Organization

According to (Zwell, 2000), “a policy can be defined as a set of a predetermined plan of action designed to act as a guide towards accepted strategies and objectives of a given organization. A policy manual therefore stands to be a kit for communicating ideas and information to employees. ” (p. 14). It is known to be the fastest method used by organizations in communicating management roles and guidelines to employees. It is a composition of employees’ wants and concern documented in black and white.

In addition, it is a policy guide that helps to communicate and announce the organizational structure and culture to employees by clearly spelling out the company’s investment plans and its future expectations from the employees. Policy manuals are of great significance in any institution and they are designed to assist both employees and the management team to run the organization. In their best usage policy manuals perform strategic roles in an institution .

They are however, designed in light of a company’s objectives and mission statement and they become the medium through which management duties , intents business processes and plans are communicated and documented to all the staff (Wignaraja, 2002, p. 5). In his research findings, (Lanza, 1998), postulated that “carefully designed policy manuals and procedures save an institution countless hours and periods of the management time” (p. 12).

Consistent use of policy manuals by institutions is an evenhanded and fair means which reduces the management concerns on legal issues and problems pertaining an organization. It is of great importance that policy manuals should be made the first thing an employee is issued with immediately she /he reports on job. Basics things to consider in creating a policy manual The first and the most basic thing to consider in creating a policy manual is to first agree on the what kind of a policy are you planning to design and how does it differ from other procedures.

These two aspects are frequently used interchangeably and they do differ in many occasions depending on how they were applied (Rupert, 2002, p. 25). For simply drafted manuals, a policy only outlines what the management team wants the employees to do and a simple procedure is developed that explains to the employees the methods and procedures for performing the tasks given. The procedures given are comprehensive and they exactly describe how the task should be carried out and they also contain much more details about the tasks (Boynton, 2001, p. 40).

In yet another study, (Barry, 1999) found that “in the absences of such policies the baselines and boundaries relating to the organization’s objectives and mission statements would not exist” (p. 32). When designing policies it is therefore, very important to out line your mission and your objectives. These works as a compass direction that gives all procedures the right course or direction to take in order to achieve the intended goals and targets. According to (Selnow and Crano, 1987), “a mission statement should be a clear but a simple clause about your organization and who are you trying to serve.

It should however be a cultural reflection of the philosophies, values and beliefs of an organization” (p. 13). In addition, it should be very brief clear and specific so that each and everyone in the company can clearly comprehend it and therefore give a reflection of the objectives as steps towards achieving the mission of the company. In their research study, Paul and Pail, 1993 comprehended that “a well composed mission statement can give a cheap outline for deducing the organizational objectives.

Therefore it is true to conclude that a mission statement is a clear preliquisite in policy development just as strategic objectives are” (p. 3). Objectives on the other hand are like targets. They are goals and they direct the attention of the staff to keys factors in managing the institution. They assist in the process of defing unique ways towards enhancing the performance of individuals and the institution as a whole. Therefore objectives are designed to reflect the critical success of the organization (Fletcher, 1996, p. 25). What the policy Manual should contain

Apart from the company’s mission and vision statements, the policy should also cover personnel policies and general procedures including conduct of the office, meetings for sales, and terminations of contracts, office attire and vacations. It will be of great importance to also encompass some policies and procedures that have specific significance to the firm (Beeler, 1994, p. 19). These will include the following: Advertising; which covers the rules and guidelines concerning signage, language for advertising, when slogans and logos should be put into use.

Some advertisement samples should be illustrated to show what’s permitted and what is not. According to (Corby, White, 1999) “an acknowledge form is another requirement that should be included in the policy manual. The form should be presented to employees to sign as a prove that they have got the office policy manual and that they have comprehended the firm’s policies” (p. 10). Relationships or agency disclosure provides information for customers to evaluate several business relationships with the firm.

Business procedure encompasses the firm’s policies for giving offers, disclosure statements and delivering of paperwork (Suchan, 1995, p. 11). It should also contain information concerning other basic information of the company’s properties. Commission and fee structure should also be included. This comprises of splits, bonus plans, and entitlements to commissions as well as the mode of resolving inter office disputes as far as commissions are concerned. Do-Not-Call rules are important in the policy manual (Donnelly, 1991, p.

16). To safe guard the company from lawsuits due to failure to compliance with rules, you should come up with an office policy regardless of whether you are going to outsource services in order to assure the rules are adhered to. This should include the manner in which you are going to follow he set rules, training the employees to adhere on the rules, maintaining the do-not-call-list and the approach you will take to inhibit telephone solicitation to phone numbers on the list (Osigweh, 1987, p. 47).

E-mail communication will include computers, e-mail and solicitation of telephone as well as the internet use in the company. There should be rules concerning the sales representatives’ use of the firms name and logos on the web site and e-mails by giving rules that comply with the opt-in e-mail marketing and CAN-SPAM Act. Copy write issues should also be addressed here (Guffey, Helms, 2001, p. 31). The policy manual will have, in addition to these, include Ethical standards by providing a copy of the code of Ethics followed by an explanation of the way of filing an ethics complaint.

In yet another research study, (Levinson, 2000) argued that “equal opportunity in the policy manual will be expressed by a statement giving the firms stand. The statement should express how the company is committed to equal employment opportunities” (p. 20). This should apply to all applicants, employees and independent contractors regardless of their race, religion, sex, nationality, age and disability. It is essential that the policy manual explains clearly on who carries the responsibility for Board dues, MLS fees and fees on education.

Also to be included in expenses is information on overhead costs which may include local and long distance calls, postage and photocopying (Lund, 1998, p. 4). The policy manual will elaborate on independent contractor Agreement that says that sales representative will be compensated on commission basis only, that he is not an employee and that he or she will be carrying out business according to the state’s laws and regulations.

Legal assistance if needed to handle sales associates and lawsuits, threats of action, arbitration as well as code of ethics and license law violations should be explained in the policy manual (Layne, 1989, p. 12). Other requirements to be in the policy manual includes information about errors and omissions (E&O) liability insurance, professional memberships, periodic employees review, personal assistance policy, sexual harassment where to report it and necessary procedures to be followed if it is alleged and the company’s work privacy which includes access to performance and medical records, alcohol and drugs testing.

How the manual should be produced and where should it be placed. In their proposal, (Turk, Kirkman, 1999) argued that, “you should decide how to write the policy manual depending on the size of your budget and the availability of a core manual to draft from. You should buy a manual, revise and frame it to suit your expectations” (p. 74). A human resources consultant can also be outsourced to draft it. This copy can also be borrowed from another company as guide to draft your own.

