Principles and Practices of Management - myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about thePrinciples and Practices of Leadership and Management. Answer: Introduction Organizations in the current development economy have shifted towards the development and improvement of business with regard to the workforce or structure. The advancement in technology has initiated in-depth research and innovation to remain relevant to the changing trends. It is significant for the management in the corporate sector to be updated on the varying competitive demands in the market by adjusting to the ideal structure and promoting the improvement of the skills and competencies of the middle-level managers. The objective of this report is to underscore the significance of leadership skills and competencies necessary for the success of a business. There is a strategy by the director of Consumer Strategic Insights (CSI) for PepsiCo Food Mexico), J. Rubio, to convert CSI into a more flexible structure. The successful development of a flexible structure calls for a critical analysis of the primary aspects of leadership skills and competencies to reinforce the opinions. The conclusion of this report provides a review of leadership skills and competencies in addition to deliberations on leadership theories that are relevant for the management in CSI department. Leadership Skills in the Current Society Before the discussion on change intervention in an organization, it is crucial that first ascertain the ways through which leaders develop or acquire different skills and competencies. The three skill model of Katz (2009) postulates the contribution of each skill towards effective leadership in a company. The skills involved here are the Human Skill, Conceptual Skill, and Technical Skill. The skills for each business unit in the CSI department of PepsiCo should be based on creativity, flexibility, honesty, and accountability. The matrix-structure in the CSI department may place the leaders in an awkward position where they have to compromise while working with diverse international teams due to their limited control. Astonishingly, the skills required to manage the traditional hierarchical corporate structure in PepsiCo are far much different from those necessary for effective management of the matrix. As a result, incompetent managers with regard to specific skills are disheartened by these roles and find them to be tiresome because of the obligation to continuously influence and co-operate with other leaders towards the accomplishment of organizations goal. Dul and Ceylan (2011) opine that creativity skill is needed hereafter as a necessary condition for innovation, even though insufficient to operate on its own. Innovation is the multi-stage process whereby organizations transform ideas into improved products, service or processes, to advance, compete and differentiate themselves successfully in their marketplace (Baregheh et al., 2009). According to Dul and Ceylan (2011), innovation management is the successful implementation of creative ideas within an organization. Thus, change is perceived as a connector type of innovation. Additionally, creativity is understood to be the ability to think outside the box. Most of the decisions at the workplace are not backed up with convincing evidence. Therefore, with creativity, the management has the freedom to brainstorm and develop problem-solving skills that lead to solution generation. Furthermore, it permits the leadership to create an organizational strategic vision. The management also us es conceptual skills to develop critical thinking skills. Flexibility skill is critical to successful adaptation to the dynamic work environment. An example of flexibility in the workplace is when you have to address the issues whose deadline is due or the ability to deal with mistakes at work. Flexibility skill is fundamental to effective leadership because they need to intelligently accept the problems that they come across and provide the way forward. The subjects will in most cases appreciate the ability of the leader when he or she is willing to welcome changes and demonstrate flexibility in solving problems. Northouse (2018) observes that the most significant skills for organizational leaders are conceptual skills. Thus, intellectual Flexibility encompasses both flexibility and creativity. An intellectually flexible leader has first to be creative, innovative and an independent thinker. Also, such leaders have to regularly blend, change, emerge, and adjust to the dynamic environment. The development or improvement of a vital skill like intellectual flexibility enables the management to brainstorm beforehand to provide a solution to any rising issues and to attain individual and organizational objectives effectively Change Intervention in Organization The director of CSIs aim is to improve the value offer to PFM by altering the strategic structure of the department so that it can better be proactive and flexible. According to J. Rubio, the organizational structure of CSI is flexible which means that he has used the features of the matrix structure. Several studies have examined the matrix structures and recommended them as the most appropriate and competent in complex organizations that are gaining importance in the present society (Lunenburg, 2012; Qiu and Donaldson, 2012; Eppinger and Browning, 2012; Hall, 2013). Furthermore, the notable success of the Apollo programme has influenced remarkable corporations to adopt the matrix method to improve the efficiency of the company (Karasiewicz, 2015; olts and Gavurov, 2013). The efficiency that the organization is after depends on the organization's structure and functionality (Kaczmarek, 2010). Some studies have examined the matrix structure and concluded that it is complicated for the management to use it compared to the old, traditional hierarchies (Worren, 2013; and Galbraith, 2013). However, the matrix structure has exhibited drawbacks irrespective of its successful implementation. For example, most employees undergo conflicts as a result of confusion in communication. On the other hand, the performance and flexibility benefits of the structure enable it to control the multidimensional companies in the real world. More specifically, Travis (2013) assert that optimal effectiveness in management requires essential elements such as new leadership methods and skills. Flexibility in organizations has received much attention from scholars in the past years and as a result a variety of leadership approaches have been discovered with a particular emphasis on elements like corporate adaptability and responsiveness (Dibrell et al., 2014; Dunford et al. 2013; Yukl and Mahsud, 2010; Yuan, Zhongfeng, and Yi, 2010). Thus, the value of business capability, according to Yuan, Zhongfeng, and Yi (2010) is essential for effective response to the