Leadership Portfolio

The Plucknette article suggests that there are considerable differences between being a leader and being a manager. Is it possible or desirable to be both? Chapter 2 of the Management textbook suggests that the four functions of management are planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Provide one challenge posed by serving as a leader and one challenge posed by serving as a manager in each of these functions?

Me 

3 posts

Re:Topic 1 DQ 1

According to Plucknette, leaders are visionaries whereas managers are administrator. However, both managers and leaders relished their role of mentoring and they are well aware of their role in building relationships based on respect and trust. Both leader and manager face challenges at their respective levels (Plucknett, 2014). Fostering the managerial effectiveness is one of the most critical challenge being faced by the leaders today. It refers to developing the pertinent skills, for instance, prioritization, time management, strategic thinking, and decision making. Likewise, leading a team can be challenging some times (Center for creative Learning , n.d.).

Just like a leader, manager has to face certain challenges. Bring out the best from the employees is the most critical task for the managers to achieve. It is crucial part of the manager’s job to treat every employee with respect. Sometimes the managers find it difficult to manage the employees, and it becomes hard to praise them and prevent oneself from criticizing when employees are not performing well. In the contemporary world, the challenges encountered by the managers and leaders have changed with respect to the changing organizational culture. Hence, managers and leaders are needed to keep themselves aware of these challenges and how to address them (HARWELL, 2009).

References

Center for creative Learning . (n.d.). The Top 6 Leadership Challenges Around the World. Retrieved from https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/top-6-leadership-challenges/

HARWELL. (2009). The 7 Biggest Challenges of a Manager. Retrieved from http://blog.makingitclear.com/2009/11/11/managerchallenges/

Plucknett, D. (2014, Dec). 4 differences between managers and leaders. Retrieved from Allied Reliability Group : http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.lopes.idm.oclc.org/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=4d336b6d-034c-4b50-83b5-541ebd6c78e5%40sessionmgr4010

Topic 2 DQ 1

System Admin

Max Points: 5.0

Provide an example of a challenge you have experienced in the workplace leading a cross-functional team or as part of a cross-functional team. How was this challenge solved? Would you have approached the challenge differently? If so, how?

Re:Topic 2 DQ 1

The effective cross functional collaboration can tackle the complex problem of the organization. However, it may also lead to some complex problems that lead to impasse. I have encountered many challenges while working in cross functional team as my work place such as misalignment of goals and priorities, and little communication. I discerned while working in a cross functional team that the learning opportunities are very small as everyone was pundit in his own particular field. Moreover, employees mostly emphasized on the tasks that were explicitly pertaining to their rewards and incentives. If the task is not related to his performance he will not give priority to that task. Moreover, communication was very little because everyone was busy in his own work no one had a time to instigate or become a part of useful discussion. These issues stir a tedious culture at the workplace that turned the employees weary.

Hence, in order to cope with such issues. I recommended the team leader to arrange the valuable discussions weekly that will enable all the team members to share their progress with each other and the problems they are facing to elicit the valuable solutions from each other. Moreover, I recommended the team leader to identify the strategic goals for the employees and assign the rewards to the employees who achieve them, in order to rescind the misalignment between goals and priorities (Millard , 2015).

Reference

Millard , M. (2015, Sep 21). Top 5 Challenges Faced by Cross Functional Teams. KaiNexus Blog.

System Admin

Max Points: 5.0

Organizations are increasingly transcending country boarders and physical space limitations. What are some effective strategies to motivate dispersed team members in a virtual setting? What are some emerging trends that deal with this challenge in your field? Provide an example.

Me 

3 posts

Re:Topic 2 DQ 2

Virtual teams as the name suggest are the teams with its members that from different geographical locations and stay connected through emails, phone calls, etc. the organizations usually prefer virtual teams when they want to abate the cost of travelling or provide flexible hours of working to the workers. Hence, some effective strategies to motivate such teams are by staying connected to the team members through video conference, by conducting video conference frequently the team members can be encouraged by their leader and it will also promote decision making among the virtual team members. Moreover, it is important to foster trust among the virtual team members. This can be effectively done through video conferences, in which leader can assure the team members that he is monitoring them and all of the team members are trust worthy.

Being an employee of a company that publish its magazine weekly, we as a virtual team member stay connected to each other all the time. However, the challenge of staying connected to each other and working as a team virtually is ruled out by the contemporary ways of communication and stark knowledge of these means of communication and devices we use on daily basis. The effective means of communication are the emerging trends keep the diverse virtual team motivated (Zwilling , 2015).

