Management and Leadership Strategies for the 21st Century

Introduction

Strategic management is defined as the set of decisions and actions resulting in the formulation

and implementation of strategies designed to achieve the objectives of the organization. Strategic

Managers should develop leadership abilities and formulate and execute strategies for winning

over customers, creating competitive advantage, and delighting investors. In the rapidly changing

global business, competitive advantage does not come easily. Strategic leadership demands that

one has a deep understanding of the market and the ability to formulate, evaluate, and execute

competitive strategies.

1. Understand the relationship between strategic management and leadership

Reasons for the stagnancy of the Disney organization after the death of its

founder:

Disney World is one of the most popular theme parks in the world. Walt Disney was the founder

of Disney World. It was performing well in the life time of Walt Disney. Soon after the death of

Walt Disney it started to experience downward trend in its performance. There were various

reasons that are propelled to this downturn. These are outlined below:

It kept itself away from further and modern innovation.

It was satisfied with its ongoing laurels of success and no steps were taken to make

improvement.

It was far behind fulfilling the sensation of its audience.

It was resistant to change to combat the new challenges.

It was not able to capitalize its potential resources.

It was undercharging for its licensing of cartoon characters and admission of its theme

parks etc.

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1.1 Explain the link between strategic management and leadership

The link between Strategic Management and Leadership

The strategic management process helps institutions identify what they intend to achieve and

how they will accomplish outcomes. The term strategic management is used to refer to the entire

decision-making process. Strategic management must evolve by predicting the future, thinking

strategically and creating the future opportunities. Leadership is about strategic management,

discretionary decision-making and policy development.

Leadership and management are both skills that an organization should possess, courtesy of a

chosen leader, with the support of its personnel. A good leadership can be attained through a

practice while an effective management is learned through course. A leader is the spearhead of

the group going to a direction. And once they have found the direction, manager will take over to

have consistency and make the group proposer after being established. Manager’s decisions are

based on the book or ethics that every member constructed but leaders decide based on their

institutions.1

1. http://www.ukessays.com/essays/business/the-link-between-strategic-management-and-leadership-business-essay.php

1.2 Analyze the impact of management and leadership styles on strategic

decisions

Management and leadership style play pivotal role on strategic decisions. They make decision

according to the expectation of the organization and their decision always have the support of the

team. It is the style of the management and leader which keeps organization moving. Different

styles have different type of impact on strategic decision and organisation. For example if we

look at the democratic style of management and leadership, in this style management always

consult and discuss with their team which makes them feel more responsible and motivates them

to work hard.

It is the job of strategic manager to decide and make critical decision regarding the future of the

organisation. It is the wisdom of the management and leadership that drives the organisation

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forward. It is their vision which has always great impact on the organisation. Their style of

management and leadership plays vital role on the decision making and on the future of the

organisation. They should have the style which changes according to the situation, sometime

they are very much cooperative and give everybody chance to express but if situation demands

them to be more authoritarian they have the style approach and power to change them.2

2.http://www.ukessays.com/essays/management/analysing-strategic-management-and-leadership-management-essay.php

1.3 Evaluate how leadership styles can be adapted to different situations

Many theories of management and styles of leadership exist. In the end, none of them are right

and none of them are wrong. Different people respond better to different styles of leadership. To

be a truly skilled leader, managers need to become aware of the staffs and adapt leadership style

to nurture the most productivity in workers.

Step 1

Identify own intrinsic leadership style. Three main categories of leadership styles are autocratic,

democratic and laissez-faire. Autocratic leaders tend to maintain control and tell workers what to

do. Democratic leaders support a sense of teamwork and listen to worker opinions before making

a decision. Laissez-faire leaders are very hands-off, almost not leaders at all.

Step 2

Recognize the pros and cons of the three main leadership styles. Autocratic leaders often get

things done in less time and their workforce is usually quite productive. Productivity slumps

when the manager is not present, however. Democratic leaders often gain the respect of their

workers. Workers appreciate feeling valued and will work harder for that manager. Laissez-faire

leadership works when there is a high degree of skill and knowledge among the workforce but is

sorely lacking when employees are less skilled. All three leadership styles are appropriate in

different situations.

