Mary and James Franklin lead their organisation with a very democratic leadership style, by this style the Franklins believe that it means the diverse workforce are more committed to achieving the goals of their own personal targets, departmental achievements and overall organisation wide objectives.Mary and James have requested that all the CM and ACM’s attend a meeting at head office for a two day workshop.
In preparation Mary has asked the Managers to conduct a risk assessment of their centres and strategies for continuous improvement. They would also like them to looks at their current WHS system policies and procedures and bring copies of documents that require discussing.James will be asking the Managers how they intend to use their leadership styles to consult and communicate the WHS system and risks that will need addressing to their stakeholders.
Additionally, how the Managers will use their entrepreneurial skills to involve their teams with the involvement of the WHS to encourage team led decision making to ensure a safe workplace culture.
The Franklins would like Managers to brainstorm how they will role model ethical behaviour in their centres and encourage innovation from their respective teams.
James strongly encourages managers to be aware of the different leadership styles that can be adopted according to a particular situation presented in the workplace. James will take time at the meeting to remind Managers the importance of adapting leadership qualities according to individual changes happening within their respective centres.
Strategic Leadership
[Name of Student]
[Date]
INTRODUCTION
They are willing to provide human, physical and financial resources to better the work culture in their organization. This is evident from the scenario that they have directed their centre managers to assess their centres. Managers are the human resources whereas the equipment used will be the physical resources.
They are running a service organization that requires much quicker decision making as compared to an organization that is producing some goods. This makes it much more essential for the organization to add the lower staff to decision making and sharing responsibility. There should be a minimum time lag between creation of an issue and its resolution so that customer satisfaction is not affected.
They are delegating responsibility to their center managers to analyses situation of their respective centers and report to the top management. This means that the center management has to gather data in form of feedback from their subordinates and forward the same to their seniors or top management. The owners also demonstrate that working on the floor to teach something to trainer is not a big issue for them. This demonstrates that they believe in learning by doing to their subordinates.
PURPOSE OF THE REPORT
Leadership and communication are two very important aspects related to any business. A leader communicates effectively to make sure that his words go along his deeds. Leadership report is important for an organization to let all the employees know the way in which work will be done. This report serves many purposes. For the top management, it tells the current culture of the organization. For middle managers, it mentions how to communicate with the seniors and juniors and for the lower level staff, it defines the limits within which they can talk. It also describes what will be the way of communication in this organization, whether it will be one-way communication or it will be a two-way communication.
STRATEGIC DIRECTION
The strategic direction of this organization in towards a more open organization that will cater change much easily than other organizations. There will be two-way communication in this organization with responsibility delegated to the lowest levels. This organization also wants to grow internationally in future. The leadership and communication stance discussed will help the organization cater the needs of their customers in these new markets in a better way. This is because there will be two-way communication in this organization and customer needs/wants and issues will be communicated rapidly from bottom to the top of organizational hierarchy. The top managers will also be able to adapt these aspects into their business model. Thus, there will be minimum time between issue identification and resolution.
VISION STATEMENT
By applying the historic approach, Aussie fitness center distinguishes themselves from other competitors through providing its services to all age people in the community. Our vision is to be considerate one of the top entertainment centers focused on the health and well-being of its members under innovative and specialized training systems
MISSION STATEMENT
AF mission is to provide an entertaining and educational experience that meets the requirements necessaries for a healthier lifestyle adjusted for each member of the family and/or the community.
AF GOALS/CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS
These leaders will break down these objectives into smaller goals and then delegate them to parts of their teams. Firstly, they will communicate what these objectives are about and why their achievement is necessary. Then they will tell how to achieve these objectives with especial focus on the role of their team that will be played in this scenario. The last thing will be communicated as to how these roles will be assigned and played. In all this, there will be some responsibility delegated to the lower level. Increasing market share is one of the objectives that requires more customers coming to the business. The trainers and other staff working directly with customers will provide the feedback on issues related to customers. This information will be assessed and some of the suggestions will be directly implemented while others will be sent to the head office for further discussion. Employees will feel good when they will see their suggestions implemented. When the feedback is received from the head office, center manager will communicate clearly with his subordinates and let them know their individual responsibilities. The leaders have to make sure that individual responsibilities direct towards the accomplishment of overall organizational goals.
Table SEQ Table \* ARABIC1 Goals
Objective
By What/Measurement
Date
Method of measurement
E.g. Increase Sales
By 5%
Mid-Year
Sales from beginning of year to Mid-Year
Achieve return on investment
15%
One year
Investment in new centers
Increase net earnings
10%
One Year
Statement of profit and loss
Achieve market share
27%
June 2020
More sales and advertising
Increase memberships
10%
One Year
Better word of mouth and Public relations
Decrease Expenses
10%
One Year
Better management of resources
VALUES
1. Inclusion of whole community: AF aims to include the whole community in its business by allowing all age groups and genders to be active exercisers.
