Leadership Learning and Development

Part One

Introduction

Planning has to be an integral and fundamental part of management development process in the contemporary organizational setting. Planning is one of the primary functions of management. Planning is the process that helps an organization to achieve the set goals and also determines how to reach them measurably. Effective planning is beneficial as it helps the organization and management to efficiently adapt to changes in the identification and avoidance of operative problems. In other words, planning sets directions for all the other functions of organizational management and collaborative operations. To operate an effective and efficient management development process while adhering to the set path, planning of undeniable essence. In other words, planning refers to a set of assessments and actions designed to align and integrate the available resources and people with the aim of ensuring that subsequent success of the firm.

In the business setting today, strategic planning in management development is crucial based on the increasing failure rate of most businesses. The success of every organization depends on the effectiveness of the management. Thus, the absence of a strategic plan during the management development operation signifies failure (Bolden, 2016). A strategic plan is useful in assisting the organization to describe its goals by providing a more strategic sense of objectivity and focus. Management development refers to the whole notion that determines the manner in which the organization might assist the staffs in the event of personal and professional abilities. The process considers the needs of the employees as managers or within the aspiration of becoming managers. Every organization requires a procedure for the development of the relevant abilities of the respective managers because these professions are involved in directing and organizing operations of all the employees (Bryson, 2018). Also, the development process is essential in facilitating the ability to recruit and retain some of the most equipped managers. Some of the most critical amongst their needs include the chance to advance their individualized and professional growth in the somewhat competitive business context.

Planning is vital to the success of the management development process. The incorporation involves a strategic plan for the needed resources, goals setting, time and identification of potential employees (Slack, 2015). Some of the most used ways for management development includes MBA studies, training, seminars, and workshops and so on. However, most of the growth entails the development of the acquired skills and experiences through adequate exposure. Skills building for managers via the process of management development alternative is essential to the successful functioning of the company. In that, the power of the managers to transform the organization depends on the ability to monitor the working of other workers. Managers have the role of delegating and communicating about the company’s objectives, aims and directions to the employees. Thus, it is only those with well-developed communication skills that will perform adequately. Unarguably, management represents one of the essential force in employee’s participation, motivation and developing a productive labor force. Managers are the vital force to employee’s retention and the most cited reason for the increased turnover rate.

More so, planning is vital in assisting the organization to evaluate its management strengths and faults and implement strategies that are compatible with the company’s aims. A strategic plan works in ensuring that there is a balanced utilization of resources, technology, and workforce so that the organizational objectives can be achieved under minimal threats. Planning is also useful in determining achievable goals as related to management and strategic aims for the long run success of the company. An organization should offer teaching and development opportunities for all the current and potential managers (Bolden, 2016). It is worth noting that management depends entirely on planning since operations and decisions are only useful if a strategic plan is followed. Manager’s skills are some of the most crucial assets that an organization owns. Despite the fact that it does not appear on the balance sheet, it severely drives the growth of the company regarding profit, sales, productivity, efficacy, and effectiveness. The ability to retain managers is vital in the business world today given that it allows the organizations to operate under minimal expenses. Thus, keeping the employees needs a focus on management development to equip the staffs with adequate skills, experience and operating knowledge (Slack, 2015). Managers are responsible for creating a balance amid operations, activities and human resources thus planning plays a role in facilitating their effectiveness.

Based on Bolden (2016) management development is crucial in designing and implementation of an organization’s corporate strategy. Corporate strategy deals with vast decisions concerning the company’s focus and direction. It refers to the set of choice in an organization that establishes typically and uncovers the aims and purposes thus generating the leading policies and strategic plans for the achievement of the objectives. Also, the corporate strategy also describes the scope of business that the company should pursue alongside the financial and non-economic contributions to the respective shareholders ranging from the workers, consumers and the communities in general. Necessarily, an organization is required to account for its options, management competence, and resources for the formulation and implementation process’s success (Slack, 2015). In other words, corporate strategy entails the company’s corporate responses with the intention of meeting the set aims while chasing and guarding competitive advantage. It is the long run vision held by a company to generate corporate benefits such as competitiveness and inspire the employees to apply the most suitable actions for customer satisfaction to be achieved. Also, corporate strategy is a consistent procedure that demands constant engagement to ensure that the investors fully trust the firm with their funds thus enhancing the firm’s parity. The companies that managers to adhere to the principle of delivering high-quality customer value services without fail are the ones that consistently review their corporate approach on often basis to enhance differs areas that are likely to affect their productivity and outcome.

