs were opened to female employees, causing a great Leadership acceptance not only internal, but also external TELMEX.

According to Saxton and Serpa (1985), developed the theory X/Y, assuming a unique company culture within TELMEX, they said that Theory X tent to believe a unique culture exists, the culture of top management, which was with the previous CEO, but when Carlos took lead on TELMEX he moved to Theory Y, in which he believed that the organization can have multiple cultures, and hence improve the performance of TELMEX.

Figure 1, shows the two conceptions of the TELMEX organization context, before Carlos led is Theory X, and after which is Theory Y, according to the research of this paper.

Figure 1 Two conceptions of the TELMEX Organizational context

Using the model reviewed in Leadership class named Organizational tensions, showed in

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