Friday, December 27, 2019

Illiteracy The Interior Demon - 1126 Words

Rayce B. Gibson Mrs. O’Sullivan English 2 4 September 2015 Illiteracy: The Interior Demon Imagine a young fourth grader sitting in a classroom with about twenty other children. At first, they all appear to be the same. Just a blur of average-looking students sitting at their desks with literature books opened up to page forty-five. The teacher is calling on each of the students, asking them to each read a paragraph from the selected passage. All of them are having no trouble with verbalizing the words that are printed on the page that is until the teacher calls out the name of that one specific child, the one that sits in the back at the corner table, with a little bead of sweat running down their forehead, the one that stumbles on the†¦show more content†¦All in all, there are obvious advantages and conveniences in possessing the ability to read and write. These include a security in economics, being able to obtain health care, and having the capability to actively engage in the community (Crum). In addition, it helps people achiev e their desired career. Also, written composition is an important aspect in almost every academic course that exists. It is rare to have a class where there is no written component. As can be seen, literacy is an important aspect of all things that lead to success. On the negative side of things, two-thirds of the students who are not able to read adequately by the end of their fourth grade year will end up in jail or on welfare. According to the Department of Justice, there is a close relation between not being able to read or write and â€Å"delinquency, violence, and crime† (Literacy Statistics). This information is backed up by the astonishing fact that over seventy percent of the inmates in America cannot read above a fourth grade level. To put it in another way, an average fifth grader is more literate than the majority of the inmates that are in this nation’s prisons. It is also important to realize the statistics connected to juvenile delinquency and illiteracy . Being stated in the previously mentioned source, â€Å"85 percent of all juveniles who interface with the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate† (Literacy Statistics). This shows a direct

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Expectancy Theory of Motivation - 714 Words

Expectancy Theory of Motivation, an approach to improving performance. Mark R. Mattox Western Governors University Expectancy Theory of Motivation â€Å"Expectancy Theory - A theory that says that the strength of a tendency to act in a certain way depends on the strength of an expectation that the act will be followed by a given outcome and on the attractiveness of that outcome to the individual.† (Judge 07/2012, p. 224) Explanation of the Three Components and Relationships of the Expectancy Theory of Motivation The three components of Expectancy Theory of Motivation are expectancy, instrumentality, and valence. 1 Expectancy: Expectancy is related to the amount of effort that an†¦show more content†¦(Judge 07/2012, p. 224) Application of Expectancy Theory of Motivation to the Given Work Scenario Effort–Performance Relationship: Some of the employees have said that they cannot be successful with the new process because it requires more dexterity than they believe that they are capable of. These employees are needing to have an increase in the expectancy component of the Expectancy Theory of Motivation. They need to be shown that they are able to improve task performance. These employees need to be retrained on the new process, so that they can have the confidence that they are able to utilize the new process. The employees in this category need to be shown that an increase in effort will equate to an increase in performance. Performance–Reward Relationship: Some of the employees who do not have difficulty with the process feel that it is not worth putting in the extra effort to reach the new production goals. There is usually no difference in salary increases among those who meet department goals and those who fall short of the goals. In this case these workers are needing to have a change in their compensation to create a stronger correlation between meeting department goals and salary increase. These employees would generally increase their effort, if there was a distinctiveShow MoreRelatedThe Expectancy Theory of Motivation670 Words   |  3 PagesIn today’s workforce there are many reasons why individuals get up every day and go to work. For most it is because they have bills to pay and this leads to their motivation to work is for the outcome of a paycheck. That is true for most, but how does motivation apply to an individual once they are at work and