Energy Drink Project Spenser - Case Study Example

Name Course Instructor Date Reports for Energy Drink Project Sponsor Formulated caffeinated beverages also known as energy drinks are non-alcoholic drinks that contain energy-boosting substances. Over the recent past, the Energy Drink Industry has realized a steady growth globally. Essentially, the industry has grown for over sixty percent from the year 2012 up to date (Markey, p. 11). These drinks are manufactured globally by various organizations that sell in the global market. As such, most of the global economies depend on this drink. Energy drink products have boosted economies of various countries. Specifically, the industry provides job opportunities for very many individuals. As a result, some of the workers have worked in the industry for a very long time serving at the same place. In this regard, various challenges have faced this industry in terms of quantity and quality of production. Some workers serving in this industry were employed long ago when the industry was not using various modern technologies in its production (Kent & Chelladurai, p. 39). Consequently, most of such workers face various problems in the course of duty since the industry has embraced modern manufacturing methods. Additionally, some of the workers who have served in this industry for a long time are reluctant in the delivery of service. Laxity in the workplace reduces competition (Markey, p. 13). Following various challenges that affect the industry I was appointed as a middle-level manager to help restructure various working sections in this industry. Apparently, the newly hired staff has modern and professional skills that will help create competition in delivery of service in the industry. This staff comprises of women and other young gentlemen who can properly deliver. I have a period of five months to implement various changes in the industry. Consequently, various challenges are likely to occur during this period. As such, this retrospect report seeks to explain various leadership skills based on proper communication strategies including maintaining a good relationship with various stakeholders in all sections that I will employ during this transition period. Leadership in an organization is a process in which a manager provides motivation and direction to the staff (Morriss, p.3). In any organization, the leader acts as a pivotal director to help achieve the set goals of the industry. Apparently, various managers have to employ proper communication strategies that will help maintain a good relationship with various stakeholders in various sections. Public and private organizations have their leadership plans in place that help supervise and implement various changes in the industry (Morriss, p. 5). In this regard, I have been appointed as a middle-level manager for the energy drink industry to help implement various staffing changes. I will use various leadership strategies and proper communication skills such as timely communication to help implement the changes in the industry without harming either older working staff or any stakeholder. The following are some of the strategies that I will use creating competition for quality production in this industry. Laissez-Faire Leadership Laissez Faire leadership strategy is one strategy that requires the manager of an organization to avoid interrupting with the workers duties (Chaudhy & Javed, P. 19). Simply put, this kind of leadership holds that the leader is not supposed to question anything that a worker is using at their workstations. Consequently, this kind of leadership can either portray the worst or best results depending on the types of workers an organization has. As such, I will use this leadership in energy drink industry since the new workers are well versed in professional ethics and required skills. They require less supervision and interference from the manager as it has been in the older days. I will replace the old workers with the new staff since this type of leadership method cannot realize maximum output from the former staff (Chaudhy & Javed, P. 21). I will communicate the changes earlier to the old staff that has been serving in the organization for a long time leading to its poor delivery. Timely communication in an organization is the best communication strategy that will avoid interrupting good relationship with stakeholders from various sections. The old staff will be given preliminary responsibilities that do not involve much. The strategy will realize the required changes since the new staff is motivated, and competition will be stiff (Chaudhy & Javed, P. 23). Evidently, the personality type of the new is unique as compared to the old staff. The staff will occupy various sections in the organization and significantly help in the implementation of this leadership strategy since they are aware of various leadership strategies. Management by Exception (Active/Passive) Management by exception is a leadership strategy that involves the participation of the leader in all of the services delivered in the organization (Odumeru & Ogbonna, p. 23). Consequently, this type of leadership requires that the leader in an organization takes part in the activities of the organization. The leader might get involved in the practices in an active or passive way. Actively, the leader might take other roles in various sections of the organization to help other workers in production of services and goods (Odumeru & Ogbonna, p. 26). On the other hand, the leader might participate in the organization’s activities passively by either ensuring