If your company can’t outsource a consultant, it can be assembled from existing policies and procedures which are in line with the states laws. An attorney will also be required to review it before printing. The manual should be placed so that everyone can have access of it within the company and in the website (James, 1990, p. 17). Reference Barry Eckhouse (1999) Competitive Communication: A Rhetoric for Modern Business. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 32 Beeler Cheryl (1994) Roll out the Welcome Wagon; Structuring New Employee Orientations.

Public Management, Vol. 76, pp. 19 Boynton Randall (2001) Running on Manual. Security Management, Vol. 45, June, pp. 40 Corby Susan & White Geoff (1999). Employee Relations in the Public Services: Themes and Issues. London: Routledge, pp. 10 Donnelly John (1991) The New and Improved Industrial Security Manual. Security Management, Vol. 35, July, pp. 16 Fletcher William (1996) The Painless Path to Policy Revision. Security Management, Vol. 40, pp. 12 Guffey Cynthia & Helms Marilyn (2001).

Effective Employee Discipline: A Case of the Internal Revenue Services. Public Personnel Management, Vol. 30, pp. 31 James Hershauer (1990) Information Systems for Managers in a Global Economy. Business Perspectives, Vol. 4, pp. 17 Lanza Richard (1998). Take My Manual Audit, Please. Journal of Accountancy, Vol. 185, pp. 12 Layne Stevan (1989) A Closer Look at Hiring and Firing. Security Management, Vol. 33, pp. 12 Levinson Nan (2000) How to Sharpen Your Business Writing Skills. New York: American Management Association, pp. 20

The field of Organizational Behavior (B) Is performance-oriented. 2. Mary Foulest was opposed to Tailor’s lack of specific attention to human needs and relationships In the workplace. 3. Individual performance Is the foundation of organization performance. 4. African-Americans are one of the fastest-growing groups in the U. S. Employee workforce, as are Asians and Hipics. 5. A new industrial era began in the United States around the time of the Civil War. 6. A major goal of Capos is to treat its employees and customers with integrity, honesty, and commitment. 7.

The formal and modern study of management started around 1900. 8. In 1886, an engineer named Frederick W. Taylor presented a paper on scientific management at a national meeting of engineers that was titled “The Engineer as an Economist. ” 9. Tailor’s major thesis was that maximum good for society can come only through the cooperation of management and labor In the application of scientific methods. 10. Managers must deal simultaneously with the Internal and external aspects of organizational behavior. 11. J. M. Curran and W. Edwards Deeming, In the sass’s, introduced the Importance of quality to the public. . Managers derive power from both organizational and individual sources. 13. A psychological contract is unwritten agreement between an employee and the organization that specifies what each expects to give to and receive from the other. 14. One of the most powerful influences on individual performance is an organization’s reward system. 15. Power is the ability to get someone to do something you want done, or to make things happen the way you want them to happen. 16. Measures of satisfaction include employee attitudes, turnover, absenteeism, tardiness, and grievances. 17.

Common hysterical symptoms that are related to stress Include: Insomnia, excessive perspiration, nervousness, or irritability. Other answers may also be correct, such as overeating, weight gain, weight loss, nail balling, or headaches. 18. Describe the findings of the Hawthorne studies. Chapter 2 1. Organizations can achieve effectiveness only when employees share values. 2. The acceptance of unequal power differs across countries. 3. In countries in which people display high power distance, employees acknowledge the boss’s authority and typically follow the chain of command.

Although culture can’t be seen, it can be ensued or felt through employees’ attitudes, emotions, and perceptions. 5. The Southwest airlines approach is to hire for attitude and train the skill. 6. Research indicates that a majority of managers have had at least one mentoring relationship during their careers. 7. The values, norms, customs, and rituals of cultures are Influenced by politics, religion and language. 8. Hypotheses five value dimensions are power distance, Individualism, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, and long-term orientation. 9. The concept of uncertainty avoidance refers to the extent to which

In the following assignment, I will briefly define the ‘Enlightenment’ and the specific circumstances when it emerged. I will identify and discuss, if the ‘Enlightenment’ has core values and I will give reasons to backup my decisions. Then there will be a brief discussion about the current features of Social Work organisation and anti-discriminatory practice in relation to women. I will explain if the current feature of Social Work Practice demonstrates any link with the ‘Enlightenment’ values.

Due to word limitation, it is difficult to discuss and analyse all of the ‘Enlightenment’ values. I will focus on two of the values: ‘tolerance and freedom’ to discuss and analyse them with the conjunction of the Social Work Practice.

Benson et al (cited in Spybey, T. 1997) explains that “The ‘Enlightenment’ is a term used to describe those thinkers of the eighteenth century who established the basis of looking at the society in a scientific way”. The’ Enlightenment’ movements started in 16th and 17th century. Thus “It’s roots go much farther back in western history and it continued to develop long after the 18th century, Hollinger (1994) calls it “a programme for improving human life was worked out”. It took place in 18th century but mainly in the second half of the18th century, French educated men and women called themselves ‘Philosophes’ who became known as the ‘Enlightenment’.

According to Porter (1990 cited in Hall et al 1992: 24) “The Enlightenment was the era which saw the emergence of a secular intelligentsia large enough and powerful enough for the first time to challenge the clergy. The key domain in which ‘Enlightenment’ intellectuals involved in supporting existing, man and society, which was sustained by the church authority and it’s monopoly over the information media of the time”.

The ‘Enlightenment’ challenged the traditional and religious views and ideas. The society, the world, human-beings and nature, all were seen in the light of the traditional and religious views which were dominated by Christianity. Hamilton (1997 cited in Handouts, 2003) and Hall et al (1992: 7) explains that “From around 1760, “A perspective summed up in Voltaire’s phrase ‘�crasez l’infame’: means ‘crush the infamous thing’ and … it became a nutritious catchphrase”. It opposed the Catholic Church and religious beliefs for example Script of Bible, miracles associated with Jesus and other prophets, God and angel’s existence, the church’s authority and people’s beliefs were criticized, which were based on the religion and tradition.

Hall et al (1992: 20) expresses that “The ‘Enlightenment is the foundation of ‘Modernity’ and ‘Modern Social Science’. It changed the way of thinking by comprehending it as systematic, scientific and practical”. Its emergence gave ‘Philosophes’ a wider scoops to explore beyond their religious and traditional beliefs. It created an atmosphere for ‘Philosophes’ to believe in the “pre-eminence of empirical, materialist knowledge: the model in this respect furnished by science, an enthusiasm for technological and medical progress and a desire for legal and constitutional reform” (Johnson, I. Handouts: 2003). Basically, the ‘Enlightenment laid a foundation for people to think liberally and have some sense of equality in the society.

In my view, the above significant factors were the bases of the ‘Enlightenment’s values, which let the ‘Enlightenment’ develop and progress steadily. Because it was the first time when it was made possible for people to explore and express their personal beliefs and view and test the validity of their thoughts, through scientific, systematic ways and without being bounded by religious and traditional restrictions. The ‘Enlightenment’ values brought in changes and development in the society and in the people’s views and thoughts. It set the milestone for our new modern world that we live in today.

