Developing Strategic Management and Leadership Skills

Question: Describe about the Developing Strategic Management and Leadership Skills. Answer: Introduction The leadership is one of the most important tasks of the management. The leadership is a phenomenon in which there is a holistic spectrum concerning physical power, superior mental capability and higher abilities in the specialized tasks (Adair 2005). The management of an organization is related to dealing with the complexity. It incorporates decorum and consistency in an organization with the help of formal plans (Adair 2005). It is done through the rigid organizational structures and monitoring of the results in relation to the organizational plans. Leadership can be defined as the ability of a person to influence several people so that a common goal or vision can be achieved (Adair 2009). It is important to inculcate both leadership and management in the organization for maximum effectiveness. As opined by Heider (2014), leadership is considered as setting of new direction which is to be followed by a group. However, Adair (2009) argues that management is responsible for directing resources within a group according to the values or principles of the organization. Management Report for Board of Directors (Task 1) The strategic management and the leadership strategy is inter linked in a particular organization. The main functions of strategic management include planning, organizing, directing, leading and controlling the resources (Strategicmanagement.net 2016). Leadership is arguably the most important component of management. The effective leadership behaviour believes in the principle of the creation of a unique business environment in which each employee is presented with an opportunity of self-development (Gold Thorpe and Mumford 2012). A manager must essentially possess the characteristics of a leader. He must possess leadership traits so that he can build robust business strategies which would improve the operational efficiency of the firm. Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) follows a democratic leadership style. It encourages the staffs to engage in proper delegation of work. The organization also believes in providing authority to the employees so that the work delegation can be done efficiently. The democratic leadership is engaged with taking into consideration the suggestions and viewpoints of the employees (Kouzes and Posner 2006). This kind of leadership is related with the effective implementation of the human resources approach. The advantages of this kind of leadership are that it provides decision making options for all the employees. The disadvantage of this kind of leadership is the decentralization of power which often causes delay in the process of decision making. The organization also engages in transformational leadership in which the organizational leaders engage in high communication levels with the internal stakeholders of the organization (Mullins 1999). An effective communication channels are being esta blished in which the leaders motivate the employees for enhancing their organizational productivity (Avolio and Yammarino 2013). This kind of leadership is concerned with the involvement of the managers in visualizing the bigger scenario within an organization (Monthly 2011). The advantages of transformational leadership are that it promotes integrity in the organization. The disadvantages include loss of inspiration, misuse of influence and overemphasize on particular individuals. The leadership and the management function play a major role in the strategic decisions of an organization. The management engages in the decision making activity as per the goals of the organization (Laegreid and Christensen 2013). The democratic leadership style engages in open communication with the team members who help the senior managers to make effective decisions (Mabey 2005). The team participation helps the company to take strategic decisions regarding the core issues. The transformational leadership is useful when there is a need of motivating the employees for the achievement of the organizational objectives. The senior management of KFC uses their leadership style to overcome the operational challenges. There were several issues in the organization such as unhealthy food products offering, out dated facilities, backdated product categories and the lack of competitive attitude in their employees (Guntoro Hastuti and Nurtini 2016). The democratic leadership used the viewpoints of the employees and decided to implement remedies for the issues (McKinney 2016). They implemented more variety in the selection of foods and the incorporation of healthy food options in their menu. They took an initiative to launch more number of outlets with advanced infrastructure. The leaders engage in encouraging an open-minded culture with transparent communication between the employees (Trainingjournal.com 2016). An open minded culture would foster better problem solving activities in the organization. The organization strives to break the organizational barriers so that there is greater operational efficienc y. The company uses democratic leadership style to solve these operational challenges. Leadership Strategy (Task 2) There are different leadership strategies that are used by the organizations. The leadership sets the managerial direction so that there is effective implementation of the policies. The transformational leadership creates as well as sustains a situation in which there is optimum utilization of the organizational capabilities (Managementhelp.org 2016). The leaders enable the use of the core values so that they can be used for driving innovation in the organizational environment. The charismatic leadership is based on the inspirational qualities of the leaders in addition to the formal power. There is a need for power, sacrifice towards the organization, innovative actions, high expectations of followers and high degree of self-confidence (Managers.org.uk 2016). The contingency leadership theory aims to match the style of leadership with the work conditions so that leadership effectiveness can be achieved (Peterhoney.com 2016). It proposes that the group performance effectiveness is de pendent on the factors such as leadership style and the extent to which the organization designates authority to the leader (Fiedler 2015). The various