Management Leadership: High-Tech Graphics Designers Company - Coursework Example

Module Management Leadership: High-Tech Graphics Designers’ Company INTRODUCTION Good management is often aimed at providing clients and or customers with services in a way that is appropriate, equitable, efficient and sustainable (Roberts 11). This is possible only if there is a careful synchronisation of human resources, hardware, finances as well as process aspects involved in graphics’ design. Leadership and management are vital in ensuring that end products delivered to clients are of the best quality. Although these two have a lot in common, on the other hand, they also share some differences with respect to skills, outlooks as well as behaviours. In order for a good leader to be termed as effective, he/she must possess management skills; thus DuBrin argues that good managers should always make every effort to become good leaders (7). Good leaders make visions of what a company can achieve and then communicate this message or vision to other team members and then develop strategies that will ensure the vision is realised. In addition, good leaders are motivators to the other people and can negotiate for support and other resources necessary for achievement of the company’s objectives. High-Tech Graphics Designers’ Company has assembled a team of ten players who have been distributed with different managerial roles in the organisation. However, this people are under one head, the Chief Executive Officer who in himself is a manager and a good leader as well. The major advantage held by the High-Tech team is that most have worked together on different projects for different companies and or organisations and for quite some time. In addition, these group holds a number of significant attributes that are vital to the success of any organisation, which include them being charismatic, decisive, have the ability to influence other people and work as a team towards a common goal, they can use creative and or critical problem solving in the promotion of quality designs as well as a positive environment of work (Rue and Byars 37). Above all these is the fact that the organisation has a set mission and or objectives that it aims to achieve during its course of operation. In recruitment of the managerial team, Morten and Nohria (22) assert that it is necessary that the managers possess a number of attributes that include: i. Purpose and task clarity; ii. Quality organisational skills; iii. The ability to communicate duties and or tasks and expect effective results in return; iv. Good skills of delegation; v. Are able to negotiate various regulatory as well as administrative processes of the organisation effectively. Mission Statement. High-Tech Graphics Designers’ Company is an innovative graphics design company that is dedicated at providing clients with step forward solutions enabling them promote their brands. We have fully qualified staff with relevant experience in multimedia, web, textiles as well as branding and Graphic Design. Our pride is development of close relationships with our buyers in order to ensure that the products designed and produced are the finest or rather optimal. Good Management. High-Tech Graphic Designers’ Company aims at creating a good management team that will ensure the resources available to the company are well synchronised and utilised to the maximum with the aim of making business progress in terms profit, growth and development while at the same time minimizing the costs incurred during the whole process of designing clients’ products. In order for this to be possible, High-Tech has established a number of conditions that will see to it that the goal of good management is achieved. These, according to Morten and Nohria (27), include: i. Selection of managers and members of their teams is to be done strictly on merit without any bias; ii. Clients, staff, and supervisors should respect the manager. However, the manager should earn this respect deservedly. iii. A manager must have the skills, knowledge and understanding of the tasks, roles and purpose of their services to clients and the organisation in general; iv. A good management is where the basic support systems of the organisation are functioning effectively and efficiently; staff follow clearly stated and or drafted administration regulations and or rules; delivery of supplies and other equipment necessary for the day to day running of the company; clear financial records and processes as well as activities that are carefully planned and closely monitored. v. An effective manager must ensure that the organisational tasks are clear, the delegation or allocation of duties and authority is well known, and managers are fully aware of when and where they can seek support and or help with respect to decision making. High-Tech Company has a strategy that will ensure all the support staff and the managers have a mutual agreement regarding objectives of the project under development, thus decisions can easily be made and at reduced risks. Organisational Structure. This refers to the way people in an organisation are arranged in line with its jobs with the efforts directed towards performing of its work as well as meeting the company’s goals and objectives (Rue and Byars 27). High-Tech Graphics Designers’ Company is a new company in the market and as such has few major decisions that should be undertaken. However, the delegation of tasks is inevitable due to the bulk involved with the design process as well as numerous clients and promotion process. These procedures will be developed to delegate errands for various staff personnel in the organisation. These decisions are the determinants of an organisation’s structure. Different organisational structures exist and they include (Beckhard 39): i. Functional departmentalisation – every company has to perform certain tasks and or jobs in order to accomplish its duties, for instance, purchasing, production, marketing, personnel and accounting. These functions are used to structure the organisation and in most instances they prove to be efficient in that jobs requiring same types of skills, resources and knowledge are grouped together thus promoting efficient production and development of extensive expertise usually as a result of