Unit 7 Developing Manager Pass Copy

Introduction

For an organisation in present business environment, ensuring effective management has become one of the key objective. In order to ensure that organisational policies are implemented properly, and employees of the organisations are managed effectively without any issues, managers play an important role in such situations. Organisations today, are focused extensively on getting managers who demonstrate exceptional leadership qualities, and c to achieve its business objectives. However, like any other employee, a manager also has certain specific skillset, which he applies from time to time to resolve a situation or to motivate his employees. However, managers also require to constantly improve their managerial skillsets, because it not only helps them in their future growth but also enables them to contribute to the organisation’s growth in an effective manner (Blandford, 2012).  In Unit 7 Developing Manager Pass Copy, importance of self-learning cannot be ignored. Managers, today are shifting towards a self-managed learning mode where they are focusing on their skill development by their own efforts, for which they are not dependent on the organisation, and proactively seek various training opportunities to update their skillset. For an effective manager, it is important to have a capability to understand his strength and weaknesses, because such knowledge, helps a manager to accordingly apply his skill sets to derive the best possible result out of a given situation. It has become necessary for the managers, to focus on development of plan which will enable them to continuously improve and develop their existing skillset and acquire new relevant skills. Purpose of this task/assignment is to gain understanding of behaviour management principles and gain skills to review their managerial potential, show managerial roles and responsibilities and ultimately create a career development plan.
For better understanding example of two organisations namely Virgin Atlantic- an airline company based in UK, and a hotel organisation named Radisson Blu. Based on these two organisations, different management styles, leadership characteristics, communication processes etc. will be evaluated.

Task 1: Understand principles and practices of management behaviour

1.1 Compare different management styles in two organizations of your choice

Every organisation has its own set of management style. In travel and tourism sector management style has a major impact on the organisation success. This can be understood by examples of two organisations selected.

For example, Radisson Blu Edwardian Heathrow Hotel is a luxury hotel situation in West London, this hotel is managed by its CEO Jasminder Singh. During 2008 when UK economy witnessed sharp slump then its CEO focused on using authoritative style of management. Considering the fact that revenue was not as per the expectation, and losses were mounting. The CEO took various decisions related to operational cost reduction such as reducing the work force, cutting down day-to-day operational expenses through use of technology. It can be said that he followed an authoritative style of management. Under this management style, it can be said that the leader or manager is driven by a long term direction and vision for its organisation and employees. Such management style is effective when clear directions and standards are required. Manager in such management style focuses on motivation of his employees by persuasion and provides regular feedback on their task performance. Hence in case of Radisson Hotel also, its CEO focused on ensuring that despite of economy slow down and poor performance, his employees are not demotivated. However, such management style might be ineffective in a situation when employees of an organisation are underdeveloped and they need guidance on what to do (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014).

Another example is related to Virgin Atlantic Group. Virgin Atlantic Group is owned Virgin Group, with its head office in Crawley, West Sussex England. Established in 1984, organisation has come a long way to become one of the top most civil aviation company in UK. Craig Kreeger is the CEO of the company, who follows the management style of coaching his employees. As a management style, coaching is the way where the objective is to ensure long term professional development of employees. The core idea behind the concept of coaching is, that if employees are encouraged to develop their skillset, then eventually it benefits the organisation in long run. That is why Virgin Atlantic has various employee professional development programs (PDPs) through which employees are motivated to improve their existing skill set, and make themselves more relevant to the organisation.

1.2 Discuss leadership characteristics in the chosen organizations

Leadership is one such attributes, which organisations always focus upon. Leaders of an organisation, and their leadership style plays a major role in success (or failure) of the organisation. In case of organisations selected for the analysis, it can be said that Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotel follows transformation style of leadership. Reason behind terming the leadership style of the group as transformative in nature, because it’s CEO has focused on transformation of the group from time to time. Hence when the hotel was going through lean phase, the CEO decided to implement various technologies to cut the operational expenses and transform the organisation to a better managed one. Transformational leaders have integrity and high emotional intelligence. They motivate people with a shared vision of the future, and they communicate well. They're also typically self-aware, authentic, empathetic, and humble. A transformational leader sets clear goal to be achieved and have good conflict resolution skills, which results into high productivity and engagement (Yücel et al, 2013).

