CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF
RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter reviews
some works related to the subject matter to enable us have an in-depth knowledge
of what the research is all about. The
review is presented along the following lines: The theoretical framework on leadership,
conceptual framework, on role of policy formulation, leadership
role on policy formulation, implication of policy formulation on the organization, optimization
of resource and policy formulation, external environment challenges on policy formulation
and manpower planning, and lastly, summary of the review of related literature.
2.1 Theoretical Framework
on Leadership
Behavioral Theories of Leadership
These theories began when the
ideas of unique leader traits were questioned in the 1940s. It was considered
that the qualities of leaders could be analyses better by looking at their
behavior or their behavioural style that cause others to follow them. A trait
is a physical or psychological characteristic that accounts for the behavior of
a person. Trait theories grew out of qualities found in great or well- known
natural leaders, whom it was thought were born with leadership qualities. It
was later considered that if traits of natural leaders were identified it would
be possible for others to acquire them through learning and experience. Social
psychologists were interested in leadership as an aspect of behaviour in the
workplace and not just in personal characteristic. Two studies on leadership,
which are important, occurred at the universities of Ohio
and Michigan in the USA
·
Personal concerns: mangers had to consider
their own values, their inclinations
towards leadership, and the level of confidence they had in their subordinates.
·
Subordinate concerns: managers had to consider
their subordinates needs for responsibility and independence, their knowledge
and interest of the problem, and the amount they desired to be involved in solving
problems.
·
Concern for the situation: this concluded concern for
the nature of the problem, the competence of the group in handing the problem,
the time available and the type and history of the organization.
They suggested a continuum of possible leadership behaviour which is
available to manager, along which may be placed various styles of leadership.
At one extreme, leadership was boss-centered (or authoritarian) and at the
other extreme, leadership was subordinate–centered (or democratic) the continuum
therefore, represents arrange of action which relates to the degree of
authority used by manager and the area of freedom available to subordinates in
arriving at decision. There is a relationship, therefore, to McGregor’s theory
x and Y. Boss-centered leadership relates towards theory x and
subordinate-centered leadership, towards theory Y.
A Continuum of Leadership Behaviour
Leadership styles as approached by D McGregor in the human side of Enterprise
· the average person dislike work and will avoid it if possible;
· People therefore must be
coerced, controlled and direct and threatened with punishment in order to get
them to work towards organizational goals, the average person prefers to be
directed and wants to avoid responsibility he has little ambition and desires
security above all. MCgregor considered that this approach was based upon
wrong assumptions about motivation and theory was preferred.
· Expenditure of physical and
mental effort in work is as natural as play or rest. Work can be a source of
satisfaction’
· People can exercise self- direction and control to
achieve objective to which they are
committed;
· Commitment to objective is a
function of the reward associated with their achievement;
· Under proper conditions
people can learn to accept and seek responsibility;
· Ability to use imagination
and creative thinking is widely distributed in population;
· The intellectual potential
of the average person in industrial life is only partially realized.
The practical manager can be helped by analyzing various approaches to
leadership styles, but he must come to his own conclusions and adapt to the
actual situation.
Contingency or Situational Theories
of Leadership
The most recent approach to the understanding of leadership builds on the previous
behavioural theories state that appropriativeness of the action leader depend
upon the actual situation in which
actions are taken. Autocratic
leadership approach may, for example be suitable for manager factory but not
for manager of development and design staff. This is called the contingency or
situational approach, and attempts to explain leadership within the context of
the larger situation in which it occurs. This is in contrast to earlier
theories which concentrated on the behaviour of leaders.
Fielder (2005:10) has been summarized in his book” A theory of
leadership effectiveness”. Leaders are placed on a scale depending upon whether
they are task orientated or people orientated. Likert (2000:20) was involved in these
investigation and the findings appear to confirm research by others. These are,
when foremen created an atmosphere which contributed to discussion of work
problems in a relaxed, natural way when they had time to discuss personal
problems and stand up and support their men. Research by Fiedler can be of
practical advantage to managers. He gave advice on what should be the
appropriate leadership style or behaviour in various situations. He suggested
that the extent to which a manager should be democratic or authoritarian in his
leadership style related to the authority and power he had in his position as
manager (right to hire, dismiss, reward).
The extent and nature of the interpersonal relations between the leader
and members of the group is a function of how the leader relates with the led.
In this contingency theory of leadership Likert suggests that where relations
between members and leader are good the task basically unstructured and the
power of the leader weak, his style should be more democratic and considerate.
If the converse was the case, then a more authoritarian style would appear to
be appropriate.
Robert Tannenbaum and warren
Schmidt (1973: 112) argue that the appropriateness of a leader’s actions depend
upon the actual situation in which action are taken. They tried to distinguish
between the types of problems mangers should handle themselves and those
handled jointly with their subordinates. Their conclusions sought to guide a
manager in making the appropriate choice of how autocratic or democratic to be
in making a decision. Research into these areas has become more specific, and not just a
listing of personal abilities Modern trait research is more scientific. These
tests have shown that:
· Leader show better judgment,
they are better adjusted psychologically they interact more socially than
non-leader;
· Leader tends to ask for and
give more information and take the lead in summing up or interpreting a
situation.
