Work-Life Balance, Management Practices, and Productivity - Example

Organisational Behaviour & Management Individual Assessment Table of Contents Acknowledgement 3 Declaration 4 Introduction 5 PART 1: Leadership and Management Leadership 6 Definitions 6 Importance 7 Management 7 Difference between Management and Leadership 8 The leadership, management distinction 8 Relationship between management and leadership 9 Individual Goals 9 Organisation Goals 10 Benefits of Organizational Goals 10 PART 2 Hard System Model for Change 11 Factors Prompting Change 14 Factors determine the outcome of any transformation initiative 14 Conclusion 15 Bibliography 16 Acknowledgement It is my pleasure to express my gratitude to Dr. for his patience and meticulous follow up on this study. I am sincerely grateful to him for permitting me to work on a topic of Organisational Behaviour & Managementto all working in the various business fields. Mamoun Ibrahim Saeed Declaration This is a declaration on my side as an MBA student at the University that this Assessment paper entitled “Organizational Behavior & Management” is my own work piece and all conclusions drawn are based on data collected from real business environment and a real-time web based analysis along with University reference books. Chapter One 1.0. Introduction This essay has been divided into two parts where the first part focuses on evaluating a literature review on the definition of leadership and management. Then it moves on to provide the key differences between them. Furthermore it aims to present the importance of these two concepts in managing people. Finally chapter one ends with a discussion on organizational goals with reference to influence and power used by leaders and managers. The second chapter concentrates on outlining organizational change. This is followed by two systems of change, namely; hard systems and soft systems models of change will be focused upon. Following a discussion on the main differences between these systems models of change will be done. Chapter two will end by discussing the factors that need to be considered for hard systems model and move on to explain the manner in which different models of change and leadership and management has a role in shaping the performance of an organization. 2.0. Leadership The selection of a successful business leader in this part of the work was a hard mission due to the challenging and competitive nature of the state. Contingency and Situational approaches are grounded in the philosophy that leaders should act as the situation demands. The situational variant suggests that leaders should develop a repertoire of skills and styles that can be deployed to suit the particular needs and requirements so that organization is able to develop a framework through which better decision are achieved. Part One Discuss the importance of these approaches to leading and managing people in organizations. Definitions, theories and examples surrounding leadership Leadership is the ability to influence and motivate individuals to do something, to achieve the goals arrives. Leadership is one of the most important elements that must be met in the administrative person, to be the cause of achieving the objectives of the institutions of the highest degrees of efficiency and effectiveness. Major Leadership Definition Bryman (1968) has defined leadership as a process where a vision for the future is determined and based on it the different resources are allocated so that the organization is able to achieve its goals through the efforts of its members. This helps to bring a sense of direction and provides an opportunity to develop a process which will ensure best possible use of resources. This has been supported by Roberts (1998) which states that it is the privilege and responsibility which helps others to use the actions and efforts of others within the organization so that different level of authority and responsibility relationship can be created through which both successful and failed endeavors can be analyzed. Barron & Greenburg (1990) has stated that leader is a person who influences people or a group of people to come together and work towards the attainment of a common goal. This thereby helps to provide a sense of purpose and direction through which the different resources are allocated in a manner through which best effectiveness can be achieved Importance of Leadership Leadership provides a linkage between the companies goal and employees as leaders have to take and assume the role of ensuring that the efforts of the employees are directed towards the common goals Leaders look to bring together all the resources in a unified manner so that maximum effectiveness and gain can be ensured through which the common goals of the business is achieved Leaders help to take control of the entire working scenario and ensures better allocation of resources so that the goals can be achieved Leadership helps to take care of the needs and requirements of the employees and others within the organization and ensures that a proper motivation program can be designed based on the needs and requirements of the employees Leadership helps to hone the skills of the employees and provide a directive through which effective development of employees and resources becomes possible 3.0. Management Management is a process which looks towards planning, organizing, controlling, directing the different resources that the business has so that best results for the business can be achieved. Management is one of the most important activities for business as it helps to develop a framework through which human society can be improved and the different aspect of economic, social and political aspect can be managed. This will help to bring a change in the working style and ensure that the resources are used in such a manner through which effective use of resources becomes possible. Management also looks towards making strategies through which business is able to take right decision at the appropriate time and monitor the entire working progress so that the desired