Leadership in Toys R Us - Essay Example

Running Heading: Industry Placement Industry Placement Contents Contents 2 BACKGROUND and overview OF THE ORGANIZATION 3 Analysis of leadership in the organization 3 CULTURE WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION 4 problems and CHALLENGES THE ORGANIZATION might face 4 actions to MANAGe these challenges and problems 5 Leadership style and motivation of employees 5 Reporting to department 5 Triple bottom line reporting 6 Managing the Change Effectively 6 Effective communication 8 Conclusion and recommendation 8 Bibliography 10 BACKGROUND and overview OF THE ORGANIZATION Toys R Us is an international retail company that is involved in the redistribution of an array of toys and electronics spreading across varied age groups. It is the company in which my work placement took place – in one of their warehouses as part of the supply chain. At the warehouse I was managing the inputs and outputs via the process they underwent being distributed to the stores all around Australia. The experience I have gained through working with them has been incredibly valuable finding significantly high correlations with the theory involved in IND301 in regard to leadership in particularly, motivation, reporting, organisational culture and triple bottom line reporting (or awareness of lack thereof). Through learning about these different concepts I am aware that they are all part of a holistic picture and they tie in and in one way or another, impact each other. It has also led me to think about how things can be done better and through research and experience attempt suggestions at how this could be done. Analysis of leadership in the organization Leadership is a crucial defining factor in all aspects of management. It is a necessary tool to gain the respect and reasonable authority over employees. Leadership styles vary from individual to individual and it cannot be said that there is any one right way, but different situations may require a leadership style adjustment pending on the responsiveness of employees. Initially my leadership style started as behaviour-orientated (initiating structure – Ohio state model) then required a shift into contingency-orientated leadership, meaning more consideration was needed. It was through this learning experience that I deduced situational leadership was most appropriate in my context through a balance of the two components to the Ohio state model. While these two components are central to the Ohio state model, further reading has taught me the core component to leadership is interpersonal influence (Fleishman and Peters, 1962). Also mentioned by Fleishman and Peters expanding on this point is interpersonal influence through my own values and how effective my leadership is determined by the organisation is how closely aligned my values are with the organisations. CULTURE WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION The values of the organisation make up its culture. I have learnt that the company values hard workers that represent the organisations promise of rapid, responsible and reliable service. Therefore, based on Fleishman’s interpretation of leadership in which I hold in high regard, modelling this to my staff is one of the best ways I can lead the team in the eyes of myself, and Toys R Us. The idea I have of Toys R Us culture was communicated to me through a booklet informing me of what the organisation was about, read on my own accord. For Toys R Us to ensure that organisational culture is well known and implemented into the work of management running a program over half a day would be recommended. problems and CHALLENGES THE ORGANIZATION might face The culture held at Toys R Us is a point of interest for motivation. Motivation ultimately needs to lead to a goal to be achieved which is continual hard work in the name of rapid, responsible and reliable service. Its the role of the leader (myself) to motivate staff in the most appropriate way possible. Determining this is dependent on the responsiveness of staff and their interpersonal values. Interpersonal value compatibility is necessary with staff because motivation is most effective as an influential leader. It is here that one of many examples of the inter-relatedness of management concepts is displayed. Reward for work through remuneration is the standard return but it is motivation to get the best out of the employee. This can pose quite a challenge for a leader as different types of motivational methods would need to be used for different subordinates. actions to MANAGe these challenges and problems Leadership style and motivation of employees An effective leader should be able to motivate their employees (Kappen, 2010). Kappen demonstrates the relationship between leadership styles and the corresponding motivation that compliments the style. It was found that transactional leadership is correlated with extrinsic motivation (remuneration, avoid punishment) (Kalar and Wright, 2007) and transformational with intrinsic motivation (Judge and Piccolo, 2004). Through my reflection I came to the realisation within my work placement both styles of leadership (and motivation for that matter) were necessary to create optimum efficiency. Transactional leadership is the initial inherited style and transformational is built over time. In the long term, intrinsic motivational is the key for maintenance of work ethics in employees. Transformational leadership is developed through gaining trust, which brings back to the aforementioned component of the Ohio state model in consideration. Awareness of these styles of leadership and their effect must be instilled within managers to enable them to correct any motivational issues that may occur. Reporting to department Motivational issues can be found through a number of methods, one of these being reporting. In conjunction with motivational problems, employee issues can also be found through reporting. Reporting on productivity levels was not previously a part of the process within the warehouse, until implemented over the past month. There are still alterations and improvements that can be made to the current reporting system. One of the main purposes is to find where issues are in productivity – as it currently stands problems can be determined, but not pinpointed. In the future the company can look to reporting in departments rather than the whole process in one, so pinpointing can be achieved. Triple bottom line reporting Triple bottom line reporting is another form of organisational reporting and in relation to Toys R Us one that needs to be implemented. Previous troubles in the past with employee pay communicated to the public that triple bottom line reporting does not occur. It involves looking after the people, the planet and the profits of the organisation (study guide p100). Triple bottom line reporting involves putting out statements available to the public to demonstrate how they are considering these three facets of business. Norman and MacDonald (2004) highlight the increasing importance of