This approach is still not considered really satisfactory. One objection is that the degree to which a
person exhibits leadership depends not only on his or her characteristic, but
on the characteristics of the situation in which he or she finds him or
herself. A person, therefore, may show
better leadership in hostile situation than in a group which is friendly and
co-operative.
Peter Principle
There are people who arrive at senior position through their abilities
but these abilities may not act to their advantage when they are there. This
seems to reflect the approach taken by Peter (2004:90) in his book the Peter
Principle which states in a hierarchy, each employee tends to rise to his level
of incompetence. Every post tends to be occupied by an employee incompetent to
execute his duties, he illustrates this by suggesting that usually competent
workers become incompetent supervisor, and competent junior become incompetent
senior executives. The fact is that there are competent ranks for them to have
reached their level of incompetence. This idea has wide implication,
particularly for management training, but must not be considered a universal
statement applying to all organization or persons.
Leadership Training
Some abilities as a leader may take person to the top but may not be to
his or her advantage when they are there. From this approach there are points
of view which suggest that in a group almost any member may become a better
leader if there is circumstances him or her to perform the needed functions of
leadership of the group. This implies that leadership is an organizational
function’ rather than a personal quality.
A fairly successful model of leadership training used on some
management course in the United
Kingdom
The model is based upon three overlapping circles that form part of any
leadership situation as a functional leadership approach, which identifies
function of leader in relation to the basic needs which are common in all
leadership situations. Individual needs are distinguished from group needs and
the needs of the task to be done. There will never really be a perfect match
between the three elements and the job of the leader is to be aware of these
aspects and manager in each situation giving suitable priority to the
variables. Adair considers that leadership variables differ according to
situation.
Training is organized around the eight element of; defining objectives
(tasks), planning, controlling, evaluating motivating, organizing, briefing and
setting an example. The idea of the model is to encourage a flexible approach
to leadership to be more in the adopting of appropriate behaviour than of
personal traits.
Functional Leadership Approach
Ways of achieving co-ordination in leadership. In order to be
successful, co-ordination must not be directed in an autocratic manner, but
rather encouraged in democratic manner, everyone participating in a unified
way. It operates vertically as well as horizontally and should be effected at
the most appropriate time. In addition to these points, Follett (2006:93)
suggests three more factors of effective co-ordination by direct contact
between the persons immediately concerned it must commence at the earliest
stages of planning and policy-making; it must be a continuous process. It is
apparent that everyone is influenced by their colleagues and by the total
environment; co-ordination will be easier to achieve if they understand each
other’s jobs and they will compromise more if information is exchanged. The ideal is for arrangements for
co-ordination to be such that problem can be anticipated and therefore more
easily prevented.
As previously stated, co-ordination exists horizontally and vertical
and it is essential for authority and responsibility to be clearly delegated so
that department heads know the limits of permissible behaviour. It can be
appreciated that as more functions are self-contained the number of
organizational relationships will be reduced and less co-operation will be
required. If authority overlaps, co-ordination generally will be more difficult;
but this may be permissible in some cases especially if the objectives of each
department concerned were different.
Techniques Committee aid
co-ordination is that they:
· Pool resources to solve
problems;
· Co-ordinate overlapping or
confecting functions;
· Ensure prior consultation
and lead to greater acceptance of decision;
· Enable executives to be
trained
· Staff meetings are useful,
particularly if they are informal.
· Give a sense of unity to the
work of the organization
·
provide an opportunity for subordinates to question superior and
provide a forum for discussion;
·
Inform staff of new developments and problems. (Follett, 2006:99)
Conferences are another method of making a group decision. They aid
free discussion and help to improve understanding of company matters and this
face to face communication is an important factor in effective co-ordination.
Programmes are instruments of co-ordination, i.e. a timetable or a production
programmes enable results to be compared with standard and actions to be taken
where necessary. These programmes register and communicate discussion, and
hence allow them to be delegated.
2. Conceptual Framework
2.2.1 Roles of Policy Formulation
In the administration of business one of the most important tasks is to
formulate policy; the work of planning and the determination of company
objective become effective when expressed in policy form. A policy is a guide to the
action or decision of people. Policies are directives, issued from a higher
author, and provide a continuous frame work for the conduct of individuals in a
business – they are in effect types of planning. Policies are expressions of a
company’s official attitude towards types of behaviour with which it will
permit, or desire, employees to act. They express the means by which the
company’s agreed objectives are to be achieved and usually take the form of
statements, telling members how they should act in specific circumstances.
Lampard, (2008:44) reflect management thinking on basic matters and inform
those interested in the activities of the company about the company’s
intentions regarding them.
Formulation of policy
Policy formulation may begin at
any level of management and may flow upwards or downward along the levels of
organization. Policy usually is formed by: The board of directors and senior
management, who determine the main policies; being passed up the chain of
command until someone takes responsibility for making a decision; External
influences; like government legislation, may force a policy change. Policy
formulated by executives is usually on broad lies and subordinates have scope
in applying it. Any policy should be as specific as possible.
