ABSTRACT

Superb leaders have very different ways of directing a team, a division, or a company.
Some are subdued and analytical; others are charismatic and go with their gut. And different of
situations call for different types of leadership. Most mergers need a sensitive negotiator at the
helm whereas many turnarounds require a more forceful kind of authority. My research found
that Effective leaders are like in one crucial way: they all have a high degree of what has come to
be known as leadership Style. Without it, a person can have first-class training, an incisive mind,
and an endless supply of good ideas, but he still won't make a great leader. The components of
Leadership Style is Democratic, Autocratic, Laissez-Faire Leadership, Strategic Leadership,
Transformational Leadership, Transactional Leadership, Coach-Style Leadership and
Bureaucratic Leadership. In this assignment, I will discusses each component of Leadership style
and shows some examples of leader and how to recognize it in potential leaders, how and why it
leads to measurable business results, and how it can be learned. It takes time and, most of all,
commitment.

1
Vincent Tan Background

Vincent Tan Chee Yioun (often just called Vincent Tan) is the Chairman and CEO of
Berjaya Corporation Berhad. Born in 1952 in Batu Pahat, Malaysia, he grew up in a poor family.
After graduating from secondary school, he wanted to study law, but his parents could not afford
to pay tuition. He ended up working instead, as a bank clerk and later as an insurance agent at
American International Assurance Company in 1973. At the latter job he was promoted to
Senior Sales Manager within four years, at the tender age of 23. Vincent Tan has a secret hobbies
that is diving. Vincent Tan role model is Tun Dr Mahathir who is the prime minister of Malaysia
now.

One day Vincent read an article about the McDonald’s fast food chain. He felt inspired
by the idea of entrepreneurship, and applied to own a franchise. His application was initially
rejected, but he tried again and was approved. This led to him opening the first McDonald’s
location in Malaysia in 1980, in Kuala Lumpur; he was only 29 at the time. He held a 51%
stake, and the success of the business generated some wealth, motivating him to diversify into
other ventures. In 1982 he acquired a majority stake in Berjaya-Kawat, a steel company, then
changed its name to Berjaya Group. In 1985 he bought Sports Toto and obtained a license for a
lottery business.

Through the 1990s and 2000s Vincent built Berjaya through acquisitions and franchises.
In 1993 he bought Cosway Malaysia, a successful direct-selling marketing company. He went
on to open franchises for many big-name chains, including Starbucks Coffee (1998), Wendy’s
restaurants (2007), Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (2008), and Papa John’s Pizza (2008). For the
latter restaurant, he has been granted the first right of refusal for any proposed expansion of the
business to Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and The Philippines. In the foodservice
industry, Vincent is the master franchise holder for Kenny Rogers Roasters’ restaurants
worldwide, with over 300 restaurants.

The Berjaya Group also expanded to property development and investment. It entered
into numerous joint ventures in countries such as Vietnam, China, South Korea, and Thailand to
undertake various property, infrastructure, hotel, and resort projects. The Group owns and
operates a chain of 18 four- and five-star hotels in cities and tropical island resorts in Malaysia
and abroad, offering over 4,000 rooms. In 2008, Berjaya moved into education – opening

2
Berjaya University College of Hospitality, Malaysia’s first university college specializing in
Hospitality, Tourism, and Services education.

Beyond the aforementioned industries, Berjaya is also involved in financial services,

media, motor vehicle distribution, and the environmental sanitary landfill business. Over time
Vincent transformed the company into a diversified conglomerate listed on Bursa Malaysia, the
local stock exchange. Outside of the company, Vincent has holdings in Internet-related
businesses, water utilities, broadcasting, and telecommunications. Today, Berjaya and his other
private businesses employ more than 30,000 employees and have combined revenues of over
RM 27 billion ($8.18 billion) worldwide. His corporate success has resulted in Vincent attaining
a net worth of $1.2 billion, making him the 14th richest person in Malaysia. It has also led him
to receive many honors, including Property Man of the Year Award by the International Real
Estate Federation (2004); the ASEAN Businessmen Award by the Hanoi Business Association in
Vietnam (2007); the Brand Laureate Personality Award by the Asia Pacific Brands Foundation
(2009); the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Kuala Lumpur Malay Chamber of Commerce
(2011); and the Lifetime Achievement Award on Leadership in National Philanthropy by the
Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (2011). In 2012, Vincent retired from an active
corporate role in Berjaya.