2. Quality Assurance: Both internal and external stakeholders will be provided with quality products and services.
3. Best customer service: Quality assurance will help the business to improve on the customer services provided.
4. Lifestyle: Exercising daily will promote a healthier lifestyle in the people which will help them to be active members of the community.
5. Connect: Business will see itself as a business that takes care of all stakeholders. We will be a socially responsible business.
ETHICS
.
Conducting business in a community requires that enterprises adhere to the norms and beliefs of that society CITATION EVR17 \l 1033 (Richardson, B.Smith and Papathomas 2017). Ethics form the basis of these norms and beliefs. It is acceptable for any business to try and earn profits as long as its activities remain within the ethical standards set by the society. Ethics are different from laws because not adhering to laws will result in some penal punishments but not adhering to ethics will not result in any punishment. However, in the long run, a business will suffer due to non-adherence to ethics. We take the example of commitment as a value; a business will not be able to survive for a very long period of time if it does not provide quality services to its clients. The main benefit if conducting an ethical business is that all the stakeholders will see the business as being beneficial to them.
Table SEQ Table \* ARABIC2 - Ethicsleft3088005Customer service will be the most important aspect in our business because it means revenue to us. Our business will make sure that
020000Customer service will be the most important aspect in our business because it means revenue to us. Our business will make sure that
4463415-1445895left344805There will be no discrimination between customers on the basis of their race, gender or age. This will help business to increase the number of customers over a period of time.
00There will be no discrimination between customers on the basis of their race, gender or age. This will help business to increase the number of customers over a period of time.
31432509645650
left307975We will make sure that quality assurance can be seen by all customers in all aspects of our business. This will include quality for internal as well as external stakeholders.
00We will make sure that quality assurance can be seen by all customers in all aspects of our business. This will include quality for internal as well as external stakeholders.
306133571247000
3042285571500
left247650With a continuous high-level customer service, our business will be able to help people in developing a healthier lifestyle. This will mean that people will consider exercise as an integral part of their lives.
020000With a continuous high-level customer service, our business will be able to help people in developing a healthier lifestyle. This will mean that people will consider exercise as an integral part of their lives.
307657576200
left358140Affecting lifestyles of individuals will ensure that the business will affect the society in the long-run. The business will be part of projects that will have increased social benefits. These projects may not directly affect the profitability of business but it will increase its credibility as a socially responsible business.
020000Affecting lifestyles of individuals will ensure that the business will affect the society in the long-run. The business will be part of projects that will have increased social benefits. These projects may not directly affect the profitability of business but it will increase its credibility as a socially responsible business.
3773170-911225
3805555-915035MEDIA
It is very important that staff of the organization knows every bit of media policy because it is a very sensitive aspect. Anything that is communicated to media should be carefully managed. Staff should understand the media policy because anything that comes to media has a long-lasting effect and is not related to the individual only. Staff will be more responsible once they know the policy and consequences of not adhering to it. The best method for communicating the media policy will be emails. These e mails will include a copy of the whole policy that employees will save on their Pc’s. This will help them revise it time after time. Another useful way will be to paste this policy on all the prominent places in office like notice boards etc.
Table SEQ Table \* ARABIC3 - Media Policy
Policy
Media will be handled by designated personnel only
Anything that is shared with media will go through proper channel
No media person will be allowed to enter business premises without prior appointment.
Press releases and reports will be authorized by designated personnel
10. It is a question already done in the previous Assessment.
WORK ACTIVITY TECHNOLOGY
In today’s world, technology plays a very important role in any business setting. Keeping up to date with technology will mean that business will be able to provide the most advanced services to its customers. Another benefit will be that there will be constant interaction between customers and their respective trainers. The workplace will be reshaped by playing live videos of renowned trainers and making videos of the customers as well to assess the effectiveness of exercise. Social media page of the business will also show various videos relate to exercising.
Table SEQ Table \* ARABIC4 - Technology Methods
Technology Method
Benefit
E.g. Tracking clients body measurements
Client more likely to be accountable for reaching goals
Commitment to retain membership
Shows AF care about member journey as per the Values (Look back at your values and make connections)
1. Keeping an up to date social media page.
Customers will know about any upcoming events related to the business and related to exercising and fitness in general.
2. Using YouTube to good effect.
The YouTube platform can be used to show various videos to customers as to how they will be trained. Trainers may make their own videos and load them on channels operated by themselves.
