Leadership

Using a mix of Kotter’s 8 step model for transformation and the ADKAR (Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement)1 best practice for change, which we superimposed, we will analyse the change management process. Our analysis will focus on the initial steps necessary for transformation, particularly the lack of awareness, urgency and desire to change – all hurdles the project is failing to take. Furthermore we will look at the application of these theories along the hierarchy-axes upwards and downwards from Elisabeth’s perspective, taking into consideration the stakeholders on both ends of the process.

After identifying the breakdowns and omissions that have left the project in danger of collapse, we will combine these insights with ideas on remedial action, focussing on how Elisabeth may steer the project clear of failure in the six months remaining until the deadline. These recommendations are made in form of an action plan at the end of the analysis. Awareness of the need for change within the department might be present but there seems to be no clear idea of its implications and hence a sense of urgency, the first crucial step in an organisational transformation2, does not seem to exist.

Best is referring to the necessary change simply as a “task” which is not likely to increase the urgency level and her chances of “getting through” to the directors within the Environmental Standards Division. In addition, her not knowing the internal workings and hidden agendas within the department will further reduce the probabilities of her successfully getting the message across. First, Elisabeth missed the opportunity to contact the outgoing undersecretary in order to find out his reasons for departure and to gain a better understanding of his previous leadership style.

Second, due to her subjective sense of urgency, she failed to take the time to get to know and build a network among the department heads and inspectors. Since her success in the past had relied heavily on these networking and influencing skills the “lets get right to work” approach was likely a hindrance rather than a benefit. Looking up the “stakeholder chain” a different picture emerges. The Secretary of Environmental Affairs shares Elisabeth’s painful concern for the negative image that would fall back onto the department, should it fail to produce the necessary input for the new legislation in time.

Best is hence on the right track to forming a “powerful guiding coalition” for the change effort, the second step in Kotter’s theory, but fails to build this working relationship with her subordinates. This top level support will be crucial for some of our more “aggressive” recommendations should they be put into action. Given the interrelated nature of the situation it is useful to also consider the lack of Desire to participate and support the change (step two in the ADKAR model). Not surprisingly 4 months into the project Elisabeth Best has no clear idea of the Directors’ motivations for “stonewalling” her change initiative.

There are two types of possible causes, on the one hand related to her as a change-agent and on the other hand based on internal factors frequently associated with a typical civil servant setting. Both lead to a reluctance to participate and support change. Due to her lack of authority, expertise, gender, status and seniority, Elisabeth may not have the change-agent credibility necessary for driving the initiative. Conversely moving down the hierarchy-ladder the majority of the stakeholders either hold a “Civil Service position, or (… ) received the position due to a strong reservoir of political support”.

With little risk of losing their jobs, and a prevailing organisational culture driven by politics rather than objectives and by lacklustre attitude rather than results, the directors and staff will be need a much stronger push to be driven out of their “comfort zones”3 than Elisabeth Best had initially anticipated and exercised. Looking at Bests’ management style of democratic leadership and consensual goal setting, her initial approach to get the directors “to move” does not surprise, but nevertheless fails to meet the requirements for initiating change in this case.

Considering the past track record of the department, namely that of little or no concern for the quality of the audits, it seems logical that there is an enormous lack of Knowledge on how to implement the change as well as the Ability on how to handle the subsequent day-to-day tasks properly. On the part of the inspectors this means that they need to know how to “do an audit right” (third and fourth steps in ADKAR), they hence need to be empowered to act on the changed environment. Clearly without the right tools and lacking relevant expertise, none of the inspectors will be likely to jump onto the change bandwagon.

Similarly the directors are not likely to have faced such a large scale change in direction recently (K) and may furthermore be alienated by the fundamentally different leadership style and by Best being a “woman in a position of authority”. Furthermore the directors will not be excited by the idea of taking on any responsibility for a project which they do not know how to handle properly (A). Hence Best’s approach to “give the director and his two assistants the responsibility for supervising the inspections and ensuring that they took place effectively” was bound to falter.

In essence both stakeholders have a strong need for education and coaching, a requirement which is not adequately addressed by Best. This is an unfortunate oversight as it may pose one of the highest barriers to change. Since the change process is failing during the initial phases, little information is available on problems stemming from in the last steps in the change process which stress Reinforcement or as Kotter puts it the “Consolidation of Improvements” and the “Institutionalisation of the New Approaches”. These initiatives are hence included in the overall action plan but do not appear as part of the analysis.

Leadership is non all down to the Head instructor, the caput of section or, in the schoolroom the instructor. If it is, cipher is larning anything at all about leading. The first regulation about leading is that it is shared. ” ( Brighouse and Woods, 1999:45 )

Most frequently administrative leading is viewed as different from any sorts of leading in school. The functions might be different since most managerial functions are completed outside the schoolrooms while instructors ‘ leading is exercised within the schoolroom. Nevertheless in school, instructors, decision makers, Learning Support Assistants ( LSAs ) , parents and pupils can all work together towards the betterment of Distributed Leadership ( DL ) . That is why Sergiovanni states that,

“ If leading is a pattern shared by many so it must be distributed among those who are in the right topographic point at the right clip and among those who have the ability. ” ( 2006:189-190 )

In this subdivision, literature will be organised and focused round the undermentioned inquiries:

What are the benefits of distributed leading in a secondary school?

To what extent is leading shared among all stakeholders in Sunflower School?

How far can administer leading facilitate acquisition?

How effectual to the schools ‘ betterment and success can administer leading be?

What are the benefits of distributed leading in a secondary school?

A successful leader is classified as such, when s/he manages to affect others in the procedure of leading. Harmonizing to Sergiovanni, when principals portion leading, they “ acquire more power in return ” ( 2006:185 ) . DL besides enables those involved to develop their ain leading accomplishments.

With DL, Principals are assisting their co-workers by hiking their assurance, and to do their ain determinations ( Nicholls, 2000 ) . Recently, Mifsud found that “ Maltese Heads practise shared decision-making to guarantee widespread ownership ” ( 2008:7 ) . Therefore all teaching-staff ( Teachers and LSAs ) will go more independent, while staying with the School Development Plan ( SDP ) and course of study. Sharing leading with all stakeholders involves giving clip to accomplish good consequences ( Brighouse and Woods, 1999 ) . The “ pure ” type of collegiality ( Bush, 1995:52 ) works its best, when the establishment is formed by a little figure of staff. Having a big figure of teaching-staff will certainly do DL hard. Although in our school ‘s context we have a big figure of staff, DL can still work since the teaching-staff is divided into smaller groups. Likewise, Brighouse and Woods say that, “ The smaller the school or learning unit, the more leading, every bit good as work, can be shared ” ( 1999:45 ) .

Harmonizing to Leithwood et Al DL helps instructors to be satisfied with their work, increases their “ sense of professionalism ” , stimulates “ organizational alteration ” , increases efficiency and encourages “ cross-interactions ” between teaching-staff ( 1999:115 ) . Although, Blase and Blase argue that intrusting instructors with self-autonomy and empowerment makes them experience “ satisfied, motivated and confident ” and they are likely to give their uttermost in their occupation ( 1994:29 ) ; this sometimes may besides take the teaching-staff to overmaster the Principal like it happens in our school. Yet, Blase and Kirby ( 1992 ) found that when instructors are empowered through liberty, their attitudes and public presentation will acquire better. Furthermore, even when leading is shared among teaching-staff and pupils, this creates an attitude of regard between them, particularly when they are so straight involved. Having a democratic leader helps derive attentive hearing from subsidiaries, which in bend will besides assist better relationships.

When instructors working in democratic schools but had old experiences in other schools which have autocratic leaders were interviewed Blase and Blase ( 1994 ) concluded that instructors ‘ schoolroom liberty enable them to hold category control. An bossy manner called by Brighouse and Woods “ north pole-north pole leading ” will take instructors to work to govern and nil more ( 1999:51 ) . In contrast holding a democratic manner called “ north pole-south pole ” where leading is shared among all stakeholders, will “ unlock tremendous rushs of energy and attempt among professionals ” ( Brighouse and Woods: 1999:51 ) . They besides argue, that sharing leading will alleviate Heads organize some leading emphasis. Thus DL, leads to sharing of duty which will non stay a load on the Head ‘s shoulders. Until late, harmonizing to Cauchi Cuschieri ( 2007 ) , leading in Maltese Church Secondary Schools was seen as the Head instructor ‘s occupation. However, the manner used today is much more DL amongst stakeholders. In our school this is non the instance, since from its initiation, it was believed that DL enables sharing thoughts and duty which eventually leads to the school ‘s betterment.

Duke et Al, ( 1980 ) established, that the school is democratic one when the teaching-staff, is involved in the procedure of determination devising. Likewise, Blase and Blase argue that “ increasing teacher entree to determination devising is indispensable to authorising instructors ” ( 1994:33 ) . Besides, Churchfields secondary school survey shows, that instructors feel the demand to take part in the school ‘s direction as it gives better consequences in the determination devising procedure ( Bush, 1995 ) . Finally, when a determination is taken, it is the teaching-staff ‘s duty to set it into action. So, being involved leads the staff to do a determination ( Bush, 1995 ) .

Rivalland ( 1989 cited in Wolfendale 1992:57 ) presents a figure of benefits that can be achieved from parental engagement in schools:

They work for a better acquisition environment since it is for their ain kid ‘s involvement ;

Whatever is needed to be done in school, and whatever parents are able to make, they do it and they offer themselves as human resources to the school ;

They create the larning connexion between schools and pupils ‘ several places ;

With their presence in school, they will go cognizant of what the school needs from clip to clip.

Although, Wolfendale ( 1992 ) argues, that holding parents involved in the survey and preparation of school ‘s behavior and subject policy will give a good consequence ; this may non be applicable in our school since it seems that the Parents and Teachers Association ( PTA ) tackles merely societal issues and personal concerns of parents. However, this will be investigated subsequently on in this survey.

King provinces that pupils ‘ leading is largely exercised in the “ prefectorial system ” ( 1973:141 ) . However, this does non look to be the lone solution for our school, since leading is besides exercised through the pupils ‘ council. It is true that the ultimate duty of decision-making in schools is in the custodies of the Principal. However, as Frost claims “ Schools can besides be enriched by pupils ‘ parts to decision-making and course of study development ” ( 2008:356 ) . Furthermore, when pupils are consulted in certain affairs such as finance they are taught “ some of the difficult lessons of democracy ” ( Colgate, 1976:123 ) . Prefects and council members are pupils peculiarly chosen to assist in school control and determination devising. If their assignment is successful they may besides function as function theoretical accounts for other pupils ( King, 1973 ) .

