Managing Organisations: Leadership, Change and Motivation

This essay investigates the critical roles of leadership, motivation, and change management in effective organizational management. It highlights various leadership styles, including transformational and transactional approaches, emphasizing their effects on employee engagement and loyalty. The discussion extends to different models of change management such as Lewin's Change Model and Kotter’s Eight-Step Process, exploring how these strategies aid organizations in navigating changes and fostering growth. Furthermore, the essay underscores the importance of innovative decisions by organizational leaders in motivating employees and achieving sustainable success. Through theoretical insights and practical examples, it demonstrates that leadership, motivation, and change management are interdependent concepts essential for managing organizations effectively.

Running head: MANAGING ORGANISATION
Managing Organisation
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

MANAGING ORGANISATION
Table of contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Concept of change management................................................................................................2
Concept of leadership.................................................................................................................4
Concept of motivation................................................................................................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
Reference....................................................................................................................................8
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Introduction
Most individuals may find managing an organisation to be challenging. This is
because managing an organisation requires experience and the manner in which this
experience can be gained is by learning from failures. In this regard, it can be said that
managers need to understand certain theories and practises that may help them to undertake
the management process in a comprehensive manner. Some of the basic concepts that every
manager need to understand include the concept of managing change, leadership and
motivation. According to Doppelt (2017), change is necessary for an organisation to improve
its current level of work status.
Updating the technologies and the skills of the employees need to be done to ensure
that every employee gets to use their skills in an effective manner. Leadership is needed to
encourage the employees to use the skills. Most organisations tend to be innovative to gain a
competitive advantage. Northouse (2015) stated that a good leader could act as a motivator
and influence employees to undertake challenges. However, the motivation needs to be such
that employees enjoy working in the organisation in order to get the deserved recognition and
reward.
Keeping this in mind it can be said that the three concepts are interrelated to each
other as it helps in managing organisations in a proper manner. Without proper leadership, an
employee cannot be motivated to continue to perform efficiently. According to Healy (2016),
changes in an organisation need to be brought by motivating employees. Without proper
leadership, such motivation cannot be provided that may convince the employees to accept
the changes. The assignment researches the concepts of change management, leadership and
motivation in detail. Theories related to these concepts are used to understand the application
of these in an organisation.
Key concept a) change management
According to Cameron and Green (2015), managing changes in an organisation is one
of the most difficult tasks for a manager. After analysing the concept, the learner can
understand the requirement of change management in an organisation. Theories and models
related to change management can be identified after learning this concept. The employees
tend to resist due to the fear of losing their jobs or losing the efficiency that they possess. The
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fear of taking up new challenges instigates the employees to resist any type of change. At the
same time, implementation of changes requires spending a considerable amount of money.
Organisations eyeing changes need to be financially viable to ensure that the changes
are executed in a proper manner (McCalman, Paton and Siebert 2016). In this case,
shareholders may resist if the amount required is more than the budget of the organisation.
However, changes can be implemented properly with the application related theories.
Doppelt (2017) provided an opinion that the application of Lewin’s change model could help
organisations undertake changes in a subtle yet effective manner. The change management
model suggested by Lewin consists of three easy steps. The first step as suggested by Lewin
is unfreezing in which managers prepare the organisation for the changes that will be
implemented.
Managers tend to convince employees about the reason for the requirement of the
change and the positive effect it may bring on the activities of the organisation. In the second
stage, the employees accept the change. Hayes (2014) observed that in this stage employees
reluctantly accept the changes and tend to work in a different manner. At the last stage, the
change brought about is implemented and managers ensure that stability of the change is
maintained. However, at every step managers face resistance from the employees. An
example of successful implementation of change can be described to understand the concept
further.
After the success of the Windows software, Microsoft seemed to be struggling to
continue its production and inspire people to respect the organisation. The business unit of
the company started to act as competitors rather than working as partners. The company even
lacked innovation that could help them to gain further success. At this stage, a change in the
CEO brought about major restricting of the company. Satya Nadella was of the opinion that
the products and platforms need to collaborate and focus on one goal. The merging of
Microsoft with Bing and Cortana created new research groups for the company. The reason
behind the success of this change is that the CEO wanted to empower every employee with
the ability to innovate. This provided the required encouragement required for the successful
implementation of change (Kuipers et al. 2014). Hence, to ensure that the resistance of the
employees is managed effectively, proper leadership and motivation technique is required.
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Key concept b) leadership
Leadership is required to ensure that every employee is provided with the proper
guidance in order to carry out a job. Proper leadership also helps to motivate people and
encourage the employees to apply their skills. According to Bolman and Deal (2017), leaders
need to lead from the front and present an example for other employees to follow. In this
regard, the learning outcome can provide the understanding of certain leadership theories that
can be applied to define the characteristics of leaders and the manner. The learning outcome
can suggest the qualities required to be an effective leader. For example, the Great Man
theory suggests that the leadership traits are intrinsic in nature. This signifies the fact that
individuals taking up the mantle of leadership are born and not made.
However, the Trait theory suggests that great leaders can be either made or born.
Northouse (2015) argued that leaders are made by observing the society around them and by
