The Essay Explores Leadership Styles Of The Director Of Vision Autowork Pte Ltd.

Effectiveness of leadership style in Vision Autowork Pte Ltd

Discuss About The Leadership Styles Being Followed By The Director?

In the present business scenario, leadership roles hold an important part in the contemporary business organizations. Contemporary business organizations have to maintain various diversified aspects to drive their competitiveness in the present business state of affairs. One of these key aspects is effective leadership (Northouse 2015). In the contemporary business organizations, leadership roles help in motivating the employees in increase their productivity and competitiveness. Moreover, it is the responsibility of the leaders to equip the employees in facing the business challenges and made them aware about the organizational vision and objectives (Chen and Yang 2012). Apart from this role of human resource management, the responsibilities of the leaders also involve organizing the various aspects of the organizations and driving the organizations in to profitable venture and to stay ahead in the competition (Armstrong and Taylor 2014). Leadership roles constitute of various types of styles which are being applicable based on the situation and the organizational cultures.

Vision Autowork Pte Ltd is being situated in Singapore. It is one of the leading and renowned car servicing centers in Singapore. It is being operating for last 2 years in Singapore. This organization is known for their effective customer service being provided and their positive organizational culture. They mainly service and repair the accident vehicle (Jahanshani et al. 2014). The director of this organization is known for his effective leadership styles which are proved to be beneficial in maintaining the effective working environment in the organization. The workshop is small consisting of 15 employees. However, the leadership of their director is driving the organization to being a renowned one in Singapore.

This report will discuss about the leadership styles being followed by the director of Vision Autowork Pte Ltd. In addition, various theories related to the leadership will be used for critical discussion of the leadership styles. The critical analysis will involve the traits and behaviors of the leader along with his style of managing the employees. A short interview will be taken to identify various aspects of the director of Vision Autowork Pte Ltd. Accordingly; a reflective opinion will be presented regarding the ideal leadership style.

The leadership style being followed in Vision Autowork Pte Ltd is more of transformational style of leadership. It is due to the reason that, it is been observed that the role of the director or leader in this organization is the key motivating factor for the employees (Lazaroiu 2015). The observation is being continued for two months. In these two months, various organizational practices related to the leadership roles are being noted. The director has a unique visionary characteristic which is being effectively communicated to the employees. In addition, the employees also feel more engaged in their workplace due to the implementation of effective working environment in the organization. The director maintains the involvement of the all the employees in every aspects of the business. One of the key features for transformational leadership is maintaining the level of motivation for the employees in order to enhance the productivity of the organization (Lazaroiu 2015). In the case of Vision Autowork Pte Ltd, various employee welfare schemes are being initiated by the director in order to motivate the employees in their workplace.

Analysis of the interview

It is also been seen that a special effort being given in determining the work life balance of the employees (Wiese 2015). This further helps the employees in having favorable motivation and satisfaction with their respective job roles. In the process of decision making in the organization, it is been observed that all the employees are being involved in the process by the director (Mone and London 2014). Moreover, the opinions from the employees are being gathered by him in order to implement an effective decision. Thus, majority of the employees are being satisfied with the decisions being taken by the director. It is also been seen that the director has the ability to maintain the stability in the organization in case of any challenges or issues. He has the ability to drive his employees through the organizational challenges by leading from the front. Moreover, the director is much optimistic and positive which also influence the employees in maintaining the effective working environment in the organization (Korzynski 2013).

In this case, it is been observed that, the leadership style being followed by the director is also have the characteristic similar with the laissez-faire style of leadership. According to this style of leadership, the leaders delegate the decision making process to the employees (Chaudhry and Javed 2012). It enables the employees in having the freedom in taking decisions. Thus, the engagement with the employees is more in this style of leadership. In the case of Vision Autowork Pte Ltd, the director delegates roles such as providing customer feedback and management to the employees. It enabled the employees in taking decision accounting to the situation. The job responsibilities of the employees are being well organized and specifically defined. As he do not follow the authoritarian style of leadership, the use of power or dictation is not required in the organization (Schuh, Zhang and Tian 2013). The vision of the leader is being well communicated among the employees and the job designs are being initiated accordingly. Thus, employees are well aware about the job to be accomplished.

Situational leadership theory is also applicable for this organization. It is due to the reason that the director in this organization is always adjusting the organizational culture and practices accordingly to the market requirement (McCleskey 2014). According to the situational theory being given by Kenneth Blanchard and Paul Hersey, it is the style of leadership which tends to change with the change in the situation. It helps to enhance the flexibility of the organizations. In the case of Vision Autowork Pte Ltd, the director follows the situational style of leadership. It enables him in driving his organization according to the external environment of business. Hence, the organization remains updated to stay ahead in the competition.