Specific Policies
It is not always easy to be
specific, words must be carefully chosen and policies must be basically sound
and well administered. It may be difficult to state policies that will cover
all eventualities and this therefore may tend to limit the range of the
policies and therefore be unduly restrictive.
Advantages of Specific Policies
They are easy to refer to and
absorb, misunderstandings are relatively few. New employees can easily be made aware
of them in their induction. They are a good exercise for management who must
have thought about them seriously before writing them down. Media for
communicating policy, like manuals letters, conferences, etc will be discussed
later in the chapter on Directing.
Polices should be flexible and allow executives discretion in their
application. They are more likely to be accepted if they are applied
consistently and fairly.
Implied Policies
Policies regarding functional areas will be shown in more detail in the
following chapter, but a brief indication will be given now of some of the
major types of policy. Product policy involves deciding upon the products to
make and depends upon many factors, particularly upon the productions. Such a
policy in turn generates other polices, like marketing, finance and research.
Production policy deals with, for example: what proportions of plant should be
devoted to flow or job or batch production? Market policy involves determining
distribution channels, pricing structure of products, volume and types of
advertising, credit policy, method of subdividing territory and remuneration of
salesmen. Purchasing policy involves notes Phillips (2008:34) what
organizations buy and to what extent, and what are alternative sources of
supply. Human resource policy involves methods of training, education, pension
schemes, incentive plans, management succession and development, benefits,
union relation. Another function need policies, but the above will serve to
indicate the necessity for clear-cut policies in all section of an enterprise
Rules and procedures are often confused with policies. Rules are more specific
than policies and they usually entail penalties for misuse. Policy establishes
a guiding framework for rules. Policies are broader the rules and are usually
stated in more general language.
Procedures reflect policy and provide a standard method by which work
is performed and provide a check when
events do not occur. They are subordinate to policy and are useful aid to training. A terminology in the area of
planning can be little confusing as numerous terms are used loosely and have
similar meanings. All managers plan, no matter at what level. Risk and uncertainty is
minimized by planning and this is needed more today than before as social and
economic condition alter very quickly and careful planning enables an
organization to prepare for change.
Planning helps the organization to define its purposes and activities
it enables performance standard to be set and results can therefore be compared
with the standard to enable managers to see how the organization is proceeding
toward its goals. Planning must be flexible to deal with a changing
environment. When plans are made, for example, for addition to the fleet of
cars of a transport firm they must take into account possible increases in fuel
prices. (McBernards, 2001:77) The higher up the hierarchy of management, the more attention is paid
to planning, particularly in setting out goal and strategies for a long period
ahead. Managers lower in the hierarchy usually deal with section of the total
plan and are concerned with shorter periods of time. Many persons may be
involved in planning activities, which must be a continuous process, but the
main point is that these activities must produce a specific plan; without plans
planning activities have no real effect. One main feature of planning is to
make a decision. This will involve assumption about the future and about many
variable factors. Planning is essential for the long- term survival of any
business enterprise as it helps to determine the most profitable way to
allocate limited resources among competing ends. In Principles of Planning
(Benson 2008;66) notes that Plans should be based upon clearly defined
objectives and make use of all available information. Plans should consider
factors in the environment which will help or hinder the organization in
reaching its goal. They should take account of the existing organization and
provide for control, so performance can be checked with establishment. They
should be precise, practicable and simple to understand and operate. They
should be flexible, to ensure that if circumstance s necessitate change this
can be effected without disrupting the plan.
2.3 Leadership
Role on Policy Formulation
Some critics argue that the importance of leadership
is greatly overrated and that in many contexts leaders make little or no
difference. An interesting aspect of path-goal theory is the notion that
situational factors may sometimes render certain leader behaviors unnecessary
and/or ineffective. However, path-goal theory stops short of attempting to
specify explicitly the conditions under which leader behavior may be
unnecessary because of situational factors. According to (Moha, 2007:51), the
substitutes for leadership approach attempts to specify some of the main
situational factors likely to make leader behaviors unnecessary or to negate
their effectiveness. According to this approach, neutralizers are situational factors that make it impossible for given leader
behavior to have an impact on subordinate performance and/or satisfaction. In
other words, they cancel out, or negate, the effects of a leader’s behavior.
Examples of neutralizers that can negate the impact of both
relationship-oriented and task-oriented leader behavior are high need for
subordinate independence, low subordinate valence for available rewards and
physical distance between leader and subordinates. Managers need to assess the
presence of neutralizers and attempt to alter the situation, if possible, so
that appropriate leader behaviors can have the intended effect. (for instance,
a manager may develop new reward possibilities, such as training opportunities,
if subordinates have a low valence for currently available rewards)
On the other hand, substitutes are situational factors that make leadership impact not only impossible but also unnecessary. Substitutes for relationship-oriented leader behavior
include intrinsically satisfying work and subordinates who have a professional work
orientation. Substitutes for task-oriented behavior include able and
experienced subordinates and work that is routine, has clearly specified
methods, and/or provide clear feedback. The presence of substitutes for
leadership can enable a leader to concentrate on other areas in need of her or
his attention. says Bass & Bernard (2000:31) Aside from being concerned about the
leadership needs of specific subordinates and work groups, managers also need
to consider the broader per- sportive of the organizational life cycle.
