Why It Is Important for the Leader to Explain the Organizations Expectations to Employees - Assignment Example

Management Name Institution Date 1. Explain why it is important for the leader to explain the organization’s expectations to employees, and give an example of what those expectations could be. It is important for leaders to explain an organization’s expectations to employees in order to avoid generalizations and stereotyping based on selective perception of the facts. Individuals tend to pay selective attention to parts of their environment they can relate to, or about which they have some prior information. Individual backgrounds and beliefs influence and determine the events that are most noticeable, and those that are ignored. Clarity in communicating expectations to employees helps them to understand the organization’s mission, standards, and values, as well as their role and contribution in achieving the organization’s overall objectives (Altman & Post, 1996). 2. Explain why it is necessary to consider the organization’s existing risk management plans before making decisions. It is important that leaders refer and take into account risk management plans that are in place in an organization before making important decisions. An organizations risk management plan provides a framework and tools that take into account the contributors and influences on the organizations risk, as well as the relationships involved (Ehrlich, 1994). An organizations risk management policy typically provides information on objectives of strategically managing organizational risk. It stipulates how the organization intends to comply with legislation and regulations, and highlights the critical link between the organization’s strategic objectives and risk management. By reviewing the organizations risk management policy, risk managers can be in better position to identify performance measures for different risk management processes, as well as the people who should be responsible and accountable for its management. 3. Why should a leader encourage employees to develop innovative approaches to the performance of their work? Effective leadership requires developing a work environment e that supports and encourages new ideas. This is very important since the company needs to maintain its identity while at the same time able to change and adapt to the changing times and challenges it faces. Innovation entails the use of new technologies, improved industrial processes, satisfying emerging customer needs, and enhanced systems and processes. Such developments require the input of the top management, staff and other partners (Guzzo & Noonan, 1994). Innovation initiatives require organizations to develop a work environment where all stakeholders focus on improving performance of the business practices. The significance of an effectively executed innovation process is that it enhances organizations competitiveness, improves efficient use of resources, and leads to better quality products and lowers costs of production (Morrison, 1994). In addition, employees are likely to derive more meaning in an innovative work environment that offers challenging and creative jobs, and promotes a sense of professional development and teamwork. 4. Why should a leader adapt their leadership style to suit the situation? Give an example of different styles of leadership and what situations they would best be suited for Effective leadership requires leaders to adopt different leadership styles to suit different situations, as each style of leadership affects the psychosocial wellbeing and safety of employees in different ways. According to the Path-goal theory of leadership, there are four styles of leadership. The first is directive leadership, where employees are provided with specific directions regarding performance of their tasks. Directive leaders clarify role expectations, set schedules, and ensure that employees have adequate information on what is to be accomplished on every workday. Directive leadership is most effective where there is role ambiguity and employees have to be guided on what is expected of their roles (Rousseau, 1989). The second style is supportive leadership, where leaders focus on motivating and providing the support that employees require while performing their roles. Supportive leaders ensure employees are encouraged and treated well both in in their work and at personal level. According to Rousseau (1989), this style of leadership is mostly applicable where the work environment is stressful, and the job is routine and repetitive The third style that leaders can adopt is participative leadership, where employees are directly involved in the decision making process. This applies in situations where employees exemplify high levels of control, skill and ability, and where decisions that are made are relevant to the employees at a very personal level. The fourth style is achievement-oriented leadership, where the leaders’ primary objective is to set goals and support employees to optimise their potential in achieving the expected outcomes. This style applies in a work environment where employees are well motivated to achieve results and exemplify high levels of personal initiative and ability. 5. Who in the organisation needs to know about professional codes, by-laws and legislations that are relevant to the business operations? It is imperative that managers responsible for recruitment, training and outsourcing of staff be conversant with professional codes, bylaws and legislations. For instance, adequate knowledge of the law by recruiting managers will enable them employ the right measures in setting compensation levels and contract terms. 