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Was Bloomberg an effective leader?

1. Could he have dealt with situations differently?

Bloomberg was a very effective leader, one whom made decisions with considerable reasoning. However, although he desired to maintain the flat organizational structure of the company, I felt that it was too wide a span of control for any manager or head to manage. This may cause stress in the person managing the huge group of people and may even increase the risks of miscommunication occurring. A group of so many under only an individual could serve to demotivate the subordinates as they may feel left out under their superior since that superior may not have enough time on their hands to entertain too many people for too long a period of time. Maintaining a flat organizational structure for long is also wishful thinking since the company would sooner or later increase in population. A better idea would have been to attempt to maintain the flat organizational structure while making preparations and plans for the organizational structure in the future. This allows a smoother and better organizational transition from a flat structure to a tall one.

Another concern I would like to address lies in his workaholic nature. Like in any other situation, the company founded by the person would in most cases, reflect the personality of the person. As mentioned above, many Bloomberg LP employees complain of a punishing work schedule since Bloomberg is himself, a workaholic. As a superior, or most importantly, the head of a company, the most significant thing to know is what an employee needs. We as human beings require productivity, but we aren’t machines and we all require rest; Bloomberg should not implement requirements of long working hours on all employees as this not only serves to suppress them, but also prevent themselves from having a life out of work. It does not help if his motive is to increase productivity as this implementation would instead, cause his employees further fatigue and even impede their progress and productivity.

2. What was his best moment as a leader?

‘His best moment’ would entirely lie in the definition of these words. Assuming this question asks of the best decisions he made as a leader, I would say the way he drove and motivated the organisation. In my opinion, the idea of having transparent glass doors and having to sit in cubicles regardless of organisational status was excellent. These aspects really serve to reflect an employee-centered corporate culture where the common gap or distance between a boss and employee isn’t seen. The fact that he valued new ideas and open communication over job titles have definitely serve to motivate employees and aid in the success of the company as a whole. In situations like these, Bloomberg is seen to be an extremely balanced leader in terms that he provides his employees with cordiality and hospitality and ensures perks are given whenever deserved but ensures a certain limit to it. He makes the employees feel comfortable but tells them what is expected of them, illustrating a control-based culture reinforced by constant and consistent supervision. Bloomberg has definitely put a lot of thought into the management of Bloomberg L.P as a whole and has tweaked and altered several aspects of how it could be managed to better suit the needs and wants of his employees.

Michael Bloomberg's Team

Bloomberg’s leadership team includes: Daniel L. Doctoroff, Peter T.Grauer, Beth Mazzeo, Thomas F.Secunda, and Matthew Winkler. Under the CEO (Daniel L. Doctoroff), are a total of seven departments: Bloomberg Media, Investment, Marketing, Data products, Global procurement, Human Resources, and Financial products and Services.

1. Daniel L. Doctoroff: President of Bloomberg L.P
2. Peter T. Grauer: Chairman of Bloomberg L.P
3. Beth Mazzeo: Chief Operating Officer
4. Thomas F. Secunda: global head of Bloomberg’s Financial Products & Services and Vice Chairman
5. Matthew Winkler: Editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News

What was the culture within Bloomberg L.P?

The Bloomberg L.P culture values employees over everything else. The company strives to maintain a flat organizational structure which is less formal and places equality on employees with information easily accessible to all levels of the company. Michael Bloomberg places positive organizational culture as a priority as he felt that valuing new ideas and open communication over job titles would serve to motivate employees and help the company succeed. All aspects of the company are seen to be developed with an employee-centered corporate culture. There are no offices or enclosed meeting rooms; all employees, even the CEO and the editor-in-chief, sit in long rows of terminal-laden desks. Even the location of Bloomberg L.P fosters open communication.

Bloomberg employs a hybrid culture: market and clan culture. The reason for this lies in the emphasis it places on individual performance in its sale division; the more platforms a representative sells, the higher his or her bonus. This also partially lies in the fraternal relationship among the employees, collective initiative, and a deep sense of tradition and style.

