Analysis of Leadership, Teamwork, and Motivation at Avon Cosmetics

This report examines leadership, teamwork, and recruitment practices within Avon Cosmetics. It begins by outlining the documentation required for selecting and recruiting new staff, assessing the impact of legal, regulatory, and ethical considerations. The report includes a role-play scenario of the selection process and explores ways to address team member conflicts. Task 2 delves into leadership skills and attributes, differentiating between leadership and management, and comparing various leadership styles. The report also examines methods for motivating staff, referencing Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Task 3 assesses the benefits of team working within Avon, reviewing its effectiveness in achieving goals and detailing factors for planning, monitoring work performance, and assessing development needs. The report concludes with recommendations for improving management efficiency within the company.

WORKING WITH AND LEADING PEOPLE

Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................. 3
Task 1......................................................................................................................... 3
1.1 Preparing Documentation for selecting and recruiting new staff........................3
1.2 Assessing the impact of legal, regulatory and ethical considerations for
recruitment and selection process...........................................................................4
1.3 Role Play in the selection process.....................................................................4
3.2 Explaining the ways to deal with the team member conflicts in selecting an
applicant over another.............................................................................................5
1.4 Exploring the possible reasons for ineffective and unfair practices, in selection
and recruitment........................................................................................................5
Task 2......................................................................................................................... 6
2.1 Explaining the Leadership skills and attributes..................................................6
2.2 Differences between Leadership and Management...........................................6
2.3 Comparing different Leadership styles..............................................................6
2.4 Explaining ways to motivate the staffs...............................................................7
Task 3 LO3..................................................................................................................8
3.1 Assessing the benefits of team working in the Avon cosmetics.........................8
3.3 Reviewing the effectiveness of team working in achieving the goals.................8
LO4............................................................................................................................. 8
4.1 Explaining the factors that are required for planning and monitoring the work
performances...........................................................................................................8
4.2 Planning the assessment of the development needs for the “Avon Manager”...9
4.3 Evaluating the success of the assessment process.........................................10
Conclusion................................................................................................................ 10
References................................................................................................................12

Introduction
Employment in the modern world is of great concern, on account of the differences
and the variations in the skills and the cultures among the employees. This study is
based on the different procedures that are employed by the employers to recruit
them in the companies. In this study, it has been limited to the case of Avon, and the
importance of team working in the company has been elucidated. Finally, the
legislations and the regulations for recruitment efficiency have been elaborated.
Lastly, recommendations have been produced to foster the necessary changes
within the company to improve its management efficiently.
Task 1
1.1 Preparing Documentation for selecting and recruiting new staff
Name of the Company:
Avon
Job Role:
Area Manager
Location:
South Devon
Job Description:
You are required to manage the performance of the team that will be working under
your supervision regularly. Additional responsibilities include conducting the monthly
evaluation of the performance of the employees and producing the results to the
Human Resource Management of the company.
Salary:
£22,000 - £28,000 per annum
Other Benefits:
Company car, Sales rewards, Incentives and Laptop
Personal Specifications:
 Candidates must have efficient leadership skills
 Candidates must possess the management skills and must have the
associated Management Degree from a reputed institution
 Candidates must have at least 2 years of experience in the management field
Candidates must have a brief knowledge of Finance and Accounting

Additional Skills:
 Candidates must have efficient time management skills
 Candidates are required to have a strong personality and a stout moral
character
 Candidates must have analytical skills and knowledge
1.2 Assessing the impact of legal, regulatory and ethical considerations for
recruitment and selection process
It has been seen that the recruitment process of the companies for the employees
depend on the position available for recruitment and the individuals with the quantity
of skills to be employed. However, a number of legislations and codes of practice are
generally employed by the recruiters or the employers of the companies (Greiner et
al. 2015, p.123). These include the Data Protection Act, that employs the
confidentiality of the employees, the Equality and Diversity policies, supported by the
Equality Act, indicating the equal opportunity for the people of different castes, creed
and religion. The Sex Discriminations Act is needed to be employed by the employer
to ensure the equal opportunity for the employees of both sexes. Further, the Race
Relations Act is needed to be enforced by the Employees to minimise the racial
discriminations at the workplace and in the selection procedure (Davison et al. 2012,
p.16).
1.3 Role Play in the selection process (Refer to PPT)
The participation in the selection process was an important task in the selection
process of the Area manager interview.
Preparing Recruitment Panel and Shortlisting
Preparation of the selection panel was vital, as it contained the major area for the
selection of the candidates for Avon. The director and the manager of the Human
resource were included in the panel. They played the active role in shortlisting the
suitable candidates for selection in the company.
Interviews
Personal interviews were conducted by these members, further in addition to one of
the shareholders of the company. The questions comprised the skills, background,
the area of comfortability and the work timings to the candidates.
Appointment

