A Perspective on Transformative Leadership and African American Women in History

The work of African American women as leaders historically has gone unnoticed or its impact has been underrepresented. This essay presents a discussion of transformative leadership and examples of three notable African American women who, through their work, provide illustrations of the transformative leadership framework

Value Congruence Among Transformative Leaders in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Values have been defined as a generalized enduring organization of beliefs about the personal and social desirability of modes of conduct or “end-states of existence” (Klende, 2005). The congruence of personal values and organizational values represent an important opportunity for positive business results and outcomes (Klende, 2005). Based on the results of this qualitative study among transformative African American women leaders in the pharmaceutical industry, it is possible that value congruence may be a factor in the success experienced by these study participants. Three value themes are reported to describe the leadership values of these study participants. They are: “people,” “think,” and “company.” These value themes are supportive of tenets that comprise the transformative leadership model

Transformers: African American Women Leaders in the Pharmaceutical Industry

This qualitative study documents the experiences of African American women leaders in the pharmaceutical industry in the context of the transformative leadership model. Transformative leadership is a theory that recognizes that the success of individuals and organizations (including pharmaceutical companies) may be impacted by material realities and disparities that exist in a larger societal context. Consequently, transformative leaders seek to promote change (Shields, 2011). Eight African American leaders were interviewed regarding their leadership experiences in the pharmaceutical industry. The interview text was then coded based on the seven tenets of transformative leadership. The results indicated that, collectively, all participants exhibited all tenets, with each participant illustrating at least four of the seven tenets. Three tenets were common to all participants. They included tenet one (acknowledging power and privilege), tenet three (deconstructing and reconstructing knowledge frames), and tenet seven (demonstrating moral courage and activism). While African American women leaders in the pharmaceutical industry represent a small percentage of industry leadership, they are impactful leaders and contributors to its transformation. The findings have relevance to both scholars and practitioners in management leadership generally, as well as to leaders within the pharmaceutical industry

A Perspective on Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices: Message Development, Media Selection, Medication Adherence and Health Literacy

Health literacy includes not only literacy and numeracy, but areas related to an individual\u27s ability to critically review and process health information in such a way that leads to improved health behavior and outcomes. The level of health literacy attained by a particular target audience is an important consideration for marketers of pharmaceutical products as it impacts both the message and the media selected for product promotion. Additionally, the degree to which health literacy levels impact medication adherence should be a consideration for those that market pharmaceutical products