Friday, 28 January 2011

EnTeRpRiSe WeEk...


Enterprise week consisted of a series of programmes in which were organised in aid to make students aware of all the opportunities that are still there whilst they are studying, as well as opportunities after graduating. 


The event I attended was the event that was presented by the winner of the apprentice, Yasmina Siadaten.
This session consisted of her explaining her experience and what degree of struggle she had pull through in order to actually succeed and win the apprentice. Yasmina went onto saying how difficult it was to build team working skills and work with the other team members in the show.  

This was a great opportunity for students to realise that shows like the apprentice are great opportunities and are achievable for people like us also as she was also a graduate and lived locally. She explained how it is achievable and if we work hard towards a goal it is just a mile away and we can reach for all our dreams and achieve all our goals. 

Listening to her talk about her experience on the apprentice was very inspiring as it motivated me to also do well in y degree and achieve all my goals and make m y dreams come true, it was an excellent opportunity to realise that all dreams are achievable no matter how high and far your dream may seem.

CoNfLiCt...


Conflict can affect individual’s day to day life as it causes discomfort, frustration, irritation, pain etc.  Conflict can arise between friends, family, work forces almost anywhere, Brooks in 2006 proposed the definition of conflict as:

‘Conflict is apparent when at least one party perceives that it exists and where an interest or concern of that party is about to be or has been compromised or frustrated.’ 

Blackboard powerpoint

The business dictionary defines the work conflict as:
‘Friction or opposition resulting from actual or perceived differences or incompatibilities. Conflict may have negative as well as positive characteristics.’
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/conflict.html

Conflict arises when individuals in a group or gang are not able to work towards the same goal and have the same thrive to be driven towards an aim or objectives that require to be attained.
Sources of power:
Power is when one individual manages to attain the authority to instruct another individual on what to do and when to do so, even if the other individual does not wish to or even if they wouldn’t normally carry out such an activity.

‘The most common description of power is French and Raven (1960). This divides power into five different forms.

Coercive power
This is the power to force someone to do something against their will. It is often physical although other threats may be used. It is the power of dictators, despots and bullies. Coercion can result in physical harm, although its principal goal is compliance. Demonstrations of harm are often used to illustrate what will happen if compliance is not gained.
Coercion is also the ultimate power of all governments. Although it is often seen as negative, it is also used to keep the peace. Parents coerce young children who know no better. A person holds back their friend who is about to step out in front of a car.
Other forms of power can also be used in coercive ways, such as when a reward or expertise is withheld or referent power is used to threaten social exclusion.

Reward power
One of the main reasons we work is for the money we need to conduct our lives. There are many more forms of reward -- in fact anything we find desirable can be a reward, from a million dollar yacht to a pat on the back.
Reward power is thus the ability to give other people what they want, and hence ask them to do things for you in exchange.
Rewards can also be used to punish, such as when they are withheld. The promise is essentially the same: do this and you will get that.

Legitimate power
Legitimate power is that which is invested in a role. Kings, policemen and managers all have legitimate power. The legitimacy may come from a higher power, often one with coercive power. Legitimate power can often thus be the acceptable face of raw power.
A common trap that people in such roles can fall into is to forget that people are obeying the position, not them. When they either fall from power or move onto other things, it can be a puzzling surprise that people who used to fawn at your feet no long do so.

Referent power
This is the power from another person liking you or wanting to be like you. It is the power of charisma and fame and is wielded by all celebrities (by definition) as well as more local social leaders. In wanting to be like these people, we stand near them, hoping some of the charisma will rub off onto us.
Those with referent power can also use it for coercion. One of the things we fear most is social exclusion, and all it takes is a word from a social leader for us to be shunned by others in the group.

Expert power
When I have knowledge and skill that someone else requires, then I have Expert power. This is a very common form of power and is the basis for a very large proportion of human collaboration, including most companies where the principle of specialization allows large and complex enterprises to be undertaken.
Expert power is that which is used by Trades Unions when they encourage their members to strike for better pay or working conditions. It is also the power of the specialist R&D Engineer when they threaten to leave unless they get an exorbitant pay rise or a seat by the window.’


The following are 5 strategies that organisations can apply in order to overcome conflict in a work place...
‘One way to deal with conflict between employees is to hold a meeting whom ever the conflict is involving. In the meeting I'll try to discuss the issues and how they got started to finally end the problems. This way that I know that this particular conflict between then wont happen again in the work place. A publisher on inneridea.com also agrees with that holding a meeting with solve conflict between employees, rather its a three-way meeting or a regular one all together.
A second method that I can use to solve conflict between employees is to separate the employees involved in the problem to different areas of the work place. This way the issue or issues wont escalate around the work place. Also this way the conflict will be dramatically reduced because they are unable to have physical contact with each other.
Another way to solve conflict between employees is Collaboration. Collaboration is when you search for a solution that meets the needs of both parties involving the conflict. Using this method not only will the conflict be solved, but both parties will be satisfied. Schermerhorn Management Edition 10 also explains and agrees with this conflict resolving method.
A fourth method that can be used to deal with conflict between employees is to simply demand the issues between the employees to stop. You can also explain to them that serious consequences will occur if they disobey the demand to stop the conflict. If they do happen to disobey the warning than you could either choose to suspend or fire them, depending on the seriousness of the situation to you. This method should end conflict and it should show the seriousness of bringing conflict to work, and disobeying the manager to the other employees.
Lastly, a fifth method that can be used to deal with conflict between employees is to recognize to employee staring all the problems and fire that person or send him to a different business location. This way the conflict will end and surly not come up again in the work place. Businessknowledgesource.com fully agrees with the method to dealing with a problem employee, because some employees won’t always listen to the demand, agreements, and meetings.
In conclusion, there are many ways to deal with conflict between other individuals in work places, homes, schools, or anywhere at that matter. But the five explain and gave are the best five ways to deal with conflict that occurs in a work place. Either method will most certainly work to solve problems in any work place.’

http://ezinearticles.com/?5-Ways-To-Deal-With-Conflict-Between-Employees&id=5540043
 
It is essential for organisations to recognise and identify issues within a firm and to deal with it by taking immediate action to prevent any discomfort and hurting other employees.
Overall it is difficult to stay on track with your goals if there is conflict in an organisation, as it does not allow for aims and objectives to be achieved.

