The knowledge I have gained in this module has increased my awareness, understanding, and provided me with tools for new financial concepts. This information will assist me as I apply these concepts to determine value in the projects and proposals as I make decisions and determine the value of each.
There is a risk level for any leader as they make financial decisions. If a project is not evaluated correctly the decisions may not be in the best interest of the company. The greater the risk, the greater the gain and the greater the loss.
The decision-makers’ preference of the four lens perspective could definitely impact decision making based on the financial models reviewed in this module. A person from Quadrant A would look at every detail, perform every calculation, and use various concepts, whereas, someone from C or D would look at the whole picture.
Week 3 - In this post I will define the leadership characteristics for promoting growth and how to manage its impact from what I have learned throughout the MBA735 course. One of the major challenges the leader faces is to try to maintain the current culture of the business as they transition through the many changes of growth. The key characteristic a leader needs during growth is to have a clear vision that is shared with the employees while trying to maintain small company traits. Much like our ongoing analysis of the Golden Designs Woodworks business, as we managed the growth of the company we considered employees when making critical decisions.
The successful leader must focus on the customer and customer service during the growth cycle. Anticipating growth problems through the lifecycle will help the leader to stay better informed to implement key decisions and strategies as they grow. There are many new challenges that take place with the various stages of growth as the leader tries to make sense of the constant chaos. The leader must learn to manage and balance the changes as they focus on the needs for growth especially in the day-to-day operations and planning for the needs of the company’s future. All aspects of the business must be monitored including accounting, marketing, human resources, finances, and operations. Details of the business become even more critical as the company grows. The leader must have a clear vision of company goals while considering the impact on employees when making decisions.
The indoctrination of new employees gives the leader an opportunity to align employees with the company vision as they provide training and develop programs through orientations, this will help the leader to transition new employees during growth or expansion. Encouraging and motivating employees with rewards or recognition helps facilitate the acceptance of change. This in turn will help employees lead others, as I learned from the interview with my MBA Coach, “A sense of an organization is delivered by every other person who is part of new employee indoctrination. Finding happy, committed, and informed employees lead others in that direction, as well as provide a good sense of where to go in searching for change/corrections/assistance.” Training employees to adapt to changes in a timely manner keeps costs down and production running smoothly in this unpredictable risky environment, they must align critical processes to fit any circumstance to build successful growth.
The leader must be ready to assume control and face the challenges for fast-paced growth. During the growth stage the leader becomes more challenged to manage existing financial resources, human resources, managing employees, and even their own schedules. Funding and personnel concerns become highly important; anticipating the needs of cash flow becomes critical for growth. As well as meeting the demands of the economy and customer satisfaction must be considered early on, to ward off future problems that may occur.
The leader must identify internal factors that could impact growth. Orders begin to pick up and the leader must anticipate the demands that change the internal environment drastically. Controlling costs and process flows is absolutely essential during this time for the company to generate continued growth. Project management, customer feedback, manufacturing costs, and the economy may require the leader to make innovative changes to keep costs down that could impact growth substantially. Yet another challenge the leader will face is awareness, understanding, and tools required for the financial aspects of the business. Knowledge management assists leaders as they determine value in their projects and proposals. A well-informed leader must carefully evaluate each project to minimize risks to the company and growth.
Effective leaders will explore the different waves of change throughout this cycle of growth. The leader must be knowledgeable and prepared to deal with the many issues and concerns that are raised. If the leader is mindful of the third wave, known as the knowledge revolution, it provides extraordinary leadership because of its concept of persuasive change that encompass technology, information, and education that together create knowledge (Gray & Otter, 2006). Characteristic of this wave is greater authority given to individuals, team work, customer satisfaction, and technology. Technology and information has given the owners/managers the power to change processes, power and control, as well as improve efficiency. Unlike the second wave, as stated in the Conflicted Leader, 2006, this wave "equips the man" instead of "man the equipment".
In closing I am reminded of the forth wave or judgment wave that best describes today real world for leaders. The focus in this wave is knowledge, experience, and opportunity. These concepts equip today's leader to move forward with the potential growth they envision for their company. A leader must consider the company's rapid growth and exercising judgment to allow them to make critical decisions at a fast pace. With these decisions become responsibilities guided by values, these values become shared within the company and build relationships between the workers and leaders.