opportunities and encounters that the competitive market provides. Alvesson Sveningsson (2008) observes that the present unstable society demands drastic changes by organizations to conform and adopt survival tactics to remain competitive in the global market. It is significant that an organization utilizes a process for change to evaluate the effect of change and regulate its implementation (Westover, 2010). The Lewin Change Model recommends a change model of three steps that are significant for PepsiCo (Burnes and Cooke, 2013). The unfreezing phase is the first one, and it involves unfreezing the present fixed condition. This step includes activities such as employee motivation by antedating them for change (Taylor and Cranton, 2012), developing confidence and acknowledgment for the necessity to grow, and determining the problems and examining them for clarifications within a team (Griffin and Moorhead, 2011). The second step in the Lewins Change Model is the step of change. After satisfactorily ascertaining the new goals, it is significant that the organization moves forward to the next level. It is in this phase that the employees and management of Rubio will start to develop confidence in the new direction that will be of importance to the organization. In this stage, the management of CSI can decide to go through the process by promoting effective communications and supporting the staff to study new approaches towards work and learning new behaviors, attitudes, and ethics (Fernandez et al., 2012). The third and last step of Lewins model is refreezing, in which the organization should focus on encouraging stability after the implementation of the changes. The changes should be accommodated by the companys staff. It is in this phase that all employees incorporated in the amendments realized the expected outcomes in real behavioral terms. The roles of the current leaders are beyond the conventional one of representing the organization. Nowadays leaders represent a diversified culture and a worldwide organization. The leadership should set goals for all the teams which must be relevant to the objectives of both the company and the individual employee. The process of decision making should not only be done by the leaders but should also incorporate all the employees as a way of appreciating the value of each one's contribution to the organization. The objective of change is to remain and succeed in a multi-dimensional competitive market. Required Competencies of Leadership The possession of the necessary skills only is not sufficient. These skills must be merged with competency for there to be effective management. Therefore, the necessary and sufficient condition for adequate performance in leadership is leadership competencies. Various organizations like PepsiCo and Lufthansa have for years adopted competency models in employee selection. The active leaders in the use of matrix roles reliably adapt competency skills like empathy, self-awareness, conflict resolution, and impact. Relevant research in this area has given rise to authentic leadership (Ladkin and Taylor, 2010; Northouse, 2018). According to Wang and Hsieh (2013), authentic leaders create a remarkable impact on the company by challenging their staff to continuously offer excellent customer services and develop long-lasting values for investors. Wong and Laschinger (2013) define authentic leaders as individuals who are self-assured, self-aware, moral, positive, honest, balanced in decision making, and unique in leadership manifestation. Self-awareness is the ability to control performance, enhance connections and associations and improve ones self-awareness of ethics, motivations, objectives, and impacts on colleagues. Besides that, authentic leaders are purpose-oriented and thus making them trustworthy since they are inspired by ethics and integrity. Furthermore, authentic leadership establishes trust among the subjects (Leroy, Palanski, and Simons, 2012). Battilana et al. (2010) outline the specific competencies expected of a leader, and these include outcomes, vision, aggression quotient, emotional intelligence, and integrity. Future leaders will be expected to integrate own authenticity like personality and corporate expectations to become appropriate managers (Sullivan and Garland, 2010). Authentic leadership is ideally recommended for the CSI department of PepsiCo since the goal of Rubio is to gain a competitive advantage in the global market and to improve the effectiveness of the staff at the workplace. The manifestation of authentic leadership by the leadership fosters teamwork because it is possible for them to delegate and cooperate. Additionally, the leaders cultivate skills in self-control and relationships thus exhibiting self-awareness. Authentic leaders also learn strategic thinking skills which permit them to operationalize solid plans for the success of the business. In the long-term, they will also develop leaders thus assisting in the individual professional development. The present dynamic work environment doesnt allow guesswork if results are to be achieved. The limited time to foster competencies implies rushing after time. The organizational management should explore additional ways of knowledge acquisition and apply them at work. Conclusion Other factors that are essential to effective corporate leadership include communication, motivation, multiplicity, empowerment, and values. The current trend in most organizations is shifting towards communication. Hence, the reason why leadership theory, competencies, and skills have a substantial contribution to successful organizational leadership. On the other hand, corporate communication is also significant to effective management. In the Case study of PepsiCo, communication is identified as an FB company, and thus it is fundamental to its operations. The organizational plans and goals set by the leaders need to correctly be communicated to the employees, who in turn are to respond back efficiently. That is to say, to change is to communicate. Kilner and Sheppard, (2010) point out that communication is a critical element in teamwork. The management must convey information to ascertain the competence of the followers. This process enables them to communicate with the staff who offer feedback which allows them to develop and implement strategies cooperatively. The use of such tools permits the leadership to communicate and devote themselves towards the attainment of objectives efficiently. Most of the issues or misunderstandings that occur at workplaces are due to inefficient communication because of faulty communication channels which end up in message distortion. The significance of communication can be observed from the way in which companies have invested in training employees to improve on communication skills. 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