component of this theory include the identification of leadership style, defining the situation, handling potential situations, improving the effectiveness of leadership and matching the leadership with the situation. There are three main kinds of challenges faced by KFC. There were several protests from PETA (Association of Ethical Treatment of Animals) against the management of KFC (Brummette Zoch and Miller 2013). The campaign alleged that KFC was ill-treating the animals in the process of the manufacture of their key products. There are also issues regarding the unhealthy and greasy products offered by the company (Kolk Lee and Van Dolen 2012). The people are shifting their focus to healthy food alternatives and hence it is posing a big threat to the functioning of KFC. There are instances when there is a lack of product quality which has led to the deterioration of the brand image. There were issues with the recruitment process of the company (Stringer and Rueff 2014). There is an insufficient operational policy that describe about the managerial steps that needs to be taken for the inflow of suitable candidates. This causes delay in the closing of vacancies. This in turn reduces the organiza tional productivity as the positions remain vacant for long duration. The challenges can be solved by the effective implementation of the leadership theories. The current set of challenges indicates that there is lack of organized managerial and leadership approach. The first challenge can be addressed by contingency leadership theory. This theory underlines the fact that leadership needs to be applied based on several factors such as nature of problem, personality of the leader and the nature of the people that needs to be managed. The external stakeholders of PETA can be addressed by the contingent leaders. The second challenge can be addressed by transformational leadership. There are issues with the product quality and hence the leaders must aid to create positive change in the organization. The leaders motivate the followers so that they launch innovative products in the market (Stringer and Rueff 2014). The third challenge can be addressed by charismatic leadership. The recruitment strategies should be addressed if there is presence of charismati c leaders. The charismatic leaders are skilled communicators in which they are eloquent and can communicate with the followers in emotional levels. The realistic leadership strategy would help the company to solve the operational challenges. The first challenge would be solved by communication with PETA and clarify them that there is no harm to animals. The second challenge would be solved by the introduction of healthy food options in the menu. The third challenge would be solved by influencing the recruiters so that they can enhance the hiring process. The PESTEL analysis is done for analyzing the external situation analysis of the organization (Vu 2015). It is done as below- Political- Myanmar had democratic rule in which there are instances when there are tense political situations. The Army impacts the government in a major way (Vu 2015). The organizational leaders should be aware of the government regulations in Myanmar. Economic- Myanmar can be considered as an agriculture dependant country in which a dominant part is being played by the weather conditions. The industrial development has major issues of power shortages, which needs to be taken into consideration by the organizational leaders. Social- There is eight ethnic groups in Myanmar with different needs and preferences, which should be understood by the managers. Technological- Myanmar has low internet and mobile penetration, which can be a major issue and must be addressed by the organizational leaders (Vu 2015). Environmental- The country faces stiff environmental issues concerning the illegal logging and deforestation. The organizational leaders must formulate suitable policies which should consider the rich cultural heritage of the country. Legal- The legal framework of the country is corrupt and there are no regulations for the protection of the foreign investors. Recruitment and Development Plan (Task 3) KFC is world renowned fast food restaurant chain which is headquartered at Kentucky in United States. It is considered as the second largest restaurant chain in the world, after McDonalds. (KFC 2016) The company has its presence in over 20,000 global locations and has penetrated over 123 countries (KFC 2016). The primary products of the company include fried chicken, chicken sandwiches, french fries, desserts and wraps (KFC 2016). The company has made huge popularity of chicken in the fast foods industry. The vision of KFC include that the company strives to become the leading food chain in the ASEAN region and to deliver consistent food quality (KFC 2016). It also aims to deliver excellent customer service. The mission of KFC includes that the company strives to maximize the profitability and enhance the shareholder value (KFC 2016). It also aims to deliver sustainable growth every year. The objective of KFC include that it aims for worldwide expansion and gain competitive advantage by providing superior quality products (KFC 2016). The SWOT analysis of KFC showcases the current situation of the company in which there is requirement of leadership (Mylonakis and Evripiotis 2016). The strengths of the company include that the country is present in global locations, strong parent company (Yum! Brand), team spirit and cooperation among the employees. The weakness of the company include that it has lack of proper recruitment channels, improper management of franchises and high attrition rate. The company tries to recruit the best candidates and retain them for a long period of time, however, a large number of employees leave the organization (KFC 2016). The opportunities of the company include that the company strives to expand into the emerging economies. The company can introduce effective internal leadership which can help in handling the operational issues (KFC 2016). The threats of the company include competitive rivalry, attraction of suitable candidates by rival companies and lack of proper strategic decision. The leadership competencies need to be developed in the senior and middle level management of KFC. The development of these competencies would help the organization to fulfill its objectives (CIPD 2016). The