Leadership and Management: Decision-Making and Performance

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PRINCIPLES OF LEADERSHIP AND
MANAGEMENT
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Contents
LIST OF FIGURES.......................................................................................................................4
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................5
1.1........................................................................................................................................ 6
1.2........................................................................................................................................ 7
1.3........................................................................................................................................ 8
1.4........................................................................................................................................ 9
1.5...................................................................................................................................... 10
1.6...................................................................................................................................... 11
AC 2........................................................................................................................................ 12
2.1...................................................................................................................................... 12
2.2...................................................................................................................................... 13
2.3...................................................................................................................................... 15
AC 3........................................................................................................................................ 18
3.1...................................................................................................................................... 18
3.2...................................................................................................................................... 19
3.3...................................................................................................................................... 20
3.4...................................................................................................................................... 21
3.5...................................................................................................................................... 23
3.6...................................................................................................................................... 24
AC 4........................................................................................................................................ 25
4.1...................................................................................................................................... 25
4.2...................................................................................................................................... 26
4.3...................................................................................................................................... 27
4.4...................................................................................................................................... 29
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4.5...................................................................................................................................... 30
4.6...................................................................................................................................... 31
CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................................... 32
REFERENCES........................................................................................................................... 33
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: MASLOW'S NEED HIERARCHY..................................................................................14
Figure 2: HERZBERG TWO FACTOR THEORY...........................................................................15
Figure 3: SETTING KPI'S.......................................................................................................... 25
Figure 4: OUTPUT V/S OUTCOME...........................................................................................29
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INTRODUCTION
The effective application of the principles of leadership and management within an
organization plays a significant role in the growth and success of the organization and also
improving the productivity and efficiency of the workforce as well as the organization itself.
Leadership can be explained as an ability to lead, direct, support, supervise, motivate and
inspire the employees to achieve the desired goals of the organization and achieve success
(DiGirolamo and Tkach, 2019). On the other hand, management refers to the planning,
organizing, directing and controlling the activities of the organization to achieve the
predetermined goals effectively and efficiently. The following assignment will focus on the
principles of effective decision-making, understanding models of leadership, roles functions
and processes of management, and explaining performance management within an
organization that results in gaining success.
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AC 1
1.1
The objective, scope and success criteria of a decision must be defined clearly to provide an
effective solution to the problem.
The objectives that are to be accomplished by the team must be defined using the SMART
framework that refers to:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time-specific
It is very important to define the objective clearly using the SMART framework as they help
in ensuring the formulation of plans, policies and procedures in the business, making
effective decisions, ensuring the uniformity of the efforts, motivating the employees by
providing guidance and encouraging actions towards the goals (Hammond et al. 2015).
Scope refers to the specific knowledge and detail about the task to be accomplished to
achieve the objectives and success criteria. The scope of decisions is classified on the basis
of three levels: strategic in which long term irreversible decisions are taken by the top-level
managers of the organization, tactic level decisions are taken by the managers to make
plans for the achievement of mid-term goals and the operations level decisions are to be
taken by the line managers or supervisors or individuals on a regular basis to solve problems
faced by the workers (Muller, 2017).
The scope needs to be defined effectively so that the decisions can be taken by the right
people effectively and objectives can be achieved.
The success criteria refer to the standards that help in judging the effectiveness of the
decisions taken and thus, measuring the performance using key performance indicators, etc.
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The success criteria are important to be determined to ensure that the decisions taken in
the business are effective and for achieving the objectives as per the standards (Muller,
2017).
1.2
Analysing the potential impact of decision making:
The decisions taken by the managers or the leaders in an organization have an impact on
the operations of the business which affects all the members involved.
The impact of the decisions can be assessed using return on investment and cost-benefit
analysis in which the benefits from a project should be more than the cost incurred in the
business to ensure the effectiveness of the decisions taken (Cao et al. 2015).
The probability of risk can be assessed and the decisions can be taken to reduce the
consequences of risk from the business. The decisions taken by the managers must be
ethical and consider social responsibility to increase the efficiency in the business.
Importance of decision-making:
The decisions taken by the managers help in identifying various available options that can
help in achieving the objectives of the business. The effectiveness in decision making helps
the managers in identifying the possibility of risks and taking best decisions to mitigate the
risks and also make plans in the business that helps in solving the problems that arise in the
business. The process of the decision-making must be unbiased and involve the
participation of all the stakeholders to increase the efficiency of the decisions taken and
thus, maximizing the efficiency of the business (Cao et al. 2015).
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1.3
IMPORTANCE OF OBTAINING VALID INFORMATION TO ENABLE EFFECTIVE DECISION-
MAKING IN BUSINESS
The validity and reliability of the information are very important in measuring the accuracy
and correctness of the information. The managers must assess the validity of the
information obtained in the business by evaluating the effectiveness, accuracy, reliability,
accessibility of the information (Hair et al. 2015). The managers must confirm whether the
information that is gathered and is to be used in the business is fit for the purpose or not.
The information should be relevant so that the decisions taken with the help of the
collected information results in achieving the organizational objectives and improving the
effectiveness of the decisions taken in the business. The information must be gathered by
the managers on time to increase its effectiveness. If the managers are not able to collect
sufficient valid information, they have to compromise with the results obtained and the
success achieved with the completion of the tasks (Hair et al. 2015).