3. Updated website
The business website should be updated with all the services provided and respective prices charged. This will help any prospective customers to know whether these services suit them or not.
4. Computerised equipment
The equipment used by business should be latest and up to date. This equipment should be able to record customer data and help him to reassess his progress from time to time.
SWOT ANALYSIS
For increasing the return on investment, business will have to communicate in detail with internal as well as external stakeholders. For the internal stakeholders, a better way of communication will help in aligning the information across all departments. For external stakeholders, business will have to designate specific personnel to communicate. Net earnings and expenses are related to each other and business should focus on decreasing its expenses to make sure that net earnings are increased. Increasing market share will also result by improving communication with the internal stakeholders. Democratic leadership style will also help in this regard because the management will listen to the ideas from various stakeholders and implement them if they are fruitful.
Table SEQ Table \* ARABIC5 - SWOT Analysis
-
Internal Environment
Strengths
Weaknesses
- Democratic Style of leadership
- Optimum use of technology
- Lower overhead expenses
- Clear and honest communication
- Too much dependence on Mary and James Franklin
- High switching rate of employees
- Not using electronic media advertising
- Limited budget
External Environment
Opportunities
Threats
- Increase in fitness popularity
- Daily routine/Habits
- Increase interest in fitness that shows by social media
- Government incentives to reduce unhealthy lifestyles
- Increased competition
- High energy cost impact our profits
- Bad debts due to much ease provided to customers
- Changes in leasing laws
RISK ANALYSIS
There should be clear levels of management through which communication takes place. This will make easier for the business to assess the responsibility whenever some incident happens. Time frames help the businesses to ascertain the severity of any happenings. Although all the risks below have been shown as on- going, this means that they will come back after a certain period of time and organization will have to improve itself on a continuous basis. In order to minimize the impact of these risks, business has to improve the communication process. A democratic leadership style will improve the bottom up and top down flow of communication. Investigation of any incident should be done with the help of latest equipment and personal component should be minimized in it. If we take the example of not getting the desired o expected results, management can see the videos of the concerned customers and assess if there is any discrepancy on the part of trainer or staff.
Table SEQ Table \* ARABIC6 - Risk Analysis
Risk
Level/Reason
High, Medium, Low
Timeframe
Responsibility of Risk Management/Control
Communication Method
To Whom
1. For instance, injuries from misuse of gym equipment
Low (Due to inducting members correctly following P&P’s and fitness assessments for those age groups at risk
On-going
All Centre Staff
Formal Meeting
All staff who are in touch with members
2. Leakage of information
High because there are hackers on the internet who can hack websites.
On-going
IT personnel
Emails
Data collecting and saving staff
3. Not getting the desired and expected results
Low because the staff will be trained enough to properly guide the customers
On-going
Trainers, ACM
Meeting with customers
All staff who are in touch with customers
4. Competitors get ahead by better advertising
High because business is not using electronic media to good effect
On-going
Marketing team
Presentation
Top management
LEADERSHIP EXPECTATIONS
It is very important for the organization to delegate responsibility from higher to lower level of management. Centre managers are given the responsibility of meeting the leadership expectations which will make them think that they are important part of the system. This will motivate the employees to work harder and retain the member as a loyal customer. Retaining loyal customers will result in more positive word of mouth for the business and increase in market share for the organization.
E.g. Create a Consultation Committee/Team for Risk and WHS systems
Democratic leadership style that allows two-way communications, both top-down and bottom- up. This will help the management to know the concerns of lowest level of staff.
Whenever the trainers are not able to resolve some issue, they will be helped by people from top management by practical examples on training floor.
Decision making should be done by involving all staff members of any given centre. This will make the employees feel more important because their opinion will be given some importance.
Responsibility should be moved from top to the bottom instead of only communicating orders. Communicating only orders will make the staff think that they are not a part of the whole process.
ORGANISATIONAL EXPECTATIONS
Managers should play a positive role in the overall running of business. In a positive environment, all aspects are taken as a positive sign and there are lesser problems created. Even if an employee is pointed out with his mistake, a positive mind takes it as a learning opportunity. Managers have a very important role to play in all this scenario. They have to create a positive environment as well as maintain it. They should work with employees to overcome problems. They should also show commitment while working with the employees which will ensure that employees know they are not alone in working. Involving staff in decision making and sharing responsibility with them are very important aspects of a positive work environment. Both these aspects will help employees feel important and use all their abilities to ensure that organizational objectives are fulfilled.
Hold a Centre Meeting, build buy in from the team, discuss the aim of the committee, the expectations of the committee members, the benefits to those committed (make it all about the team, empower them to make decisions).