On other hand, leadership style of Virgin Atlantic is democratic in nature. A democratic leader always ensures that all the important people of the organisation are involved in the decision making process, and feedback from all the employees is collected. Such leaders are concerned about participation of all the employees in day to day organisational activities, and focuses on their personal as well as professional growth. This trait has been clearly displayed by the CEO of the Virgin Atlantic company, as he has always focused on coaching of his employees and encouraged then to develop their skill sets. He has also focused upon including all the important parties or individuals in the company in the decision making process. This can be understood by example of price fixing case, in which decision was taken by the CEO to become a volunteer to disclose fraud done by British Airways and Virgin Atlantic by increasing the fuel surcharge on the ticket prices. Since Virgin Atlantic became a volunteer and disclosed the wrongdoings it was saved from any financial penalties, such decisions cannot be taken in isolation, and has to be taken through a democratic process.

1.3 Evaluate communication processes in selected businesses

Process of communication is one of the core components of the management style and leadership style practiced in an organisation. With rapidly increasing globalisation, organisations today are focusing on setting up a communication framework which can clearly communicate the messages to all the stakeholders of the organisation. In this regard, it is essential to know that both organisations selected are global organisations, where stakeholders are present in different locations. Hence based on analysis of their operations, it can be said that following communication processes are followed:

Upward communication is followed by the employees working at the lowest level. In this kind of communication method, focus is to ensure that day to day activities of an employee is reported to his superior through various tools such as ‘Daily Status Reports’ etc. Hence, irrespective of an employee’s location, managers can keep themselves up to date about their employee’s activities, and provide them with timely feedback. Another, methods for such communication include use of instant messaging, direct phone calls etc.
Downward communication is followed by management/leadership of Virgin Atlantic and Radisson Blu Edwardian. In such communication method, communication takes place from the highest level of the organisation. For example, if CEO of Virgin Atlantic has to send across a message to all its employees, then he will use either company’s intranet, or monthly newsletters to interact with them. Hence activities such as Town Hall Meetings, Skip Level Meetings etc. are popular methods through which communication is done (Eastman et al, 2011).
Horizontal communication is the process of communication which takes place between employees at same level. Hence such communication can take place in cafeterias, meeting rooms etc. This type of communication is generally informal in nature and focused towards resolving day to day issues and team building efforts.

1.4 Analyse organizational culture and Structure in selected businesses

An organisation is known by its culture and structure. That is why, organisations give specific focus on improving their culture and making their structure as robust as possible.

Organisational culture represents the vision, mission and goal of an organisation and how its people are aligned to achieve it. On other hand structure of an organisation defines its overall design in which the organisation is managed.
In this regard it can be said that Virgin Atlantic follows an organisational structure which is flat in nature. In such situations, there is no hierarchy in the organisation, and all people in the organisation are equally responsible for the decision making process. Even through a CEO is there in Virgin Atlantic, but considering the fact he himself follows a coaching style of management, it can be said that CEO engages with majority of the employees in several decision making processes, also unlike other structure, employees in flat structure do not have to face pressure from managers etc. Such organisational structure breeds a culture which is friendly in nature and also known as Clan organisational culture. In such culture, employee satisfaction is given top most priority along with getting optimum organisational performance. Such culture promotes a positive and progressive work environment. Decision making process is also relatively quick in such structure (Bell & Goldsmith, 2013).

On other hand, Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotel follows a hierarchical structure. In such structure power is concentrated in hands of senior leaders of the organisation. For example, in Radisson Blu Hotel, its power is in hands of the CEO. Hence, whatever decision CEO takes in consultation with his senior leadership has to be accepted by other employees of the organisation. Decision making process in such structure might be relatively slow as it has to go through several layers of hierarchies, and might lead to poor performance and inefficiency. Organisational culture in such structure is relatively restrictive in nature, which means that every time employee has to go through a decision making process layers before an activity can be done. Often, employees in such organisational feel powerless, and unsatisfied with the level of freedom given to them. That is why, employee retention might become a major issues for such organisations. 

Task 2: Be able to review own potential as a prospective manager

2.1 Assess own management skills performance

In order to become an effective manager it is important to have understanding of one’s own skill set and capabilities. As a potential prospective manager, I would like to join an organisation which is well-known in travel and tourism sector, where I can apply my theoretical knowledge in combination with practical experience on the job. Personally I believe that following are the skills which makes me suitable for the role of General Manager’s job:

Being proactive is one important leadership trait which I have in my personality.  A leader or a manager should be proactively engaged with his employees to understand their point of concern, and accordingly guide them. It not only improves the trust factor among the manager and the employees, but also helps the manager to motivate the employee to do a high quality work. Another important trait of an effective manager I have is proper time management skills. A manager should be able to prioritize his time in such a way, that high priority tasks should be allocated first and managed accordingly. Eventually good time management skills will ensure that no task or duty is left unattended. Being approachable is also one critical trait I have. A manager should be approachable and friendly in nature. Employees reporting to the manager should not be apprehensive about approaching the manager with their problems or issues. However, manager should ensure that he should be able to balance between being friendly and being a good task master, so that employees should neither become too complacent nor they should become too apprehensive. A manager should be a good listener as well, which I believe I am, being a good listener, assures the employees reporting to the manager that his problem or concerns will be heard rather than being judged (Eagly & Johannesen?Schmidt, 2001).