6. Give a few examples of factors a leader needs to think about when communicating with employees and teams to ensure that the language and media used is appropriate. Also explain what happens when the language and media is NOT appropriate. The precision and accuracy with which a message is conveyed and received largely depends on the medium or channel through which it is transmitted. Messages can be communicated either verbally, in written or nonverbally, and the three mediums vary in strengths and weakness. It is imperative that managers take note of the implications of nonverbal communication, as noted from previous research; only 7 % of verbal communication is conveyed through the words themselves. According to Tharenou & Lyndon (1990), verbal communication channels are more information rich and essentially more effective. The primary objective of communication is to match the goal of communication and the communication channel. Written media is most preferable in situations where the sender intents to keep a record of the message, does not require an urgent response, the sender and receiver are physically separated, or the content of the message is complicated and requires time to consider and analyse. Oral communication in contrast applies to cases where the message is sensitive and emotional, the sender requires an urgent response, and a permanent record of the content is not necessary (Turnley, 1996). 7. Give at least one (1) example of what organisations commonly do to ensure that the organisation is represented positively in the media and community. An important strategy that organisations often employ to ensure that they are rightly represented in the media is communications planning. Communications planning is a six step procedure that starts with research, which as simplistic undertaking informal talks with staff or clients, or as complex as commissioning an opinion poll. The second step is defining the organizations goals and objectives which reveals the why, when, where and how of the communications process. At the third stage, the organizers identify the target audience. The more clearly the target audience is defined, the easier it will be for leaders to make right choices regarding the messages and channels of communication. The fourth stage involves identifying the key idea that is to be communicated. Leaders at this point identify the level of information the target audience already has about the idea, and else needs to be communicated. With this information, leaders are in better position to develop messages that clearly communicate what the audience should be told, how, when and where. Step 5 will involve identifying the most appropriate channel through which the message should be communicated. This should be in consideration of the resources available for the task and the proper timing for the message to be effectively communicated. Last step is evaluation, which involves undertaking an appraisal of measures that determine the success of the exercise. Leaders at this point can be able to understand and identify the activities that were most effective in passing the message across to the target audience (Trice & Beyer, 1993). 8. What are some of the things the leader must consider when assigning responsibilities and accountabilities to teams and individuals? Before assigning duties, leaders must first clearly understand the basic regulations and standards set by the organization regarding allocation of assignments. Key factors that a leader must put into consideration when allocating responsibilities include the ability of individuals or teams, there qualifications, experience, knowledge and interpersonal skills. It is imperative that leaders identify the best fit between the potential of employees and the roles they are assigned. Teamwork is of essence, as this creates the required synergy for effective accomplishment of tasks. 9. What happens when a team is given tasks and responsibilities without the proper resources allocated? Management by objectives (MBO) is an organized and systematic approach that enables management to set and meet achievable goals and optimise the teams’ capacity to utilise available resources in achieving the best possible result within a limited timeframe. The objective of MBO is to enhance organizational performance by providing a link between subordinate objectives and the overall goals in an organization (Sims, 1994). It enables staff to optimise their potential in meeting set goals and within required timelines. Without proper resources, teams are likely to fall behind schedule in meeting set goals, there are bound to be interruptions in the workflow, and inevitably, employees will feel less motivated and find the job stressful. 10. Explain why it is important for a leader to clearly state the expectations of each individual and group in an organisation. Effective communication of expectations ensures employees have up-to date descriptions of what their roles entails, including the tasks functions and responsibilities that pertain to the job. It equips them with essential knowledge and skills critical to effective accomplishment of the duties assigned to them. Example of what a company’s expectations from an employee would be meeting the various targets and quotas set by the company, promoting the company’s image and preserving it at the same time, positive attitude at work, punctuality, reliability, resilience, and dependability ( Rousseau, 1989). Section B- Essay questions 1. Explain what organisational objectives, values and standards are, and how they relate to supporting the organisation’s strategic direction. Also, explain how these influence the responsibilities of individual employees and teams. Objectives are the outcomes or results toward which organizational activities and processes are aimed. They represent an organizations aims, goals and purposes over a period. According to Newell and Dopson (1996), managerial objectives define the intended goals that stipulate the definite scope of achievement and provide guidelines of what mangers need to achieve. Objectives need to be clearly defined, and must take into account the multiple factors that influence their achievement. They should be consistent with the organizations mission, be rational and realistic, and not idealistic. They should be consistent and achievable, and should be reviewed periodically. More importantly, organizational objectives should contain a social sanction, and flexible enough to be modified as the organization’s environment changes (Morrison, 1994). Objectives play multiple functions in an organizations strategic direction. Firstly, the define the organization and provide guidelines for decision-making. They also set standards of performance, provide a framework for decentralisation, and integrate the organization, teams and individuals 2. Discuss some of the things that a leader can do to empower employees and to build trust, confidence and respect. Also, discuss what would be the point of doing so. The first thing that leaders