that the required raw materials are available or by just being present at various sections of the workers to see how workers go about with their duties (Odumeru & Ogbonna, p. 25). This kind of leadership strategy is effective in the case where the organization is undergoing various transformations. Apparently, this leadership strategy emphasizes on key communication strategies such as an advertisement of various changes in the industry. Evidently, such communication strategies will help maintain a good relationship with various stakeholders from various sections. As such, the intended transition process that is expected to realize its benefits after five months in the energy drink industry will happen appropriately when the strategy is used. I will use this strategy in this organization with the new competent staff to help make significant changes. The old workers who have been serving in this industry for a long time will, therefore, be replaced by the new workforce that is well versed in this kind of leadership. This strategy will help the industry to have an effective transition period that will realize good results (Odumeru & Ogbonna, p. 26). I will take part in various roles assigned to various workers. Additionally, I will participate passively in the production process by being available at all times when needed by the workers (Odumeru & Ogbonna, p. 27). Contingent Reward Psychological empowerment is vital in any organization that needs to undergo various transitional changes (Houghton, p. 4). As such, contingent reward leadership strategy is the one that allows the leader or the manager to award various workers who deliver excellent services to the organization (Houghton, P. 6). Additionally, there are various circumstances and situations that require the manager to offer rewards to working staff. Essentially, contingent reward helps the workers to develop self-motivational work ethics that include situational urgency and task structure that helps an organization to realize better results in its operation. The strategy will help the energy industry to undergo a safe transitional period without facing any opposition from the old staff. The old staff will be given various rewards to appreciate them for the long term they have served in the industry. On the other hand, the new staff that will occupy the positions of these workers will also be rewarded based on their service delivery (Houghton, P. 6). I will reward all workers that will show exemplary work ethics in the organization. Good performance is the driving force for realizing better results in an understory. As such, the energy drink industry will be able to realize the expected results within the five months stipulate. Rewards will generate intrinsic completion among the new staff. Workers will be self-motivated to perform their duties at their best so as to get a reward. As a result, quality production will be aided in the industry. As a middle manager, I will employ this leadership style in all sections of the organizations since all workers need to be motivated (Manz & Sims, p. 45). This strategy emphasizes that the manager employs appropriate communication strategies. Transparency while rewarding various workers has to be used by the manager. Consequently, having an appropriate communication strategy in place will help maintain a good relationship with various stakeholders in all sections of the Energy Drink industry. Transformational Leadership Transformational leadership is a kind of leadership approach that causes a change in various individuals and other social systems that operate in an organization (Givens, P. 3). In its ideal form, the transformation causes a valuable and positive change in an organization. The goal of transformational is to increase the quality of services provided by an organization. The strategy involves connecting with various stakeholders involved in a specified organization so as to make them aware of the coming changes that will occur in the organization (Givens, p. 12). As a result, proper communication strategy will be the vital aspect in implementing this leadership strategy. I will employ this leadership strategy in sections that were occupied by the old staff in the energy industry. I will communicate the changes to old staff and other stakeholders in the organization so as they get prepared for the new staff that will occupy their places. The transitional process that is supposed to take place in a period of five months will be achieved properly without any challenges. The energy industry will, therefore, revive its earlier quality production given that there will be new staff in place (Givens, p. 17). Situational Leadership This kind of leadership strategy suggests that there is no one who can work in all sectors of an organization (Blanchard &Hersey, P. 3). Consequently, every worker has its field of specialization to work in. The professional competence and skills gained by the worker in the study of a particular course prepares them for a specific career (Blanchard &Hersey, P. 7). The leader has to ensure that various workers are allocated different sections in the workplace based on their area of specialization. Apparently, wrong allocation of duties to the worker will lead to poor quality of service provided since the worker lacks the professional competence for the stipulated duty (Blanchard &Hersey, P. 13). In this regard, I will apply this kind of leadership strategy to the new staff to ensure maximum and quality production. Evidently, the new staff has various specialized skills in a specific field. As such, these