It also opened up the opportunities for ‘Philosophes’ to work, explore and experiment in a wider context and relay their ideas and views with some freedom. It abolished the traditional and superstitious thoughts and prejudices. It created opportunities for legal and religious reformation to take place. I think that all the changes and development have only taken place because the ‘Enlightenment’ values were in existence and were strong enough to challenge the strongest authority; the churches of that time. As churches and its authorities have had a great influence and power over people, economy, politics, law, social, every day life even the ruler/s of that time.

Hall et al (1992: 21-22) had defined the core values of the ‘Enlightenment’ which are summarised as the following:

* Reason (nationality): systemized acquaintances (pragmatic or experimented).

* Empiricism: human-beings; views and awareness that being gained through their perceptions and judgements.

* Science: based on scientific methods and theories and can be tested systematically and scientifically.

* Universalism: motives and science can be functional in all and every situation; if the principal were the same.

* Progress: the concept of improvement in the natural and social conditions of human beings.

* Individualism: a society is based on the thoughts and beliefs of its members and each member id origin of all “knowledge and action and his reasons can not be subjective to a higher authority.

* Toleration: the notion of that all human-beings are essentially the same, despite their religious or moral convictions and that the beliefs of other races and civilization not inherently inferior to those of European Christianity.

* Freedom: an opposition to feudal and traditional constraints or on believes: trades, communication, social interaction, sexuality, and ownership of property (although as we shall see the extension of freedom to women and the lower-classes was problematic for Philosophies)” (Hall et al. 1992: 22-23).

* Uniformity of human nature: all the humankinds are the same all around the world.

* Secularism: non-religious and non-traditional authorities and an opposition to the traditional religious authority and myths.

Now, I will discuss the ‘Enlightenment’s values: ‘toleration’ and ‘freedom’ in the correlation with the current Social Work practice especially in relation to anti-discriminatory practice regarding to women, to establish if the Enlightenment’s values are linked or have influenced Social Work practice.

I have experienced through my work experience with different communities that generally, women are treated unfairly and unequally in the society at most levels. Women have less freedom and rights than men. Globally, the women of 21th century are still struggling to gain an equal place as men in the society.

Guru (2003: class-notes) stresses that “From birth to death women have to struggle in their lives to access their rights e.g welfare, personal, social, political, human, cultural, traditional, religious, labourer, employment”.

The Social Work emphasises strongly on anti-oppressive and anti-discriminatory practice. “During the late 1980s social work education became increasingly aware of the impact of oppression and discrimination on clients and communities. There was a growing and recognition of relative neglect of such issues in traditional approaches to social work in 1989, the Central Council for Education and Training in Social (CCETSW) laid down the regulations and requirements for the students” of Social work to practice in anti- discriminatory ways. …CCETSW also seek to ensure that students are prepared to combat other forms of discrimination based on age, gender, sexual orientation, class, disability, culture or creed” (CCETSW 1989: 10 cited in Thompson, N. 1997: 1).

The change in the CCETSW’s regulation indicates that the discrimination still exists especially against certain groups and women are one of them and there is a need to combat discrimination. Moreover, it also states that it was recognised that the discrimination was linked with ‘traditional approaches’. It may mean that the ‘traditional views’ still exists in our today’s society, which the ‘Enlightenment’ wanted to get rid of, to give people ‘freedom’ and to promote equality for all individuals without their differences they had through ‘toleration’. Obviously, the “Enlightenment certainly propagated concept of equality (limited), democracy and emancipation ….” (Hall et al.1992: 33).

But when it comes to women then it seems like that the women were almost invisible in the ‘Enlightenment’. Hall et al (1992: 60) expressed that “There was no Enlightenment for women. However they (Enlightenment) challenged the champion the rights of commons, the rights of Citizens, slaves, Jews, Indians and children but not those of women”.

Under the ‘Enlightenment’s values of ‘toleration and freedom’: “all the human-beings are essentially the same” but it was not applied to women. Porter (2001: 69) explains that “The ‘Enlightenment’ helped to free a man from his past….by declaring that “all human-beings are equal despite their race, religion, beliefs, civilization and moral convictions… and Lock (1992 referred in Hall et al. 1992: 66) adds in that according to the ‘Enlightenment’, “Every man has an equal right ‘to his natural freedom”. Similar, the ‘Code of Practice for Social Care Worker (CPSCW) requires that the social care workers must “promote equal opportunities for service users and… respecting diversity and different cultures and values” (GSCC, 2002: 1.5-1.6).

Moreover, the Social work values emphasises that the social workers should “identifies and question their own values and prejudices, and their implication of practice;… and they should “Respect and value uniqueness and adversity….and identify (discrimination), analyse and take action to counter discrimination, racism, disadvantage, inequality and injustice using strategies appropriate to role and context” (CCETSW, paper 30 referred in UB. 2002: 6).

Social work is not focusing on certain and specific groups or people where as the ‘Enlightenment’ was concerned with the specific group/s of the society. The ‘freedom’ and ‘toleration’ was for certain maters and specific groups but there were n laid rules or principals for ‘Philosophes’ to follow and the ‘Philosophes’ themselves were a small group of people. Therefore, the social work value gave people a direct power to clients by letting them choosing and decide for themselves and social worker are advised to “promote opportunities for people to use their own strengths to make decisions for themselves (CCETSW, paper 30 cited in UB. 2002: 4). In other words, social work has widened the concept of ‘freedom’ and ‘toleration’ by being considerate for all members of the community, which is now-a-days known as ‘anti-discrimination’, freedom of choice’ and ‘equality’.

It demonstrates that the ‘Enlightenment’ have given the idea and Social work made it possible for people by assisting clients and by practicing it physically. That does not mean that the social work have followed the ‘Enlightenment’ concept and values unswervingly. But initially, the idea was there to follow and it may be possible that the ‘feminist’ movements got the idea from the ‘Enlightenment’ and modified it according to the current needs. Thompson (1997: 8) described that the “influence of feminism in sociology was beginning to extend to social policy in general and social work in particular”.

Lagan et al (1992: 112-120) agreed with this statement by accentuating that the feminism had great influence on social work theories. Social work had contributed to help women to achieve political, economical, educational, legal and social rights. For example, Beloff (1976 referred in Thompson, N. 1997: 5) argues that the “legislation changes were part of women liberal programme of reform e.g. rights for divorce, Equal Pay Act 1970 , Sex Discrimination Act 1975”. The social work worked itself and worked with ‘feminist and liberal movements’ to fight for ‘women’s rights’. Although, the social work has adopted the ideas from ‘feminists’ or other liberal movements but the social work can be distinguished from other movements. Initially, it worked with and for all groups and classes. Second, it developed rapidly and extensively in many areas of social issues such as children, disabled people, aged, ethnic minorities, poor and others.

