Aspiring to Leadership for Facilitators and Barriers- Block & Quayle

Question: Discuss about the term of Aspiring to Leadership for Facilitators and Barriers? Answer: Introduction The assignment seeks a deep insight on the structure and culture of BQ and its influence towards employee motivation and engagement. The study would reflect the important management and leadership styles that are identical for organizational productivity. The learner would implement motivational theories and strategies for influencing the performance of the employees. The technological aspect of the management is also taken into consideration with special impetus on lateral thinking and creative application. Identification of the current culture and structure at BQ BQ plc, originally referred as Block Quayle is a British multinational DIY and Hom improvement retailing company with its head quarter in Eastleigh, England, United Kingdom. The culture and structure of the organization revolves around its broadening diversity policy. The organization had certain concerns about the ageing population, shortage of lager and enhanced competition amongst the employers for recruitment of younger workers. The organization selected some older employees with the notion that they are more hard working and loyal towards the organization (Bush 2015). Similarly, the younger employees were more tech-savvy in nature. The relationships between the elder and older employees were at stake, especially when the younger employees had authority. There further criticism about the older employees due to frequent absenteeism and physical inability. Comparison of culture and structure with another organization and demonstrating the impact on its performance in light of broadening diversity policy Travis Perkins Plc and BQ are archrivals in the competitive market of UK. However, the working culture and structure of the organizations are totally contrasting to each other. While both the organization practice a diverse workforce culture, the employees of Travis Perkins Plc does not get to interact directly with the hierarchy of the organization. The administrative rules are very strict and an employee does not have any role in the decision-making process (Fishleigh 2013). While the salary package is quite high, extended work pressure and ill treatment of the employees have bought the organizational culture under scanner in numerous occasions. The high authorities prioritized their favorites and bullied the new comers in the organization. This scenario has enhanced the attrition rate of the organization off late. The working atmosphere is toxic in nature comprising of wannabe managers. On the other hand, although BQ had concerns about the ageing population, yet the organization did not discriminate amongst the employees (Goodall 2013). There was a proper flow of information amongst all forms of management and employees worked in a friendly environment, where they could share their innovative thoughts and creative ideas without any hesitation. The leaders were supportive in nature and always aimed to motivate the employees at work. Factors influencing individual behavior at work to BQ diversity policies The organization implemented diversity policy in the working environment, concentrating on the fact that there is free flow of information amongst all forms of management. The organization engaged individuals coming from diverse cultures. Disabled employees are also included to the employment charts. The organization gave in house-training, apprenticeships and qualifications to the employees and featured them consistently on the advertising campaigns. The employees had a strong involvement in the decision-making process and could communicate directly with the chief executive through effective communication channels (Guivarch and Hallegatte 2013). The structure of the organization was hierarchical in nature, yet the diversity managers could directly interact with the chief executive. BQ ran an employee recognition scheme and was transparent about the functions and operations of the organization through video presentations. Examining the effectiveness of leadership and management style at BQ Successful managers and leaders acts as a life wire of the organization for gaining supremacy in the competitive market. The managers and leaders of BQ always motivate, inspire and engage the employees for enhancing their performance in a successful manner. The managers of the organization follow a permissive and reactive management style at the work place. The permissive management style helps the employees to feature in the advertising campaigns and decision-making process of the company (Emira 2013). The managers assist the employees at every possible step and remove all the obstacles that could hinder the performance of the employees. The reactive management style helps in combating the various problems as it comes. This type of management style allows the manager to assess the conflicting situations quickly and provide instant solutions by making effective utilization of the available resources. The reactive managers of BQ help the organization to be flexible in nature and addre ss any issues without much hesitation. The management follows transformational and participative leadership style at the workplace. The participative leadership style of allows the employees to take part in vital organizational operations, but the final decision lies with the participative leader. This type of leadership style is usually helpful for higher management, when they need to take crucial decisions (EL-Annan 2015). The transformational leadership style exhibits high level of communication between the employees and management for achieving the objective oriented outcomes. The leaders of BQ motivate the employees of the organization through effective communication and visibility to enhance their performance in a successful manner. Comparison of leadership and management styles in another organization The management and leadership style of Travis Perkins Plc contrasts from that of BQ in the