Learning, Managing and Developing People, Leadership Theories - Assignment Example

LEARNING, MANAGING AND DEVELOPING PEOPLE Leadership theories According to the trait theory, successful leadership is limited only to a few individuals who have unique, inborn traits. Those traits include capacity, achievement, responsibility, participation and status. Others suggest that effective leaders must possess traits such as drive, motivation, self confidence, honesty and integrity, cognitive ability and knowledge of the business. The trait theory is criticized because many of the traits are vague and people with the desired traits are not necessarily effective leaders. Moreover, the traits identified are not restricted to leadership and can be useful in other roles. Style leadership theories focus on how leaders behave. Two dimensions of leadership include consideration (employee centered) and initiating structure (production centered). A balance of both dimensions is the most appropriate. Leadership should have regard for the characteristics of the leader, organization and workgroup. Steven’s leadership is production centered. He is not concerned with the needs of the employees but only focuses on getting the task done. He is not willing to power share and makes decisions and announces them. He barks orders at the employees and expects them to achieve unreachable targets and reprimands them for not doing things fast enough. On the other hand, Robert involves his team members in making decisions and allocates specific tasks to each individual. He is concerned about the needs of the employees and consults them in decision making. Situational and contingency leadership theories suggest that the most effective leadership style changes depending on the situation. This approach is based on leadership dimensions of directive and supportive behaviors. Directive behaviors assist the team members to achieve their goals by focusing on the tasks that need to be accomplished and how they should be done. Supportive behaviors assist the members of the team to be comfortable about the situation, themselves and their colleagues. These two behaviors can either be supporting, directing, coaching or delegating. Transformational leadership involves a leader that is visionary, inspiring and one who leads by example. This leadership focuses on the moral and ethical values of the followers. Transactional leadership is based on legitimate authority and focuses on the self interest of the followers. To ensure the success of Smith’s Bothy and Hotel, the leaders should adopt the situational and contingency theory of leadership. The leadership style should change depending on the situation. The leaders should ensure that they focus on the tasks to be done, as well as support the employees so that they can be able to perform their tasks comfortably. Organizational structures The Life Cycle model of business involves five stages. The first is the startup where the organization is small in size. Next is growth in terms of output of goods and services. The next stage is maturity where the organization has developed the systems and procedures that are necessary to maintain its output. The further development stage implies more growth and the decline stage is where the organization begins to reduce staff and reduce the provision of goods and services, and might even close down. The life Cycle model has some limitations. Firstly, all organizations do not follow these stages in a sequential manner. Moreover, different sections of the organization may occupy different stages of the Life Cycle model at the same time. The assumptions that organizations are small at stage one and large at stage three are not always true. An organizational structure is a framework for identifying and organizing the activities and tasks to be performed within an organization. The components of an organizational structure include the basic structure and operating mechanisms. The basic structure is concerned with what is done and where it is done, and is in form of an organizational chart. The operating mechanisms include the organizational policies and procedures that state how activities should be carried out. The dimensions of an organizational structure include configuration, centralization/ decentralization, specialization and formalization. Configuration has two aspects: horizontal and vertical differentiation. Horizontal differentiation is concerned with how the organization divides itself into groups and allocates resources to different business activities. Division of labor can be done based on function or purpose, product or service, location, nature of the work performed and common time scales. There is no clear division of labor at Smith’s Bothy and Hotel as Steven barks orders at the employees and commands them to do tasks that are not in their job description. The employees perform different tasks depending on Steven’s orders, for instance, taking orders, organizing drinks and clearing the tables. Functional grouping involves grouping jobs within departments where staff share a common technical expertise. The department members are able to exchange knowledge and this grouping is easy to understand. Deployment of resources is also easy. However, this approach has limitations as the managers operate in isolation. Besides, communication is vertical and this may be time consuming and inflexible. Smith’s Bothy and hotel is functionally grouped. There are various team leads supervising the various functions of the organization including the restaurant, the hotel reception, the bar area any other area. Product or service grouping involves division of labor based on the products or services of the organization. The advantages of this grouping are that each function is closer to the customer, coordination across functional areas is easier and it aids in financial control. The shortcoming of this grouping is the duplication of functions and this is not cost effective. The matrix grouping combines both the functional and product/service groupings. This grouping is suited to large organizations and those that carry out complex activities. However, it is difficult to implement. Vertical differentiation identifies the various reporting relationships linking tasks, roles and functions in the organization. Vertical differentiation is concerned with hierarchy and span of control. A tall hierarchy has several layers of management while a