The Real Estate Company and its Management Style - Research Paper Example

? REMAX (the real e company and its management style) Table of Contents Introduction 3 Historical Perspective of Remax 4 Assessment of the Management Style of Remax 5 Conclusion 11 References 12 Introduction Remax was instituted by Dave and Gail Liniger in the year 1973 in Denver, Colorado. In the present day scenario where management turnover have become very frequent, Remax is still held and controlled by its original founders. Dave and Gale Liniger thought that to catch the attention of and retain the finest agents in the industry, the organizations operating in the real estate sector should provide the gaents with utmost compensation, superior support services in addition to the liberty to be successful. Their business model was such that the agents were required to devote in the brokerage operations, and in response they would receive a braod range of support services from the firm. This business strategy of Remax worked and currently the company is present in more than 80 nations across the work and ahs over 90,000 agents involved with it (Remax, 2012). Thus, it can be stated that Remax is well managed and can have infinite success in the future. This paper would focus on the management style of Remax in context of four managerial functions, namely, planning, organizing, leadership, and controlling. Remax utilises a “streamlined mangement system”, as a result of which problems are foreseen and decisions are put into action rapidly, proficiently and successfully to help the company and its agents. The strenghth and stability of Remax’s leadership in conjugation with “turn-on-a-dime flexibility” assists in guaranteeing that the company will be able to withstand any economic condition, as it has been able to in the past forty years (Remax, 2012). Over the period, the company had build up a variety of business development resources and systems, which comprise of, a strong brand name and its awareness worldwide, on demand guidance and training, international lead generation structures, and updated technology. Historical Perspective of Remax The concept of Remax was simple and since the beginning, Dave and Gail Liniger believed that the agents or the brokers were the biggest assets and also the most immediate client for the real estate business. Thus, Remax had always focussed primarily on attracting and retaining quality agents and providing them an extremely professional atmosphere. The vision of Dave Liniger was to build a real estate company that people could approach anywhere across the globe for their real estate needs, recognizing that only experienced and qualified professionals would cater their case. Remax had remained true to its same beliefs over the years and have evolved as the leading real estate network in the world. Remax provides its agents with the power of an internationally renowned brand, quality and professionalism of sales associates, latest service support, and a fortified market share in the real estate industry. Remax believes that the strong point of the company’s system is the superiority and class of its Sales Associates. Hence from the beginning, the company’s focus has been to offer the superior class agents with instruments and services to assist them to succeed. By drawing quality agents and endowing them with training, guidance, support in addition to the liberty to run their businesses according to their choice, the company has evolved as a leading real estate organization in the world (Remax, n.d.). Remax has been successful in developing a fortified global network of sales force that has helped in establishing the Remax brand to billions of buyers and sellers in the real estate market. Assessment of the Management Style of Remax The planinng of Remax is based on the notion that the success of the company depends on the success of its agents and sales associates. Hence the company attempts to provide a professional environment conductive for learning to its human resources. The Growth Model that has been followed by the Management of Remax is as follows: Figure1: Remax Growth Model (Source: Harkins & Hollihan, 2004) The Remax Growth Model is based on retaining quality agents and enlisting their help at the same time as assisting their growth, persistently concentrating on the brand and utilize it to develop the company while making possible that people across the world benefit from it. The management of the growth model is focused on three critical aspects, such as, learning, top-line measures and operations. Remax understands that the advancement and development of its human resources is crucial for the long term sustenance of the business, and hence it promotes a culture that is oriented towards learning and training. The planning of the company is such that the Management of Remax does not concentrate on a lot many measures and instead focuses on simple and clearly drawn vital measures. The company endorses the display of quality, commitment and professionalism not only in the big activities, but also on the small issues, so as to ensure that the operations of the company are carries out smoothly (Harkins & Hollihan, 2004). Remax is a horizontal organization in context of its organizational structure (Refer Figure 2). This is because the organizational structure of Remax is wider and comprises of only three levels of management. The decentralized nature of the company’s organization is in line with the wide spread business existence of the company across the world. The hierarchy of Remax is such that the first level of the organizational structure comprises of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the Chairman of the Board, the Vice Chairman of the Board and the other Directors in the Board of the company. The subsequent level of management includes the Chief Operating Officer (COO), the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), The Human Resources Department, the Legal Department, the Global Communication & Branding Department, and the International Development Department. The subsequent level of hierarchy in the organizational structure of Remax comprises of the Regional Heads of the various countries where Remax is present. Thus, the control of Remax is more decentralized in nature, providing its human resources a lot more freedom and flexibility (Remax, 2012). Figure 2: Organizational