Action Plan on Managers in a Changing World

Please find attached Action Plan on Managers in a Changing World.

Table of Contents

PAGE

Introduction 1

Part 1 2-6

Part 2 7-11

Bibliography 12

Introduction

'The world of work is currently being transformed at an unprecedented rate, placing increasing pressure on individuals to adapt to the changes around them to cope with the challenges that emerge from these changes' (AGMC Module 1.1 readings, p.37).

For leaders to be successful into the 21st Century they must make effective changes as required by the market instead of talking about it. Effective changes will result in the business being competitive in the global market.

The decision to implement these changes needs to be as fast as they are needed instead of dwelling on alternatives or procrastinating. It also recognises and allows competent leaders to take charge, irrespective of their age or gender.

Leaders will need to move away from the strongman era that was part of mangers requirements in the past.

Leaders must use their new acquired skills to sustain their business, promote change and keep them viable in the market place. If they can compete with their competitors and lead their labour force they will have a better chance of success.

Part 1

Having considered information digested, in my opinion the following TEN skills and attributes will be needed for successful managers to become leaders that can mitigate all risks and keep their company/businesses viable into the 21st Century.

1.Leadership

1.1 The single most useful and most undervalued resource that a leader and the team labour force can have is the support of your colleagues throughout the organisation.

A good leader will need to influence others effectively. This influence will be derived from respect, ethics, values, people skills and knowledge.

'As it gets tougher to be a leader, it becomes more necessary, for only strong leadership will enable organisations to survive, let alone prosper, in such trying times' (Bennis 1992,p. 9).

To succeed a good leader would have earned the respect of his colleagues.

2. Credibility

2.1 Good leadership will give self worth to the team members and give them ownership. The team will then have credibility within the organisation, which in turn reflects on the management credibility and established values. Senior management would recognise these achievements by noting for example, that the team was within budget and overcoming technical difficulties.

These achievements will in turn reflect on the companies overall viability and competitiveness globally.

3. Knowledge

3.1 A good leader will maintain and expand his knowledge base, make informed decisions, think and act strategically and promote this throughout the work place.

'The use of user interfaces, discussion databases and paperless communication makes companys' knowledge capital available on demand' (Hesselbein, Goldsmith & Beckhard 1997).

For leaders to succeed continuous planning, reviewing and keeping the team informed and trained on new technologies needs to be maintained.

4.Customer service

4.1 Team members need to build a relationship with the customer and understand the business and the customers needs. They need to see their role in the customer chain. Feedback from the team will also be required. This feedback will enable the manager to recognise issues that may be developing and affecting the customer and the manager can then mitigate against these risks.

The flow on from these initiatives will provide better quality and customer focus.

This is in line with (AGMC Module 1.1 table 6, p.25).

5.HR Skills

5.1 People management requires more than upgrading job descriptions or salaries. It involves skilled techniques of observing employees' behaviour and recognising related problems or issues that may be affecting their personalities and negatively influencing co-workers (moral).

People (human resource) skills will be a fundamental requirement for the new age leader 'Developing a new leadership style often means fundamentally changing how one operates with other people' (Goleman 2002, p. 226).

6.Quality management

6.1 The paradox of trying to initiate new learning/training techniques in companies is difficult in the best environments and not only confined to classroom situations.

In Australia most executive and leadership education falls far short of the mark 'The World Economic Forum's World Competitiveness Report (1994) ranked Australia 15th out of 41 countries' (AGMC Module 1.1 readings, p. 46).

The major weakness in Australian managers is the lack of formal education. Senior management are reluctant to encourage training (tertiary) due to not being able to release these managers, as replacements were not available to step up in a relieving role.

In the past most efforts to change have failed. This is mainly due to the changes being too costly, too risky, unacceptable (culturally) or too slow.

7.Vision

7.1 The problem with this is that the world will not wait; we can see this in the example of Japan in the 1990's not shedding employees until the late 1990's.

If they would have adapted the model of other western countries as Australia and United states who laid off employees by the thousands in the early 1990's Japan may not