To Be Effective, Leadership and Management Development Must Be Aligned to Organisational Strategy - Coursework Example

To be effective, leadership and management development must be aligned to organisational strategy Contents Contents Introduction 4 Definitions, objective and purpose of LMD 4 Definitions of LMD 4 Planned versus emergent learning 5 Approaches to LMD 5 Purposes of LMD 6 Effectiveness of LMD and link to performance 6 LMD as a strategic process 7 Talent management including link to management development cycle 9 Performance measurement and assessment 10 Competency frameworks 11 Performance appraisal and review 11 Training and development activities 13 Categories of training and development activities 13 Training and development activities fit in the management development cycle 14 Training also contributes in talent management process. 14 Summary and conclusion 14 References 16 Introduction Leadership and management development are important factors for the growth and development of the company. Effective process of management development and leadership help the organization in many ways. This report aims to discuss that management development and leadership must be aligned with organizational strategies for experiencing various benefits. Both of these factors contribute a lot in improving the business process of the company. Organizational capacity is enhanced by leadership and management development. For this reason organizational strategies need to be designed in such way which will help the company to get benefits of leadership and management development (LMD). This report is divided into several parts. All of these parts highlight different advantages that LMD provides to the company and the requirements of considering LMD while developing organizational strategies. In this report definition, purpose and objectives of LMD have been discussed. LMD also helps to improve performance of employees. As a result the strategic process of a company is influenced by LMD. This report focuses on the link between talent management and management of development cycle. These measures are implemented with the help of LMD. Training and development activities are considered as important part of LMD. Definitions, objective and purpose of LMD Definitions of LMD Leadership and management development are two different processes. Leadership means the process of leading a group of people and guiding them for achieving goals and objectives of a company. The leaders have authority and control over the people who are following them. Management development is the process in which the leaders or the managers enhance their skills and capabilities for benefiting other organizational members and themselves. These improved skills and capabilities help the company to operate its business processes more effectively. Leadership and management development are combined together for getting various advantages. Organizational members perform different activities for carrying out LMD. These activities provide various solutions to the firm for solving its various issues and problems. Planned versus emergent learning The learning process which is designed and planned for achieving a goal is called planned learning. Planned learning helps the learners to know and understand the learning outcomes of the process which is used for achieving the goal. The process of planned learning also provides ideas to the learners for setting goals. With the help of planned learning the learners manage their learning processes. On the other hand emergent learning means the process of gaining knowledge and enhancing skills by experiencing various challenging situations. Emergent learning plays an important role in developing organizational strategies. Through this learning process a person comes to know about the important things which he should perform for handing difficult situations. Approaches to LMD LMD has a strong impact on organizational performances. There are various approaches which a company can incorporate for performing LMD activities. LMD policies can be developed by a firm for fulfilling the requirements of organizational developments. For analysis the effectiveness of LMD activities the companies can take feedbacks from organizational members. This will help the companies to improve their organizational strategies. Different levels of leadership and management styles can be implemented by the company for performing LMD activities. Purposes of LMD The main purpose of LMD is to develop and perform various activities which will help in the sustainable development of the company. Skills and capabilities of the leaders will be enhanced by LMD as a result they will be able to develop effective strategies for the company. Another purpose of aligning LMD with organizational strategies is to establish new business model for making the business policies effective in the changing business environment. Effectiveness of LMD and link to performance LMD activities have strong impact on different organizational processes. These activities motivate and inspire various organizational members. Managers organize various processes and co-ordinate with organizational members for achieving the goals and targets of the company. The processes are designed by managers as per the organizational strategies. Strategies are formed by the organizational members based on their learning and development programs. LMD activities help to increase personal effectiveness. By learning different things, organizational members become confident which help them to become future leaders’ of the company. LMD also contribute a lot to establish integrated management system. LMD has strong connection with employees and organizational performance. Effective LMD process contributes a lot in improving the performance of a company. For improving the performance of a