skills need to be utilized in the energy drink industry so as to realize the desired quality production (Blanchard &Hersey, P. 15). The old staff lacked modern skills of production since they have served in various sections of the industry for a very long time. Some of the old staff members were working in an environment that is physically demanding, but they lacked the strength to provide the required services. Consequently, the recently employed staff will be able to provide quality services since I will place them in various sections of their specialty. To help maintain a good relationship with various stakeholders in all sections of the organization I will allow various workers to explain their areas of specializations. Freedom of work and communication is the best strategy to use in an organization. Complexity Leadership The transition period from the 20th to the 21st century brought so many leadership transition strategies from an industrial to a knowledge-based era (Uhl-Bien et al. p. 4). As such, complexity leadership is a type of leadership strategy that bases on the dynamic capabilities of a specified worker. The workers who portray various creativity skills are the most employed in the present world (Uhl-Bien et al. p. 6). This type of leadership focuses on employing various individuals that are creative. Additionally, their creativity has to conquer with the modern technology. These types of individuals are the ones who have proficient skills that they have gained in modern learning institutions (Uhl-Bien et al. p. 8). The energy drink industry is undergoing a transition that that requires employees who can be creative. The old staff will be replaced by the new staff that is full of skillful workers with varied types of creativity (Uhl-Bien et al. p. 12). I will advise various stakeholders on the importance of hiring creative workers. This will be a good communication strategy that will help maintain a good relationship with stakeholders from various sections. As a result, good results will be discovered in the within the stipulated period because the new workforce has the ability of modern creativity. Recommendation Changes in the Energy Drink industry are necessary since the old staff is not delivering the expected services. Essentially, employing an appropriate communication strategy that will aid timely and effective communication in the industry is a fundamental aspect. Additionally, the manager has to ensure that the changes in the industry do not affect the relationship between various stakeholders in all sections of the industry. In this regard, the manager will apply transparency and the most appropriate leadership strategy to maintain this leadership. As such, the transition period that has to take place in the energy industry has only to improve the quality of products manufactured without rubbing shoulders with various stakeholders. As a result, I will recommend the use transformational leadership strategy to be used in the energy industry. However, the manager has to be aware of various personal differences influence the leadership strategies to be used. The manager has to learn various personality differences of both old and new staff so as to carry out various changes that have to occur in the industry. Transformational leadership strategy will help the middle manager to have an easy time in recruiting the new competent staff to replace the old workers appropriately. Additionally, early and proper communication strategies need to be in place to help in carrying out the changes so as to avoid breaking relationships with stakeholders from various sections. Work Cited Blanchard, Karma. & Hersey, Peter. “The Situational Leadership Model.” Management of Organizational Behavior International Journal 6.4 (2015): Web. 18th July 2015 Chaudhry, Anderaon. & Javed,. “Impact of Transactional and Laissez Faire Leadership Style on Motivation.” International Journal of Business and Social Science vol. 5 (2013) : Web. 18th July 2015 Givens, James. “Transformational Leadership: The Impact on Organizational and Personal Outcomes Transformational Leadership.” The Impact on Organizational and Personal Outcomes Emerging Leadership Journeys, Vol. 1 (2015): Web. 18th July 2015 Houghton, Deasty. “Towards a Contingency Model of Leadership and Psychological Empowerment: When Should Self-Leadership Be Encouraged?” Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies Volume 11. (2015): Web. 18th July 2015 Kent, Agry., & Chelladurai, Peter. “Perceived transformational leadership, organizational commitment, and citizenship behavior: A case study in intercollegiate athletics.” Journal of Sport Management Vol. 2 (2015): Web. 2015 Manz, Casey , & Sims, Hartgon. “The new Super Leadership: Leading others to lead themselves.” San Francisco leadership Journal vol. 3 (2013): Web. 18th July 2015 Markey, James. “A Survey of Popular Energy Drinks Finds Majority of the Market Unwilling to Make Commitments to Protect Adolescents”. International leadership Journal (2015): Web. 18th July 2015 Morriss, Anderson. “Leadership of Organizations Techcomm.” International Leadership Journal 7038 (2015): Web. 18th July 2015 Odumeru, Aston & Ogbonna, Ignatius. “Transformational vs. Transactional Leadership Theories: Evidence in Literature.” International Review of Management and Business Research 8.6 (2015): Web. 18th July 2015 Uhl-Bien, Marry, Marion, Respa & McKelvey, Brand. “Complexity Leadership Theory: Shifting leadership from the industrial age to the knowledge era.” International Leadership Journal vol. 3 (2014): Web. 18th July 2015 Read More