Effective Leadership and Marketing Strategies - British Heart Foundation - Case Study Example

BRITISH HEART FOUNDATION Name Course Institution Date Introduction The essay will focus on factors such as effective leadership, organization structure, marketing strategies and budget management in relation to the success of the British Heart Foundation (BHF). The paper will demonstrate how the current marketing director will foster transformational leadership that will assist BHF in overcoming the current challenges of reduced funds due to economic challenges faced by UK citizens. The effects of the global economic crisis still live in the UK, where the high cost of living poses huge challenges to the success of BHF. With effective marketing strategies, the BHF management will be able to explore new avenues that will lead to generation of more revenue to respond to the high number of people living with heart diseases ion the country. With proper budgeting and management of the funds, the BHF will be able to overcome the challenges, and respond to the current demand for treatment. Background information The BHF is one of the most charitable initiatives that have successfully assisted in addressing the challenge of cardiovascular disease in the UK. The heart diseases have become common in the UK, where it is estimated that close to 159,000 people die annually (British Heart Foundation, 2013). It is also estimated that more than 2.3 million people live with heart diseases in the UK, putting more economic pressure on the government and healthcare institutions. The country also loses close to 19 billion pounds annually due to the negative effects of heart diseases (British Heart Foundation, 2013). The county has incurred both the economic and social loses. The establishment of the BHF was to respond to the challenge of increased cases of cardiovascular diseases. With the high cost of treatment for the heart diseases, a majority of the patients cannot afford. The BHF has been able to intervene, ensuring that it responds effectively to the challenge. Smoking and obesity have been identified as the main risk factors that lead to heart diseases in the UK. Despite the charitable services offered by the BHF, the institution is currently facing financial problems. The UK is still recovering from the negative effects of the 200/08 global economic crisis. Its economy has been weak, and many employees have lost their jobs. With increased cost of living, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the citizens to support the initiatives of the BHF through financial assistance. This challenge spells a bleak future for the BHF, where it may not be able to achieve its objectives. 1. Effective leadership and Organization Culture The BHF faces a major challenge of potential reduction in revenue, despite the investments made, and the number of contributions made by well-wishers. While the cost of treatment and management of cardiovascular diseases is close to 20 billion pounds, the BHF had an income of close to 128.5 million pounds in 2011/2012 financial year. The 42% of the income came from legacies, accounting for about 53 million pounds (British Heart Foundation, 2013). This, according to statistics, was about 3% less to that of 2010/2011. The reduction in income from legacy has been attributed volatile economy faced by the UK. The BHF had an income of close to 31% being contributed through the fundraising, and 22% in rental income (British Heart Foundation, 2013). The management has expanded its investment, where it has established about 45 shops in 2010/2011. The investment is playing a huge role of generating more income to assist the company in achieving its mission, vision and objectives. From the above analysis, it is apparent that the company faces a huge financial challenge that will affect its ability to assist patients with heart diseases. This calls upon the establishment of an effective leadership team that will propose measures to be taken in an effort to ensure that BHF remains relevant. In 2011/2012, for instance, it was estimated that the BHF spend close to 71% of its income on research and activities, with only 29% being used for prevention and care services (British Heart Foundation, 2013). While research and development (R&D) is imperative in understanding how to address the challenge, the allocated funds towards this initiative are too high compared. As mentioned before, more than 2.3 million people in the UK live with different heart diseases, which need treatment and care. Further, a majority of the patients cannot afford the treatment since it is too high. For this reason, the BHF leadership need to focus on whether its objectives of reducing and treatment of heart diseases is being achieved. Currently the main priority should be towards the programs that will have a positive effect on the patiently directly. For instance, the treatment and management of BHF should be the major concern for the BHF. Its significance in addressing the current increase in heart diseases can only be established through the number of people who have received the treatment services, and prevention programs being run. The 29% of the funds allocated towards prevention and care services is too low. It demonstrates that the management could be having its priorities wrong, as it is not striking a balance of its main mission. For instance, one of the main missions of the company is to facilitate in dissemination of information about causes of heart diseases. Furthermore, the leadership seeks to address the question of inequality in accessing treatment and management for the heart diseases. While research is part of the mission that the BHF undertakes, it is seen to overshadow other major goals and objectives. A number of studies conducted to determine the attitudes of employees towards leadership in BHF and other charitable organization indicates that there is a major challenge. For instance, in as survey that was conducted in 2012, it was established that the employees’ morale was at its lowest levels. Close to 30% of the employees felt that leaders were not effective enough to foster growth and development in the charity sector (British Heart Foundation, 2013). Furthermore, close to 38% of the respondents indicated that most of the leaders were out of touch with the employees. The number of workers who felt appreciated fell from 64% in 2011 to 55% in 2012 (British Heart Foundation, 2013). A majority of the employees also feel that the salaries and wages received are not enough to respond to the economic challenges, such as the increased cost of living. For instance, those working in the charity