Developing Manager: Management Styles, Skills, and Case Study Report

This report delves into the multifaceted world of management, exploring various management styles such as Laissez-faire, autocratic, bureaucratic, and participative approaches, and their implications within organizations. It examines crucial leadership characteristics, including focus, confidence, patience, innovation, communication, and decision-making, highlighting their significance in driving organizational success. The report evaluates communication processes, emphasizing the sender-receiver dynamic, channels, and feedback mechanisms, and assesses organizational cultures, contrasting functional and task-oriented structures with examples from Thomas Cook and TUI Groups. Furthermore, it provides a self-assessment of management skills, including leadership, communication, time management, and planning, illustrating their role in career development through a case scenario analysis.

DEVELOPING
MANAGER

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Different management styles.................................................................................................1
1.2 Leadership characteristics.....................................................................................................2
1.3 Evaluation of Communication Processes..............................................................................3
1.4 Organisational Culture..........................................................................................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
2.1 Assessment of Management Skills Performance..................................................................5
2.2 SWOT Analysis....................................................................................................................7
2.3 Objectives and Targets to Develop Own Potential...............................................................9
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................10
3.1 Case Scenario......................................................................................................................10
3.2 Managerial decisions that can support in achieving goal of the company..........................11
Task 4.............................................................................................................................................12
4.1 Managerial and personal skills and their support in career development...........................12
4.2 Review current performance...............................................................................................13
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
Management is a process of planning, directing, organising and controlling the activities
of an organisation to achieve its objectives. An organisation needs to focus on its management to
accomplish long term goals. Management is the manner in which managers exercise their
authority in the workplace to ensure that organisational objectives are attained. Managers are
required to ensure proper coordination among people of organisation and for this they are
required to possess certain skills like management skills, leadership skills and good interpersonal
skills (Pan and Nguyen, 2015). Thomas Cook and the TUI Groups are famous travel and tourism
sectors in UK. This report focuses on different management styles and leadership characteristics.
Further it evaluates and analyses communication process and organisational cultures in both
these travel and tourism sectors. Lastly, this report assess management own skill performance
and explains how managerial and personal skills support career development.
TASK 1
1.1 Different management styles
The process of dealing with or controlling things or people is known as management. It is
an art of getting work done by people working in different departments to achieve the objectives
of an organisation. The organisation can have following different types of management style : Laissez-faire : The role of manager is peripheral i.e. it involves minimum of managerial
direction. It is a delegative style of management, the manager includes all the members of
organisation in decision making process. It works best in the workplace or organisation
where relaxed working environment or creativity is required like web design, film
industry etc. But this style cannot work in all organisations as workers need clear
instructions and guidance to carrying out their work effectively. Autocratic management style : In autocratic style, manager makes the decision
unilaterally and does not consider input, ideas and views of sub-ordinates. Managers tell
people what to do and expect his orders to be followed (Opara and Onyije, 2014). The
decisions made reflect the personality and skills of the manager. But, in autocratic style
of management, employees may feel frustrated which leads to low morale. Bureaucratic management style : The decisions are made by the higher authorities i.e.
top level management in bureaucratic management style. The management is based on
hierarchy of positions and leader dominates the sub-ordinates. All members of staff are
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required to follow orders and instructions given by higher authorities. The decisions take
into account best interests of both employees as well as organisation. In TUI Groups
travel and tourism sector, this management style is used.
 Participative management style : In this style, managers consult others before making
decision. It is also known as consultative management style. The leader considers
valuable inputs of other staff member and make decision accordingly. Thomas Cook uses
participative style of management. So, the workers feel important as their ideas and views
are acknowledged and considered before decision making. But this style cannot be used
when quick decision making is required as it is time consuming process (Magad, 2013).
1.2 Leadership characteristics
Leadership is a skill which encompasses the ability of an individual to lead or guide
others. It is an art where a group of people are motivated to attain a common objective. Leader
plays a vital role in determining success and failure of an organisation as they only encourage
individuals to work enthusiastically towards a common organisational goal. He sets the standards
for his team members. Leader is the one who maintains balance between conflicting interests of
all members and stakeholders. He steps up in the situation of crisis and are able to think
creatively in difficult times.
