Managing Change and Leadership for MBA Programme - Assignment Example

Answer The rapid globalization and technological advancement of the recent time has greatly revolutionized the labour processes. With the advent oftechnology, the collective production has become more complex. There is a significant paradigm shift in the technical division of labour from direct to indirect model that is focused on regulation, administration, improvement and innovation to meet the challenges of the changing time. Human resource being central to the organizational visions and goals, HR leadership initiatives become crucial factor for creating and organizing an effective workforce that is able to make valuable contribution. It promotes a sense of togetherness and collective responsibility that reflects in the increased output and improved performance outcome of the organizational goals and objectives. Hence, establishment of an integrated HR team would greatly facilitate improved services for the Directorate of International Relation of the Government of the Republic of Harasta. Harasta is an emerging economy which has taken developmental loans from the international banks and aid agencies for development purpose. The Republic is highly interested in becoming a member of European Union and therefore, it is working towards achieving standards which would facilitate better coordination and interaction with the various international bodies. The restructuring and modernizing the public departments are intended to provide the administration and the government with efficient mechanisms to meet the expectations of the EU guidelines. Introducing reforms in the high profile Directorate of International Relation is highly commendable because it would project the sincere commitment of the government to improve and improvise its working to reflect international standard. The various studies have affirmed a significant impact of the role of HRD strategy on the various perspectives of organizational strategies linked to effective management (Sloman and Philpott, 2006; Auluck, 2007). The people and the existing workforce need to creatively evolve skills and strategies that would meet the wider implications of the business acumen to optimize the intended output, within the parameters of organizational goals and objectives. The rapid globalization and technological advancement of the recent time has greatly revolutionized the labour processes. There is a significant paradigm shift in the technical division of labour from direct to indirect model that is focused on regulation, administration, improvement and innovation to meet the challenges of the changing time. Thus, establishment of integrated HR team would help develop its unique organizational culture with well defined vision and mission statements which are effectively communicated to their employees. The shared vision promotes better understanding among the employees and provides impetus for improved performance and easy changeover. Organizational culture is developed over a period of time with shared learning and becomes an intrinsic part of the work methodology characterized by the stability provided by the system and the integrated approach of the workers. In an article from Leader to Leader Journal, Frances Hesselbein has said that ‘Leadership is a matter of how to be, not how to do’ (No. 41, 2006). Hence effective leaders are versatile and are adept at exploiting the potential of their followers or workers as per the demands of the situation. A well developed leadership within the organization would facilitate integration of diverse ideologies and personal conflicts and help inspire and motivate each of them to work together to produce a cohesive output representing the team’s unique objectives and goals. Answer 2 The implementation of the reform processes is reflected in the higher morale of the workforce. The initiatives of the managerial leadership of Assistant Minister has resulted in restructuring the department by creating divisions, team structure and introducing effective communication system within them. It has not only streamlined the information system but it has also resulted in improved performance outcome of the individual and the organization as a whole. Social scientists have shown that in the contemporary times, the technological perspectives become the major factors for HR management. Hence, the competencies of the human capital need to be appropriately developed to meet the challenges of the technology (Gillham, Wood & Somerville 2007). Effective team work constitutes one of the most important factors that make valuable contribution to the organization promoting a sense of togetherness and collective responsibility that reflects in the increased output and improved performance of the organization. Argote claims that team learning processes involve collective acquisition, combination, creation and sharing of knowledge and that they are considerable influenced by the internal team dynamics (Argote, 1999). Leadership within the team inspires others to achieve common goals through persuasive communication skill. Leadership motivates and encourages that target group within the group that plays a crucial part in the development processes. The effective communication between the management and employees promotes confidence building and inculcates sense of stability amongst the workforce. The reforms, implemented through various steps have significantly impacted the performance. Indeed, to make a significant difference to the work place, it is important the leaders and managers need to develop and enhance cross cultural relationship that must go beyond the officialdom in order to win the trust of the people. They must also become the link which would promote