organizations receive about 374 pound in weekly wages compared with 478 pounds in the public sector. The private and public sectors are therefore, considered more attractive that working in the charity sector. As a result, many employees feel that the management has failed in addressing the important issues that can foster growth and development in the charity sector. From the above analysis, it is clear that the charity sector, such as the BHF could be in a leadership crisis. This could be attributed to the fall in income, poor budgetary planning and control, and the general loss of productivity in the sector. With this kind of atmosphere, the employees lose their morale, affecting the ability of organization to achieve their objectives. The following are the major leadership recommendations that will facilitate productivity in BHC and improve the relationship with the employees and other stakeholders: Foster a transformational leadership Transformational leadership is the kind of leadership that is characterised by creativity, innovation and relation-oriented. The main goal of this kind of leadership is to respond effectively to the current challenges through application of new strategies. The leaders are able to understand the complexities of the problem, and offer direction to employees. Transformational leaders know that the organizational goals can only be achieved through concerted efforts of all the major stakeholders. This explains why the transformational leaders focus more on building strong relationships with the employees. They achieve this by understanding the weaknesses and strengths of the employees, and responding accordingly. In the BHF, a transformational leadership style will play an imperative role in enhancing employee morale, job satisfaction and productivity. The management should seek to establish strong relationships with employees. To achieve this, the management can foster effective communication that will ensure that employees are able to contribute to the day-to-day running of the organization. Both the upward and downward communication should be enhanced to ensure that there is instant feedback. The effective communication should also be geared towards ensuring that employees are able to express their emotions. One of the main goals that the BHF leadership should foster is the knowledge transfer. This is explained as the process through which employees and other stakeholders exchange experiences, ideas and skills necessary for the growth and development of an organization. The knowledge transfer assists in ensuring that the retiring or resigning employees leave behind wealth of experience that could lead to more growth and development. In many organization though, most employees, especially those with experience are not willing to share their experiences, skills and expertise. Poor leadership that seeks to alienate employees can hamper the knowledge transfer. In most charity sectors, knowledge transfer will not be achieved due to poor leadership, which fails to appreciate the contributions of the employees. Enhance employee motivation According to McGregor, motivation is imperative in determining the level of productivity within an organization (Sahin, 2012, 90). He stated that managers have different approaches that seek to ensure that employees remain productive, and focused on the organization’s goals. According to him, theory X represents managers who have negative attitudes and assumptions towards the employees (Kenrick, 2010, 78). Such managers are under the assumption that employees cannot perform unless they are constantly supervised. This theory represents managers who do not give employees a chance to reach their full potential. The employees are denied a chance to express their creativity and innovativeness owing to the fact that they are under constant control. They are like robots since they have to follow certain established rules to the letter. Such employees are rarely exposed to more training, hence making it difficult to sharpen their skills. Unlike in other management styles where incentive program is used to motivate employees, managers working under this theory do not offer any. Employees may be denied bonuses even when they work beyond the required level. According to Kenrick et al. (2010, 98), this theory represents employees who are demotivated. High employee turnover is likely to be high under this kind of management style. Hence, it will be imperative for HBF to ensure that employees are motivated. Employees’ autonomy will be important in enhancing their productivity in their work. The management should have faith in employees’ capability to provide quality services. The increased supervision makes employees feel incompetent and this may lower their self-esteem. It may also lead to low productivity and high turnover rate. Decision-making The BHF should seek to involve employees in major decision-making within the organization. This will foster teamwork; creativity and innovation that will see the organization grow. However, in most organizations, employees are rarely involved in decision-making. The management is the sole decision-maker, explaining why most employees in the charity sector feel estranged, isolated and powerless. It has been demonstrated that involving employees in decision-making process assists in increasing their morale and productivity. The employees feel appreciated, and an integral part of an organization. In the BHF, the decision-making may include investment and allocation of funds towards different programs. The employees should be given an opportunity to contribute on all matters affecting the organization. Through this effort, the BHF will be able to enhance the morale of employees, which will increase effectiveness and efficiency in the organization. Communication to internal stakeholders The internal stakeholders include the management, business owners and the employees working in the charity sector, such as the BHF. The leadership the organization have the main duty of ensuring the flow of information. The leaders are the mission carriers and must provide the direction to other internal stakeholders. Accuracy and consistency of the disseminated information is imperative for the reputation of the corporate leadership. For this reason, it is vital that the top management shares similar information with the junior managers. This ensures that an outsider will obtain authentic information from any of the levels of management. Riel et al, (2007) stated that corporate communication could foster growth as well as improve the relationship between the management and employees. According to the authors, leaders