Task One: Importance of Leadership Development
The human resources arae the most significant resources of the organization. Over the years, it has been realized that success or failure of a business organization is dependent upon the human resources (Oztuna, 2017). The employees of a business organization must be updated with the latest skills and knowledge. In the present epoch, the competiveness among the business organizations has drastically increased. Therefore, in order to establish a market in the present competitive market, it is important that the human resources remain familiar with the latest skills and technology. As a result, human resource department has come into existence.
The human resource department of organization performs all the functions pertaining to the employee management, recruitment and retention within the organization. The primary function of the human resource management can be categorized into recruitment, employee engagement, employee retention, and employee relieving and compensation. The recruitment is a crucial function of the human resource department (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014). Whenever an organization determines business goals, it requires resources to fulfill it. The human resource department fulfills the employee requirements of the organization. The recruitment methods assure that the selected candidate has appropriate skills and talent to address the job requirements. The interview method is commonly used to examine the personality of the candidates and assess whether the candidate will align with the organization culture of the business enterprise (Sparrow, Brewster & Chung, 2016). Other than that, the organization also uses performance management methods and evaluation techniques for the performance assessment of the employees. In this regard, the present paper will discuss the importance of evaluation in the performance management. Along with it, it will also discuss the importance of management development of the organization.
Leadership is significant to the success of a business organization. However, the selection and the recruitment of good leaders remains a big challenge for them. The business leaders should be able to understand the business operations and the processes and use their skills for the growth and prosperity of the organization. The leadership training should cover emotional, practical and theoretical aspects of the training process (Adeniyi, 2007). There are several benefits of implementing leadership training within the organization such as increasing productivity, retention of employees, creating future employees, increasing the employee engagement, implementing effective leadership style within the organization and taking effective decisions. The primary aim of leadership is to increase the productivity of the employees. The leaders can enhance the productivity of the employees by understanding them emotionally; therefore, emotional intelligence is important for the success of the leaders (Jackson Schuler & Jiang, 2014). The business leaders should be able to smartly use their emotions to empower and engage the employees within the organization.
In addition to it, the leaders are also important in retaining the employees within the organization. One of the most significant reasons of employee turnover is the inefficiency of bosses in generating motivation for the employees. Cultivating effective talents will increase the productivity of the organization and increase the retention rate (Clark, 2008). The leaders can be developed with the help of effective training. Therefore, leadership training and development is important for the business organizations. In the training and the performance management, the companies need to implement effective evaluation techniques for increasing the efficiency of the performance management system. It should be able to examine whether performance management and employee training have been effective in improving the efficiency of the organization (Kramar, 2014).
Evaluation in Leadership Development and Training
Evaluation refers to the systematic collection of descriptive information which is important to take important decisions related to change adaption in the organization’s activities. The leadership is critical in the success of a business organization (Jones & pound, 2008). The organization should adopt different strategies to enhance the manager’s skills and performance. Evaluation is important in each and every step of leadership development and training. It is an integral part of strategic human resource management. It refers to the integration of strategy and the human resource management. The organization needs to strategize its human resource strategies so that it is meets the organization’s objectives. The evaluation is critical component of the strategic human resource management process. Evaluation of the leadership development plan is important in each and every phase. In the initial stage, evaluation is important for examination of the needs of the employees. After the identification of the employee’s needs, a business organization develops a performance management plan which addresses the needs of all the employees (Marler & Fisher, 2013).
The multinational organizations invest significantly in leadership development programs; however, it is important to make assessments and evaluation related to different training methods, their efficacy and assessing the present and future competency of the organization. In the leadership learning and development, evaluation helps is analyzing the total value of the learning activities and changing and revising them (Coleman & Derek, 2010). Regarding the learning and development program, evaluation refers to the total assessment of training program in terms of social and financial benefits. The evaluation aims at assessing the value or the benefits of the training program. There are two types of evaluation, namely, internal evaluation and external evaluation. The internal evaluation examines whether the training program has achieved the behavioral objectives of the training (Lengnick-Hall, Lengnick-Hall & Rigsbee, 2013). In contrast to it, the external validation analyzes that the objectives of the training programs have been met.
