Leadership - Week 5

Differences between management and leadership

Managers in an organisation plan, control and solve problems, co-ordinate and implement policy which has been set by the leadership in the business to achieve results. Leaders within an organisation are the people who generate ideas, enthuse and inspire their staff to realise their personal and collective potential. Leaders have long term vision for the business and set direction for managers to follow. Managers tend to adopt impersonal attitudes towards goals while leaders adopt more personal and active attitude towards goals. Managers have a low level of emotional involvement in their relationship with other people but leaders have empathy with people so give attention to what events and actions mean.

“Managerial Grid” developed by Blake and Mouton



This managerial grid is based on two behavioural dimensions:

• Concern for people

This is where the manager considers the people working for them, their interests and any personal development when deciding how to achieve a task.

• Concern for production

This is where the manager decides how to complete a task efficiently because managers are always concerned with high levels of production.

The five leadership styles suggested by Blake and Mouton in the managerial grid are:

1. The impoverished manager does not expect too much from his/her employees. This type of manager does not have much concern for his/her employees or of meeting the business goals. This type of manager will just do enough work to keep their job as they have no commitment to the business.

2. The country club manager pays attention to their employees developing good relationships with them. This style of leader usually avoids conflict and is eager to help their staff achieve reasonable results.

3. The middle of the road manager also cares about their staff and they are committed to achieving the aims and objectives of the business.

4. The authority compliance manager will make sure jobs are done whatever the cost with total focus on achieving goals. These type of managers do not have a relationship with their employees because they judge employees on the quality of their work.

5. Team management manager according to Blake and Mouton is the ideal type of manager. This type of manager produces good results because they lead their employees to be committed to the goals of the business. These type of managers are flexible and open minded as they inspire their team to make sure everyone feels involved.

I currently have a retail job at Burtons. My manager’s leadership style would be Middle of the road on Blake and Mouton’s grid. This is because my manager cares about her staff as she is flexible and listens to her staff’s point of view. She also makes sure that we work hard to achieve good sales and customer service. All the staff feel happy at work and this is good for the business because everyone works as a team.

A Great Leader

There have been many great leaders throughout history in the world who have helped to change society. These leaders are still held in high regard for their work and they inspire many people. Their leadership has helped to change the world and deeply affected society. One of these great leaders was Martin Luther King, Jr.



Martin Luther King Jr. Was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, US. He was the leader of the American Civil Rights Movement. During the initial years of his career, he became active in the Civil Rights Movement. He famously led the Montgomery Bus Boycott and was instrumental in founding of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He was the youngest person to receive the Nobel Prize for his work in fighting racial discrimination with non-violent measures, at the age of 35. He gave a religious angle to his struggle against poverty and opposition to the Vietnam War.

Martin Luther King's most famous inspirational speech shows he was and still is considered to be an influential speeker and one of world's greatest leaders.

"I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.”



Martin Luther King was assassinated in April 1968. His assassination resulted in a wave of riots across many cities. Martin Luther King played a big part in the civil rights movement for trying to help oppressed black people in their fight for equal rights. I believe Martin Luther King was a great leader because he was inspirational, peaceful and was able to lead people by example.

Conclusion

Leaders always set good examples and are able to influence their employees and others. Leaders inspire their employees and others by setting clear aims and objectives. Managers in turn are responsible for getting their employees to carry out the work which will help an organisation or business achieve its aims. Leaders are usually strong and assertive. Leaders like Martin Luther King, Mohandas Ghandi, and Mother Theresa have shown that goals can be achieved through peaceful demonstrations which have had great impact on society. Good leaders are excellent role models for others to follow. A example of a good business leader is Bill Gates owner of Microsoft who is extremely successful, but still helps charities and people less fortunate.

Reference list:

Blake and Mouton grid [online]. Available from: www.coachingcosmos.com/.../Leadership+grid+2.jpg [Accessed 01 March 2010].

Presentation magazine [online]. Available from http://www.presentationmagazine.com/martin_luther_king_speech.htm [Accessed 03 March 2010].

