Management Development - Assignment

Business

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Overview of the chosen industry and organization.....................................................................1
1. Define and discuss the difference between the concepts of leadership and management......1
2. Analyse one leadership theory................................................................................................4
3. Analyse a management development program from a chosen organization in UK retail
sector...........................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8
.........................................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Management development is a structured concept which gives directions to enable
employees to grow personally and professionally. The HR managers of an organization may
have programs to help personnel develop their skills at the workplace. The programs are known
as Management Development Program (MDP). There is a specific process dedicated for the
growth of skills by giving unlocking opportunities (Amanchukwu, Stanley and Ololube, 2015).
The organization chosen for this report is ZARA which has its headquarters at Arteixo, Spain.
Further, this report covers definition of different concepts of leadership and management,
analysis of one leadership theory and evaluation of management development program.
MAIN BODY
Overview of the chosen industry and organization
Retail industry in UK is one of the prime contributor to GDP. The statistics provided by
Office for National Statistics shows the total number of business that exist is 319,000 (2018)
which amounted to a sales of £395 billion. Further, it includes sales by stores, departmental
stores, supermarkets, market stalls, online retailers, etc. This sector offers huge opportunities for
existing and new business (Antonakis, J. and Day, D.V. eds., 2017).
ZARA is one of the leading company engaged in fast fashion retailer situated in Artexio
in Galicia, Spain. It was founded in 1975 by Amancio Ortega and Rosalia Mera. Further, it is a
prime brand of Inditex group, which is world's largest clothing retailer. Zara is globalised entity
operating in international markets above 100 countries. It has physical outlets as well as online.
The decision to launch a digital platform which can be accessed by huge number of customers
has increased its sales and customer base. It is a developed company which is widely recognised
across the globe. It has its business in UK where it faces a huge competition from other high
street retailers such as John Lewis, M&S etc. It formulates and make modifications in strategies
to survive in cut throat competition. In order to sustain for a long term, it needs to establish
programs and make big investments in leadership which will give fruitful results and take the
company to a new heights.
1. Define and discuss the difference between the concepts of leadership and management
Leadership can be defined as continuous process in which the leader influences his team
members to achieve individual and organizational goals. A leader provides directions and

guidance to accomplish set objectives within the time so prescribed by the company. Skills and
knowledge are applied as traits to have impact on beliefs, values, behaviour, character and ethics
of an employee (Benoliel and Somech, 2015). On the contrary, management refers to various
activities of planning, organizing, staffing, directing, co-ordinating and controlling others. In
other words, it is an art of getting things done through others. Harold Koontz define
“management is the art of getting things done through and with people in formally organized
groups.” According to the author, there should be co-operation between people working in the
organization.
There is a huge difference between leadership and management which have been
described below:
Basis Leadership Management
Meaning Under leadership, the leader guide
and inspire others. It is an
interpersonal process which involves
influencing a group or person to make
them achieve their individual goals
together with organizational
objectives.
It is often referred to as technique
or activities to be used in a
continuous manner by a person
called as manager. The ultimate
goal of management is to achieve
common goals.
Activities It encourages team members to
perform in a hard working way.
It is about managing the people
working in the organization.
Trust/control The team members have trust on their
leader who guide them in order to
achieve goals.
Manager exercise control over
personnels and give instructions
which have to be followed by them.
Skill It is considered as skill which is
incorporated by leaders (Bird, A. and
Mendenhall, 2016).
It is a quality under which policies
and procedures implemented.

Vision A leader forecasts the certainty or
uncertainty which can influence
beliefs, character, behaviour etc. of an
individual.
Management often make short term
visions which can be completed
within a short span of time.
Formulation A leader develop principles and
guidelines.
Policies and procedures are
developed which are required to be
followed by every employee.
Nature It proactive in nature. It is converse in nature.
Outcome It brings change. It brings stability.
A leader and a manager has different roles and responsibilities. However, the outcomes
are directed towards achieving organizational goals. A detail description on the roles of leader
and manager has been provided below:
 Role of a leader:
1. Clarity in vision: There are vision which are based on the core values of the entity.
These influence opinions and behaviour of others working in the organization (Black,
2015). A good leader has a role to define vision and mission in a clear and defined by
which each individual can work to get desired results. ZARA believes in stating its vision
and mission in an achievable way so that more focus can be given on prime areas.
2. Motivating employees: A leader assess needs and expectations of each employee so that
their requirements can be fulfilled for improving their job. There should be an effective
communication between team members along with rewards for their good performance.
HR manager of ZARA motivates its employees to complete their individual tasks with
perfection which will be aligned with overall objectives.
3. Guiding employees: A leader should define and assign the roles to each employee
according to their skills and capabilities. This increases their efficiency to complete the
work by adapting changes that is occurring in the business environment. HR manage of
ZARA allot work which can be done within time specified.
4. Building morale: This is one of the most important jobs of a leader in which morale is
built to to make them work towards common goal (Blomme, Kodden and Beasley-

