Harpo Case Study

Presented By: Timothy Dang, Vinh Nguyen,

Tuan Nguyen, Saul Mendiola, and Yvonne Tan

HARPO | OPRAH
HARPO is an entertainment and media company firmly

controlled by Oprah Winfrey with $345 million in sales in

2008 and 410 employees.
Winfrey is currently ranked 8th in Fortune magazine's list

of the most powerful women in business.

Shes proven to be a shrewd leader and negotiator as

chairperson of Harpo, earning respect ranging from

those who watch her shows, who purchase products
which she endorse, who work for her.

Oprahs Leadership
Winfrey owns every piece of her company: the
content, the name brand, the studio and all the
production facilities.
Oprah is the heart of the company; she creates much
of the content as well as being the content itself.
Oprah has a lot of influence ranging from presidential
elections to boosting the sales of books tenfold.

What are the potential dangers of having one

super-powerful leader of an organization?
It leaves the organization vulnerable to drastic changes if
something goes wrong with the leader. If the leader were to
fall ill, who would replace the super-powerful leader? It
could also be said that with one super-powerful leader, the
individualism and power distance of the organization is
extremely high according to Hofstedes dimensions. Having
one super-powerful leader could also leave no room for
different views. Different views in the sense that whatever
the super-powerful leader says, goes no matter what.

Example of Having One SuperPowerful Leader

For example, in Apples case, when Steven Job

passed away current CEO Tim Cook took the had

to take the reigns of the company. Steve Jobs
was seen as a leader who had a knack for
bringing out the best in people, never settling for
less than spectacular. What if it is found that
Cook cannot live up to this reputation to take
Apple in the direction it needs to?

How might Winfrey go about

ensuring that Harpo, survives
after her departure or due to a
loss of faith among the public?

Winfrey could start integrating another figure or

group of figures into the spotlight. Slowly they

could start gaining credibility and power within the

company. With this, Winfrey creates a safety net
for her company if she were to leave or the public
were to lose faith in her. I do feel like it is possible
to have true leadership succession in these
circumstances, but it will take a great deal of time.

Is it possible to have a true leadership

succession plan in these circumstances?
Its possible but more than likely, the Oprah

brand will never be the same. The company will

most likely keep its employees but the name
will change. It is a business that has acquired
clientele and will keep them, but to the public
they will view it as a company that has lost their
only public figure and will have to revamp into a
form.

As a holder of immense referent

power, what types of concerns
should Oprah Winfrey have in
of
influencing
the
What terms
she voices to the public
employees around her?
When talking to the media, she needs to
keep her company in mind
How she treats her employees
Concerned with the results of her actions,
for example the charity that involved a
teacher accused of sexual assault