Contrary to all the benefits of affecting all stakeholders, one has to state that collegiality is an intense activity since it entails work after school hours. Likewise, Smylie and Denny ( 1990 ) argue that the engagement of the teaching-staff in leading may be clip devouring and may hold an consequence on the pupils ‘ demands. The clip for preparation and the support allocated for these maps are non plenty, argues White ( 1992 ) . These jobs make DL more hard to win. However since all teaching-staff in our school have free periods during the twenty-four hours, this may non be a job. Adding to this, holding a big figure of participants might make jobs in communicating, even when holding a broad scope of different positions from all participants ( Bush, 1995 ) .

To what extent is leading shared among all stakeholders in Sunflower School?

Leadership is non a one adult male occupation, because to be successful this must be shared. Moyo writes that:

“ The construct of distributed leading is the thought of sharing leading amongst all stakeholders. These stakeholders, as stated earlier include caput instructors, in-between leaders, instructors, parents and pupils. ” ( 2010:25 )

“ It is non leading if a individual orders, requires, seduces, or threatens another ‘s conformity, ” ( Sergiovanni, 2006:192 ) . So true leading is when it is shared among all those holding the ability to be involved in it. Similarly, Brighouse and Woods emphasise that:

“ One individual may be ‘key ‘ but leading is shared – among students, instructors and other staff and members of the community ” ( 1999:48 ) .

Similarly, Leithwood et Al ( 1999 ) refers to DL as a cardinal component of many SDPs.

Until late the Head instructor in Maltese schools was seen as the school ‘s ultimate authorization ( Mifsud, 2008 ) . Rather than holding an bossy school, holding a democratic one entails holding a DL ( Bush, 1995 ) . With coaction, and exchange of thoughts, jobs can be solved collegially, while single qualities are developed farther ( Leithwood et al, 1999 ) . This is what Bush calls collegiality ( 1995:52 ) , and claims that there are two different types of collegiality, one is the “ restricted ” , intending that a figure from the staff are chosen to take part in the procedure of determination devising, while the other called “ pure ” is the procedure which involves everyone every bit ( Bush, 1995:52 ) . Teachers, LSAs, parents and pupils who are “ tremendously committed to kids and school life ” ( Brighouse and Woods, 1999:49 ) are perfect for take parting in DL, because they are more accessible, more sure, and their chief end is school betterment.

In one of the interviews carried out in Blase and Blase ‘s ( 1994 ) survey, a instructor describes best what a shared administration principal ‘s attitude should be like, that is, to steer non to order. Teachers interviewed could do comparings of past and present principals. Although it ‘s ideal to affect everyone in the procedure of determination devising, in the context of our school, there should be a individual that leads both the treatment, and assumes duty for taking the concluding determinations, which should be the Principal or a delegate. About this, Blase and Blase province that “ principals are compelled to presume full duty over all school affairs ” ( 1994:78 ) . Dunford et Al besides maintain that “ whilst the Head will stay the leader, others will necessitate to add a leading function to their direction duties ” ( 2000:5 ) .

Weick ( 1976, cited in Blase and Blase 1994:135 ) claims that now schools have developed into administrations, in which decision makers and instructors work individually and independently. This does non look to be our school ‘s state of affairs, as the stakeholders all seemed to be involved in teamwork. In contrast, Blase and Blase ( 1994 ) research presents principals under survey as being unfastened to others ‘ sentiments, collegiality and DL. When this issue of DL was introduced, most Senior Management Team ( SMT ) members were being involved. Arguing this Dunford et Al ( 2000 ) say that peculiarly holding more SMT members in a secondary school, leads to the shared duty and the constitution of different functions.

Leithwood et Al ( 1999:121 ) in their survey found that instructors were most likely involved in “ school planning and school construction and administration ” while the principals ‘ leading is more focussed to direction issues. In our school this is non the instance as in school be aftering the Principal is the Chairperson. Normally, people think that teacher leading is exercised merely within the schoolroom. However, in democratic schools like ours, instructors are involved in all facets of the school, even when taking determinations. Blase and Blase besides province that,

“ Successful shared administration principals show trust in instructors ‘ capacity for responsible engagement in both school-level and classroom-level determination devising. ” ( 1994:27 )

Similarly Leithwood et al argued that there are two signifiers of teacher leading ; one is the formal manner for leading of category control, or an informal one:

“ By sharing their expertness, volunteering for new undertakings and conveying new thoughts to the school… assisting their co-workers to transport out their schoolroom responsibilities, and by helping in the betterment of schoolroom pattern, ” ( 1999:117 ) .

Brighouse and Woods ( 1999 ) concluded that because instructors are leaders in categories they do n’t wish to be followings, and so anticipate to take part more in school leading. Furthermore, they besides say that:

“ Successful Headsaˆ¦ are work forces and adult females with ideals and the ability to portion those ideals with those whom they lead. ” ( 1999:54 ) .

Therefore, through the sharing and openness of thoughts, leading is shared and determinations taken will keep much more. However, in the context of our school, if leading is to be shared and if instructors are to work in different groups, they are to be monitored either by the Principal or adjunct principal. Furthermore Leithwood et Al, ( 2000 ) claim that the figure of people involved in DL varies harmonizing to different undertakings.

“ Most effectual distribution of leading maps would change the Numberss of people supplying leading in response to the complexness of the undertakings to be performed-more in the instance of complex undertakings and fewer in response to simple undertakings ” ( 2007:58 ) .

Research shows that in Malta, “ Practically all schools have instructors involved in one squad or another ” ( LIE, 2009:176 ) . The benefits of DL indicate that Maltese schools are seeking to work hard on it.

Since 1980, the Education Act in England “ ensured parental representation on school regulating organic structures ” ( Wolfendale, 1992:62 ) . Likewise, the Maltese Education Act that was reformed in 2006 provinces that the Maltese Directorate for Educational Services,

“ Should advance, promote and supervise the democratic administration of schools through School Councils with the active engagement of parents, instructors and pupils. ” ( GOM, 2006:7 )

Therefore the PTA and Students ‘ Council were introduced in Maltese Schools so that they may take part actively in school leading and determination devising. As Wolfendale ( 1992 ) said, the purpose for parents ‘ engagement is to stand for other parents, to discourse common involvement issues and to inform other parents of determinations taken through written handbills or school meetings. It is besides described as “ a forum for instructors and parents to run into and prosecute in societal and possibly fundraising activities ” ( Wolfendale, 1992:74 ) . Furthermore, research in Malta confirms that parents are so involved in policy determination devising and pattern ( LIE, 2009 ) .

Parents are ever lament to take part in school leading for the benefits of their ain kids and for the schools ‘ betterment ( Wolfendale, 1992 ) . In our school, this may non be the state of affairs, since there are those who are inactive and do non take part in any activities or meetings even if it regards their ain kid ‘s involvements. In most of the Maltese schools or colleges, merely a little per centum of parents are involved through the PTA commission, while others get involved merely through activities organized by the school or the PTA. Some parents “ are called upon by the schools to offer their expertness where necessary ” ( LIE, 2009:175 ) . However, Wolfendale ( 1992 ) notes, that sometimes instructors do non experience the benefit of parental engagement in school.

Harding and Pike ( 1988 cited in Wolfendale, 1992:59 ) suggest ways in which parents can be straight involved in the school. This can be done through:

Personal contact with the school and staff ;

Written communicating ;

PTA or other parental groups within the school ;

Their engagement in school affairs and acquisition.

In contrast, in primary schools the rate of parental engagement in the PTA is higher than in the secondary. This most likely happens because secondary schools are much larger in figure and more instructors are involved, so the resonance between parents and instructors may non be that strong. These issues have been called by Wolfendale as troubles “ to put up and keep teacher-parent enterprises in secondary schools ” ( 1992:58 ) .

The development of the School Development Plan was one of the chief activities where DL was exercised in Maltese schools with the purpose of including all stakeholders in planning and treatment. As the purpose was for the school ‘s betterment and improved acquisition for all pupils, it was noticed that pupils were non included in any of the treatment. This issue was subsequently tackled foremost by a pupils ‘ school council ( LIE, 2009 ) and so by an Ekoskola commission, which takes attention of the environment ( Bezzina, 2007 ) .

Since, pupils are the concluding winners of the educational establishment, they should hold infinite and chances to portion their positions and speak about their demands. Bell and Harrison ( 1998 ) province that it is of common importance for the school to work in coaction with pupils and promote them in teamwork. Likewise, Brighouse and Woods ( 1999 ) emphasis the importance of affecting kids in leading functions within the school, to do them more responsible and fix them for the universe of work.

However, there are two types of pupil leaders and these must be clearly distinguished. There are those called toughs, who use their power to intimidate others and as a consequence push off all other pupils. The other group is called “ unofficial leaders ” ( Brighouse and Woods, 1999:48 ) , who somehow ever attract others. Furthermore, they may be trusted and given a figure of leading responsibilities to transport out as they are seen by instructors as capable and responsible students. To separate between these sorts of leaders, the school can organize a socio-gram trial at the beginning or at the terminal of the scholastic twelvemonth.

How far can administer leading facilitate acquisition?

Leithwood et Al ( 1999 ) argue that there is a challenge between leading pattern, and the research that points out ways in which leading affects pupils and their acquisition. In contrast, Spillane claims that: “ What matters for instructional betterment and pupil accomplishment is non that leading is distributed, but how it is distributed ” ( 2005:149 ) . However, Leithwood et Al ( 2006b ) maintain that after schoolroom instruction, leading is following to act upon pupils ‘ acquisition. Recently, Leithwood and Massey emphasised that “ Leadership is a major cause for the betterments in pupil accomplishment. ” ( 2010:79 )

Principals and other SMT members are encouraged to work difficult towards making a better environment for better acquisition. This means that they are to guarantee that the school ambiance is good both for instructors to work in and for pupils to larn. This does non mention merely to the physical environment, but besides to the distribution of leading and instructors ‘ liberty.

Principals ‘ credence of trust and DL within their school means that they let the teaching-staff choose their ways and agencies of learning that is best applicable for the pupils under their duty ( Blase and Blase, 1994 ) . This besides can be done through promoting teamwork between instructors and LSAs. Similarly, Bezzina claims that “ Merely by affecting all stakeholders and esteeming differences can we give birth to new thoughts ” ( 2006:86 ) and therefore make a better ambiance for better acquisition. Furthermore, Brighouse and Woods highlight that DL and coaction among all staff will ensue in: “ raising the accomplishment of students ” ( 1999:83 ) .