Each and every employee is told what is expected of them at work, illustrating a control-based culture with rules and regulations, reinforced by constant supervision. Any employee that feels they are lacking in a particular field are also referred to training; all employees can enroll in Bloomberg University, an online learning resource, to improve their knowledge across a multitude of subject areas. Moreover, assistance is given in funding job-related external training towards professional qualifications.

Bloomberg’s culture is most reflective of its namesake and founder, Michael Bloomberg. Like Bloomberg, a self-proclaimed workaholic, Bloomberg LP employees often complain of a punishing work schedule as analysts say 14-hour days are routine. Even Matthew Winkler, the editor-in-chief of Bloomberg news, arrives at work at 6AM and returns home only at 7PM on most days. Nevertheless, the overall culture at Bloomberg L.P is very much open, friendly, and well-driven.  According to the interviews conducted of employees on the Bloomberg L.P website, it appears they have organizational commitment; many say they were happy to work at the organization.  

What was the structure of Bloomberg L.P?

Michael Bloomberg had always wanted to keep the organizational structure in his company as flat as possible. As part of doing this, he avoided job titles for the first fifteen years and ignored organizational charts. The company outsourced several administrative support functions—Bloomberg did not even have a secretary or an assistant—in order to keep the organizational structure thin. The idea of a flatter organization helped Bloomberg reduce costs, and enabled faster decision-making with more direct contact with the decision makers.

During late 1980s, although Bloomberg L.P had established offices in New York, London, Sydney, and Tokyo, there were only four organizational layers separating the CEO from the entry-level employees late into the next decade. It was claimed that Susan Friedlander, the administrating chief, had a very wide span of control in the company with approximately 1,333 employees reporting to her. She in turn, reported to Bloomberg, along with the news department, Princeton data collection, and North American Sales. Bloomberg’s decentralization of the organization thrived on input from the lower-level employees.

How did Bloomberg motivate his team?

It is claimed that there are many perks and rewards built into the highly profitable pay package at Bloomberg. Full-time writers with only several years of experience can make more than $90,000 annually, while financial analysts have basic salaries of more than $60,000. Besides these monetary compensations, the company has a program of perks including free dining hall and snack rooms. Menus are diverse in order to keep employees satisfied as well as to increase productivity of these employees by keeping them indoors. This method can be also explained to increase efficiency as it ensures employees have their meals indoor to prevent wastage of time that could be instead, used on work.

Bloomberg offers all employees a Health and Wellness Plan consisting of medical, dental, and life insurance, a comprehensive retirement and savings plan, a tuition reimbursement program, and a host of discounts and reimbursements. Moreover, there is a dedicated service center for employees calling to respond to everything from minor to fatal. All of the above are perks that come standard as a Bloomberg employee. Nevertheless, there are many other rewards that are given out for improved productivity in sales, news, and broadcast division. 

How did Bloomberg communicate with his team?

A Human Resources department did not exist initially, as Bloomberg felt that if the employees were to have any ideas, concerns or complaints they should not bring them to the HR department but rather, Bloomberg himself. Efficiency is increased when the decision-makers are close to the situation as this allows the company to be more responsive to the fast-changing environment. Yet, after tremendous growth in the organization, the company had to create their own HR department.

Bloomberg tracks and makes public all information concerning an employee’s professional life in order to supervise and monitor individual employee activity personally; this instills transparency and strengthens lines of communication. All Bloomberg employees are expected to wear ID badges not just for security reasons, but for observation. Records of “badge ins” and “badge outs” of employees along with time and location is displayed on the their personal profile page, available to all Bloombergers around the world. In a way, this restricts and prevents employees from idling, lazing off and returning home as and when they like, as they are aware that these records will not only be seen by all Bloombergers around the world, but Bloomberg himself.

Instead of ID badges being a tracker of employee activity, it can be a way to make all employees approachable. In addition to personal webpages, employees have access to a dedicated communication system that consists of chat networks, and video conferencing services that allows face-to-face conference call with anyone, domestically or globally without leaving their seats. Yet the two most unique features are the calendar function and the slide shows. The calendar function allows all employees to access each other’s monthly schedule of meeting and appointment. The slide shows display upcoming or recent employee birthdays, anniversaries, notable community service efforts, promotions and pictures—encouraging camaraderie as a whole.