Leadership

[Institution’s State]

Blog 1: Theories and Models of Leadership and Management

An organization is a collection of multidimensional components and there are complex equations between all of these components. It encompasses various individuals, business practices, visions, missions, goals, performance standards, an organizational culture, ethical frameworks, hierarchies based on command and control, working methods, management styles along with relevant theories and models and a considerable number of other factors. Different organizations perform their operations under the influence of distinguished and diverse rules, conditions, circumstances, goals and factors (Cherry n.d.). Since the modus operandi and culture associated with every organization are tailored to its requirements, therefore, the models and theories allied with management style of an organization can also be also distinctive, unique and different from what accomplishes favorable outcomes for another organization.

Ibarra and Hansen (2011, p.p.71) reveals a research-based fact that has consistently shown that diverse teams produce better results, provided they are well led. The ability to bring together people from different backgrounds, disciplines, cultures, and generations and leverage all they have to offer, therefore, is a must-have for leaders.

Adhering to the author’s statement, it is clear enough that management of diversification requires adequate participation of ideas and notions which the diversified staff members come up with to achieve organizational goals and market growth. In this regard, the Participative model or style of management is the one which provides significant advantages to the firms which find diversification as the key factor of their business growth. Further elaboration on this theory of organizational management is described subsequently.

Management Style or Model: Participative Management

This management style model is a moderate channel between the two afore-mentioned styles. This style deviates from the characteristics of authoritative style because it does permit opinions of subordinates to be taken into consideration but the ultimate decision of matters is left in the hands of the manager. This style can be applied to the organizations so that the organization has some role definitions and a sense of hierarchy without being too strict. Also, this can work well with the aspect of the organization which divides religious and nonreligious members. This management style might give rise to communication between team members to a controlled degree because they may share opinions before providing their feedback to the manager. The management of individuals acquires even more of a complicated nature in a diverse environment when cultural factors and differentiation can prove to be instrumental in leaving an effect on individual and professional attitudes and practices (Kent 2005, pp. 4+).

This management style, by incorporating the opinions of subordinates and permitting them to participate, manages diversity in an efficient manner as well. Further, it will lead to better integration of technology in the framework of the organization.

Strengths

Since this style permits the opinions of staff members to be considered in the procedure of making decisions, there will not be a shared feeling of being left out among staff members and they will feel valued since their opinions are being considered. The organizations can thus benefit from this specific approach.

Research conducted to evaluate the efficacy of participative management indicates that this type of management may lead to a condition of instilling a sense of contentment, joy and involvement in workers (Mudacumura 2000, pp. 2051). The workers of various organizations will be permitted to sustain their involvement which will help retain the culture and values of the organization.

This style can help employees prioritize their tasks and accomplish results in a better way in the organizations because of high levels of involvement.

Since all employees will be asked to share their opinions, this management style will lead to an environment in which products and services are outcomes of multidimensional and informed approaches, rather than rigid ones. This will cause the services provided by the organization to be superior.

Since it involves a participative approach, therefore, this style can find solutions to problems and issues in a better manner. If the organizations utilize this approach, then the problems arising from the present lack of communication in the organization may be effectively dealt with.

Weaknesses

When this management style is applied to the organizations, it may lead to complications because since this style involves a number of staff opinions, it may result in delayed outcomes. Participative decisions are not well-timed because they cannot be taken in a quick manner and consume time (Chelladurai 2006, p. 207).

Studies also suggest that participative management model is not successful in giving rise to favorable results (Mudacumura 2000, p. 2051). Therefore, a complication is accentuated here because the organization in question is one which is producing results without a particularly defined management style so if a management style takes away from its capability to produce desired results, it cannot be considered to be a recommended action to take.

If the group members are not aligned well in relation to this management style, then it can direct the course of events to increased conflicts (Chelladurai 2006, p. 207). Without any specific or rigid management style, even if The organizations employees have conflicts, they do not obstruct the quality of their outcomes but the conflicts originating from participative management may impact their outcomes.

Inconsistency between the manager and the group’s knowledge and perspectives may lead to a lot of information going to waste (Chelladurai 2006, p. 207).