2.4 Implication of
policy Formulation ON ORGANIZATIONS
According to Mc Robins (2006:39), the view of
organization as having life cycles, or predictable stages of development,
provides some guidance about when either transactional or transformational
leadership is likely to be most appropriate.
When an organization is at it entrepreneurial, or beginning, stage,
transformational leadership is particularly instrumental in creating vision
that allows the organization to be born and to take a few first steps. At the
collectivity stage, additional workers begin to join the initial core group,
and transaction leadership becomes an important aid in handling the
accelerating growth. By the formalization and control stage, organizational
growth requires even greater emphasis on transactional leadership to maintain
direction and control. By the elaboration of structure stage, excessive
formalization and control often reduce innovation to a low level, so heavy
emphasis on transformational styles of leadership are likely to be utilized at
every stage in effective organizations,. The amount of emphasis is different in
each case. Thus managers need to understand both leadership approaches in order
to function effectively. Inherent in putting these approaches into practice is
the need to be well versed in organizational communication processes.
Table 1:
LEADERSHIP and the Organization Life
Cycle
Organization l life –cycle state
Most important leadership emphasis
Entrepreneurial Transformational
Collectivity Transactional
Formalization Transactional
Elaboration of structure Transformational
2.5 Optimization of
Resource and Policy Formulation
The co-operation workers must be obtained if the business is to run smoothly.
The workers must have confidence in the firm and this may not be easy when
technical advances produce a fear of unemployment and unrest. Policy must be
determined by the board and must be clearly defined, and those employees who
have to administer the policy should be given an opportunity to contribute.
This may be done in joint consultative committees. In order to have a good
policy, a knowledge of those factor an employee regards as important is
essential. This involves knowledge of industrial application of sociological and
psychological theories, and the force generated should be known and controlled
in order to ensure effective collaboration of individuals and groups where
company and individual goals can be reached. Harmony of objective must be the goal. Social scientists are being
enrolled in industry to examine sociological problems. A recent approach is to
examine the organizational environment, the objectives and methods of
management and the forms of company structure states, (Blair 2004:66). It may
be that these conditions limit what the individual can achieve. Human resource
policies, therefore, are concerned with providing and effective organizational
structure, manning it with appropriate personnel and security optimum working
condition; the object being to create and maintain a level where the company
operates at maximum efficiency. The following factors may be regarded as
important and necessary in a human resources policy (Bernard, 2007:56)
· Remuneration. This must be at least the market rate for the job and give the
employee a reasonable standard of living.
· Security. This is vital to the average worker; it is not so important to the
young, or where this full employment, but stability of employment is essential
and there must be guarantees against unfair dismissal.
· Opportunity . If this is not available,
a worker may look elsewhere. Vacancies should therefore be filled within a firm
wherever possible or practicable. This does emphasize the need for good
education and training policies so that existing staff can be trained to fill
vacancies.
· Status. In-status-statement Captor. It
was stated that the Hawthorne Experiments showed that a person feeling that he mattered
and that he was a respected member of a group can influence output which lead
to the retention of workers or otherwise.
· Justice. This can the simply defined as confidence in being treated fairly. The
security of the worker must not be threatened and specific rules regarding
punishment, judgment and appeals procedure must be invoke. These should include
guarantees of confidential access to the human resource manager, (Jonah 2008:33)
· Democracy. In a capitalist structure it may not be easy to invoke the idea that
and man has the right to a voice in the way he is governed, and by whom his is
governed. Attempts long these lines are the formation of joint consultative
committees and the establishment of procedures for regular consultation between
managers and employee.
· General. To assist employee in developing social, educational and recreational
amenities and to maintain polices without
discrimination between employees.
Manpower planning seeks to maintain and improve an origination’s
ability to achieve corporate objectives by developing strategies which are
designed to increase the present and future contribution manpower. There is
great difficulty in forecasting future demand because of the changes in the
following areas; (Peter, 2002:31).
· technological- changes in
materials technical systems and method power
· economic – marketing, capital
formation
· social – population trends,
social mobility and education
· Political – industrial
legislation (wages and salaries, monetary policy training, redundancy).
· The right number of staff is
recruited at each level in the hierarchy.
· Staffing requirements can be
better balanced and movement of staff made easier. Areas of high labour
turnover are highlighted.
·
Implication of changes in recruitment, promotion and succession plans
are foreseeable.
·
Detailed records are needed plus expensive clerical staff.
·
Problems of forecasting changes, especially technological and
government policy areas.
·
Forecasts can be uncertain even for few years ahead.