2.2 Analyse personal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

In order to create a development plan, it is first essential to identify the strength, weakness, opportunities and threats in front of a prospective manager. In order to achieve SWOT analysis can be conducted. Hence, following is the SWOT analysis as a General Manager:

Strength As a prospective manager, I believe my interpersonal skills, communication and analytical skills are my major strengths. I am a good motivator, hence in a situation where an employee might feel demotivated, I will be able to motivate him. I am proactive person, who likes to analyse the problem or any potential situation beforehand, so that it can be avoided from becoming more complex. In a situation of crisis, I believe in leading from front, which is an important attribute required from a manager.

Weaknesses One of my major weaknesses is being judgmental about a situation or person. At times, without known much about a situation or an individual, I form my opinion about it, which is not good, and can lead to biasness. At times I am too enthusiastic, due to which I miss the fine details which needs to be analysed in order to resolve an issue or situation.

Opportunity Today, organisations are looking for hiring more and more effective managers, as they know that if a manager is hired right, then he can help them in optimisation of their resource allocation and operational expenses. Managers, are seen as an integral part of organisation who can act like a bridge between the employees and the top management.

Threat Managers are mainly considered to be overhead on organisation, which is a wrong perception. However in situation of economic recession, this perception might lead to firing a manager from the organisation. Other people, in similar job level, who might also fight for position of manager are always a threat

2.3 Set and prioritize objectives and targets to develop own potential

Based on SWOT analysis done in above section, it can be said that there has to be prioritization of objectives and targets in order to develop my potential. Based on strengths listed above, it is important to understand, that these strength points should be used by an individual to channelize his efforts towards capturing various opportunities present in the business environment (Friesner, 2011). For an individual it is essential to list down all the objectives which he wants to achieve, and accordingly channelize all the resources and prioritize his time to achieve the listed goals and objectives. Every plan should have a contingency plan, which means, that it is not necessary that things in a development plan will always progress as planned. An effective plan should always consider worst case scenario which might have impact on the execution of the plan. Hence, accordingly buffer time or resource should be allocated so that in case of any issue there is no impact on the development plan. Hence, as a prospective manager my first goal is to ensure that I apply my theoretical knowledge in an effective manner in the environment where I will work. Without integration of theoretical knowledge with practical scenarios, there will be high possibility that efforts to excel as manager will be more ad-hoc in nature (Blanchard et al, 2005).

Once I am able to apply the theoretical knowledge, I will focus on moving up the hierarchy of the organisation in the travel and tourism sector. I will acquire all the skills which will be required to progress further. I will curtail my weakness about being judgmental and lack of attention to details by being conscious about these two issues, and will work specifically to ensure that I do not commit mistakes because of my weakness. Hence, I intend to reduce my weakness within 18 months of my work experience as manager. I will avoid being judgmental towards a situation or an individual. I will perform meditation in order to improve my concentration skills for fine details. 
Also, I will put specific focus on further improving my interpersonal skills and communication skills by participating in various managerial forums within organisations, and taking additional responsibilities apart from my designated duties. In general it can be said, that time line for improvement will be spread over 18 months divided into 6 quarters. Hence, after every 3 months I will analyse my current situation and will try to gather feedback about my performance, based on the inputs received I will accordingly make further changes in the plan and my efforts, so that my ultimate objective can be achieved successfully.

Task 3: Be able to show managerial skills within a business and services context

3.1 Lead and motivate a team to achieve an agreed goal or objective

In order to understand this task, it is important to take up an example of an existing organisation, where organisation is unable to perform due to its leadership. Yahoo! Inc. was one of the most well-known internet organisations in early 2000s till late 2000s. However, it failed to innovate due to which it was replaced by other organisations such as Google etc. One major reason behind this failure to grow was due to short-sightedness of its leadership.

