High Levels of Competition in the Business Environment - Assignment Example

Leadership and Management Table of Contents Serial Number Topic Page Number Introduction 2 2. Impact of the Present Structure and Culture on the Changes Being Proposed: The Need and Positive Effects of the Changes 3 3. Conclusion 7 4. Recommendations 7 References 9 Appendices 11 List of Appendices Serial Number Topic Page Number Appendix A Fiedler’s Contingency Theory of Leadership 11 Appendix B The Path Goal Theory of Leadership 12 Appendix C Theory X and Theory Y of HRM 13 1. Introduction: The present world of business reflects high levels of competition, both internal and external, for business organizations requiring the need for organizational effectiveness and highly efficient performance. Such effectiveness is significantly associated with other factors such as the organizational structure, management and leadership patterns followed within the organization (Dressler 2004). This particular report is based on a case study that involves a hospital trust that has been encountering severe problems with regard to its management and leadership at all levels, thus affecting the overall performance and effectiveness of the organization. A change in the organizational structure and leadership has been proposed where I being the Learning & Development (L&D) manager, along with the selected HR Director, would determine the impact of the current structure on the new changes that are being proposed, thereby trying to recommend measures to reduce the effects of such risks and impacts. Some of the major issues that are reflected from the case include the ineffectiveness of the trust’s leadership, management and hierarchical structure of organization, the culture of divisive inward looking, as well as the ineffectiveness of the doctors and generalist managers to deal with budgets and personnel. The new changes would include increased engagement of the employees, improved customer services, reformation of human resource management and development, and also focus more on the function of learning and development. 2. Impact of the Present Structure and Culture on the Changes Being Proposed: The Need and Positive Effects of the Changes: Considering the role of the leaders and the human resources (HR) managers, it is needed to be mentioned here that practices of HR within an organization determine to a large extent the activities and measurement of performances and decide on the styles of leadership that need to be followed within the organization. With changes in the organizational structure, leadership, culture there are significant effects on the organization and its employees that are associated with the changes. For example, for existing employees, adaptation to new organizational structure, leadership, HR practices and new culture become difficult (Searle and Skinner 2011). Downsizing and redundancy are two major issues occurring as a result that has been in the case of the hospital trust in concern. With different work experience, the efficiency of work by the existing employees is likely to be further affected (Searle and Skinner 2011). As far as codes of National Health Service (NHS) are concerned, it is essential that all personnel can act accountably for all their acts and performances. Honesty is a major factor that every employee should follow. Without such accountability, professional standards among the hospital trust cannot be achieved (Code of Conduct- Code of Accountability in the NHS n.d.). With the case of the hospital trust in concern, it can be realized that an inward-looking culture that prevails in the trust where doctors do not find themselves being ineffective in dealing with budgets and people, thus not being accountable. In addition they consider the generalist managers as ineffective and look down to them. Such actions reflect very less chances of improvement unless the behaviors of the members change. However, as the new team of HR and I, together plan for new recruitment, the problem that can arise is with the negative performances of those employees who stay. There is also a probability that the existing organization culture might influence the new recruits affecting the development of the trust. This reflects the need for learning and development along with the effective practices of HR such that the entire personnel can be motivated towards having an outward look, engage themselves more into different activities, and also take challenges in order to achieve the rewards that are being proposed. There are several theories reflecting leadership and management of organizational changes. The Contingency Theory of Leadership (Appendix A) was given by Fiedler that focuses on classifications of different tasks and their relationships with the employees considering the levels of motivation that the styles of leadership can indulge among the personnel(Helms-Mills, Dye and Mills 2008). The Path Goal Theory (Appendix B) focuses on selecting one of the four styles of leadership – Directive, Supportive, Participative, and Achievement-Oriented – that suits the most with the goals of the organization (Helms-Mills, Dye and Mills 2008). These theories are applicable as far as the performance criteria of the hospital trust are concerned. The chief executive officer (CEO) of the trust has identified the need for setting up improved employee engagement, improved internal and external customer service, and outward-looking culture, and hence both the contingency theory and the path goal theory has been considered by the CEO. As a result, the newly selected HR Director, and I, the L&D Manager has the responsibilities to ensure that the changes occur with effectiveness. The role of the NHS is also important to be discussed here that has initiated measures to improve staff engagement and patient care. A positive outlook of the personnel needs to be focused such that the employees find themselves important in contributing to the achievement of goals of the organization. Engagement of staff can be measured through surveys. In order to improve the roles and engagement of the employees, it is essential to determine the factors existing in the system that affect their effectiveness. According to the codes of the NHS, roles and responsibilities should be made clear to the personnel and rewards be offered for tasks successfully completed. Staffs also need to be allowed to take part in decision-making of the organization, as greater participation and engagement of personnel lead to higher patient care (Engaging your staff: the NHS staff engagement resource n.d.). Thus the rewarding measures, stating of clear roles and responsibilities, and the intentions to improve staff engagement in the trust that have been proposed by the CEO are in line with the codes of the NHS. The role of the Human Resources Management has also changed significantly over the years. In the present times, there are challenges for the HR leaders and managers to not only react to changes occurring in the business environment or working culture, but also develop plans for an improved future of the organization and its employees (Vosburgh n.d.) that has been now targeted by the CEO of the hospital trust. New recruitment and formation of HR teams are considered to streamline the functions of HR management and development. Both Theory X and Theory Y of HRM (Appendix C) have been applied in the hospital trust, thus assuming that employees, without proper direction and control, tend to ignore their tasks. It is assumed that under suitable working environments, organizational employees would take responsibilities of their tasks and work effectively for the rewards that are offered (Cole 2002). Considering all the changes that the trust is concerned, my role as L&D Manager holds importance as: The most important issue that the organization would encounter with the implementation of the changes is the difficulty to manage and motivate employees to accept the changes and perform effectively. It is necessary to improve the employee relations with the trust. Continuous learning and development would be necessary for them to realize the needs of their roles and accountabilities and the goals of the organizations for improved patient care, and for the planning, formulation, and implementation of the strategies being proposed (Elkeles and Phillips 2007). 