Reference

Zwilling , M. (2015, Nov 15). 8 Keys to Leading a Dispersed Team to Maximum Productivity. Enterpreneur.

3 DQ 1

System Admin

Max Points: 5.0

An individual manager's ability to make ethical decisions is influenced by many factors, such as individual traits and corporate culture. Applying conscious capitalism principles typically starts with a plan from the CEO and requires the plan to be implemented through various management levels and all employees. What role does ethics play in conscious capitalism and how do the ethics of conscious capitalism impact management tactics within an organization?

Me 

3 posts

Re:Topic 3 DQ 1

According to conscious capitalism, the free market capitalism is the most invincible way to stir social cooperation and human development, aspiring people to achieve more. The primitives of capitalism are competition, voluntary exchange, entrepreneurship, rule of law and freedom of trade. The four principles of conscious capitalism are conscious leadership; which refers to the reflection of actions and personalities of the individual at the top. Conscious leader in conscious capitalism practice ethics to inspire loyalty and give rise to the high performance in the teams. Stakeholder orientation, conscious culture and higher purpose are some other principles of conscious capitalism. It is evident that these principles are starkly founded in ethical leadership (Anderson, 2015).

Ethics has a vital role to play in conscious capitalism. In conscious capitalism, which is a vehement way of industrial growth, organizations control their actions through ethics. Ethics keep the organizations on right track preventing them to get involve in the wrong ways of striding towards the success. Ethics enable different levels of management to draw and implement their plans in a transparent way. It enable them to relish success in an ethical way and keeps an organization away from crisis and corporate scandal (Buzzanell & Fyke, 2013).

The ethical leadership in conscious capitalism enables the management to work towards the common organizational goals. It stir them to share knowledge with each other and foster trust. It helps them in effective decision making.

 

References

Anderson, R. (2015, Jun 01). The 4 Principles of 'Conscious Capitalism'. Enterpreneur.

Buzzanell , P., & Fyke, J. (2013). The ethics of conscious capitalism: Wicked problems in leading change and changing leaders. Human Relations , 1619-1643.

Topic 4 DQ 1

System Admin

Max Points: 5.0

What are the major elements of strategic planning? Refer to HBS case reprint, Southwest Airlines: In a Different World. What elements of strategic planning are present in the case study? Based on the case study, what are the major challenges of strategic planning, especially for large, complex organizations like Southwest airlines? What challenges does strategic planning on such a large scale pose for leaders? 

Me 

5 posts

Re:Topic 4 DQ 1

Strategic planning plays a key role in formulating a business plan. It refers to an action plan that is required to set goals and in decision making process of the organization. In the course material the major elements of strategic planning are identifying a goal, developing, translating, planning, implementing, monitoring and perfecting (Daft, 2014). This planning enable the company to achieve the goals. The four primary components of strategic plan are assessment, strategy formation, strategy execution and evaluation (SMG, 2018).

The Southwest Airline case study highlights many elements of strategic planning. In the beginning, the were charging less fees as compared to their competitors in order to glean an advantage. The managers modified their plans to achieve the coveted goals. The company developed its goals in helping the people getting at the locations instantly at the affordable prices (Heskett, 2013).

The difficulties encountered by large corporates and Southwest Airlines were that many things remain latent and uncontrollable in the beginning when the managers are engage in making plans. Hence, one need to have an eye on their competitors, in order to keep the attention of the customers to themselves. Hence, in this regard they modify their goals and visions. Over the time the fuel prices augmented, labor prices got stirred and boarding prices changed. Southwest Airline tends to change their strategies continuously to cope with the challenged they encounters.

Reference:

Daft, R. L. (2014). Management (11 th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Heskett, J. L., & Earl Jr., E. W. (2013). Southwest Airlines: In a different world.  Harvard Business School . http://dx.doi.org/1009-0001-1CE6-00001CE3

Strategic Management Group (SMG). (2018). Strategic Planning Basics. Retrieved from http://www.balancedscorecard.org/BSC-Basics/Strategic-Planning-Basics

Topic 4 DQ 2

System Admin

Max Points: 5.0

What have you experienced or what do you anticipate as the most challenging aspect of strategic planning in your field of interest? What do you think can be done to improve strategic planning processes in your own organization or field?