flatter hierarchy has fewer managerial layers. In a wide span of control, there are a large number of direct reports per manager while in a narrow span of control, they are fewer. Centralization and decentralization determine where decisions are made in the organization. In a centralized organization, decisions are made centrally by few selected senior employees. In decentralization, decisions are delegated down and across the organization. Steven’s leadership at Smith’s Bothy and Hotel is centralized. All the decisions concerning the business are made by few select individuals who include Steven, and some input from Jackie and Peter. However, during Robert’s shift, he involves the team members in the decision making process. Robert sometimes delegates power to Julie, the Head Chef. Specialization is concerned with the extent to which labor is divided at the micro-level of the organization. Formalization is concerned with the extent to which rules and procedures dictate organizational activities. This includes personnel handbooks, policy documents, job descriptions, process definitions, and appraisals among others. In order for Smiths’ and Bothy hotel to run smoothly, there should be proper division of labor. Each employee should have specific tasks that they are supposed to perform. The organization should also be decentralized and the process of decision making should be delegated down and across the organization. Understanding self and others (part 1) Knowing about our values, beliefs , likes and dislikes and those of others can impact on human resource activities such as resourcing, reward, career, learning and development, communication, ethics and wellbeing. Person perception involves how we obtain, store and recall information about people in order to make judgments about them. The process of perception involves how information from the environment is selected and organized to provide meaning for us. We act towards people in accordance with our perception but the beliefs we form are not always accurate. We might make assumptions based on the selection and organization of a limited amount of information. The workers at Smith’s Bothy and Hotel perceive Steven as difficult to deal with; therefore they cannot dare to ask him any questions. Steven perceives the employees at Smith’s Bothy and Hotel as incompetent and lazy. Steven and Jackie have a perception that Bertie is challenging their authority. Julie and Robert perceive the change in the organization as positive and helpful as they can now make independent decisions. Steven and peter perceive the change at Smith’s Bothy and Hotel as a threat to their autonomy. The employees at Smith’s Bothy and Hotel perceive the automation of operations as a threat to their jobs and therefore, they refuse to accept the new system. Stereotyping is grouping people together using generalized beliefs about their individual characteristics, attributes and behaviors such as race, occupation, sex and age. Stereotyping can be dangerous in a business and we need to confront our beliefs about particular groups with well researched, accurate and credible information. Our perception of others is influenced by the characteristics of the perceiver, the person perceived and the situation. Our personality affects our perception but being aware of our own personal characteristics helps us to judge the characteristics of others. Circumstances affect our perception and we need to constantly question the validity of our perception of the circumstances at the workplace. Understanding the process of perception enables us to make more objective judgments about the people we work with, sell to and service. In order to understand themselves and others and ensure the smooth running of the organization, the employees and management at Smith’s Bothy and Hotel need to make objective judgments about others and make conclusions based on well researched, accurate and credible information. Understanding self and others (Part 2) Perceptual barriers that can cause problems include selective attention, perceptual organization, interpretation, halo/ horns effect, perceptual defense, stereotyping and projection. Motivation is what makes people do things. Motivation is made up of three components which include direction, effort and persistence. The common sense approach to work motivation suggests three perspectives of motivation. People are lazy and cannot be trusted to perform effectively and therefore they need to be motivated through strict control and use of financial incentives or threats. The other perspective is that people seek to have freedom to be creative and innovative and if that is granted, they will respond positively. The third perspective is that people are social beings and are motivated to work by the social relationships that they form. The kitchen porter lacks motivation when the position he was eyeing is given to someone else and he responds by coming late to work and intentionally neglecting his responsibilities. The content theories of motivation focus on what motivates individuals at work. They explain behavior in terms of specific human needs. These theories include Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory and McClelland’s Learned Needs theory. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory suggests that human beings have a series of needs that come in a hierarchy and the lower needs must be gratified before the next need becomes a motivator. These needs include physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs and self actualization needs. Hertzberg’s two factor theory suggests that motivation is influenced by hygiene factors and motivators. Hygiene factors are external to the job and include salary, job security, supervision, working conditions, company policies and relationships at work. Motivators relate to the job content and they include achievement, responsibility, recognition, advancement, growth and the actual job content. Employees at Smith’s Bothy and Hotel are not motivated since there is no job security, there are poor working conditions, there is no recognition and there are poor working relationships. McClelland’s Learned Needs Theory suggests that people have three main needs which include the need for achievement, affiliation and power. The process theories focus on how and why motivation occurs. They emphasize on an individual’s perception, expectations and goal directed behavior. These