competitive market. While BQ follows transformational and participative leadership style, the latter one is more comfortable with transactional and autocratic leadership mentalities. The managers implementing the transactional leadership style rewards or punish employees of the organization depending on the achievement of targets. The managers of Travis Perkins Plc prioritize certain employees over the other (Bush 2015). The autocratic style is also prevalent in the organization where the managers take the decisions on their own without the consent of the employees. In case of BQ, the employees take active participation in deciding organizational procedures and operations. Furthermore, the employees are not bullied by the hierarchy, as is the case Travis Perkins plc. In contrast to B Q, the management incorporates the autocratic and predictive management style. While autocratic management style received several criticisms regarding autocratic management style, it gained several accolades and recognition for its application in predictive management. Predictive management helps the organization to preserve their resources by diagnosing the problems at an early stage. The reactive management style of BQ may drain organizational economy, whereas, Travis Perkins Plc made a smart move by taking precautions on an early basis for diminishing chances of error in a successful manner. Supporting the leadership and management style of BQ by organizational theory The ability of the leader and the manager to lead and manage is contingent upon various situational scenarios, which also takes the preferred style of leadership and management, behavior of the followers and other factors for gaining supremacy in the competitive market. The contingency theory refers to a set of behavioral patterns stating that there is no particular ways of leading and managing employees (Hess and Bacigalupo 2014). A leadership or a management style, which finds success in one situation, may sound very irrelevant in another situation. For example, a manager of BQ may be effective in handling the employees during a productive session, and fail to address the same employees at times of crisis. Therefore, situational factors, the tempo of the environment and the motive of the followers are identical for the implementation of efficient management and leadership capabilities. Relevant theories of Leadership and Management There are various relevant theories of leadership and management that are crucial for extracting optimum performance from the employees. The managers of BQ implement systems theory by identifying the various schemes and structure that may affect the employee and how the employees reciprocate in return. Changes are uncertain and constant in the organization. As the organization is growing in the competitive market, there are viable complexities and changes in the structure and operational segments of the organization. There the chaos theory comes into play, which states that certain changes are inevitable and as time passes by it would continue to evolve and change. When the employees of BQ under perform at regular intervals, the leaders implement powers and influence theories to get things done in a forceful manner under strict rules and regulations (Hope 2014). The implementation of trait theories takes active participation for identifying leadership qualities in individuals such as empathy, decision-making skills, assertiveness, likability etc. Range of theories and source of information to demonstrate approaches in other organizations The application of Theory X and Theory Y is quite prevalent in the working culture of Travis Perkins Plc. The managers feel that certain employees are less ambitious in nature and require incentives to enhance their performance lean towards Theory X management style. The managers following the Theory Y leadership style believes that employees have talent and could take up the responsibility to enhance the productivity of the organization. The Theory X managers apply authoritarian leadership style on the new comers and encourage participation in decision-making from the favorite employees (Kay 2013). In case of Agros Limited, the management follows the behavioral theory of leadership by appreciating employees who abide by the rules and regulations of the organization and scolding the ones who cannot achieve targets and lacks punctuality while attending crucial meetings. Another competitor of BQ , Homebase Limited implements the full range theory of leadership by enhancing the motivati on and morale through connection of employees identity sense to a project or collective identity of the organization. Impact of leadership style on different motivational theories at the workplace The leaders of BQ follow the participative and transformational leadership style, which a huge impact on the motivational theories has implemented at the workplace. The management implements the Herzberg Theory of Motivation at the workplace. There are certain job factors that initiate satisfaction, while others prevent dissatisfaction from the employees. The hygiene and motivation factors of finds its application from the practice of transformational and participative leadership style in the organization (Levasseur 2013). The hygiene factors tend to satisfy the employees for charter version, while the motivational factors spread an element of motivation and togetherness amongst the employees. The managers and leaders of the organization always tend to motivate the employees in order to enhance their performance in an effective manner. The management also implements the equity theory to engage the employees of the organization .According to this theory; it is not the actual rewards that motivates, but the perception matters. For example, if an employee gets 25% hike on his salary along with his teammates, it gets motivated even if he worked harder than his colleagues did. However, the same employee would get de-motivated, if his colleague gets 30% hike in his salary, despite being less productive in nature (Liasidou and Antoniou 