Consult the staff that is in contact with customers directly.
Whenever a customer complaint regarding any service, the staff or trainers who is directly involved with him should be consulted. This will help management to gather hands on information regarding the issue.
Lead by example
If a trainer is not able to perform certain tasks appropriately, people from higher management should come up and help them by showing by practical example on floor.
Decision making by consultation
Decisions made by the business should be consulted at all levels of management. Meetings should be held separately with all levels of staff so that all of them feel important in making a decision
Delegating responsibility
Some decisions suggested or taken by center managers may be implemented and they must be asked to take responsibility of the whole scenario. This will help the business to make lower staff feel more responsible as well as more important.
LINKAGES & RESPONSIBILITIES
Responsibilities have to be delegated to team members because this will make them feel important. Secondly, they will be in a better position to assess the needs and wants of customers as well as their subordinates. These employees will think twice before taking any step if they know that they will be responsible for the consequences CITATION BPa19 \l 1033 (Padermrod, Crowder and Wills 2019). As a starting point, decisions can be made with proper consultation with the relevant staff members. This will boost the morale of people and they will feel more important. Once these decisions are implemented and assessed properly, with the passage of time, employees can be handed over some responsibilities. This will mean that they will now have the right mindset to take on the responsibility and complete it.
Table SEQ Table \* ARABIC9 - Linkages to Strategies and Responsibilities
Leadership
Members involved in reaching strategy
Timeframe
E.g. Consultation Committee
Department Supervisors (Full Time)
Committee team chosen by 14th October 2019
Customer complaints
Trainers
As and when required
Discrepancies in training
Centre Managers
As and when required
Decision making by consultation
Top managers
Within next 6 months
Delegating responsibility
Centre Managers
Within next one year
COMMUNICATION AND DIVERSITY
Formal communication includes the memos, emails etc. These ways of communication are used to give important information that also requires to be on the record. The informal means of communication e.g. telephone calls etc. are used when less important information is conveyed or something that does not need to be on the record. In the table below, there will be formal means of communication for all cases except the communication between ACM and trainer. This is because formal communication includes giving orders whereas this scenario requires directing by helping.
Democratic style of leadership will be most appropriate one in this scenario because it will ensure tow way communication and employees will feel more empowered with this system. The team members will trust leaders because they are not being ordered rather being consulted. There will also be a development of trust between the members of any given team because they will know that their head will communicate any important aspect of their work.
Feedback must be obtained on a continuous basis because of the nature of the business. The managers at AF must take the feedback and assess it. It is very important for two reasons; customers are handled by the lowest staff members and they can provide direct insights to the needs of customers. Secondly, this staff will feel involved in the organizational procedures when feedback is taken from them. Some issues will be very important and will be directly related to customer satisfaction, in these circumstances, managers must be adaptable to ensure that valid feedback can be immediately implemented. Employees seeing their suggestions implemented will be much more motivated.
Table SEQ Table \* ARABIC10 - Communication Table
What Information
From Whom
To Whom
By When
E.g. Policies and Procedures for the WHS will be required to be re-written and version controlled
CM
ACM
End of Sept, 2019
Involve at least one trainer with you in decision making
CM
ACM
End of 2019
Do not order your staff to do things, help them in doing things the way you need them to be done
ACM
Trainers
End of Sep 2019
Media policy
Manager
CM
End of Sep 2019
Monthly goals to be achieved
ACM
Trainers
Start of October
ORGANISATIONAL/CENTER CHANGES
The basic change will be the participation of all levels of employees in decision making and communication process. It is very important that all policies are clearly communicated to all the employees in an organization. Similarly, the goals and objectives set for any specified period must also be communicated to all staff members. This will create a harmony all across the organization. Operational changes will not be needed on a very high scale. A slight shift in mindset will suffice. This will include the proper dissemination of information from top to bottom level of hierarchy.
Table SEQ Table \* ARABIC11 - Operational Changes
Changes required
Method of dissemination/communication
Receivers of the information
Importance of sharing data
E.g. WHS Policies and Procedures re-written/updated/version controlled
Formal meeting initially
Training/Workshops
Post P&P’s on intranet once finalised
To advise impacts of the changes to AF employees
To go through the requirements of the WHS Plan
To ensure that all staff have access to the documents, can read and agree to the standards
Involvement of trainers
Formal meeting between CM and ACM
ACM
To make decision making more customer centered.
Participative leadership
Meetings between CM and ACM
ACM
To make sure that no employee seems to be left out of the decision-making process.
Media Policy
Meeting between manager and all CMs
CM
To make sure that same policy is followed all throughout the organization.