should be well acquainted with the mission, vision and goals of the organization, in order to articulate them to the employees and other stakeholders. Some of the questions that the leaders need to acquaint themselves with include what needs to be done, how it should be done and who should do it to achieve the objectives of the organization. Riel et al, (2007) states that in many organizations, leaders work under the assumptions that employees understand what needs to be done. This kind of attitude leads to conflicts between leaders and the employees. It happens mostly when the leaders are not clear about why the organization exists. Proper corporate communication goes beyond giving instructions to the employees to listening. Good leaders understand the importance of giving the employees an opportunity to express themselves as well as giving their opinions about certain changes within an organization. This therefore means that communication should be both upwards and downwards. This ensures that communication is complete since there is feedback from the top and bottom levels of management. Riel et al, (2007) states that many organizations have leaders who only give instructions into what needs to be done by the employees without expecting any discussion or giving a room for feedback. Focusing on whether employees have the capacity to do what the employers want is imperative. Certain tasks and changes within an organization mean that new skills and innovation may be needed. For instance, the introduction of new technology within an organization means that employees need to upgrade their skills. However, poor corporate leadership fails to factor in these limitations on the part of the employees. The result is that the employees may make gross mistakes since they do not have the skills necessary to provide quality work. Riel et al (2007) proposes that good corporate leadership should communicate to the employees of any changes made. In addition to that, the leaders need to assess whether the employees have the capacity to perform well despite the organization changes that have taken place. With good leaders leading from the front, employees who appear less confident due to the current changes need to be guided. They can be given more training or supervised until they become more competent. However, all these can only be realised if leaders create an opportunity that allows interactions with the employees. Pratt & Foreman (2000) asserted that there is a correlation between good corporate communication and productivity within an organization. Of all the incentives given to the employees to foster productivity and motivation, it was found that communication was the most important. Pratt & Foreman (2000) stated that many employees would be more comfortable working in an organization where they are allowed to give their opinions and express their emotions. While many organizations think that the main motivation is huge salaries and wages, communication surpasses any other form of incentive. What is important for the employees is whether the company is appreciating their inputs. They want to be given an opportunity to demonstrate their creativity and innovativeness. Building a strong bond between the management and employees will therefore become vital for the success of the company. In communication, employees need to know what is happening within an organization especially in terms of its financial performance. A financially stable organization gives the employees the impression that their employment is secure. On the contrary, financially unstable organization may lead to increase employee turnover. However, according to Pratt & Foreman (2000), employees can remain in such a company depending on the relationship between the management and the employees. The fostered communication will prevent the employees from moving to other competing organizations. This is especially, if the management discloses to the employees the strategies aimed at making an organization regain its performance record. For this reason, Pratt & Foreman (2000) seeks to explain that the main motivation of the employees in an organization may not be necessarily the monetary gain but a favourable working condition. Employees become loyal to an organization, and aim at protecting its reputation even in its darkest moments. All these are enhanced through proper communication. The communication strategy will foster the good relationship between the management and all the stakeholders. The BHF should demonstrate accountability and transparency by disseminating any important information to the stakeholders, who have ensured that the organization continues to achieve its objectives. For instance, the government, which is the main financier, need to know how the money was allocated and achievements that were made. This kind of communication will ensure that more donors will be willing to make their financial contribution. Foster effective change management initiative Change management has become a common strategy that is used to prevent major conflicts that may ensure when due to new developments. Effective change management assists in fostering a good working condition between management and employees. It also ensures that employees and other stakeholders are willing and support the proposed changes. Resistance to change is a common phenomenon, where employee participation to decision-making is lacking. To manage change within the BHF, it will be imperative for the management to train employees to ensure that they have the skills required in the changing work environment. For instance, in one of the studies, 62% of employees working in the charity sector indicated that the loss of morale was attributed to high rate of redundancy. Most employees were losing their jobs since they were perceived to lack skills and experienced necessary to operate effectively. Hence, proper training and empowerment of employees should follow the introduction of any changes. 