The women have developed and have gained rights with the help of social work. Social work has made and is making a useful contribution for women rights and for their development. Lagan et al (1992: 40) emphasis that the “Social work is mainly done by the Female Social workers and with the Female clients…. As being women, Social workers shared the common understanding and experiences, as very much like their clients”. That made the social work to approach most women in the society at all levels and to help eliminate women’s social problems and raise issues which needed to be address to combat oppression and discrimination.

We see the Western Women as ‘Modern’, independent, intellectual, and strong. But it can be argued that the women are still at disadvantage in the society. Many national studies and statistics show that “Overall, women are disadvantaged in health, education, economy, politics, and employment and through out the system” (Carter, A. 1988: 77-112). However, we can not deny the fact that women have been victimized by the system and the society. Despite the social work practice and attempts for women’s rights, “there are still gaps and work needs to be done in accordance to give women equal rights” (Surrinder, G.2003). It is true that media has blamed social work practice in the past and social workers are seen as government’s representatives and according to Murphy (2003: 7) the Social workers are not very much liked by the general public.

There are also issues regarding to social worker’s practice e.g. practicing in ‘traditional’ way due to personal prejudices, which has oppressed the clients and has stigmatized the social work itself. Thompson (1997: 11) emphasise that the “…social work practice which does not take account of oppression and discrimination can not be seen as ‘good practice….”. The ‘bad practice’ is portrayed through the media but the good practice is not awarded and neither praised by media. The social work constantly reviews the policies to encounter prejudices and emphasises high on anti-discriminatory practice.

In conclusion, I agree with Hall et al (1992: 266) that the “Enlightenment’ played a part in …abolition of prejudice and superstition…and has given freedom to man”. I would say that where the ‘Enlightenment’ movements have played a vital role in the modern thinking and have given the initiative idea of the ‘Toleration and freedom’, which now has taken a new shape of ‘equality and anti-discrimination’ within a broader context. But at same time, the ‘Enlightenment’ has indirectly contributed against women. Maybe it was due to ‘unintended consequences’ (Johnson, I. 2003: 2), which were not identified, measured and recognised by the ‘Enlightenment’ or may be ‘Enlightenment did not want to recognise it. As ‘Enlightenment’ was a men dominated movement.

It may have contributed to prejudice and discriminate women by not including and involving them at the very early stage of the ‘Enlightenment’ movements. And that could be the cause that women’s voice for their rights was an echo in the vacuum and was not heard till lately. Therefore, social work has worked extensively for women’s rights but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.

My suggestion is that the social work should identify oppression and discrimination and combat it at personal levels first and then at institutional levels. This action should not only be taken by the professionals but all the individuals should get involved in it. Otherwise, just like the ‘Enlightenment’: left the women behind, the individuals will be imperceptible and power will shift to the professionals who will take over. If it will happen then it may take us back to the early ‘Enlightenment’ age, where only the ‘Enlightenment’ educated, had the power and voice.

There were many reasons for the downsizing of many airlines all over the world and UK air carriers were not exempted to that. Employee downsizing is ubiquitous and inevitable nowadays due to global financial crisis. The recent depression which struck the United States has cost many companies to lay off employees to cope with losses and eventually regain its previous status. Downsizing is the initially the first step a company will take before resorting to other management issues to overcome sudden failure of business operation.

Besides, when there is decrease in profit and/or sales, there is decrease in production and/or manpower. Downsizing is the hardest decision an organization could do, yet it provides advantages on the side of the company because it is one of the most effective method in terms of improving organizational performance and cutting cost. Indeed, downsizing has been recognized as “a legitimate restructuring strategy…

[and] an international proactive management strategy” (Hitt, et. al, 200). World airlines’ record of downsizing indicates several reasons for its occurrence perhaps partly due to depression. Some of the reasons are: high-profile accidents and incidents, and credit default cause by investing too much on fuel hedges according to ATW report. Worst loss has been experienced by the company since 1970 which caused a deficit of about 15 to 30% in profit.

Similarly, if downsizing is perceived as beneficial and strategic action for air carrier companies, it also has adverse effect that requires immediate action. Tourish and Hargie quoted from Morris et. al using a review of 3,628 companies, that on the first year of downsizing year, there was decline in Return on Assets (ROA); while on the next year, only a slight improvement was observed which is not enough “to restore the ROA to its pre-downsizing level (p.19). The same authors also accounted other reports from other US downsized events in which they noted that downsizing “produces no improvement in firms’ performance relative to their industry or their own prior performance, except for a short-lived gain in productivity… ” (Tourish & Hargie, p. 19). Why strategic planning is necessary moved downsizing organizations to take actions to eliminate chain reactions within the organization.

Seemingly, Tourish and Hargie emphasized that while downsizing has impact on organization, it also has impact in the morale and motivation of employees. Some of the psychological impact of downsizing are: it reduced cross-unit and cross-level knowledge from interpersonal interactions, loss of personal relationship between employees and customers, increased interpersonal conflict, greater resistance to change, more centralization in decision making, and decreased employee morale, commitment and loyalty (Tourish & Hargie, p. 19, 20).

Organizational Challenges of Downsizing Apparently, the drop in demand for the air carrier services due to global financial crisis presents many challenges in the company. Downsizing is inevitable while the possible impacts of downsizing are readily threatening the organization. What the organization could do is to identify each challenge and create a plan of action in order to achieve positive results.

To do this, managers must understand downsizing in its context and other underlying causes and effect to mitigate negative outcomes if downsizing would be the last option for the company to take. Some of these challenges are identified as: (1) employee retaliation due to ambiguity of rationale behind downsizing, (2) strengthening workforce, (3) restructuring strategies before negative consequences set in, (4) strengthening the company’s strategic competitiveness, and (5) alignment of production output with quality.

The challenges stated above can be summarized into two major categories pertaining to organizational responses to downsizing are: (1) the strategic responses that aim at coping with conditions of decline and (2) the structural responses consisting of internal changes that occur within the organization itself (Shalhoub & Karake, p. 55). In effect, it has considerable effects on the organization, leadership, staff and key elements for successful change implementation. Downsizing as an international proactive management strategy creates more problems than what is expected.

Downsizing gives organization the biggest challenges. Impact on the Staff Basic and typical among the outcomes of downsizing is the issue of easing the employees who were retained to avoid any retaliation is the initial step to consider after the downsizing event. Motivating them instead to strengthen the morale of those employees will make a difference in the downsized organization in the restoration of the corporate productivity. Morris confirmed that downsizing “decreases morale and productivity, and can cost firms more than they save” (p.