Monthly goals
Meeting between ACM and trainers
Trainers
To make sure that small steps take the organization towards accomplishment of its objectives.
RESOURCES
Teams work with various resources and all kinds of resources have their own importance. All the activities will be carried out by the human resources or people in general. People also vary with the level of their skills and education. Thus, our organisation will need team members, consultants and trainers. People work with equipment that are physical resources available with the organizations to achieve their goals and objectives. In the current scenario, latest equipment, computers and training rooms will be the physical resources required. Financial resources are the most important aspects of this whole scenario. In absence of financial resources, organization will not be able to go any further than mere planning.
Table SEQ Table \* ARABIC12 – Resources
Type
Resource
Support/Benefit
Human
1. Team members
2. Consultants
3. Trainers for staff
All of these will ensure that the WHS plan is properly implemented
Physical
1. Latest Equipment
2. Computers
3. Rooms to conduct training classes
These will be used by the human resources to implement the plan. Computers and latest equipment are especially important.
Financial
1. Funds to pay to consultants
2. Funds to buy latest equipment
3. Funds to finance any other changes
These will be used to bring the desired changes in the overall system
CONTINGENCY PLANNING
Contingency planning is important to make sure that an unforeseen event does not hurt the organization very hard. All the members in teams should know what to do if an unforeseen event occurs. In case a trainer gets injured, a manager can partially fill his place as long as another person is arranged to work at his place. At all levels, people in the organization should keep someone with them whom they train so that he can look after things in case of emergency. If there is a system crash, managers must join hands with the team to replace that system.Contingency Planning
Table SEQ Table \* ARABIC13 – Contingencies
Potential Issue
Contingency
E.g. Loss of data
Conduct Regular System Back-ups
Injury to some trainer
Make sure that each trainer is keeping a junior with him who is learning from him and can replace him in an emergency
Power Outage
Proper backup in the form of generator or UPS system
System crash
Keep all systems up to date so that any system can replace other in case of emergency
Machines break out
Keep a technical assistant on call who can handle such issues
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Organizations are run by individuals who spend particular period of time to learn the set of activities undertaken in that organization. However, there is no comprehensive set of activities that can cover a particular organization because the needs of organization keep on changing over the passage of time. Professional development is necessary for employees to cope up with these changes. Organization has to bring these changes to its system so that it can also live up to the expectations of its customers.
Table 14 – Professional Development
Professional Development Activity
Benefit
E.g. Attending local community and business seminars
Know what is going on in the area, development, infrastructure that might affect business (Public transport disruptions).
1. Attending body building competitions
There will be trainers and contestants, business can learn from both of them about maintaining levels of fitness and other aspects.
2. Subscribing to Industry Magazines
Getting the latest news and happenings
3. Attending any health-related conferences
Getting latest updates regarding health issues so that they can be incorporated in the business
4. Joining international organizations related to fitness and health
Learning latest techniques and trends in other countries.
Updates on specific events that relate to fitness and training
International fitness professionals Association
Updates in form of articles on fitness matters
Fitness Australia
Updated material related to fitness and health
Sports Medicine Australia
Information of people who want to take part in certain physical activities, they may turn up as perspective customers for business.
CONCLUSION
Leading an organization in an ethical manner is very important because an unethical organization cannot survive for a longer period of time in today’s world. One ethical aspect has been shown in the vision of this company in providing services to people from all ages. Ethics also include that ample opportunities are provided to all employees to show their abilities. This requires that democratic leadership style is implemented in the organization and suggestion of every employee is given its due weightage. Democratic style involves collaboration between various team members and it also empowers teams to make their own decisions and communicate them to the upper level of management. Collaboration is also important at all levels in organizations practicing democratic leadership. This is the reason why collaboration has been shown in values of the organization. There is another coherence found in using lifestyle in the mission statement as well as the ethical aspects. The organization has aimed to bring a positive change in lives of people by adding exercise and physical activity to their lives. This will also help the organization in making a good reputation for itself in the society as a social organization. The objective of increase in market share will help the company to improve lives of more and more people.
Bibliography
BIBLIOGRAPHY Johansson, T., and J. Andreasson. 2016. "The Gym and the beach: Globalization, situated bodies and Australian fitness." Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 143-167.
Padermrod, B., R.M. Crowder, and G.B. Wills. 2019. "Importance-performance analysis based SWOT analysis." International Journal of Information Management 194-203.
Richardson, E.V., B.Smith, and A. Papathomas. 2017. "Crossing Boundaries: The perceived impact of disabled fitness instructors in the gym." Psychology of sport and Exercise 84-92.