A leader is required to possess following characteristics : Focus : A leader must focus on his work and should know his actions are directed
towards attainment of organisational objectives. He knows exactly what he is doing and
what will be the impact of his decisions and actions in the future. Confidence : It is important for a leader to be confident. A leader full of confidence can
only perform better and is able to manage and control things in an organisation (Larman,
2012). Patience : It is the most important quality that a leader needs to possess. He needs to have
higher level of patience to control his subordinates to maintain balance in case of
conflicting interests. He should behave in same manner even in the time of crisis. Innovation : A leader must come up with new views and ideas. He is the one who steps
up in the situation of crisis and is able to think creatively in difficult times. It makes him
different from other people.
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 Communication and Interpersonal skills : Good communication is must for effective
leadership. Interpersonal skills enables leader to make healthy relationship with the
employees. Thus, good communication and interpersonal skills ensure healthy working
environment in the organisation. As Thomas Cook uses participative management style,
so, in this organisation leaders possess good communication and interpersonal skills to
ensure valuable inputs of staff members are considered before decision-making. Decision-making : It is an indispensable element for good leadership skills (Levangie and
Norkin, 2011). Leaders are required to make quick and correct decisions while
considering their impact in the future. In TUI Groups, leaders are required to make
decisions as it uses bureaucratic style of management.
 Inspiration and Motivation : A leader is required to continuously inspire and motivate
people to perform better and achieve organisations goals. This ensures mental satisfaction
and help to achieve targets in time.
1.3 Evaluation of Communication Processes
Communication is process of conveying information from one person to another. It
means sharing or exchanging of meaningful information between two or more people. In a travel
and tourism sector business, there are various departments so effective communication among
these departments needs to be ensured. The effectiveness of communication process is very
important for overall success of an organisation. It can be either verbal or non – verbal. Verbal
communication includes face to face while non – verbal communication involves eye contact,
gestures etc. Communication process are the steps taken in order to achieve successful
communication.
The process of communication involves following components :
1. Sender : The party that sends the messages is known as sender. He needs to encode the
message that means transforming the thoughts to be conveyed into a form that can be
sent.
2. Channel of communication : A right medium should be chosen while sending the
message. Channel of communication includes speaking, writing, audio and video
transmission, electronic transmission such as emails, texts, faxes etc. (Newman and
Newman, 2014). He can select verbal or non-verbal method of communication depending
upon the receiver and the circumstances.
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3. Receiver : The person to whom sender sends the message is known as receiver. He is the
target of communication. Receiver can be an individual or a group of persons.
4. Decoding : The mental processing of a message into understanding is known as
decoding. Receiver needs to understand the meaning of the message in the same way in
which sender sent it. Without decoding, message fails.
5. Feedback : Sometimes receiver may give feedback to the sender that means message sent
by receiver back to the sender. Right feedback should be given by receiver when
required.
All these components can be put together to build a model of communication process :
 Sender encodes information
 Right channel of communication is selected by sender to send the message
 Message is received by the receiver
 Receiver decodes the message
 Feedback may be provided by receiver to the sender (Egan, 2013).
Same communication process is followed in travel and tourism sector. The communication
process of TUI Groups is more effective as they take feedback from customers while in Thomas
Cook, feedbacks are not taken.
1.4 Organisational Culture
Just like people, organisation have its own unique personality which is referred to as its
culture. It is a system of shared assumptions, beliefs and values that govern behaviour of people
in the organisation. It is an invisible but powerful force that influences behaviour of members of
the organisation. The organisational culture provides guidelines and boundaries for the behaviour
of people.
The Thomas Cook follows functional organisational culture which is also known as role
culture. Each employee know his roles and responsibilities towards the organisation. It is
characterised by strong functional or specialised areas which is controlled by rules and
procedures defining the job, authority and mode of communication. Each staff member reports to
his higher authority. The role culture offers security and opportunity to acquire expertise in
particular area. But adapting to the changes is difficult in such culture. It is also frustrating for
employees who are power oriented and believe in results rather than methods.
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Task culture is a job or project oriented structure. This culture is followed in TUI Groups
where emphasis is on getting the job done (Swarbrooke and Page, 2012). It seeks to assemble
appropriate resources, right people, at the right level for completion of a particular project. In
task culture, people are divided into groups to improve efficiency and help individual identify
with the objectives of the organisation. It ensures proper coordination among team members and
they help each other in their work. The leader motivates his team mates by providing various
benefits such as rewards, bonus, incentives, promotions etc. It provides job satisfaction and they
work more efficiently. It can easily adapt to the changes. But one major drawback is that control
is difficult in such organisation. In the competitive market where speed of reaction is critical,
organisations are required to adapt to changes to be successful.
Organisation culture affects its productivity and performance, provides guidelines on
customer care, service, quality of product, safety and concern for the environment.
