The Impact of Leadership on the Growth and Performance - Research Paper Example

The impact of leadership on the growth and performance of children at the day care Introduction How does decision affect the prospective of an organization? It is often said that great leaders are made and not born. Additionally, Albert Cannella (2008) is of the view that leadership thrives through the participation of members in a group and through the contribution of every member within the group. Questions pertaining to this aspect have been asked by several studies and researchers who are exploring the management area of leadership. Leaders that fall under the upper echelons of their organization tend to perform on the basis of their personal views and opinions and by trying to make an understanding of the situations that influence the strategic direction of their initiatives. Additionally, issues such as cultural values combined with the personal experiences of the individual have a profound influence on all the aspects that the above mentioned topic tends to deal with. Above all, the individual personality of the leader cum moderator is another aspect that goes a long way in determining the extent of success that the group can experience by way of one’s actions. In fact, all these theories have functioned as the basis for the theory of the upper echelon over a number of decades and have been based on the principle of bounded rationality. One of the many such places where leadership is nutured and inspired from a very young age is at our very day care centres, where inspired yet simple leaders take the responsibility of bringing together young minds and leaders of tomorrow under a common roof and teach them the importance of thinking, motivation and self confidence and instill the notion of participation and group work right from an early age. As such, the proposed research study aims to evaluate all these three theories that are considered as the primary elements of leadership at a day care center (David Ketchen, 2006). The reasons behind choosing such a topic is deemed important as it allows me to relate my experiences as a day care worker over a period of 2 decades in using leadership to foster growth and involvement amongst children. Discussion Speaking specifically, there are a number of different elements that assist a worker within a day care center to influence and shape the strategic direction of the group (of children), thus providing a direct impact on the performance and growth of all children within this group. The first and the foremost step in this process is to ensure the collective participation of every child and take the right decisions depending on the level of response from every child and the ability in these responses by instilling the faith in every child over their relevance and importance to the success of the group. These twin variables of self-importance and interest are directly responsible for influencing the culture within the group by helping towards focusing on tangible targets that the leader of the group (namely the day care worker) sets on a day to day or periodic basis. (Ken Smith, 2005). Further, the onus lies on the leaders to foresee the reaction and reception from every member of the group. In any case, the strategy and mission of the day care work as an entity of the upper echelons is to ensure a direct relationship with the group. Such a relationship plays a pivotal role in the shaping of the relationship between every child in the group as well as dictates the decision making and the setting of the structure of the group (Albert Cannella, 2008). The structure of the group needs to be determined by the group through a set of right decisions by taking into consideration all variables such as the individual capabilities and traits in every child as well as their personal interests in the various things of activity that are available at the day care center. For example, when the question arises of rewarding a child for a particular achievement arises, the careful consideration of whether such a decision is the right way to move forward lies in the hands of the day care worker, who must ensure that such a move does not discourage any other members from feeling a lack of self confidence, thereby leading to under-performance. (George Huber, 1995). A thorough analysis of any such decisions is crucial as it has a direct impact on the balance within the group and may lead to conflicts among children thereby degrading the culture within the center that is driven by experience and values. The allocation of adequate resources (time and attention) is also another area where leaders in the upper echelons of the day care center should maintain a considerable influence over the group. The day care worker is responsible for determining the optimum amounts of allocating the various resources that includes entities such as time, attention and the level of analysis and feedback as well. Such allocation can be performed at an individual level as well as across business units. The allocation of resources is seen as a way of supporting specific objectives that help the leader move along the defined strategy thus paving the way towards the achievement of aspired outcomes (Albert Cannella, 2008). Ensuring the presence and maintenance of an adequate and well managed performance and reward system is also an important asset towards maintaining and enhancing the culture within the group and its child members. Many are familiar with rewards and associate it instantly with a toke of appreciation for better performance in the form of a bar of chocolate or praise within the group or otherwise. However, these are confined to a certain set of behavioral expectations and standards that are the standard methods to encouraging and forcing students for better participation (Jeffrey Pfeffer, 2003). Apart from recognition and material rewards, a rewards system aims to motivate the student within the group to aspire for more and encourages them to be on the edge to seeking newer heights. It also inspires children trailing behind to catch up and work better towards gaining a more respectable position. The work of the leader in this context is to seek better participation from every member of the group and ensure that no child feels unwanted or ostracized from the activities of the group. Further, it is important to identify children who are still not motivated and determine ways to indulge them in the activities of the group (Trevor Amos, 2009). Conclusion Irrespective of whether its oversight, participation, behaviorism, rewards or the ability to act as role models – a day care worker has many ways of influencing young minds within a group thereby helping in making better leaders for tomorrow. By making use of the above mentioned processes, members of the upper echelons of a day care center are working essentially towards creating a mirror image that depicts their individual personality, style, vision, character, preferences and experience. References 1. David Ketchen (2006), Research Methodology in Strategy and Management. New York: Emerald. 2. Ken Smith (2005), Great minds in management: the process of theory development. Oxford University Press. 3. George Huber (1995), Organizational change and redesign: ideas and insights for improving performance. Oxford University Press. 4. Albert Cannella (2008), Strategic Leadership: Theory and Research on Executives, Top Management Teams, and Boards. Oxford University Press. 5. jeffrey Pfeffer (2003), New directions for organization theory: problems and prospects. New York: Prentice. 6. Trevor Amos (2009), Human Resource Management. London: Juta. Bibliography 1. Birgit Schyns (2006), Implicit leadership theories: essays and explorations. New York: IAP. 2. Stephen Covey (2004), The 8th habit: from effectiveness to greatness. London: Free Press. 3. John Miner (2005), Organizational behavior. Oklahoma: M. E. Sharpe. 4. Bernard Bass (2006), Transformational leadership. London: Routledge. 5. Mary Barrett (2007), Leadership theories: a critique and its implications for management education. Queensland University of Technology. 6. Tony Bush (2003), Theories of educational leadership and management. new York: SAGE. Outline of the project 1. Abstract 2. Introduction 3. Literature review 4. Research methodology 5. Discussion 6. Results 7. Conclusions 8. References 9. Bibliography 10. Appendices Read More