Management And Leadership Development - Essay Example

? Management and Leadership Development Introduction This paper will analyze the strategic human resource management and management and leadership development in British American Tobacco (BAT). BAT is international and the second largest tobacco company in the world. The company’s Human resource department is committed to attracting and developing careers though continuous management and leadership development. Key leadership and management issues There is a need for BAT to implement human development strategies to ensure that is has a better working force that will be able to help the firm to be competitive in the global world. According to a closer look at the BAT, it is evident that the firm has not been able to implement human development strategies to help the firm in making sure that the firm will have competent human resource in the future. At the same time, it is important for BAT to be able to implement leadership development strategies in order to develop good leadership. It is clear that although BAT has managed to navigate in the competitive world, it has failed to be able to develop its leadership. BAT has only depended on traditional leadership development which is dependent on charismatic leadership. To be able to be competent, it will be necessary for the firm to come up with more modern methods of leadership development strategies. Managers and leaders are required to create an environment in the workplace where employee’s satisfaction is achieved. Staff turnover is one issue which is directly related to job satisfaction. Job satisfaction is the extent to which employees enjoy their jobs and lack of it has been described as negatively affecting their job performance. Herzberg two factor theories suggest that motivation at work is affected by factors related to the job (Kreitner 2009). Yet, BAT has not been able to look for way to achieve this in the organization. BAT should also be able to develop ways in which to motivate the employees in order to help in not only increasing employee productivity and motivation, but in also reducing the rates employee turnover rates. The assessment of attitudes of employees using job satisfaction is common in many organizations which are concerned with the physical and emotional well-being of their workforce. Motivation is a crucial concern in modern organisation because it influences other fundamental issues such as the performance, creativity and problem solving (Salaman, Storey & Billsberry, 2005). Drive theory is an understanding of needs and motivation created by unfulfilled needs. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a motivational theory that suggests that the needs and motivation of people differ according to their needs. McClelland theory also classified needs into the need for achievement, affiliation and power. The company conducts opinion surveys to find how their staff feels about their job (Houldsworth & Jirasinghe 2006). Job satisfaction is measured using questionnaires or interviews administered to the staff in the organization. In BAT, leaders have maximized the opportunity to satisfy the needs of the workers. Managers share the concerns of researchers in order to create satisfaction of the employees in their daily tasks. Therefore, employee satisfaction in BAT is high thereby contributing to the low employee turnover and the exceptional reputation of the organization. For this reason, lack of job satisfaction results in employees looking for jobs in other companies where there the salaries are better (Dychtwald & Morison 2006). BAT attempts to reduce staff turnover by offering their employees chances to develop and grow their careers by training. Employees are offered challenging and interesting position where they consider they are best apt to work in thus, employees are motivated. Transactional theories can also be applied to focus on the employee’s rewards and punishments in accordance to performance (Durai 2010). Management by objectives is practiced where performance of the employees is measures against the set objectives. BAT should be able to use this method to help in increasing productivity in its workforce. If BAT uses this kind of human resource management, it will also help in increasing employee motivation and self efficacy. Skill shortage of managers and leaders is another issues faced by a company. In a modern world, this can be a barrier to success because a firm is only as successful as how effective the management function it. BAT should be able to develop good leadership and increase the level of leadership in the firm in order to prevent this kind of scenario. The threatening skills shortage have lead organization to being obsessive with finding and retaining the right people. BAT is heavily investing in education and training in order to attract the best talent. The graduate mentoring program enhances performance of individual and the whole organization; therefore benefiting the organization directly. Generational disharmony is also a problem facing the organization in leadership and management development (Cummings & Worley 2001). Diversity of workforce includes employees from different generations with varying beliefs and expectations. For this reason, a competent leader must distinguish the impact of each generation and ensure that all earn their respect in the organization. The current workforce include four generation therefore, generalizations of employees profiles should be avoided at all cost since traits overlap between generations. BAT should be able to understand the demographic composition of its employees and use Maslow’s theory to make sure that the needs of every employee are taken care of. This is because different ages may mean that the each employee or age group is at different levels of the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Leadership in an organization is crucial since it can lead to changes in decision making process that improves the relationship with customers, ability to satisfy as well as changes in the customer base and environment. Leaders face challenges in creating the rightful environment in an organization capable of constant change and improvements (Carmichael 2011). In this regard, it is necessary important for BAT to endeavour to create this environment and deliver. To be able to do this, BAT will have to have a constant endeavour and dedication to always improve the environment in which the employees work. This will help in making sure that the firm is able have motivated employees (Dhar, 2008; Dhar, 2008). Change management One thing that BAT needs to look at is the need for change management. Change management is a universal necessity for all organisations because all organisations will at a certain time find themselves in a point where they need to change. Because a closer look at BAT has revealed that the firm would need to change some of its internal process such as human resource management policies, it will be necessary for the organisation to look at how it can manage change. Organisational change is always a critical process given that most employees