3. Conclusion: From the above case study, it can be concluded that: Changes proposed by the CEO of the hospital trust are needed in order to improve the present condition of the trust where the doctors and managers are reluctant of their responsibilities and instead of improving their behaviors tend to follow an inward-looking culture. A new organizational structure, leadership and management, with new HR practices is being proposed with intentions to improve the engagement of staff in achievement of organizational goals and decision-making, as well as in altering the perspectives of the members towards a more positive outlook. With a streamlined human resources management and development, and with effects of enhanced learning and development, the organizational members would be encouraged and motivated towards effective performance and positive behaviors. 4. Recommendations: I, being the L&D Manager, would make the following recommendations: Participative style of leadership would be effective for the new management in the trust. This is because in a participative leadership form, the participation of all organizational members is more (Cherry 2013) thus not only making them feel more important for the achievement of organizational goals but also making them realize their responsibilities for the trust and patient care. Only dictating and controlling the personnel would make them feel dominated and hence their effectiveness of performance may not be achieved. Assessment and evaluations are necessary and there needs to be regular surveys and meetings to evaluate the need for any change in the system that might be affecting the effectiveness of the doctors and employees. Performance measures are also recommended and with any employee found to be ineffective, I would recommend to emphasize more on learning and development of them instead of further downsizing. Downsizing, to some extent, de-motivates those who stay within the organization. Hence, enhanced communications and learning and development techniques would make the employees more effective in their performances. A new culture where communications is more focused can be expected to be more welcoming that will allow all organizational members to discuss and report their problems such that resolutions can be made. Rewarding measures need to be such that the employees feel the urge to take considering their responsibilities sincerely and attempt challenging tasks as well for improved performance and patient care. References Cherry, K. (2013) What is Democratic Leadership? About. [Online]. Available at: http://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/f/democratic-leadership.htm [Accessed 15 August 2013]. Code of Conduct- Code of Accountability in the NHS (n.d.) NHS. [Online]. Available at: http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/Documents/Sect_1_-_D_-_Codes_of_Conduct_Acc.pdf [Accessed 13 August 2013]. Cole, G.A. (2002) Personnel and Human Resource Management. Connecticut: Cengage Learning EMEA. Dressler, S. (2004) Strategy, Organizational Effectiveness and Performance Management: From Basics to Best Practices. Florida: Universal-Publishers. Elkeles, T. and J.J. Phillips (2007) The Chief Learning Officer: Driving Value Within a Changing Organization Through Learning and Development. London: Routledge. Engaging your staff: the NHS staff engagement resource (n.d.) Nhsemployers. [Online]. Available at: http://www.nhsemployers.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/Staff%20engagement%20toolkit.pdf [Accessed 14 August 2013]. Helms-Mills, J., Dye, K. and A.J. Mills (2008) Understanding Organizational Change. London: Routledge. Leadership Development (2011) Management-class. [Online]. Available at: http://management-class.co.uk/leadership/competence/lead8.html [Accessed 15 August 2013]. Motivation and Improvement (n.d.) Citehr. Online]. Available at: http://www.citehr.com/307617-hr-library-crks-desk-pg8.html [Accessed 15 August 2013]. Overview of Fiedler’s Contingency Theory of Leadership (2013) Salisbury. [Online]. Available at: http://facultyfp.salisbury.edu/fmshipper/MGMT625/overview_of_fiedler.htm [Accessed 15 August 2013]. Searle, R. and D. Skinner (2011) Trust and Human Resource Management (Google eBook). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. Vosburgh, R.M. (n.d.) The Evolution of HR: Developing HR as an Internal Consulting Organization. Ymcdn. [Online]. Available at: http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.hrps.org/resource/resmgr/p_s_article_preview/hrps_issue30.3_evolutionofhr.pdf [Accessed 14 August 2013]. Appendices Appendix A: Fiedler’s Contingency Theory of Leadership (Overview of Fiedler’s Contingency Theory of Leadership 2013). Situations Good Good Good Good Poor Poor Poor Poor High High Low Low High High Low Low Strong Weak Strong Weak Strong Weak Strong Weak Appendix B: The Path Goal Theory of Leadership (Leadership Development 2011). Leadership Style Subordinate Environment Directive -Authoritative -External locus of control -Low aptitude -Multifarious or indistinct task -Strong reserved influence -High-quality working teams Supportive -Do not indulge authoritative leadership -Internal locus of control -High aptitude -Uncomplicated or planned task -Weak official power -Working teams not so good Participative -Indulging involvement -Internal locus of control -High aptitude and skills -Multifarious or indistinct task -Strong or weak official influence -Good or not so good working teams Achievement-oriented -Indulging authoritative leadership -External locus of control -High aptitude -Simple and organized task -Strong power influence - Good or not so good working teams Appendix C: Theory X and Theory Y of HRM (Motivation and Improvement n.d.). Theory X Theory Y Work is naturally disliked by most people. Work feels like a natural play if conditions are suitable. Mostly people do not have an ambition, do not feel responsible for their tasks and want others to direct them on how and what to do. Self control is generally essential for achievement of organizational objectives. Mostly people have no or very less creative approach towards problem solving. Creativity is widely spread to derive solutions to organizational issues. Motivation occurs only at the levels of psychology and safety of the individuals. Motivation occurs at psychological and safety levels, but also at social, esteem and self-actualization levels. Close control is needed to get tasks done. Self direction and creativity achieved with proper motivation. Read More