Evaluation is an integral part of the training and development process as it examines the overall value generated through learning process to all the stakeholders participating in the same (Bertocci, 2009). The evaluation examines the effectiveness regarding the achievement of the goals and the methods which are used for attaining the goals of the organization. The evaluation is also important in attaining feedback for the training program. It is also important in quality control of the learning and development process.
In the evaluation of the training program, the training tools and methods are very important. The training programs can be evaluated with the help of four-level framework which can effectively examine the training programs. These four levels are reaction, learning, job behavior and result. The reaction phase assesses the value of the training program. It examines the value of the training program in the perception of trainees while the learning phase examines the efficacy of the training program in relation to the human resource goals of the organization. The third stage of the training program examines the trained aspects of the work whereas in the result stage the benefits of the training procedure on the entire organization have been examined. Along with it, it is also important to evaluate the different challenges in the workplace and how these challenges prevent the employees from applying their learning (Budhwar & Debrah, Eds., 2013).
Task Two: Importance of Management Development
In the leadership development program, evaluation is implemented in four phases, namely, assessment, design, implementation and evaluation (Herman, 2011). Evaluation should take place during, before and after the intervention procedure. Evaluation can be used before the training intervention regarding prioritization and identification of goals. An organization can use various data collection methods such as interview, questionnaire or other methods. With the help of evaluation, the proper set of recommendations can be attained which will be beneficial for the design of new training programs. The collected data can be used to analyze the need of required change, resources required for the change and the alternative learning and development inputs (Herman, 2011). The learning and development program should be capable to cover the goals and the needs of the organization; therefore, evaluation can be used to respond to the needs of different stakeholders. The evaluation is also critical in the implementation stage of the training process. It is an ongoing process and requires conducting a formative evaluation wherein the efficacy of the learning and development program is examined with the help of reaction of the trainees and the reaction of the facilitator (Van Dooren, Bouckaert & Halligan, 2015). However, the reaction type of evaluation is subjective and focuses on the feelings of the facilitators or trainees. It may create negative impact on the change decision of the organization. The intervention should be able to transfer learning and examine the extent to which the leaders learnt new skills, ideas and attitudes. The leader should be able to apply the acquired knowledge for the benefit of the organization.
In strategic human resource management, evaluation has a significant role in the performance management of the employees. The evaluation and performance management different from each other; however, they still have several similarities. The major difference lies in the frequency of activities as evaluation is one-off exercise; however, performance management is a continuous process. The evaluation also denotes a systematic study to examine the performance of a program and monitors the efficacy of the program.
The evaluation and the performance management are also complementary as evaluation provides a proper framework for performance monitoring process. The data collected from the performance management system can be used for the evaluation purposes. However, there are several challenges in the performance evaluation. These challenges can be mitigated with the help of evaluation process. There are several issues in the performance management such as internal validity, external validity and instrumentation. In addition to it, there are several other issues such as trust, organizational politics and buy-in. The evaluation method can be used to address the technical glitches in the performance management (Paolella, Lionel, and Rodolphe Durand, 2016).
Various theories and leadership models have also demonstrated the importance of evaluation in leadership development. There are four basic theories of leadership development. They are: trait theory, contingency theory, behavioral and full-range theories (Mumford, Thorpe, & Gold, 2012).
The trait theory states that an individual needs to demonstrate several traits such as intelligence, extroversion, conscientiousness and self-efficacy to demonstrate effective leadership skills. A person should have the following traits to become an effective leader and with the help of different situations and tasks, leadership skills are naturally developed. According to this theory, leaders are born and the individuals born with specific qualities and traits are suited for the leadership roles. The leadership theory states that although these traits are learned naturally, they can be learnt later. Therefore, an individual can learn leadership skills by understanding different traits and developing weaknesses for effective leadership skills (Pollitt, 2013).