must perform their daily duties? No matter that is painting houses or a high level CIO building the backbone of a fortune 500 company, these individuals’ performances are based on their expectationsRead MoreExpectancy Theory of Motivation670 Words   |  3 PagesExpectancy Theory of Motivation In a business, what motivates employees to do their best? One theory that may explain the reasons why some employees seem more motivated than others is the Expectancy theory of motivation. The Expectancy theory operates under the assumption that employees will perform well based on self-belief and how much they desire the rewards their actions will render. Three key components and relationships in this theory determine how motivated an employee will choose to be:Read MoreMotivation Theory And Expectancy Theory Of Motivation1742 Words   |  7 Pagesplace. This problem mainly occurs in organisation when there is lack of motivation, lack of organisational justice, negative culture and low morale. The purpose of this case study is to give brief view about, why employees had to face these problems and how to make positive culture and what and where the changes are required for the WA force. This report introduces MARS motivation theory and Expectancy theory of motivation for improves officers’ behaviours towards force, with that how can they fillRead MoreThe Expectancy Theory Of Motivation917 Words   |  4 Pages3.2 Theories Victor H. Vroom’s Theory (1964) developed the Expectancy Theory of Motivation. This theory is a behavioral theory that one behavior of an individual will be chosen over another type of behavior when positive performance will lead to desirable rewards. Figure 3.3 will illustrate the three components to this theory: expectancy, instrumentality, and valance, and show how the variables of Vroom’s theory is designed. Expectancy is the expectations how people perceive to meet the performanceRead MoreExpectancy Theory of Motivation Essay652 Words   |  3 PagesThe expectancy theory of motivation, which was first produced by Victor Vroom, has become a generally accepted theory for explaining how individuals make decisions concerning different behavioural alternatives. According to Vroom to motivate someone mere offer a person something to satisfy his important needs will not be adequate. In order for the person to be motivated, he must also be convincingly sure that he has the ability to obtain the reward. An employee’s motivation increases when he valuesRead MoreThe Vroom Expectancy Motivation Theory Essay763 Words   |  4 Pagesbeen some lack of motivation from Paul. According to Robbins, S. P. Judge, (184). Motivation is the process that accounts for an individual’s intensity, direction, and persistence of effort towards attaining a goal. In this paper, I will use the Vroom Expectancy Motivation Theory to explain Jeannine Savaria’s motivation and what can her supervisor do to improve her motivation. Savaria’s motivation can be supported through the Vroom Expectancy Motivation Theory. This theory links the performanceRead MoreThe Expectancy Theory Of Employee Motivation868 Words   |  4 Pages This approach of recognizing and rewarding employees for their performance was first introduced by Victor Vroom in 1964 known as the Expectancy Theory. When employees are engaged they will exceed organizational expectations and function with a sense of ownership in their place of employment (Malik, (2012). Hema and Washington (2014) state, employee motivation is gained when subordinates are empowered; giving staff power and authority to make the choices without having to wait for management’sRead MoreMotivation, Self Determination Theory, And Expectancy Theory863 Words   |  4 Pages(2001-2016). Motivational theories can help support an employee to progress in the workplace; a few theories such as Extrinsic Motivation, Intrinsic Motivation, Acquired Needs Theory, Self -Determination theory, and expectancy theory relate to my professional life. I will explain if I agree/disagree with my PsyCap self-assessment and some developing strategies to advance in my career using my strengths. Also, I will talk about how I can employ goal-setting to increase motivation, and how my engagementsRead MoreExpectancy Theory of Motivation at Use in the Workplace1229 Words   |  5 Pages1 EXPECTANCY THEORY OF MOTIVATION AT USE IN THE WORKPLACE Leadership Concepts and Applications LET1 Student#: March 30, 2012 2 What is Motivation? Motivation is a word popularly used to explain why people behave as they do. Some psychologists and scientists view motivation as the factor that determines behavior, as expressed in the phrase â€Å"all behavior is motivated† (World Book, 1992). Some scientists view motivation as the factor that energizes behavior. According to this