need to undertake in an effort to empower employees is to develop a set of values that provide direction and a point of reference. Values in most cases will entail a genuine commitment to doing what is right, respecting others, and performing one’s roles to the best of their ability. It is imperative that managers demonstrate that excellence, respect and integrity start at the top, and more importantly, to demonstrate this commitment through their actions and decisions. Leaders ought to exemplify before employees that they embrace their values, and trust will not be hard to achieve. The second most important step in winning employees’ trust is to communicate the organizations vision and strategy (Luhmann, 1979). The vision and strategy should be simple enough for employees to understand and clearly visualize ways in which their contributions are critical to achievement of the organisations strategic objectives. By showing employees that they are trusted, they in turn enhance their performance to demonstrate that the trust is well placed. Thirdly, leaders need to be honest, open and transparent. Employees will most likely notice when leaders are open and honest, and if this communicated frequently, they reciprocate with trust and respect. This is particularly critical when an organization is experiencing hardships. Honesty and transparency during such periods builds confidence and empowers employees to focus on overcoming the challenges. Lastly, it is important for leaders to learn how to offer sincere and genuine appreciation for the contribution that employees provide. Employees may not remember everything that leaders say, but they never forget how the leaders make them feel (Gambetta, 1988). 3. A leader should be a role model and set good examples. What can the leader do to ensure that their own professional competence level and performance is continuously improved? A vast majority of management principles focus on organizational-level performance entailing economic, social and environmental outcomes. However, for change to take place at the organizational-level, change must have taken place within individuals and groups. What organizations are able to achieve therefore hinges very much, on what individual has do or contribute. This is essentially the reason mangers ought to be role models and set a good example that is reflected in an organizations overall performance. Individual-level performance entails not just the things that mangers have to do in their job (in-role performance), but also the things that are of value but are not part of their formal job description. For mangers to improve their performance and provide effective leadership in their respective business units, they ought to incorporate in their in-role performance both productivity and quality dimensions related to specific organizational standards. these extra-role performance dimensions requires managers to develop certain attributes such as helping behavior, organizational loyalty, organizational compliance, sportsmanship, individual initiative, self-development and civic virtue. The concept altruism refers to the need for leaders to set a good example by undertaking actions aimed at helping other workmates resolve work-related challenges. A second attribute that managers need to exemplify is peacekeeping, where they instigate actions that help prevent or mitigate interpersonal conflict in the workplace. Leaders also need to be cheerleaders, an attribute that entails the gestures and words that encourage and reinforce self-belief among co-workers. Cheerleading also entails leaders to exemplify self-initiative in their professional development and accomplishment of set goals. Sportsmanship is a concept that refers to the ability of leaders developing the ability to tolerate inevitable circumstances at work without whining or grievance. Leaders are in better position set the appropriate example and fast track their professional development if they can embrace if they embrace organizational loyalty. This can be achieved by identifying and exemplifying allegiance with the top leadership in the organization. They ought to defend the organization against potential threats and contribute to developing a good reputation for the organization. Effective leadership and faster professional development can also be achieved through organizational compliance, which entails adherence to organizational structure, job description and other rules and regulations put in place in the organization. This requires individual initiative and civic virtue, which call on leaders to contribute above what is expected of them, as well as constructive and responsible engagement in organizational political process. Last but least, leaders must invest enough time and resources in self-development, which entails taking initiative in activities that enhance their skills, knowledge and abilities. They ought to take advantage of training courses to keep informed on latest developments that can enhance their contribution to the organization. 4. Why is it important for leaders to network and participate regularly in industry/professional networks and groups? Explain and discuss at least two (2) reasons. What distinguishes successful mangers rom the rest is their ability to network effectively. Networking enables mangers to create a fabric of important contacts from whom they can get support, resources and feedback that they need to achieve important goals and objectives. Networks can be personal, operational or strategic. Personal networks include people outside the organizational that can provide assistance for personal and professional development. Personal networks enable managers to exchange important referrals, as well as information that can enable them develop their professional skills. This is normally achieved through coaching and mentoring from people that are more experienced in the field of interest. Managers can get personal contacts by participating in alumni groups, professional associations, clubs, and personal interest communities. Operational contacts include contacts that can provide help in accomplishing assigned tasks. Operational networks are important to mangers as they provide the essential support in getting routine tasks accomplished efficiently. Operational contacts are typically people that can either block, or support successful implementation of projects. Strategic networks encompass people beyond the managers’ control but who are able to provide the support that a manager requires to meet important organizational objectives. Strategic contacts are people in key positions that can provide insight in future priorities and challenges, and who can enable mangers get stakeholder approval and support. This may require mangers to identify and develop lateral and vertical relations with managers from other functional and business units. Strategic networks enable managers to determine how their role fits into an organization’s overall strategy. 