different leadership competencies include leading organization, leading followers and leading self. The leaders should be able to manage organizational change, solve problems, manage politics, undertake risks, set vision, enhance business skills and others (CIPD 2016). The leaders need to manage others by effective communication, developing others, value diversity, building of relationships and management of teams. Leaders also need to develop their self-capabilities such as demonstrating ethics, increasing learning capabilities, increasing self-awareness and others (CIPD 2016). It is important to create a leadership strategy for fulfilling the identified leadership requirements. A positive vision should be shared with the followers so that they feel empowered to work in the organization (Voegtlin Boehm and Bruch 2015). This would make the employees the true worth of them in the organization and they are more likely to stick to the organization for a longer time. The senior manager should inspire the middle level managers and they in turn should inspire the employees (Voegtlin Boehm and Bruch 2015). The senior leaders should give prior importance to organizational culture. A winning culture should be fostered along with encouraging the team spirit. The leaders must try to minimize the gap between the fiscal status and the vision (Marketingteacher.com 2016). This can be done by effective communication which would lead to improved effectiveness of the recruitment policy. The recruitment and development plan for the managerial positions in the organization should be considered after taking into consideration the probable future situations (CIPD 2016). The steps in the recruitment process should include steps such as determination of the recruitment goals, reviewing the job descriptions, look for people finding sources, utilization of alternate labor pools and selecting the best recruitment source (CIPD 2016). The HR manager should perform the role of a true leader and supervise the recruitment process on a regular basis (CIPD 2016). He should intervene in situations where the company finds it difficult to fill up the vacancies (Kotler and Armstrong 2010). He should also be involved in the selection process in order to ensure that the best manpower is brought in the organization (CIPD 2016). The HR manager should also ensure that the employees are constantly exposed to the training and development function so that they can improve their skills with the changing business scenario (CIPD 2016). When a situation arises that the performance of the team is not sufficient, then the leaders must take an active part in addressing the issue. Job Parameter Person Responsible Timeline Determination of the recruitment goals HR Manager 1 month Reviewing the job descriptions HR Manager 1 month Look for people finding sources HR Executive 3 months Utilization of alternate labor pools HR Associate 2 months Selection of the best recruitment source HR Executive 1 months Training and Development Learning and Development Manager 6 months Fig: Recruitment and Development Plan Source: Created by author Development of Leadership Skills (Task 4) The organization has several challenges which are often caused by lack of leadership skills. One of the common challenges is that there are situations when the employees misunderstood the mission of the organization (Buckingham and Coffman 2014). This is a common situation in which the employees are either not aware of the mission or they do not interpret the correct meaning of the mission. The members are not knowledgeable about the principles of the group or the mission of the organization. This makes the employees not perform to their optimum level and their productivity is lowered. If the employees are not aware of the justification of their existence in the organization, then they would not be able to give their maximum output (Chartered Institute of Marketing 2013). The leadership requirement specifies that the employees should inform about the organization mission as well as their roles in the organization (Buckingham and Coffman 2014). The leaders should be aware the organiza tional goals and they should have a clear vision for the future. It is important for them to reevaluate the mission of the organization and also determine the way for achieving the organizational objectives. It is not only important to be aware of the mission, but the organizational mission should also be communicated to all the employees of the organization. The leaders should know that the organizational mission may often undergo through slight modification as per the current market requirement (Buckingham and Coffman 2014). For example, the objective of KFC is to increase the profitability of the firm. However, after considering the market demands, the company may decide that the company needs to focus on the healthy food alternatives. The leaders must communicate the changed objective to the employees clearly. They should be shown the broader picture of their role in the organization. The leadership development should be planned with the help of several methods. The leaders should be motivated and should be inspired for giving their optimum performance. The leaders should be exposed to the success stories of other leaders and how they reached the top. They should also be shared success stories of other reputed leaders in such a way that the leader can relate to the case study. This would also allow them to modify and apply them in their own situation whenever applicable. This method is useful since it helps the leaders to stay enthusiastic in a professional environment. The followers would like to follow enthusiastic and energetic leaders. This would only be possible if the leaders are motivated and are aware of the bigger picture of their existence in the organization. Conclusion Leadership is one of the most important factors for achieving organizational success. The concepts of strategic management and the leadership strategy are inter-connected. KFC follows democratic leadership style, the advantages and disadvantages of which are discussed. The senior management of KFC utilizes the leadership style to solve their operational challenges. The different forms of leadership are discussed such as transformational leadership, charismatic leadership and contingency leadership. 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