Feedback and provisional marks will be provided via The VLE four weeks after submission. CASE STUDY Ents is a software development organisation employing 300 people in 2 centres in the LIK and a relatively new centre opened in 201 0 in China. Employees are mainly highly qualified and from a technical background, with a very small marketing team responsible for identifying commercial opportunities and outlets to sell new developments. Traditionally this has been a successful approach as Ents has built very stable and secure relationships with a small number of British and American clients. Within the I-JK centres the culture and ethos could be described as being similar to that found in UK public sector organisations with a tendency towards conservatism and bureaucracy. Employees are proud of their technical knowledge and generally tend to see themselves as developers, with ery low levels of interest and motivation towards management and the need to grow and develop new markets. This has been reflected in any investment in learning to date, with a focus on maintaining technical and specialist research and development skills rather than any formal approach to management and leadership development.
Managers have tended to rise through the ranks and have identified any training needs with specialists on an individual level through the appraisal process. This is also true of the managing director who is a computer programmer at heart and respected by his staff as such. Where Management Development has taken place it has been through attendance at external one-off conferences and seminars. The only evaluation measure used for learning and development is the achievement of formal qualifications. The combination of the intensification of competitive pressures both from developing markets, together with the downturn in American and European markets however, has placed the company under significant pressure, with two of its clients significantly contracting their business over the last 3 years. Whilst the launch of the new centre in China has been an attempt to odernise and take advantage of new opportunities, this has yielded insufficient results and Ents has recently been forced to merge with another organisation, called Extec, already specialising in foreign markets.
Extec employs 700 staff with half of these being based in the China, but with its headquarters in the 0K. Whilst also occupied in software development, its strengths are around identifying new product opportunities in emerging markets and developing products to fit these. With an entrepreneurial and flexible culture, was keen to solidify its technical base and sees the merger with Ents as a way to fill this gap. Extec employees have been expected to be entrepreneurs, innovators, business focused, adaptive to change; team builders and accountable for results. With a track record of high performance in these areas it is now also experiencing talent shortages especially with regard to senior roles in the Chinese arm of the business and recognises the need to further develop its talent pool. Learning and Development is in the main delivered through a bespoke e- learning package that has been produced by the HR team. Managers within the organisation also use 360-degree feedback to identify development areas nd line manager coaching as a way of addressing specific development needs. Last year they also tried a drama-based workshop with mixed results.
The knowledge of employees is measured through e-learning and coaching is assessed through improved services to customers, particularly as a result of work-related projects. In the newly merged organisation, called iTech, the aim is for managers to become increasingly professional with a Strong emphasis on leadership together with a new agenda of demands and expectations. The new board of directors recognise the need to align development strategy with he overall strategy, culture and needs of the organisation. However, they also recognise that achieving this is a major challenge.
Defining what management and leadership actually means in the context of this organisation and understanding what type of behaviours are required to make the organisation successful is the first hurdle before creating the development programme around that understanding. Another major obstacle is that some of senior leaders do not realise the importance of development, especially for their own development needs. The board anticipate some resistance from Ents managers to a new leadership evelopment programme. iTech aim to integrate the management teams of the two organisations fully within a twelve month period.
Strategic objectives include: the creation of one unified and unifying culture the introduction of a new flatter and more flexible management structure based around product opportunities. The board would like to see a more representative management team as currently women and some ethnic groups are present in the workforce but not at a senior level. the development of professional management and leadership skills Internationalisation of the management team he implementation Of an efficiency and cost reduction programme. nsuring the required skills within the organisation to maximise competitive advantage both in the immediate future and over the medium to long term Leadership and Management Development (LMD) is recognised as having a key role in the achievement of these strategic objectives, and is also recognised as being under-developed in both organisations. (Glaister, C. 2014) The assessment will be assessed on the following criteria: Assessment Criteria % Weighting Learning Outcomes Identification Of appropriate LMD issues 101; L02 Approach to LMD Academic skills and competences Clarity, fluency and logical layout of assignment with all work duly referenced and a full bibliography Structure, Presentation, in text Referencing and Bibliography Opportunity to demonstrate academic skills and competences Marking Scheme ‘Assessment Critieria Learni ng Objectives Assessment criteria 0-39 40_49 50-59 60-69 70- 79 80-89 90-99 LOI , Explain and critically analyse the concepts of leadership and management, knowledge management and organisational learning and their contribution to organisational competence across a range of contexts.
L02, Critically analyse and evaluate approaches to the identification of leadership and management development needs, and appropriate strategies to meet current and future organisational requirements. Identification of appropriate LMD issues (30%) Critical analysis of the differences between leadership and management and the nature of these within the new organisation An identification of significant issues for leadership and management development arising from the context. Little or inappropriate consideration of the differences between management and leadership generally and the nature of in this particular context. Lack of or wrong identification of issues. Reference to appropriate theory, literature and current practice either absent or not understood Description of nature of leadership and management but not sufficiently applied to this organisation context. Identifies some issues but either not comprehensive or not well understood. Partially addressed, literature considered is limited with some confusion in places.
Satisfactory analysis of nature of leadership and management in this context. Some relevant issues are highlighted but variable coverage of significant aspects. Reasonable knowledge of appropriate theory and practice but mainly at a descriptive rather than critical level. May lack depth, with some gaps. Potential for some confusion in places. Variable level of application of literature to the case There is a well argued analysis of Leadership and management applied to the organisation’s context which supports the clear identification of important CMD issues. Evidence ofa critical approach. The candidate demonstrates sound knowledge and understanding of L MD theory and practice which is well integrated into analysis and applied to the case. There is a fully comprehensive critical analysis of leadership and management in the organisation strategic context which supports the identification of significant LMD issues. The candidate demonstrates in depth knowledge and understanding of L MD theory and practice. Breadth and depth of literature reviewed is appropriate and integrated into a coherent whole.
Evidence of a critical approach There is an impressive and original approach to critically analysing leadership and management in the organisation strategic context which supports the identification of significant L MD issues. The candidate demonstrates in depth depth of literature reviewed is again impressive and integrated into a coherent whole. Evidence of a critical approach Highly impressive and original approach of a publishable standard. Excellent critical analysis of leadership and management in the organisation strategic context which supports the identification of significant LMD issues. The candidate demonstrates in depth knowledge and understanding of LMD theory and practice. Breadth and depth of literature reviewed is again impressive and integrated into a coherent whole. Evidence of a critical approach LOI and L02 as above L03, Critically analyse and evaluate a range of leadership and management development interventions, demonstrating an understanding of issues relating to design and delivery. L04, Consider an ethical and professional approach to leadership and management development considering factors such partnership working and continuous professional development.
Approach to LVID (60%) Consideration of issues at a strategic level Analysis of the actual and potential contribution of management and leadership development to the organisation Evidence of an ethical and professional approach to leadership and anagement development Clear recommendations On appropriate leadership and management development strategies Explanation and justification of rationale for choices and how proposals would add value to the organisation Explanation and evaluation specific methods, such as, coaching mentoring e- learning, action learning. Fails to consider strategic issues or identify and address key issues within the case. Lack of any real analysis with little or no convincing justification given for any arguments put forward. No evidence of consideration of theory within analysis. Insufficient evidence of ethical and professional approach. Recommendations either absent, with major gaps or lack credibility.