Conclusions and Outcomes

The afore-mentioned analysis makes a statement that participative management can produce mixed results for the organizations. From a diversity-based perspective, it can be favorable because it creates an interactive environment and permits individuals to share their opinions. It can lead to a condition of uniformity and sharing between members belonging to diverse groups, which are evident from the presence of religious as well as non-religious segments of this organization, which are the only distinctive and clearly defined sections of this organization. But there are problematic areas as well and this management style may lead to ineffective or deteriorated outcomes. Further, it may lead to confusions and decrement in performance levels of employees.

Blog 2: Changes and Resistance for Changes

It is very frequent these days that a great number of organizations are going through drastic and sometimes even unpredictable changes in economical, political, social, and technological conditions of the world that are often responsible to necessitate some substantial changes within the existing structures, strategies, policies, procedures, and objectives for any organization. Restructuring, downfalls, joint ventures, and various other kinds of across-the-board organizational changes are becoming very common strategies that are being inclined towards or preferred by the private as well as public sectors and organizations so as to better respond to the ever changing environmental conditions and pressures to give boost to the effectiveness of the previously devised organizational structure. In spite of all this, an all-inclusive and thriving organizational change still remains a tough target to be achieved, and for that reason many organizations stand at odd to implement change effectively; as lack of managerial strategies make their efforts fail out-and-out (Gibb et al. 2001).

Mergers and amalgamations of two different entities usually serve as the main reason for organizational failures to undergo and implement large- scale changes. The Royal Air Force Station is also going through a big organizational change for empowering its effectiveness by the amalgamating two of its bases for changing the process through which the Crews obtain all the information before flying. In other words, the firm is looking at bringing in the dispatch process similar to its Civilian counterparts.

This change in procedures is emerged as a massive one that is taking time which is more than the expected one. Thus, impacts the perceptions of working employees at the undertaken project. Incoherent and perplexed managerial activities serve as the key factors influencing negative and ignorant behaviors of the teams assigned to this project.

Conclusion

The afore-mentioned facts about the changes being implemented by the management of the company might be effectual for the good-will and market performance of the organization but, mismanaged strategies could hinder the effectiveness as well as the future progress of the implemented change by all means.

Blog 3: Analysis of Leaders in Global Business

To analyze the unique traits of global leaders, in this exposition, the two most renowned leaders of the world who are known for their eminence, creativity, innovation and most importantly for the pioneering talent they come up with. These two popular leaders are: Bill Gates, the owner of Microsoft Inc. And Mark Zuckerberg, the developer of Facebook. The leadership traits they depict make them popular and successful all over the world. As a leader, they act as the dignitaries who can direct enormous activities of a group en route for a shared goal by proposing a consequential and evocative direction to combined efforts. Their leadership traits exemplify their inclinations towards teamwork and their magnificent interpersonal skills that are the true essence of a real leader.

Both of them found:

“Leadership as a course of action where a person, i.e. The leader, manipulates a cluster of other individuals, i.e. The followers, through his aptitudes to influence, stimulate, and to enable others to throw in toward the efficacy and triumph of the organization in order to accomplish a common purpose by perusing visions, symbolizing standards, and producing the milieu within which causes and effects can be accomplished with all dignity and prosperity (Leadership Capacities of Mark Zuckerberg 2011; Arora n.d.).

1. Leadership, initiative and creativity

For them, the very basic and simple model of leadership that makes a person a true leader comprises of four elements at which the leaders can rely round and which are the absolute gestures of the spot on leadership capabilities. These four components of leadership are (Leadership Capacities of Mark Zuckerberg 2011; Arora n.d.):

• Vision, which gives a big picture of future requirements and without a definite vision there is no leadership.

• Credibility, the grounds at which leadership prospers and which enhances a sound relationship among the leaders and their followers which ignited by the sense of honesty, competency.

• Communication is to leadership is like steering is to car, which finds best directions to better guide the followers in the road of success, and • Achievement and leadership goes neck to neck, as, achievement is an ultimate goal of an absolute leadership.

They strongly contemplate that endorsements of these components serve as an ad on factor for one’s leadership qualities. Thus, these four attributes are being deemed by them as the flourishing leadership conducts that appeared to be significant for the effectiveness of their ways to lead the world.