Step 3

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Appreciate the diversity among manager’s staff. Diversity in organizational psychology is often

seen as differences among people that define or create the culture of the workplace. Dimensions

of diversity include gender, age, sexual orientation, religions, ethnicity, education, work

experience, military experience, family status and income level. Workers with more skill will

most likely respond well to democratic and laissez-faire leadership styles; those with less

experience will likely respond more to a more autocratic style.

Step 4

Experiment with different styles to see what works best within group of workers. Managers

should maintain an "open door" policy so that workers can approach managers to discuss work-

related issues. This is the way they can get to know their workers. Then they will get a sense of

how much direction and how much freedom they need to be productive. 3

3. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/adapt-leadership-styles-18975.html

2. Application of management and leadership theory to support

organisational direction

Role of is Michael Eisner’s in the progress of Disney world:

After the departing of Walt Disney, father of Disney world Disney organization was at stake.

Then is Michael Eisner took the helm of that very organization to rejuvenate it from the further

downturn. He tried to picture him like Walt Disney and committed to take the organization back

in its position. After analyzing the situation carefully, he devised a plan that would encourage

openness to change, and a culture of strong creativity that was always a hallmark to Disney’s

success. He came up with a number of new and creative ideas including new health food

restaurants and he encouraged and induced creativity among others and creativity became one of

the top priorities. His idea of creating a Euro Disneyland in Paris came into high focus. He met

with twelve of the most respected architects in the wildly creative session to bring out as best

design of the theme park as possible. He encouraged and rewarded new ideas, opened the

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channels of communications and took the members into confidence by sharing with them his

strategic plans and ambitious growth strategies.

Success of the entire organisation depends upon the philosophy of its Chief Executive officer,

the statement is mostly true, and because the good strategic leader can make good footsteps that

every subordinate can follow. As Michael Eisner was at the front line to lead so it was

completely upto him to take proper course of actios to ensure success of Disney world. On the

other hand there may be still some contingencies that are out of a Chief Executive Officer.

Hence, above all facts it can be said that’s success of the entire organisation depend upon the

philosophy of its Chief Executive officer.

2.1 Review the impact that selected theories of management and leadership

have on organizational strategy

Leadership and management qualities are very important to make average organisation into a

very successful organisation, at the same time there are lots of leadership and management

theories which create big impact on the organisational strategies. Leadership and management

apply different theories according to situation to make organisation move forward. There are

some theories which are practiced very effectively in most organisation. Some of the important

leadership theories are as follows:

Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Grid

House’s Path Goal Theory

Great Man Theory

Trait Theory

Leadership-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory

Transformational Leadership

Transactional Leadership

Continuum of Leadership Behaviour

Likert’s Management System

Here two most influential theories are discussed:

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i. Charismatic leadership and management theory:

Charismatic leadership theory is very important and it plays very critical role on Organisations

success. A manager should have charismatic leadership and management style which is very

inspirational for all management team and through their leadership and management style he is

driving their organisation forward and expanding the business all over. Then he should have the

power to influence workers by the style and approach toward work so that he inspires workers to

by their own working style and wisdom. Through his style and leadership he must show trust

toward his sub-ordinate which motivates them to work hard for the organisational goals and

objective. A manager should be a result oriented professional. He is a team player with an

objective-driven approach that gives priority to company best interest at all times strongly

backed by efforts that are focused on determination, dedication, follow-up and successful

completion of result oriented initiative.

ii. Transformational leadership and management theory:

Transformational theory of leadership is also in practice very effectively in most business

organisations. According to this theory, leaders and followers both work together and help each

other for the organisational goal. This theory brings positive change in the sub-ordinates

behaviour and approach, sub-ordinate get motivation which helps him to perform according to

expectation of the leaders. A manager is responsible for sales, marketing and distribution and it

is the requirement of the job that he needs to be more transformational in his management style.

He is through his transformational leadership and management style can motivate his team and

working very closely with them to bring more productivity in his organization.

Transformational theory has great impact on organisational, with this kind of theory leaders can

bring good teamwork among employees and they can work together for organisational

objectives. Transformational leadership is a process which leaders and followers help each other

to advance to higher level of morale and motivation.

2.2 Create a leadership strategy that supports organisational direction

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Leadership plays important role to take organisation toward right direction and it is the

responsibility of leadership to make strategies which support the organisation directions and

objectives. It is very important for manager and leaders to understand clearly what are the

objectives and should find the right path and strategies to achieve these objectives and goals.