following other leaders. At the same time, the behavioural theory of leadership suggests that
leaders need to have a strong personality and mental strength. This is because challenging
circumstances may present itself in the work environment and a weak mentality cannot be
effective in making decisions that are good for the organisation (Johnston and Marshall
2016). This provides the concept of the type of leaders that exist in an organisation.
Antonakis and Day (2017) stated that the nature of the leaders depends upon the type
of organisation and the service provided by it. Leadership can be either autocratic, democratic
and laissez-faire. These three types are different from one another in terms of treating
employees and playing a part in their motivation. For example, application of autocratic
leadership may dent the confidence of the employees as leaders take every organisational
decision without consulting the employees. However, applying a democratic leadership may
encourage the employees as the opinion of the employees is taken into consideration (Renz
2016). The variation of the leadership styles plays an important role in the success of an
organisation. An example of a successful leadership practice can be stated to further
consolidate the concept.
It is a universal truth that the 9/11 incident created doubts in the minds of every
customer about using airlines as a means of travel. During the day of the attack, most airline
companies were forced to shut down and the passengers, flight attendants and crews were on
complete lockdown. However, the managers of Southwest Airlines handled the situation in an
innovative manner. They took the initiative to take the passengers and other flight attendants
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to bowling or movies to kill the time. Apart from this, many airline companies started to cut
the jobs of the employees due to lack of finance. Southwest Airlines CEO, James Parker
announced that the company would retain all the employees and start rebuilding the sector
with a $179.8 million profit-sharing programme. This provided the encouragement to the
employees and it motivated them to continue to work in an efficient manner.
Key concept c) motivation
Kanfer and Chen (2016) stated that in order to build up the confidence of the
employees and make them work in an efficient manner, motivation needs to be provided.
Motivation can be either in the form of the monetary benefits like bonus or incentives or in
the form of rewards and recognition. However, the motivation needs to follow a certain
hierarchical pattern that symbolises a systematic approach towards motivation. This can be
attributed to Maslow's theory of motivation which states that the needs of the employees are
to be met systematically (Maslow 2015). Every employee has a basic desire that needs to be
fulfilled above everything else. The learning outcome provides an analysis of the theories
required for motivating employees along with real life examples of motivation.
For example, getting a secured job, providing safety of the family members and
getting at least two meals a day in a place to live is the basic needs of every individual.
Managers need to provide such motivation initially before moving on to bigger things such as
rewards, recognition and promotion. In this case, the factors that drive the employees to be
motivated need to be understood. Elliot, Dweck and Yeager (2017) observed that the basic
requirements of running a successful organisation provide a sense of motivation for the
employees. Requirements such as proper work environment, job satisfaction and recognition
for a good performance are enough to motivate an employee to be efficient and loyal to an
organisation.
Another important manner in which motivation can be provided is by leading the
employees in a proper manner. As stated earlier, proper leadership can help in motivating
employees to accept the changes in an organisation without resistance. Hence, managers need
to ensure that good decision is made so that the employees can remain motivated in the
organisation. Pinder (2014) stated that without proper motivation organisations tend to lose
employees. This needs to be prevented by taking proper decisions. An example of successful
motivation can be stated to ensure that the concept is understood in a proper manner.
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According to Healy (2016), the best motivation often comes from surprises and
delights. Although long-term motivation is said to the driving forces, the short-term initiative
that was undertaken by Walt Disney to motivate the employees provides inspiration to
managers. Due to low finance to go to a movie, Walt suggested making money out of
Disneyland. Initially, the park was opened only on Wednesdays through Sundays, however,
at the suggestion of a team member, Mondays and Tuesdays were marked as days of opening
the park. Clouds of doubt were raised about the attendance during those working days.
However, Walt provided discounts to people visiting on Monday and Tuesday and the
response earned them a huge profit. With the growing popularity of the business, Walt
presented all the seven members of the team with a Ferrari. This act was a huge motivation
for the employees along with the promotion provided on merit.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be concluded that in order to manage an organisation it is necessary that
managers maintain the basic requirements that drive its functioning. This can be done by
ensuring that proper techniques are used to implement necessary changes and motivate
employees to accept the changes. The assignment suggests that change management,
motivation and leadership are related to one another and it is necessary that managers focus
on these concepts. It has been seen that in order to implement and stabilise the changes made,
organisations need efficient workers. Without proper leadership technique or motivational
techniques, organisations cannot ensure that employees will remain loyal. Hence, the three
concepts exist by depending on one another.
The examples provided are of different situations nut highlights the common theme of
managing organisations. The examples provide details about the co-existence of all three
concepts and the manner in which employees, as well as the customers, benefit from such
decisions. Hence, it can be said that managers need to identify the factors that drive the
necessity of changes in the organisations. Managers need to understand the requirements of
the employees and accordingly ensure that these requirements are met. It is necessary for the
managers to be involved in decision-making activities that also involve the opinions of the
employees and shareholders.
Motivating employees by making innovative decisions can help in the growth of an
organisation. The examples provided highlight the innovative and bold decisions made by the
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CEO of each company. This suggests that risks are also an integral part of managing an
organisation. Hence, it is necessary to assess the risks and propagate techniques that may help
in the successful implementation of managing techniques in an organisation.
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Reference
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Pinder, C.C., 2014. Work motivation in organizational behavior. Psychology Press.
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Reeve, J., 2014. Understanding motivation and emotion. John Wiley & Sons.
Renz, D.O., 2016. The Jossey-Bass handbook of nonprofit leadership and management. John
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