Resources
Christensen & Raynor (2003). The innovator's solution: Creating and sustaining successful growth. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Gray, A. and Otte, P. (2006). The conflicted leader and vantage leadership. Columbus, OH: Franklin University Press.
Promoting growth and managing impact. (2006). Franklin university. Boston, MA: McGraw Hill.
Ward, A. (2003). The leadership lifecycle. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Indoctrination of new employees. Interview with MBA Coach. March 6, 2007.
Week 4- Our team continued working on the Company Exploration assignment. As a team we had difficulties but were able to work them out. This was a learning process in itself. The feedback we received created a certain amount of dissention within the team as to what went wrong. We created questions as we read based on information in the executive summaries. Personally, I researched those companies to understand more about them to determine appropriate questions. We then responded to the other team’s questions for our company. It was interesting to receive the questions and send replies to each. I thought the other teams asked good questions and forced me to dig deeper into our chosen company.
I spent a lot of time researching Customer Service and Internal Marketing. I tried to apply one aspect of the Mike’s Bike Simulation to increase my knowledge in creative application of customer service with the batch issues a company faces during production. I felt this was, in effect giving me a better understanding as to the timing of production and why it is important to customer service.
The Indoctrination of New Employees allowed me to understand training and development of employees during the growth and expansion stages of business. I looked at orientation manuals of two different companies and met with my MBA coach to seek her knowledge and wisdom on the topic. We collaborated through Google’s online collaboration program to complete clear concise answer to the questions and this allow us both to use new technology to accomplish our goal.
Our team met for the Mike’s Bike sessions and I did additional research that I shared with my team as well as the class. I met with a librarian to come up with ideas for searching for new articles in academia. We applied the knowledge we gained from Win Net Mike handout and our results were dramatic. I learned that this extra effort paid off in our decision making for the simulation.
This was a very busy week for MBA 735 and I felt I learned a lot from each assignment, learned to appreciate my team members more, and even improved my research skills. I am truly becoming a graduate student in every sense of the word.
Week 6 - In this paper I will define the leadership characteristics for promoting growth and how to manage its impact from what I have learned throughout the MBA735 course. One of the major challenges the leader faces is to try to maintain the current culture of the business as they transition through the many changes of growth. The key characteristic a leader needs during growth is to have a clear vision that is shared with the employees while trying to maintain small company traits. Much like our ongoing analysis of the Golden Designs Woodworks business, as we managed the growth of the company we considered employees when making critical decisions.
The successful leader must focus on the customer and customer service during the growth cycle. Anticipating growth problems through the lifecycle will help the leader to stay better informed to implement key decisions and strategies as they grow. There are many new challenges that take place with the various stages of growth as the leader tries to make sense of the constant chaos. The leader must learn to manage and balance the changes as they focus on the needs for growth especially in the day-to-day operations and planning for the needs of the company’s future. All aspects of the business must be monitored including accounting, marketing, human resources, finances, and operations. Details of the business become even more critical as the company grows. The leader must have a clear vision of company goals while considering the impact on employees when making decisions.
The indoctrination of new employees gives the leader an opportunity to align employees with the company vision as they provide training and develop programs through orientations, this will help the leader to transition new employees during growth or expansion. Encouraging and motivating employees with rewards or recognition helps facilitate the acceptance of change. This in turn will help employees lead others, as I learned from the interview with my MBA Coach, “A sense of an organization is delivered by every other person who is part of new employee indoctrination. Finding happy, committed, and informed employees lead others in that direction, as well as provide a good sense of where to go in searching for change/corrections/assistance.” Training employees to adapt to changes in a timely manner keeps costs down and production running smoothly in this unpredictable risky environment, they must align critical processes to fit any circumstance to build successful growth.
The leader must be ready to assume control and face the challenges for fast-paced growth. During the growth stage the leader becomes more challenged to manage existing financial resources, human resources, managing employees, and even their own schedules. Funding and personnel concerns become highly important; anticipating the needs of cash flow becomes critical for growth. As well as meeting the demands of the economy and customer satisfaction must be considered early on, to ward off future problems that may occur.
The leader must identify internal factors that could impact growth. Orders begin to pick up and the leader must anticipate the demands that change the internal environment drastically. Controlling costs and process flows is absolutely essential during this time for the company to generate continued growth. Project management, customer feedback, manufacturing costs, and the economy may require the leader to make innovative changes to keep costs down that could impact growth substantially. Yet another challenge the leader will face is awareness, understanding, and tools required for the financial aspects of the business. Knowledge management assists leaders as they determine value in their projects and proposals. A well-informed leader must carefully evaluate each project to minimize risks to the company and growth.