There are certain things on which leaders need to work to support organisation direction and

objectives and they can bring better result and more productivity in Business Organisation.

However, some leadership strategies are as follows:

i. Developing Professionalism:

It is the responsibility of an organization’s leadership and management to make strategies to

solve this kind of issues. Leaders need to develop certain rules and regulation at working place

which each and every employee should follow; these standards should be met to create more

effective professionalism between employees. If a leader can bring up plan or strategy to develop

professionalism it can support the organisational strategies and directions more efficiently.

ii. Developing trust and belief:

Trust between staff and leaders or manager create healthy working environment which brings

positive effect on the performance of the employees. To create trust and belief leader should be

friendly, honest and more close to the staff. He should be more consistent and in his behaviour

and attitude toward work and his employees, if leader can develop trust and belief in his staff

then it will be lot easier for him to achieve objectives.

iii. Developing Respect:

It is very important factor for organizations if they want to grow and go on right direction to have

sense of respect for each other; through this a leader can bring good teamwork in the

organisation and build up better understanding between staff. Leader should not discriminate

employees and leader should treat everyone equally and respect them, it is the duty of leader to

promote the culture in which everyone respect each and through this a better working

environment can be established. It is the responsibility of leader to bring certain type of

organisational policies which will prevent incident of disrespecting each other.

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iv. Training Program:

To achieve organisation objective one of the major factor is training program to support the

organizational direction. It is very important for leadership and management to identify the need

of training and development for the staff, as it is a fast growing world and to keep up with the

new and advance techniques one should keep planning for training and development plan to

compete with new challenges. If a leader can train his team it can bring lot of benefit for

organisational direction and it can help an organisation to grow and develop with great speed.4

4. http://www.ukessays.com/essays/management/analysing-strategic-management-and-leadership-management-essay.php

3. Ability to assess leadership requirements

Internal and external forces that necessitated the change in the various outlooks of Disney

operations.

Internal Forces: The internal forces that lead to change in the various outlooks of Disney

operations are given below:

Change in its management style: the death of Walt Disney and appointment of Michael

Eeishner cause a huge change in its internal management.

Creativity and Innovation improvement requirements: With the change of time it is

required to change the outlooks of Disney’s operations by continuous creativity and

innovations.

Human Resources: Human recourses of Disney World need to change or put in right

tracks.

External Forces: The External forces that lead to change in the various outlooks of Disney

operations are given below:

Customers demand: With the changing needs of customers demand Disney needs to

change its outlooks of operations.

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Competitor’s position: Competitors continuous improvements forced Disney to change

its outlooks to keep its competitive advantages.

3.1 Use appropriate methods to review current leadership requirements

The methods that are being used in Business Organisation to develop management, employees

into leaders are as follows.

Coaching

Learning

Communication

Engaging

Attitude skills

These methods are also used to help with the continuous development of leaders, organizations

are no longer dealing with customers on a national scales they are now dealing with customers

and employees on a global scales leader has to be more vigilant to understand the need and

demands of the world as it is a very common trend for companies to trade globally..

Coaching - Coaching & mentoring, both of which focus on the individual, can enhance morale,

motivation and productivity and reduce staff turnover as individuals feel valued and connected

with both small and large organisational changes. Coaching and mentoring programmes

generally prove to be popular amongst employees as coaching achieves a balance between

fulfilling organisational goals and objectives whilst taking into account the personal development

needs of individual employees.

Learning - Learning involves much more than information transfer that is why it is ineffective to

present this Learning Organization concept as only another training technique. Learning and

Learning Organization concept can’t be imposed, it requires an internal desire to learn and

change. Additionally, learning, knowing and changing are complex and interdependent

phenomena that will require researchers and managers to understand the logic embedded in the

Learning Organization idea before its implementation.

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Communication - Communication is even more valuable in a business environment as there are

several parties involved. Various stakeholders, whether they are customers, employees or the

media, are always sending important information to each other at all times. Business organisation

is therefore constantly using some form of communication or another to send a message across.

Without these different methods of communication available today, it would holder back the

development of employees into managers and possible leaders, the effect would also reduce the

development of current leaders.