5. Changes in the global environment and development of new technology occur frequently and can be quite disruptive to an organisation that is not prepared for change. Give an example of how it may affect the work in an organisation, and discuss what this requires the leader to do to stay flexible and implement changes as necessary. Explain organizational change processes Business leaders face the challenge of identifying which technologies really matter and which will have the greatest potential to drive a considerable economic impact or disruption on the organisation. Anticipation of disruptive innovation is one way of mitigating on the negative effects of disruptive technologies to the business. Failure to adopt the new technologies in good time leads to a disruption in the business model. It leads to a disruption in the fortunes of the firm. Technology does not directly create a return; it creates a change in utility of a product or service. Leaders are required to identify the extent of change or productivity the technology will have on operations. An example is an application of alternative technology that meets the emerging needs in an industry. 6a. Briefly describe what organisational mission, purpose, values and culture is. The primary purpose of the managerial function is to set organizational objectives. The result of what an organization intends to achieve is referred to as a mission, objective, standard, target or goal. These terms are often used interchangeably. Mission statements define the purpose and objectives that an organization intends to achieve. Mission and vision both relate to an organization’s determination and are typically communicated on paper form. They portray declarations from the organization that answer questions about the organization and its values. A mission statement converses about the organization’s motive for being, and the intentions it has to serve the key stakeholders. The function of mission statements is to define the key measures of an organizations achievement or success. Mission statements form the basis of an organizations goal setting and strategic planning process. Their key function is to focus the attention of internal and external stakeholders on the objectives that the organizations collectively intend to accomplish (Burack, 1993). At theoretical level, mission and purpose are different, but the words are often used interchangeably. While mission statements guide an organization and provide link between its operations and the needs and expectations of the larger society, purpose is more focused on the segment of society that it is meant to serve (Guzzo, & Noonan, 1994). It essentially describes the specific business that an institution intends to undertake. Value statements describe institutions underlying philosophy, ideals or principles. They provide the ethical dimension of an organizations strategic direction. The values that an organization holds are depicted in statements that describe the organization and the activities entailed in achieving its core mission and vision. An organization has set of values highlights the core priorities of its culture. Culture refers to an organizations set of values that drive the priorities of members and how they conduct themselves within the organization. 6b. Why is it important for a leader to foster and support the continuous improvement of organisational culture? How this could be done An organization’s culture is one of its strongest assets or liability. Culture, or shared values within the organization, is related to increased performance. It is important to have a culture that fits with the demands of the company’s environment. A leader who focuses on the cultures of the organization is definitely going to make the company that he runs prosper. With contemporary developments of globalization, organizations are compelled to continually transform and adopt the organizational culture in order to allow for innovation. Such an approach requires a proactive approach to organizational development where the business model has to be dynamic to meet the needs of a drastically evolving industry environment. Innovation in an organization largely depends on its business strategy, culture, and the managements understanding of the company’s internal and external environment. More importantly, it requires an active engagement of all employees in the process of cultural change through development of a work environment that stimulates creative thinking and personal initiative. This motivates employees to embrace a culture of sharing their experiences, knowledge, and skills. Leaders can employ innovative approaches among employees by developing a culture within the organization that encourages employees to share their experiences and interests in an open and supportive environment. It is crucial for leaders to ensure that amongst their employee at any given time they have several employees with a creative background. This serves to encourage and spark creativity. 