Strategic, operational, psychological and exigency planning models in management development have proved to be useful in the last few years across different industries. However, the strategic model is the most effective in the highly competitive setting today as it seeks to offer a strategic and competitive positioning to the business. Strategic plans are developed while considering the needs of the company and all its stakeholders including the employees, investors, and customers. The approach is complicated but more appropriate in today’s setting. Cost leadership and differentiation are the most commonly used corporate strategy in the business environment today. For either of the approaches to be effective the adequate planning and evaluation by the management is a necessity (Bryson, 2018). Management development helps the company in making the most feasible choice amid the two approaches based on the company’s needs. An unsatisfactory evaluation might affect the profitability of the organization. For example, in the instance when coast leadership is chosen, the approach involves the provision of goods and respective services at lower cost, thus focusing on competitiveness and increasing the level of sales. However, if the company mainly settles for the least cost without accounting for its operating expenses then losses will ultimately be incurred which will affect the viability of the business. Through management development, the staffs will get the necessary skills that enable the alignment of operations with the company’s goals. Thus, the strategy can be integrated with differentiation of diversification to minimize the risks. It is through management development that the employees can assess the strengths and significant weaknesses of the corporate strategy and create opportunities for the implantation of more practical approaches. In other words, MD plays a critical role in ensuring that the company settles for the most beneficial corporate approach that serves its long-run goals and efficiently meets the growing needs of the market.

Corporate culture is developed to ensure that the general value of the organization exceeds the total of the partial operations. The development of a practical corporate strategy demands a persistent concentration of value creation and attentive focus on the set priorities. Since MD deals with the setting of clear visions and motivating the employees, the responsibility will determine the effectiveness of the company’s corporate strategy (Soriano, 2012). The outcome is achieved by identifying some of the dominant needs, competencies, and resources of the company then equating them directly with strategic objectives. In that similar to corporate management strategy is a continuous process mainly based on today’s fragile competitive settings. The ability to deliver value on frequent basis to all the involve stakeholders demands for a developed and established management. It encompasses having employees who are well equipped in terms of skills and experience. The ability to deliver maximum value is the primary determinant of organizational success that best illustrates that the company has sufficiently improved its skills and adequately reevaluates all the involved strategy. Management development, therefore, acts in the selection of the most suitable approaches for the needs of the company while motivating the employees to work consistently towards the success of the method and the achievement of goals (Kumar, 2011).

Several management and development issues such as the lack of planning, poor leadership, and poor strategic focus are likely to affect the success of designing and implementing strategies (Carmichael, 2011). In that, with poor leadership, the employees and all the potential talents will go unnoticed leading to low motivation and high turnover rate. A similar situation will arise with inadequate resources since the process relies on different resources such as finances and support. Planning as an integral part of management and strategy development should not only be strategic but should also account for the needs of every party (Soriano, 2012). The process entails having a strategic focus to be competitive, productive and useful.

Learning and development is a priority for all kinds of organization in the modern setting that seeks to provide the organization with a strategic focus and competitive advantage. Learning and development cycle refers to the manner in which individuals learn based on experience. The sequence is essential in the development of skills, knowledge, and expertise among the employees (Kumar, 2011). Planning plays a critical role in setting the direction for the learning development process. The scope of learning and the necessary resources such as trainers must be determined. Further, the experience of the learners identifies the most effective approach to use through a projective assessment of the method’s effectiveness. Thus, planning is needed in determining the required resources such as cost and accounting for those that need the training.

Planning process refers to measures that are adopted by a company to formulate a meaningful budget that guides all its future operations. The process involves designing aims, tasks that will ensure that the aims are met and determining all the needed resources for the application and success of the operations (Huber, 2011). On the other hand, needs assessment refers to the strategy of collecting information to fully comprehend the environment in which a firm operates within. The approach is useful in the development of useful and obtainable strategic working plans to highlight the most viable approach for successful services delivery (Soriano, 2012). Both processes are directly related to management development since they focus on the general success of the organization. It is through the processes that the management needs are established and all the needed resources for the fulfillment of the agenda. They work to ensure that the company runs effectively under well-developed strategic measures. Leadership, finances, organizational culture and corporate culture are likely to affect the design and implementation of MD. An effective management development is the one that seek to enhance the skills of the employees to achieve the set organizational and personal professional goals. However, ineffective MD involves a process that lacks adequate planning and use of resources leading to dissatisfaction. Also if the approach fails to consider the needs of the stakeholders it is ineffective.

Conclusion

Planning is an integral and essential part of the management development process. The success of any given organization depends on the effectiveness of its management. Planning is the leading management function that works to ensure that the company follows the set guidelines and valuable strategies. Successful planning helps the company in efficiently managing its resources while developing an established and well-equipped workforce regarding skills, experience, and knowledge in running operations. Planning is essential as it sets directions for all the other functions of organizational management and collaborative activities.

 

References

 

Bolden, R. (2016). Leadership, management and organisational development. In Gower handbook of leadership and management development (pp. 143-158). Routledge.

Bryson, J. M. (2018). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement. John Wiley & Sons.