theories include the Adams’s Equity Theory, Vroom’s Expectancy Theory and Locke’s Goal Setting Theory. Adam’s Equity Theory suggests that people make motivational decisions by comparing their situation to those of others. It focuses on the perceptions of the individuals on whether or not they are being treated equally with the others. Employers should therefore treat employees fairly in terms of performance rewards in order to motivate them. Employees at Smith’s Hotel and Bothy feel that they are not treated fairly because some employees come to work late and fail to complete all their tasks and yet they do not receive warnings like the rest. Vroom’s Expectancy theory assumes that people direct their efforts towards the goals they value and they will act only when they expect their actions to lead to desired results. The three variables of the theory include expectancy, instrumentality and valence. Locke’s Goal Theory suggests that individuals are motivated by goals and achievements. Performance is maximized by setting clear and specific goals that are difficult but attainable. Steven sets unattainable goals and expects everything to have been done ‘yesterday’. Individuals at the workplace are different and the human resources manager should formulate effective policies and procedures that will facilitate the exploitation of the benefits of those differences in the organization and ensure objectivity and proper alignment to the business needs and requirements. Individuals can be different in terms of intelligence, emotional intelligence, creativity, personality, innovation, attitudes and behavior. The management at Smith’s Bothy and Hotel should ensure that the employees are motivated by meeting their needs, giving them job security, improving working conditions, treating them fairly, giving them rewards and recognition, and setting clear and attainable goals. Stress Stress is the unpleasant reaction that people have when they are subjected to a lot of pressure or other demands. Stress costs the organization in terms of performance, absenteeism, illness, accidents and litigation, premature death, premature retirement and replacement costs. Individuals get stress from home, work, family and society. Litigation is the employer’s responsibility. There are several guidelines to ensure that employees work in a healthy environment such as the Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety Regulations of 1999. Managers can get stress from the incompetence of superiors, poor internal communications, office politics, time pressures and deadlines. The restaurant team lead at Smith’s Bothy and Hotel is stressed because he often conflicts with the manager about the setting up of the tables. Steven is often interfering with his role as the restaurant team lead and this brings frustration to him, the customers and the employees. Workplace stress can be caused by inherent factors of the job, role in the organization, personality and coping strategy, relationship at work, career development or lack of it, organizational structure and climate and home-work interface. Factors inherent to the job that can cause stress include too much/little work, time pressures/deadlines, bad working conditions, working for long hours, too many decisions and risk and danger. Employees at Smith’s Bothy and Hotel are under a lot of stress as Steven gives them too much work and tight deadlines and when they fail to attain them, he reprimands them, often in the presence of other employees. In addition, he writes warning letters to them when they do wrong. The employees are overworked because the staff members are not enough and they often end up working for additional hours without a break. The role in the organization can cause stress through role ambiguity, role conflict, loyalties, lack of managerial support, responsibility for people, too little responsibility and lack of managerial support. Employees at Smith’s Bothy and Hotel are stressed due to role ambiguity as Steven will order them to do any task like clearing the tables, taking orders, cleaning dishes, among others. Relationships at work can cause stress through poor relations with the boss, colleagues and subordinates, personal conflicts and difficulties in delegating responsibility. Employees at Smith’s Bothy and Hotel have poor relations with the boss. He regularly reprimands them and the employees are scared to consult him in case of any problem. Career development can cause stress through over-promotion or under-promotion, lack of job security, fear of redundancy/ retirement, fear of obsolescence and sense of being trapped. The employees at Smith’s Bothy and Hotel lack job security. When Steven feels that his authority is being challenged, he and Jackie devise a plan to exit Bertie out of the organization. The kitchen porter is stressed due to under-promotion since the position of commis chef which he was eyeing was given to Peter’s nephew, Paul. This leads to the kitchen porter reporting to work late and neglecting his responsibilities by labeling foodstuffs wrongly. Organizational structure and climate can cause stress through office politics, restrictions on behavior, uncertainty about what is happening and lack of effective consultation and communication. At Smith’s Bothy and Hotel, the employees are under stress due to lack of effective communication and consultation. Steven initiated a recruitment freeze and informed the managers during the monthly management meeting. However, the other staff members were not made aware of this. When asked later, Steven felt that his authority was being challenged. Physical symptoms of stress include headaches, tiredness, and rapid weight loss or gain. Mental symptoms include indecision, loss of concentration, muddled thinking, tunnel vision, impaired judgment and hasty decisions. Emotional symptoms include irritability, suspicion, gloom, depression, cynicism, lack of enthusiasm, loss of motivation, reduced self-esteem and less satisfaction in life and at the workplace. Behavioral symptoms of stress include anti-social behavior, taking more alcohol, taking more work home, poor time management, failure to relax and low productivity. The symptoms of the kitchen porter’s stress at Smith’s Bothy and Hotel include poor time management and low productivity. Stress can be managed in the organization through primary, secondary and tertiary intervention. Primary intervention involves preventive action to