The final stage was the appointment in which the personal data and the interview
results of the candidates were analysed and the best-suited candidates were handed
the appointment letter, after a final discussion with the panel members.
3.2 Explaining the ways to deal with the team member conflicts in selecting an
applicant over another
In the case of A and B, it is evident that the individuals fulfil all the requirements of
the company. However, in the case of A, it has been analysed from the application
that the individual had 4 years of experience in the management of a company. On
the other hand, the other individual B had 3 years of experience in the desired field.
Therefore, in terms of experience, the team members preferred A, in terms of
experience, on the other hand, I, as the senior sales manager preferred B, on
account of the fluency in different languages. It was seen that the individual B had
fluency in English and had the knowledge of the different languages but had the
lesser experience. On the other hand, the other individual A had greater experience
but had only one language known.
I made them understand, that the sole responsibility of the sales manager was to
communicate effectively with the subordinate staffs and the clients and this required
the diversity in the cultures and languages. This provided the efficient means of
providing the best of services. This analysis and discussion were finally agreed by
the team members and eventually, the individual B was selected.
1.4 Exploring the possible reasons for ineffective and unfair practices, in
selection and recruitment
A number of essential factors have been evident, that may lead to the ineffective and
unfair treatment procedures of a selection process in the company. These include
the administrative authorities including the interview board members and the human
resource management of the company. In the context of the administrative
authorities, it has been seen that the selection of the departments for selection and
the required skills of the individuals to be recruited must be properly analysed before
posting the advertisements (Day et al. 2014, p.81). Furthermore, in the context of the
Human Resource Management, it has been seen that the Human resource is
responsible for the maintenance of the documents for the recruitment and the
analysis of the skills that are required of an individual to be employed. In some
cases, the Human Resource Managers are not included in the interview sessions
and these leads to the inefficiencies in the selection processes.

Task 2
2.1 Explaining the Leadership skills and attributes
Communication Skills are important in the context of working in Avon. This is
important, as the increased communication skills will allow effective interaction with
the team members of varied cultures. Management Skills are important, as the
managing skills allow the individuals to establish time management skills effectively.
Cooperation is required to ensure the suitable appreciation of the idea of the different
members of the group (Von Krogh et al. 2012, p.254). Coordination will allow the
individuals in a team to have the simultaneous support, during the times of
emergency and during the support of a particular idea or plan. Versatility is important
in team working, as the versatile individuals are able to cope with the different
environments in the group and act according to the best of interests of the other
team members. Therefore, it may be analysed that the effective leadership skills
must possess all these attributes (Anastasiou and Siassiakos, 2014, p.51).
2.2 Differences between Leadership and Management
Management is the ability of the individuals to manage a particular event and
Leadership is based on the initiative of heading an event with higher authority.
Leadership skills are required in the effective modes of a team working. The
leadership skills are required to be present in certain individuals of the group, in
order to maintain the efficient functionality of the group. On the other hand,
management skills are required to be exhibited by all the individual members of the
team, as this includes the handling of situations and managing the team, with
respect to the different levels of work (Carter et al. 2013, p.954).
The leader had the skill of tackling a situation in my group when I had the problem in
maintaining a fixed time span for achieving the objective. The team leader effectively
handled the situations and provided me with the knowledge of how to manage time
efficiently.
2.3 Comparing different Leadership styles
Participative Leadership is one of the leadership styles that are employed by the
managers of the Avon. It is based on the situations that the employees, as well as
the managers, have active roles in planning an event or making decisions. However,
the improvisation of the effective plan is decided by the leader of the individual team
or the department. This style is important in the contexts, where active decisions are

needed to be considered by the company, for having the different opinions and it
may provide satisfaction for the employees (Dinh et al. 2014, p.57).
Autocratic Leadership is another style, which is generally employed by the managers
of the Avon. In this style, the sole decisions are made by the higher authorities of the
company. In these conditions, the employees have no participations in the decision
making and are required to strictly adhere to the rules and the decisions of the
company. These are adopted by the company, in times of financial or manpower
crisis of the company.
2.4 Explaining ways to motivate the staffs
It is important for the company to motivate the staff or the employee to have the
desired improved quality of service and employee retention. The motivation in the
Avon Company has been adopted on the model of the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
According to this theory, the Safety of the employees is provided by the individual
administration of the health packages and health checkups in the company. The
Psychological needs of the employees are provided by the administration of the
leaves, trips and food facilities in the company (Cao et al. 2013, p.187). The Esteem
needs are provided by the promotions and the awarding of the employees and this
serve as an important source of motivation for the employees. The needs for self-
actualisation are provided by the ability of the employees to take part in decision
making and thereby allow them to showcase their creative skills in the company.
These are the methods by which the employees are motivated in the Avon.
Figure 1: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
(Source: Cao et al. 2013, p.188)