3.2 Plan for the development of future situations requiring leadership

World is changing day by day. Many new situations are also arising. So there should be plan for

the leader to cope with new situations. Such plannings are like below:

Merger and Takeover

As world is changing very fast and every day something new happening in this world so for this

situation every organisation is working hard. Every organisation wants to grow fast in this

competitive world and one the fastest way to grow as an organisation is merger and takeover. It

is the requirement for current and future leadership to understand the need of merger and

takeover; it is very complicated and sensitive issue because wrong analyses of a merger could

cost an organisation huge amount of money. It is requirement of leadership to have innovation

and skill to understand what is the right time and time organisation for this type of acquisitions.

Emerging of new Technologies

One of the major challenges for the current leadership is technology; technology is growing very

fast and taking over everything in an organisation. Now there is more concept of virtual business

or e-business where business in done mostly online and employees are scattered in most part of

the world. There are so many successful businesses in current world which just base online, for

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example Google, Face book, and EBay they are run by people globally from their computers. It

is requirement for leadership to learn more skills have more control; leadership needs to bring

new innovation into their thoughts to have better management of these types of challenges.

4. Plan the development of leadership skills

If I were Michael Eisher…

Michael Eisner was indeed a good strategic manager. He has done a lot for the Disney World; he

was a great innovator and a risk taker that leads the organization to achieve success. If I were in

Michael Eisner’s shoes then I would do some additional actions to keep the legacy intact.

Take care of my employees. Because they can make or break me.

Give my best to the organization.

Research, not only the market, but your competition and future needs.

Best quality Customer service.

Never, Give up.

4.1 Plan the development of leadership skills for a specific requirement

Leadership is a very important area for any organization regardless of the size of the

organization, in today fast moving business environment business have to make future plans

therefore it is very important that the leaders of the future develop the necessary skills that will

help them to lead the company in the right direction. Leaders can develop their skills and

employees skills by on the job training or formal Learning.

Formal Learning – There are several new products being introduced, therefore companies have

to groom their leaders and their employees. These can be done by sending the employee for

formal training, seminars or in some case sending the leaders back to the class room.

On the job training - It is one of the most effective development methods in the companies. The

process of the on the job training is to arrange and the purpose is to enhance the abilities of the

employees in the corporate settings of the organizations. Training is not just offered to

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executives or managers but training is in-fact offered to all members of staff regardless of their

position.

Organizational Leadership - The Organizational Learning which is the learning method in the

organization which is highly appreciated and required. The organizations should influence the

employees on the regular bases with the knowledge and information.

Organizations that promote learning is more likely to continue to enjoy great success. In-order to

compete in the global market business, it has to empower their leaders and employees to a high

standard. Employees are the most important asset of any business organization.

With good training employees will be in a better position to represent the company very well and

leaders will be in a better position to lead the company into the future while competing on a

global scale.5

5. http://researchpasspapers4u.blogspot.com/2013/06/developing-strategic-mgt-leadership.html

4.2 Report on the usefulness of methods used to plan the development of

leadership skills

It is important for leaders to develop more skill to cope with future challenges, globalization and

demands. As discussed earlier about current and future leadership requirements and leadership

plan, it is very important that the method used for the improvement of leadership skill should be

more effective and useful so that the objective can be achieved. Leadership requires vision,

enthusiasm, self-confidence, empowerment, action enabling of others, getting things done, and

making things happen.

Formal learning is a very good way to improve skill and get further knowledge about upcoming

challenges. The extent of which leadership competencies are acquired and used depends on the

type of development activities that occurs facilitating condition.

Conclusion

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Effective performance management is important process that can be achieved by setting realistic

expectation, goals and targets that need to be established together with management and

employees. Leadership style in an organization has explained the good point of democratic style

of leadership and management. In 21st century, business world is getting complex day by day that

makes the world more competitive and a lot of variables are there. So in order to improve the

productivity and profitability managers must lead their organization effectively and efficiently.

References:

1. http://www.ukessays.com/essays/business/the-link-between-strategic-management-and-leadership-business-essay.php

2. http://www.ukessays.com/essays/management/analysing-strategic-management-and-leadership-management-essay.php

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3. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/adapt-leadership-styles-18975.html

4. http://www.ukessays.com/essays/management/analysing-strategic-management-and-leadership-management-essay.php

5. http://researchpasspapers4u.blogspot.com/2013/06/developing-strategic-mgt-leadership.html

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