Christopher Bezzina conducted a instance survey in one of the Maltese Church schools, where the academic accomplishment was non so high. The school ‘s Head, holding had experiences in different schools introduced the issue of DL for better acquisition. Teaching-staff, parents and pupils were encouraged to take part in the schools ‘ affairs and determination devising programmes. The consequence was successful concluding that “ choice betterment enterprises placed a great accent on the leading of the administration ” ( Bezzina 2008:23 ) . Therefore, one can reason that holding DL in a school has a great impact on acquisition.

Harmonizing to Moyo, DL has an consequence on pupils ‘ larning through instructors, who are the closest leaders in contact with pupils and their acquisition ; “ But in order to accomplish this, instructors need to be involved and motivated by the leading, ” ( 2010:23 ) . Teachers holding a personal position of DL, aid kids to larn more. This is done by affecting them in leading pattern inside and outside the schoolroom. Brighouse and Woods ( 1999 ) note that even the type of teacher-student relationship has an influence on pupils ‘ acquisition. Furthermore, holding bossy leading manner in category does non assist in making a acquisition ambiance for pupils. The instructor with good pupil relationship encourages students to ne’er give up, and aim high in life for the hereafter.

As stated by Blase and Blase ( 1994 ) , instructors ‘ liberty is when they are free to make up one’s mind their ain ways and agencies, to transport out their work. In Malta, instructors ‘ liberty is largely linked with the schoolroom ; where they are free to plan their lesson programs, with their ain resources, while besides holding liberty to pupils ‘ control, which Blase and Blase ( 1994:73 ) name it “ disciplinary affairs ” . This sort of DL will besides act upon pupils ‘ acquisition.

Besides this type of liberty in the schoolroom, new methods and techniques should be tried and encouraged. This so called “ invention ” facilitates larning for all pupils, as instruction becomes non merely one size fits all, but adapted particularly to the students ‘ demands ( Blase and Blase 1994:75 ) through the administration of differentiated acquisition. In school, this entails teamwork, reinforces collegiality and sharing of the resources within. For instructors to better pupils ‘ acquisition, they must foremost portion their ideals with others and so work together towards that ideal. “ It is the occupation of the direction to convey those ideals together into common set of aims, ” ( Brighouse and Woods, 1999:54 ) .

Parents are considered as the first pedagogues, great subscribers of all facets of acquisition, and ever interested in assisting their kids to larn better. Wolfendale ( 1992:60 ) argues that, “ parents as pedagogues, can do a important part to kids ‘s acquisition of reading and literacy accomplishments ” . Furthermore, Leithwood et al argue that:

“ No affair what the pupil population, affecting parents chiefly in the instruction of their ain kids is most likely to lend to kids ‘s acquisition ” ( 2006a:102 ) .

The survey by HMI ( Her Majesty ‘s Inspectors ) showed that Parents ‘ engagement in schools, lead to pupils ‘ success ( 1991, cited in Wolfendale, 1992:56 ) . It ‘s interesting to analyze ways in which parents can assist both instructors and pupils in relation to acquisition. However, one must besides take note of the relationship that exists between parents and instructors and non do any occupation tampering.

Normally, we merely think of academic consequences when it comes to pupils ‘ acquisition. However, research shows that through their engagement in leading, pupils gain more cognition and get new accomplishments. These accomplishments are needed for their hereafter in society. Frost claims that pupils ‘ engagement in leading besides helps them get other non-academic accomplishments ; “ greater self-pride, heightened assurance, interpersonal and political accomplishments, and self-efficacy when pupils have chances to exert duty ” ( 2008:356 ) .

When given certain leading functions, pupils set their ain marks for larning through that experience ( Brighouse and Woods, 1999 ) , which might besides be of aid to other pupils. Brighouse and Woods ( 1999 ) argue that a instructor can give duty to pupils to assist those in demand in a certain affair. Through each other ‘s support, those that have less academic abilities will accomplish and larn more. Research shows that students have so much to state about their acquisition, and as such they should be consulted for the benefit of their acquisition, and the methodological analysis used by instructors in category ( Morgan, 2011 ) .

How effectual to the schools ‘ betterment and success can administer leading be?

Fink sees schools as “ populating systems ” where:

“ Leadership is distributed across the assorted cells that affect a school such as pupils, instructors, parents, brotherhoods, societal services, County Hall, and local communities ” . ( 2010:44 )

Bezzina ‘s survey carried out in a Maltese Church School revealed, that when instructors were involved in DL “ the bulk of staff felt responsible for finding the manner forward ” ( 2008:24 ) . He so concluded that school betterment and success can be achieved, “ with difficult work, forfeit and committedness expressed by the Head instructor, the senior leading squad, students, parents and instructors, ” ( Bezzina, 2008:26 ) . LIE maintains that when a policy ‘s determination devising procedure involves all stakeholders in a school including, SMT, instructors, pupils and parents ;

“ Then the values which are held beloved by the school will be on the route to success because they would hold been owned by all ” ( 2009:176 )

Brighouse and Woods ( 1999:45 ) confirm that research done in the yesteryear and once more recently by OFSTED shows that, “ leading in schools is the cardinal factor in betterment and success ” . They besides argue that,

“ A cardinal ingredient to school success is the extent to which the values of school life are shared among all the members of the community, ” ( Brighouse and Woods, 1999:55 )

Harmonizing to Telford ( 1995 ) coaction between all stakeholders within a school brings about school betterment. She argues that the following points which lead to school betterment impact both the persons within the school and the establishment itself ;

“ Development of the educational potency of pupils, professional development of instructors, good organisational wellness, institutionalization of vision ” ( Telford, 1995, cited in Bell and Harrison 1998:14 ) .

It is interesting to observe that it is much easier for principals to command ends instead than worlds. To derive control for the achievement of a end, leading must be shared ( Sergiovanni, 2006 ) . Little ( 1981, cited in Sergiovanni, 2006:186 ) found that when principals work through collegiality with instructors, the school will better. It is of importance to equalise the principal and instructors ‘ sentiments in a treatment, since no 1 should be preferred to the others as everyone is sharing from his/her ain cognition, for the school ‘s best involvement ( Blase and Blase, 1994 ) . Similarly, Nicholls ( 2000 ) argue that leading is best carried out when a figure of people holding the same values and purposes challenge each other for acquiring better consequences. In other words, one can state that school leading is best fulfilled when all those involved in the establishment, portion their ideas without being considered as superior to one another. Therefore, “ including group activity liberates leading and provides the model we need for widespread engagement in bettering schools ” ( Sergiovanni, 2006:186 ) .

In successful schools, when a argument crops up on school betterment, the staff should work on: “ Involving students, parents and governors ” ( Brighouse and Woods, 1999:83 ) . Likewise, Davies and Davies ( 2010 ) besides claim that it is important to affect others in school leading as it leads to school betterment and success. Furthermore, they say that:

“ Prosecuting all the staff in treatments about where the school is, where it needs to travel and therefore the accomplishments and cognition we need to larn to accomplish advancement is a uniting factor. ” ( Davies and Davies, 2010:15 )

Shared leading might convey about alterations which are required for school betterment to take topographic point. The best alteration is normally one generated from something or person within the school because it

“ Recharges energy in participants and embraces the greatest likeliness of betterment in instruction and acquisition manners, merely because it is so localized, ” ( Brighouse and Woods, 1999:60 ) .

Changes for school betterment are gained faster, when instructors are involved in the procedure of determination devising ( Bush, 1995 ) . Furthermore, Brighouse and Woods, ( 1999 ) argue that when alteration for school betterment is required, clip has to be allocated in the school ‘s journal, since the staff needs clip to work on the execution procedure. In their survey Leithwood et Al concluded that instructors consider their engagement in leading, as a measure for the school to be more “ effectual ” and “ advanced ” ( 1999:121 ) . Furthermore, when instructors are involved in the determination devising they are less likely to hold inauspicious reactions to principals ‘ outlooks.

Harmonizing to Dunford et Al ( 2000 ) when the determination doing process involves those who are closest to its impact it gives a positive attitude towards school betterment. In add-on, they say that if secondary schools want to be effectual, leading must be shared at least among senior staff. Furthermore, Sergiovanni ( 2006 ) emphasises that in schools where power is shared among principals, instructors, parents and others, work is done autonomously towards schools purposes for school betterment. Likewise, Nicholls ( 2000 ) claims, that a shared vision is indispensable for school betterment.

Trusting instructors through authorization may take principals to accomplish their coveted ends without enforcing them. “ Building trust is critical to authorising instructors, ” ( Blase and Blase, 1994:29 ) . They besides claim that this shows that the principal demonstrated great religion in them and valued them as experts and professionals, ” ( Blase and Blase, 1994:77 ) . Teachers involved in different leading functions are expected to work for the betterment of the decision-making procedure ( Leithwood et al, 1999 ) . This collegial procedure of affecting others in the determination devising procedure is exercised through treatment and shared power in the establishment.

“ In a collegial, collaborative environment, principals systematically concentrate on enabling others to analyze and redesign schools for improved acquisition, and instructors learn to portion power and work as a squad. ” ( Blase and Blase, 1994:33 )

Leithwood et Al ( 2007 ) concluded that when DL is implemented and when chances are offered, staff will be much more motivated to work towards school betterment.

From their research Leithwood et al established that:

“ Informal leaders had more involvement with making high-performance outlooks and actuating others than formal school leaders, while formal leaders had more to make with identifying and jointing a vision. ” ( 2007:57 )

With informal leaders we can include both parents and students. When pupils are at place most of them speak about their school experience with their siblings and through this parents get to cognize their ideas and feelings. Hence, parents might be another nexus between schools and kids. Parental engagement in schools may convey about alterations which will eventually take to school betterment. Similarly, Wolfendale argues that, “ parental sentiment can be mobilized to convey about important alterations ” ( 1992:63 ) .

Decision

“ School ‘s success lies in the accomplishments and attitudes of the professional staff, non simply within the leading capablenesss of the principal. ” ( Blase and Blase, 1994:28 )

Therefore DL is needed for growing and development because the Principal sometimes is in demand of other staff members to work out certain jobs. Harmonizing to Bezzina, DL “ calls for an extension of that power vertically downwards to affect all members of staff, ” ( 2000:305 ) . Furthermore, the concluding consequence of school success is a occupation that belongs to all stakeholders involved and non merely a Principal ‘s occupation. This is the purpose of this survey to look into the DL system in Sunflower school and eventually happen some recommendations to how it can be improved. As Mifsud suggests:

“ There could be infinite for more leading functions within the school and more enterprises by different stakeholders can be taken up, therefore widening the range for leading distribution. ” ( 2008:8 )

Therefore through sharing leading with all stakeholders in the establishment both school and acquisition will be enriched.