131). Baatz on the other hand described downsizing as “wounding experience” because of “trauma of losing their jobs” (pp. 36, 37). Likewise, Shalhoub and Karake mentioned several employee reactions to changes as: individualism, intergroup relations break down, difficulty in communication and paralyzed decision-making (p. 57). Worst is that, many would consider resigning from work. In cases like this, Baatz emphasized the application of some healing activities “to salve those wounds” (p. 37).

According to him, the process of this healing activity coined under the reengineering of the organization; but in failure of such, a simple free flow of communication can do a lot to restore the morale of the employees (pp. 37, 38). Thus, as the initial effect of downsizing is concerned, one can conclude that it has adverse reaction to the company. Employee morale and motivation towards higher productivity is one of the challenges of downsizing. It basically hampers the organization to reach its goals much more in the aspect of organizational development.

Impact on Organization The second category refers to changes in the organizational structure as the outcome when large number of employees is laid-off. Refusal to acknowledge the existing crisis will be a pitfall of the company. Another challenge for the organization is to analyze any form of structural responses or changes within the organization due to loss of employees who works for each position in the organization. The company could both allow multitasking to replace vacant positions or change the organizational structure and design to meet the sudden loss of employees.

The challenge on organization level has to do with the reengineering of the organization. Impact on Leadership Similarly, downsizing has impact on managers and overall leadership. As more employees experience job insecurity, anger, frustration and other emotional trauma, the management has the final say in this matter. The coping process is part of the downsizing plan to mitigate adverse consequences of downsizing on employees. The challenge vested on leadership is designing effective risk/crisis management in response to both external and internal crises.

Fink, Beak and Taddeo identified several stages of crisis that requires attention from the management; the first is the stage of shock wherein employees lost their morale and interest; the second is the defensive retreat on the part of the organization wherein it imposes strict control in order to survive; the last is acknowledgement phase where everyone looks for the resolution of the problem (Shalhoub & Karake, p. 58). Hence, on management level, downsizing would mean a lot of challenges to face for the survival of the organization.

Recommendation The recommendations presented in this paper cover two aspects: first is advises on planning downsizing exercises and the second is the outsourcing of aircraft maintenance. The latter is included as part of the organization’s marketing strategy to promote growth in the company amidst the challenges coincide downsizing. The former aims to address several conditions of downsizing, which include the effect of downsizing among the staff, managers and on the organization as a whole, to carefully design restructuring process.

Planning Downsizing Exercises In view of the challenges mentioned earlier, the plan of action is addressed to the organization to take wilful action to resolve issues pertaining to downsizing which includes criteria for choosing employees to be laid off, morale and productivity of retained employees, and systematic restructuring programs to align the organization with the changes that took place. To be expected, the aftermath of downsizing places an organization into more taxing issues. Criteria to use in downsizing

First, the company should identify several criteria that it will use in determining employees/staff who will be candidates for lay-off. Downsizing may be called for employees who seek for early retirement or simply impose force resignation. Age is the criterion for the first method while the second is based on employees’ performance. With regards to that, the company must understand the risk of legal action before committing any decision; any action must be guided well by a lawyer to avoid legal issues.

The company may use optional condition for retiring employees and compulsory for non-retirees. The basic tenet in this arrangement is that, there may be highly skilled workers among the retiring employees so optional is the best alternative; while the conditions to be given to non-retiring are related to performance-criterion such as absenteeism, efficiency, skill, and responsibility which are grounds for termination of contract to emphasize the notion of cost-cutting through downsizing.

Optional condition for retiring employees is necessary because “early retirement is likely to be a more expensive strategy than layoffs” (Shalhoub & Karake, p. 59). Last, once the number of employees is reached, the company must be proactive by giving them what is due to them. Regaining employee morale and productivity As identified, the management has two primary responsibilities to counteract possible negative consequences of downsizing among employees. The first of which is to implement measures to minimize or eliminate trauma associated with the downsizing.

Since “change represents an ethical challenge” (Groarke, p. 147), the management must be proactive and responsible in dealing with people who are affected by taking serious steps to regain their morale and to increase their productivity. It is difficult to manage a group of people who are burnout, demoralized, inefficient, distrustful of management and afraid of future downsizing. The management must establish an open communication with the employees discussing them the rationale behind downsizing.

Persuading the employees to remain is a key to keep them intact in the organization. This process will help them view downsizing as objective; that will in turn help to increase the efficiency and profitability of the company. Manson emphasized that the employees who survived the downsizing need assurance from the management for many of them are still “fearful about losing their job” (p. 17). Pompa (1992) argued that “withholding information about layoffs is harmful to employees from both a consequentialist and a universal approach” (Burke & Cooper, p. 143).

Employers then must give honest and sincere information about “what has happened in the organization and about where the business is headed” (Manson, p. 17). If employees understand the organization’s rightful intention, initiative to be productive will come out naturally. In effect, once employees’ morale has been restored, motivation follows. The management must refocus the attention of the employees on the changes that will take place through training, reorientation and seminars.

Other meetings on employee productivity can help resolve the issues. Organizational restructuring In addition to downsizing exercises, the organization must also look into restructuring of the organization because too many positions were vacated and nobody is readily available to fill them up. Ruback suggested that companies must “re-examine how they manage their business” (cited in Manson, p. 16). Managing a business effectively requires good implementation of the plan especially in case of downsizing.

At this point, Burke and Cooper had offered the integration of TQM model during downsizing. The possibility of TQM integration in the downsizing organization is high based on empirical studies which shows the coexistence of the two wherein downsizing can be a powerful tool towards achieving organizational effectiveness (Burke & Cooper, p. 153). Citing a study of Cameron among US Army Command Unit, Cameron, Burke and Cooper mentioned that several factors attributed to effective downsizing, such as leadership, preparation and implementation (p. 154).

Leadership as they noted should be “accessible, motivational, and visionary and who communicated broadly and consistently with everyone affected by the downsizing” (Burke & Cooper, p. 154). The preparation stage is considered critical for it requires ample time for planning and preparation. It means that, the organization must prepare the people, the organization, the resources, and overall organizational change before executing downsizing. The last stage necessitates the cooperation of the whole organization in the implementation of plan during the downsizing event.

An organizational advantage of downsizing as explained by DeFrank and Ivancevich (1986) is the layoff survivors’ “increase in productivity” (cited in Burke & Cooper, p. 156) as compelled by the feeling of job insecurity. Accordingly, the remaining employees will work harder to secure their present jobs, but will gradually reduce as more workloads are assigned to them. However, increased productivity will not guarantee successful result of downsizing. Given this, the organization must identify key factors that lead to continuous improvement; then, discard what can and what cannot help.

Burke and Cooper mentioned some of the detrimental factors to the objective of downsizing as: “excessive workload demands, increased job insecurity, reduced commitment to the organization, and a deterioration in trust in the organization” (p. 156). One of the best methods of organizational restructuring to get the best result out of downsizing is developing functional groups within an organization. Functional teams are one essential component of TQM; here, supportive climate and trust and commitment are encouraged.