2. Problem solving Traits

When it comes to the undertaken leaders, then the leadership theory that would best describe their leadership aptitudes is the Situation Theory, which is one of the most versatile approaches among all and as per my behavioral conducts. In this approach the leaders are at their own to clutch the best course of action basing upon various situational circumstances (Cherry). Further elaborations of the theory along with some apt examples are being discussed in subsequent paragraphs.

As, every situation is not always alike and the temperament of the events varies from situation to situation, therefore, it is not wise to adopt similar traits in every situation because the actions that have been taken in one situation might not always be favorable for the other one. For that reason, there must be a proper involvement of situational judgment approach while deciding what course of actions would be best fitted for the current occurrence (Leadership Capacities of Mark Zuckerberg 2011; Arora n.d.). This leads to another approach of the leadership style that is significantly needed for each situation. For instance, whenever they have to face up to any employee for his inapt performance, then their discussions for leading him usually vary with situational demands like, if the altercation is too delayed or too premature, too unsympathetic or too frail, then the their decisions would vary in each case to enhance and sustain the effectiveness of their leadership traits.

3. Application of Knowledge

Being a leader, they follow the above-said situational and skill-based approaches so as to carry out magnificent performance with extreme level interest for the betterment of their followers. On analyzing their personality, it would not be erroneous to establish that a superior leader is one who can work in harmony to fulfill the demands of his followers; and by following these approaches of leading the world he can exploit his apt skill-sets to be recognized by others.

4. Professional Communication

These two leaders highlighted that the goal of winning the trust and confidence of the followers can only be achieved by effective communication by the leader in subsequent critical areas (Leadership Capacities of Mark Zuckerberg 2011; Arora n.d.):

1. Helping followers by understanding their needs.

2. Making the followers to contribute in the establishment of the overall group or organization.

3. Establishing good relationship with the followers.

5. Project Management and Planning

Grounding upon the theories and conducts, which these leaders have come up with, the goals that can increase one’s management and planning worth are as follows (Leadership Capacities of Mark Zuckerberg 2011; Arora n.d.):

• To augment day-to-day activities of the organization

• To encounter the organization’s recent standing and to improvise it

• To adopt better communication style that would be more comprehensive for the team headed by me.

• To match with the pace evolving market trends and feds

• To segregate my traits with other conventional outdated conducts.

Conclusion

From the afore-mentioned discussions, it can be viewed in a broader gamut that the mission and aims of these leaders is to make better inroads on the way towards technology by employing their uniquely devised leadership traits. They learn from their mistakes which were made in the earlier times. They are willing to compete and relish the opportunities they are getting through their efforts and uphill struggle they have endure.

Primary aim of these two leaders is to facilitate the provision of accessibility, which makes it more conventional for anyone to witness, hear, distinguish, and use the technology with ease, the personalization of an individual’s technology-based activities in order to meet their own needs and preferences. For a number of people with impairments, the liberty of accessing the best with great ease is what makes technology use possible and more long lasting (Leadership Capacities of Mark Zuckerberg 2011; Arora n.d.).

The companies, owned and led by these two personalities, emphasize heavily on the needs of the customer and cater their needs in the most satisfactory way possible. There is no way in which the customers can found a flaw in their relation with the staff that is working untiringly for the betterment of their technology and customer care relations. In a nut shell, they are endeavoring to make new and improved innovations that will relish the use of technology like never before.

Blog 4: Ethical Relationship between Leaders and their Teams

It is largely observable fact that lack of appropriate appreciations let the professional morale of the employees down to a great extent. This reflects that the effective management of the employees working within an organized and developed organizational structure is undoubtedly dependent upon certain ways which are being used to manage their aptitudes and professional talents. Such management gives rise to the levels and ranges of performances shown by the individuals in any organization (Rubin et al. 2010). All in all, it could be established that the practice of employee management as an effective leader is the science of managing and enhancing the job performance ratios of the individuals working within an organization. It takes account for several strategies, models and patterns that can be used to achieve the intended desires of an organization with respect to its employees. Although, this field is not being explored much up till now, but well-developed and structured organizations have not only recognized its significance but are also contemplating it as the cornerstone of organizational success and prosperity. Every individual has certain aptitudes and calibers which differ from one another but are critical for the company’s intended outcomes by all means.