company, leaders and managers learn various things (Vernon, 2011). These things help them to analyse and understand the needs and requirements of the business. Based on the understandings the leaders or the managers develop organizational strategies. As a result the company becomes capable to achieve its goals and objectives easily. There is no definite link that LMD enhances organizational performances. But in many cases it has been observed that good learning and management development program help to improve the performance of organizational members. Good management development system helps the organizational members or the managers to design suitable organizational structure and process. This will help all the organizational members to deliver their work efficiently. For improving the performance of the employees the managers develop the system of providing rewards to best performing employees. This system motivates the organizational members for delivering good performances. LMD activities posses’ strong influence on various HR processes which affects employees’ performance. With the help of learning and management development programs the managers and leaders are able to plan career structure and HR processes of the company in such a way which will motivate the workers to improve their performance standard. The managers often implement informal learning and developmental programs for benefiting the employees. This learning process helps to increase the productivity of the company. In the changing business environment it is very difficult to enhance organizational performance. Economic downturn and global pressure sometimes create negative impacts on the performance of the employees. Therefore the companies must take different strategic approaches to highlight the importance of LMD in strategic planning process. This will help the companies to overcome various problems and improve their performances. LMD as a strategic process Strategic fit of LMD can be achieved through focusing on vertical and horizontal integration. Horizontal integration shall lead to less control to be exercised on team members in comparison to vertical integration. Vertical integration of LMD would lead to efficiently managing individual’s interests and goals. On the contrary, horizontal integration would indicate giving power to team members and focusing on overall performance or accomplishment of common goals (Moon, 2013). Strategic fit can be achieved when positive effects of both these integration are well aligned within organization to promote LMD. It would enable a firm to enhance productivity level and even improve upon connectivity amongst team members. The word strategic means the initiation for conducting or implementing strategic plan. When a plan or process is implemented by a company for getting benefits and it contributes in the growth and development of the company is known as strategic plan or process. Various factors are involved in the management processes of the company. Expertise knowledge of managers and leaders of a company help other organizational members to know many things. By sharing important knowledge the organizational members can achieve the goals and objectives of the company easily. Expertise knowledge of the employees in particular fields facilitates them to perform work effectively. This helps to increase the productivity of the company. Good relationship among organizational members influences the organizational culture and performance. LMD activities help the company to develop proactive approaches for building strong relationships with the employees. By this process the organization communicates easily with its members and makes them understand about their role and responsibilities. Good relationship influences the bonding organizational members. As a result the leaders or managers can effectively motivate the organizational members for implementing or following organizational strategies (Sparrow, Harris and Brewster, 2004). Networking among the organizational members is also influenced by relationships. All the levels of management need to have strong networking for increasing the productivity of the company. Leadership pipeline model facilitates the company to grow leaders on various management levels. There are mainly three types of management levels. They are first line management, operational management and corporate management. Organizational members involved in all of these managerial levels take decisions for enhancing the productivities of each level. For this reason they require proper knowledge which is only possible with the help of LMD activities. Management development program will help them to make the business process more effective (Price, 2011). For all of these reasons LMD needs to be considered in the strategic process in different levels of management system. Talent management including link to management development cycle In current scenario, organizational success is directly linked with high performance work culture. This form of culture is usually developed to enhance productivity level of employees. Leadership and management development or LMD can be effectively incorporated within corporate strategy. It can be stated that corporate strategy encompasses all possible elements which can facilitate long term growth or success. Leadership characteristics and talent management are essential factors to be included within corporate strategy. Transformational leadership is currently followed in majority organizations as it helps to drive overall operational excellence. Leaders are solely responsible for integrating talent management framework within organizational system. In any firm, leaders are the ones who are able to determine best talent in a team and enhance their skills or knowledge base for further development (Schneider, 2007). LMD can be treated as an