direct consultation and sharing of ideas. ii. Geographic departmentalisation – this is where organisations widely spread in a given geographic region find merit in organisation of geographical lines where all activities performed in a given geographic region are managed as a whole. However, High-Tech is centrally located in a region distinct to it and as such this structure is not suitable. However, with future sights on expansion to other already established markets, this strategy might be necessary. iii. Product departmentalisation – this is where all the activities and or resources required in the production and marketing of similar product(s) are grouped and managed as one. It is suitable with large organisations. iv. Market departmentalisation – some organisations find it advantageous to structure its activities according to the types of clients it attends to. Matrix Organisational Structure. Some may find the above mentioned structures suitable for their organisations but with most of them full of inadequacies, the matrix structure is the solution to High-Tech Graphic Designers’ company needs as it combines more than two organisational structures. Being a new organisation, High-Tech Designers’ company has a limited number of specialised staff but with very high ambitions working towards the organisational mission of providing step forward solutions to clients’ problems as well as producing and or designing the best pieces in the market. An advantage why this structure is chosen for the company is its ability to facilitate the use of the highly specialised equipment and staff. As opposed to the duplication of functions as with product departmentalisation structures, the matrix structure ensures that the available resources and or wherewithal are shared as per the requirements. Due to their limited number, High-Tech staff members that are highly specialised may at times be required to divide their time in order to cover more projects. This is necessary for the start of the company in order to cut on the human resource expenses while maintaining high quality production standards. As much as functional departmentalisation promotes functional skills and or expertise, matrix organisational structure will ensure that the company’s staffs who work in different project groups composed of experts from different functions promotes the cross-fertilisation and or sharing of ideas which consequently results in rare types of talents and skills for the participating staff. The major issue associated with this structure of organisation is the dual structure of reporting. In addressing this issue, High-Tech’s top management has set forward proper procedures to be followed during the development of projects as well as keeping clear channels of communication in order to avoid unnecessary conflicts arising and hinder the normal functioning of the company. As earlier noted, High-Tech Graphics Designers’ Company is a young company that has its sights set clear on becoming one of the commanding forces in the graphics design industry. It is during this period that the company can employ a matrix structure that sees the combination of the product groupings and geographical units of the company where; product managers are responsible for global development and distribution of their particular products and or services while geographic units’ managers are responsible for the success of their geographical business regions. In essence, adoption of this matrix organisational structure at High-Tech will ensure the company reaps the benefits associated with both the functional and the geographic or product departmentalisation structures while bypassing the redundant and inefficient facets of the product departmentalisation structure of organisation. This means that the company’s structure will have functional units like sales, marketing and development matched in a matrix by geographic location or by product. With this structure, High-Tech Company will be able to offer optimal levels of control, cooperation as well as specialisation to facilitate key business endeavours while at the same time looking into effectiveness and efficiency concerns. Organisational Culture and Values. High-Tech Graphic Designers’ Company operates in a high technology world that is changing at an alarming rate. In order to maintain the organisations philosophy of providing step forward solutions to clients’ problems as well as delivering products that are optimal and as per the buyers’ requirements, the company is determined to remain in the constantly changing competitive environment by ensuring that managers continue to learn new skills and new abilities while executing other business activities. Management in part involves competencies and skills such as staff motivation, negotiating and communicating with shareholders and stakeholders as well as maintenance of certain staff behaviours and attitudes that promote staff performance and discipline. One way in which managers and their staff keep learning is by clearly and regularly identifying the challenges facing the operations of the company and the knowledge and skills necessary for the team to overcome these challenges. In order to maintain an organisational culture where there is continuous learning of skills and competencies, High-Tech Graphics Designers Company incorporates the following practices: i. Constant learning and education processes that include programmes for self-learning; ii. Structure academic courses that involve specific courses in specific areas of study, for instance web design; iii. Organisation of study tours, secondments and observations to provide the managers and staffs with suitable practical learning as well as examples of how other managers handle similar situations as those experienced by the organisation; iv. Coaching and mentoring relationships. This is where when managers are in difficult situations, the organisation calls in experienced mentors to provide the managers with insights into managing relationships and partnerships, as well as with opportunities to explore options and seek advice in management practices. v. Learning from peers. Managers are presented with the chance to meet other managers regularly and share their various challenges, experiences as well as solutions in order to build