3
Tun Dr Mahathir Background

Tun Dr Mahathir was born on 10th July, 1925 (his official birth date is recorded as 20th
December 1925) in Kampung Seberang Perak, Alor Setar, Kedah, described by Tun himself as
"the poorer quarters" of town. Tun Mahathir's parents were Mohamad bin Iskandar and Wan
Tempawan binti Wan Hanafi and Tun was the youngest of nine siblings. Dr Mahathir is Loved to
read a book. He always borrow a book anywhere. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad role model is
Prophet Muhammad and Peter the Great of Russia.

He received his early education in his hometown, at Sekolah Melayu Seberang Perak, an
all-boys school for two years, then in a government English school where his father was the
headmaster. This school would later be renamed Kolej Sultan Abdul Hamid. As a student, Tun
Dr Mahathir was active in debates and was highly regarded for his English language skills. He
was appointed editor of the school magazine, and played in the school’s rugby team.His
education was interrupted when the Japanese launched an incursion into Southeast Asia via
Thailand, Penang, and Kelantan, on the 8th of December, days after Tun sat for his Junior
Cambridge Examination. Tun attended a Japanese school only briefly, opting instead to help his
family by selling food at the nearby Pekan Rabu. After the Japanese surrender, Tun Dr. Mahathir
resumed his education at Kolej Sultan Abdul Hamid where his first commentary as editor of the
school magazine was on the war and the Japanese.

The Japanese occupation had sown the seeds of disillusionment against the British for
they had failed to protect the Malay states and the rulers. After the war, Tun Mahathir and his
schoolmates protested against the Malayan Union. Tun wrote letters to the Press to state his
opposition and also mounted a poster campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of the Malayan
Union. After UMNO was established in May 1946, Tun Dr Mahathir was among the first to
register to become a member, in full support of the party’s objective of ensuring the dismantling
of the Malayan Union. The campaign against the Malayan Union was successful, and the
Malayan Union was dismantled in 1948, replaced by the Federation of Malay States that
recognised the special position of the Malays.In 1947, Tun Mahathir gained admission into the
King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore as a government scholar. During his college
years, he wrote for The Sunday Times (now known as The Straits Times) under his pen name,
C.H.E Det (Det was his family nickname). Most of his articles were about the problems of the

4
Malays. In 1953, Tun Mahathir graduated and served as a medical officer at Alor Setar General
Hospital. While in college, Tun had met Tun Dr Siti Hasmah, also a medical student. In 1956,
they were married in a ceremony in Jalan Imbi in KL. They have seven children: Marina,
Mirzan, Melinda, Mokhzani, Mukhriz, Maizura, and Mazhar.

Tun left government service in 1957 to set up his own practice, “Maha Clinic”, in Alor
Setar, establishing the country’s first Malay-owned private clinic.Tun Mahathir became active in
politics and in 1964, stood for elections in Kota Setar Selatan, and won. In 1965, he was elected
to UMNO’s Supreme Council. In 1969, Tun stood for elections again, but this time, he lost to his
PAS opponent. The opposition’s win and victory parade in Kuala Lumpur then led to a violent
racial clash between the Chinese and the Malays that left almost two hundred people dead.
Following the 13th May 1969 race riots, Tun wrote a scathing letter to Tunku, criticising him for
his soft approach in economics that Tun felt sidelined the Malays in economic development as it
gave free reign to Chinese domination. Because of that letter, he was expelled from UMNO.
During his time in the “political wilderness”, Tun continued his private medical practice and
wrote his thoughts on the plight of the Malays into a book, “The Malay Dilemma”, which was
subsequently banned in Malaya.

Tunku resigned as Prime Minister in 1970, and Tun Abdul Razak Hussein took over. In
1972, Tun Mahathir’s application to rejoin UMNO was accepted. He was appointed Senator in
1973. As he was passionate about education, Tun Mahathir was appointed a Member of the
University Court and University Malaya Council. The next year, 1974, Tun contested in the
elections and won the Kubang Pasu seat unopposed. He was appointed Malaysia’s Minister of
Education, and ended his private medical practice.

In 1976, Tun Dr. Mahathir was made Deputy Prime Minister and two years later, he took
on the post of Minister of Trade and Industry where he led several investment promotion
missions overseas. In 1981, after Tun Hussein Onn stepped down as Prime Minister due to ill
health, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad became UMNO’s President and Malaysia’s fourth Prime
Minister. Under his leadership, Malaysia transformed from being an agricultural country to a
modern, industrial nation. Tun emphasized a clean, efficient government, and launched the
Bersih, Cekap & Amanah campaign (Clean, Efficient, & Trustworthy) to reduce corruption,
promote efficiency, and nurture trust in the public service. Other innovations he introduced to the

5
public administration system were to insist that government employees clock in and out each day
as well as wear name tags.