will refuse it change. Managers at BAT will need t be very careful in the way it will mange change. Skill shortage of managers and leaders is another issues faced by a company. The threatening skills shortage have lead organization to being obsessive with finding and retaining the right people. BAT is heavily investing in education and training in order to attract the best talent. The graduate mentoring program enhances performance of individual and the whole organization; therefore benefiting the organization directly. Generational disharmony is also a problem facing the organization in leadership and management development (Cummings & Worley 2001). Diversity of workforce includes employees from different generations with varying beliefs and expectations. For this reason, a competent leader must distinguish the impact of each generation and ensure that all earn their respect in the organization. The current workforce include four generation therefore, generalizations of employees profiles should be avoided at all cost since traits overlap between generations (Lundy & Cowling, 1996). Leadership in an organization is crucial since it can lead to changes in decision making process that improves the relationship with customers, ability to satisfy as well as changes in the customer base and environment (Kovach, 1996). Leaders face challenges in creating the rightful environment in an organization capable of constant change and improvements (Carmichael 2011). Management development Due to the dynamic nature of the business environment, strong interpersonal skills as well as leadership skills are increasingly required for managers. For this reason, many organizations have seen the need to identify talents and provide development opportunities from within the organization. In BAT, there is training of future leaders by having an initiative that involves graduates to undergo induction and management training for two year. This is a strategy of developing leadership and managing the supply of future leaders in order to ensure that skilled and well trained people are available in the organization who can deliver a change performance. Use of participative theory of leadership helps to encourage employee engagement to the decision-making process (Parry, Stavrou & Lazarova, 2013). Career development is also practiced in the BAT where the organization helps employees to achieve their career related aspirations thus, self fulfillment. Managers are also offered opportunities to attend classes and training as part of an informal program. Career development is a process that adds value both to employees and the organization. The organization undertakes career management in order to successfully develop leadership and management (Armstrong 2008). BAT also needs to be able to use leadership development in order to ensure that future leaders have been prepared to take over. Leadership development includes training the employees to be ready to take over leadership roles in the firm. It is also linked with talent development and training. SHRM strategy - informally or formally In order to successfully function, BAT has applied some SHRM strategies at different levels which link their functions with the objectives of the company to improve performance and enable goals attainment. SHRM helps the organization to gain competitive advantages over their competitors by creating unique systems through policies; culture, values and practices.One of the strategies used by the organization include management of human capital. This includes the management of skills and expertise that will help the organization to gain a competitive advantage (Analoui, 2007; Aswathappa & Dash, 2007). For this reason HRM has the main role of ensuring that the organization employ and retain the skilled, committed and motivated workforce it requires. BAT must also be able to include management training in its managers. Management training is different from leadership training. BAT should be able to train its managers to become visionary and train them to understand the need for being visionary leaders who can steer the firm to success. BAT assesses the needs of their employees and enhances their potential by providing them opportunities to learn and continuously develop in their careers. Management of human capital is also achieved through the rigorous procedures of recruitment and selection. Talent management is also done in BAT where talent is acquired and nurtured by use of HRM policies and practices. Knowledge management is another strategy used by the organization in order to enhance the process of learning and performance in the organization by creating, acquiring and sharing knowledge and skills (Winter, 2001). Reward management is a strategy used by HRM with an aim of motivating and engaging the employees by introducing policies and processes that ensures that workers are valued and rewards for their performance and achievement of skills and competence (Leader to Leader 2011; Bagad, 2008.). The organization aims to improve employee relation as a strategy to enhance productivity and harmony, by maintaining partnership between the management and the workforce as well as trade unions. Employee relations management is geared towards increased productivity and competitiveness thus, means employee involvement in all the critical processes. Activities that assist in fostering a healthy relationship among the employer and employees or between employees include effective communication where the right channels are placed and involved in handling any queries from the staff (Galloway, 1996; British American Tobacco, 2011). Effective communication improves employee relations where their performance expectations and standards are clarified in order to assist the employee in strategizing and planning the achievement of targets and task needed for their position. Employee relations aim at contributing to the success of the company through implementation of good human resources policies and systems. Good relations and engagement of the staff helps to reduce conflicts among the employees in the workplace (Bratton, nd; British American Tobacco New Zealand, 2003). The organization has a strategy of securing the efficiency of its employees through flexibility of staffing, promotions and permanent jobs. Another strategy used by the human resource managers is the development and implementing of policies that resonate with the needs of the stakeholders and the diverse workforce. The organization also uses the strategy of increasing the labor efficiency though improvement of the major cost control and process control. The BAT group uses a commitment strategy which involves meeting the diverse needs by providing equal opportunities for all, thus help to build strong commitment among the employees (Luthans 2002). Managers conduct environmental analysis where the strengths and weaknesses of the internal organization as well as opportunities and threats of the external environment are examined. As a result, they make decisions that promote diversification, improve the synergy of interrelated business units in order to increase the performance of