important phenomenon in terms of improving skills of team members, and rewarding them for superior quality work. On the other hand, talent management should also focus on career success planning, where team members will possess a clear view regarding their growth potential. It would be incorporated as tool or strategy to retain best talent in the system and acquire individuals best suitable for varied job positions. Talent management can also be related to management development cycle since it portrays wide array of steps necessary to be undertaken for sustained growth and development. The first step of the cycle is active involvement of senior management in context of analyzing business strategies. These strategies may also be closely knitted with competency frameworks. This kind of framework helps in evaluating performance level of team members against a certain benchmark of expected performance level. Competency frameworks designed should be in accordance with corporate objectives and goals. The next step is succession planning where skill gaps are properly identified. It leads to future and current skill gaps mainly at the operational level. HR policies are designed for mitigating such skill gaps in the form of performance appraisal system. This is a strategy to drive individual’s performance level where talented team members are rewarded by management (Lussier and Achua, 2009). Individual career plans are outlined at the next level and this influences them to undertake learning and development activities. Performance review is later conducted on this learning session in order to analyze skills gained by team members. The cycle is executed again and this highlights most efficient way of talent management in strong association with leadership pipeline. Performance measurement and assessment Management development cycle This involves in managing the entire organizational process for achieving growth and developments. There are many processes which are involved in business for performing various functions. These processes help the company to produce goods and services. Employees of an organization are also managed by these processes. All of these processes are inter-related and that is why they are considered in management development cycle (Mondy, 2008). The two important elements of this cycle are competency frameworks and performance appraisal. Competency frameworks This is a structure followed by an organization for highlighting individual competencies which are required by the firm. People working in that firm needs to have those competencies. In competency framework model the company mainly focuses on excellent performances which it aims to receive from its employees. Various competencies are involved in this framework. The model describes each of these competencies in such a way which makes them related to the growth and development of the company. The competencies which are expected from each organizational member are communicated to them by using simple language so that everyone can understand about the type of performance they needs to deliver (Mabey and Lees, 2007). This understanding influences the organizational members to deliver excellent performance. Performance appraisal and review The process of performance appraisal is also known as performance review process. This process helps the company to improve the performance level of its employees. On the basis of their performance company provides career opportunities to them. In this process the performances of the employees are evaluated in details. The company analyses the recent performance of its employees and based on that it sets up its future objectives. Performance appraisal system also facilitates the company to analyse various opportunities (Harzing and Pinnington, 2011). With the help of this system the company can also determine various resources which it requires for its business process. Leaders help the organizational members to improve their performances by supporting and guiding them in performing their jobs. Measuring performances Performances of organizational members can be measured observing the quality of their work. The amounts of work they are performing within a stipulated time also help to judge the effectiveness of employees. Absenteeism of employees helps to evaluate their interest towards work. Developing creative and innovative process is important for the company. Performance of the organizational members can be judged on the basis of this criterion (Edwards and Rees, 2011). Aims and objectives Improve employees performance To increase future potentialities of the company. Improving communication processes Supporting employees while performing their roles and responsibilities. Analysing the training needs. Benefits Strong relationship among the employees and employers are build with the help of performance appraisal system. Encourage employees to earn more. Helps to achieve organizational goals quickly. Increase productivity of the company. Training and development activities With the help of training programs, organizational members get to know about many new processes which can benefit the company in many ways. Learning is maximised by well designed training programs. Coaching and mentoring helps to improve the employees. Internet based learning process is also considered as important training program (Earley and Singh, 2000). Categories of training and development activities Individual versus collective training This type of training focuses on overcoming drawbacks of individual employees. For example, the manager or the leader guides an employee for improving his performance. On the other hand collective training programs are designed for all the employees of a company for specific reasons or purposes. For example, while implementing organizational change company organises training program to