Engineers play a significant part in the development, prosperity and safety of people around the globe. The primary role of engineers is to identify/sense and respond to a need by constructing or creating a solution with certain specific guidelines. While it is the responsibility of engineers to develop such structures, it is also their responsibility that their creation serves the function in a proper manner, take all safety precautions while making it and give the safety directions to the users after handing it over.

Discussion

These structures, however, do not stay safe forever. No matter how safe a construction or a creation is, it reveals its failure after sometime. Eventually these failures lead to dire consequences some time. Engineers struggle all the time to avoid failures and make their solution safer and more efficient. Sometime mere lacking of professional ethics is the reason.

In UK, the seriousness of ethical issues, which arise in professional lives of engineers, has been recognized recently. However, in USA this has been recognized for some time. Their universities offer substantial guidance and support to their professionals. The Royal Academy of Engineering, in 2005, initiated the process and brought its publishing in the form of “Statement of Ethical Principles”, which outlines the specific ways in which engineers across UK are committed to upholding certain ethical values.

During the same time, UK Engineering Council amended its standards for chartered and incorporated engineers, in order to increase awareness of ethical issues. It appears that this has resulted in having a profound effect as many universities have incorporated ethical perspective in their studies.

Professional Engineers strive to develop solutions that improve the health and safety conditions for the welfare of society. The statement of Ethical Principles sets standards for professional Engineers (Statement of Ethical Principles. 2005). It presents four principles that guide engineers in their professional duties. It includes Accuracy and Rigour, Honesty and Integrity, Respect for life, Law and the Public Good, and Responsible Leadership.

Accuracy and Rigour means, Engineers have the responsibility to acquire and sustain the information relevant to their practices; they should also keep their knowledge up to date. It is also the responsibility to always act with care as their profession requires a strong commitment. They should only perform their services in the field of relevant competence. Since the technical knowledge, an Engineer can understand are not easy for the others, therefore, it is the duty of engineers to not knowingly mislead others as it can have dire consequences and therefore unethical.

Honesty and Integrity means; engineers should act with high standards of professional ethics. They should not accept any bribery or questionable payment from anyone. They should act in the best interest of employer, unless it is not in conflict with rights of the other party.

Respect for Life, Law and the Public Good, entails that engineers should be aware of relevant laws and regulations and should work accordingly. Conservation of nature and its resources should be a priority. They should act in the best manner that does not bring bad image to their profession.

Responsible Leadership involves practicing high level of standards and leadership in the management of technology. Provide awareness to the public. Listen to the concern of the society.

Adhering to these principles will bring good name to the profession and will make sure that it achieves what it is meant to be, welfare of society. However, we can have numerous examples from the past, of such negligence and improper conduct in this respected profession. In past successive accidents of railway occurred in UK, which were later fully investigated. These include the accident of Clapham Junction rail crash, on 12 December 1988.

35 people killed while 100 injured, when oncoming train ran into wreckage. Another on, 19 September 1997, Southall rail crash, killed 6 people and 150 injured. It occurred because of a collision with freight train. On 5 October 1999, Ladbroke Grove rail crash happened, when train passed the signal at danger and resulted in the head on collision, killed 21 while 523 injured. Investigation reports show that these could have been prevented by timely action of professional engineers. In America, a TV Antenna Tower collapsed in 1982, killing several people. Later investigation showed that safety measures were not taken as should have been (Uff, 2012, Pp13).

Conclusion

Engineering is a much respected profession. This respect demands responsibility. Adhering to rules but there arise ethical responsibilities too. However, if professional engineers stick to the four principles and apply them in their activities, it will surely add more value to this profession for sure.

Running Head: leadership techniques

Managers do things right, while leaders do the right thing.

[Name of writer]

[Name of institution]

Managers do things right, while leaders do the right thing

Thesis Statement

“Managers do things right, while leaders do the right thing”.

Introduction

“Leaders create and change cultures, while managers and administrators live within them.” (Edward Schein)

Managers do things right, while leaders do the right thing. Leader also sounds similar to the manager to the common man. But we know there are subtle differences. It takes a totally different approach to become a leader. These subtle differences create the difference that is visible in performances of organizations.

There have been many theories on leadership and management. Talking about whether a manager is born or developed, what styles are of management exist and which is appropriate. Also, what a leader does, where his/her power comes from. First of all we will differentiate between a leader and a manager. Then we will discuss some models and theories related to it.

Discussion

The role of a manager is to achieve goals effectively and efficiently, by planning, organizing, co-ordinating and controlling. The importance of time is immense. On the other hand, leaders create and communicate a vision, then energise their followers towards achieving that vision. Leaders create a culture of shared values, beliefs and rituals to challenge the status quo. Managers use position authority to make subordinates work towards goals. While leaders motivate and inspire their followers to achieve their goals.

Today the trait theory (born leaders) is criticized more. It is argued that even leadership has different styles, which are learned with experience rather than born traits (Daft, 2003, Pp.518). Ashridge Management College did research and found four major classifications of management styles. Tells, sells, consults, join. In tell style, the manager is autocratic, making a decision and imposing it on others. In sell style, manager still makes a decision on self like basis, but try to explain the logic behind it. In consult style, manager makes decision but in consultation with his/her subordinates. The most democratic style is join style, where manager himself becomes part of the team that makes joint decisions, and also claims the responsibility of that decision afterwards.

Research indicates managers are generally thought to be having told or sell style. While employees prefer consult style. Choosing which style is more appropriate, depends on several factors. Contingency approach by Charles Handy suggests that four factors need to be understood to answer this question. The environment, task or people, trust or control, liking or respect (Schermerhorn 2012, Pp.266). Each particular combination of these factors results in a different situation and, therefore, requires a different tailored approach of management towards it (Robbins & Judge, 2010, Pp.393).

Michigan and Harvard identified two basic types of leaders. Task oriented and people or relation oriented leaders. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages. Ohio state research suggests that task orientation and people orientation can be achieved simultaneously; they are not mutually exclusive. Blake’s management grid proves this research by suggesting rather than asking a question that a manager should be task or people oriented; ask to what extent a manager should be task and people oriented (Daft, 2003, Pp.522).

Managers and leaders differ in their approaches towards performing similar tasks. The approach of management is routine in nature. They like to work under conditions of certainty, strive to gain as much information as they gain, take relatively less risk. Leaders on the hand challenge the status quo. They talk about changing the culture and create followers with their motivation and persuasions skills. Leaders create a shared culture towards achieving the vision that followers own.

Conclusion

Who is best, a leader or manager is, however, a question depending on what needs to be accomplished. If it is a routine or not so dynamic environment, then decision tilts in favour towards manager. While if it involves dealing with changing and fluctuating situation with lots of risk involved then it will require the initiative approach of a leader.

The practice of management and the classical enunciation of management principles can be traced to the 19th century. The development of management as an academic discipline based on a body of knowledge that can be taught is a recent development and is generally attributed to the work of Peter F. Trucker in the latter half of the 20th century. That body of knowledge is taught in graduate schools of business and in programs that prepare managers of public health departments, programs, and health services organizations, such as hospitals, clinics, and long-term care facilities.

This chapter provides a basic introduction to management theory and problem solving, and concludes with a brief discussion of negotiation and alternative dispute resolution. Managers are persons who are formally appointed to positions of authority In organizations. They enable others to do their work and are accountable too higher authority for work results. Primarily, the differences between levels of managers are the degree of authority and the scope of their accountability for work results. Line managers manage people and things; staff managers, such as the human resources department and the fiscal office, support the work of line managers.

Management Functions and Decision Making The five management functions of planning, organizing, controlling, directing, and staffing are brought to Fife and connected by decision making, which is itself a subset of the essential process for managers that is known as problem solving. Little that managers at all levels in an organization do falls outside the purview of the five management functions. Management theorists and practitioners may choose one or two of the five functions as most Important, but this Is not borne out normatively. When one considers the full range of what managers do (or should do) as they reform their work. Incineration on a few to the exclusion or diminution of the others will invariably cause problems for the organization. Decision making Is an inherent activity of managers, and they make decisions within and among the five management functions. Problem analysis. Performance of the management functions and the decision making of problem solving should be evaluated using explicit and measurable criteria. In addition to engaging in the five management functions, managers must utilize specific skills, play various roles, and evidence a number of competencies.

Managing and Leading Some theorists and academicians distinguish managers and leaders, based on the view that managing is more creating and maintaining status quo (transactional) whereas leading is more visionary and dynamic (transformational). That distinction may be more important pedagogically than in practical application, however, especially at the organization’s operating level. Senior managers must ensure effective current organizational activities and that an organization’s future is envisioned. Using this vision, the organization can be transformed as needed.

As they work to achieve organizational objectives, managers use technical, ancestral, and interpersonal skills. These skills are applied in various proportions, depending on the manager’s task and level in the organizational hierarchy. Usually, senior managers make greater use of conceptual skills, whereas middle- and entry level managers use a more even mix of the three. The research of Henry Integer found that managers have different roles, the general categories of which include interpersonal, informational, and decisional. Each may be segmented.

For example, the interpersonal role includes figurehead and influencer, informational includes monitor and spokesperson, and the decisional role includes entrepreneur and negotiator. Successful managers integrate these various roles and are likely to engage in them without making a clear distinction. Another way to understand managers’ work is to identify their competencies, some of which are found in the categorization discussed earlier. Conceptual, technical managerial/clinical, interpersonal/collaborative, political, commercial, and governance competencies are used in different proportions by managers at various levels of the organization.

I will say on the front end that, in my opinion, leadership is a dynamic and complex process, and that much of what is written these days tends to over-simplify this recess. My goal here is to provide an overview that keeps things simple, without crossing into over-simplification, and for the most part refraining from any critiquing This theory postulates that people are either born or not born with the qualities that predispose them to success in leadership roles. That is, that certain inherited qualities, such as personality and cognitive ability, are what underlie effective leadership.

There have been hundreds of studies to determine the most important leadership traits, and while there is always going to be some disagreement, intelligence, sociability, and drive (aka determination) are consistently cited as key qualities. Skills Theory This theory states that learned knowledge and acquired skills/abilities are significant factors in the practice of effective leadership. Skills theory by no means disavows the connection between inherited traits and the capacity to be an effective leader – it simply argues that learned skills, a developed style, and acquired knowledge, are the real keys to leadership performance.