Leadership Styles of Vincent Tan

Berjaya Corporation Berhad (Bcorp) operates in investment holding and provision of

management services. The principal activities of the subsidiaries consist of Consumer Marketing,
Direct Selling & Retail; Financial Services; Hotels, Resorts, Vacation Timeshare & Recreation
Development; Property Investment and Development; Gaming & Lottery Management;
Development of Sanitary Landfill, Environvental Services and clean Technology Investment;
Food & Beverage; and Investment Holding. Bcorp was founded in 1984 and based in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia. The company is listed on Bursa Malaysia under the Main Market.

Strategic leadership Style of Vincent Tan by open Papa John’s Pizza restaurants in other
region. In the food and beverage industry, Tan Sri Vincent is the master franchise holder for
Kenny Rogers Roasters’ restaurants worldwide with over 300 restaurants. In Malaysia, he is the
franchise holder for Starbucks Coffee since 1998, Wendy’s restaurants since 2007 and Krispy
Kreme Doughnuts restaurants since 2008. He is also the franchise holder for Papa John’s Pizza
restaurants in Malaysia since 2008 and granted the first right of refusal for the potential
expansion of the business to Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and The Philippines. Tan
Sri Vincent is also the franchise holder for Borders Bookstore in Malaysia since 2005.

In property development and investment, the Berjaya Group entered into several joint
ventures in countries like Vietnam, China, South Korea and Thailand to undertake various
property related developments, infrastructure and hotel and resort projects. The Group owns and
operates a chain of 18 four- and five-star hotels in cities and tropical island resorts in Malaysia
and abroad, offering over 4,000 rooms.

In 2008, Berjaya University College of Hospitality, Malaysia’s first university college

specializing in Hospitality, Tourism and Services education opened in Berjaya Times Square
Kuala Lumpur. He also owns the SUN newspaper since 1993, the third national English daily
and Malaysia’s first and only free national newspaper.

Better Malaysia Foundation. Tan Sri Vincent is more than just being a successful
businessman, he is also a notable philanthropist. He has contributed substantial sums in support

6
of various social and community projects, partnering with non-profit organizations and charitable
institutions, geared to help the community achieve a better quality of life.

Preferred to keep a low personal profile, Tan Sri Vincent spearheads corporate
involvement in numerous noble causes where millions of ringgit have been donated annually,
both privately and through the Berjaya Group of Companies.

Tan Sri Vincent has also set up a personal foundation, the Better Malaysia Foundation
(formerly known as VTCY Foundation) in 1997, to provide aid and relief for medical and
charitable purposes. He also sponsors the Sathya Sai Medical and Dental Clinic at Jalan Klang
Lama, Kuala Lumpur, which offers free medical services to the underprivileged community and
a feeding programme which provides for the poor and needy in the Klang Valley. In addition to
that, he is sponsoring a clinic in Jalan Klang Lama known as OKR Acupuncture Centre that
offers acupuncture treatment for free.

Tun Dr Mahathir Leadership Style

Dr Mahathir is also well-known as a dedicated, principled prime minister and always

making reforms and transformation style in the country’s administration. From resources by
Syed Agil said it had ‘opened the eyes’ of other countries to emulate Malaysia, especially after it
was able to make political transformation under the leadership of a former prime minister
appointed for the second time to hold the highest political office.

“Dr Mahathir is regarded as the driving force of reforms and transformation in the
country’s administration since the first time he was appointed as prime minister and held the post
for 22 years.“The nature of Dr Mahathir’s simplicity in observing political culture with the
interests of the people during that period caused the people to be moved by his determination in
transforming Malaysia from a third world country into a successful developing country,” he said.

Dr Mahathir has also been regarded as a visionary leader who could steer the country to
progress further in economic and social areas. During his tenure as Malaysia’s fourth prime
minister from 1981 to 2003, Malaysia experienced excellent transformation, particularly in
infrastructure and socioeconomic development, hence spurred the success of the country in
becoming a regional economic power and in facing several global financial crises.

7
 In my Research, by said Agil he was also in the opinion that the seriousness of Dr
Mahathir’s ideas and thoughts in terms of national and economic development especially when
liberating Malaysia from the 1997-1998 economic crisis by fixing of the ringgit peg to the US
dollar, had prompted many other countries to seek his advice. Whereas Azizuddin believed that
Dr Mahathir was re-elected to lead the government as the people wanted Malaysia to become a
prosperous country. This shown and state that dr Mahathir have a transformational leadership
style.