After downsizing, the company must develop effective functional teams through “employee empowerment and involvement” (Burke & Cooper, p. 156). Thus, the role of open communication and honest sharing with one another have been an effective tool towards developing trust among layoff survivors through which they empower them. It is suggested then to design a well-planned communication lines among the groups of employees. Functional teams not only hasten communication; it also eliminates hierarchical levels which hinders the flow of decision-making.

Inducing flexibility in the organization promotes not only employee productivity, but cost competitiveness also. Through flexibility in cross-functional teams, decision-making resides on teams that are responsible in their outputs. This system improves cost competitiveness because overheads and cut-backs are removed from the supply chain and allow the teams or production units to “embrace a much wider range of functions and responsibilities” (Salaman, p. 157).

Remember Alkhafaji’s statement regarding the goal of organizational restructuring, in which he stated, “Reduced costs, better communication throughout the company, and decentralized decision making are all factors in the equation to achieve better overall efficiency in the organization” (p. 153). At this point, the human resource management has much to do with the restructuring of the organization by placing people at the right position and determining their functions and responsibilities. Outsourcing of Aircraft Maintenance

Resorting to outsourcing services would be an advantage for downsizing organization because it solves the problem of inadequacy of employees’ number. Outsourcing of airline maintenance is cost-effective but shows dangers. Some of the countries that service aircraft maintenance are China, El Salvador, Philippines, India, Mexico, and many others. Unless the outsource companies can present safety measures and certifications from Transportation Safety Board, it would likely to create more problem. However, for the purpose of strategic management, seeking outsourcing services will be helpful.

In the United States and in the United Kingdom, outsourcing of aircraft maintenance has been in practice more than five years ago. This is in response to slow economy, increase in labour, infrastructural and tooling costs. For this reason, outsourcing provides Airline Company a lot more benefits. It is cheaper to use the services of outsourcing company and more efficient result at lower cost can be expected because technicians are expert in that kind of job. Since airlines are in crisis due to global financial crisis, using outsourcing will help lowers the cost of maintenance and manpower for efficient business result.

The practical suggestions on using the outsourcing of aircraft maintenance are through careful consideration of quality control. Cutting cost should never be an excuse to quality. First, review the credibility of outsourcing company in terms of track records of quality work, registration and certifications that officially state license to operate, and awards and recognition received for fruitful years in the service. As Doganis put it, “Many airlines are too small to provide all of these services economically in-house and are now looking for outside suppliers” (p. 283) because airline business is in a wider aviation business wherein it needs other company’s services.

Conclusion For an airline company experiencing downturn brought by global financial crisis, downsizing may be considered as an option to mitigate losses. However, it requires careful evaluation and planning if a company would resort to downsizing as the last option. The company must understand the context of downsizing and identify possible effects. Weighing between the pros and cons of downsizing will help towards designing a plan of downsizing exercises.

That of course includes criteria of choosing employees who are candidates for lay-off and financial obligation to them. The company must consider restoring the morale and productivity of the survivors through open communication to assure them of job security. Reorganization is another stage to ensure that every unit aligns to the needs of the company. Last, outsourcing may also be considered to reduce costs and guarantee efficiency of aircrafts.

Bibliography

1. Alkhafaji, A. F. 2001. Corporate Transformation and Restructuring: A Strategic Approach. USA: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
2. Baatz, E. B. “Corporate Healers. ” CIO. Dec. 15, 1994 – Jan 1, 1995, 8(6) 36-46.
3. http://books. google. com/books? id=8AwAAAAAMBAJ&dq=restoring+the+morale+of+employees+in+downsizing&as_brr=3&source=gbs_navlinks_s
4. Burke, R. J. & Cooper, C. L. 2000. The Organization in Crisis: Downsizing, Restructuring, and Privatization.
5. UK: Blackwell Publishing, Ltd. Globalization: Concepts & Cases. USA: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2009.
6. Doganis, R. 2006. The Airline Business. UK: Routledge. Manson, B. J. 2000. Downsizing Issues: The Impact on Employee Morale and Productivity.
7. USA: Garland Publishing, Inc. Morris, T. W. 2006. Career Mechanics I: Solutions to Common Career and Employment Issues.
8. USA: Tal San Publishing. Salaman, G. 2001. Understanding Business: Organisations. UK: Routledge. Shalhoub, Z. & Karake, Z. 1999.
9. Organizational Downsizing, Discrimination and Corporate Social Responsibility. USA: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. Tourish, Dennis & Owen Hargie, Key Issues in Organizational Communication. London: Routledge, 2004.
10. The World Airline Report. ATW. http://atwonline. com/eco-aviation/article/world-airline-report- 0309

Therefore, buying behavior of the U. S. Population has increasingly been shifted from traditional brick- and-mortar store shopping toward e-shopping. In meeting this new buying behavior, HP needs to add this new important channel effectively as soon as possible. This means providing complete product information, obtaining customers’ feedback, and selling all HP products directly to consumers. Currently, large retail accounts represent 90% of Hap’s printer sales, both via physical channel and channel.

Therefore, an important consideration in implementing direct online shopping strategy will be to ensure that conflict with retailers is minimized. Since our plan is to offer all products on our official website, actions must be taken to maintain relationship with retailers by various means. ) Why has HP set up such a complicated distribution system? Hap’s existing distribution system currently consists of multiple channels which are geared or designed to focus and concentrate on different market segments (Selective distribution). See exhibit The major distribution channels represent the bulk of the sales and is clearly defined and segmented by various variables. The main one being customer purchasing behaviors. Such a complicated system has allowed HP to capture a larger customer base through better market segmentation (based on demographics, cryptographic, customer purchasing behavioral models), without the deed to focus in detail on individual customers. To do this HP has carefully selected various distribution channels that represent front line sales in various segments.

Companies can achieve a competitive advantage through the way they design their distribution channels’ coverage, expertise, and performance. Hap’s success in building their brand and making it well-known to the general public is based partly on superior channel development. Using a mix of channels like Hap’s strategy was done In the hope of reaching a different segment of buyers and delivering to them the right product at the right price (not necessarily the lowest price). When this does not 1 OFF excessive costs to HP or/and the customer. ) How has it managed the system so far? HP has managed its 7 channel distribution system by focusing on consumer buying patterns and trying to organize each distribution channel in such a way as to avoid horizontal and multi-channel conflicts. A careful selection of channel members was made which attempted to define and focus each channel to a different market segment (Selective distribution). There were three major channels that were responsible the bulk of HP products sales (Office supplies, Computer peripheral, nonuser electronic stores).