7. WHY and HOW does the organisation investigate incidents when they occur? Whom should the results of the investigation be reported to? With the rising cases of repetitive accidents that cause distress and suffering to the ever widening circle of workers, it has become imperative that organisations institute mechanisms for investigating and analysing work-related accidents as a critical component of effective management of health and safety. Well-formulated risk control measures, adequate supervision and effective monitoring should be a primary responsibility of health and safety for managers. An important tool for redefining and developing risk management systems is effective health and safety investigations. Effective investigations require a methodical and structured approach to gathering and analysis of risk and health information. Effective investigations provide essential insights that can help mangers in developing plans that can prevent accidents and incidents from recurring and improving the overall management of risk. Research findings also provide information on areas that need to be reviewed. Organisational investigation into health and risk matters is important in the sense the recurrence of adverse events implies that the risk control measures that have been put in place are inadequate. Well-learned lessons from previous accidents can help to prevent more costly accidents. Organisations need to investigate accidents as a measure of adhering and operating within the law. Health and safety at work regulations require that employers plan, organise, control and evaluate their health and safety protocol on regular basis. The fact that there is evidence that an incident was comprehensively investigated and remedial action taken can help to exonerate an organisation before a court of law. Investigation findings also provide information required by insurers in case of a claim. Investigations also help managers to understand the ways in which people are exposed to harmful substances and situations, or other conditions that could harm their health. Findings also reveal insights that can help mangers to improve management of risk and to learn lessons that can be applicable to other sections of the organisation. Adequate investigations also leads to prevention of losses resulting from disruption of operations, lost orders, stoppage and arising costs in form of criminal and civil legal measures. Findings of the investigations should be communicated to all employees, as well as relevant legal authorities. Employees that are informed of the situation are likely to have better morale and attitude towards health and safety matters 8. Discuss the goal-setting and work outcome planning process. That is, how does the leader ensure that personal and team goals, objectives and outcomes are appropriate and achievable? Goals and objectives represent the most important component of an organisations management especially when it comes to planning, organization, leadership and control. Unfortunately, the significance of these components is often undervalued and neglected, or inadequately aligned with the organizations mainstream strategy and processes. More fundamentally, goals and objectives risk becoming much less significant if they are unrealistic (Burack, 1993). Measures are the metrics employed to assess and appraise performance on objectives, without which management cannot be able to establish where the organisation stands, or if it is headed in the required direction. Measurement has become a critical component of today’s organisational strategy and a critical component of strategic planning. Goals and objectives have been traditionally associated with short-term financial metrics, and not incorporated in an organisations strategy, vision or mission. Goals need to be formulated and set in the context of the entire organisation, as they form the framework for developing more specific goals for departments, teams and individuals. For goals and objectives to enhance a firm’s competitive position, they must start with planning, and proceed through the organizing, leading and controlling phases of an organisations strategy implementation plan. Managers can only be effective if they focus their energy and resources on the result, not the process (Burack, 1993). They ought to delegate tasks and support employees to focus on objectives through negation of performance contracts, and to refrain from dictating a stringent path for implementing the organisations mission. According to Burack (1993), management buy objectives (MBO) should start by setting realistic company-wide goals that should reflect the company’s strategic direction. Secondly, managers must then determine team and department goals. This should be followed by collaborative process of identifying and setting individual-level goals. The next step should entail developing an action plan, which after implementation, must be followed with a periodic appraisal of performance and readjustment of the goals to reflect emerging changes. References Altman, B W & Post, J E (1996). Beyond the social contract: An analysis of executives; views at 25 large companies. in D. T. Hall (Ed), The Career is Dead- Long Live the Career: A Relational Approach to Careers (pp. 36-41). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Burack, E (1993). Corporate resurgence and the new employment relationships. New York: Quorum Press. Ehrlich, C J (1994). Creating an employer-employee relationship for the future. Human Resource Management, 33(3), 391-441. Gambetta, D (1988). Trust: Making and Breaking Cooperative Relations. New York: Basil Blackwell. Guzzo, R A, & Noonan, K A (1994). Human resource practices as communications and the psychological contract. Human Resource Management, 33(3), 337-452 Herriot, P (1995). Psychological contracts. in Encyclopaedic dictionary of organisational behaviour (Nicholson, N), (Ed) . Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Luhmann, N (1979). Trust and Power. New York: Wiley. Morrison, D E (1994). Psychological contracts and change. Human Resource Management, 33(3), 253-311. Newell, H, & Dopson, S (1996). Muddle in the middle: organisational restructuring and middle management careers. Personnel Review, 25(3). Robinson, S L (1996). Trust and breach of the psychological contract. Administrative Science Quarterly, 41(4), 485-575 Rousseau, D M (1989). Psychological and implied contracts in organisations. Employer Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 2, 132-129. Sims, R (1994). Human resource management's role in clarifying the new psychological contract. Human Resource Management, 33(3), 274-311. Tharenou P & Lyndon, J. T. (1990). The effect of a supervisory development program on leadership style. Journal of Business and Psychology, 4(3), 365-373. Trice H. M., & Beyer J. M. (1993). The Cultures of Work Organizations. Englewood Cliffs. NJ: Prentice Hall. Turnley, W H (1996). Reconceptualising the nature and consequences of psychological contract violations (Loyalty). Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of South Carolina. Read More