As a leader, I would focus more towards the internal team building and identifying the human resources who can help me to reshape the strategy of the organisation. It is important for a leader to have trust in his employees when it comes to execution of strategies. Rather than focusing completely on the technological improvement, I would also focus on empowering people to provide their inputs and feedbacks which can be then incorporated in the day-to-day strategies.
Assuming myself as a leader of a company like Yahoo! I will focus on identification of all the divisions or segments of business which are not performing well, and then will discuss the issues with the employees of those divisions. Often, employees do not perform due to a incompetent manager above them. Hence, I will ensure that employee’s relation with his supervisor or manager is in harmony with organisational goals and policies.
Employee’s and the team needs motivation in different forms. For example, a technical person might seek motivation in form of recognition for his efforts towards developing a new technology, whereas another employee might feel motivated by certain extra perks and monetary benefits. In order to handle such issues, I will ensure that there is proper recognition and incentive programs in order to reward the deserving resources.
One extremely important skill of a leader is to motivate his team to a level where they feel empowered to achieve a specific objective. A leader should not just lead but should also interact closely with his followers/employees, as this will ensure that a close personal bonding is established between the leader and his employees/followers. An effective leader is the one, who is capable of identifying the factors which can be used to motivate his employees. That is why, for a leader it is essential to apply motivational techniques to motivate his employees. A leader should be capable of connecting with his employees at a personal level and should be able to understand their problems and concerns.
It is essential to understand that for a leader assuring his employee satisfaction is very important and in order to achieve this, specific motivational techniques should be used. It becomes more important, when an employee is interacting directly with the customer in travel and tourism sector. If an employee is not motivated enough, then it might reflect in his performance as well, eventually impacting the business. Hence, as a manager/leader I will focus on implementing Maslow’s hierarchy of needs model in order to understand motivation factors of my employees, and accordingly fulfil those needs. According to this model, following are the needs mentioned in below diagram:

As it can be seen that from an organisational perspective, safety and esteem are two important levels of needs.

Hence, an employee will be satisfied for his safety needs in terms of security of job, and will be rewarded with salary hikes based on the performance. It will be ensured that performance appraisal will be rational in nature and will not be biased. That is why, employees will be awarded with their annual salary hikes and will be motivated to perform better (Gawel, 1997).

On other hand, employee’s esteem will be boosted by awarding the best performers publicly which will motivate then further and will fulfil their need of gaining respect from others. However, as a manager I will also motivate an employee to fulfil his need of self-actualization by providing an environment where employees can innovate and solve problems in organisation. 

3.2 Justify managerial decisions made to support achievement of agreed goal or objective and recommendations for improvements

Purpose of this task is to understand the reasoning behind use of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs model. It is important to understand as a manager that behind any decision at organisational level, there has to be proper justification. Hence, as a manager it is important to analyse the potential impacts of the decisions and their after effects. Thus a manager should consult with important stakeholders before taking any critical decision which might have impact on other employees.
It is important to understand that there is responsibility of several employees’ growth on a manager. Hence, every decision can have significant impact on the growth and progress of an employee. Employee’s motivation level is an important attribute which helps in growth (or fall) of an organisation. If an employee is not motivated then he will never perform to best of his capabilities. That is why, as a manager, I will always focus on fulfilling all the requirements or expectations (within an organisational framework) which can help in motivating an employee. For example, every employee should be objectively evaluated, and based on his evaluation of his performance, he should be rewarded accordingly. If a goal or objective is achieved successfully, based on the importance of that goal or objective, suitable rewards or recognitions should be provided to the employees or teams. Until and unless a manager doesn’t supports the achievement of agreed goal or objectives, an employee will always feel de-motivated to work towards achieving the goal.
Reason behind selecting the Maslow’s model of hierarchy is its objectivity. The model clearly segregates different types of human needs which are universal. Hence, this model removes the ambiguity between two requirements, and empowers a manager to take decisions to fulfil those needs accordingly.

Some of the recommendations to improve the organisational environment and keep employees motivated are:

• Employees should be given regular training and development to improve their existing skill set, as this will not only improve their confidence, but will also make them more relevant for the organisation (Hagerty, 1999).
• From time to time, manager should engage in talks with his employees, this talk can be formal as well as informal in nature. Such talks will enable a manager to understand the issues being faced by employees, and accordingly take corrective actions to resolve them.
• There should be clear communication to employees about the employee welfare policies so that employees are aware of benefits for which they are entitled.
• From time to time, team building exercises should be organised in order to ensure that all the employees know each other properly.

Conclusion

Overall it can be said that in order to sustain in present economy, it is extremely important to continuously update ourselves. A manager should always focus on self-managed learning methods of personal and professional skill developments. Base on above analysis of organisations such as Virgin Atlantic and Radisson Blu Hotels, it can be said that leadership styles and management style has a major role to play in success of an organisation. Leadership and management has direct impact on the motivation of an employee, hence leaders or managers should always consider after-effect of their leadership style before taking any decision.

References

Armstrong, M., & Taylor, S. (2014). Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers.Bell, C. R., & Goldsmith, M. (2013). Managers as mentors: Building partnerships for learning. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.Blanchard, K. H., Zigarmi, P., & Zigarmi, D. (1985). Leadership and the one minute manager. Video Publishing House.