the organization. Human resource can improve their leadership skills by assessing the styles of leadership in order to determine their effect on performance and climate (Lee et al., 2013). This can be done by creating customized leadership models that support the strategic goals of the organization. Focusing on expanding their leadership’s emotional intelligence through self-awareness, self management and social skills also help to improve the leadership skills. The human resource of BAT demonstrates to the employees that they are strongly committed to intensive development and coaching efforts. Lastly, the human resource manager can improve the leadership skills by measuring and rewarding both leadership development and performance (Lynham & Chermack 2006; The Lawyers & Jurists, 2013). More than anything else, it is important for BAT to be able to apply strategic human resources in order to have a complete and wholesome use of the available human resource. Compare and contrast theory to practice Globalization and technology advances have a great influence in management and leadership development of any organization. Organization such as BAT implemented the new SAP HR system which has benefited it in many ways that includes the effective usability and empowerment of employees. The system allows future upgrades and additions. The main aim of the system was to harmonize the human resource process globally by automation of the Hr administrative process. It is true that managers’ positions are highly competitive due to a looming shortage predicted in the next few years (Peterson & Luthans 2003; Bonne, 2000). For this reason, organization offer opportunities for their employees to attend classes and training as a part of informal program in order to ensure that the organization has the right people and required skills (Bolden, 2007; Sukhija, 2009). In BAT, training of future leaders is enhanced by the initiative program that involves graduates for two year. This is a strategy of developing leadership and managing the supply of future leaders in order to ensure that the right people in the organization who can deliver a change performance are available (William, Hercules & Kazanas, 1999). Under relationship theories which are also described as transformational, leaders motivate the employees through their performance. For this reason, transformational leaders are required in the modern organization in order to achieve success. HR strategy can be used to gain a competitive advantage (Hurt et al. 2013). SHRM strategies in an organization helps to link their practices with the goals and objectives of the company to improve performance in contrast to the traditional approach of making decisions to determine the performance of the organization in the future (Porter-o'grady & Malloch 2011; Blazing, 2013). Employee engagement is crucial when making any decision regarding change in order to reduce the cases of resistance. Strategic goals relates to the whole organization in contrast to one department. A leader in the modern organization has new roles in contrast to the traditional responsibilities (Burgoyne, Hirsh & Williams, 2004; Hatum, 2010). The new organization expects the leaders to design and govern ides of purpose. The new leaders have to design policies and strategies that translate ideas into business decisions. Leaders in the new organization have to coach and guide employees into gaining perceptive of current reality. They are also expected to act as stewards and function at a higher level (Prasad 2012; Mann, 2005). Recommendations BAT is a multinational organization and it is important for it to be able to have a vibrant human resource and a competent management team. In this regard, it is important for BAT to be able to have a proper system that makes human resource development possible. Management development is crucial and managers with no skills impact negatively to the growth of the organization. On the other hand, highly skilled managers contribute to better financial performance of the organization. Management and leadership are two distinct responsibilities and business must be in a position to comprehend the functions of the two positions in achieving the set goals. Trait theories assume possessing certain qualities make one a good leader. A contingency theory is where leadership depends with the environment whereas situational theories where leaders make decision based on the situational variables (Storey 2004). In the business world today, management skills are not adequate for success rather it requires managers to posses the knowledge and expertise as well as know how to differentiate between the two role of managing and leading and how they should be integrated for the success of the business. With the changing world, the old methods no longer work. Behavioral theories suggest that great leaders can be made through teaching and observation. BAT should be able to support its management functions to be able to have management development and help them to be able to develop good managers. Management development will help BAT to have good leaders and include this in its strategy. Therefore it is recommended that BAT should be able to support its management functions to be able to have management development and help them to be able to develop good managers. Management development will help BAT to have good leaders and include this in its strategy. appreciate the dynamic of organizational change for stability. For this reason constant reorganization will be required in BAT in order to resonate with the fast changing environment. Employee participation through the use of technology will enhance the awareness of the planned decision making process with the organization, thereby resulting to higher levels of accountability. BAT should also consider the electronic downsizing is recommended for the modern organization where the middle managers are made redundant thereby reducing delay. Greater teamwork is recommended between the managers and employees in order to successfully achieve the process of management and leadership development. In this regard, it is important that BAT considers human resource development in order to have vibrant human resources. According to the classical organizational theory rules of behavior must exist for effective management of the organization. A leader in the modern organization has new roles that include designing and governing ideas of purpose. BAT should be able to help its leaders to have better chances of developing their leaders and making sure that the leaders are able to function very well. The new leader is also expected to design policies and strategies that translate ideas into business decisions. Through continuous management and leadership development, British American Tobacco (BAT) is committed to attracting and developing careers (Wibbeke 2012). Bibliography: Armstrong, M., 2008. Strategic human resource management a guide to action. London, Kogan Page. Aswathappa & Dash, 2007. International Hrm. UK: Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Analoui, F., 2007. 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