The traditional attitude to manpower is that it is a cost there is
greater consideration now towards the idea that it is an investment. Therefore
the best use of this investment should be made so as to ensure that manpower
achieves personal satisfaction and the company achieves a maximum return on the
costs’ it represents.
b.) It is important to
stress the problems of uncertainty today changes can occur in the following
more detailed analysis (Montgmory, 2000: 86-87)
·
Production and sales targets and new products
·
Plans for diversifying, expanding or contracting production.
·
centralization or other organizational change;
·
technological changes, like mechanization, improved methods new
management techniques; (Yusuf 2007:25-26) observes that:
·
changes in hours of work, holidays, negotiation with trade unions and
collective agreements;
·
national policies regarding taxation and redundancy;
·
Changes within company, like
retirements, age structure, promotions.
A company must be able to recruit and retain manpower of the type and
caliber it requires for efficient operation. Change is a dominate factor today.
Processes, products, systems and methods change quickly. The role of the computer is increasing and
there is at present a shortage of systems analysis and programmers, and this
will continue for a number of years. New techniques, like operational research,
influence the organizational structure of companies and alter the pattern of
manning. Some jobs need increased skills, others need less. Thus a high
standard of planning needed. The rewards to a company are high as a great
reduction in costs is possible, reduction in one area in particular, labour
turnover, can save a great deal of money.
Stages of Planning
1.
The existing situation is examined to see if the existing
organizational and managing effectiveness can be improved. Procedure involved
will include job analysis and grading, performance and potential appraisal.
2.
planning to asses and determine future objectives for all parts of the
business
3.
Organization is then planned, breaking down the objectives into posts
caption of activities.
4.
Precise requirements for all types for manpower are then identified.
5.
Planning the supply involves noting present stock and its potential and
determining the basis for additional requirement. Organization charts can be
projected to the future, noting possible promotion candidates and people earmarked
for certain jobs.
6.
Career requirements with worth is an essential part of wages and salary
administration (Peter 2006.55)
Organization should be designed to attain the objectives of the
company. Functional objectives are set and organization planned to attain
them. Each department must be staffed so
that the available skills and abilities are equated with tasks to be done. There may be changes in the external markets,
in the supply of local labour skill, changes in comparative earnings for each
category of employee. Other relevant information includes output per man hour
and total man hours available. The manpower plan can then be prepared and will
also include consideration of policies on: recruitment; promotion and career
planning pay productivity industrial relations. Reviews of the progress of
plans will take place periodically with yearly revisions a part of longer-term
planning cycle.
The co-operation of workers must be obtained if the business is to run
smoothly. The workers must have confidence in the firm and this may not be easy
when technical advances produce a fear of unemployment and unrest. Policy must
be determined by the board and must be clearly defined, and those employees who
have to administer the policy should be given an opportunity to contribute.
This may be done in joint consultative committees. In order to have a good
policy, a knowledge of those factors an employee regards as important is
essential. This involves knowledge of the industrial application of
sociological and psychological theory, and the forces generated should be known
and controlled in order to ensure effective collaboration of individuals and
groups with that company and individual goals can be reached. Harmony of
objectives must be the goal.
Social scientists are being enrolled in industry to examine
sociological problems. A recent approach is to examine the organizational
environment, the objectives and methods of management, and the forms of company
structure, (Jonah 2008:29). It may be
that these conditions limit what the individual can achieve. Human resource policies, therefore, are
concerned with providing an effective organizational structure, manning it with
appropriate personnel and securing optimum working conditions; the object being
to create and maintain a level of morale which evokes the full contribution of
all employees in ensuring that the company operates at maximum efficiency.
2.6 External Environment Challenges on Policy Formulation and Manpower Planning
Manpower planning seeks to maintain and improve an organization’s
ability to achieve corporate objective by developing strategies which are
designed to increase the present and future contribution of manpower. Ufomba
(2007:112-114) there is great difficulty in forecasting future demand because
of the changes in the following areas:
·
Technological – changes in materials, technical systems and methods of
power.
·
Economic – marketing, capital formation.
·
Social – population trends, social mobility and education.
·
Political – industrial legislation (wages and salaries, monetary
policy, training, redundancy).
Advantages:
·
The right number of staff is recruited at each level in the hierarchy.
·
Staffing requirements can be better balanced and movement of staff made
easier.
·
Areas of high labour turnover are highlighted.
·
Implications of changes in recruitment, promotion and succession plans
are foreseeable.
·
Detailed records are needed plus expensive clerical staff.
·
Problems of forecasting changes, especially technological and
government policy areas.
·
Forecasts can be uncertain even for a few years ahead. (Tebe, 2008:39)
The traditional attitude to manpower is that it is a cost; there is
greater consideration now towards the idea that it is an investment. Therefore
the best use of this investment should be made so as to ensure that manpower
achieves personal satisfaction and the company achieves a maximum return on the
‘costs’ it represents. Yusuf (2007:25-26) observes that it is important to stress the problem
of uncertainty today; changes can occur in the following more detailed
analysis:
·
Production and sales targets and new products;
·
Plans for diversifying, expanding or contracting production;
·
Centralization or other organizational change;
·
Technological changes, like mechanization, improved methods, new
management techniques;
·
Changes in hours of work, holidays, negotiations with trade unions and
collective agreements;
·
National policies regarding taxation and redundancy;
·
Changes within company, like retirements, age structure, promotions.
