Career Development Plan and Management Development: Thomas Cook

This report presents a career development plan and management analysis focused on Thomas Cook, a leading tour and travel agency. It investigates various management styles, leadership characteristics, and communication processes within the organization. The analysis includes a comparison of classical and modern management approaches, an evaluation of communication flow (horizontal, downward, upward, and multidimensional), and an assessment of organizational culture, emphasizing employee needs and relationships. Furthermore, the report features a self-assessment of personal management skills through a skill audit and SWOT analysis, identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Objectives and targets are set to enhance existing potentials, such as communication, time management, and decision-making capabilities. The goal is to improve leadership qualities and team motivation, aiming for a more effective and engaging managerial approach within Thomas Cook.

Career Development Plan and Management Development
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Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................. 3
Task 1.......................................................................................................................................... 3
Prepare a brief report based on your investigation of the chosen organisation consisting of the
following items............................................................................................................................. 3
Task 2.......................................................................................................................................... 8
To review your own potential as a perspective manager for this organisation:............................8
Task 3.......................................................................................................................................... 9
Write a report based on your past experience or future role in the chosen organisation,
demonstrating your ability............................................................................................................9
Task 4........................................................................................................................................ 11
Create a career development plan for employment within the chosen organisation...................11
Conclusion................................................................................................................................. 12
Reference List........................................................................................................................... 13
Appendices................................................................................................................................ 14
Appendix 1............................................................................................................................. 14
Appendix 2............................................................................................................................. 15
Appendix 3............................................................................................................................. 16
Appendix 4............................................................................................................................. 17
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Introduction
In order to excel in career, an individual needs to focus on personal development. Manifesting
managerial skills is one of the pivotal factors of career development (Zepeda, 2013). The
process of applying for the designation of Trainee Manager in Thomas Cook has provided me
with the opportunity of gathering insights on the management styles, leadership features and
communication procedure of the company. In this context, a detailed investigation of the
management practices of Thomas cook is presented in the paper.
Thomas Cook is one of the reputed tour and travel agencies in the UK and it has been
delivering excellent corporate performance in the industry since 1841. The company offers a
number of services to its customers and the revenue of the organisation is estimated to be over
$1.34 billion (Thomas Cook, 2018). The size of the enterprise suggests that it operates on
several department and huge employee base. Therefore, the company is an important source of
gaining information of the management and leadership practices within the company.
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Task 1
Prepare a brief report based on your investigation of the chosen organisation consisting
of the following items
A. Compare the different management styles that you may have observed and discuss
the leadership characteristics of the senior managers [AC 1.1 & 1.2]
Comparison among several types of management styles and Leadership characteristics of
senior managers in each case:
The management approaches or styles are mainly categorised into two segments that are
classical approaches and modern approaches. The classical approaches are such styles that
are traditionally followed in organisations. On the other hand, the modern approaches are
modified styles that are most suitable for modern VUCA cultural business environment. These
two approaches have further classifications, which are described in the following way:
Autocratic managerial style: In these managerial styles, it has been observed the manager is
the supreme leader. He holds highest authority among the members and is the highest authority
of decision-making. This managerial styles is chiefly leader centric and the team members take
hardly any participation in the managerial decision making process (Brierley and Fryirs, 2013).
The leadership characteristic of managers who use this style is dominated by strong self-
sufficiency and dominative nature. In my organisation, the highest-level manager uses this
managerial approach.
Administrative approach: This approach also emphasises on centralisation of authority and
stricter administration. The subordination of higher authority is a key feature of this style. In this
management approach, the whole structure is divided among strict administrative culture. The
leadership characteristic of managers in this approach is like a ruler with stricter administration.
This approach is being practices in different departments on Thomas cook.
Scientific approach: Compared to the other two methods, this is more humanistic in nature,
though treats the work force of a company as productive engines. It emphasises on fetching the
best outcome out of each employees and standardisation of jobs.
The modern approaches and its comparison among the others are as follows.
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System approach: In this approach, a company is considered as a system made of
subsystems. All of the subsystems are interconnected (Kossek and Lautsch, 2012). According
to this approach the external environmental factors, inputs and other aspects determines the
productivity of the organisations.
Contingency approach: According to this theory, there is no concrete way for management.
There is no strict rule that can be followed for enhancing managerial capabilities of managers.