The questionnaire is being created according to the observation being made in two months in the organization. The leadership roles in the organization are being closely observed which gave rise to various questions which are being stated in the interview process with the CEO of the organization. The director of the Vision Autowork Pte Ltd is being interviewed about his leadership styles and its effectiveness on the organizational practices. He is asked about his opinion about the effective style of leadership. According to him, there is nothing like most effective style of leadership (Sethuraman and Suresh 2014). Leadership styles can be only be termed as effective if they can fulfill the aspirations of the all the stakeholders in the organizations (Fassin 2012). He also stated that the leadership roles should be flexible enough in order to cope up with changing business environment. Thus, from his opinion it can be stated that situational leadership theory is most applicable with his approach. According to this concept, the leadership roles are being changed according to the change in the business environment. It helps the organizations to be updated and stay ahead in the competition.

The director is also being asked to state about the reason behind the favorable performance of the employees in his organization. According to him, the employees are being provided safe and secured working environment which helps the employees in enhancing their productivity. In addition, the employee involvement is being given much consideration in the organization (Andries and Czarnitzki 2014). According to him, the more involvement of the employees in the organizational activities and in the decision making process helps them to get adhere with the activities being allocated to them. Thus, it helps them to have the clear idea about the job responsibilities to be accomplished by them.

He is asked about the key characteristics of an effective leader. In addition, he is being asked how an ideal leader should act. According to him, an effective leader should have the visionary capabilities about his organization. He should foresee the future trend in the market and accordingly should act (Taylor, Cornelius and Colvin 2014). An ideal leader should have the capabilities to motivate all the stakeholders associated with the organization. Moreover, according to him, an effective leader is not only supervising his subordinates but also create examples to follow. Engaging the employees in the workplace should also be seen by the leaders. Thus, from his reply, it can be concluded that transformational style leadership are being considered by him as an effective style of leadership (Garcia-Morales, Jimenez-Barrionuevo and Gutierrez-Gutierrez 2012). This is due to the reason that, the criteria that he has stated for being an effective leader is mostly matches with the transformational style of leadership. Being analyzed his response, it can be concluded that he is the staunch follower of transformational leadership style. His response is more of employee oriented than the task oriented. Thus, employee oriented style of leadership can be also be applied with his response. According to this type of leadership, leaders are more concentrated with the welfare of the employees than the accomplishment of the task. It helps in maintaining the satisfaction level of the employees which further helps in enhancing their productivity (Abraham 2012).

Another question being asked to him is about the measures that have been implemented in his organization in order to motivate his employees. According to him, employees are being effectively engaged in the organizational practices in order to increase their level of involvement in the organization. Moreover, employees are being involved in the decision making process, which further helps to enhance the level of importance of the employees in the organization (Pettigrew 2014). According to him, the more involved will be the employees in their workplace, the more comfortable they will be in accomplishing their job responsibilities. Thus, the motivation level of the employees will be increased. In addition, various welfare policies regarding the retirement and injuries of the employees are being implemented in the organization in order to safeguard their interest in their workplace (Waller and Moten 2012). It helps the organization in creating a positive image of the management in the mind of the employees. They feel more involved in the organization.

He also stated that, other options such as incentives, rewards and appraisals are being promoted in the organization in order to maintain and enhance the motivational level of the employees. The appraisals are being given to the employees once in a year (Daoanis 2012). Rewards are being awarded to the best performers. This enables the employees to have the motivation to work more effectively in their workplace. Thus, eventually it helps the employees to increase their productivity. He also stated that, the increase in the level of the motivation is further helping his organization to maintain the positive retention rate (Terera and Ngirande 2014). It proves as competitive advantage to them and also reducing the cost involved in recruitment and selecting new employees. Training is also being given accordingly in order to equip and motivate the employees.

The next question being asked to the director is about the measures being used by him in order to empower the employees in facing the organizational challenges. He told that, new employees are being given proper training and skill development schemes in order to increase their level of expertise in the organization. Existing employees are also being given training periodically in order to empower them in coping up with the changing market scenario (Jehanzeb and Bashir 2013). For instance, he told that few months ago, employees are being given the training regarding a new machine being purchased in the organization for automatic cleaning process of the cars. Thus, due to the training process, employees are now equipped to use the machine effectively.

The next question being asked to the director is about his opinion regarding the situational style of leadership. According to him, situational style of leadership is not a specific style to be followed. He stated that, every leadership styles can be changed based on the situation (McCleskey 2014). According to him, leadership styles should be changed or modified according to the change in the industry and market. Without changing, no style of leadership will be able to survive. Giving his own examples, he stated that he change his style of leadership based on the situation. In few cases, he applied the style of authoritarian leadership to dictate the employees in the time of any hardships (Schuh, Zhang and Tian 2013). It helped him to convey his requirement more clearly to the employees. Moreover, in many cases, transformational leadership is being followed by him to motivate the employees and maintain the effective working environment.

Another question being asked to him is regarding his approach towards the employees and the customers. According to him, employee should be more preferred than the customers. He told that if the employees can be effectively taken care of, then automatically the customer service will be effective provided by the employees. He also told that he believe in delegation of the task among the employees. Thus, the employee oriented approach of him is being noted. According to him, delegation of the task helps in engaging the employees in their workplace along with generating more ideas from them. According to him, leadership roles can act as the competitive advantage for the organization if properly implemented. He stated that, if the motivational ne engagement level of the employees can be maintained by the leadership and the working environment can be maintained, then it will prove as competitive advantage by having motivated employees along with generating off new and innovative ideas from them. Regarding customer satisfaction, he told that it is the most important factor for the survival of an organization. The more will be the customer satisfaction, the more will be the revenue being generated from the market. Thus, he tries to keep the motivational level of the employees high to enable them to provide effective customer service.