Effective leaders will explore the different waves of change throughout this cycle of growth. The leader must be knowledgeable and prepared to deal with the many issues and concerns that are raised. If the leader is mindful of the third wave, known as the knowledge revolution, it provides extraordinary leadership because of its concept of persuasive change that encompass technology, information, and education that together create knowledge (Gray & Otter, 2006). Characteristic of this wave is greater authority given to individuals, team work, customer satisfaction, and technology. Technology and information has given the owners/managers the power to change processes, power and control, as well as improve efficiency. Unlike the second wave, as stated in the Conflicted Leader, 2006, this wave "equips the man" instead of "man the equipment".
In closing I am reminded of the forth wave or judgment wave that best describes today real world for leaders. The focus in this wave is knowledge, experience, and opportunity. These concepts equip today's leader to move forward with the potential growth they envision for their company. A leader must consider the company's rapid growth and exercising judgment to allow them to make critical decisions at a fast pace. With these decisions become responsibilities guided by values, these values become shared within the company and build relationships between the workers and leaders.
Resources
Christensen & Raynor (2003). The innovator's solution: Creating and sustaining successful growth. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Gray, A. and Otte, P. (2006). The conflicted leader and vantage leadership. Columbus, OH: Franklin University Press.
Promoting growth and managing impact. (2006). Franklin university. Boston, MA: McGraw Hill.
Ward, A. (2003). The leadership lifecycle. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Indoctrination of new employees. Interview with MBA Coach. March 6, 2007.
MBA725 Learning Journal - October 2006
My theory of an effective leader in the Launch Stage of the business lifecycle is someone who is willing and prepared to lead people to get things done and face the challenges when leading in ever-changing environment. A leader motivates and influences individuals by a process of empowering individuals and meeting the needs of his followers. The leader must define a clear path for the team or his followers as to how they will achieve their vision and mission. The leaders are the ones who dare to challenge the current situation and who are prepared to lead towards a personal vision. Leaders identify problems, look for opportunities, and create their own future, they consider where they want to go and then outline a positive approach for the journey to realize their vision.An effective leader must encourage and lead by example. By identifying better ways to plan and use a positive approach, they teach team members to learn to take risks and go with their gut feelings based on the situation. It has been my own personal experience that people learn from mistakes and this will in turn teach them what works. If we empower them to make decisions and learn the right path based on the outcome that is necessary for that situation.
Life experience, learning by doing is one of the most invaluable tools to educate followers. The leader must fit into the organization by proving their leadership ability by influencing people to follow their guidance. Honesty and integrity is an important trait for a leader to have. Good leadership is a process that takes time to build the necessary relationships to be effective and efficient.Leaders communicate effectively with knowledge in every of the business. They must advise and guide them through the decision making process. An effective leader will lead staff in problem solving discussions to find effective solutions and outline a plan to avoid the same mistakes in the future. This type of leadership communication gives them a better understanding why it is important to stay within the parameters outlined.Both personal and organizational challenges a leader face during the implementation stage relies heavily on the knowledge of what motivates people. They must effectively communicate the importance of the work, not only to themselves but also to the customers they serve and the integrity of the business. The leader must be prepared and well thought out plan and thought out manner to influence them to do their very best. The basic values and belief is core for an effective leader. Their guidance can influence and lead others to achieve the mission and vision set out before to reach their common goal as they embrace their team fill the needs as they lead their team forward to achieve the desired outcome.The challenges a leader faces when leading a next wave organization and dealing with organizations in the agricultural, industrial, and information age are extremely important when creating a culture that is conducive to change.
A leader is the risk take to seize opportunities that could have a favorable impact on the future success of the company. The leader must identify the best way to lead, inspire, and motive others to effectively implement and integrate a strategic plan. It is essential for leaders to build a strong management team that can lead the organization forward with its mission and vision to reach their goals.