eliminate the causes of stress. Secondary intervention involves detecting and managing stress promptly through educating employees. Tertiary intervention involves coping strategies to help employees already suffering from stress. The sources of organizational stress can be changed through redesigning the work environment, establishing flexible work schedules, encouraging participative management, employee career development, building cohesive teams, establishing fair employment policies, sharing rewards, analyzing work roles and establishing goals and providing social support and feedback. Workplace stress can be solved by accepting that a problem exists, identifying the problem and attempting to eliminate or change it, coping with the problem if it cannot be eliminated or changed, and monitoring and reviewing the outcome. Organizations should create a well-being policy to raise awareness and set up a plan for combating stress, to show that the organization cares and to protect the organization in case of a stress injury lawsuit. A healthy organization is one in which there are low levels of stress, high organizational commitment and job satisfaction, no fear of litigation, good safety and accident records and low rates of absenteeism, sickness and labor turnover. The management at Smith’s Bothy and Hotel should ensure that the employees do not undergo work-related stress by giving them enough tasks, setting reasonable deadlines, providing good working conditions, offering job security and ensuring that they do not have fear of redundancy or retirement, ensuring effective consultation and communication, ensuring good relationships among the co-workers and ensuring role clarity. Smith’s Bothy and Hotel management should also come up with policies to prevent stress, detect and manage it promptly, and help employees who already suffer from stress. Change management Change can be triggered by both external and internal factors. External factors include increased competition and government pressure. Internal factors include new innovations in product/service design, low performance, high stress or staff turnover, appointment of new top management, inadequate skills and knowledge base, office/ factory relocation, innovations in business processes, redundancies and recognition of problems triggering reallocation of responsibilities. Strategic change covers organizational purpose and mission, corporate philosophy and goals for achieving and maintaining competitive advantage. Operational change covers systems, procedures, structures and technologies. Organizational change can also be classified according to the depth. Surface changes include fine tuning and restructuring. Shallow change involves reallocation of resources. Penetrating change involves leadership change and new definition of success. Deep change involves changing the vision or mission of the organization while transformational change involves paradigm shift. The Action Research Model of change management entails the involvement of all parties affected by the change and facilitating the process of change through a change agent who may be a member of the organization or not. The involvement of all parties leads to acquisition of knowledge and understanding of the change situation. This model emphasizes that change requires action and that the action is based on a sound analysis of the circumstances. This model is not suitable when change is urgent and rapid decisions are needed. The Three-Step Model of change management is in three phases. The first phase involves recognizing that there is a problem and discarding the old ways. The second phase is developing new behaviors and attitudes through changes in organizational structures and processes. The third phase is reinforcing the new position through supporting an appropriate culture and implementing supportive policies and practices. The final phase of this model is inappropriate in a turbulent and volatile business environment. The Planned Change Model consists of four phases which include exploration, planning, action and integration. This model does not take into account that organizations exist in a variety of states. This model and the three-step model are suitable for rapid change. The emergent approach to change management suggests that organizational change should take into account the anxiety, uncertainty and unpredictability that the organization may be subjected to in the process. A situational or contingency model of change management suggests that the organization should vary the strategies of change in order to achieve the one that is best suited for each circumstance in the changing environment. The organization needs to be assessed to determine its readiness for change. Resistance to organizational change can be caused by selective perception, if the change may cause a negative personal impact, deviation from habits, perceived loss of autonomy, ambiguous reason for change, contradictory assessment, economic implications, low tolerance of change and fear of the unknown. Peter and Steven are opposed to change because they do not want a deviation from the usual habits. The change is also inconvenient to them as they have lost autonomy. The staff members at Smith’s Bothy and Hotel resist change by coming to work late, ringing in sick and refusing to manage the new system. They do this because they feel that automation will lead to job losses. Resistance to change can be overcome through education and communication, participation, facilitation and support, negotiation, manipulation and co-optation, and coercion. The management at Smith’s Bothy and Hotel should ensure that the employees do not resist change by ensuring that they communicate to them the reasons for the change and the benefits that will come as a result. They should also ensure that the employees participate in the process of implementing the changes so that they can feel as part of the organization. They can also support them through counseling and training in the new system. The leaders like Peter and Steven can be convinced to accept change through negotiation. They can be given something valuable so that they can tolerate the change. Reference List Buchanan, D.A. and Huczynski, A. A. 2010. Organisational Behaviour: an Introductory Text. 7th Edition. Harlow, Essex: FT Prentice Hall. Rees, G. and French, R. 2010. Leading, Managing and Developing People. 3rdEdition. London: CIPD. Read More