It is of course the belief that skills theory is true that warrants all the effort and resources devoted to leadership training and placement Situational Theory This theory suggests that different situations require different styles of leadership. That is, to be effective in leadership requires the ability to adapt or adjust one’s style to the circumstances of the situation. The primary factors that determine how to adapt are an assessment of the competence and commitment of a leader’s followers.

The assessment of these factors determines if a leader should use a more directive or supportive style. Contingency Theory This theory states that a leader’s effectiveness is contingent on how well the leader’s Tyler matches a specific setting or situation. And how, you may ask, is this different from situational theory? In situational the focus is on adapting to the situation, whereas contingency states that effective leadership depends on the degree of fit between a leader’s qualities and style and that of a specific situation or context.

Path-Goal Theory This theory is about how leaders motivate followers to accomplish identified objectives. It postulates that effective leaders have the ability to improve the motivation of followers by clarifying the paths and removing obstacles to high performance and desired objectives. The underlying beliefs of path-goal theory (grounded in expectancy theory) are that people will be more focused and motivated if they believe they are capable of high performance, believe their effort will result in desired outcomes, and believe their work is worthwhile.

Transformational Theory This theory states that leadership is the process by which a person engages with others and is able to create a connection that results in increased motivation and leadership that espouses that leaders with certain qualities, such as confidence, extroversion, and clearly stated values, are best able to motivate followers. The key in transformational leadership is for the leader to be attentive to the needs and motives of followers in an attempt to help them reach their maximum potential.

In addition, transformational leadership typically describes how leaders can initiate, develop, and implement important changes in an organization. This theory is often discussed in contrast with transactional leadership. Transactional Theory This is a theory that focuses on the exchanges that take place between leaders and followers. It is based in the notion that a leader’s Job is to create structures that aka it abundantly clear what is expected of his/her followers and also the consequences (I. E. Rewards and punishments) for meeting or not meeting these expectations. This theory is often likened to the concept and practice of management and continues to be an extremely common component of many leadership models and organizational structures. Servant Leadership Theory This conceptualization of leadership reflects a philosophy that leaders should be servants first. It suggests that leaders must place the needs of followers, customers, and the community ahead of their own interests in order to be effective.

The idea of servant leadership has a significant amount of popularity within leadership circles – but it is difficult to describe it as a theory inasmuch as a set of beliefs and values that leaders are encouraged to embrace. ASSESSMENT OF THE CHALLENGES OF LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT PRACTICE The Leadership Assessment Center can be used to measure many of the leadership competencies that serve as the foundation for Mom’s Executive Core Qualifications. Exercises can be mixed and matched with relative ease to meet agency-specific requirements.

During the assessments, the candidate assumes the role of a leader n a fictitious government agency. The assessment is designed to approximate the “look” and “feel” of a typical day in the life of a Federal Government supervisor, manager, or executive. Four types of exercises are currently available: * Individual Exercise. The individual exercise is designed to assess problem solving, decision making, flexibility, interpersonal skills, oral communication, and other related competencies.

The candidate must quickly and efficiently sort through a variety of materials and determine the best course of action to complete the assigned task. * Group Exercise. The group interaction is designed to assess interpersonal skills, conflict management, team building, oral communication, and other related competencies. Several candidates work as a group to resolve a problem within a specified period of time. * Strategic Analysis Exercise. The strategic analysis exercise is designed to assess strategic thinking, vision, and other related competencies.

The candidate must evaluate available information and determine the best course of action in response to a strategic planning situation facing the agency. High visibility, rapid response activities prevalent in a manager’s workday. These exercises measure decisiveness, flexibility, and other related competencies. Participants receive feedback on leadership competencies for all five PM Aces based on performance in the assessment exercises. The Leadership Assessment Center is an ideal tool for use in leader selection and selection into Candidate Development Programs or other agency leadership development programs.

MANAGEMENT PRACTICES The formal organizational structure that managers design and implement provides important information about the planned interrelationships among its several elements. Within the formal structure, however, is the informal “organization,” which consists of the numerous interpersonal relationships that develop outside the formal relationships established in the formal organization and that reflect the wishes and preferences of the people who work in the organization.

The informal organization is characterized by dynamic behavior and activity patterns that occur within the formal organizational structure of people working together. These interactions and relationships arise spontaneously, but they are usually stable over time. Informal roofs give their members relief from monotony and boredom, offer interaction with persons having similar values, and allow achievement of a level of status that may be absent in formal relationships. Leaders emerge within informal groups.

As is true with leaders of formal groups, leaders of informal group initiate action, resolve differences of opinion and conflicts, and communicate values to nonmembers. Informal groups are most helpful to the formal organization when they blend with it. Other positive aspects include providing a level of flexibility while still meeting organization goals, providing social values and stability to the organization, allowing more general supervision, and facilitating communication. Effective managers understand and use informal groups to benefit the organization.

Combined, the formal and informal organizations are the actual organization. Managers ignore informal groups and informal leaders at their peril. ANALYSIS OF THE KEY MOTIVATIONAL THEORIES AND HOW THEY INFLUENCE ORGANIZATIONAL SUCCESS The value system of an organization can also be called an organizational philosophy – the ethical context in which goods and services are rendered. Ethics audits are an important tool managers can use to “biopsy’ the organization’s value system. These audits are comprised of staff surveys; observations of staff/patient interaction; and reviews of staff recruitment, selection and training.

Audits provide an understanding of the culture so that culture’s values can be moved in the desired direction. Managers are Judged by their organizations’ performance. The way managers set standards, coordinate and integrate workups, make decisions, and design the organizations affect performance. In addition, it is patently clear from research and Reuters the organization’s goals. These values are expressed in explicit and implicit ways by managers and are expected to be present in the work of all members of the staff. Managers must model appropriate behavior.

It is logical to conclude that an organization in which all staff understand the desired values and incorporate them into their work lives will achieve its goals more effectively. EVALUATION OF THE ROLE OF LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT IN EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION As a manager in a company, you must find ways to motivate your employees in order to encourage productivity and ensure Job satisfaction. A manager cannot force an employee to be successful at his Job, but he can motivate him with fair treatment, proper incentives and adequate compensation. It is the role of management to lead by example and motivate employees to do their best.

Combine Work Goals with Employee Goals As a manager, you can motivate your employees by making sure your work goals align with their work goals. This requires strategic planning and communication because you must let your employees know exactly what you expect from them. If they do not have standards and goals to meet, you will feel frustrated by their lack of efficiency ND they will feel frustrated by their failed efforts to please you. Misunderstanding of goals leads to disappointment and failure–the opposite of the motivating forces you are striving to create.

Understand What Motivates Each Employee Managers must understand exactly what motivates each employee in their company. Some are motivated by money and benefits; some are motivated by praise; and others are motivated by work-life balance. As a manager, you must assess each employee’s work responsibilities and underlying motivations. An employee analysis requires you to meet with each employee individually to discuss their work-related series. Most employees appreciate a manager’s sincere interest in their lives.

Lead by Example One of the best things you can do as a manager to motivate your employees is to lead by example. If you are lazy, prone to procrastination or allow your temper to flare, you will likely get the same behavior from your employees. If you want to motivate your employees to pursue excellence in their Job responsibilities, behave how you would like them to behave. Speak kindly, show respect and give praise where it is due. Create a Fair System Fairness is an important motivating factor in the workplace. You must create a fair yester of incentives, rewards and benefits that encourages your employees to work hard.

As an employer, you can never show favoritism. Incorporate fair compensation programs, employee performance evaluations and consistent policies into your ANALYSIS OF THE CONTRIBUTION OF PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES AS ORGANIZATIONAL PROCESSES What’s an Organizational Performance System? Organizational learning and knowledge management might be interpreted more as movements than organization performance strategies because there are wide interpretations of the concepts, not all of which include focusing on achieving top- bevel organizational results.

However, if these two concepts are instilled across the organization and focus on organizational results, they contribute strongly to organizational performance. On the other hand, the Balanced Scorecard, which is deliberately designed to be comprehensive and focused on organizational results, will not improve performance if not implemented from a strong design. For example, a large organization with highly standardized processes (such as a manufacturing company with assembly lines) can carry out numerous and ongoing measurements in a straightforward fashion.

It also has extensive resources to induct the measurements and analyze results. SISSIES certification is a strong enhancement to a company’s image. Therefore, the organization might pursue SISSIES certification, including through use of continuous improvements in an overall Total Quality Management approach. The organization may establish numerous benchmarks for comparison to other organizations in the industry to get perspective on how well the organization is doing, what results to pursue, etc.

On the other hand, a risk management company specializing in consultation to protect against terrorism, has a bigger challenge to identify and track performance exults. Management might believe, for example, that the organization’s means for delivery of services are well out-of-date and that the organization is no longer resourced to advise organizations about increasing threats from terrorism that exist today. Therefore, the risk management company may choose to use business process reengineering to completely redesign their organization from the ground up.

Prominent Organizational Performance Improvement Models (Systems). The following descriptions are general and brief. Follow the link to get more information about each of the approaches. There certainly are other approaches than those listed below for a planned, comprehensive approach to increasing organizational performance. It may very well be that the vast majority of approaches used in organizations are highly customized to the nature of the organizations, and therefore not publicized or formalized in management literature.

Balanced Scorecard: Focuses on four indicators, including customer perspective, internal-business processes, learning and growth and financial, to monitor progress toward organization’s strategic goals Benchmarking: Using standard measurements n a service or industry for comparison to other organizations in order to gain standard benchmarks for universities, hospitals, etc. In and of itself, this is not an overall comprehensive process assured to improve performance; rather the results from benchmark comparisons can be used in more overall processes. Benchmarking is often perceived as a quality initiative.

Business Process Reengineering: Aims to increase performance by radically re- designing the organization’s structures and processes, including by starting over from the ground up. Continuous Improvement: Focuses on improving customer distractions through continuous and incremental improvements to processes, including by removing unnecessary activities and variations. Continuous improvement is often perceived as a quality initiative. Cultural Change: Cultural change is a form of organizational transformation, that is, radical and fundamental form of change. Cultural change involves changing the basic values, norms, beliefs, etc. Among members of the organization. SISSIES: Is an internationally recognized standard of quality, and includes guidelines to accomplish the SISSIES standard. Organizations can be optionally audited to earn SISSIES certification. Another major quality standard is the Baldric Award. SISSIES is a quality initiative. Knowledge Management: Focuses on collection and management of critical knowledge in an organization to increase its capacity for achieving results. Knowledge management often includes extensive use of computer technology. In and of itself, this is not an overall comprehensive process assured to improve performance.

