How the Applications and Concepts Have Improved the Practice and Potential as a Leader - Coursework Example

Title: How the applications and concepts have improved your practice and potential as a leader Name: Registration No: Institution: Course Code: Date of Submission: 1. Scheduling and monitoring activities It is found that the principles of planning, organizing and controlling were one of the methods that were used by BMW to improve its competence in the automobile industry. There are various ways in which the principles of planning, organizing and controlling can be used in scheduling workload and monitor activities in the organization in where I am a leader. An example of such a scheduling activity that I will implement in my department is creation of a time schedule for a particular project. I will emphasize that employees in my department must learn to organize the tasks in order before commencing a particular task. This will involve training my subordinates to ensure they always establish the duration of a task, resources required, manpower and skills. The demands of a task will then be printed and delivered to me for approval and assignment of resources as well as the order in which such tasks need to be performed. This is based on the observation that when tasks are scheduled, it is ensures the worker performs all the sections of a task and does not ignore any section thus improving performance of a particular operation (Avery and Bergsteiner 46). This results into minimum errors which would have otherwise been costly to an organization. Scheduling will also involve determining the delivery time of orders from customers and determining the resources such as transport required to deliver a particular product to customer, vehicle capacity and the quantity of products to be delivered to customers. As a result, it will be possible to ensure these products are delivered at the right time so that customers are not disappointed (Almond 24). This is based on the fact that when activities are scheduled, chances of performing them at the wrong time are minimized and an organization is able to achieve high level of efficiency in the process of delivering its products and services to customers. Monitoring is also another strategy that will ensure tasks are completed according to the expectation of procedures to be followed while performing a task. It is a strategy that contributed to the efficiency in the activities carried out by BMW and is considered to be an activity that can enhance scheduling process (Greenall 46). In order to apply the strategy of monitoring in my organization, I will first begin by ensuring I observed all activities taking place in a project under my control to ensure they are being performed according to the plan. In order to monitor scheduled tasks, I will create reports of progress and stating areas of difficulties, areas where resources are not adequate to accomplish a particular task and determine change and control activities for specific tasks that require these changes. When an area where the need to make changes is identified, a change control plan will be implemented (Malaska and Holstius 17). The change control plan will involve approval of requests for change, updating the project management plan, updating the scope statement of the project, approving change in area of defective work and finally validating defect repair. I will also perform monitoring tasks by establishing whether employees are working within the scope of the project so that those who deviate from the scope can be asked to restrict their activities within the scope of the project. Furthermore, monitoring will be performed by managing the team involved in performing a particular task. This will involve determining whether an employee has reported at the place of work at the right time and establishing whether the employee is actually performing tasks according to the demands of the tasks and whether any difficulties are experienced by the employee (Mullins and Christy 54). 2. Enhance work performance There are various strategies that were used by BMW to enhance performance which can be applied in my leadership position. The principle of motivating to enhance work performance can be used to enhance work performance of my subordinates and colleagues in a number of ways. An example of strategy that can be applied in my leadership position is teamwork. This is a process where I can encourage my subordinates to put more effort in working as a team and assisting one another in performing their duties. Teamwork can also be enhanced by inspiring employees to consult one another in areas of difficulty and encouraging employees to be friendly to one another at work place (Rao 27). This is also based on the fact that when people work as a team, it is possible to achieve a high outcome and compared to individual effort. Another strategy used by BMW to enhance performance that can be useful in an organization under my leadership is innovation. I will apply this concept in improving the performance of an organization by ensuring I determine improvements in my area of management so that the manner in which tasks are performed is enhanced to achieve a higher output. I will look at processes, tasks and functions in my area of management and determine areas where more improvement can be incorporated in terms of approaches to tasks and methods of solving common problems. This is supported by the observation that when a company is involved in improvement of its processes, practices and designs of work, there is a corresponding improvement in performance of the organization, employee competence is improved and the overall use of resources is improved so that there is efficiency in their use and a limited amount of wastes (Rausch 96). Performance will also be improved based on the observation of the strategy of training as used by BMW. This will be applied in my organization by ensuring my subordinates are provided with training in various disciplines where they work. The training will take place in the form of workshops and seminars where my subordinates will get new insights in the manner in which particular tasks need to be performed. This will