TASK 2
2.1 Assessment of Management Skills Performance
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Notes:
As a General Manager of Dorchester Luxury Hotel, London, I possess following management
skills : Leadership skills : This skills enables me to get the work done by other people to
achieve the objectives of the business. I motivate and inspire employees to work
enthusiastically so that organisational goals can be accomplished. Communication and Interpersonal skills : I can openly communicate with the staff
members and create a good working environment at the workplace. They also share their
problems and feelings with me which give them mental satisfaction and ensure work is
done effectively. Time management skills : Time management is important in all the fields. I too properly
manage my time by prioritising the work. I always follow my To-Do List in which all my
tasks are scheduled properly. Organising and Planning skills : I always make a plan before starting any work. This
helps in proper organising of work and deciding the allocation of work among team
members. It ensures work is completed before deadline. Cognitive and Creative skills : I try to come up with new ideas and plans. This enables to
think creatively and differently even in the time of crisis. Project Management : A leader should also possess project management skill. It requires
in – depth knowledge of different projects to complete them in specified time. It also
requires proper understanding of the work and ability to see the big picture.
 Technical skills : Manager is required to be well equipped with technical and practical
knowledge and skills so that he can perform his task effectively and efficiently.
All the above skills have helped me to make healthy relations with the staff members which
provide a good working environment in the hotel. My good communication and interpersonal
skills help to solve disputes and manage conflicting situations.
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2.2 SWOT Analysis
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Notes: The study of an individual or organisation to identify the strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats is known as SWOT Analysis. It is a simple but useful framework for
analysing strengths, minimizing threats by identifying the weaknesses and taking full advantage
of opportunities present. This study helps in making strategic plan to improve or maintain the
performance of an individual or organisation. Strength and weakness are internal factors while
opportunities and threats are external ones.
The SWOT analysis conducted for me is as follows : Strengths : My management and leadership skills are my greatest strengths. This includes
communication and interpersonal skills, creativity and innovation, time management,
organising and planning skills etc. These skills help me top work effectively and
efficiently. Along with this, I am quite passionate in my work, always punctual and try to
finish the work before deadline. Weaknesses : A person's weakness hinders his self development and success. My
weakness is that I am unable to control my anger which sometimes create big problem in
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the hotel. I also need to improve my confidence so that I can express my ideas and views
clearly. Opportunities : My strengths can help me to provide better opportunities i.e. I can work
as a good manager for other big companies of UK. These opportunities can be grabbed
when I overcome my weaknesses and continue and improve my present skills.
 Threats : Increasing competition in all the fields is the biggest threat in the present time.
There are many people who possess good management skills, they can act as a tough
competition for me. To be ahead of them, I need to work on my weaknesses and develop
new skills to give them a competitive edge.
2.3 Objectives and Targets to Develop Own Potential
Notes: Every person must set and prioritise objectives and targets to develop his potential. This
will help in ascertaining what work should be given more importance at a particular time. This
ensures to maintain a proper balance between social life and corporate life as both are important
for survival, growth and development of a person.
In order to develop my potential, I should do following things :
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 Time management : This is the foremost requisite an individual needs to do for improving
his potential. Management of time can be done by prioritising the work. I need to make
and follow a To-Do list to perform task accordingly. The most important work should be
given top priority and completed first and least important work at last. This will enable to
build and follow a proper schedule so that things can be planned accordingly. The
following priorities can be given in performing the tasks :
1. Urgent as well as important
2. Important but not urgent
3. Urgent but not important
4. Neither important nor urgent
 Setting SMART objectives : I can develop my potential by setting SMART objectives for
myself -
- Specific : the objective should be specific. It means knowing exactly what needs to be done. I
should be focus on attaining my objectives.
- Measurable : my progress should be measurable against a specific target.
- Achievable : targets should be achievable i.e. they should not be fake. While setting targets, my
skills and experience needs to be considered.
- Realistic : goal should be real and can be achieved considering constraint of time and
resources.
- Time-framed : goals should have a clear deadline.
SMART objectives will definitely develop my potential and help me to work more effectively
and efficiently to achieve the targets within specific time.
 Evaluating the performance : My performance can be evaluated using various
techniques like self evaluation, 360 degree evaluation, graphic scale and through
checklists.
TASK 3
3.1 Case Scenario
The main objective of Covent Garden restaurant is to satisfy customer needs by fulfilling
their expectations and demands in a timely manner and become a profitable organisation in
London. I have to act both as a manager and leader in the cited organisation. For achieving the
objectives of an organisation, it is important to motivate employees towards a common goal. To
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