triple bottom line reporting in society today. Not undertaking triple bottom line reporting shows disregard to stakeholders and that firms cannot operate effectively long term if it is ignored. It is clear that triple bottom line reporting is something that Toys R Us can implement into their reporting procedures. It is stated by Norman and MacDonald (2004) that “if it cant be measured, then it cant be managed” – following this philosophy it is hard to determine the extent to which Toys R Us are acting ethically and environmentally responsible. In terms of charity, Toys R Usdo contribute through the sales of their balloons but with regard to the warehouse consideration opportunities appear quite limited. Firms should measure these additional bottom lines to become more transparent, maximise their profit long run (by measuring social performance they can improve it) and fulfilling the social obligation they have to community (Normal and MacDonald, 2004). Once Toys R Us start measuring their social and ethical performances they can start to work on them – the benefits could not be more obvious. The participation of Toys R Us in triple bottom line reporting is also reflective on their culture. By not reporting there is an impression of lacking care or awareness to issues that may be occurring in-house. It does not shine a positive light on the organisation as a whole providing another reason why Toys R Us should partake in triple bottom line reporting. Managing the Change Effectively There hasnt been significant change in the organisation over the past few months but is the response from the little change that occurred through my involvement in physical labour decreasing was any indication, employees dont seem to be able to respond to change positively at all. Change occurs at the realisation of learning that something can be done better, highlighting the firm relationship between learning and change. Taking this into account, I would say that at the warehouse we are a learning group, a learning organisation. There is a set method that we have in place but that is a result of adapting and altering previous methods. Even up until now we are learning that a report can display that there are problems within the process, so the implementation of weekly reporting has become procedure. It is important that change is introduced slowly to reduce the impact it has on employees and others involved. Such as with my change in leadership approach, it did not come to a sudden halt but it was slowly decremented to a point necessary. While this isn’t exactly organisational change, it is to an extent an individual change on my part. There was a resistance to change in this instance being the displeasure of employees that I wasnt physically participating in the process as much as previously. Kotter and Schlesinger (2008) point out there will always be human resistance to organisational change. It is the managers responsibility to determine why this is the case. They also point out that managers wrongly assume it is just routine and they negate the change as a part of human nature and being an individual. A proper analysis must be conducted as to who and why resistance may occur and combated accordingly. Before implementing change, such as the labelling machine, Toys R Us should do an analysis on who this would impact and in what way to minimise employee dissatisfaction. Methods of resisting this change that can be utilised are education of the change, participation of employees in implementing/shaping the change that is occurring, coercion or negotiation are but a few Toys R Us could use (contextually) to assist in combating resistance (Kotter and Schlesinger, 2008). All these methods involve communication. Communication is usually the most efficient way of minimising dissatisfaction (Kotter and Schlesinger, 2008) as numerous problems arise when change is sprung upon an individual. Effective communication Effective communication is another means correlated with effective management and efficient business operation. As seen above it is functional in minimising resistance to change as well as informing staff news they need to know. There are two types of communication – both formal and informal (study guide, p85). Kraut et al (2002) identify informal communication as a dominant method of communication. Being a manager if this is true is a concern as only informal communication bought to the surface was the disappointment of an expected pay rise. Emphasis on formal communication is necessary in Toys R Us to avoid confusion and informal communication dominating the workplace. Technologies such as email are underused in and out of the workplace as a way of utilising as many communication channels as possible. Constant formal communication can drown out the informal and constant updates through as many methods as possible – on top of email being introduced into the workplace a billboard in the staff area is another method this could be done. Conclusion and recommendation It is clear there are a few issues in the current workplace I am a part of in regards to management. Leadership alterations that may be needed and the relevance organisational culture and values has on the choice of leadership style. The leadership style is also highly correlated with staff motivation and the need for a balance of both identified, as well as how that is achieved – through consideration gaining the trust of employees. A further influence of organisational culture is triple bottom line reporting which is necessary to implement to improve business image and be a more responsible company socially and environmentally. Communication methods and the ratio between formal and informal communication also can be improved. In line with communication is the ability to adapt to change and the different ways that resistance can be dealt with at the subordinate level. The combination of both work placement and theory has opened my eyes to a wide array of issues and opportunities for improvement within the organisation. Bibliography Fleishman, E, & Peters, D 1962, ‘Interpersonal values, leadership attitudes and Judge, T, & Piccolo, R 2004, Transformational and transactional leadership: A meta-analytic test of their relative validity. Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 89, No. 5, 755-768. Kalar, T, & Wright, D 2007, ‘Leadership theory and motivation of medical imaging employees’, Radiology Management, Vol. 29, No. 6, 20-28. Kappen, F 2010, ‘Leadership and Motivation’, Thesis (Bachelor), Tilburg University Kotter, P, Schlesinger, L2008, Choosing Strategies for Change, Harvard Business Review, Available at: [Assessed 13 January 2012]. Kraut, R, Fish, R, Root, R, Chalfonte, B, 2002, Informal Communication in Organizations: Form, Function, and Technology, Informal Communication, Bellcore, Morristown. managerial success’, Personnel Psychology, Vol. 15, pp. 127-43 Norman, W, & MacDonald, C.2003, ‘Getting to the bottom of ‘Triple Bottom Line’, Business Ethics Quarterly, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 243-262. Read More