Details of how these channels were managed are outlined below: The Office Supplies stores (e. G. Staples) targets customers who are not technically sax. N. Y. They are likely to be typical office workers who are not in need of high end equipment. Positioning Strategy: Cheap / discounted, user friendly, needed features only However, buyers who visit Computer Peripheral stores (e. G. Compass) are more likely to more technically knowledgeable. They are assumed to be more aware of technical developments and are more likely to be adopters of new technology at a premium price.

As a result, such stores will have better product pushing strategy potential I. E. Customers can be more easily enticed to other HP products. Positioning Strategy: Low to High-end, latest features available (egg. Better connectivity), distinctive and unique. Customers who visit or purchase HP equipment from Consumer Electronic stores (e. G. Circuit City) are most likely to be less technically sax. N. Y home users who have been acquainted to the stores through other consumer electronic goods such as home appliances (Washing machine, refrigerator, kitchen appliances, home entertainment systems, etc).

Positioning Strategy: Cheap / discounted, user-friendly, needed features only. Further to the three main channels discussed above, there were also minor distribution channels that without proper management could have added unnecessary complications to Hap’s distribution overall distribution channel model in the form of horizontal or multi-channel conflicts.. This is due mainly to overlapping target groups and channel conflicts where retailers are competing for the same customers. In effect HP would be competing against itself it not managed properly.

These minor channels include: Corporate account dealers (e. G. Niacin). This type of channel deals with bulk sales to purchases, they require a focal communication point for maintenance and servicing requirements that corporate account dealers can provide. However, corporate business cultures are changing with virtual offices being adopted more and more by various large corporations. As a result, corporate account dealers are being faced with individual purchases rather than mass corporate deals.

Coho’s are becoming integral parts of corporate organizational structures and as such purchasing behaviors of corporations are tending towards individual buyers who now purchase wrought the major distribution channels (Office supplies, Computer peripheral, consumer electronic stores) instead. Indirect mail-order companies (e. G. Microwave’s). Customers who purchase products through indirect mail-order represent a customer target group that is unique and is unlikely to overlap with any other channel since these channels tailor make specific models for a particular segment.

Mass merchants (e. G. Wall-mart, K-mart) catering for ultra low-end markets, and therefore do not compete head on with consumer electronic and office supply stores. Department stores (e. G. Sears) offer low to mid-end products which on the surface may seem to compete directly for the same target customers as consumer electronic and office supply stores but in fact focus on their existing department store customers rather than trying to take market share away from them. Some products may seem to overlap (See exhibit 2) which is almost unavoidable.

However, it is hoped that each channel will have a clearly defined target customer group which is differentiated from other channels. 3) How would an internet presence benefit customers? How would it benefit HP? Benefits to customers ) Less-time consuming: Shopping online can substantially save time for consumers, I. E. , transportation time, parking time, time to look for the right product, etc. 2) No transportation costs: With shopping via the internet, customers save money by not having to pay for gas, parking, etc. ) Price and feature comparison capability: Internet increases capabilities for shoppers to surf various sites for price, specifications, designs, etc. Comparing to going to brick-and-mortar stores, customers, in obtaining above information, would have to travel to many different stores, and even that, still would not be able to obtain s much information as the internet. 4) Ability to shop from anywhere, at anytime: Customers now are able to shop for normally would only be able to sell products in the operating hours (I. E. Am to pm), unlike the internet, where shoppers can shop from home at am in the morning in their pajamas.

Moreover, shoppers worldwide can shop internationally to have products shipped directly to them. 5) Ability to consult with various parties to obtain more product information: consumers can consult their family members, friends at work, etc. Without having to shop together at retail stores. Moreover, consumers can obtain users’ feedback from many internet sites to learn about product first-handed. 6) Obtaining information without dealing with salesperson: At times, when salesperson are on commissions, higher-price products are encouraged to be purchased.

Therefore, it is less likely that product information would be obtained with no bias. Also, salesperson are more likely to provide false information than the manufacturers themselves. Benefits to HP 1) Ability for HP to obtain higher margins: HP is able to charge the same price to consumers and obtain higher margin from product sales than selling through retailers. This is because HP now does not have to pay for shelf positioning, obsolescence of products, production material expenses, commissions, and various other retailer costs. ) Ability to provide correct information directly to consumers: More product details can be provided to consumers than when obtained (only directly) through salesperson. Manufacturers now can provide correct, advanced, and updated product information to consumers directly to assist them in product selection considerations. Furthermore, commission based traditional sales methods are susceptible to product biased opinions from the sales person. Hence the elimination f salesperson can reduce this potential problem. 3) Encouragement for customers to spend more at HP: Internet would allow better after-sales servicing.

With the internet, consumers now can report -problems directly to HP online and in real-time by means of electronic communications. Additionally, customers can choose to upgrade purchased products, buy accessories, and order maintenance parts which would result in more revenue streams to HP. 4) What should be the ‘scope’ of Hap’s presence? Range of products? Just demand generation or fulfillment also? We believe that the HP brand is strong enough to go ahead with offering all HP reduces through their own website without the fear of retailers discontinuing sales of HP products altogether.

Moreover, we still believe that the end-user of HP products still need to stock and have available HP products. Furthermore, the availability of HP products in the store still associates the store with a better image. By implementing this strategy, HP is able to generate demand and fulfill it as well. Demand is generated on the website by offering technical details & specifications of the products. This enables consumers to make buying decision easier and more efficient. Moreover, after consumers realize the products that match their needs, they can purchase them directly from HP website. ) How will you handle the existing channel members? Maintaining good relationships with existing channel members is significant because these channels represented 90% of Hap’s printer sales. In this system, we focus on building brand/product image, creating value of new products and enhancing products’ awareness. As a result, this opportunity would appear to be a win-win solution for both HP and retailers. For retailers, customers would better understand the features of Hap’s products and would be more likely to purchase.

In October 2015, we closed our first external funding, raising US$4 million in a round led by , a fast-growing VC firm based out of Dubai. As the t’s were crossed and the i’s were dotted, Aamir Kassim, VP of People Operations at , and I started mulling over what the future of JadoPado would look like. What sort of organization were we building? How could we instill the values that were important to us, while evolving and dissipating our culture as we grew into a larger and more diverse team?

Aamir had already started work on defining the values that we implicitly shared into a base from which to build. Rather than creating them in a vacuum or paying them the unfortunately typical lip service, he sent out an email (we don’t do internal email, making this a pretty big deal) to the rest of our team, and simply asked what they thought our most important values were and used their responses to create a long list. These were then carefully distilled down to thirteen.

While this may be seen as clichéd, taking the time to define and express who you are, what you’re doing and where you’re going is an important foundational building block for your organization. From whom you hire to what you end up building can and should boil back down towards whether you’re fulfilling what you set out to do. When you find yourself going off track, your values should guide you back in the right direction.