Task 3 LO3
3.1 Assessing the benefits of team working in the Avon cosmetics
It has been seen that Avon implies their sales through the independent sellers or
representatives. These representatives have been seen to work effectively in groups.
It has been seen that the team working has a number of advantages and these
include efficient communication, increased sales within a short time, and increase in
the strategic planning for sales, increased customer satisfaction and the increased
division of work (Bryde et al. 2013, p.975).
Efficient communication between the customers may be established on account of
the increased cooperation and communication with the diverse team members.
Team working may enable the employees of Avon Cosmetics to manage a huge
workload, within a very short span of time (Perry-Smith and Vincent, 2016, p.81).
Team working may enable the team members to divide their individual work
according to their strengths. Furthermore, the leadership skills based on the
increased sales may be evident as a large number of member or employees will be
available to a large customer base, in an area. Moreover, effective planning and
strategies may be adapted cooperatively to groups, to increase their ratio of sales
and customer satisfaction.
3.3 Reviewing the effectiveness of team working in achieving the goals
It has been evident that the increase in the sales are available for the company if a
stable team working is exhibited by the respective members of the group. The
increase in the sales may be evident on account of the fact that, the strategic
planning and the division of work may allow a large number of representatives to
reach large population within an area, within a short span of time, that would not
have been otherwise possible for the individual members of the company (Crawford
and Lepine, 2013, p.42). The increase in the reach for the customers leads to the
increase in the communication with the users and eventually the customer
relationships increase. This leads to the increase in the brand loyalty and therefore,
an increase in the sales for the company are evident.

LO4
4.1 Explaining the factors that are required for planning and monitoring the
work performances
A number of factors may be considered by the Human Resource Management of the
company to establish the required planning and the execution of the strategies. It
has been established that the learning styles of the individuals must be considered to
be an important factor during the training process, as it helps the employers to
provide the training according to the learning styles of the employees (Cheng and
Teizer, 2013, p.12). The financial factors are important in the planning and the
strategy making a process of the employees. Furthermore, the plans are to be made,
according to the desired skills that are present within the employees of the company.
The desires of the customers and the demography of the area, including the culture
and the status of the customers of the area, are important to be considered by the
company, in order to plan and implement the strategies for the company.
4.2 Planning the assessment of the development needs for the “Avon
Manager”
Criteria Results
Reflective Assessment
The reflective assessments of the
individual store managers will allow them
to realise the essential skills that are not
existent on them. It will enable them to
make their personal and professional
development plan, according to their
individual shortcomings.
Evaluation Statements
Evaluation of the processes of the
individual managers is required to be
supervised and maintained by the
Human resource Management of the
company. It will enable them, to devise
future plans for the skills improvement.
The feedbacks from the subordinates will
allow the company, to have the reflective
statements of the store managers. It will

Feedbacks from the subordinates provide them with the capabilities and the
efficiencies of the managers and
accordingly devise plans to improve the
insufficient areas.
Analysis with other company
managers
A separate department must exist in the
company that will be able to evaluate and
analyse the skills and the performances
of the store managers of the other
companies. It will provide the details to
the companies about the skills that are
needed to be developed by their own
store managers.
Table 1: Plan for development needs
(Source: Learner)
4.3 Evaluating the success of the assessment process
The evaluation of the performance of the employees is important to be considered
and maintained by the company. This allows the company to have the desired
employees in the field of work. If these conditions are satisfied, it may lead to the
increase in the sales of the company and these may be reflected through the
performance efficiency of the employees. Another method is to screen the
supervisors and their role in the departments. It may provide additional and essential
criteria for the evaluation of the performance of the employees and the managers of
the company. Assessing these fields' through team meetings and annual company
meeting may increase the efficiency of the employees and thereby improve the
assessment process. Additional fields include the deployment of performance-based
incentives and the quality of the additional work that are performed by the
employees. Rewarding and providing additional benefits may improve the employee
retention and this is established as another method that may improve the
assessment process for the company.
Conclusion
From the above study, it may be concluded that the legislations and the codes of
conduct that have been prepared at the national, local and the organisational level
must be implied by the employers to recruit the employees for the company.

Moreover, it has allows been seen that the employees must possess an upgradation
of their skills to have a beneficial opportunity in the company. Moreover, it has been
noted that the team working skills and the leadership skills increases the net
productivity of the group and the company as a whole, as a large amount of work are
completed within a short span of time.

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