Role of Human Resource Development in Corporate Strategy
The contingency theory of leadership is grounded in the situational theory. The contingency theory emphasize that the leadership skills are developed in accordance to the personality of the leader and the situation wherein the leader is operating. There are two types of leadership style, namely, task-motivated and relationship motivated. The task motivated leadership style focuses on the accomplishment of the tasks whereas the relationship motivated tasks are focused on building interpersonal relationships with the employees. The behavioral theory of leadership suggests in order to demonstrate strong leadership skills, a person has to have well-developed positive ego and should have self-confidence.
All these theories have stated that the leaders should have some basic characteristics. However, if he does not have these qualities, he can develop them. However, in order to build these qualities, the leader should be able to assess what are his weaknesses. Therefore, it can be critiqued that evaluation is an important component of the leadership development plan.
The concept of management development pertains to the way through which an organization can impart personal and organizational skills to the managers and other employees in the management profiles (Institute of Leadership & Management, 2007). It does not include typical classroom based training but utilize other techniques such as changing the employee’s daily work, skill-developing tasks, leadership and mentoring roles and cross-training. The development of the leadership skills of the employees is important for an organization as the middle-level managers are critical in communicating the direction, goals and the vision of the organization to the employees. It can be assessed that the senior managers are unable to communicate the objectives and the aims of the organization with all the employees. Therefore, the middle-level managers are important in employee engagement, employee motivation and building a productive workplace (Institute of Leadership & Management, 2007).
The management development is essential for the growth of a business organization. The management development is important for the business organization as the leaders are important to provide a direction to the business organizations (Bruce & Montanez, 2012). The organization should develop a comprehensive learning and development strategy so that the objectives and the goals of the organization are met. The employee training strategy try to address the employee learning and development needs, ensure the development of human capital and build business management and leadership skills for the future needs of the organization. If the employee training and development needs are aligned with the overall business objectives, the organization can develop a talent pipeline which can deliver the organizational goals of the organization (DeNisi & Smith, 2014).
There are various theories which can be used to examine why some people succeed at work whereas other people are unable to perform appropriately in their professional lives (Bruce & Montanez, 2012). The theories related to the human resource development and learning tries to address the role of training in employee training and career development. Basically, the employee training and development theories can be divided into four main categories, namely, behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism and connectivism. The behaviorism theory states that reinforcement is a critical component of employee training. The employee training is provided in such a manner such that they are rewarded when they behave a specific manner whereas punished if they behave in a contrary manner. The behaviorism strategy is used to make the employees adopt new strategies or procedures. The cognitivism is another learning theory in which the trainers or the employers try to expand the mental skills of the employees. The small scale employer can use this strategy to increase the strategic thinking practice, memory and problem solving skills of the employees. The employers can use the methods of games or activities which can increase the attention span of the people and increase their flexibility and speed at their work. The constructivism learning theory states that it is important to actively participate in the career development and learning process. An employee brings experience, cultural background and his personality and uses them to further advance his skills. According to this theory, an employee must take charge of his learning and development and take different responsibilities in the organization for his own career development. The connectivism is another theory which states that learning occurs when a person takes advantage of diverse opportunities to develop new skills, knowledge and skills. The learning is the process of connecting diverse opinions, information resources and opinions. The human resource department should recognize that the employees should make critical decisions regarding what exactly they want to learn regarding for their professional development (Awadh & Alyahya, 2013). The management as well as the employees should be able to create, preserve and utilize the information in different ways so that it can be used effectively for the professional development. All these theories highlight the importance of employee training and development for the growth of the organization. The human resource management department of the organization can build the productivity of the organization by implementing managem4nt development strategies.
Conclusion
These learning theories can be used by the strategic human resource department of the organization to develop comprehensive human resource development program (Epstein & Buhovac, 2014). The management development is important for the current business organizations as in the current fast paced, demanding and evolving environment, the employees are needed to be acquainted with new skills and technical capabilities. Currently, the organizations wants that the leaders appointed are capable to face different and unique challenges common in the contemporary business scenario. All companies have developed a remuneration structure to attract the best candidate in the industry. All big companies such as Microsoft or Ford have developed an internal manager development program to grow the talent within the organization. These leaders are engaged to the organization and are familiar with the internal process. Good leadership development training should assure that the future leaders of the organization are capable of handling various challenges. Along with it, these programs assure that leadership skills of these employees are continuously honed so that they are ready to meet the business challenges. It provides training to senior executives of the organization so that they can form competent and reliable teams (Epstein & Buhovac, 2014). If the organization is using an effective learning and development strategy, the senior executives are assured that they have adequate talent to meet the future demands of the organization. It assures that all the team members have received appropriate training to fulfill their jobs and can develop talent so that the management succession is strong.