Its effectiveness toward reaching overall results for the organization depends on how well the enhanced, critical knowledge is applied in the organization. Learning Organization: Focuses on enhancing organizations systems (including people) to increase an organization’s capacity for performance. Includes extensive use of principles of systems theory. In and of itself, this is not an overall comprehensive process assured to improve performance. Its effectiveness toward reaching overall results for the organization depends on how well the enhanced ability to learn is applied in the organization.

Management by Objectives (MOB): Aims to align goals and subordinate objectives throughout the organization. Ideally, employees get strong input to identifying their objectives, time lines for completion, etc. Includes ongoing tracking and feedback in process to reach objectives. Mob’s are often perceived as a form of planning. Outcome-Based Evaluation (particularly for nonprofits): Outcomes-based evaluation is increasingly used, particularly by nonprofit organizations, to assess the impact of their services and products on their target communities.

The process includes identifying preferred outcomes to accomplish with a certain target market, associate indicators as measures for each of those outcomes and then carry out the measures Program Evaluation: Program evaluation is used for a wide variety of applications, e. G. , to increase efficiencies of program processes and thereby cut costs, to assess if program goals were reached or not, to quality programs for accreditation, etc. Strategic Planning: Organization-wide process to identify strategic direction, including vision, mission, values and overall goals.

Direction is pursued by implementing associated action plans, including multi-level goals, objectives, time lines and responsibilities. Strategic planning is, of course, a form of planning. Total Quality Management (TTS): Set of management practices throughout the organization to ensure the organization consistently meets or exceeds customer requirements. Strong focus on process measurement and controls as means of continuous improvement. TTS is a quality initiative.

ANALYSIS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF TEAMS Traditionally, a team goes through five stages of development. Each stage of team development presents its own special challenges to a group of people striving to work together successfully by forming a cohesive team. The team and the organization can take specific actions at each stage of team development to support he team’s success in accomplishing the team mission. At each stage, the behavior of the leader must be adapted to the changing and developing needs of the group.

The model used was first developed by Dry. Bruce TCPMAN who published his four stages of team development: the Forming, Storming, Morning, and Performing model, in 1965. Dry. TCPMAN seems to have added a fifth stage, Adjourning, during the sass. Stages of Team Development Model Forming: a group of people come together to accomplish a shared purpose. Storming: Disagreement about mission, vision, and approaches combined with the fact that Emma members are getting to know each other can cause strained relationships and conflict.

Morning: The team has consciously or unconsciously formed working relationships that are enabling progress on the team’s objectives. Performing: Relationships, team processes, and the team’s effectiveness in working on its objectives are syncing to bring about a successfully functioning team. Transforming: The team is performing so well that members believe it is the most successful team they have experienced; or Ending: The team has completed its mission or purpose and it is time for team members to pursue other goals or projects.

Not every team moves through these stages in order and various activities such as adding a new team member can send the team back to earlier stages. The length of time necessary for progressing through these stages depends on the experience of the members, the support the team receives and the knowledge and skill of the team members. These are the twelve specific factors that must be present for a team to succeed. Team Leadership A lack of leadership is often seen as a roadblock to a team’s performance.

As Stewart and Mans (1995, p. 748) writes, “More specifically, work team management or prevision is often identified as a primary reason why self-management teams fail to properly develop and yield improvements in productivity, quality, and quality of life for for American workers. ” Rather than focusing on ineffective teams, Larson and Alfalfa (1989) looked in the opposite direction by interviewing excellent teams to gain insights as to what enables them to function to a high degree.

Leadership mind and heart: In today’s organizational environment it is difficult for leaders to keep employees grounded, focused, and motivated toward accomplishing positive goals. This has certainly been a major issue for the recent turmoil at the Walt Disney Company. Eisner ruled Disney with an iron fist; details of every business element had to be run through him for a decision to be made.

While this old organization paradigm worked in the past to create a strong organization; it is not fending well to take the organization into the 21st century. Organizations of the 21st century are looking for leaders that support change, promote employee empowerment, enhance collaboration, relish diversity, and expect leaders to have a higher purpose, while also being humble about their role. Iger has a large job ahead to prove to the organization that he can and will be all of these things to them.

Iger is going to need to provide a direction for the organization to travel; create an alignment of all the top management through a clear communication of the vision; create relationships based on personal influence; and above all, to have a genuine passion for the work and a genuine concern for the people of the organization. Iger’s capacity for mind and heart will be the ultimate key to expanding and growing the organization to reach the desired vision. The key issues are to give people a sense of meaning and purpose; make employees feel valued and respected; while keeping morale and motivation high in the face of change.

Emotional intelligence is a persons ability to perceive, identify, understand, and successfully manage emotions in ones self and in others. Good leaders can harness and direct the power of emotions to improve follower satisfaction, morale, and motivation, as well as enhance the overall organizational effectiveness. There are four fundamental categories to emotional intelligence; self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. Self-awareness is the ability to recognize and understand your own emotions and how they affect you. Self-management is the ability to control your own emotions.

Social awareness is the ability to understand others emotions. This requires viewing and interacting from different points of view to effectively interact with divergent people and groups. Relationship management is the ability to connect with others and build relationships. Effective leaders are able to perform high in all four categories. Eisner was so focused on himself that he was unable to be open to different points of view; without this area of accomplishment he would have never been able to build relationships with other people in the organization.

Iger has already begun to show his ability to perform and create these relationships by attempting to mend the fences Eisner had torn down. Eisner created an environment that was distrustful and lacked respect for creative ideas. These elements created fear within the organization that prevented employees from doing their best, being willing to take risks, and from challenging the status quo. This bureaucratic style is what tended to anger Pixar, Miramax, Roy Disney, and Stanley Gold. Disney was built on creativity, Iger needs to bring that trust and creativity back to the organization in order for productivity to gain strength.

Disney will need the creativity of the employees to help the organization develop a new market for the digital consumers. Moral leadership: Eisner was not concerned with his top management’s abilities to be leaders to their employees. He wanted employees to follow his decisions and report all information to him in order for him to make a decision. This left the employees with little empowerment. In order for Iger to encourage change he needs to be able to develop leaders out of his management team; ones that will be encouraged to develop their potential rather than control or limit them.

Thus Iger will transcend to serve the needs of others, help others grow and develop, and provide opportunity for others to gain materially and emotionally. Leadership involves being able to move followers toward a realization of the organizations vision. The proper direction and high standards should be inherent in the leader; they need to walk the talk. If the leaders’ actions and behaviors are inconsistent, they will lose the trust and respect from their followers; failing to attain the organizational vision.

This callous neglect compromises the moral values of the organization and creates an atmosphere of moral cynicism. Morally good acts have three key elements; the objective act itself; the subjective motive of the actor, and the situation in which the act is done. Organizational leaders can only be truly effective if they are motivated by the concern for others. Thus it is important for a leader, especially Iger, to have altruistic values. These values will enable the followers of Iger to clearly perceive that he is trustworthy and has the expertise and capacity to persevere in the effort needed to realize the vision.

Eisner broke the trust of not only the employees within the organization; but also the relationship between the organization and its strategic business partners. Once a trust is broken it is difficult for that trust to be rebuilt. Iger has a lot of construction to perform in order to create a cohesive house for the Disney vision to grow. Motivation and empowerment: Part of a leader’s job is to channel followers’ motivation toward the accomplishment of the organizations vision and goals.

Leaders that rely on motivation theories; such as the Spiritual Leadership Theory, help to satisfy their followers needs and simultaneously encourage high work performance. Disney, under Eisner’s influence, has been stuck in the “Carrot-and-Stick” mode of follower motivation. They have prided themselves on using monetary rewards as motivators for work productivity. This reward system creates diminishing intrinsic rewards and destroys the organizations motivation to work as a group. Employees need to feel good about the work they are performing.

The most significant way to reach this goal is to create empowerment, shifting the power down from the top and sharing it amongst all the employees. Iger needs to focus on an environment that encourages people to find value, importance, and meaning in their work; creating intrinsic rewards. Employees that feel they are part of something become highly motivated and committed to the success of the organization. These elements lead to spiritual leadership; by incorporating calling and membership as key elements to a followers need for spiritual survival within the organization (Fry, 2003).

Leadership power and influence: Iger understands the importance of communication and building relationships; these elements help bridge the organization towards a unified vision. In order for Iger to accomplish this bridge he must take the role of CEO beyond the political leadership reference of Eisner. Eisner had the mind-set that the organization was a jungle and in order to navigate through it you had to emphasize coalition building and resource allocations. The danger out of this creates power plays for mere self-interest.

Board members and top management were used to create coalitions to sway Eisner over to their side of the situation. Iger will need to move beyond this leadership style towards one focused on a symbolic frame. Through the symbolic frame, Iger should see the organization as having spiritual meaning to the employees; he should emphasize the organizational vision, culture, and values; while being a model of inspiration. A clear part of the organization vision was creativity; over the years many employees feel they have been forced to squash their creativity.

Iger needs to focus on harnessing the desires and dreams of the employees for the benefit of the entire organization. The only way for this to be accomplished is for Iger to emulate a referent power. Referent power comes from the leaders’ personality characteristics that command followers’ identification, respect, and admiration so they will be inclined to emulate the values of their leader. Strategic leadership, vision, culture, and values: One issue that has made Eisner weak in terms of a leader has been the inability to provide a vision for the future.

Good leaders are constantly looking forward, setting a course for the future of the organization to move in the same direction. Strategic leadership is the ability to anticipate and envision the future, maintain flexibility, think strategically, and work with others to initiate change that will create a competitive advantage for the organization. Eisner has not been willing to step outside of his box to be open to other ideas. An organizational vision gives employees a view of the future and something to believe in, that can realistically be achieved.

Iger needs to create a compelling enough vision that it will provide a link to the future while motivating employees, providing meaning to their work, and setting a standard of excellence and integrity within the organization. The vision has the ability to encourage hope and faith within the employees. Hope and faith allow the employee to believe that they can be effective, there is a better future, and they can use their own commitment and actions to achieve that desired future. Under Eisner’s influence there was little cohesiveness or agreement on the way to accomplish things; this had an overall weakening effect on the organization.

Culture within the organization serves to integrate its members so they can relate to one another, while also helping the organization to adapt to the external environment. Through Eisner’s weak culture there was a lack of teamwork, collaboration, and mutual trust. Without these elements it is increasingly difficult for employees to share innovation or creativity. With the lack of defined goals and values for the organization, Disney has been unable to meet the increasing threats from competitors as well as being able to work cohesively with strategic business partners. Disney has been stuck in the realm of a bureaucratic culture.

