Chief executive officer (CEO)

From CEOpedia | Management online

The Chief executive officer (CEO) is a senior official of the company. The main functions of the CEO are that he or she determines the general strategy of the enterprise, makes decisions at the highest level, performs representative duties [1]. CEO is the highest executive position in the company. He or she has general obligations for planning, organizing, creating, implementing, and integrating the overall strategy of the organization [2]. Moreover, this means that it depends on his work whether the company will fall apart, or will flourish in the future.

Obligations of the CEO

An article written by Lafley A.G. the intertwining with the thoughts of Peter Drucker is visible [3]. The main idea behind their general conclusions is the uniqueness of the CEO's work. The essential message that they wanted to convey to the world was that only the CEO can extract the necessary information from the outside world in such a way that this data would benefit the internal environment of the organization. Also, only a professional CEO can, in times of crisis, pandemic, and other instabilities in the market, find new opportunities in the market, and not threats.

In addition, the CEO has the following obligations [4]:

  • to ensure the sustainability, sales and profits of the company;
  • to formulate a strategic plan that aligns with the main objectives of the organization;
  • to provide the growth of profit for shareholders;
  • to define clear goals and vision of the organization;
  • to inform the company's management about all-round competition (both internal and external competition);
  • to use opportunities for expansion (as soon as they appear, given the successful position of the company);
  • to follow new developments in various markets;
  • to follow new standards and laws that apply to the organization;
  • to oversee the general activities of the company in accordance with the strategic plan;
  • to evaluate the success and failure of the company in accordance with the previously set objectives;
  • to increase shareholder value by selling or acquiring other companies;
  • participate in events, training exhibitions, conferences, and programs that enhance the leadership qualities of the CEO and increase the company's reputation.

The CEO is the highest executive on whom the general success, bankruptcy, or collapse of the company depends. Despite the fact that there are no clear daily tasks prescribed for different executive directors, in general, their functions are similar, which is the basis for determining their activities.

The future of this workplace

CEOs all over the world take many years to fill this position. This is not surprising, because for many people it is a lifelong dream of reaching such a high level of control and influence. However, we live in an era when almost all vacancies can be replaced by robots in the future. In such conditions, the logical question arises: is it worth it now, in 2020, to spend so much time, effort, and finances if there is a risk that this vacancy can be occupied by machines or robots? The answer is yes, and yes again. It is very important to clearly understand that the work of a CEO is focused not only on mathematical, statistical, and other hard skills but also on communication with people and the emotional part. According to the site's Replaced by Robots data, it has been proven that such a vacancy cannot be computerized, and the answer is simple - accurate calculations and science do not always decide everything [5]. For the work of a CEO to be effective, it is also necessary to use experience, intuition, and sometimes even feelings. Therefore, you can be sure that if the future comes in our rapidly changing world, CEOs will not disappear anywhere, but they will only develop their skills to ensure the continuous development of the organization and ensure the most productive time and money spent to achieve the company's strategic plan.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Will Kenton (2020)
  2. ↑ Susan M. Heathfield (2020)
  3. ↑ What Only the CEO Can Do , Lafley A.G. (2009)
  4. ↑ Susan M. Heathfield (2020)
  5. ↑ Replaced by Robots (2020)


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References

Author: Anna Sobolieva

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