A company must be able to recruit and retain manpower of the type and
caliber it requires for efficient operation. Change is a dominant factor today.
Processes, products, systems and methods change quickly. The role of the
computer is increasing and there is at present a shortage of systems analysts
and programmers, and this will continue for a number of years. New techniques,
like operational research, influence the organizational structure of companies
and alter the pattern of manning. Some jobs need increased skills, others
needed less. Thus a high standard of planning is needed. The rewards to a
company are high as a great reduction in costs is possible; reduction in one
area in particular, labour turnover can save a great deal of money.
Stages of Planning
According to Pencil (2004:55), stages of planning include:
1.
The existing situation is examined to see if the existing
organizational manning effectiveness can be improved. Procedure involved will
include job analysis and grading, performance and potential appraisals.
2.
Planning to assess and determine future objectives for all parts of the
business.
3.
Organization is then planned, breaking down the objectives into posts
capable of being filled. The method of organization can greatly aid
co-ordination of activities.
4.
Precise requirements for all types of manpower are then identified.
5.
Planning the supply involves noting present stock and its potential and
determining the basis for additional requirements. Organization charts can be
projected to the future, nothing possible promotion candidates and people
earmarked for certain jobs.
6.
Career requirements of individual must be noted. The payment of
salaries commensurate with worth is an essential part of wages and salary
administration. (Peter 2006:55)
Organization should be designed to attain the objectives of the
company. Functional objectives are set and organization planned to attain them.
Each department must be staffed so that the available skills and abilities are
equated with tasks. There may be changes in the external markets, in the supply
of local labour skill, changes in comparative earnings for each category of
employee. Other relevant information includes output per man hour and total man
hours available. The manpower plan can then be prepared and will also include
consideration of policies on: recruitment; promotion and career planning pay
productivity industrial relations. Reviews of the progress of plans will take
place periodically with yearly revisions a part of longer-term planning cycle.
Monthly budgets will be prepared and a comparison of actual and planned targets
will be made and variance noted. Information obtained will be feedback to earlier parts of
the cycle which may then indicate the need for changes in the plans.
Manpower planning should be an integral part of corporate planning and
top management backing is essential. The skills of individuals must be
continually developed in order to meet the needs of technological, economic and
social change.
The recruitment and selection processes must be high. Many company
reports now contain the average numbers of persons employed over the year and
the amount of wages and salaries paid to them. Labour turnover figures may also
give valuable information. Figure 3 shows some of the more
important aspects for the main stages in manpower planning. The starting points
are the overall corporate objectives and plans of which manpower plans are
part. The manpower demand forecast relies on sales forecasts. These are related
to forecast production levels and required manpower is then determined. The
manpower supply forecast requires information on the current labour force,
labour turnover and retirement trends, training, and skills, available. Man hours available will
vary with shift patterns, overtime, and sickness.
Fig. 3 Stages of Manpower
Planning
Stages of Manpower Planning
For all existing manpower
strength and work volumes are analyzed and detailed forecasts made of future
work volume are then related to past ratios to give a forecast. This is called
ratio- trend forecasting. Another method is called theoretical requirements
forecasting and involves assessing and defining the type and volume of activity
needed to attain desired results. Specific objectives are given to management.
Existing manpower and work volume are compared with forecasted future work
volume and manpower noting any probable changes in methods. So, for each
category of staff, there is a statement of present and future positions, and
this enables manpower requirements to be calculated.
Personal records observe
Ufomba (2007:112) must be adequate and kept up to date. Records containing
relevant facts must be easily available: some firms have the details on
computer files. Information may include these details:
A)
Identification- name, date of birth and service, nationality, reference
number, home address and next of kin.
B)
Education- schools, universities, technical or professional training.
Details of remuneration
C)
Experience – employment history and details of current job including
details of remuneration.
D)
Potential- assessments, a note career development and training
assignment planned and completed
E)
General- leisure interests, armed forces, medical history. (Peter,
2006:80)
Employment inventories are
useful, and analysis into male and female job categories, part- and full-time,
is needed. The pattern of ages should be noted as it may be that many are
retiring shortly or many are ready for promotion. Thus the problems which may
arise can be dealt with if know in time. Turnover can be analyzed into reason
for leaving, length of service, age group and type. The cost of turnover is
great. An ordinary clerical job involves these costs- adverting, management
time on interviewing, temporary help or overtime paid during staff shortage,
reduced output during training time and
trainee’s time this could easily add up to 2000 per job vacancy. per
reduction in job turnover from 10 per cent to 5 percent in a firm is an enormous saving. International Business
Machines (IBM) has a five year forward plan, broken down into about fifteen main occupational groups’ showing numbers
to be recruited to replace predicted staff turnover and to meet the
company’s growth plans, which are based upon market research and product
development forecasts. The key is a very detailed job classification, which is
expressed in a four- digit code for computer processing. Nwakpuda (2003:214) involves the appraised of many
factors in order to decide the broad principles which the company is to follow.