Structure of Remax (Source: Remax, 2012) The leadership qualities associated with an organization is very crucial for its success. This is because the management style of an organization decides how the management of a particular organization makes its organizational decisions. The decision making process can be of both-short term and long term in nature. The short term processes involve some quick decisions that will provide the organization a strong foothold against the competitors. Discounts on a certain product or brand recognition can be treated as the short term decisions under certain cases. A company may take the decision to provide some special discounts on a product in order to attract the consumers and cement the consumer base. Again a company may also take the initiative to start up a new plant, or launch a new product. This type of decisions is categorized as the long term decision process. The leadership style followed in Remax is that of leading by example. Dave Liniger believes that fine leaders learn by drawing ideas from all over and leading the employees by examples. The employees are taught concepts that the company leaders believe in. The company never employs external trainers for training their sales associates and agents. Such a relaxed and personal approach assists in two of Remax’s corporate priorities, namely, succession planning and maintenance of organizational culture (Society of Human Resource Management, 2007). Remax’s leadership style, its cultural principles, and the management style of the company revolve around the significance of relationships. The leadership style followed in Remax is exclusive as it involves nurturing and caring of its employees. Remax and its management has been people centric since its inception and it continues to be such till date. This people centric attitude in conjunction with the innovative mindset of the company’s management that is not bound by convention had assisted Remax in establishing its market position amongst established rivals. The process of globalization was intricate for Remax akin to other multinational organizations, due to the dissimilar cultures and legislations faced in different countries. However, Dave Liniger ensured that Remax’s business decisions were always made with due contemplation of the people impacts. Furthermore, the company had resisted the conventional approach of not hiring women agents in the real estate industry by hiring them. This strategy was beneficial for both Remax and the women agents. The company obtained access to a large talent pool without having to make financial concessions to acquire quality talent and the women benefitted from the schedule flexibility offered by the company (Society of Human Resource Management, 2007). Thus, the growth and development of Remax had been an extensive learning journey for its founders and the management body, where there were numerous changes in the company’s leadership style as the leaders of Remax learned and grew themselves. Presently, an approach of continuous learning describes the management of Remax and inculcates its corporate cultures (Society of Human Resource Management, 2007). The control function of Remax is carried on by performance measurement in context of revenue standards, resource utilization standards and cost standards. The main objective of monitoring performance is to gather information about what is really taking place in the company. The control tools used by the management of Remax are principally concerned with the organization’s performance monitoring. The tools used in Remax to assist its control function are audits, reports, budgets and individual observations made by the mangers. The assessment or monitoring of performance allows the management of Remax to take appropriate corrective measures in case they observe any deviation from planned to actual outcomes. Conclusion The study on the organizational structure management style of Remax affirmed that the company is well managed. It was comprehended that the practice of controlling, leading, supervising the assignment of planning in addition to administering the operations of Remax on the whole in an attempt to accomplish some gain or get the better off an opponent has been accomplished efficiently. The strategic management of Remax had followed the method of categorizing, selecting and executing activities that will improve the long-term business performance of the company by giving direction and by building enduring compatibility amid the internal expertise as well as resources of the company, and the altering external atmosphere in which it functions. Thus, it can be stated that the objective of Remax’s strategic management style is to create, develop and preserve the competitiveness of its business. Moreover, the notion of strategic management in Remax provides a strong basis or structure within which the entire functions of management are grouped collectively. It is actually a business-wide undertaking that initiates with the appraisal of the environment and concludes with the management of the accomplishments. The strategic and streamlined management style of Remax requires the capability to guide the overall company by means of strategic modifications under conditions of difficulty and indecision. It is the utmost stage of business integrative performance. For the accomplishment of the strategic management, the management of Remax had to realize certain provisions. The prerequisites for the successful strategic management in Remax are a common vision, an action orientation, constituent of responsibility and control. Finally, Remax had successfully incorporated its unique management style into its management process as a whole and endorsed it through an arrangement of participatory association. References Harkins, P., & Hollihan, K. (2004). Everybody Wins: The Story and Lessons Behind RE/MAX. USA: John Wiley & Sons. Remax, (No Date). Why Re/max? Retrieved on September 12, 2012 from http://www.remaxaboutowne.com/Uploads/WhyREMAX.pdf Remax, (2012). What Re/max can do for you? Retrieved on September 12, 2012 from http://www.remax.com/documents/franchising/What_REMAX_Can_Do_for_You.pdf Society of Human Resource Management, (2007). Leadership Succession in a Changing World. Retrieved on September 12, 2012 from http://www.shrm.org/about/foundation/products/Documents/07%20TL%20Exec%20Summary.pdf Read More