Therefore, Iger needs to help the organization transcend to an adaptability culture. Through the adaptability culture employees have autonomy to make decisions; where leaders encourage and reward creativity, experimentation, and risk-taking. Changing culture within an organization takes time and dedication. Iger will need to embrace a strong vision to help lead Disney toward a healthier organizational culture. Identification and Evaluation of Alternatives Keep the status quo, change nothing. There are several choices for Iger when identifying and evaluating alternatives.

The first is to make no changes, keep the status quo. Keeping the status quo is one option that Iger can consider. This would mean Disney would remain operating in a bureaucratic culture with a lack of shared vision, communication issues, and unempowered employees. Even though this is an option for Iger, it is not a recommended solution for Disney. The company needs changes, including a shared vision and integration, in order to be competitive and a leader in family entertainment. Create empowered business divisions, through the development of a learning organization built on spiritual leadership.

Another option that Iger needs to evaluate is how to create motivation and creativity within the employees. He needs to find a way to channel the employees’ motivation toward the accomplishment of the organization’s vision and goals. To do this, Iger needs to rely on the Spiritual Leadership Theory, creating a new reward system with intrinsic rewards by creating empowerment for the employees. Moving towards a learning environment means replacing the centralized, standardized, and formalized fear-led bureaucracy. This is accomplished by creating an organization that is flat, team-based, flexible, and diversified.

Learning organization require the empowerment of the employees in order for them to be effective. Empowering the employees will intrinsically create a sense of responsibility that will inspire motivation and creativity both within and among them. While creating the intrinsic reward system, Iger must also remember to address the extrinsic rewards, so as to have a continuum and no break in the rewards system. This will help him to not lose employees commitment in the shift from extrinsic to intrinsically based rewards. Change the bureaucratic culture to one focused on adaptability.

Changing the culture of Disney is an important alternative for Iger’s consideration. Disney, under Eisner, maintained a non-cohesive, unempowered, bureaucratic culture. Iger needs to consider shifting the culture. Transcending from a bureaucratic to an adaptability culture can be the key element to the success of both Iger and Disney. In shifting the culture, Iger must take time in order to keep a focus on the goals and vision of the company, and maintaining control of communication and creativity. Iger needs to imitate a symbolic frame by being a model of inspiration.

He also needs to emulate referent power to create a sense of empowerment and cohesiveness within the Disney culture. Focusing on these aspects, transcending to the adaptable culture could be a smooth transition, thus keeping motivation and intrinsic rewards of the employees high. Allowing the employees empowerment within the organization will facilitate the changing culture, providing Disney with an integrated, adaptable community. Expand the Disney brand to new markets to increase visibility. Iger should also evaluate the possibilities of expanding the Disney brand to new markets, increasing visibility.

This would mean focusing not only on expansion of operations and growth, but also the need for new products and animation. The benefits involved in expanding include increased profits and market share. It would mean relying on Iger’s leadership power and influence to bring in new business partners and agreements with foreign companies and countries. The problems with expanding are that the organization is already having trouble with increased competitor market share through the company’s lack of creativity and innovation.

However, with the company’s vast resources, Iger should be able to use intrinsic rewards to influence employee motivation for creativity and innovation of new products. He also has the financial benefits of being able to quickly expand into new markets ahead of his competitors. Recommended Alternative Change the culture, while adapting to the strategic leadership creating empowerment and employee commitment, needed to expand brands and increase visibility. In selecting an alternative, Iger would do best in choosing to change the culture at Disney.

By transcending the organization from a bureaucratic to an adaptability culture, Iger will be able to create a learning organization, moving away from a vertical structure to a flat horizontal structure. During this process, he will be able to address the issues of empowering the employees and creating an integrated, collaborative strategy, which will aid in creating motivation and creativity among the employees. There are several elements of empowerment that must be achieved for employees to experience this fulfillment. Empowered teams need to receive information about organizational performance.

Employees must receive knowledge and skills to contribute to organizational goals. Employees need to have the power to make substantive decisions. Employees should understand the meaning and impact of their job. Employees are rewarded based upon organizational performance. Empowerment allows Iger to use spiritual leadership abilities to channel the employees’ motivation towards the accomplishments of the organization’s goals and vision, and to create a performance-based reward system. In changing the culture, Iger will be able to incorporate the benefits of all the alternatives.

Otherwise, if he were to opt to focus on just one of the alternatives; keeping the status quo, creating motivation and creativity, or expanding the brand to new markets, he would not be able to address all of the issues of the organization, especially the most important, a unified vision within an adaptable culture. By addressing a change in culture, each of the other alternatives is addressed and will contribute to the main goal of creating a shared vision and adaptable culture. Implementation and Conclusion Implementing the alternative will take time and a good strategic plan.

First, Iger will need to create a sense of urgency for change with the board of directors and top executives, which should take one to two months. Once they realize the need for a changed culture and shared vision, Iger must focus on commitment to the change. He will need to take 3 to 4 months to guide employees by using teamwork to create the shared commitment, starting with top management and the directors. He will need their support and involvement to be successful in the ongoing changes. The next step for Iger will be to develop a compelling vision and strategy.

The employees will rely on Iger to guide them through the changes he envisions for the organization. They will need him to create “a picture of a highly desirable future” to motivate them to change (Thomson 638). This development should take 6 months but will be ongoing throughout the changes. Once the vision and strategy are developed, they will need to be widely communicated to the employees. Iger and the top executives should set an example for employees by being role models of the new culture. They should constantly communicate the changes they are envisioning for the company in order for the transformation to be successful.

This communication should take a year, while remaining ongoing throughout the transformation. Empowering the employees to act on the vision will be the next key element in staging the cultural change. This will include providing them with the resources, knowledge, and discretion to make changes toward achieving the vision while removing obstacles to change. These elements will enable the employees with empowerment, leading to motivation and creative improvements. It will also enable short-term accomplishments which will create momentum towards changing the vision and facilitating the intrinsic rewards system.

This process towards short-term accomplishments should be given 1 to 2 years to achieve, before being able to move on to the next step of tackling bigger issues and greater change, which should occur between years 3 and 4 of the process. This step will enable the organizational changes to remain in place, thus completing the permanent change in Disney’s culture at year 5 to 6 of the process. Therefore, the organization, under Iger’s direction and leadership, should complete the change from a bureaucratic to an adaptability culture in the timeframe of 7 to 8 years at a minimum.

Evolving business climate includes vast transformations in the perception of organizational leadership, managerial functions, and human resource strategy. Corporate management faces more challenges in the form of changing corporate relations and increasing global influences that have set a new pattern in managing people and businesses. The traditional autocratic leadership style in management has given to a more humane and softer leadership approach that is based on employee empowerment and evolution of self managed teams.

This provides the employees with the authority and responsibility to respond to customer requests. An essential pre-requisite for such leadership practices is ongoing training and development workshops for the employees that assist them in analyzing situations and resolving problems at the operational front. The ability to manage changes within the organization is essential for successful implementation of business expansion strategies. Effects of globalization, advances in technology, and mushrooming multinational companies directly impact the business environment.

The IBM study on Making Change Work observes that effective leadership, employee involvement, open and timely communication, corporate culture that motivates and promotes change, effective training programs, efficient organization structure, and performance incentives are some of the critical factors that assist in successful change management. Cooke (2008) emphasizes that the softer touch to change management in the form of participative leadership practice can lend a supportive hand to the whole exercise. “Business might need a hard nose, but it also requires a soft heart to make change happen.

A successful change leader knows which organ to use and when” (Cooke, 2008). “Change leaders with participative leadership styles are more likely to have successful projects. A strong culture of empowerment and delegation of decision making power distributes responsibility for change throughout the organization” (IBM, 2008). The IBM report emphasizes that the leaders should set the direction of change by establishing clearly defined goals and vision that has to be communicated across all levels and “dedicating the right resources to the change effort.

” The next step should employee engagement through the practice of employee empowerment that allows the workforce to be involved in the change process. A two way communication is most critical in the organizational change process. This helps in building trust and reducing resistance to change by communicating strategies and gaining commitment from the workforce. Improved communication can help in motivating employees, reduce employee resistance, and pursue change mechanism effectively.

But it needs to be understood that the communication process is not simply conveying the message. It is a two-way process that needs interaction between the two parties. The management and the employees need to interact on how the plan is going to take shape and what are best possible ways to minimize risks and hurdles in the process. Giving the employees a chance to participate in management decisions not only makes them feel valuable but also ensures their support and enthusiasm in the whole process. Another vital ingredient for successful communication process is consistency.

The management policies need to be consistent in their approach to instill trust and confidence in the employees. The whole purpose of selling change to the employees will be lost if the employees do not have confidence or trust in their company management. It should be noted that effective communication needs clarity, consistency, and reinforcement. Effective communication includes various strategies that can create an impact on the team. “The leader must take a point of highlighting the successes within a team, using charts or graphs, with little presentations and fun ideas” (Fenton, 1990).

Growing complexities within the business environment has created greater need for knowledge and understanding of the operating environment that affects the profitability and growth of the organization. Evolving business climate includes vast transformations in the perception of organizational leadership, managerial functions, and human resource strategy. Corporate management faces more challenges in the form of changing corporate relations and increasing global influences that have set a new pattern in managing people and businesses.

The traditional autocratic leadership style in management has given to a more humane and softer leadership approach that “empowers self managed teams to manage themselves” (Nickels, 2008). This provides the employees with the authority and responsibility to respond to customer requests. An essential pre-requisite for such leadership practices is ongoing training and development workshops for the employees that assist them in analyzing situations and resolving problems at the operational front. A company in order to harness its strengths and core competencies to gain competitive edge must be able to identify them.

One of the primary challenges facing the recruiter is to identify the key skills and competencies required by the organization to execute its tasks and objectives. A vital aspect of core competency development within organizations relates to training and development of employees and effective implementation of knowledge management systems. These strategies are complemented by adopting coaching and mentoring strategies that have significant contribution in building the organizational competencies. Companies often use coaching and mentoring strategy in difficult situations where the employee behaviour affects the team and company performance.

Adaptability to change is also seen as a major hurdle in successful implementation of new processes. Coaching concentrates on an individual development that will directly contribute to organization development. The basic need for coaching and mentoring arises from the fact that the companies must re-think and revise their operational strategies to adapt to the ever-changing world of business to keep their cash registers ringing. In such situations the company cannot afford to hire people and ignore their potentials. They need to be developed and adapted to changes in the company for better company performance.