goals of the business is achieved in the most beneficial manner. Difference between leadership and management People generally tend to confuse and use leadership and management in place of one another but in reality they are different. A leader can be manager but a manager might not necessarily be a leader. Leadership thereby focuses on the future and tends to find out a mechanism through which better use of resources becomes possible so that the overall goals of the business can be achieved. Management on the other hand tends to use the available resources in such a manner that efficiency can be gained and a process which will look towards ensuring that the goals of the business will be achieved is developed. The table below thereby highlights the difference which exist between leadership and management Responsibilities (They are not exclusively to either management or leadership) Management Leadership 1. To implement tactical actions 2. Perform detailed budgeting 3. Measure and report performance 4. To apply rules and policies 5. To implement disciplinary rules 6. Recruiting people for jobs 7. To organize people and tasks within structures 8. To Improve productivity and efficiency 9. To check and manage ethics and morals 10. To delegate and train people. 1. To create new visions and aims 2. To establish organizational financial targets. 3. To decide what needs measured and reported 4. To make new rules and policies. 5. To make disciplinary policies. 6. To create new job roles 7. To decide organization’s structure, hierarchy and workgroups. 8. To conceive new opportunities. 9. To establish ethical and moral positions. 10. To plan and organize The above stated distinction between leadership and management shows leaders help to set a direction based on which the organization will work but managers ensures that the direction is achieved by using the different resources. Leaders further look to work with people and ensure proper management strategies whereas managers tend to develop a process through which better control is exercised over the resources. Leaders generally aim towards creating a vision whereas managers provide a plan through which the vision is achieved. Based on the vision leaders inspire people to work in such a way that the vision can be achieved whereas managers tend to develop the structure and establishes the authority and responsibility relationship through which the business will be able to gain effectiveness. Leaders thereby look to develop and generate initiative so that better chances of growth can be identified whereas managers tend to ensure that the initiative is used in such a manner through which major effectiveness will be gained in using the different resources. Leaders thereby look to develop and design a process which can be achieved whereas managers tend to deliver on the promise which has been made by the leader by developing the required process which will initiate and help to achieve the desired purpose. Thus, leader and managers are quite related to each other and tends to provide a framework through which business is able to gain the required direction and ensure that the use of resources provide an opportunity through which the goals can be achieved. Relationship between leadership and management Management is a social process which looks towards making use of the available resources by investing into different directions like operations which aims towards planning, organization, routing and censorship. The ability to deal with the different resources towards designing a framework through which better objectives are attained is an area which has been highlighted through the behavior and performance of the organization has been identified. Different research has been carried out through which different goals and performance gets affected. This thereby helps to work on the target goals and looks towards developing regulations through which self-regulation can be achieved. The research thereby focuses on the different aspect of goal through which specific goals and objectives can be achieved. People thereby tend to set goals and objectives for individuals based on the fact that the person can be motivated and is developed and based on Locke’s (1968) goals setting – theory. Individual Goals Goals are made by individuals who thereby help to understand the objectives which the business wishes to accomplish in the future. This makes it imperative that the individual goals matches the organizational goal as it helps to create the required zeal and enthusiasm through which bigger goals are achieved. This always doesn’t become a reality as at times people tend to give more priority to one or the other goals. For example, at times working or removing certain department might be beneficial for the business but keeping in mind the long term perspective and the manner through which certain individuals rights might me infringed results in creation of goals which are not supported by the business. Setting goals acts as an effective tool for motivating people as it sets the required framework to achieve the goals (Latham, 2004). The mechanism helps to determine the manner in which business functioning will improve and will provide a framework through which increase attention to a goal, energy in pursuing a goal, persistence in achieving a goal, and ability to strategize to reach a goal. Individuals are thereby able to focus and divert their attention in a manner through which behavior are molded towards the goal (PSU, 2012). Goals thereby help to develop persistent strategies through which overall effectiveness is gained and the business is able to achieve both the individual and group goals. Organizational Goals Organizational goals are the long term vision and mission which the organization aims to achieve through the use of different resources. Organizational goals are broken down into smaller goals which is entrusted and passed on to each and every employee within the organization so that they are able to come together and work in a manner through which better guidance and effectiveness can