a common process of understanding while at the same time providing support to each other. Other peer to peer learning techniques include reflection sessions where different managers meet with their teams and regularly review their work, identify weak areas that need improvements as well as improve the services to their clients. Leadership Style. Leaders possess different attitudes, behaviours and perspectives (Brown and Harvey 47). According to the duo, different leaders use different approaches thus most leaders execute their functions in different ways and in varying styles. A style of leadership can change with respect to the type of people and environment the leader interacts with and in as well as the kind of environment and people they deal with. In order get the best out of the organisation’s employees and the organisation as a whole, a suitable leadership has to be implemented; a style which assists in achieving the organisation’s objectives. Several leadership styles exist and they include (Jones and Jennifer 111): i. Autocratic style of leadership – the leader is in complete command of the team. No team views are allowed regardless of their significance to the organisation and the team as well as no criticising and or questioning of the leader. It results in quick making of decisions but employees usually are absent and quit jobs frequently. ii. The Laissez Faire Style of Leadership – the workers are trusted by the manager to be able to carry out tasks on their own where his/her job is to oversee the intellectual aspects of the project with little focus on management of the team. Team member views are welcomed. iii. Participative/democratic style of leadership – team members are invited and encouraged by team leaders to take part in the decision making processes although the ultimate decision making duties remain fully with the leader. The leader acts as a guide to the employees and in return they communicate back their suggestions and experiences. This style is very time consuming in terms of decision making. iv. Bureaucratic style of leadership – leaders are strictly committed to the rules and procedures of the organisation while at the same time enforcing these rules and procedures down their team members. Situational Style of Leadership. The above detailed styles of leadership have been proven to be effective in many organisational setups as long as they are implemented by the right people and in the right manner. However, at High-Tech Graphics Designers’ Company, we intend to use the right style of leadership in order to reap the maximum out of the limited staff available. However, no leadership style exists that can suit all situations and as such the company has laid down the following considerations in choosing the appropriate style of leadership: i. The levels of experience and skills held by team members undertaking a given project; ii. The tasks to be carried out, either routine, new and or innovative; iii. The organisational environment i.e. is the situation in radical changes or stable; iv. Personal preference or the natural style. High-Tech leaders have the ability to switch instinctively between styles of leadership depending on the nature of projects being handled and the type of people they are dealing with in the team. This is form of leadership style employed at High-Tech Graphics Designers’ Company is usually referred to as situational leadership - i.e. a leader is not restricted to a specific style of leadership and as such are flexible to switch between different styles depending with the prevailing situation as long as it reaps the maximum benefits and serves the interests of the organisation. Motivation. Employees’ performance and productivity have been proven to be augmented by the use of various motivational tactics. French, Bell and Zawacki (44) define these as tendencies of employees behaving in a certain way that is purposeful in achieving certain unmet goals; the will to achieve; and the inner force that compels individual employees accomplish personal and organisational objectives in the constantly changing workplaces. High-Tech Company will motivate its employees via provision of learning and educational programs to better the skills and understanding of the support staff and senior members of the organisation. As a manager, it is my duty to ensure all employees stay motivated all through their projects. Appreciation and recognition of the performances of team members is one technique to be employed by team managers in development of design pieces (French, Bell and Zawacki 51). Furthermore, since the organisation is new, recognition via promotions as well as increments in wages as well as benefits are among the rewards for good performances from all employees to be offered in order to keep them motivated. CONCLUSION High-Tech Graphics Designers’ Company is a new organisation that is finding its foot in an otherwise competitively existing market. This industry is very volatile due to the constant changes in the technologies used in the design and development of graphic pieces. As a result, a combination of the above discussed organisational structures as well as careful synchronisation of the available resources will ensure the company stays competitively in the graphics design industry. Works Cited Beckhard, Richard. Organisation Development: Strategies and Models. Reading, MA: Addison Wesley, 1969. Print. Brown, Donald R. & Harvey, Donald F. An Experiential Approach to Organisation Development. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004. Print. DuBrin, Andrew. J. Essentials of Management. Cincinnati, OH: Thomson/South-Western, 2004. Print. French, Wendell L., Bell, Cecil & Zawacki, Robert A. Organisation Development and Transformation: Managing Effective Change. McGraw-Hill, 2005. Print. Jones, Gareth & George, Jennifer. Contemporary Management. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2006. Print. Morten Hansen T. & Nohria, Nitin. "How to Build Collaborative Advantage." MIT Sloan Management Review, 2004. Print. Roberts, John. The Modern Firm: Organisational Design for Performance and Growth. Oxford University Press, 2004. Print. Rue, Leslie & Byars, Lloyd. Management: Skills and Application. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2003. Print. Read More