LEARNING JOURNAL CONCEPTS MBA 715
1.6
In what stage of the business lifecycle is your current or former organization? Support your rationale. I would say our institution is in the growth to maturity stages. Programs are always being developed to fit the waves of change yet they continually are raising the bar for innovation and creativity as they develop new programs that allows for continual growth. Since the college has been in business for over 35 years they have matured in the fact they have a reputation to stay ahead of the competition by identifying and adapting to constant change. Institutionally they strive for success to become the one of the best two-year colleges in the nation. Why is it important for a leader to identify environmental trends at his or her organization? Would you consider yourself a manager or a leader at this stage in your MBA career? Explain your reasoning. I would consider myself more of a manager at this stage of the game. As I rise to each level of my education I am fast becoming a leader.
2.4
What can a leader do to promote innovative ideas from workers? What role does a leader play in generating creative ideas? Explain why you believe this. A leader can promote innovative ideas from workers by allowing them to design new programs for implementation. The leader clearly communicating that vision to each worker can realize the role the leader plays in generating creative ideas through assignment of tasks that will meet the vision of the company. The leader builds motivation and commitment to reach the goals for the venture. Why is it important for an effective leader to be cognizant of the functional content areas of business when they are not his or her area of expertise? A leader must cognizant of the functional content areas for effective market research and evaluation of the project. This will help them to plan in all areas of pricing, sales, service, distribution, and new product planning. Accounting must accurately reflect financial data to determine how the new product will fit with their current financial status. The leader must be able to define the technology required for implementation of the project and the human resources required to fulfill the personnel needs. Lastly, the leader will require a complete understanding to identify operations of the new plan to be effective. All these pieces fit together if the company is to succeed in the new venture. You and your coach discussed tactics of obtaining information and data from within an organization. What can a leader do to strengthen the informal culture of an organization to make data more easily available to those within the company? A leader must communicate effectively to make data more easily available. This would mean the leader must be sure to identify the data required for the project and to be able to ask for the information intelligently. He must be able to identify the areas accurately to be sure he gets the correct data. It has been my experience to be patient when requesting data and create somewhat of a friendship of respect for those you ask to gather information for you. They are more encouraged and motivated to get you the information if they feel respected and you are clear on what exactly what you need. What is the impact on obtaining needed data if you were working in organizations in each of the four different waves. Obtaining data in the four different waves has an impact by giving the leader an overview of the system to help identify and manage necessary change required to develop effective leaders within the organization. This information will assist with strategies and scenario planning for the future of the organization and assist with developing high performing teams.
3.4
How can a leader collect and access effective data? Data can be collected from a variety of sources. Internal audits, board minutes, company websites, and financial statements are good sources for effective data. Sometimes, a leader must conduct research for more data; there are very good library sources that can help them locate journals, news articles and online databases. How does a leader determine what information is relevant to overall leadership of the functional area? The leader must have an overall clear understanding of the organizations missions and goals and to be able to identify the areas of functionality to meet those goals. Why does a leader need to be able to analyze data from a strategic, operational, and tactical point of view? As a leader identifies areas of possible changes that may occur they can better plan for the overall strategic plan to meet these challenge. This will allow them to make appropriate operational changes necessary to stay productive and to have a competitive advantage.
4.4
How does a leader obtain resources from within the organization? A leader can obtain resources from within the organization connecting with higher level managers or accountants to give them information or areas to seek out the necessary resources they require. What role does social capital play in obtaining these resources? Social capital plays an important role when obtaining resources. This opens the door for information that may not be readily more available. As they say, it isn’t what you know it is who you know that can make all the difference in obtaining resources. Why is it important to look at resources through the 4-Lens Perspective when reviewing resource needs for a project? It is important to look at resources through the 4-lens perspective to determine all issues, determine strategy and implement a plan for success. This perspective will help identify possibilities of innovation and creativity as well as provide a sound strategic analysis for the project.
5.6
How does an effective leader ensure that projects or proposals align with the vision, mission, and goals of the organization? The leader can ensure the proposal aligns with the vision, mission and goals for an organization by constantly evaluating the strategic plan and the successes that are realized through the lifecycle of the project. How does an effective leader ensure that projects or proposals conform to the strategic, operational, and tactical plans for the organization? This can be done through a strategic analysis of all functional areas of the organization.
6.3
The key leadership characteristics needed to implement a business proposal is good communications, charisma, and confidence. A leader can plan and prepare for many different scenarios for business proposals and when changes occur the leader must be ready to adapt to these changes. The major challenge the leader faces is to always have the flexibility for change and the ability to change or rework a plan based on newly defined information. The leader must be willing and able to adapt to these ever changing scenarios in order to succeed in the future. A leader must always be ready to make the necessary changes in a fast changing world.