be gauged so that the different resources are used in the best manner and provides an opportunity for the managers to act in a manner through which goals can be achieved. Benefits of organizational goals Organizational goals tend to provide the following benefits Goals serve as guidelines for action, directing and channeling employee efforts. They provide parameters for strategic planning, allocating resources and identifying development opportunities. Goals provide constraints in the organization. Choosing certain goals reduces discretion in pursuing other goals. The goal of maximizing stockholder dividends immediately reduces financial resources available for expense accounts. Goals act as a source of legitimacy by justifying an organization's activities and existence. For new organizations the struggle for legitimacy is great. Maintaining legitimacy is easier but still, some organizations do lose legitimacy. For example imagine a hospital whose goal was to increase occupancy by performing as much surgery as possible. Such a goal would surely reduce its legitimacy. Goals define standards of performance. To the extent that goals are clearly stated, they set standards for evaluation. Goals provide a source of motivation. By presenting a challenge and how to achieve it, organizational goals act as behavioral incentives. For example: the path-goal theory of leadership. An effectively developed performance management process helps managers to develop and evaluate the performance of the employees based on different parameters and productivity through the following mechanism Aligning individual employee's day-to-day actions with strategic business objectives so that better control can be exercised and a mechanism which helps to look at the style of working can be monitored. Providing visibility and clarifying accountability related to performance expectations so that clear goals can be set. Documenting individual performance to support compensation and career planning decisions as it will act as a tool through which employees are motivated to work for a better future. Establishing focus for skill development and learning activity choices through the development of proper training program and creating documentation for legal purposes, to support decisions and reduce errors so that overall business effectiveness is achieved. Hard & Soft Models of Change Hard System mostly focuses on predetermined and set techniques and solutions through a proper analysis of different sets of data and process so that implementation aspect can be fully justified. Situations of Change There are different reasons and factors which have given rise to change and can be divided into different categories based on the needs and requirements of the business. Change of hard complexity is more likely to be enacted easily and speedily than situations that show soft complexity because of the predetermined process which is followed. This are also sometimes referred as difficulties and requires developing a process so that justified solutions to the same can be identified. HSMC is best applied in relatively bounded situations described variously as difficulties, simple/ unitarist systems or ‘hard’ situations so that overall effectiveness is achieved. The Hard System Model of Change The hard model system of change is divided into the following broad classification The description phase – which looks to describe and diagnose the situation so that better understanding and directives of change can be developed. The options phase – which aims at creating options and selecting the correct options so that correct decisions can be taken through which better results are achieved The implementation phase – which looks to implement the plans into actions Soft System on the other hand is a loose framework which is used by analyst to understand the manner in which organizational problems are to be dealt and looks towards improving the entire working conditions Soft System methodology is an approach which is adopted to deal with real world situations. This is a process which looks at continued action and strategies so that business is able to deal with the continuous problems which disrupts the business growth. This thereby helps to provide the required framework and provides an opportunity through which proper system is evolved. SSM was developed in 1966 which looks towards dealing with the problematic situation which used through a process of system engineering. The system engineering which looks towards focusing on the technical problems helped to develop a methodology through which real management problems were handled in the most effective manner. This was possible because the process ensured the use of a formal mechanism to deal with it. However it was found that the main problem or what constitutes the problem is lacking as it doesn’t help to provide the require framework through which business decisions will be taken. SSM has further received its fame and name from Prof. Peter Checkland who helped to develop and ensure that an action research program by the name ISCOL was developed in 1970. This helped to address the real life problems and provided a better framework through which business effectiveness and errors were improved. This makes it important to ensure the distinction between hard and soft system. A hard problem mechanism mainly concentrates on “how’ type of question. This sort of problems are mainly handled by engineers who look to provide the required answer by looking into different directives through which better engineering application and computer system development becomes possible. For example, 'How can we transfer an objective from point A to B at a minimum cost'? Hard problems thereby help to understand the manner in which the definite solutions for the specific goals of the business will be determined. Hard approach to system and design thereby looks at developing computer system through which an effective information provider system can be developed so that major effectiveness and better decision making is achieved. There could be also situation