Thus, from the interview process of the director, it can be concluded that he is not applying the transformational style of leadership in his organization, rather than he is implementing the situational leadership based on the situation. However, it is being noted that, task oriented style of leadership is being neglected to a large extent (Donate and de Pablo 2015). According to this style of leadership, accomplishment of the task is given most importance than other. In few cases, it is important to have this style of leadership due to the reason that it will help in effective accomplishment of the job. Employee oriented leadership is as important for the organization, however over implementation of this theory will further reduce the productivity of the employees (Choudhary, Akhtar and Zaheer 2013). This is due to the reason that the employees will not feel the pressure or zeal to perform in their workplace. Hence, it is an important gap being identified in the leadership style of this organization.

Moreover, the leadership style being followed by him is a mixed of various leadership theories. It is previously being observed that, only the transformational style of leadership is being followed in the organization, however, the response from the director conveyed that a mixed style is being followed. Another difference identified between the responses of the director and the observation is regarding the involvement of the employees in the decision making process (Chaudhry and Javed 2012). It is being observed that the employees are being involved in determining the decision making process. However, the response from the director is portraying that the opinions of the employees are being gathered and accordingly the decision are being taken. Thus, the approach in both the cases is different.

Having critically analyzed the leadership role in Vision Autowork Pte Ltd, I believe that there are still many areas are present for improvement. One of the key areas for improvement is the implementation of the task oriented leadership style. I as a leader will implement the task oriented leadership style in order to improve the rate of accomplishment of task in the organization. Moreover, it is being found that transformational leadership is asking for welfare of all the stakeholders in the organization. Thus, all stakeholders include customers also. However, in this organization, it is been seen that customers are being less preferred compared to the employees in implementing the decision making process. I will prefer more of the customer aspect in my leadership style due to the reason that if the customer are being effectively served, then only the organization will grow in the market.

Moreover the path goal theory can be applied in this organization in order to further enhance the motivational level of the employees. Following of path goal theory will help to design the job responsibilities of the employees according to the situation being faced by the organization. I being a leader will train my employees to provide effective customer service. In addition, the employee benefit and welfare will also be considered. According to me, an effective leader should consider the interest of all the stakeholders along with achieving the organizational goals and objectives. It is also being identified from the above sections that, there is no particular style of leadership being followed in this organization. Rather than it is mixing up the several strategies or styles in designing their leadership roles. However, according to me, a particular style of leadership should be followed in the organization. I believe that it will help to drive the organizational culture and practices in a single direction. Thus, employees will be more comfortable and have clear idea about the organizational role of leadership. I being a leader will first select a particular style of leadership based on the situation in the organization. Afterwards, I will modify it according to the requirement in the market. According to me, it will be more beneficial to the organization.

According to me, this organization can be termed as a small organization with having only 15 employees. Thu, it does not having any strict and diversified hierarchy level. Thus, it will not take a long time in reaching out to the director position. Effective implementation of the leadership styles according to the situation in the organization will only take maximum 1 year to reach to the desired position. In this 1 year, it should be shown that the leadership style being followed by me is more effective than the existing leadership roles.

• A fixed style of leadership should be followed rather than mixing up the various strategies.
• Customers should be considered as a key stakeholder. The interest of customers should be considered during the decision making process.
• Other than the human resource management, leadership role should also covers other business aspects such as marketing effectively in order to increase the organizational profits.
• Leadership in this organization should have the knowledge about the effectiveness of various leadership styles being followed in other organizations. It will help them in modifying their strategies in more effective manner.
• Majority of the transformational leadership style are being accepted by this organization. However, it should be noted that this style of leadership is also having few drawbacks. Thus, it should be considered before implementing the leadership styles.
• Having implemented any styles of leadership, communication process should be well initiated in the organization. It will help in gathering the feedback from the employees and customers. On the other hand, the vision of the director will be well communicated to the employees.

Conclusion

Having analyzed the various aspects of leadership in the organizations, it can be concluded that every styles of leadership are having their own merits and demerits. Thus, it is important for the organizations to effectively determine the utility of the leadership styles comparing with their business situation before initiating for the change. Vision Autowork Pte Ltd is being considered here in this report in order to evaluate the effectiveness of their leadership roles. It is been seen that, they are following mostly the features of transformational and situational styles of leadership. However, the styles of leadership of them are being variable and it changes with the change in the external environment. Employees in this organization are being considered as the most important stakeholders and accordingly, majority of the leadership roles in the organization is concentrated towards their welfare. Due to this reason, the working environment in this organization is much effective than others. Moreover, the employees are well motivated and engaged in their workplace.

However, it is also be stated in this report that, considering only the employee benefits and welfare in the leadership roles will cause negative implications in the organization. Accordingly, a reflective writing is being produced in this report to present the areas of improvement in this organization. In addition, several recommendations are being given here in this report. Following these recommendations will further enhance the productivity of the organization.

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