Custom Essays - Management Essays
Leadership and the management of business transformation programs...
From a psychological perspective, leadership has been defined as the process of influencing others in a manner that enhances their contributions to the realization of group goals, (Haslam, 2001). This has also been suggested as being a core element of effective business transformation management.
However changing external environments have created new challenges and shaped new models of leadership. Firstly changing conceptions of the business organization has had major influences on the role of leadership in management as well as the characteristics of current leadership models. The development of technology within corporate information systems has been argued to cause possible negative effects on the personal relationships between top and middle management teams, (Dopson & Stewart, 1993). In addition globalization generates demand for leadership in managing business in organizational bodies in different national and cultural contexts such as joint ventures.
As a result it is useful to understand new roles of leadership in managing business transformation processes associated with these forces. Also it is useful to identify and explore new features of leadership contributing to effective business transformation. Arguably companies who are successful will be those where corporate strategy is based on change and continuous improvement. Edmonson and Moingeon (1999) argue that the role of trust as a way of highlighting strategic leadership is an essential ingredient in corporate management and trust is mediated to a great degree by effective communication. This work then aims to identify and explore elements involved in successful business transformation programs and how personalised relationships can be said to be at the heart of their success or failure. The primary reason for selecting this area of research is interest in the topic and the relevance of the topic to contemporary understanding of management and change within organizations.
Objectives
The primary objective of this proposal is to explore processes involved in strategic leadership within organizational culture as this relates to business transformation in this case the implementation of a joint-venture. The sub-objectives are
- To examine how communication with leadership figures influences successful change across two different organisational cultures.
It has been argued that traditional hierarchies have become less and flatter organizational structures more useful in managing business transformation, (Cooper, 2005). By examining the operations of the company selected for research in this regard it is hoped that a ‘map’ of communications can be produced to identify the key trends and elements in this process.
- To explore the internal and external organisational contexts of leadership and organisational relationships.
Recent research considers successful leadership to be a product of the match between leader and the situation within the organization in a particular organizational culture (Fiedler & House, 1994; Haslam, 2001). This work thus aims to identify the internal and external elements shaping leadership styles within the selected organisation and hence seek links also between theories in the literature and empirical evidence of practice.
Literature Review
As a discipline organizational leadership owes many of its theoretical roots to organizational theory. Early organizational theories stressed the importance of goal-directed rational decision-making, (Read, 1989). This technical-theoretical perspective viewed leadership as an instrument of control, a means to obtain the efficiencies needed to achieve organizational goals. Leaders in this model favour hierarchical structures as they leverage control which is constrained by the information processing capacities of the leader, (Simon, 1972). Power is explained as formal authority associated with position which rationally determines rules within an organization. The political perspective of leadership advanced by Dawson and Palmer (1995) addresses the importance of negotiation processes within management. These processes shape the patterns of leadership within an organization since conflict among different interests groups leads to certain preferred transformation patterns. As a result leadership focuses on gaining support from different groups through negotiation. Furthermore instead of management that is concerned with establishing systems of bureaucratic administration, building up organizational culture through leadership is critical to business transformation. During the 1990s prescriptions for cultural leadership for managing or changing organizational activities became a major feature of leadership, (Brown, 1995). Thus business transformation programs tend to rely on moral systems of value, (Bolman and Deeal, 1991). Each of these views provides a lens through communication can be viewed.
Research has also examined the different characteristics of control based leadership models employed in different organizations in terms of transaction and transformation, (Burns, 1978; Shelton and Darling, 2001). From the transactional leadership perspective leadership is modelled on business transactions which refer to having responsibility for or to conduct in turn loyalty, coordination and team spirit, (Burns, 1978). Instinctively leaders attempt to ensure tangible successes and limit uncertainty related to innovation and creativity required for growth in organizations. In contrast transformation leadership is argued to be more concerned with influence or guiding to a particular direction, (Shelton and Darling, 2001). It is fair to say that the leader-follower relationship is central in determining the impact of leadership in improving management results. Burns (1978) argued that one of the main features of transformational leadership is ‘charismatic’ which is based on followers’ perceptions of their leader’s behaviour.
Current organizational behaviour theory views leadership as situational in nature which emphasizes behaviour and environmental influences. Hersey, Blanchard and Johnson (2001) argue that situational views of the frequency of certain leadership models are essential to understanding the complexity of leadership processes. The main critical forces which have significant influence in shaping models of leadership are defined as globalization, the effects of technology and new features of HR in organizations (Cooper, 2005). The effects of globalization have driven cultural diversity within organizations and provided additional complexity to the management of relationships between business and local societies. Particularly then it is valuable to explore the features of successful leadership in managing business transformation process in joint ventures or acquisition/merger organizations reflecting this interaction of national culture and organizational culture. Additionally the information revolution of the 1990s has had vital impacts on organizational performance and management styles.