Youtube Martin Luther King "I have a dream" [online]. Available from: Accessed 06 March 2010].

Organisation Culture - Week 4

Organisation culture is what gives a business its own identity. There are visible aspects of organisation culture and hidden aspects of organisation culture within a business. The visible aspects are the things that customers and other people see for example the uniform worn by staff at HSBC Bank plc. This presents a smart image of the organisation and staff can be easily identified as customers walk into HSBC branches. The other visible aspects are things like the language used by employees when they deal with clients and the professional way staff behave. The hidden aspects of organisation culture are the things that customers and other people do not see and only the employees know about such as being disciplined for not speaking with respect to customers and the standards the company expects from its staff to behave in a professional way so that the reputation of the company is not affected. From work experience at HSBC Bank, these were some of the things that I experienced. The high standards set by HSBC are the shared values expected from employees.

Charles Handy’s model suggested 4 main types of corporate culture:

The Power Culture



This is power that is influenced by a central figure within an organisation. This type of culture is usually found in small organisations such as family run businesses. In this type of culture power and decision making is controlled by few people which others have to implement. It is hard for people outside the “family network” to influence events. Power Culture relies on trust and personal communication.

The Role Culture



This type of culture is usually found in organisations like government departments, local authorities and public utilities etc. It is like a Greek Temple with the apex of the pyramid being where decisions are made. The pillars of the temple are the functional units of the business which have to implement the decisions that are made in the apex. This type of culture is run by a paper system of job descriptions, procedures and rules with the job description being more important than the skills and abilities of people. This culture is also known as being bureaucratic.

The Task Culture



This type of culture is usually found in team based projects and organisations involved in research and development. Because these type of organisations are changing quickly they have to create temporary task teams to meet future needs. This team culture is based on expertise and up to date information. In these organisations the task is the important thing and not the individual.

A Person Culture



This type of culture is found in law firms and chartered surveyors/architect firms. In these organisations there is no hierarchy and individuals together determine the path the organisation should take.

Problems of trying to classify culture into one of the four types described by Charles Handy

It is difficult to classify culture into just one type for an organisation. For example HSBC Bank use role culture with major decisions being made at the top of the organisation and employees have job descriptions and are told what to do. The organisation may also have task culture where people are involved in team based projects. There are usually different cultures within an organisation and not just one type.

Company that demonstrates a strong culture

I believe that HSBC Bank Plc demonstrates a strong role culture. This company works hard to be successful not just in the UK but globally. The current recession has meant some banks have been helped by the government, whereas HSBC has not asked for help. This is because HSBC has been built into a global brand through high standards and shared values expected from employees.

http://www.hsbc.com/1/2/

Conclusion

From this research, I found that businesses develop by using different cultures. Culture gives an organisation its own identity e.g. “who we are”, “what we stand for”, “and how should we behave”. Culture is the “glue” that holds an organisation together.

Reference list:

Charles Handy [online]. Available from: http://www.businessballs.com/charleshandy.htm [Accessed 17 February 2010].

Organisational culture [online]. Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizational_culture [Accessed 17 February 2010].

Culture - Handy [online]. Available from: http://www.lindsay-sherwin.co.uk/guide_managing_change/html_overview/05_culture_handy.htm [Accessed 19 February 2010].

BPR and Organisational Culture [online]. Available from: http://www.managingchange.com/bpr/bprcult/3culture.htm [Accessed 20 February 2010].

Improving Staff Performance - Week 3

Difference between content and process theories

Content theories such as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Hertzberg’s two factor theory and Aldefer’s ERG theory all assume that individuals have a set of needs which they pursue, unlike process theories such as Victor Vroom’s expectancy theory and Porter’s performance satisfaction model which assume individuals select their goals and choose how to get to these goals by a process of calculation. Content theories concentrate on the needs of individuals unlike process theories which focus on outcomes.

Maslow and Hertzberg look at the relationship between internal needs and the effort needed to fulfil them, but Vroom separates effort (which arises from motivation), performance, and outcomes. Vroom suggested that in order for a person to be motivated that effort and motivation must be linked.