The strategic human resource management personnel should consider that there are a number of factors which may assist in successful learning and development strategy. The leadership development needs of the organization are different and unique; therefore, it is important that the organization develops the training goals with the organization goals (Mintzberg, 2004).
In the present times, training and development are important for meeting the skills and technology of the contemporary business world. Therefore, it should be made an organization’s priority. The assigned personnel should focus be provided with various resources such as budget, resource and support so that the learning programs can be developed easily in the organization. The organization should also conduct an internal stakeholder assessment so that the needs of different stakeholders can be analyzed and the learning and development program can be adapted accordingly. It is important to determine the most suitable training packages and tools so that the training outcomes can be realized in the most effective manner. The companies can use online classes, in-house training methods or training at the top schools. Each of these methods has their own benefits and drawbacks; however, it is important that the organization selects the best training method in accordance to the needs of the employees and the organization (Reynolds, 2017).
The human resource management also plays a crucial role in the development and the implementation of the corporate business strategy. Whenever taking a business decisions, an organization has to collect the resources which can support the initiative of the organization. As discussed above, the human resources are the best resources of the organization. Therefore, it is important that the organization make arrangements for addressing the human resource requirements of the organization. They should create a learning and development program for the employees. The employees or the workers are the most crucial factor in delivering the outcomes of different processes and realizing the output of different processes. Therefore, it is important to meet the human resource requirements of the organization. The HRM (Human Resource Management) department of the organization adopts different recruitment and retention strategies to meet these requirements. These strategies are used to fill the talent gap of the organization. The success or the failure of the business organization is dependent on the management of the organization. The management takes crucial and challenging decisions for the furtherance of the organization. However, one bad decision can impact adversely on the growth of the organization. Therefore, it is important to develop an effective management development program within the organization. Most of the large business organizations try to identify the future leaders to the organization and help them grow as a leader. A business leader should have a whole set of qualities which includes the emotional quotient as well as intelligence quotient so that they can lead the organization (Matos Marques Simoes & Esposito, 2014).
The management development is a function of the human resource department of the organization. They try to identify the needs of the organization. There are different categories of leadership and the organization selects the most suitable leadership style according to the organization type. Then after, it is the responsibility of the human resource department to select the suitable candidates from the current workforce of the organization and hone their skills so that they can perform as future leaders for the organization. Moreover, it is always better to promote the employees internally within the organization as they are familiar with the work processes and operations of the organization. They better understand the work process and can take better decisions for the growth of the organization. They will also do not require an induction program for understanding the operations of the organization. These candidates also have a higher engagement with the organization. The retention rate of these employees is also higher (Matos Marques Simoes & Esposito, 2014 ). Therefore, it is better to develop these skills for the future development of the organization.
Conclusion:
It can be concluded that evaluation techniques are crucial in the performance management and human resource development of the organization. Evaluation is important in examining the training needs of the employees and evaluating whether the training is imparting appropriate outcomes on the employees. Evaluation is the process of systematic examination of different approaches and methodologies used in the human resource management or any other processes. It examines various and all the aspects in a business process. There are different kinds of evaluation methods such as internal or external evaluation. All these methods are used to increase the effectiveness of the human resource management system. The management development is also an integral part of the human resource management. It is the concept of creating the future leaders of the organization from inside with the help of training and coaching. Several learning theories such as cognitive theory or behavioral theory are used in the development of management development program. The organization may use in-class coaching or make affiliations with the management universities. It can be critiqued that it is important that an organization choose the management development technique in accordance to the needs and the desires of the organization. Management development can be beneficial for the organization in the long run.
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