2. Importance of appropriate organizational structure The BHF needs an appropriate organizational structure that will ensure that the organization achieves its objectives. While there are many organizational structures, the proposed one for the BHF is functional structure. The functional organizational structure ensures the management coordinates, supervises and allocates duties to internal stakeholders, such as employees. This organizational structure ensures an equitable distribution of power within an organization, a situation that enhances leadership. As the marketing director, the goal will be to empower the rest of the employees through delegation of responsibilities. Unlike in bureaucratic structures where there are strict rules and regulations that tend to reduce employees to robots, the proposed structure will foster creativity and innovation. The management seeks to ensure that other marketers are given an opportunity to explore and use their creativity in addressing challenges facing the charity sector. In BHF, the marketers should demonstrate their innovation to assist the organizations gain more income to meet its objectives. The marketing director’s goal will be to establish goals that are directly related to BHF’s mission and vision. One of the main goals is to ensure that the organization has enough funds to conduct research on cardiovascular diseases, dissemination of information, prevention and care for patients. To achieve this, it will be necessary to develop a skilled and competent team of employees. The marketing director will ensure that a motivated team of marketers is developed through training and increased salaries and wages. The promotion of teamwork will also be put into consideration. Teamwork assists in preventing unnecessary competition amongst the marketers, which in most cases is counter-productive. While the marketing director will seek to promote employee autonomy, monitoring and evaluation will remain imperative to ensure that the organizational goals have been achieved. 3. Managing marketing team Marketing is vital for any organization as it creates awareness about the kind of activities, services or goods provided. Like any organizations, the charity sector has used different marketing strategies to reach donors, the government, volunteers and the public. According to the report by the British Heart Foundation (2013), the main aim of communication is to create awareness and raise funds. However, this goal can only be achieved through effective communication. The marketers need to have social skills that will foster good communication with the target audience. The main objective of marketing is to inform the audience what the organization plans to do, and why it is important. It is also vital that a charity organization states how the funds will be allocated towards achieving their objectives. With this in mind, the marketers ought to be people who understand the history of the organization, what has been achieved, and the future goals. Good marketers ensure that they can answer any question raised by the audience, as this increases the level of trust. Poor communication can lead to lack of support for the charity organizations, as they are not convincing. In addition to this, the economic challenges in the UK coupled with increased cost of living means that most people do not have a lot of disposable income. Hence, people will only offer assistance to organization that is perceived to be genuine. The effective communication should also be aimed at assuring the public that the money donated is used for the intended purpose. This will dispel the fear and attitudes of the public who believe that only 50-60% of the donate funds go towards the intended purposes. This means that the marketers should demonstrate accountability and transparency by providing evidence of how the previous funds were used. Creating a strong brand means that the organization should be ready to spend on marketing itself. For instance, BHF spend close to 3.8 million for advertisement purpose in 2011. BHF has one of the strongest brands those appeals to potential donors, who know that the organization is not involved in the embezzlement or misappropriation of funds. However, while it is vital to create awareness about an organization through marketing, the process should not be very expensive as this is likely to increase the cost of operation. The BHF management has a role to ensure that the marketers are skilled and experienced in their work. To facilitate this, the management should ensure that marketers are fluent and can articulate issues excellently. To achieve these skills, employees should have skills and competence in issues of public relations. The management should empower marketers through training to increase their knowledge and skills. 4. Marketing budget While marketing is imperative, it is necessary to ensure that the cost commensurate with the income made in an organization. The management should seek to use the most effective method of marking communication, but which is not very costly. In 2011, for instance, BHF was one of the largest spenders in marketing, where it used close to 3.8 million pounds in advertising alone. For instance, the cost of marketing could be managed with social media and text messages. In the UK, for instance, it is estimated that more than 32 million people are using social media, with about 30 million in Facebook. Globally, it is estimated that more than a billion people are in social media. The number is expected to rise in the future, owing to internet penetration in the remote areas, and in developing countries. With this kind of environment, the social media has become a cheaper, but an effective means of communication between an organization and the target customers. The BHF should exploit the social media, rather than the use of the direct mails, which is commonly used by over 70% in the charity sector. The use of the social media is imperative, not only for reducing the cost of operation, but in enhancing communication with donors, and other stakeholders. The use of social media will ensure that BHF is able to reach millions of well-wishers, hence higher chances of increasing its revenue. BHF should also take the advantage of the current development in the communication sector. According to a survey in the UK, it was established that a mobile phone has become a common communication tool. This has seen more than 41% of the population having more than one phone. This has also been attributed to the fact that most of the people are busy, and the only way they can be reached is the use of mobile phones. Hence, the BHF should take advantage of this development to reach target customers through the direct text messages. For instance, it was estimated that in 2011, close to 32 million pounds were donated via the text messages. It is estimated that this figure will rise to about 150 million pound this year (2015). Therefore, the use of text messages in marketing is not only effective but also less costly. With social media and text messages in marketing, there is likely to be a reduction in the cost of operation. The company will cut down the number of employees involved in marketing, as these communication strategies do not require a large workforce. 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