when the different problems are dealt so that effectiveness is achieved (Curtis, 1998). In contrast the soft problem looks to have a mixture of “what” and “how” approach so that a process which looks at determining the manner in which system needs and requirements will be met has been developed. This has allowed the latter to deal with unexpected situations and tends to provide the required framework through which better decisions are achieved. For example, they may have a large social and political component. A good example to illustrate a soft problem is how the transfer of highly sophisticated technology from Western Countries to Saudi Arabia can be achieved. In this case, there are different stakeholders with different perspectives, and interest for example, political, economic, social, cultural issues. These several issues contribute to an unclear picture. It is often stated that the hard system is an approach which is well defined and soft approach is fuzzier and involves different situations which involves human and other cultural aspect (Guthrie, 2001). Different approach thereby helps in different manner due to the different strengths and weakness which they demonstrate. Table 1 below shows what can be considered as the main criteria that distinguish between hard and soft problems (Bloom, N., Kretschmer and Reenen, 2006). Hard problem Soft problem Defined Undefined Clearly bounded Fuzzy-edged Separable problem What is the problem? Clear who ought to be involved Not sure who ought to be involved Information needs known Unsure what information is needed Know what the solution would look like Not sure what the solution would look like Show the main criteria that distinguish hard and soft problem Figure.1. A map of system ideas (adapted from Guthrie, 2001) Figure. 1 shows a map of system ideas that summarises the views taken, of hard and soft systems and their applications thus far. From a methodological perspective the research question can be formulated as: Factors Promoting Change Blair and Wharton has identified the different drivers for change. The three major drivers for change are technology, government and globalization (Blair and Wharton, 2004). Technology results in the restructuring of the business process as it aim towards using new and better methods through which better efficiency is gained. The manner in which technology impacts can be seen from the different framework which looks at maximizing the different gains and advantage through which business is able to facilitate a new manner through which working will be done Bass, (2009). Technology often brings about procedural, personal, process and structural change in organizations Globalization also has an similar impact as it results in a transformation of business shape, size and value based on which the different restricting of the business takes place in a less restricted economy reflecting the manner in which business effectiveness is achieved (Antonakis, Avolio & Sivasubramaniam, 2003). Globalization also raises many challenges as it creates complex situations and requires the development of strategies which will be focus on a single aspect and ensure that best results are achieved. Globalization brings greater demands for innovation and creativity by reducing the life cycles of products, and higher needs for cutting price and providing better quality and more value by increasing competition. This thereby helps to bring a complete change and transformation through which the external resources are used so that maximum effectiveness is achieved. These factors determine the outcome of any transformation initiative. D. the time taken to complete the program and identifying the different between the time lag and the manner in which the milestone for the business will be achieved I. The project team’s performance integrity; that is, its ability to complete the initiative on time. That depends on members’ skills and traits relative to the project’s requirements. C. The commitment to change that top management (C1) and employees affected by the change (C2) display. E. The effort over and above the usual work that the change initiative demands of employees. Conclusion This essay which has been divided into two parts where the first part focuses on evaluating a literature review on the definition of leadership and management. Then it moves on to provide the key differences between them. Furthermore it aims to present the importance of these two concepts in managing people. Finally chapter one ends with a discussion on organizational goals with reference to influence and power used by leaders and managers. The second chapter concentrates on outlining organizational change. This is followed by two systems of change, namely; hard systems and soft systems models of change will be focused upon. Following a discussion on the main differences between these systems models of change will be done. Chapter two will end by discussing the factors that need to be considered for hard systems model and move on to explain the manner in which different models of change and leadership and management has a role in shaping the performance of an organization. Bibliography Antonakis, J., Avolio, B. J., & Sivasubramaniam, N. 2003. Context and leadership: An examination of the nine-factor full-range leadership theory using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. Leadership Quarterly, 14(3), 261-295. Bass, B. M. 2009. Two Decades of Research and Development in Transformational Leadership. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 8 (1), 9-32. Blair, L and Wharton, T. 2004. Organizational commitment and constraints on work-family policy use: corporate flexibility policies in a global firm. Sociological Perspectives, 47 (3): 243-267. Bloom, N., Kretschmer, T., and Reenen, J. 2006. Work life balance, management practices and productivity. Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics. Guthrie, J. 2001. High involvement work practices, turnover and productivity: evidence from New Zealand. Academy of Management Journal, 44 (1): 180-190. Read More