Two theories of Leadership Styles

Tan sri Dato Vincent Tan Situational Theories

Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Vincent Tan Situational Theories. Situational theories propose that
leaders choose the best course of action based upon situational variables. Different styles of
leadership may be more appropriate for certain types of decision-making. Tan Sri Dato’ Seri
Vincent Tan, 58, started his start business from humble beginnings in 1971. Through his
entrepreneurial skills and leadership, and a series of acquisitions and organic growth, he choose
transformed a steel company which he acquired a major controlling stake in 1984 into Berjaya
Corporation Berhad, a diversified conglomerate in Malaysia listed on Bursa Malaysia.

A Pioneering Entrepreneur. Tan Sri Vincent is a pioneer in many innovative business

sectors in Malaysia and has always worked towards to providing new experiences to Malaysians.
In the early 1980s, he choose to brought in the McDonald’s franchise business into Malaysia.
Besides businesses held through the Berjaya Corporation group of companies, Tan Sri Vincent
choose to involved through other holdings in Internet-related businesses, water utilities,
broadcasting and telecommunications.

The Berjaya Group is currently involved in diverse businesses such as consumer

marketing, multi-level direct selling, hotels and resorts, recreational development, property
investment and development, financial services, food and beverage, media, education, motor
vehicle distribution, gaming and lottery management, and the environmental sanitary landfill
business. From this state that Tan sri Vincent Tan make a right decision among his career of
business.

8
 Then Tan Sri Vincent’s most notable accomplishments is the acquisition of Cosway
Malaysia Sdn Bhd in October 1993, a very successful direct selling marketing company in
Malaysia. He later introduced eCosway.com in 2001, an online business portal to tap into the
international market.

Transformational theories.

‘’I’ve read a lot of leadership books and they’re all right and they’re all wrong….it
depends on a match between the style and the circumstances and individual personalities
(Sheldon, 1991).

The more you read, the more the above saying rings true and you may end up with
confusion. In my previous in Leadership style, I manage to identify a wide variety of models
such as charismatic leadership, transactional and transformational leadership, participative
leadership and contingent.

In this paper, I will examine the theoretical base of transformational leadership as

described in the literature, give a rationale for this choice of leadership philosophy, and provide
examples of how I have implemented this philosophy in practice.

Dr Mahathir Transformational leadership theories

Why does transformational leadership work for Mahathir? Insight into this question may
be gained examining the components of transformational leadership. I have identifies some
major themes that define a profile of transformational leadership of Dr Mahathir.

Creating a shared vision.

It is said that transformational Leaders paint an imaginary picture of the organizations

potential future and share it with their followers, encouraging them to make it their own.
Malaysia was led by the leader who had a vision by Dr Mahathir intiated the Multimedia Super
Corridor(MSC) project and was formed to be part of Malaysia long term planning(vision
2020)to become fully develop nation and knowledge-rich society by the year 2020.

From this we could see that Mahathir has the characteristic of shared vision include the
ability to provide meaning, to inspire and excite,to inspire individuals to extra effort,to create a
common sense of community and view change as opportunity.

9
Communicating the vision

To be an effective transformational leader, his vision must be shared with everyone in the
group and should be through continual communication. He must clearly articulate the shared
vision and must do so persistently. The vision is clarified and driven home through stories,
analogies, symbol, ceremonies, rituals and traditions. Inspirational appeals are effective in
persuading people of the importance of the vision. Transformational leaders give life to the
spoken word by living the vision. Their actions are examined by followers who demand
consistency with the spoken or written word.

Mahathir’s vision of the new Malaysia is that of intellectual and strategic leadership. He
believes in helping to create an environment that encourages creativity and innovation, as well as
assisting companies, both Malaysian and international, to reach new technology frontiers.

Guiding Implementation

Transformational leaders shape the organization through their own actions and by
personally guiding the implementation of the shared vision. They do this through leading
strategic planning efforts, team building, innovating and setting high expectations for excellence
with continuous quality improvement. They embrace the role of “servant leader” and enrich
themselves by serving their own followers.

The good example could be given here is that Dr Mahathir made Malaysia a symbolic
country after completion of major projects such as Patroness the twin towers (tallest towers in
the world) which is located in the heart of Malaysia capital Kuala Lumpur Dr. Mahathir himself
architected the project. He wanted the world to see Malaysia as a great country that capable to
get to the top and make strong country economy.

10
References

https://www.thestartv.com/v/dr-mahathir-my-role-models-are

https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/leadership-styles

Leadership textbook

https://www.thestar.com.my/metro/community/2015/08/14/tips-from-a-business-titan-
tycoon-shares-his-experiences-in-business-with-ceos-during-annual-talk

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahathir_Mohamad

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Tan

11
Appendices

Berjaya Berhad Tan Sri Dato Vincent Tan

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad

12