MaNaGeRs & LeAdErS

Having a management role is very different to a leadership role, both the job titles or even words on their own have a large difference between them.
Mangers tend to plan the ideas whereas leaders would think of strategic ideas on how to implement these managers’ ideas. Forrest and Tolltree, proposed in 1996 that the following are what the both managers and leader do:

        Managers :
        Plan control,
        Co-ordinate,
        Implement policy,
        Achieve results.
        Leaders:
        Motivate,
        Generate ideas,
        Enthuse,
        Inspire.        (Leadership PowerPoint)
The following PowerPoint explain what a leader is and what attributes are needed to become a leader I found this very helpful in regards to understanding what a leader is and what is required of a leader:




The following is a video that sums up what management is: 

So in other words managers are the individuals that take centre point, they delegate what needs to be done and where there is room for improvement they then assign these type tasks to leader who then encourage and implement motivating techniques to carry out the assigned tasks with the remainder of the workforce. Managers handle the planning, financing and appointing tasks that need to be done with appropriate deadlines, leaders then generate ideas on how to tackle the tasks at hand and motivate

I will now be going onto explaining and describing Blakes and Moutons managerial grid, which looks like this:








www.google.co.uk       
Blake and mouton managerial model
Robert R. Blake and Jane Mouton proposed this behavioural leadership model in 1957, the model recognises leadership styles based upon concern for people and concern fro production. They split the model into five different leaders’ hip styles which are explained as the following:
‘(1,1) 'Impoverished' The leader exerts (and expects) minimal effort and has little concern for either staff satisfaction or work targets. This is a leader who is going through the motions is indifferent, non-committal, resigned and apathetic. S/he is doing just enough to keep their job
(1,9) 'Country Club' The leader is attentive to his/her people's needs and has developed satisfying relationships and work culture - but at the expense of achieving results. The leader is defined as agreeable, eager to help, non-confrontational, comforting and uncontroversial.
(5,5) 'Middle of the Road' (Politician)
This leader is a compromiser who wants to maintain the status quo and avoid any problems. Is aware of and wants a focus on productivity but not at the expense of the morale of his/her team.
(9,1) 'Authoritarian' The leader concentrates almost exclusively on achieving results. People are viewed as a commodity to be used to get the job done. Communication is de-emphasized and conflict is resolved by suppressing it. Leadership is controlling, demanding and over-powering.
(9,9) 'Team' The leader achieves high work performance through 'leading' his/her people to become dedicated to the organizational goals. There is a high degree of participation and teamwork, which satisfies the basic need of people to be involved and committed to their work. The leader may be characterized as open-minded, flexible and one who inspires involvement.
Cautionary note: This model could lead you to think there is one best style. Please avoid that mistake. Certain styles work extremely well in different circumstances. If your plane is crashing you'd want the captain to use a 9,1 style of leadership in that moment. At another time a different style of leadership may be more appropriate.’                      
http://www.leadership-and-motivation-training.com/blake-and-mouton.html
This model allows individuals to analyse and conclude on the performance of their manager or their leader; it also allows the weaker areas to be highlighted which can then be considered as room for improvement.

After having done extensive research into my workforce, Argos and the above motivational study by Blake and Mouton, I think that my manager lies between 1.9 and 9.9 as a strong cross, as the store manager listens to the staffs opinions and problems more than the CSM (Customer Service Manager), there is high levels of understanding and comforting on any topic with the store manager but when works need to be done there is high driving of motivating the staff and allowing space to breathe also along side actually achieving the tasks to the best of ability. My manager sets targets to each member of staff every 2 weeks and staff members are encouraged to meet their targets at minimum but generally encouraged to exceed their targets, in Argos cards, product care and number of units that are being sold.  Each member of staff is treated with respect and is valuable to the store and organisation.
Bill Gates the founder of Microsoft is a fantastic leader, he has carried out all the attributes of a leader to mark the stand that he currently holds in society today. The reason as to why bill gates is a god leader is because whenever he did make a mistake he always learnt from it rather than spending stupid amounts of time on rectifying the mistakes that have occurred. In 2008 an article was publishes which presented the main 7 lessons that bill gates has learnt and have made him a successful leader. The following is the 7 lessons article:
http://lifeofexcellence.com/lessons-from-billgates
Other sites that suggest Bill Gates as a great leader:
http://greatleaders.freewebspace.com/index_1.html
http://www.zdnet.com.au/is-bill-gates-a-great-leader-139260529.htm
 
After all the extensive research that I have carried out, and after collating all the research I have found that leaders and managers have to work very closely in order for managers to work to their best of ability and for leaders to carry out their job roles effectively. Managers plan, finance and co ordinate tasks to leader and then leader initiate ideas to execute the tasks at hand and then encourage and motivate other members of staff to work to their best of ability.