The managerial characterise of managers who follows this approach is flexible and adaptive as
they have to take decision according to the external scenario.
Human relation approach: In this approach the relationship among employees are encouraged
and is considered as the most useful tool for employee retention as well as employee
engagement (Schoar and Zuo, 2017). Thomas Cook follows this managerial style, where the
manager is characterised by cooperative and collaborative nature.
Behavioural approach: In this theory of management the organisational activities and the
responsibility of a manager is viewed from the perspective of individuals. While the classical
theories considers human as productive engines, this approach chiefly emphasise on the
human element. A manager has to have cooperative nature in this approach and understand
requirements of the employees.
The other types of managerial styles adapted by leaders are democratic style, a style that
encourages participation of members in decision-making; Persuasive style- a style that
persuades employees to fetch desired outcome (Bhatti et al., 2012). Some others are, Laissez-
faire managerial style where the manager is more like a leader and less like a manager; and
visionary style where the manager drives its team towards a goal.
Some other leadership characteristics that I have observed in my manager workplace are as
follows:
 Honesty
 Communication skills
 Creativity
 Confidence
 Decisiveness
 Responsibility
 Empathy
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 Focus
B. Evaluate the communication process within the chosen organisation [AC 1.3]
In a communication process, the sender encodes intimation. Then the individual selects the
channel or modes that can be used for communicating the message to the receiver. After
receiving the message, the receiver decodes the message. In Thomas Cook, the workers are
the sender and the receiver of messages. Both the verbal and non-verbal mode of
communications are used as modes of communication.
Figure: 1: Communication Process
(Source: Downs and Adrian, 2012)
In Thomas Cook, organisational communication is considered as one of the key requirements
for enhancing communication and improving employee relationship. The communication
process of Thomas Cook ensures that the right message is been communicated among
members without distorting it. The communication process of this organisation is divided among
four types that are:
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Horizontal communication: This type of communication refers to the flow of communication
remains in the same level of workers. For example, when the managers of marketing function
communicate with the manager of finance function then it s considered as horizontal function.
Downward communication: In this communication, the message goes to people in
subordinate position from workers in upper level. For example, when the manager of Thomas
Cook provides strategic direction to the members, then it is downward communication.
Upward communication: When the flow of communication is upward, that is from the lower
level of employees to the upper level of employees then it is considered as upward
communication. In the case of upward communication, the subordinate’s workers reports or
voices their opinion to their manager (Downs and Adrian, 2012). For example, if the sales
manager in Thomas Cook reports to the area manager and provides suggestions regarding
amendments in marketing strategy, it is considered as upward communication.
Multidimensional communication: This is the amalgamation of all of the processes. In this
case, communication comes from every direction. The receiver can be both the manager and
the subordinates.
C. Analyse organisational culture
Organisational culture refers to the social and psychological environment within an organisation.
This indicates the interrelationship among the employees and their emotional bonding. The
concept of organisational culture refers to the relationship between the employee and the
employer.
Being one of the largest organisations in the travel and tourism industry Thomas Cook gives
specific emphasise in managing its organisational culture. The major principles on which the
value and moral of organisational culture of the organisation exists are prioritising the employee
needs, valuing the emotional requirements of employees and communicating organisational
values and morals among the employees. By using the human relations approach to
management, the organisation encourages effective relationship among the members of the
organisation and the employers (Carlström and Ekman, 2012). Other principles that
predominates the organisational culture of Thomas Cook are team orientation, aggressiveness,
stability, people orientation, focusing or the outcome, core attention to details.
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Organisational culture determines the work environment and enhances people’s engagement at
workplace. In this current changing scenario that is predominated by employee turnover and
employee retention issues, the cooperation among the team member have become essential for
managing organizational culture.
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Task 2
To review your own potential as a perspective manager for this organisation:
A. Assess your own management skills and performance using the format provided by
the tutor and analyse your own strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats [AC 2.1
& 2.2]
In order to derive a comprehensive idea about personal management skills, a skill audit has
been executed and represented below (refer to Appendix 1)
Based on the personal managerial skill audit, individual SWOT analysis has been developed
and provided below (refer to Appendix 2). The represented table helps in understanding that
my strengths include efficient verbal and written communication with the team members, which
will help me in conveying message clearly. In addition, good time management skills will help
me in prioritising the work and deliver quality work within specified deadline. In addition to this,
making wise decision in critical situation is also a managerial potential.