Importance of valid information:
The valid information helps in undertaking the activities of the business effectively and
increasing the sales and productivity of the business and therefore fulfilling the
requirements of the consumers and increasing their satisfaction.
The validity and reliability of the information help in ensuring that the data collected
through online sources is ethical and reliable and can be used in the business and will also
not affect the reputation of the business (Hair et al. 2015).
The valid information is very important for a business for taking meaningful and appropriate
decisions and using the information for different purposes in the business and thus,
achieving positive results.
With the help of valid information, the managers can ensure the accomplishment of the
tasks as per the set standards that reduce the risks of negative outcomes of the decision
making and leads to the achievement of targets timely (Hair et al. 2015).
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1.4
Business objectives: The objectives of the business can be explained as the statements that
define the outcomes that are to be attained.
Business values: The values can be defined as the standards, behaviour, principles, etc. that
are to be followed at every level of the business to work effectively in an organization.
Business policies: These are the guidelines that help the workforce in providing a direction
for the actions that are to be taken in the business (Blake, 2016).
IMPORTANCE OF ALIGNING BUSINESS DECISIONS WITH OBJECTIVES, VALUES AND
POLICIES:
The objectives, policies and the values of the organization help in developing the image and
culture of an organization and formulating effective strategies of the business that are
ethical and must be followed by everyone. The effective establishment of the objectives and
values help in reducing the (Blake, 2016). The employees can understand what is expected
from them and thus, perform effectively to contribute towards the goals of the organization.
The objectives, values and the policies of an organization help in increasing the motivation
of the employees and they are encouraged to participate in the team meeting that improves
the effectiveness of the decisions taken in the business and thus, leads to the achievement
of the goals of the organization (Blake, 2016).
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1.5
Validating the information used in the decision-making process:
To assess the reliability and validity of the information used by the managers in the business
for making decisions, the managers must take the following actions:
Confirming the accuracy: the managers must take proper measures to check whether the
information obtained is valid or not by evaluating the grammatical mistakes and spellings.
The managers must assess the relevancy of the sources stated below the information and
use triangulation technique to compare the information from various sources and assess its
correctness (Libby, 2017).
Assess the relevance: The managers must check the date on which the information was
published to check its relevance.
Check the credibility of the source: The source from which the information is obtained must
be trustworthy and should be supported by relevant examples and evidence and also the
information must provide details of the author or writer like their designation, education
and experience and motive (Libby, 2017).
Test the reasonableness: The managers must test the fairness of the information by
assessing its objectivity and checking if the information is biased before using it for the
organizational purpose (Libby, 2017).
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1.6
Issues that hamper the achievement of targets and quality standards:
Various issues act as a hurdle in the accomplishment of the goals of the organization and
maintain effective standards of quality. These issues are:
Human resource: If the company recruits and select less competitive or skilled staff for the
business, it leads to inefficiencies in the business and affects its performance.
Physical resources: The lack of availability of resources like materials, machinery,
equipment, etc. results in delays and increased ineffectiveness in the business(Lohrmann,
2015).
Finance: the unavailability or the lack of funds results in non-performance of the activities of
the business and therefore, the targets cannot be achieved effectively.
The ineffective flow of communication: The managers need to provide adequate
information to the teams, conduct meeting and discussions and encourage the participation
of every member to solve the problems effectively, motivate the employees and thus,
achieve the desired objectives of the organization (Lohrmann, 2015).
Unrealistic targets: If the organization set the objectives that are unrealistic and non-
achievable, it demotivates the employees and increases staff absenteeism that leads to non-
achievement of the targets and results in poor performance.
Ineffective leadership: The leaders must motivate, support, direct and inspire the team to
achieve the targets. If the leaders are ineffective, the employees do not get needed training
that reduces the morale of the employees and the performance of the whole team gets
affected (Lohrmann, 2015).
Therefore, the business must conduct meetings and take opinions of all the staff, provide
the opportunities for training and development to all the members, implement the systems
of quality management, set SMART objectives, etc. to attain the business goals effectively
and maintain high standards of quality.
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AC 2
2.1
MANAGERS:
The manager of an organization takes the responsibility of the planning, organizing,
directing and controlling the activities and the people of the organization to attain the
predetermined goals and achieve success. The managers have the authority to recruit or fire
employees. The role of the managers is to direct the employees in the right direction and
provide them with the right information. The managers re disciplined, confident, committed
towards the work, and competent that helps them in accepting and managing change within
the organization and work with the employees to achieve the desired objectives
(DiGirolamo and Tkach, 2019).
LEADERS:
The leader in an organization encourages, guides, supports and inspires the followers to
accept the challenges and convert them into opportunities to to attain the specified goals.
The leader focuses on innovation, creating effective teams, building trust and maintaining
friendly relations with the team members. The leader acts as a role model and motivates
the team members to work together and accomplish all the assigned tasks effectively and
thus, achieve success (DiGirolamo and Tkach, 2019).
Influence of managers and leaders on teams:
The managers of an organization have a direct influence on the team members and exercise
their power on people for the achievement of goals. On the other hand, the leaders
influence the people by inspiring and persuading them to achieve the business objectives
(DiGirolamo and Tkach, 2019).
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