Suffolk, 2015). A leader appreciates the work of his team members also promote the
good performer to high place in order to set an example for others to work hard. ZARA is
successful due to strong leadership skills followed within the organization.
 Role of a manager
1. Figurehead role: A manager perform duties in of routine and ceremonial nature such
signing and executing legal documents, taking important decisions which be applicable to
whole organization, etc. ZARA has a bunch of professionals who perform such activities.
2. Leadership role: This is also an important role in which manager head the whole work
as in charge of department who manages all activities through maintaining a co-
ordination of fellow workers and his sub-ordinates (Ehrhart, 2015). HR manager of
ZARA hire, recruit, train, motivate etc. employees who will be performing activities
necessary to achieve goals.
3. Monitoring: In order to know whether employees have performed according to standard.
This helps in determining the variance that have occurred in the work to reduce the gap
for increasing productivity. ZARA have managers who monitor the work of its
employees in order to improve their efficiency and increase sales.
4. Dissemination: The information pertaining to business which are useful for employees
as well as investors will be disseminate by the manager. Manager supervises the
collection and arrangement of such information. HR manager of ZARA prepares report
that will provide important information on which decisions will be made.
ZARA has its business in many countries by fulfilling the demands of customers and
increase sales and profits. It is not easy to operate at global context, there are huge pressure from
factors affecting a business in a significant way. These can be in the form of competition,
political condition, legal compliances etc. One of biggest and major challenges that its face is
diverse cultural workforce. The major problems are language and communication barrier which
impact effective working of an organization (Grint, K. and et. al., 2016). This affect development
at workplace. In such a situation, the management and leading people working in the
organization becomes difficult. Employees are important elements for a company, particularly,
an entity like ZARA, which operating at such a large scale. The leaders of the mentioned
company should analyse various theories and adopt one which will help in managing personnel
in a better way. A leader will provide guidance and directions that will be aligned with external

factors. Further, modifications can be done in the policies and procedures to be applicable on the
organization. Hence, leadership and management of workforce are required to avoid any
unnecessary burden. Further, this will increase productivity of manpower to contribute to
company's vision, mission and goals.
2. Analyse one leadership theory
Trait Theory of Leadership
This theory was established by Kelly in 1974, this was founded to classify what personal
characteristics like mental and physical are related with the success of leadership. In context of
M&S, it is found that many times during festive seasons there is a huge demand for their food
and clothes products. In such situations, leaders have to focus on dealing with complicated
situations while keeping their workforce motivated and inspired. Trait theories of leadership is
believed to be the most oldest and one of the best leadership theory which is developed by
humans (Lam, J. and et. al., 2015). As this is well-known that the theories of leadership are
created to enhance the knowledge of the professionals about the concept of the leadership, so that
this can help the future leaders to develop their skills and traits which are to be required by them
for getting success in the dynamic environment. As per the viewpoint of the author Yukl, it is
stated that the theory of leadership has enhanced from the earliest attempts to identify the
personality traits, the physical features and even the inherited factors of individuals which
demand to be natural leaders. Along with this, as per the time and under the influence of other
leadership theories, trait theory is gradually lost its momentum. Apart from all this, the
professional researchers are still interested in personality traits and their ownership to
effectiveness of leadership. In addition with this, the trait theory of leadership does not have the
potential to raise the existing and promote the improvement of future leadership capabilities, yet
the importance of context and state should not be easily dismissed. As a result, leadership traits
are simply the first in the process of effective leadership.
Purpose of Trait theory of leadership
The trait theory of leadership is a type of theory which identifies the behavioural features
which are common and similar in all leaders. In this, trait theory is an primary premise that
leaders are given birth and due to this content, those that have the exact qualities and traits are
better appropriate and suitable to leadership (Little, Gooty and Williams, 2016).
Importance of Trait theory of leadership