Me 

4 posts

Re:Topic 4 DQ 2

Lack of leadership skills, patience and lack of quest for knowledge are the most challenging aspects of strategic planning. Everyone needs a strategic planning at some point in their professional life. So are the managers, hence, I believe being a manager in the company that lack of patience, lack of knowledge or quest of knowledge may turn a manager tedious in their daily tasks. A strategic planning is entailed in managing the organizational operations and eventually in policymaking. Hence, a defective strategic planning may lead to plagued and flawed results that are of no use. Strategic planning provides profound directions to the manager driving him towards the right path. Hence, for strategic planning, it is important for the manager to have effective leadership skills and an ability to engage his subordinates. Strategic planning allows a manager to save the cost, time and energy, augmenting the productivity en bloc. I believe that to improve strategic planning skills a manager needs to enhance their leadership, facilitate their subordinates and most substantially encourage them in decision making (Greenley, 1986).

Greenley, G. (1986). Does strategic planning improve company performance? Long Range Planning, 101-109.

Topic 5 DQ 1

System Admin

Max Points: 10.0

Explain how successful communication is used throughout a change process to convey vision and strategies to stakeholders. What may be occurring with the communication process if the change process begins to fail?

Re:Topic 5 DQ 1

Successful communication is important in any change process and is used to make it clear to the stakeholders the vision and the strategies. Organizations use both written and unwritten channels of communication to give crucial change information (Suddaby & Foster, 2017). Such may include the company emails, doing training to employees where they are taught on the importance of the change and how it will impact on their work life (Cornelissen & Cornelissen, 2017). This will also include the various courses of action for the change process and what is expected from each of them. If the change process begins to fail then it means that the channels are not effective, that the information is not delivered as required to the stakeholders. For change to be effective, then information sharing should be reliable.

Topic 5 DQ 2

System Admin

Max Points: 10.0

Why is effective and frequent communication so critical to a successful change effort? Describe either a good or a bad example of this from your organization or one that you have studied. Describe how the communication affected the various stakeholders affected by the change effort.

Me 

3 posts

Re:Topic 5 DQ 2

Change processes thrive on communication that is frequent and effective (Suddaby & Foster, 2017). Frequent and effective communication ensures that every stakeholder knows the direction, the purpose and the expected results of the change process (Shockey-Zalabak, 2014). This also ensures that there is timely feedback and update on the progress of the change process. A bad example of communication in a change process is when employees are supposed to adjust their reporting time and the supervisors fail to make it clear to all the employees. The company loses in its overall productivity and also takes long to implement the change, there is also a state of confusion for the employees. Organizations should ensure that as they plan for changes, every stakeholder gets the required information at the right time.

Topic 6 DQ 1

System Admin

Max Points: 10.0

What types of obstacles/objections do leaders face from stakeholders when implementing change within an organization? What strategies can leaders use to work with stakeholders, remove obstacles, and address objections?

Points: 10   Jul 06, 2018 11:51 AM 0 Like

 

Me 

4 posts

Re:Topic 6 DQ 1

Resistance is common in any change process and this is especially because changes come with a lot of uncertainties. People may not support change due to fear of the unknown and this is manifested in different ways, these are the obstacles to the change process (Suddaby & Foster, 2017). Some of the obstacles are insufficient resources, poor channels of communication and also inadequate reward systems (Anderson, 2016). Some of the strategies leaders can adopt to minimize the chances of change failure are effective communication to make sure that all stakeholders are well informed and having all the resources needed for the change process. Barriers to change should be evaluated and addressed as they occur if the change process is to succeed.

Topic 6 DQ 2

System Admin

Max Points: 10.0

Describe an ethical dilemma that you experienced, or have witnessed in a change leader, when attempting to initiate change. How was the ethical dilemma resolved? What can a change leader use to guide decision making when faced with an ethical dilemma?

Me 

4 posts

Re:Topic 6 DQ 2

The ethical dilemma I witnessed was a manager lying to protect one of her favorite employees- nothing about the situation was fixed but it causes miss trust amongst out team with her and animosity with the employee. Therefore, when it comes to initiating the change and the case of mistrust developed, it becomes very difficult to execute since I felt that the manager was against me. I believe that for an organization to prosper, the managers ought not to act in favor of others but rather treat every employee equally and all be given the same chances. In this regards, to resolve this dilemma, I approached the manager of the importance of ethics in the workplace and the importance also of letting everybody be accountable of their actions and not covering up for others at the expense of others. I think that the change leader can use the ethical principle to guide in decision making when faced with a dilemma. This is because, by being guided by the ethical principles, one will always ensure that they do the right thing irrespective of the opinions of others. This will make the outcome to be favorable for all.

