How Should The Entrepreneurs Of SMEs In Iran Change Their Style In a Business Life Cycle?

Kambeiz Talebi, the author of the Article discusses the urgent need for top managers to change their style in small entrepreneurial firms during a business life cycle. Although most leadership theories assume that it is an easy task, but the case studies and practical experience suggest the opposite - managers find it hard to move from an innovative style when the company is young to task-oriented behavior in the firm's mature stage. If the steps aren't taken early enough, severe crisis will be followed by an external CEO being called in. Talebi discovers that the reason why change in style is so difficult to achieve is that everyone has overlooked the link between management style and the corporate system, structure and values. The corporate context itself must change if managers are to be able to change their own styles effectively and smoothly. Suggestions are made for doing this to avoid crisis. This paper is based on a research study on management of a business life cycle in Auto Part Manufacturing Medium-sized Enterprise in the year 2002 in Iran