Correct answers to the following important questions are needed:
·
What is the nature of completion
and the present position in the life of existing products?
·
What are the most effective methods of distribution and advertising?
·
What methods of transport, wholesaling, allocation of sales quotas
sales training and control of human resources should be adopted?
It is sometimes preferable
for a committee comprising heads of production, finances and marketing to
determine policy, to ensure complete co-ordination.
Marketing Plans
Whatever plans are made to direct and control
the marketing operation, they must be flexible, as there are many outside
factor which can easily affect the plans, like government legislation. These
plans can be set up for each aspect of marketing policy should be known by all
the staff; this enables them to act in unified manner with wholesalers,
retailers and customers. An organization’s reputation I largely built up on it
s selling policy, like Marks and Spencer- the lowest price consistent with
product quality and reliability. It is worthwhile considering an example of the
need for careful forecasting. There is current trend to build hypermarkets on
the outskirts of urban developments, where land is low in price and the site is
convenient for consumers who are more mobile than in the past. Some of the
points that will need to be considered include the estimates of:
·
The growth of the country’s
economy (gross National product);
·
Availability of suitable sites and their cost
·
Changes in spending habits of consumers;
·
Attitude to self-service;
·
Population trends and the rate of
urban development;
·
Local plans for road building;
·
Availability of motor transport, especially for housewives. (Moha,
2008:16)
The preparation of the marketing plan can be
assisted by an analysis of the true position of the business in the market
place. One method used in completing a marketing audit is the preparation of a
SWOT analysis. Internal factors are the basic strengths, weaknesses, of
company, like managerial, financial technical. External factor are the opportunities
and threats outside a company’s direct control, like technology, competitors,
government legislation. A SWOT analysis
seek to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and
presents such information clearly to
enable a company to state its position on key issues. For example, what do our
customers need? What are our competitors doing? A marketing audit covers a wide
area. In the business and economic
environment, there is a wide range of
areas to be examined, in order to isolate those factors considered critical to
the performance of a company, like
economic social, political, business ,
legal technologic , international. In
the competitive and company environment, the product range, market share,
pricing, promotion and distribution need to be examined. The nature of supply
and demand for the products and the markets size and trends are also part of
the total audit checklist.
If a marketing audit is
properly completed it will provide the basis for setting realistic marketing objectives
and strategies. It is important to note
that customers are attracted to the benefits that a product will bring and not
the product itself. So a customer- or market orientated approach is required to
product development, rather than a product orientated approach. The needs and
wants of the customer are of paramount importance.
Public Image policy
It is important that a
company should decide, as an important matter of policy, what type of public
image is required. To this end, all polices- marketing manufacturing and human
resources- should reflect this overall policy of image. Then a basic public
relations policy can be put forward to ensure
that the public are influenced to
react to the company in the desired way there are a number of publics, like
shareholders, customers, employees
potential and present) suppliers and government . The various publics can be
influenced by good public relations to regard the organization as (Benson,
2008:33)
·
Public spirited with civic
responsibility;
·
A good organization to work for, invest in’
·
A company whose products can be purchased with confidence and
reliability.
It is also important to
increase morale both inside and outside the company. If employees are proud of
the organization, its achievement and service to the community, this will be
reflected in their daily work. This can, for example, help salespeople to be
more confident in their approach to selling. Effective public relations can also be of
help in the promotion of products the purpose being to back up advertising and
to ensure the customer is more favourably disposed towards the product of the
company which is to be advertised. So, in effect public relations promoters a
company and it products to a wider range of public than normal advertising and
sales promotion. There is a problem in trying to measure the effectiveness of
public relations as its results may not be too evident or capable of
measurement.
Management must ask itself a
basic question about the present business of the company and its future plans.
A close watch is need on existing product stages, to consider whether they need
to be revitalized, dropped, or new product introduced. The answered obtained
will form the basis for product planning decisions for the future profitability
of the company. The various elements of product planning have to be modified or
change during the various phases of the cycle, for example, policies for
pricing, research and development, market research, packaging advertising sale
promotion schemes….
The right mix of the
marketing ingredients is vital.
2.7 Summary of the Review of Related
Literature
One interesting issue involving leadership is the
prospect that managers and leaders are not necessarily one and the same.
According to one arguments, managers do the same things over and over (do
things right), but it takes leaders to innovate (do the right things), bring
about major changes, and inspire followers to pursue extraordinary levels of
effort. In studying the issue, leadership expert have made a distinction
between transactional and transformational leaders (Bernard 2000:12). Transactional Leaders
motivate subordinates to perform at expected levels. They do this by helping
them recognize task responsibilities, identify goals, acquire confidence about
meeting desired performance levels, and understand how their needs and the
rewards that they desire are linked to goal achievement. As you have probably
recognized, transactional leadership is closely allied to the path-goal theory
of leadership. The other situational leadership theories discussed in this
chapter can also be characterized as transactional leadership approaches.