Information systems and computerized business controlling systems have improved the performance of business transformation and has also decreased supervisory roles and direct administration by leaders, (Lord and Maher, 1993). Self-management is now often used in contemporary organizations coupled with a flatter organizational structure. Some researchers claim a negative influence for information technology on middle management because the role of middle management has been replaced by computers while first line managers become more important in business transformation programs. In contrast others believe that the success of information based organizations requires a more effective organizational structure coping with new leading styles dependent on effective communication and information transactions, (Dopson and Stewart, 1993). Studies on the impact of information technology have found different strategies adapted by leaders responding to these challenges. To what extent these strategies contribute to the efficiency of business performance remains unexplored. Also new policies related to HR demand a more strategic view in understanding the role of leadership. Increasing educational levels of human resource in an organization has led to increased autonomy and therefore employee motivation has become an essential part of current leadership. Studies demonstrate that employees with higher motivation levels contribute more to the efficiency of business transformation processes highlighting again the importance of communication, (Hersey, Blanchard and Johnson, 2001).
From this review of the literature the research to be conducted in this project seeks to examine which if any of these theories are empirically observable and what relationship they have to leadership styles in the organizations selected.
Methodology
The overall research strategy selected for this work is that of a case study. A case study provides a rich stream of data particularly relevant to one site yet can be said to be limited by the lack of generalisations which sometimes can be made from the data gathered, (Yin, 2004). However in this instance a case study can be argued to have a number of strengths, as the successful identification of the elements involved in successful leadership of business transformation may with further research be shown to be relatively constant in other organisations, (Remenyi, 1998). Thus the second characteristic of the research strategy is that it is exploratory, identifying and teasing out substantive issues of use to the research here and also upon which further research can be based. A case study has the further advantage of being a good place in which to test theory, in this instance the researcher is interested not in testing theory but rather with seeing how theories expressed in the literature are to be found in practice in the day-to-day life of an organization, (Travers, 2001). The case study selected for this research is that of a joint-venture, as this highlights clashes between organizational cultures, communication and the implementation of changes in partner organizations to successfully adapt to new contexts of doing business.
In terms of approach this projects adopts an ethnographic base to the conduct of the research. Ethnographic research has a long history in business research and has been demonstrated to provide extremely rich data on organizations and individuals within organizations especially in terms of case studies, (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2003). However a failing with much ethnographic research and perhaps a weakness of much research generally, is that the use of a un-structured form of research such as this demands a detailed plan and enforcement of structure, (Bryman, 2004). Thus while rich data can be generated the plan must be in place as to what use the data will be put to. In the context of this research ethnographic based research is especially valuable as it will hopefully yield personalised qualitative data about the communication of change and relationships between leaders and various levels of the organizations involved.
Three research tools will be employed in this research which when taken together will answer the research objectives set out in the preceding section. These are documentary analysis, observation and semi-structured interviews. Combining these approaches also achieves an amount of triangulation related to the stated objectives of the research. In this sense the types of data generated are different enough (from verbal to written records to in-depth personal accounts) that findings can be if detected by traced across different data mediums to substantiate any conclusions to the research, (Bryman, 2004). A final note in terms of personal organization is that with much qualitative based research the keeping of a research diary by the researcher has in the literature been suggested as being a useful resource, (Silverman, 2004). It is the aim of the researcher then also to keep a full research diary which will serve as a reference for any issues which crop up during the research process and need to be analysed further during the writing-up stages of the project.
Documentary Analysis
Not to be confused with literature reviews this refers to a specific set of analytical techniques conducted on documentary forms not only literature to identify and extract data useful to the objectives of the research, (Hodgson, 1999). In the context of this research the primary documents of interest are those reflective of life in the organization such as minutes of meetings, memos from management, records of staff meetings and appointment diaries (though this list is not exhaustive). Taken together an analysis of these documentary forms will provide an insight into the ‘life’ and or ‘culture’ of an organization. For the purposes of organising materials documents will categorised into three forms, intra-organisational communications between the two companies, internal organisational communications for the two companies and progress reports. It is expected that an upper limit of 35-40 documents will be set for this aspect of the research.
Observation
Linked with analysing the non-verbal recollections of transformation programs and the impact of leadership the second important part of the research will be to observe the verbal and immediate impacts of these elements through researcher participation in staff/team meetings, staff/management meetings and importantly meetings between staff of the two organizations, (Stewart, 1998). The primary data sought here will be as to the nature of interactions between leaders and their staff, the forms of communication used and subsequent discussions of this among staff as they implement leader’s goals as communicated to them. Data also on the interactions between staff and management of the two organizations will also be gathered here. Records and minutes from these observations will also form part of the documentary analysis section to further correlate findings. It is expected that a total of 8 meetings will be observed according to the data requirements listed above.