Topic 7 DQ 1

System Admin

Max Points: 10.0

Discuss the importance of identifying and acknowledging short-term wins during change. What types of short-term wins are most meaningful? Why?

Me 

4 posts

Re:Topic 7 DQ 1

Human beings always want to be acknowledged and appreciated for any success. The change process may be long-term and this means that it may take long to realize the results (Anderson, 2016). Short-term wins are meant to appreciate efforts towards the bigger picture, help the stakeholders see the positive side of the change and also ensure that stakeholders keep the momentum. Some of the significant short term wins are increased efficiency, improved quality of work and also increased customer satisfaction (Shockey-Zalabak, 2014). These are the ones that are most crucial in any change process. The management should be able to pay attention to small work details and reward efforts to motivate the team.

 

Anderson, D.L. (2016). Organizational development: The process of leading organizational Change. Sage Publications.

Shockey-Zalabak, P. (2014). Fundamentals of organizational communication. Pearson.

Topic 7 DQ 2

System Admin

Max Points: 10.0

During a change initiative, what can organizations use to identify or verify truly objective and measureable success? What does your organization utilize to measure its level of success?

Me 

4 posts

Re:Topic 7 DQ 2

Organizations always measure the progress and the overall outcome of their change efforts. The techniques are varied with each organization and may include performance appraisals done on the employees’ performance which this is then compared to their previous performance. Organization may carry out an analysis of their profitability and effectiveness after the change process to know whether the process was successful (Anderson, 2016).The organization am familiar with uses employee feedback to measure the level of success (Shockey-Zalabak, 2014). Failure to measure success of the change process only means that it may never be of any importance, the outcomes and how they affect the overall performance of the organization should be known.

 

Anderson, D.L. (2016). Organizational development: The process of leading organizational Change. Sage Publications.

Shockey-Zalabak, P. (2014). Fundamentals of organizational communication. Pearson.

Topic 8 DQ 1

System Admin

Max Points: 10.0

Consider an organization in your field or industry. Describe the essential systems necessary to facilitate continuous change without compromising quality or causing burnout among employees. Describe three factors to consider when making sure that the changes made become permanently imbedded in the organization's culture.

Me 

4 posts

Re:Topic 8 DQ 1

To ensure that the organization has continuous change without jeopardizing the quality or causing burnout among the employees, the following systems are essential: clarity: The leaders should be clear to ensure that the employees understand the primary goals of change well (Harshak, et al., 2010). This means that the objective of change should be unambiguous and clear together with its approach and direction. The open system of communication channel: there should be open communication to facilitate a two-way flow of information so that the people involved can be aware of the issues raised by the affected people in order to respond to the concerns in a timely manner (Harshak, et al., 2010). This will assist in preventing quality compromise as well as stressing the affected people. Alignment: it is essential to ensure that the systems and processes like rewards, training, and accounting are all in line with the current change to ensure a continuous success with any issue coming on the way.

            Some of the factors to consider while ensuring that the changes made become permanently embedded in the organization’s culture include: Ensuring that changes begin from the top management. When the top management act like role models for the transformation other members of the organization get motivated to support the change. Second is building a rational and emotional case for change. Making people understand both the emotional and rational case for change ensures that people are committed to a given transformation or change.

 

Harshak, A., Aguirre, D., & Brown, A. (2010). Making Change Happen, and Making It Stick.      Retrieved June 11, 2016, from

Topic 8 DQ 2

System Admin

Max Points: 10.0

What is your reaction to change in your personal history? What personal tools do you implement to help yourself navigate change?

Me 

4 posts

Re:Topic 8 DQ 2

I always have a positive reaction towards change in my personal history since I embrace change as a learning point. It is not possible to evade change due to many environmental factors which cannot be controlled, hence we have to accept changes when they happen in our lives or places of work be it positive or negative (Armitage & Plummer, 2010). Some of the tools I do implement to help myself navigate change include; engaging others to have their support, mindful of my own reaction to change and being gentle with myself to avoid anxiety and frustration.

 

Armitage, D., & Plummer, R. (2010). Adapting and transforming: governance for navigating       change. Adaptive capacity and environmental governance (pp. 287-302). Springer, Berlin,             Heidelberg.