2015). The management always identifies the deserving ones and rewards them according to their merit. Possible effects of motivational strategy and recommending the most appropriate one The management often implements various strategies for motivating the employees of the organization. The motivational strategies of the organization usually comprise of quality of supervision, organizational policies, physical working conditions, interpersonal relationship and security of jobs. In the context of BQ, the organization is very much fluent in these departments, allowing an organization to ensure long-term sustenance in the competitive market (Mbokazi 2015). However, the management must focus on other motivational strategies such as incentives, performance appraisal, promotions, personal growth and corporate training for motivating the employees on a better note. Extent to which the motivational theories would be able to assist the managers and relative limitations The application of two factor theory of motivation and equity theory assist the managers on numerous occasions. Upon motivating the employees, they gave extra effort in order to reflect on the profit margin of the organization. The application of the motivational strategies would present a positive atmosphere in the working environment and allow the employees to resolve the issues with a collaborative approach. The two-theory of motivation have its barriers, as they are unable to handle situational variables at times. The motivational theory implemented by Herzberg stressed more on satisfaction and ignored the productivity of the organization (Putta 2014). Therefore, BQ lacks comprehensive measurement of productivity in their organization, despite the fact they motivate their employees in a successful manner. The organization also implemented the equity theory for motivating their employees, which is not free from biasness, as it is in association with the natural reaction of the employees. Apply theories about the nature of groups and group behavior. Also evaluating factors that could hinder or influence effective teamwork BQ consists of various groups in its diverse workforce culture. At times, the groups comprised of normative views, which stated about the organization of groups and the relative actions that were carried out. The group dynamics of the organization referred to various techniques in relation to the internal nature of the groups. The employees of BQ usually comprise of two types of groups- formal groups and informal groups. Formal Groups: Formal groups are prepared by organizations to conduct a particular task. The groups usually comprise of a formal structure, designated for a particular specification of work. The attributes of formal groups usually comprise of a sense of identity, loyalty to the groups and purpose leadership qualities (Vance 2012). Informal Groups The employees themselves execute these types of groups. However, it does not comprise of any formal structure Focus on Goals, compensation of employee efforts; communication skills and ability of dealing with conflicts are the essential factors that could influence teamwork in the organization. Similarly, wrong interpretation of management styles, impact of change and lagging on a common goal hinders team performance at BQ. Evaluating the possible impact of technology on team functioning at BQ The advent of technology has a huge impact on team functioning at BQ. In the contemporary scenario, the advent of technology allows the organization to gain supremacy in the competitive market. The organization makes changes and updates their systems according to the changing taste and interest of the consumers. The basic technological aspect that has improved team functions comprise of email, mobile phones, groupware and computers. The advancement of technology is very much essential for teams to provide effective services to the consumers in a timely manner (Kay 2013). Therefore, the organization takes active participation in recruiting younger talents who are Tech- savvy in nature. Examine the technologies developed at BQ The intelligent control system refers to installation in more than 50 BQ stores within the country. Lighting is the main cost factor involved in the organization. The LiGO system assumes total control by setting lighting systems in a successful manner. At the beginning of trading, the stores implement day light control with the LiGO sensors handling relative aisle to the expected level. Upon installation of energy-efficient light fittings handled by the LiGO system, the organization experienced reduction in energy savings, which accounts for financial savings in a economical year. Application of creative and lateral thinking regarding how technologies could further promote team functioning at BQ The organization aims to recommend certain technologies for promoting team functioning in the competitive market. The application of programmed thinking and lateral thinking would assist the management to build a successful team for BQ. The inclusion of good pattern recognition would assist the situations at a relative faster rate. The lateral thinking of the management would assist in providing original solutions to the rising issues of the organization. The thinking of the management is logical and disciplined by nature, which allows them to ensure quality products and service excellence. The employees of the organization implement creative thoughts and innovative ideas for ensuring successful functioning of teamwork at BQ. Conclusion On the contrary, it concludes that B Q implements effective management and leadership styles for gaining supremacy in the competitive market. The organization exhibits a diverse working policy, which allows the employees to participate in the decision-making process. The management are very much cordial towards the employees and always provide assistance regarding any conflicts rising in the organization. The advents of LiGO technology have assisted the organization to conserve energy. 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