By managing employees in such a way that involves them in decision-making practices, leaders actually allows its staff members to participate in organizational decisions so as to make them feel like the real stakeholders of the company, which undoubtedly increase loyalty, devotion and most importantly satisfaction among the employees working at the organization. Apart from that, routine training and development programs at Tesco also kept its employees engage in fulfilling the organizational objectives.

Interactions between employees and leaders encourage a sound and healthy organizational environment. At various organizations, the strategic actions, such as performance-based awards and rewards, implemented by the top hierarchy are commendable for securing individual dynamics and providing motivations and encouragements to the employees within internal structure of the organization.

Conclusions

A leader is one who embraces those individuals who desire to implant the philosophy within their personal and work ethics by signifying their characteristics of understanding, listening, healing, awareness, persuasions, conceptualization, foresight, warden-ship, loyalty and dedication towards personal growth of others and building a community that can serve their welfare (Spears p.5-10). A leader tries to stir the managerial and personnel interactions and incline it away from “typical controlling activities” towards a more synergistic relationship between the two parties.

The mightiest of the oceans are first noshed by small dribbles of water and in case of servant leadership the natural servants are like those small trickles of water that always tried to make the most of the ocean by serving it even drop by drop. The leaders always seek to see clarity of the world as it is and listen carefully to farsighted needs and wants of the people who are concentrated in their surroundings (Mulins 2012). Moreover, these leaders are challenging the all-encompassing unfairness and prejudice with a greater force of behavioral optimism (Bell 2010). The most prominent characteristics of the servant leadership approach is its attitude towards various sharper issues of the society and the followers of this philosophy are taking these edging issues that exist to serve society and various business institutions with the wide disparity of reasonable resources from that of the traditional ones for escalating the quality of social and business atmosphere (Mulins 2010).

In the end, the characteristics of a good leader could be summarized as; a good leader is one who triggers off and musters others to achieve an assigned errand or to think in a definite way that is especially meant for the benefit of all who concern. Furthermore, a good leader is one whose principal rationales of leading are to serve others by endowing in their growth and comfort for the implanting the benefit of common good in the society and also to ensure a better working environment.

And last but not the least, the leadership philosophy supports the need of skillful listening so that the leaders can stay closer to their colleagues or customers and can also have a good indulgent of what their colleagues or customers are expecting from them. In accordance of various critical expectations of others, a servant leader performs at a high level and works even much harder to bring their basic desires to them and hence, the servant leadership makes the wheels of free enterprise run at a smoother track.

Blog 5: Benefits of Studying Leadership

Leadership is a procedure of social change in which one individual has the aptitude to lead others in the accomplishment of a general task (Studzinski 2011). Leadership is a perception that can be puzzling because it has both institutional and individual dimensions. Institutional leadership is normally based upon role and rank. Organizational leadership transform into authoritative and dictatorial nature. At its greatest, it has open channels of communique for a wide range of ideas to manage decisions and policies. A leader needs to have a vision which includes set of goals to be achieved. Great leaders who look for victories and organizational goals are frequently not individuals who only fill up institutional roles. They are persons who have an enormous vision that will advantage humanity, and are dedicated to achieving it with honesty and sincerity, and persevere in their efforts with consideration and bravery despite apparently impossible obstacles (Kotter 2007).

The leadership module cam proffer its students with the handful awareness of market as well as, can made them familiar with the needs and wants of their immediate followers in context of optimal measures for their organizational safety and well-being that could be taken in their ultimate interests (Studzinski 2011). This quality could help the students of Leadership module to become eligible enough for any post in their professional terms. All in all, by opting for the module of Leadership in management courses, one can learn that the people aspire to be leaded by those who have clear and distinct visions and those they respect.

Conclusion

This study can make the students aware about some distinctive traits for tackling with various managerial aspects and factors, which mostly revolve around three magical words (Concepts of Leadership):

‘Be’ one of them, like the one who have ability to change the world with extreme level of proficiency and skillfulness.

‘Know’ what they want, like meet the needs and wants of the followers ‘Do’ what they expect, like act accordingly for the welfare of your followers.

Bibliography

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11. Cherry, Kendra (n.d.), Leadership Theories, available from [June 15, 2012]