Andrea Jung's participatory leadership model at Avon

Andrea Jung -- New ideas of participatory leadership 'calling' Avon

The words 'Avon Lady' probably calls up the image of a pleasant woman, going door to door, selling make-up part time to make some 'spare change' for her family. But the first female CEO of Avon, Andrea Jung, defies both the customary stereotypes of what a powerful organizational leader is supposed to look like, how a leader is supposed to manage her organization, as well as the conventional image of a woman in the fashion industry. Avon, under Jung's leadership, Avon has also adopted a more participatory model of organizational culture, taking in new suggestions and ideas from lower-level staff members and influencing the company with a 'flush,' no pun intended, of new ideas regarding international and national marketing.

Under Jung's tutelage, the company has entirely done away with stuffy assumptions of who Avon customers are and what they desire from their products. "This," the chief executive declared, during a recent interview, with a reporter "has been heralded as one of the breakthrough ideas of the decade." The quantum leap? The packaging, in contrast to the staid and conventional styles of Avon's older days. "Avon's new line puts an applicator on each end -- one for the tube of gloss, and the other for mascara or concealer, so you can carry two kinds of makeup in one tube. A bonus is the product's name, which might make you blush without any rouge: Hook Up," stated Jung. (Setoodeh, 2005)