This theory of leadership is important as this as a trait can be thought of as a relatively
stable characteristic that affects the individual to how to behave in certain situations. The trait
approach of leadership to personality is the major theoretical region in the study of personality.
The trait theory of leadership is to recommend that the personalities of an individual are
combined to the wide affectedness.
Advantages of Trait Theory
1. This theory is naturally satisfied and naturally pleasing theory of leadership.
2. This theory is valid as lots of research has validated the basis and relation of the theory.
3. This theory also gives the detailed knowledge and understanding of the leader element in
the process of leadership (Lorinkova and Perry, 2017).
4. This theory serves as a standard against which the leadership traits of an individual can
be addressed.
5. This theory of leadership can be applied by any individual at all levels in all types of
firms.
6. The trait theory of leadership serves as a guide to leaders selection.
Disadvantages Trait Theory
1. This theory is very complex and difficult.
2. The lists of various traits tends to be very long.
3. In this theory, the traits do not guarantee of having an effective leadership. Also the
situation in this theory may limit to the validity of traits.
4. This theory of leadership has the drawback of not identifying which amount of feature is
absolutely needed.
5. In this theory, various situations are call for different combinations of traits.
6. In this theory of leadership, there is an dissonance over which traits are the most crucial
for an effective individual which act as a leader.
This part also includes the effective approaches and skills to deal with a range of
employment situations, which are explained as below :
1. Communication – This is the broad word that can handle the various situations and
participants. To work in an collaboration, it is very important to establish work culture
and design in an organisation (McCaffery, 2018). The employees of an organisation must
adopt the set of culture by their superiors. Along with this, an effective communication

can be able to resolve many issues as by this the team members can be able to work with
coordination and with cooperation, to have the better achievement for the organisation it
is crucial to have an effective communication between employees. This skills must be
required by all the reputed firms.
2. Balancing the work and life – As this is seen in today world, that employees are taking
their work to home, they have forgotten their personal life, as they are doing so because
they are pressurized by their employers to do more work and contribute their all time in
doing their work and perform their all task ion effective time frame (Meng, 2016). It is
necessary to be devoted towards your work but it is not that to forget the life you for
which you are working, the supervisors of an organisations like for their workers to
devote their as much time as they could to their work by which they are totally
pressurized mentally and physically, they are even not be able and stable in that condition
that they can even do work in their office hours. Instead of pressuring them there is a
solution which the employers of the organisation must follow that they should guide their
employees to make a balance between their work and their personal life. They should
create a balanced work environment and encourage, motivate employees not to take their
work home with them. Also should restrict the work related calls and emails to certain
hours as much as possible. Motivate the employees and staff members to give their 100%
effort during their working time and then allow them to concentrate on their personal life
after the completion of working hours and help them in keeping and maintain to keep
their work-life balance and focus on their focus and help the company to attain their goals
in an appropriate manner.
3. Analyse a management development program from a chosen organization in UK retail sector
A Management Development Program (MDP) is established by a leader of a company.
This is an investment in an employee by his manager. The activities done in this program
directly influences behaviour, attitudes, beliefs, values etc. of people working in the entity. It is a
structured training program developed to strengthen leadership skills, knowledge and capabilities
(Metz, I. And et. al., 2017). The outcome of MDP help a leader in effective leading by providing
adequate opportunities for individual's development. The main areas on which it put lights are
best knowledge about management practices, combined learning and effective engagement of
employees and better co-ordination between the work of each personnel. In other words, it

improves leadership skills and capabilities of a leader due to which employees can be managed
and guided properly. ZARA has various benefits from initiating management development
program, which are as follows:
 Increased productivity: The training that is provided through MDP has helped leaders
of ZARA to train others in such a way that they carry their work with complete
responsibilities. At the same time, their expectations are also fulfilled.
 Reduced workplace conflicts: ZARA invest a good amount in this program to create
healthy working conditions at workplace. This program helps leaders and manager to
grow their skills of managing people in an effective way by resolving their conflicts.
Further, it help in employees engagement for better communication which reduces
rumours and misunderstanding between people working in the organization.
 Reduction in staff turnover: One of the main reasons for ZARA to infuse time and
money in such programs is to reduce employee turnover. A manager impact staff morale
in a positive way by giving all personnel adequate opportunities for growth and
development (Northouse, 2017).
However, there are disadvantages of MDP which due to which such programs can be
treated as a wastage. These are as follows:
 Blockage of funds: These programs can require huge investment which could block the
funds. These resources can be utilised in more important objectives to get maximum
results. ZARA is a developed company earning good amount, hence, proper planning
and requirements must be assessed before initiating this program.
 Uncertainty: These programs require time, support, resources, etc. Further, a detail plan
should also be made along with changes according to external and internal forces. ZARA
is a globalised company that has to maintain co-ordination between all its outlets.
Further, there is no guarantee, that MDP will offer desired results.
 Lack of flexibility: MDP requires skills and capabilities to formulate and make it
successful. It is difficult to make adjustments in a program which has already been
started (Reina, C.S. And et. al., 2018). This would call for additional resources. ZARA
should consider this factor before developing MDP as it can not afford to have loss.
The underlying aim of MDP is leadership development. It refers to various types of steps
or activities directed towards enhancing current skills, abilities and confidence of leaders