Transformational
Leaders motivate
individuals to perform beyond normal expectations by inspiring subordinates to
focus on broader missions that transcend their own immediate self-interests, to
concentrate on intrinsic higher-level goals (such as achievement and
self-actualization) rather than extrinsic lower-level goals (such as safety and
security), and to have confidence in their abilities to achieve the
extraordinary missions articulated by the leader. Transformational leadership is not a substitute for
transactional leadership. It is a supplemental form of leadership with an
add-on effect: performance beyond expectations. The logic is that even the most
successful transformational leaders need transactional skills as well to manage
effectively the day-to-day events that form the basis of the broader mission. According to Bass (2001:65),
three leadership features are particularly important to transformational
leadership: charisma, individualized consideration, and intellectual
stimulation. Of these, charisma is the most important. Charisma is the leader’s ability to inspire pride, faith, and
respect, to recognize what is really important, and to articulate effectively a
sense of mission, or vision, that inspires followers. Individuals such as Martin
Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, John F. Kennedy, and Franklin D, Roosevelt have
been described as charismatic.
Researchers have attempted to identify behavioral
components associated with charismatic leaders. Their efforts suggest that such
leaders strive to change the status quo, project future goals that are
idealized visions very different from current conditions, and behave in
somewhat unconventional ways and counter to existing norms. The studies also
indicates that charismatic leaders rely heavily on referent and expert power
and attempt to get others to share a radical vision of changes. The second factor associated
with transformational leadership, individualizes
consideration, and involves delegating projects to help develop each
follower’s capabilities; paying personal attention to each follower’s needs,
and treating each follower as an individual worthy of respect. The third
factor, intellectual stimulation, involves
offering new ideas to stimulate
followers to rethink old ways of doing things, encouraging followers to look at
problems from multiple vantage points, and fostering creative breakthroughs in
obstacles that had seemed insurmountable. Not everyone agrees that transformational
leaders must have charisma. There does, however, seen to be agreement that such
leaders need to provide a vision of a desired future state, mobilize
commitment, and bring about changes that enable followers to reach the vision. Norman
Figure: 2.4: Add-on effect of transformational leadership.
Source: Bass and Bernard Studies (2000) Transactional
and Translational Leaders: Texas: Prentice Hall Inc.
REFERENCES
- Adair, L. (2005), Managing Relations, London: Ocean-Side
- Bass L. & Bernard B. (2008) “Types of Leadership Befitting an Organization” African Journal of Management, Vol.5 No.10
- Bass, M. & Bernard P. (2000), Transactional and Translational Leaders: Texas: Prentice Hall Inc.
- Benson, O. (2008), Business Objectives, Enugu: Snaap Press
- Bernard, E. (2007) “Management and People’s Time in a Form’’ Lagos Business School Journal Volume 183, No. 4851
- Blair, T. (2004), Organigram for Change in Management, London: P & T Press
- Fielder, F. (2005), Quality Control and Flow Charting, Helsinki: P-Man press
- Follet, L. (2006), Policy Management and Control, Texas: Prentice Hall Inc.
- Grid, P. (2004), Policy Formulation, London: Oxford Publisher
- Jonah, M. (2008), Managing Change, Aba; Ngwaland Publishers
- Jonah, M.O. (2008) “Management and Organization” London Management Studies Journal Vol. 86, No. 311
- Lampard, B. C. (2008), Program Development and Implementation, London: Oxford
- Likert, J. (2000), Scaling and Interviews, London: Chapman & Hall Inc Management Science Journal Vol. 125, No.4431
- McBernards, L.N. (2001), Management Controls, Warwich: Macmillan Publishers
- Moha, J. (2008), Human Resources Policy, Okpuala Ngwa: Calvary Publishers
- Montgomery B.C. (2006) ‘Technology and Work Output’’ London Management Journal Vol. 811, No 15
- Nwakpuda, A. (2003), Planning In Practice, Umuahia: Bende Press
- Parker, M. F. (2006), Analytical Management, London: Macmillan Publishers
- Pencil, B.C.J. (2004) “Productivity Output Per Man Hour” London Business School
- Pencil, W. (2004), Behavioral Sciences, Accra: Oak Press.
- Peter, A. (2006), Manpower Planning and Development, Port-Harcourt: Garden City Publishers
- Peter, L.T (2004), Benchmarking, Dallas: Prentice Hall Inc
- Phillips J. C. J. (2008), Managing Productivity, Lisbon: Mediterranean Side Publisher
- Schmidt, L. (2002), Management, London: Oxford Publisher
- Tanenbaum, R. and Schmidt, W. (2002), Handling Leadership Problems in the Organization, London: Oxford Publishers
- Tannenbaum, W.S. (1973), Management Control Tokyo: Pacific Press
- Ufomba N. (2007 “Wages, Sales and Productivity in an Organization” London
- Ufomba, A. (2007), Manpower Planning Owerri: Heartland Publishers
- Yusuf, B. (2007), Co-ordination Process in Obfuscation, Sokoto; Center Point Publishers
THE EFFECT OF LEADERSHIP ON POLICY FORMULATION AND IMPLEMENTATION IN THE
MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN ENUGU STATE