Leadership at Happy Swell Meadows Local School - Essay Example

Leadership Introduction The situation at Happy Swell Meadows Local School requires effective analysis and considerations in orderto formulate and implement policies that will revitalize the performance of the school. The superintendent admits that the situation is dire and requires appropriate and timely redress. A new principle must therefore exhibit both leadership and management qualities in order to motivate the teachers with the view of improving the performance of the school and increasing the reputation of the school in the society. Such desirable results will help earn the school recognition from the local society thereby increasing the capacity of the school. Just as with any other business, the school’s primary objective is to improve the quality of education since the business centers on the provision of education services. This way, the capacity of the school improves. As indicated, a principle is both a leader and a manager. This requires the new principle to adopt management and leadership theories that change the performance of the school within the shortest time possible. Among the vital aspects of management in the facility is human resource management. The members of staff are the primary resources at the facility and therefore require effective management in order to improve the performance of the school. However, the analysis of the forty-one member staff portrays a grim picture of the schools future. Among the first management operations, that the new principle must carry out is employee evaluation. The evaluation will help the manager make appropriate decisions on the management of the school. As the study portrays, some of the teachers are unmotivated while others have no expertise. The staff assessment will help the principle determine the appropriate number of teachers to retain. The new principle must inherit a lean and equally efficient staff. Efficiency of the staff relies on their level of motivation and enthusiasm. Those who the analysis proved to lack expertise must quit the facility while the rest must promise to work efficiently. Management theory of leadership is the most appropriate in the circumstance. The theory centers on the roles of employee supervision, group performance and employee motivation among many other vital features of an organization. The theory dictates that the leader must have absolute understanding of employee psychology in order to formulate and implement policies that will steer growth and prosperity in the organization. Among the vital employee, motivational theories that the new principle must understand include theory X and theory Y both of which describe the employee situation at the school. Theory X posits that employees are intrinsically lazy and dislike work. They therefore require increased supervision in order to compel them to work. The theory explain the attitude that a large portion of the staff at the school exhibit. Theory Y on the other hand asserts that employees love their work and will work under minimal supervisions. The situation at the school is compels and requires a closer supervision that will begin with laying off a number of unproductive teachers from the school and replacing them with new teachers who will deliver the much desired success. After revitalizing the employees at the facility, the actual leadership and management begin. Employee motivation is a vial aspect of management that ensures that the human resource remains productive. After eliminating the unproductive employees and replacing them with motivated and productive employees, it becomes fundamental to motivate the employees in order to sustain the productivity of the school. The work environment is a vital factor that either motivates or demotivates employees. The new principle must therefore strive to make the work place both competitive and motivational. A competitive work place is one in which the management has an effective mechanism of measuring and rewarding the performance of the employees. The new principle should develop such a mechanism in order to ensure that the teachers strive to improve the performance of the school. Through regular assessment, the principle should formulate a mechanism of ensuring that he rewards productive employees while finding a way of reprimanding non-performers. This way, the teachers become competitive as they strive to impress both the principal and the management of the school in order to win the various rewards. The workplace should enhance productivity. Teachers should not for example waste time as they move to class and during breaks. The principal must develop a strategy that improves the efficiency of both the teachers and the students in the facility. Such may include balancing the timetable in order for the teachers to have adequate time with the students. Additionally, the timetable should enhance efficiency of movement a feature that implies that moving from one class to another during lesson shifts must occur seamlessly with teachers easily shifting classes thereby minimizing time wastage. Additionally, the principal must have a way of providing meals to the teachers. This cushions the teachers from wasting time as they seek their own meals. In case the teachers buy their own meals, the principal should organize for the construction of a cafeteria within the school and encourage the teachers to use the facility in order to curb time wastage. Communication is an equally fundamental management feature that improves the favorability of the work place. The new principal must develop a way of communicating with the employees in order to find a way for the employee to express their concerns and make suggestions in the management of the school. Upward communication models refers to systematic communication existing between junior employee and the management while downward communication refers to a system of communication used by managers as they communicate to junior employee. The strategy the principal adopts must increases efficiency in the school thereby ensuring that the two operate uniformly (Northouse, 2010). Developing ways for the teachers to express their concerns helps minimize complains within the organization besides making employees feel appreciated at the school thereby improving their productivity. The new principal must avail himself to the employees and develop successive offices that ensure that the teachers access the management all the time. As discussed earlier, the management theory dictates that the management develops an effective way of supervising the employees. Additionally, the theory vouches for the organization and effective management of group performance. This compels the new principal to develop successive bureaucratic offices at the school in order to increase accountability. Such offices as the deputy principal and senior teachers are appropriate ways of ensuring that the principal delegates his duties as he attends to other vital matters of management at the school. Additionally, the principal must develop department based on the classification of the subjects. Through such smaller offices as the departmental offices, the teachers will contribute to the management process besides contributing to the development of their own lesson plans. Such departments makes it easier for the management to supervise the performance of the departments and create more opportunities for promotion a feature that will motivate the teachers as they target the position of departmental heads. After developing such a work environment within the first year, the management of the school changes as the principal concentrates on developing an organizational culture. Organizational culture refers to the way an institution operates. The principal must make himself available and have periodic meetings with his staff as a way of providing the teachers with an opportunity to express their grievances and obtain directions from the management. Such meetings thus become part of the organizational culture since they influence the operation of the school. Operational management will compel the principal to adopt a supervisory role and retain the use of contingency theory in the management of the school. This refers to the adoption of particular strategies to overcome different situations. This way, the principal considers specific features of the problem and develop appropriate strategies of overcoming such challenges. In a summary, revitalizing the performance of the school requires charismatic leadership. The new principal must therefore understand both his role as the manager and the expectation of the society. The school superintendent for example makes it clear that the facility is difficult to manage and has performed poorly. The school therefore requires an overhaul of the management system that begins with a thorough employee evaluation with the view of eliminating non-performing employee from the facility and replacing them with effective leaders before adopting an effective management strategy. Reference Northouse, P. G. (2010). Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Read More