BTEC Level 7 Strategic Management and Leadership Assessment Report

This report, a BTEC Level 7 assignment, delves into the assessment of leadership requirements for future leaders, specifically within the context of the British Army. It begins by establishing the relationship between strategic management and leadership, exploring various leadership and management theories, and conducting a PESTEL analysis to understand the external factors affecting the British Army and a comparison with TESCO. The report then focuses on assessing the leadership needs, highlighting the importance of adaptive leadership, and identifying the skills, qualities, and training required for future leaders. It discusses the shift from transactional to transformational leadership styles and emphasizes the need for leaders who can navigate complex environments. The report further explores the identification of skills, qualities, training, and support required for future leaders, including shadowing, coaching, and leadership academies. A development plan is also produced, outlining priorities and resources. Throughout the report, the author utilizes management and leadership theories to justify the selected models and methods, ensuring that the conclusion considers areas for improvement in current practices. The report also highlights the differences between management and leadership, emphasizing the importance of change management, time management, and the ability to manage people. It also provides a comparison between the views of Zaleznik and Kotter, and concludes with the author's preference for Kotter's theory. The report uses Harvard referencing guidelines and includes at least ten references/direct quotes.

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BTEC Level 7 Strategic Management and Leadership
Enterprise Training Centre
BTEC Level 7 Strategic Management and Leadership
BTEC Level 7
Strategic Management and Leadership
Unit 1
Developing Strategic Management and Leadership
Student Workshop Workbook
Name Dwayne M
Workshop date 14 Feb 2018
Developing Strategic Management and Leadership
Dwayne Murray

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BTEC Level 7 Strategic Management and Leadership
Workshop location
Email address
Final Assessment (Post-course Activity)
Assessment 2 ASSESSMENT CRITERIA 3.2, 4.1 and 4.2
Written Assignment
In this assignment, use your knowledge of Management and Leadership theories and models.
Part 1
Assess the leadership requirements of future leaders in your organisation. This section should
contain no more than 25% of your total word count.
Part 2
Discuss how you would identify the skills and qualities needed and the type of support and training
required (e.g. shadowing, coaching, leadership academies). You should not feel constrained by
current practice within your organisation.
Part 3
Produce a development plan that identifies priority order and required resources as an illustration of
your findings in Part 2. The content of this document is not included in the final word count.
Justify the theories, models and methods selected.
Hints and Tips
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• Ensure that you use the Harvard Referencing guidelines;
• Discuss the pros and cons of any theoretical models referred to;
• Ensure that your conclusion considers areas for improvement in current practice within your
organisation.
Parts 1 and 2 of your assignment should be at least 2,500 words in length and include a minimum of
ten references/direct quotes which follow the Harvard Referencing guidelines.
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BTEC Level 7 Strategic Management and Leadership
Table of Contents
BTEC Level 7 Strategic Management and Leadership..........................................................................1
Relationship between Strategic management and leadership..............................................................5
Management and leadership theory to support organizational direction.............................................6
PESTEL Analysis..................................................................................................................................6
Political..............................................................................................................................................6
Economic...........................................................................................................................................6
Socio-cultural.....................................................................................................................................6
Technological.....................................................................................................................................7
Environmental...................................................................................................................................7
Legal..................................................................................................................................................7
Assessment of the leadership requirements of future leaders in the British Army...............................7
Skills and qualities needed/ Support and training requirements...........................................................8
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Abstract
The importance of leadership and management in an organisation is to implement
the vision of the organisation and manage the limited resources available to the
organisation. Theories on leadership and management exist and they can be applied
to the British Army to help commanders take charge of personnel.
This paper attempts to assess, what will be the requirements of future leaders. What
should be the qualities and skills of future leaders. The paper will also determine the
kind of support, training needs and managerial processes required to help improve
leaders.
Introduction
History is rich with memorials of all varieties of leadership. We all have a level of
leadership and management traits within us. From childhood, we can make
decisions as well as manage situations with resources in our homes, schools,
churches and even at the playing ground. Our attitude of leadership and
management either gets better or worse as we grow.
According to Montgomery leadership is “the capacity and the will to rally men and
women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence.”.
Leaders are appointed, elected or in some situations self-imposed. Leaders can be
managers and vice versa but each has a distinctive role to play for success to be
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achieved. The knowledge of leadership and management can be improved using
already existing theories. A Leader is a person who commands or leads a group,
institution or a country (Bass and Bass, 2009). He is the head of his people and he is
expected to lead, guide and direct the rest of them. The head must have the qualities
to be able to lead and manage his team.
Relationship between Strategic management and leadership
There is a strong relationship that exist between strategic management and leadership.