Being weak at non-verbal communication is one of my major flaws that might eventually
become an obstruction in becoming a proficient manager. Due to weak non-verbal
communication, my team members can get wrong cue that will pave the way for disagreement.
In addition, another weakness of mine includes getting perplexed in critical situation that will
affect my decision-making capabilities at times.
Nevertheless, I have an opportunity of becoming a better manager by improving my leadership
qualities. This implies that I need to focus on improving my team motivating and management
capabilities so that I can win the confidence of my team members and convince them to follow
my steps. I further have an opportunity of enhancing my organisational awareness skills.
Gaining insights on the structure and culture of the company will help me to have a detailed idea
about the protocols.
My weak leadership skill makes me vulnerable to the threat of engaging in conflict with my team
members. This will eventually strain my rapport with them and affect the overall productivity.
B. Set and prioritise objectives and targets to develop your own potentials [AC 2.3]
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The frameworks of skill audit and SWOT has helped in identifying my strengths and
weaknesses. The analysis has helped in reaching inference that my communication, time
management and decision-making capabilities will contribute in making me a dexterous
manager. Based on my potentials I have developed the certain objectives and targets (refer to
Appendix 3).
In order to manifest my existing potential it is important to attain the above objectives and meet
with the targets. Since my communication skills is good it is important that I improve it more by
recuperating my vocabulary and focus on being more specific while providing instructions to my
team members verbally or in written. Attaining this objective will help me to meet with the target
of being more translucent to my juniors. My team members will have a clear understating of
their works and all other instructions.
I have set an objective of prioritising all the works so that my time management skill gets more
polished. In this way I will be able to submit all the work on time and ensure proper work flow
within the organisation. My decision-making capabilities can be further improved by me by
achieving the objective of making prudent judgment at crucial situation. This will help me to
meet with the target of providing pragmatic solutions to grave challenges, which is one of the
main job roles of a manager. Lastly, I need to improve my leadership qualities so that I can keep
my team motivated and engaged in work.
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Task 3
Write a report based on your past experience or future role in the chosen organisation,
demonstrating your ability
A. Lead and motivate a team to achieve an agreed goal or objective [AC 3.1]
Being a future trainee manager at Thomas Cook will provide me with a pool of opportunities to
lead and manage several projects. One such project that will be leading in the future is to
promote a particular five-star hotel In Dubai. The client is depending on the company to
augment their guest base during a particular event. The nation will be holding a big event, which
attracts visitors all over the world thus the hotel wants Thomas Cook to promote the brand to the
customers. I will be managing and leading this project with a team member of 10 people. The
objective of this project is to grab the attention of maximum customers and convince them to
make a sojourn at the hotel. This project involved a number of sub task such as preparing
booklets, testimonials and itineraries of the hotel and assisting the passengers on the
conveyance and other services. Therefore, in order to lead my team properly I have first
focused on delegation and time management. This implies that I initially focused on developing
tasks of the main project and then assign the right candidate for the particular tasks. In addition
to this, I have further focused on prioritising all the works and assigning them to my team
members so that all the works are accomplished on time. All my team members had a clear
idea about their individual job role so that they can finish their individual work on time and help
in maintain a workflow.
B. Justify the managerial decisions you may have made or you would make to support
the achievement of agreed goals and objectives and recommendations for improvements
[AC 3.2]
While leading and managing the team, I had to make certain managerial decision so that the
objective of the project can be achieved. In order to augment the guest bas of the client it was
important that an extensive promotional plan was developed and followed. Therefore, my
promotional strategy involved several segmentation, which are content marketing, social media
marketing and others. Therefore, in order to ensure that all the promotional activities were being
executed competently I took the decision of delegation and developed job roles for each of team
members based on their proficiencies.
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Thereafter, I focused on making the decision of prioritising the works and then assigning them
accordingly so that the entire process remains agile. In this manner, the objective of amplifying
the guest base of the client can be achieved. However, for achieving better results I should also
focus on team management. It is possible that my team mebers will lose interest in doing the
assigned work. In such scenario, the decision of delegation and work assignment might become
vague. Therefore, for ensuring more productivity I have to improve team management.
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