confidence building and strengthen interpersonal understanding with the group. Understanding of organizational behaviour is essential ingredient of organizational communication which motivates people to better performance, leading to higher productivity. Effective communication facilitates better understanding of cross cultural values and cuts across the multi cultural layer of the organization and is the key to enhance the overall performance of the organization. It is therefore advised that to build-up strong work force to achieve goals, one needs to acquaint oneself about parameters that affect directly the work ethics and values of people belonging to different cultures within the organization. Organizational behaviour basically defines the interaction of human beings in a given organization and analysis of individuals and groups characteristics facilitates better understanding, prediction and improvisation in work place, leading to improved performance. Understanding of organizational behaviour is essential ingredient of organizational communication which motivates people to better performance. It leads to higher productivity. Effective communication facilitates better understanding of cross cultural values and cuts across the multi cultural layer of the organization and is the key to enhance the overall performance of the organization. Schwenk says that ‘employee’s absolute commitment to a shared vision of change is seen by many leaders/ change agents as so important for their organization’s continued survival’ (Schwenk, 1997, p4). The improved performance outcome of the organization can be accurately contributed to the high morale of the workforce that is motivated to achieve common goals through shared learning. The new HR strategy has facilitated in creating congenial work atmosphere that motivates and inspires others to improve their performance and achieve organization’s goals with more enthusiasm, vigour and creativity. Answer 3 Approach to managing change The fast changing global values have necessitated drastic shift in the approach to traditional HR strategy. The increasingly changing pattern of society, which is becoming multicultural in essence, needs to be addressed in the wider application of social imperatives and included in all spheres of public and private organization strategy. The organizations must introduce effective strategic goals and managerial controls that are able to address the emerging challenges of the society at large. The new HR strategy, therefore, must take account of the various factors that are intrinsically linked to people. 3.1 Human resource as proactive human capital The globalization has ushered in a huge database of human capital whose potential needs to be exploited to realize one’s own vision and mission. The contemporary times have redefined the organization processes and the workforce must be looked as resource that can be tapped to improve and improvise the performance of the organization in the fiercely competitive business setting. 3.2 Training and development The management needs to accept the challenge of creating a cohesive and encouraging atmosphere so that the workers could get effective learning environment. They are provided with a wider scope for professional growth in the area of core competencies. They are also responsible for advocating and nurturing a high standard of ethics and quality work while fostering a good relationship amongst them which includes the administrators, management and various stakeholders. Strategies and policies must incorporate the changing nature of the society that is increasingly becoming multicultural and focus more training and development of human resource to meet the challenges of the global competition. The HR department, through judicious approach of employing people and upgrading their skills to suit the changing business environment, becomes critical to creating congenial work atmosphere that motivates and inspires others to improve their performance and achieve organization’s goals with vision and innovation. 3.3 Diversity The changing values necessitate development of a new social order which would not only embrace multi cultural values but help forge a universal bond that would transcend race and religious boundaries. Managing diversity, thus, has become a crucial issue with the businesses which needs to be addressed urgently if they want to maintain competitive edge over their rivals. It is, therefore, important that HR leaders look beyond the criteria of race, nationality and colour of their employees and include diversity in their core strategy so as to exploit their vast potential. 3.4 Effective communication and conflict resolution Effective communication helps to foster good relationship and even make friends of the enemies. Artful communication helps to build bridges and improvise situations which could move towards dangerous outcomes. The need to effectively communicate a message at crucial time facilitates linkages that have vast scope of building relationships in areas that may otherwise seem futile. It is also a strong tool for workplace conflict resolutions. 3.5 Empowerment In the contemporary time, empowerment has become one of the most crucial issues among the masses as it directly influences the welfare of the individuals and the society at large. Empowerment facilitates realization of self worth, instilling self confidence in one’s ability to make independent decisions about themselves, especially with relation to their socio-economic and political decisions. Empowering the workforce promotes mutual trust building as it helps the person to act on the informed choices and make decisions that would not only affect the person himself but would also have significant impact on the working of the organization thus encouraging responsible behaviour. 