There are however some essential differences between management and leadership. In accordance
with the same management can also be called a part of leadership. There is the development of
strong bonds between managerial aspects and leadership. Zaleznik in 1977 developed a theory in
which the view was that managers act to limit the choices and leaders are more inclined towards
developing new approaches. In the theory proposed by Zaleznik it can be said that the management
based leadership does not ensure that there would be creativity, imagination or any form of ethical
behaviours that can guide organizations. Leadership according to this theory is more about
inspiration, emotional commitment, integrity, motivation and drives. The views of Zaleznik were
further developed by Kotter in 1990. According to his theory the leadership is supposed to prepare
any corporate organization for the changes that keep taking place. This means that the leadership
helps the organizations to develop through the various changing times that affect the organizations.
The leader in doing so would require to be more imaginative in leading the organizations and change
the status quo as and when required. The existing paradigms need to be changed according to the
requirements of the changing times. The major differences that can be seen in the views of Zaleznik
and Kotter are that the views of Kotter on leadership were more change oriented in its approaches.
However, the views of Zeleznik were more on developing newer ideas. Newer ideas does not
necessarily comply with the development of organization as per the changing situations. Hence, the
theory of Kotter was more inclined towards transformational and situational leadership. I believe
more in the Kotter’s theory of leadership as it is important to keep changing with the changing times.
Hence, it is much required that leadership is enhanced in accordance of the same.
The requirements for the role of any manager or leader is to transform the organization
through motivating people towards new realities. The important qualities are inspiration, integrity,
drives of leadership and motivation. Also more in accordance of the views of Kotter, leaders need to
be change oriented in their outlook. The job role requires time management, analytical thinking and
the ability to manage people. These are all the necessary aspects that are required to enhance the
role of leaders. Hence, the job role can be managed more effectively through the implementation of
the process. Leadership role can hence be said to be based on assumptions of effective and efficient
vision that can guide organizations towards success. A manager needs to have essential foresight
that can enable him to lead his team in all situations.
In the context of the strategic level, the roles and responsibilities of the managers are to
create strong and effective developmental paths for their subordinates. The strategy formation
aspects of leadership demand strong transformational leadership. Strategies need to be formed
keeping into consideration the values that can help the organization to develop effectively. The
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leadership roles are more concerned with the strategic vision of the organization. It is about
understanding and analysing change and leading the organization in accordance of the same.
Change management is one of the most important aspects that are connected with leadership at the
strategic level. Hence, leadership and management both become crucial at various levels of
organizational management.
Management and leadership theory to support organizational
direction
The following sections is a comparative Pestel analysis of the British Army and TESCO. This
will help to create a better more essential understanding of the factors that affect both organizations
and their essential differences.
PESTEL Analysis
Political
In case of the Army the political influence is high as the army as an organization is an
extended department of the defence ministry of the government. It is important that government
tale decisions to guide the army. This ranges from financial to technical and operational areas.
In regards to Tesco, the government rules and regulations of the UK concerning the sales of
various goods and services are important. Currently however, there are no strong regulations that
cam affect the organization and the government policies are positively affecting TESCO.
Economic
The economic aspects that affect the army are the defence budget of the country and the
spending on export of weaponry and equipment. The army is affected by the decision of the Defence
ministry of the country. Hence, the army as an organization requires to keep in mind the global
economic situations.
The economic aspects that can affect TESCO are the taxation oriented aspects. The taxations
on the various products can increase causing greater issues for companies like TESCO. There are
various products that TESCO sells. Meaning that the products can be greatly affected by the
decisions.
Socio-cultural
The socio cultural impact on the Army is related to the likability of soldiers as a job for the
youngsters of the country. Currently, the armed forces services are not mandatory. Hence, there is a
need for more socio-cultural acceptability of military service in order to enhance the prospects of
the British army.
In regards to TESCO the socio cultural aspects relate to the popularity of the products among
various sections of the public. Currently, there is a general awareness about the products that are
manufactured by the company. The company enjoys significant reputation among the public in
relation to its product and service value.
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Technological
The army currently has significant technological expertise. There is the availability of the
latest in warfare technology as well as anti-terrorism counter attack equipment. Hence, it can be said
that the organization is effective in terms of technological value.
The latest is inventory management technology and ERP technologies are available for
TESCO. The company being one of the leading retail chain of the country has some of the best
technological resources available with them. This can help them to attain greater value in the future.
Environmental
The army can be responsible for significant environmental damage. In war situations there
can be higher levels of pollution and environmental impact. However, this also depends on the
political situations. There are currently very low eco-friendly weapons that are being built.
The TESCO Company is more focused towards selling product sourced through eco-friendly
means. Tesco is currently focused towards maintaining higher level of eco-value even through
utilization of sustainable supply chain.
Legal
The army needs to comply with international law and order systems. The international laws
affect the army crucially and for operations in different county the army needs prior approval.
Tesco previously have been affected by some legal issues. However, currently there are not
legal issues that affect Tesco. However, the TESCO products can be subject to the laws of the UK
Here, through the PESTEL analysis it is clear that TESCO has more freedom with respect to
the different conditions than the Army. Thus, as an organization TESCO can be more effectively led
be strong leaderships.