Carmichael, J. (2011). Leadership and management development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Huber, A. J. (2011). Effective strategy implementation: Conceptualizing firms' strategy implementation capabilities and assessing their impact on firm performance. Wiesbaden: Gabler.

Kumar, R. (2011). Human resource management: Strategic analysis text and cases. New Dehli: I.K. International.

Slack, N. (2015). Operations strategy. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Soriano, F. I. (2012). Conducting needs assessments: A multidisciplinary approach. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part Two

Introduction

Management development has emerged as an obsession for the new entities and researchers in the recent years. The business setting is highly competitive because of the rapid globalization and the dominance of well-established companies. In addition, the environment is characterized by a consistently changing surrounding in addition to increased anticipations from the consumers along technological advancement. The firms that are focused on sustaining high levels of competitive positioning to outpace their competitors should thus be prepared to abandon their conventional management standards and adopt contemporary practices that seek to provide them with a competitive positioning in the globalized industries. Management development (MD) represents one of the most effective and highly reliable strategies that are to be adopted by competitive companies to improve their productivity and increase sales and revenue gains. Both small and large companies that operate within the local or global settings are not an exception since they are all subjected to similar barriers. To be the leader in the market today, strategic management and development measures that seek to enhance the competence of the employees is the most effective approach. Thus, for the organizations to secure their future sustainability, they should give space to management development initiative that offers guaranteed value. According to Watson (2007), MD refers to a structured procedure via which the managers within the firm are involved in the development of experience, skills, and abilities. The purpose is to ensure that their functions are carried out effectively through formalized or casual learning styles. Several models exist that describes the effectiveness and the need for MD in any organization. The report will focus on a comparison Ashton’s and Ash-ridge 4F management development models noting the advantage and cons of each.

Manager’s development within a company is vital because it helps in guarding and sustaining high performance concerning their respective responsibilities for desirable achievements in the short and long run periods. Management development process in the modern corporations can be achieved in different ways such as training, monitoring, and job rotation to improve the experience and exposure of the employees (Kumar, 2011). It is worth noting that, management development is not only preserved for those that work as managers instead it also offers growth opportunities for those with the needed talent of becoming future management. The objective is to enhance their capacities and motivate them so that they can be retained in the company for organizational and personal needs. The effectiveness of the organizations is mainly determined by the level of the involved management in general. The process entails grooming the staffs to meet the general needs of the growing market demands through shaping and polishing the employee’s skills.

According to the Aston’s model, management development refers to a careful and systematic decision making the procedure that seeks to monitor the growth of managerial resources in the achievement of the set objectives and approaches (Watson, 2007). Based on the model there is three distinct set through which an organization is likely to approach the process of designing and implementing MD. First, the organization can opt for the option that demonstrates less or zero obligation to MD by the acting managers. The other options are in the instance where the managers are not sure regarding the benefits of the process and therefore act with low motivation while in the third instance the managers settled for the adoption of MD and integrated the means to their daily based happenings. The model mainly makes emphasis on the background aspects such as inspiration and goodwill among the significant stakeholders being the staffs and investors in establishing the actual state of the MD process. Its, therefore, becomes evident that Ashton utilizes the three initial perceptions of the organization’s managers about the development of leadership competence.

Evidently, the culture of an organization plays a critical factor in determining the manager’s perception towards development. A culture that basis its emphasis on skills development is likely to motivate the employees to will participate in the development process with the intention of enhancing their abilities for their career and organizational growth. Based on the notion, the respective employees understands the importance of MD not just in meeting the set goals for the organization but also for their personal development. On the other hand, a culture that places minimal to zero assertion or competence and efficiency is likely to produce a workforce that is not sufficiently motivated (Watson, 2007). It means that when the program is introduced to them, some might opt out on the ground that it is a waste of time and career opportunities while others will participate but with minimal commitment. MD is a process that demands an adequate understanding of its merits and the full responsibility of all the involved employees. Thus, if the organization does not provide a viable opportunity for the staffs to understand its provision, then it will eventually fail.

Ashton’s model makes it clear that the perception of the company towards the program will ultimately determine the outcome (Watson, 2007). The model notes that MD is the procedure through which the respective managers can learn as well as enhance their abilities, knowledge, and competence, not just with the objective of benefiting the company but also to effective management and develop career-wise. Management represents one of the organizational aspects that is continually evolving based on the continuance advancement of corporate practices and the changes that are being experienced in the market. Since MD is to a result of the theories that are being developed by researchers, it is worth stating that MD theories provides a steady framework for the assessment and adequate comprehension of modeling with regard to the leadership and learning processes within the corporate setting (Karami, 2016). Management is the process that involves overseeing the work of other workers as well as delegating. In other words, it is a form of leadership that is dependent on the individual’s respective skills.