make the employees capable of accepting the change. Planned versus emergent training: Training program which is conducted for achieving specific goal of an organizational is called planned training. For example, for achieving sales target the company trains its employees to improve their customer service level. Emergent training means various situations and circumstances are providing training to the employees. This type training program does not have any specific goals and objectives. For example with the help of customer feedback employees learn many things (Brewster, Sparrow, 2011). Formal versus informal training Formal training means guiding the employees with the help of official rules and regulation, for example conducting official training program. Informal training means guiding the employees by informal communication or learning process, for example leaders provide assistance to the employees by discussing their problems (Beardwell and Claydon, 2010). Training and development activities fit in the management development cycle Training and developmental program supports the employees in implementing strategic decision of the company. While developing organizational or business strategies training programs also plays a vital role. Organizational members learn different things from training programs. At the time of developing strategies organizational member use that knowledge for making the strategies more effective (Gold and Holden, 2013). Training program is designed in such a way which helps the company to overcome many barriers. It creates a strong bonding between employers and employees. Good training program highlights the concerns of the employers towards their employees. As a result strong trust is developed among the employees towards the employers which help the company to establish good management system (Bratton and Gold, 2012). Training also contributes in talent management process. By conducting good training programs the organization helps its employees to improve their skills and capabilities. This facilitates them in performing their jobs effectively. Employees also incorporate many new talents with the help of training program. Summary and conclusion This report deals with various aspects of LMD which contributes a lot in establishing organizational strategies. This report highlights the definitions of learning and management development system. Both of these learning and management development programs create strong impact on organizational members which help them to develop strategies. Planned and emergent learning are highlighted in this report. Various approaches of LMD have been discussed here. Organization conducts learning and management development programs for fulfilling its various purposes. LMD has strong connection with employee and organizational performances. This process facilitates the company to develop and implement effective business strategies easily. Management development cycle helps the company to manage its talents. Organizational leaders guide employees for performing various jobs. Competency framework and performance appraisal system are also discussed in this report. Different types of training are highlighted here. LMD must be aligned with organizational strategies for making the strategies more effective. This is because LMD helps to improve the performance of employees by incorporating various measures. Strategic approaches to LMD will help the company to improve its strategic management system. Effectiveness of organizational strategies depends highly on management process and leadership skills of organizational members. Leaders contribute a lot in developing and implementing organizational strategies. Therefore leadership plays an important role in forming organizational strategies. A company can manage its learning and development activities effectively with the help of training. It is consider as an important part in developing strategies. Management development activities help to build strong connecting among organizational members. By this process the company can take ideas from organizational members for establishing strategies. This can be concluded that LMD is an inseparable part for establishing organizational strategies. References Beardwell, J. and Claydon, T., 2010. Human Resource Management: A Contemporary Approach. London: Financial Times. Bratton, J. and Gold, J., 2012. Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Brewster, C., Sparrow, P. et. al., 2011. International HRM, 3rd Edition. London: CIPD Earley, P.C. and Singh, H., 2000. Innovations in international and cross-cultural management. Thousand Oaks: Sage. Edwards, T. and Rees, C., 2011. International HRM: Globalisation, National Systems and MNCs, 2nd Edition. London: FT Prentice Hall. Gold, J. and Holden, R. et. al., 2013. Human Resource Development: Theory and Practice. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Harzing, A. and Pinnington, A. H., 2011. IHRM 3rd Edition. London: Sage. Lussier, R. and Achua, C., 2009. Leadership: theory, application, & skill development. USA: Cengage Learning. Mabey, C. and Lees, F.T., 2007. Management and leadership development. London: SAGE. Mondy, 2008. Human resource management. New Delhi: Pearson Education India. Moon, J.A., 2013. A handbook of reflective and experiential learning: theory and practice. New York: Routledge. Price, A., 2011. Human resource management. UK: Cengage Learning. Schneider, B., 2007. The People Make the Place. Personnel Psychology, 40 (3), pp.437–456. Sparrow, P., Harris, H. and Brewster, C., 2004. Globalising Human Resource Management. London: Routledge. Vernon, G., 2011. International and comparative pay and reward” in T. Edwards and C. Rees (eds.) International HRM: Globalization, National systems and Multinational Companies, 2nd Edition. London: FT Prentice Hall (pp. 206-228). Read More