working in an organization. It can be defined as a process of creating an environment that
focuses on continuous learning new skills and update knowledge by applying which an entity can
have more profits and grow in domestic as well as international markets. There could be
variations in such program according to nature and requirements of business which involve huge
cost together with more time. A vital element which is responsible for success of leadership
development is the execution and quality of program along with, level of support and acceptance
from members and top management, together with learning pattern that have been adopted. It is
an integral part of succession planning which motivates leaders to apply their skills in a way to
get promoted to a senior position. This emphasises on long term sustainability by fulfilling the
goals of organization.
There are certain pre-requisites such as absolute support and approval of members of own
team. Without obtaining required support and backup the training will produce results that will
be of no use. This will create more problems as there will be lack of co-ordination between team
members. To analyse management development program by focusing more on leadership
development, the company ZARA has been taken. It follows strict leadership approaches which
has taken the company to a whole new height. The success of the company greatly lies in the
hand of leaders who have managed the employees and provided right guidance so that
organizational goals can be met efficiently. The CEO of Zara, Armanico Ortega, has clearly
defined vision along with time. The leadership and management style chosen by him is unique
whereby a close interaction is maintained and managed with each team member. Further, ZARA
is is more focused on the choices and demands of its customers and has rarely spent on
advertisements (Yahaya and Ebrahim, 2016). They invest more into outlets to make their interior
attractive. It is to think about that, even after no advertisement that company has managed to get
successful by increasing its sales, number of customers and recognition. This is very well
reflected in the leadership style chosen by the leader of ZARA, which focuses on creating more
perceived value in luxury brands. Similarly, management style of the entity is very consumer
focused. It makes efforts by conducting surveys to understand exact demands of consumers.
Leadership development program has its share of advantages and disadvantages which should be
analysed before actually proceeding with such programs. These are as follows:
Advantages of leadership development program are as follows:

 Increased productivity: This program shapes a leader in an improved way. Consistent
leadership can increase the productivity of the people working in the organization. Such
programs help in building more emotions, empathy and intelligence towards employees
which helps in managing the people in a better way. ZARA train their leaders to make
them understand emotional side of workforce to make them work in a innovative and
productive way with available resources (Saleem, 2015).
 Retain employees: Leadership skills are very important to influence perception,
opinions, beliefs, values, behaviour etc. in a positive way. Further, effective two way
communication is also necessary for understanding employees better so as to retain them
by rewarding and fulfilling their expectations.
 Nurture future leaders: Every leader has a time period within which he can work
efficiently and effectively. Once the age arrives or period expires, leaders need to be
replaced with new ones. Hence, leadership development programs develop quality to
train them in a way, that they become capable of holding the position of a leader.
Further, it can be said that, it adopts transformational approach. This helps in motivating
employees to exceed their limits and work with complete dedication. This create encourages a
healthy environment by increasing the engagement of each individual. Leaders of ZARA ensure
to value teamwork, have open communications and fixing standards together with more defined
and clear guidance for employees. The leadership development has helped ZARA to promote
learning and understanding business requirements. Leadership development influences vision
and mission of an organization. An entity wish to complete its tasks within time so set by it, this
can be achieved only when goals are aligned with leadership skills and capabilities. ZARA has
leaders that guide its employees to produce output in an innovative way which is easy to sell and
affordable by using best quality.
A leadership is a skill and ability to take up challenges and encourage team members to
accept and work in a changing environment. The major goal of leadership is to attain goals by
forming strategies. Development of a leader and his leadership skill is required to apply new
ideas, approaches and tactics for motivating employees to work by giving their best performance
(Steelman and Wolfeld, 2018). A leadership development may be a necessity or waste depending
on the perception of the company. Entities should assess the importance and effects of leadership
development which will can impact investment, productivity, delivery and quality of its business.