3.6 Relationship building Sjostrand and Tyrstrup, in one of their article, have argued that managerial leadership needs to be approached as a relational, ongoing social construction process rather than as a single clear cut phenomenon (2001). Indeed, for any organization to expand and succeed, it is crucial that its people are recognized as vital part of its strategy and organizational goals and objectives be interpreted in the context of the changing paradigms of the times. The empirical relationship of leaders and the emerging changes are critical for a given situation and therefore, good managerial leadership demands a better informed leader who is capable of taking initiative and at the same time, he is also able to inculcate confidence in his people to move forward. 3.7 Employees’ rights and collective bargaining The socio-political paradigms and the federal legislation with regard to employment and employees’ rights have become extremely important. The organizations need to conform with the state laws of employment and corporate governance gives them an opportunity to promote transparency in their work culture and look after the welfare of their workforce through affirmative actions. The currents times have made it imperative for managerial leadership to promote diversity in their workforce and incorporate dynamic HR strategy that would be able to adapt to the changing equations of the business compulsions and help give the organization a competitive advantage. 3.8 Need for retention and reward system In the highly cut throat business, the organization needs to create appropriate climate that inculcates confidence and mutual trust building. The encouraging and incentive driven work environment promotes retention of employees and gives the organization better leverage to compete with their rivals. The experienced and motivated workforce is conducive to higher degree of creative inputs and innovative approach which may give a unique positioning to the organizational products and services. 3.9 HR and Labor market Cultural production signifies construction of collective identities on the basis of cultural diversification and therefore, the platform that promotes this production stresses the importance of technical division of labour that emphasizes the specialized type of labour inputs, required for different level of production. The cultural production has multidimensional facet that not only contributes towards creating identities and disseminating information and knowledge but it also helps to establish a unique relationship among individual, promoting understanding. Hence, the hierarchal division of labour that needs to conceptualize and produce such cultural production becomes more sophisticated in its approach and complex in production processes. Answer 4 This approach is most appropriate for myriad reasons. In the age of globalization, an in-depth study and understanding of the organization and organization’s behaviour has become important as its people comprise of different race, colour and culture. In the increasingly changing environment of global competitiveness, managerial leadership has become imperative to facilitate more accommodating approach to the changing dynamics of the organizational culture and management. Organizational culture can be broadly defined as a set of code of conduct for the individuals or groups operating under the broader umbrella of organizational values, beliefs and its mission and vision statement. ‘The observable level of culture, and consists of behavior patterns and outward manifestations of culture: perquisites provided to executives, dress codes, level of technology utilized…’(Schein, 1992). The shared beliefs and value system of the organizations are reflected in the creative productivity and efficient delivery of the organizational goals and objectives. One can therefore, conclude that the working within the organizational climate with well defined parameters and values promote and facilitate the organization to strive for its long term mission with short term goals and objectives. The HR department, through judicious approach of employing people and upgrading their skills to suit the changing business environment, becomes critical to creating congenial work atmosphere that motivates and inspires others to improve their performance and achieve organization’s goals with vision and innovation. Reference Argote, L. (1999). Organizational Learning: Creating, retaining and transferring Knowledge. Norwell MA: Kluwer Academic. Auluck, R. K. (2007). Mere nip and tuck? Training and development’s changing role. Industrial and Commercial Training 39 (1) Case Study. Modernising the Directorate of International Relation Gillham, Mark and Wood, Emma and Somerville, Ian. (2007) Public relations and the free organizational publication: practitioner perspectives on the brave new (media) world. Journal of Communication Management, 11 (3). pp. 198-211. ISSN 1363-254X Hesselbein. Frances. (2006). Moving Peter Drucker’s Works and Wisdom Around the World. Leader to Leader Journal, No. 41, summar 2006. Available from: [20 March, 2010] Schein, Edgar. Organizational Culture and Leadership. Second Edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.1992. Schwenk, Charles, R. (1997). The Case of Weaker’s Leadership. Business Strategy Review, 8 (3), 4-9. Sjostrand, S and Tyrstrup, M. (2001). Recognized and unrecognized managerial leadership, in invisible management – The social construction of leadership. S Sjostrand, J Sandberg and M Tyrstrup (eds.). Thomson. pp 1-27. Sloman, M. and J. Philpott (2006). Training and Learning in the Knowledge and Service Economy. Journal of European Industrial Training 30 (3). Read More