Interviews
The final part of the research then aims to explore in a more concrete fashion the themes and issues which will be identified in the first two sections. As such then the data here is expected to concentrate on exploring in more depth and detail with key individuals involved their experiences of and perceptions of leadership’s influence in the organization in managing transformation processes. It would also be hoped that interviews with the leader’s in the organization can be conducted in order that views from top and bottom can be compared and contrasted. This data would then be further correlated with the observational and documentary findings to attempt to piece together the whole picture of the organization. It is expected that four interviews per organization will be conducted here, one for staff, a line manager, middle manager and leader in the respective organizations. This contributes and adds to the holistic data set to be collected from the relevant organizations as interviews allow for themes and issues to be explored in detail according to the knowledge and experience of participants involved, (Gubrium & Holstein, 2002).
Limitations
Back to: Custom Essays...
There are however it must be admitted substantial limitations to the research tools proposed for this project, which though can be overcome by careful preparation and planning. Access is a primary consideration and much will depend on securing reasonable levels of access to the organization in particular where access might relate to what are perceived as confidential business records. Building up trust with the organization through open co-operation and dissemination of the findings of the research to the organization will be a strategy of use in this regard. Similarly much ethnographic research in particular in relation to observation must deal with the problems of bias, (Holloway and Jefferson, 2000). Similarly in the interview section bias may also be a problem in terms of interviewing non-management staff about their perceptions of management. To overcome these limitations will require sound guarantees of confidentiality for interviewees and careful planning of the observations in order to minimise the visibility and influence of the researcher on the proceedings of meetings. Bias in this instance is also closely related to the ethical considerations of the project and thus confidentiality and anonymity will be emphasised to the participants and within the writing-up of the report to ensure that identities cannot be associated with the data collected, (Gregory, 2003).
References
Bolman, L. & Deal, T. (1991) Reframing Organisations: Artistry, Choice and Leadership, Jossey-Bass, USA.
Brown, A. (1995) Organisational Culture, Pitman, London UK.
Burns, J.M. (1978) Leadership, Harper and Row, New York USA.
Bryman, A. (2004) Social Research Methods, Oxford University Press, Oxford
Cooper, C. (2005) Leadership and Management in the 21st Century: Business Challenges of the Future, Oxford University Press, Oxford New York.
Dawson, P. (2003) Understanding Organizational Change: the Contemporary Experience of People at Work, Sage Publications, London UK.
Dawson, P. & Palmer, G. (1995) Quality Management: The Theory and Practice of Implementing Change, Longman, Australia.
Dopson, S. & Stewart, R. (1993) What is Happening to Middle Management, in Mabey, C. & Mayon-White, B. (eds) Managing Change 2nd edition, Paul Chapman Publishing, London UK.
Field, R.H. & House, R.J. (1994) Leadership Theory and Research: A Report of Progress, in Cooper, C.L. & Robertson (eds) Key Reviews in Managerial Psychology, Wiley, New York USA.
Gregory, I. (2003) Ethics in Research, Continuum, London
Gubrium, J.F. & Holstein, J.A. (2002) Handbook of Interview Research: Context and Method, Sage, Thousand Oaks, USA.
Haslam, S.A. (2001) Psychology in Organizations: The Social Approach, Sage Publications, London UK.
Hersey, P., Blanchard, K.H. & Johnson, D. (2001) Management of Organizational Behavior: Leading Human Resources, Prentice Hall, USA.
Hodgson, R. (1999) Analysing Documentary Accounts, Sage, London UK
Hollway, W. & Jefferson, T.(2000) Doing Qualitative Research Differently: Free Association, Narrative and Interview, SAGE, London.
Lord, R.G. & Maher, K.J. (1993) Leadership & Information Processing, Routledge, New York USA.
Read, M. (1989) The Sociology of Management, Harvester Wheatsheaf, Hemel.
Remenyi, D. (1998) Doing Research in Business and Management: An Introduction to Process and Method, Sage, London UK.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A. (2003) Research Methods for Business Students 3rd edition, FT Prentice Hall, UK.
Simon, H. (1972) Theories of Bounded Rationality, in McGuire, C. & Radner, R. (eds) Decision and Organization, Elsevier, Amsterdam.
Silverman, D. (2004) Qualitative Research: Theory, Method and Practice 2nd edition, Sage, London UK.
Stewart, A. (1998) The Ethnographer’s Manual, Sage, Thousand Oaks CA USA
Shelton, C.K. & Darling, J.R. (2001) The Quantum Skills Model in Management: A New Paradigm to Enhance Effective Leadership, Leadership and Organizational Development Journal, Vol. 22 Issue 6.
Travers, M. (2001) Qualitative Research Through Case Studies, Sage, Thousand Oaks, London UK.
Yin, R.K. (2004) The Case Study Anthology, Sage Publications, USA.
More Free Management Essays...
Get free management essays from our extensive online resource library. Hundreds of example essays available from all the major essay topics to help you with your research...
Please note: The above essay was written by a student and then submitted to us to display and help others. Thanks to all the students who have submitted work to us.