According to Carmichael, (2011) the contemporary setting is one that has undeniable complexities courtesy of the advancing technology and globalization. There are some firms that are particularly focused on strategic and competitive positioning particularly those that operate within the very competitive settings. However, those that operate in the industries that are characterized by less competition are reluctant. Thus, Ashton’s model is beneficial given that it is not just a contextual model but also focuses on the practical applicability. In that, the model asserts on the different attitudes that organizations are likely to adopt the MD and the probable effects (Watson, 2007). Most individuals believe that the alternatives lies in adopting and abandoning the strategic option but the model has verified arguing that some organizations will adopt the model even though they are not committed to it. However, the model is disadvantageous because, it fails to identify the different factors that might influence the adoption of the model. In that even though attitude is a major determining force there is no clear line amid the things that might lead to such an attitude. The model is effective in illustrating the different approaches that can lead to the successful design and implementation of the process in general alongside the underlying barriers to each of the alternative.

On the other hand, the Ashridge 4F model seeks to explain the main components that would lead to the prosperous development of the company to more stable levels. Based on the model MD should be comprehensive, with a well-defined objective and purpose (Select Knowledge, 2001). The model is made of four different levels that include the fragmented, formalized, intensive and integrated approach. Based on the composition of the model, it might be accounted to be a combination of both Mumford’s theory and Ashton’s MD model (Kumar, 2011). In that, the model utilizes the notions from both methods by asserting that the development process did not need to be formalized but based on effectiveness. However, contrary to Ashton’s approach, the model utilizes a proactive strategy that seeks to overcome the challenges that tend to persist in the market. It is necessary for organizations to prioritize management development since it is the aspect that fuels organizational growth. The approach should be the center of all operations that regards to strategically setting the business, learning and management development to enhance corporate value. The Mumford theory notes that MD cannot be deliberately developed but should originate from the organizational culture (Select Knowledge, 2001). Thus, in the development of the program, the skills of the managers and the potential employees which are either, informal, unintended and unplanned should be evaluated and accounted to be a source and foundation of learning for others (Select Knowledge, 2001). This view is opposed by Ashton by asserting that planning is an essential aspect of MD and organization’s success.

Based on Ashridge model, the fragmented method refers to the mode in which the growth of the managers happens without any form of planning thus there is a weak link concerning the management’s growth and organizational development (Select Knowledge, 2001). The formalized system is very systematic, organized and developed. In that, it involves creating a balance amid the available resources and the strategic focus of the company. The analysis and identification of management development needs are conducted formally, and this might affect the form negatively by demotivating staffs and consuming so much time. On the other hand, the focused strategy is grounded in the consistent learning which thus clears more accurate associations with the company’s objectives and plans. On the other hand, the integrated approach seeks to ensure that the development priorities are integrated into the standard setting to enhance individual’s skills via experience. The model is advantageous because it offers different approaches that an organization can opt for based on the existing needs. In that, the setting and the economic needs of the companies varies, and thus the model cannot be utilized as a free-sized approach as it will fail in some companies (Carmichael, 2011). The procedures are simplified which can assist companies in making quick choices. However, the model is broad and mainly relies on the assertion of other models which might require the integration of different models.

Management development plays a critical role in the formulation of a corporate strategy. In that, a company that mainly emphasizes on skills development will ultimately settle for the corporate approach that suits its needs. MD is a tool that helps the company is strategically focusing on growing the organization as a whole while centering on the needs of the employees. Strategic management directly impacts the company’s performance. It focuses on improving the general stability of the company by ensuring that the administration owns the needed skills in fighting competition in the industry (Carmichael, 2011). Thus, the approach enhances efficiency and competence of every employee by growing their skills. Also, the strategy helps in the identification of issues and developing strategic plans that seek to competitive secure the company and offer a competitive positioning.

Conclusion

In summing up, it is evident that management development is necessary for running a successful enterprise in the world today. Due to the upcoming changes in the global market today MD is a strategic practice whose aim is to sustain both short and long-run competitiveness of the company. Both Ashton and 4F MD models illustrate the different approaches and perceptions that organization might adopt. If the company is less committed them no value will be achieved through the process. However, in the instance that the company promotes skills development, then the employees are always willing to participate which leads to organizational success. The success of the process mainly depends on the general ability to motivate the employees and create an enabling environment for growth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

 

Carmichael, J. (2011). Leadership and management development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Karami, A. (2016). Strategy Formulation in Entrepreneurial Firms. London: Taylor and Francis.

Kumar, R. (2011). Human resource management: Strategic analysis text and cases. New Dehli: I.K. International.

Select Knowledge. (2001). People Development. Select Knowledge Limited.

Watson, S. (2007). A Conceptual Model for Analyzing Management Development in the UK Hospitality Industry. Napier University. Pp. 1-8.