Designing organization policies

As we began to think more about the organizational policies that were loosely in place, but were poorly defined, we realized that most organizations build policies for what we call “the 2%,” those individuals who have a tendency towards disruption and therefore need rules to govern their organizational behavior. Unfortunately this leads to long documents that no one reads (until there’s a problem), and a complicated set of policies that the other 98% have to live by. More rules aren’t the right solution.

One of the issues that we came across very consistently was the confusion around leave. How much leave had one taken, how much they had left, what type of leave were they eligible for and the list goes on. It was complicated and messy. Long being admirers of’s incredible people management framework, we knew in our hearts that we would collectively be doing ourselves injustice if we didn’t at least attempt to live by a set of simple common sense rules that worked for the 98%, rather than the 2%. And thus was born unlimited leave.

After much discussion and debate, this is our current leave policy:

“We have an unlimited leave policy. Take as many days off as you want.”

That’s it. We’re typically met with skepticism and then incredulity, before the realization that we’re not trying to pull one over them. The top two questions are usually a variation of: “Surely this can’t work?” closely followed by “What if it’s abused?” The response tends to be pretty simple. Firstly, make sure that your team and whoever is managing you is ok with you going on leave. Unlimited leave doesn’t mean that you go on leave whenever you fancy. Secondly, if someone were to abuse the policy, with the reasonable assumption that we had the right individuals in the organization, they would be pushed out, as they’d have a net negative affect on team and .

Six months later, unlimited leave is ticking along and it has given everyone one less thing to think about. We strongly encourage taking time off to travel, learn, discover and unwind before returning for the next big push.

Flexible and remote

Next, we tackled . Many jobs do not need to happen between 0900 and 1800, and can actually happen at anytime, as long as tools are available to allow teams to work asynchronously. Slack, an incredibly strong chat-based collaboration tool and Trello, a task management platform, are two without which we would not be able to run JadoPado the way we do today.

Our VP of Engineering, Jobin George, is incredibly productive between 0000 and 0300. Asking him to come into the office at 0900 just because everyone else does so (a hangover from the industrial age), doesn’t feel right. This led to the logical conclusion that we should allow anyone who wanted to, to , with some overlap availability to allow for collaboration, whilst recognizing that our approach needed to shift towards being able to measure outcomes rather than hours worked.

Occasionally, Aamir and I amuse ourselves thinking through what a truly remote organization would look like. Could we, no, dare we ? While building a remote organization from the ground up has its challenges, evolving an existing organization to go remote is significantly harder.

During Ramadan earlier this summer, we pushed (read: forced) the JadoPado team based in Dubai to not come into JadoPado HQ. Given our existing experiences working with the other half of our team who are based in Colombo, we roughly knew that we had the right tools and a good approach to being able to quickly evolve our processes. While the first few days of #Ramadan- Remote went well, by the first Wednesday, save for one person, everyone else was back in the office. By the end of week two, I threw in the towel and decided that we were done- for now. Perhaps it was a Dubai summer thing.

We’ve not written off working remotely and instead moved back to what was previously working well. This allows whoever needs to, to work remotely when the need arises, while strongly encouraging them to come in and use the resources that are at their disposal in our physical environments, but more importantly spend quality time with their colleagues, face to face.

Today, being able to at JadoPado is an earned privilege rather than an absolute right. This feels like a good way to dip our collective toes in the water, while we get comfortable with making the shift towards not all being together in a physical space.

Organizations tend naturally to lean towards being secretive and insular, and even more so as they grow into large monoliths. Human nature is to protect what one knows and to use it to build a competitive advantage. Unexpectedly, being transparent can be even more powerful, which is why we’ve made it our mission to get as much as we can out there, for everyone else to be able to build on top of.

Don Clark’s leadership style survey assesses or evaluates the kind of leadership style of that an individual is inclined to implement once he takes on leadership or managerial roles within groups or organizations. Clark’s survey consists of thirty questions that will be rated according to the frequency of actions or behaviors identified in each number. The results of the survey will determine whether an individual’s leaderships style is authoritarian, participative, and delegative.

Looking back to the experience of taking the survey, answering the thirty questions, I already obtained some insights on my leadership style just by assessing how often I do the kinds of behaviors stated in the questions. Overall, the questions almost seemed to give away what the results of the survey were. The results of the survey revealed that my leadership style is participative. The next most dominant leadership style is delegative, as I have read that the description of the participative and the delegative styles are somewhat similar.

The least dominant leadership style that I implement is the authoritative style. Looking at my most dominant leadership style, the participative style allows the sharing of roles and responsibilities within the leader and subsidiaries. These roles and responsibilities are not delegated or ordered to anyone in particular but are shared by both the leader and members or employees of each unit or department within the organization. However, the leader still takes responsibility for the results or outcomes of shared work outputs or decisions.

Moreover, the leader has the final say on how the unit or department will approach various problems or concerns within the organization. (Clark, 2008) The results of the leadership style survey is not surprising, not only as I have already obtained an idea on how I act or behave as a leader during taking the survey, but because I seem to agree or act similarly tot eh nature and characteristics stated by Clark about participative leaders.

I do believe that the accomplishment of tasks is a shared responsibility, and that the rate of success is highly influenced by how well the leader and members of a team or group is able to contribute individually by sharing their knowledge and skills. Perhaps the advantages or strengths of being a leader who is participative in nature is that the strengths and contributions of all individuals involved in the team are combined in order to produce the best results.

However, allowing or motivating these kinds of things to happen require good leadership skills that will be able to draw out the strengths or potency of each member of the team or the group. Perhaps my understanding of leadership fits that of the context of the organizational setting, such that leaders are the “captains of the ship” propelling the direction the organization is heading. The efficiency of leaders lie in their capacity to steer the organization to success in such a way that they are able to handle all aspects of the organization, most especially its human capital, to exhibit and produce the best results.

Quality leadership styles or approaches require severe training and discipline in order to determine one’s leadership skills and capabilities. I believe I can improve by leadership skills by being flexible to trends and changes introduced to the field of management, and by analyzing organizational situations in order to determine which type of leadership style or approach to implement fitting the context of the situation or environment.

Although the survey was instrumental in informing individuals about their leadership styles, it lacks the depth of providing suggestions or recommendations on how one’s leadership skills and competencies will be able to improve. Moreover, the strengths and weaknesses for each leadership style was missing, disregarding the need for individuals to understand the underlying meaning of the survey – and that is to comprehend the results of the survey in order to change one’s leadership styles and qualities to foster growth and development.

For this reason, there is a need to explore other possibilities of evaluating one’s leadership styles in order to ensure the validity and reliability of evaluation or assessment results and outcomes. References Clark, D. (2008). Leadership Styles. Retrieved December 9, 2008, from NWLink. Website: http://www. nwlink. com/~donclark/leader/leadstl. html