This also includes fulfillment of personal objectives in terms of growth and opportunities. Mentoring is seen as partnership strategy in today’s world where the mentor is happy to guide his protege in the desired direction. It is mutually beneficial relationship that where both the parties gain in terms of recognition and satisfaction for the mentor and fulfillment of expectations for the mentored. The employees need to be motivated and inspired to accept the changes. The organization should provide necessary training opportunities to equip them with required skills for the new system to work effectively.

It is the human resource that forms the most valuable asset to the company and this should be communicated to the existing workforce. The accomplishment of this goal will require a dynamic leader in the company who can steer the change process to its successful outcome. Effective mentoring and coaching strategy is gaining prominence in most organizations today providing grounds for a fruitful management employee relationship sharing the same goals and vision for the company. The scope of this strategy includes teaching people how to apply, share knowledge, and transfer of skills within the department.

It encourages self-awareness and flexibility to cope better with changes. Nickels in his book Understanding Business concludes that various researches conducted have found that employee participation in decisions is highly effective in increasing performance and productivity besides increasing individual job satisfaction. “Many progressive organizations are highly successful at using democratic style of leadership that values traits such as flexibility, good listening skills, and empathy” (Nickels, 2008).

The author emphasizes that a leader’s most important role is to transform the way the company does business so that its more effective and efficient that translates to getting things done in a better way using fewer resources to accomplish the same objectives (Nickels, 2008). One of the tasks of managers is to devise strategies that enable the employees to achieve the organizational goals through appropriate training and development programs and implementation of knowledge management systems. Employee training and development programs have a positive influence on organizational performance and productivity.

It helps in developing required skills and motivates employees to deliver their best. The positive reinforcement is attributed to the general feeling that the organization cares about their employees. Managers are increasingly realising the role training and development can play in pursuing new strategies and enhancing employee productivity. The key responsibility of a sponsor is to encourage employee growth and career development through training and assisting them to achieve their personal goals.

“To motivate and retain key employees, organizations, must show them that they can realize their ambitions inside, as well as outside, the company” (Holbeche, 2005). Organizations that provide a positive work climate through management policies that encourage employee talent and skills development are found to be better adjusted to face operational challenges and meet increased employee satisfaction levels. IBM is one institution that has always emphasized the importance of employee training in meeting the organizational goals and performance targets.

The company has a comprehensive staff training and development practice across all levels of management and executives. “Implementing an approach to employee development that adapts and evolves with the changing business landscape has played a key role in supporting IBM’s growth and transformation over the years” (Dominic Tong, General Manager, IBM China/Hong Kong, 2008). The existing business environment has increased the need for creativity and proactive behaviour from employees.

Businesses require skills for doing the job and in current market conditions advancing technology at rapid pace makes it imperative to learn new skills and upgrade one’s knowledge to adapt to changing market conditions. Training and development programs provide the employees with the opportunity to learn or upgrade their skills according to the business needs and requirements. This has made learning and personal development programs for managers and staff highly critical within an organization. Managers and leaders play a critical role in assisting employee growth and development initiatives.

“Managers can unlock an individual’s ability and willingness to perform at high levels in many ways – for instance, by translating long-term goals into step by step plans, clearly stating expectations and holding people accountable” (Holbeche, 2005). However, it is important that corporate training programs are linked to strategic goals and objectives of the company. The business leaders should take the responsibility of creating a workforce that is well equipped to support the organizations’ growth strategies and meet the challenges of working in a global environment (Tong, 2008).

Leaders can enable the organization to achieve improved performance levels that contribute to better change management strategy. Ensuring high levels of performance within the organization requires active participation of both management and individuals in the workforce in implementing tasks and objectives. “Managers can unlock an individual’s ability and willingness to perform at high levels in many ways – for instance, by translating long-term goals into step by step plans, clearly stating expectations and holding people accountable” (Holbeche, 2005).

Organizations like Lockheed Martin has designed its change management program around three core competencies that include open communication, taking preventive actions to potential show-stoppers, and responding to existing needs rather than ignoring issues (Carter et al. , 2007). Among other organizations that have implemented such initiatives include Motorola’s leadership development program that enabled managers to develop competencies and behaviors that promoted customer focus and enhanced performance.

It is imperative that the employees identify with the company goals and objectives and this onus lies entirely with the company leaders to communicate these effectively. These need to be articulated in an effective and dramatic manner to create enthusiasm within the workforce. To induce a strong belief in the company’s goals, the leaders need to believe in these goals foremost. The crucial task faced by the leaders is to build a shared vision. All the employees need to share the company’s vision and long-term objectives to meet them successfully.

Leadership begins with a vision that is shared by all the team members. A transformational leader will be able to articulate the vision in clear practical terms that the others can relate to. The goals need to be tangible and challenging enough for the individuals to buy it. The role of the transformational leader is to challenge and motivate the team members and gain their commitment to the cause. The leader should entice response on how these long-term goals can be broken down to short-term objectives. The next step would be to plan the course of action and time frame within which the objectives are met.

Involving the team members in such strategic planning not only creates high level of enthusiasm but also increases the motivation level of the individuals. Leaders must project a clear, compelling business vision and provide the employees with consistent feedback on where the organization stands relative to that vision. Conclusion In today’s rapid changing business scenario it is essential for an organization to set the right direction and adapt to the changes as and when required. This is possible only when the organization takes step to train and upgrade the employee skills to meet the anticipated changes.

An organization can prove efficient only when its workforce respond quickly to anticipated changes and not fear it. The transformational leadership takes charge of the situation and builds trust among the members. Armed with the trust of their members the leaders can effectively steer them towards new avenues of learning that addresses new challenges. The requirement for learning and development is significant to support and enable the employees at all levels to embrace change and increase their capabilities.

A structured approach to training of employees entails bringing learning to the work instead of taking the employee to the learning. Discussion rooms and learning centers at workplace facilitates employee learning in addition to trainers within the premises to address specific training programs. References: 1. Fenton, John. 1990. 101 ways to boost your business performance 2. Mullins, L. J. 1999. Management and organizational behavior. 5th edition. Copyright Financial Times management. 3. Credaro, Amanda. 2001. Innovation and change in education.

Accessed on June 25th 2009 from http://www. geocities. com/koalakid_1999/UNIVERSITY/change. HTM 4. Nickels, William G. 2008. Understanding Business. Chapter 7: Management, Leadership, and Employee Empowerment. McGraw Hill Higher Education. 8th edition 5. Palmer, Ian and Hardy, Cynthia. 2000. Thinking about Management: implications of organizational debates for practice. Sage Publishing. Pages 11-34. 6. Okes, Duke and Westcott, Russell T. 2001. Certified quality manager handbook. Second edition. Pages 29-30. 7. Dimitriades, Z. 2001.

Empowerment in total quality: designing and implementing effective employee decision making strategies. Accessed on June 24th 2009 from http://www. asq. org/pub/qmj/past/vol8_issue2/qmjv8i2dimitriades. pdf 8. Heller, Robert. 2005. Employee empowerment: management giving power to people. Accessed on June 24th 2009 from http://www. thinkingmanagers. com/management/employee-empowerment. php 9. Wilson, David C. 2000. A strategy of change – concepts and controversies in the management of change. Thomson Learning. 10. IBM. Making Change Work. Accessed on June 24th 2009

To sum up, I can state that the Hungarian political environment is quite well developed in the region and is quite close to Western standards. It’s most important benchmark is the stability, which is not only the result of the established institutional system, but has also roots the national culture.

2. Market system / infrastructure Like in case of the political system, Hungary had an encouraging, “better than the neighbors” background in the area of market economy, off which most factors were introduced in the early eighties.

Although these initiatives remained far behind the standard of Western countries, it ensured a good background for the transition. Despite of this encouraging background the country faced several problems, and survived 2 fairly serious crisis situation in the late eighties and the mid nineties. The main reasons of the economical decline were the collapse of Eastern markets, the tear of traditional co-operation with former socialist countries, and the very high debt serving ratio.

This factors led to series of bankruptcies, bank consolidation, jumping inflation, currency devaluation, increasing unemployment, etc. , which all strengthened the even in itself very pessimistic attitude of locals. The turn point was the year 1995, when the introduction of the crawling peg system and the austerity package of finance minister Lajos Bokros helped to stabilize the economy, cut budget and current account deficit, push down inflation, etc. Privatization speeded up, banks and state-owned big companies were sold to financially powerful strategic investors.

Privatization on one side helped to cover budget gap, while on the other hand it improved productivity and competitiveness and contributed to boost export. Nowadays privatization is almost done, the state has only majority or qualified minority shares in strategically important companies, like the Hungarian Oil Company or the Hungarian Savings Bank (OTP), etc. In relation to financial infrastructure, the banking system in Hungary is one of the most developed one in Central Europe. It’s almost totally privatized to strategic investors, to major international banks like ABN-Amro, DG Bank, KBC, Citibank, etc.

As a result, local banks have now a healthy loan portfolio and based on the experiences of the mother company they can offer a wide range of products to local customers. I believe I’m not wrong if I state, that we can speak about a Hungarian story today. GDP growth reached almost 7% in 1Q2000, CPI is just above 9% and expected to drop close to 7% until the year end, budget and current account deficits are declining and are absolutely financable from FDI. Growth is based on strong export potential and competitiveness in international markets, not on retail consumption.

All in all, following the necessary crisis period of the early nineties, at this time the Hungarian economy shows an as healthy outlook, as it has never showed before. Based on the quite preferential rank of the country’s political and economical developments in the rank of Central European states, it’s throughout possible that Hungary will be able to join the EU first, or among the first countries in CE. 3. National Character It is a quite hard task for an insider like me to depict the national character, to catch those factors in general, which distinguish Hungarians from other nations.

It is difficult, because certain aspects of the national character seem to be obvious in my view, that’s why I don’t even pay attention to them. Since the task to fully map the national culture is too big, I’m only going to give some, 5-6 examples which I think generally well describe the Hungarian culture. I base my assumptions on conversations with foreigners, typical Hungarian jokes and speeches, which usually criticize an aspect of the national character, my studies in history and my subjective, personal experiences.

Before going into details I have to state that Hungary in its current form is a quite homogenous country in its culture. Although there is some religious and ethnical diversity (geneticians distinguished 17 different types by origin among “Hungarians”), these differences are small, and there are minimal religious, ethnical cultural or regional torsion in the country. In the following, without the intention of being exhaustive, I try to list and depict some factors, which I think quite well describe the national character.