Assessment of the leadership requirements of future leaders in the
British Army
In all institutions of life, we have leaders who head their team or group to accomplish
a goal. Without leadership there is likely to be chaos everywhere. Who will issue
command and who will obey command? To have an organised body it is important to
have leadership to oversee the activities of the rest of the members.
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It is increasingly important for the British Army to keep pace with technological
changes and complex operating environments. It is also important for leadership to
adapt to meet these challenges.
Traditionally in military life a Transactional (or Directive) leadership style is
mandatory. Transactional leadership focuses on results, conforms to the existing
structure of an organization and measures success according to that organization’s
system of rewards and penalties (STU online). For the military leader, this is effective
in various aspects of military work. The army requires its future leaders to possess a
more adaptive style of leadership. Leaders who can confront challenging
environments and appropriately respond to personnel. Adaptive leaders work with
their followers to generate creative solutions to complex problems, while also
developing them to handle a broader range of leadership responsibilities
(Bennis,2001). This style of leadership is known as Transformational leadership.
Transformational leadership, defined as a set of practices employed for developing
relationships between leaders and employees (Jaskyte, 2004). In the future the army
will require an adaptive leader capable of drawing from the strengths of both
Transactional and Transformational leadership, to be comfortable applying the
leadership behaviours as the challenge and situation demands.
Skills and qualities needed/ Support and training requirements
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Leadership has been described in different ways by different people. Northouse
defines leadership as a process where a person’s action influences a group of
individuals working together to accomplish same goal (Ardichvili, A. and
Manderscheid, S.V., 2008). Although some people are gifted with the ability to lead
naturally, there are skills and knowledge which one can acquire to become a good
leader.
The skills and qualities needed of a future leader in my organisation, in the execution
of Transactional and Transformational leadership may be identified through the
review of the bi-annual staff report or recommendations based on merit.
There are many skills a good leader should have but the few ones which this paper
will touch on include communication, motivation, delegating, positivity and creativity.
Others include feedback, trustworthiness, responsibility, commitment and flexibility
(Robles, 2012).
Communication: Both verbal and nonverbal communication is a key skill which is
necessary in military environments. Verbal form of communication includes
presentation, business storytelling and public speaking. Active listening, body
language and written communication are forms of nonverbal communication. A
leader should be clear and precise in communicating the organisation’s goal and
specific task to the employees. Miscommunication can be costly, even deadly in a
given situation. Leaders must be able to communicate in all forms with staff including
one-on-one, as a troop, platoon and regiment and even using telephones, emails
and even social media. Listening is an important part of communication and so
leaders should be ready to listen to their members at all levels even if it means
holding a closed-door meeting. Their doors should be opened to all members
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showing they are ready to listen to issues and concerns of members. Having regular
conversations with them is very vital. It gives valuable information needed for
planning, strategizing and managing effectively.
Motivation: the leader needs to inspire his team to go the extra mile. Fair wage is a
step in the right direction but having structures which will boost those in his charge to
push harder to achieve the individual, team or organisations goal. Leaders must be
able to identify what will motivate their staff to have passion for what they do and to
encourage productivity. Certainly, some members will perform better than others and
so it is the responsibility of the leader to know the differences among his members.
He can assign tasks to achieve the best investment from them and build the self-
esteem of members who are not so good by encouraging and recognising them,
assigning new roles to bring forth the best out of each individual. Having a reward
scheme in place will encourage all members to even work without complaining as
they know there is something at stake and as humans we love to compete. The
leader must always be thankful to his team. There are ways the leader can adopt to
achieve this.
Delegating: Assigning tasks, sometimes challenging ones to members makes them
know you believe in their ability to deliver. This builds trust between the leader and
the team. A leader who tries to do everything will get nothing done. Delegating
encourages teamwork, saves time and allows everyone to play a part of the bigger
picture.
Positivity: People should not feel restricted at work and should be able to even
laugh when something goes wrong. This creates a happy and healthy work
environment. Simple acts like asking how the employees’ weekend was will make
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staff know you care about them and it will raise their morale. Having a positive
attitude will mean having a good working environment which makes staff feel happy
at work and they will be willing to work the extra hours when required.
Creativity: A leader should be able to make decisions which may not be clear in the
beginning but will be beneficial to the group. He should be able to think outside the
box and turn wrong situations around. Sometimes theories must be put aside, using
the traditional knowledge to solve situations. Employees will be inspired by such a
leader because he chooses a safe and convenient path. Such a person should have
foresight, be analytical, be able to apply critical thinking, problem solving skills and
be a visionary.
Leadership Styles
There are different leadership styles which a leader can adopt depending on what
works best for his organisation. This paper focus on Goleman’s leadership style. This
style of leadership ties in each of the styles with the effect it has on the organisation.
The six categories include;
The leader must be a visionary to bring the team together and make them
understand the vision and work together having a clear direction to implement the
vision. Understanding the need for change when it is necessary.
Coaching: effectively to embrace the team you have and nurture them to attain the
required level to deliver the task. This means developing the team for the future and
to build a solid team over a period and it brings about a positive environment.
Developing Strategic Management and Leadership
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