ZARA focuses on training its leaders by updating their knowledge and making modifications in
approaches so that employees do not feel pressurised to work in the organization. It believe that
training will help shaping its leaders to become better in what they do in order to emerge even
more better leaders. Further, there are more benefits of leadership development such as changing
behaviours and competencies according to changing environment (Wu and Parker, 2017).
Management development program is vast in nature that comprises number of elements
but the role of leader along with leadership can should be put forward to be focused for desired
results. ZARA invest huge amount in management development program so that leadership can
be improved which can enable the leaders to find innovative ways to keep the morale high and
encourage them to accomplish individual goals which is then collaborated with overall
objectives.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it has been concluded that leaders are a important resources of an
entity. They help bring the best out of each individual working at workplace. However, there
should be adequate training, skills, knowledge, competencies and capabilities to implement
guidance and direction of team members. The prime requirement for leadership is to motivate
employees to perform well by achieving their individual as well as organizational goals. Further,
there are different types of leadership theories which should be studied and evaluated before their
adoption. Also, there are programs for leaders and managers such as management development
program and leadership development programs which help in giving required training to leaders.

REFERENCES
Books & Journals:
Amanchukwu, R.N., Stanley, G.J. and Ololube, N.P., 2015. A review of leadership theories,
principles and styles and their relevance to educational management. Management. 5(1).
pp.6-14.
Antonakis, J. and Day, D.V. eds., 2017. The nature of leadership. Sage publications.
Benoliel, P. and Somech, A., 2015. The role of leader boundary activities in enhancing
interdisciplinary team effectiveness. Small Group Research. 46(1). pp.83-124.
Bird, A. and Mendenhall, M.E., 2016. From cross-cultural management to global leadership:
Evolution and adaptation. Journal of World Business. 51(1). pp.115-126.
Black, S.A., 2015. Qualities of effective leadership in higher education. Open Journal of
Leadership. 4(02) p.54.
Blomme, R.J., Kodden, B. and Beasley-Suffolk, A., 2015. Leadership theories and the concept of
work engagement: Creating a conceptual framework for management implications and
research. Journal of Management & Organizationi. 21(2). pp.125-144.
Ehrhart, M.G., 2015. Self-concept, implicit leadership theories, and follower preferences for
leadership. Zeitschrift für Psychologie.
Grint, K. and et. al., 2016. What is leadership. The Routledge companion to leadership, p.3.
Lam, J. and et. al., 2015. Manager characteristics and employee job insecurity around a merger
announcement: The role of status and crossover. The Sociological Quarterly. 56(3).
pp.558-580.
Little, L.M., Gooty, J. and Williams, M., 2016. The role of leader emotion management in
leader–member exchange and follower outcomes. The Leadership Quarterly. 27(1).
pp.85-97.
Lorinkova, N.M. and Perry, S.J., 2017. When is empowerment effective? The role of leader-
leader exchange in empowering leadership, cynicism, and time theft. Journal of
Management. 45(5). pp.1631-1654.
McCaffery, P., 2018. The higher education manager's handbook: effective leadership and
management in universities and colleges. Routledge.
Meng, Y., 2016. Spiritual leadership at the workplace: Perspectives and theories. Biomedical
reports. 5(4). pp.408-412.
Metz, I. And et. al., 2017. The manager as employer agent: The role of manager personality and
organizational context in psychological contracts. Personnel Review. 46(1). pp.136-153.
Northouse, P.G., 2017. Introduction to leadership: Concepts and practice. Sage Publications.
Reina, C.S. And et. al., 2018. Quitting the boss? The role of manager influence tactics and
employee emotional engagement in voluntary turnover. Journal of leadership &
organizational studies. 25(1). pp.5-18.
Saleem, H., 2015. The impact of leadership styles on job satisfaction and mediating role of
perceived organizational politics. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 172.
pp.563-569.
Steelman, L.A. and Wolfeld, L., 2018. The manager as coach: The role of feedback
orientation. Journal of Business and Psychology. 33(1). pp.41-53.
Wu, C.H. and Parker, S.K., 2017. The role of leader support in facilitating proactive work
behavior: A perspective from attachment theory. Journal of Management. 43(4).
pp.1025-1049.

Yahaya, R. and Ebrahim, F., 2016. Leadership styles and organizational commitment: literature
review. Journal of Management Development. 35(2). pp.190-216.