ensure they are equipped with new skills which result into improvement in their performance. This is based on the fact that when a person is provided with training, such a person develops the competence to work efficiently and there is low likelihood of making mistakes that can be costly to the company (Singh 53). As a result, a company is able to achieve its goal of achieving high profitability and performance in general. Furthermore, the strategy of staff engagement which contributed to the success of BMW can be used in my organization to improve the performance of the organization in general. I will apply this strategy by ensuring my subordinates coordinate the manner in which they perform their tasks and also encourage them to contribute their ideas on the manner in which tasks need to be performed so that the goal of high performance is achieved in the organization. Another staff engagement will be achieved by retaining employees and providing them with benefits which motivate them to work hard and achieve the goals of the organization. This is supported by the fact that when staff engagement is provided in an organization, employees are motivated to work had so that they can achieve the goals of the company. It is also based on the fact that staff engagement contributes to motivation of staff to feel comfortable while working for an organization, which consequently results into their ability to work hard as well as more efficiently to achieve the goals of the organization. By applying the strategy of staff management, I will be able to improve the competence of my subordinates which will result into improved performance of the organization. In addition, the strategy of provision of quality products and services that are satisfying to customers is an example of a strategy that was used by BMW which can be of great importance in performance improvement in my organization. I will emphasize on the principle of provision of quality products and services that are satisfying to customers so that a better reputation is developed in my department in particular and the organization at large. This is supported by the fact that when a company provides quality services that satisfy the needs of customer, customer satisfaction is achieved which also results into improvement in customer retention (Avery and Bergsteiner 65). As a result, the competence of an organization is improved and eventually, there is an improvement in performance. 3. Assessment of experiences and practices Assessment of experiences is a strategy that was used by BMW to assess the manner in which it conducted its activities by determining areas of difficulties and areas of success. This enabled it strategize on how to approach particular situations in the future. In a similar manner, assessment of experiences and practices can be used in my area of work to determine areas where challenges have been observed and areas where success has been achieved. This ensures I am able to tackle challenges efficiently in the future without difficulties. There are various ways in which the principles of reflective learning can be used to assess experiences and practices which can lead to improvement of a situation at my place of work. Learning logs is an example of assessment tool that I will use to record lessons learned and challenges experienced as well as questions that need to be addressed during the process of performing a particular project. I will then be able to reflect upon the learning experiences so that I can strategize on the manner in which I need to tackle similar problems experienced in the future. Reflective learning will also be used as a method of determining strategies of monitoring that resulted into the success of a project so that such a strategy is used during the process of performing a similar task during a project in the future. In addition, reflective learning will be used to determine resources that were more effective in achieving a particular goal so that efforts are made to increase those resources during performance of a particular task in the future. Another function of reflective learning is that it will be used as a method of determining the level of teamwork in the workforce so that if the workforce still does not show a high level of teamwork, then strategies can be made to improve their competence in teamwork activities. I will also reflect on whether the existing scheduling strategies contribute to effectiveness in achieving objectives of a project and areas where improvements need to be made in scheduling are noted and addressed. During reflective learning process, I will determine the kind of training to be provided to my subordinates so that they can acquire the competence to perform tasks that require specific training. As a result, the workforce will be equipped with competence to perform tasks with high level of efficiency and quality and the department will be successful in its tasks and processes. The competence of the organization will then be achieved as a result of my leadership competence based on the lessons from the concepts learned. References Avery, G.C. & Bergsteiner, H.Sustainable Leadership: Honeybee & Locust Approaches. Routledge. 2011. Almond, D. A Matter of Style: Reconciling Henri and Henry.Journal of Management Decision, vol. 42, no. 2, 2004, pp. 330-356. Greenall, P. Managerial process: the reflective practitioner. International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance incorporating Leadership in Health Services Volume 17 · Number 3 · 2004 · pp. 8-12. Malaska P. & Holstius K. Visionary Management’ Journal of Futures Studies, strategic Thinking and Policy Vol. 1, No. 4, 2000, pp.353-.361; Mullins, L. J with Christy, G. Essentials of Organisational Behaviour, 3rd Ed, Pearson Education, Harlow; 2011. Rao, M.S. Soft leadership: a new direction to leadership, Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol.45, No. 3, 2013, pp. 143-149; Rausch,E. Leadership decisions: issues to consider in the global environment. Handbook of Business Strategy, 2006, pp. 219-224. Singh, S.K. Role of leadership in knowledge management: a study. Journal of knowledge management, vol. 12, no. 4 2008, pp. 3-15. Read More