Ways in which companies such as John Lewis and Tesco motivate their employees:

John Lewis
John Lewis motivate their employees by offering the following benefits:

1. John Lewis allows their employees to be part of the partnership and share the profits that are made.
2. Employees can improve their performance and therefore can improve their pay.
3. John Lewis is one of the few companies that still offer a known contributory final salary pension scheme after three years service.
4. Employees get annual bonuses and the profits are shared equally amongst the partners as a percentage of salary.
5. Employees are given a discount of 12% on most purchases for the first three months.
6. Employees are given a discount of 25% on most purchases after one year of service.
7. Employees get four weeks paid holiday plus public and bank holidays rising to five weeks after the three years at John Lewis.
8. Employees who have worked with John Lewis for more than 25 years can take 6 months paid leave.
9. Death in service benefit of three times annual salary is paid if an employee dies in service to their spouse or partner.
10. Subsidised dining facilities are offered to employees.
11. Subsidised holidays and leisure facilities for employees and their families
after three months service.
12. Subsidised tickets for theatre, opera and music performances of up to 50%.
13. Employees are encouraged to develop their careers with support of a variety of learning resources.
14. Financial support given to employees who want to continue their education or learn new skills whether these are work related or of a personal interest.
15. Subsidised private health care is available for employees.

Tesco
Tesco’s motivate their employees by offering the following benefits:

1. Competitive salaries at all levels in every area of the business.
2. Employees are given free shares after one year of service and these are held in a trust for five years after which time employees can take them tax free.
3. Proportion of profit is shared amongst staff based on salaries.
4. Employees can take part in a save as you earn scheme where they can save up to £50 every month for either three or five years and receive a tax free bonus at the end. These savings can then be used to buy Tesco shares at up to 20% less than the market price or employees can take the cash if they do not want to buy shares.
5. Employees can join Tesco’s Buy As you Earn scheme and purchase shares at the market price every four weeks saving tax and national insurance on the salary that is used to do this.
6. Employees are given a Privilege card after one year’s service which gives 10% discount and clubcard points on most Tesco products. Staff also have access to staff discounts with Tesco personal finance and Tesco telecoms.
7. Employees have access to a pension scheme and life assurance scheme.
8. Staff have access to discounts and special offers on theme parks, holidays and gym membership.
9. Employees are offered discounted rates on health cash plans, dental cover, and private medical insurance.
10. Employees are encouraged to develop their careers at Tesco with opportunities to get training etc, development programmes are in place to encourage staff to study whilst working.

Motivation models used by John Lewis to motivate employees.

John Lewis use both Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Hertzberg’s two factor theory to motivate their staff. John Lewis provide their staff with physiological needs such as food, shelter, heat and clothing through their staff discount card saving 25% on purchases in store. The second stage of safety in Maslow’s hierarchy is met by John Lewis as they offer a non contributory pension scheme so employees stay with the company until they retire. This is security for people as they know they will have a pension when they retire and they have not paid anything towards this pension. Social needs in the hierarchy are met by John Lewis because they give their staff discounted holidays, theatre tickets etc. John Lewis help their employees climb Maslow’s hierarchy to reach self actualisation by providing resources for training, development and financial help to learn other skills. Hertzberg’s two factor theory is also used by John Lewis as their company policy allows employees to be partners and this is a hygiene factor, motivator factors of achievement and growth are reached by learning new skills.

Conclusion

Most companies motivate their staff by giving benefits and rewards. By giving these rewards employees are likely to stay with the company and work hard to help the company meet its aims and objectives of being successful. Some companies may use content theories and others may use process theories to motivate their staff but this is done to make sure that employees do not leave the organisation because it is costly and time consuming to train new staff.

Reference List:

Careers – Tesco Careers [online]. Available from: http://www.tesco-careers.com/ [Accessed 16 February 2010].

John Lewis Partnership [online]. Available from: http://www.jlpjobs.com/your-career/your-career.htm [Accessed 16 February 2010].