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

The Primary Role of Human Resource Management

Question: What is theprimary role of human resource management. Answer: Introduction Human resources management refers to dealing with the workforce of organization. It implements employee policies and deals with employee issues arising in the workforce. The primary role of human resource management is to motivate employees and enhance the existing skills of the employees to increase employee productivity. According to Abdelhak et al. (2014), human resource professionals have been playing a strategic role in assisting the business organization to execute daily business functionalities. Armstrong and Taylor (2014) mentioned that the human resource management includes recruitment, selection, training and inducting employees in the organization. Besides this, the human resource management ensures that the employees have an effective work life balance and give priority to the other aspects in life. In other words, the human resource management enables the workforce for the purpose of personal development, strict adhering to organizational law as well as employee job sati sfaction levels. Discussion To align organizational work towards the long-term objectives and goals of the organization, it remains essential for the human resource management to perform the following activities in a timely manner - : acquisition, compensation development as well as maintenance (Storey 2014). The concept of acquisition relates to the selection of workers that are adequately equipped to deal with organizational functionalities. As such, they shall be prepared to deal with any organizational crisis. The process of development refers to the training of employees so that they can have the necessary skills to execute their job role to the expectation of the management. Berman et al. (2015) stated that compensation includes a fair monitory structure for the employees of the organization so that they are adequately paid as per their qualification and experience. This is an essential part of the human resource management, which determines employee longevity and loyalty in a particular organization. Bes ides this, the concept of maintenance relates to the adoption of a structured procedure in a business organization. This ensures that there is a proper coordination among the various aspects of a department. In addition, there is a smooth flow of communication from the management of the organization. Buller and McEvoy (2012) mentioned that this prevents any false representation and miscommunication to the employees of a business enterprise. In this regard, it can be stated that the human resource management ensures that that the organization compliances with domestic and international trade laws when framing and executing the operational policies of a business enterprise. There were certain attributes that led to the development of human resource management. According to Bosà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Nehles et al. (2013) mentioned that these include- Hazardous working conditions, abuse of human rights and offering an unhealthy working environment to the employees. Unfair recruitment procedures and compensation policies were the determinants that facilitated the need of an organized human resource management towards the business enterprise Bratton and Gold (2012) mentioned that in the existing global market human resource management play an effective role to increase organizational productivity and goodwill. It implements training schemes to enhance employee aptitude and skill towards in diverse business areas. Buller and McEvoy (2012) mentioned that human resources management is influenced by various legal technicalities and legislations that governs the rights of the employees . This protects the workers from receiving unfair treatment from the employers. Theref ore, workers have the right to ask for legal amenities from the court of law. The Civil Rights Act in the year 1991 has enforced the necessary constituents of the human resource management. These protect the employee from facing discrimination based on nationality, religion, gender or race. It assists the business enterprise to produce authentic documents about the recruitment as well as the compensation structure followed in a business enterprise. In the year 1964, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission(EEOC) has ensured the necessary legal amenities to the employees if the employer resorts to any unfair trading practice. Thus, civil penalties can be imposed on the employer in the event of an unfair recruitment or termination procedure initiated by the business enterprise. According to Delahaye (2015), the major laws influencing the HR M field are civil rights act, the equal pay act as well as the attribute of discrimination in the employment act. The concept of talent acquisition as the well as retention is an essential part of the human resource policies of a business enterprise. Bratton and Gold (2012) mentioned that the human resource management includes gathering a pool of talented candidates that would assist the business enterprise in achieving further growth. An effective human resource management policy entails reducing the attrition rate, and retaining key talent to meet organization aims and objectives. Flamholtz (2012) mentioned that a strong human resource management plays an effective role to develop consumer loyalty and attract potential talented candidates towards the organization. The human resources management frames an effective policy to react effectively to the changes in the external market conditions (Harvey and Allard 2015). The human resource personnel is an essential constituent of the management of a business enterprise. Therefore, it plays a leading role in framing the operational policies of a business enterprise. As such Storey (2014) noted that it has a pertinent influence on the adopting of policies relating to employee welfare and job satisfaction levels. The human resource policies have an effective strategy to assist the workforce in having greater productivity in the workplace. The human capital of an organization manufactures and sells products, gather customer feedback and make important strategic decisions. According to Harvey and Allard (2015), a human resource manager plays the following functions in a business organization Acts as the link between the hiring manger and a candidate - The human resource manager advertizes the job vacancies in the job portals as well as the print media. In addition, it enables the candidates to meet the business organization Conducts orientation programs to induct a new employee in a business organization - It is the responsibility of the human resource manager to establish orientation programs to assist the selected candidates to adapt to the organization. Designs and implements the training programs to enable the employees to gather the necessary skills to execute the job role successfully. The human resource management reflects that the attributes that play a vital role are intrinsic ones that are based on the personal needs of a workforce. Hendry (2012) mentioned that the human resource management play an effective role in satisfying the needs of a particular individual. These personal needs are - be a part of a team that is contributing positively towards organizational growth. In addition, the personal needs include encouragement and recognition of a job performed successfully. Besides this, there are certain non-financial incentives those are- promotions, decision-making, making greater contributions to group performances as well as the ability to perform range of tasks. Kehoe and Wright (2013) mentioned that it is the primary responsibility of the human resource management to identify these requirements of an individual and make required strategies relating to job rotation, diverse roles as well as job enrichment opportunities for the advancement of career of a pa rticular individual. In this context, Kehoe and Wright (2013) noted that the experience of working in a different department shall facilitate to learn about the newer business functionalities and lines of operation . It is the responsibility of the human resource management to create opportunities for face-to-face consumer interaction, as well goods merchandising and reporting of sales in the case of every middle- ranked employees in a business organization. (Mendenhall and Osland 2012). This shall also include online business communications in the customized online selling portals. This would offer the employees to get idea about the practical business conditions that the business organization is operating. An effective human resource management shall facilitate towards offering greater exposure to the workforce by offering training in diverse business areas. According to Mendenhall and Osland (2012)., unnecessary supervisions shall act as a deterrent towards employee growth . Ther efore, strong human resource policies ensure that the workforce is given the required independence to show innovation at the workplace. Conclusion It can be said that the human resource management adds essential value to a business enterprise. Essential laws as well as regulations that ensure that the human rights are protected influence this. As such, employees have the right to claim legal amenities against the business enterprise if they feel that they have been unfairly. The human resource management has a variety of functions that it is required to undertake. These include recruitment, conducting orientation programs and putting in appraisal procedures for assessing employee performance. In addition, the human resource manager is required to implement training schemes in frequent intervals of time to assist the workforce in increasing their competencies. Besides this, offering employees a wide variety of roles and job functions would assist the workforce to upgrade their skills and knowledge about the market conditions. In this regard, it is pertinent that the human resource department considers employee issues in an effec tive manner. Cultural diversity in the work place shall be encouraged. Thus, the human resource department shall be effective in preventing discrimination of any kind in the workplace. This would lead to positive employee morale. References Abdelhak, M., Grostick, S. and Hanken, M.A., 2014. Health information: management of a strategic resource. Elsevier Health Sciences. Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S., 2014. Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers. Berman, E.M., Bowman, J.S., West, J.P. and Van Wart, M.R., 2015. Human resource management in public service: Paradoxes, processes, and problems. Sage Publications. Bosà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Nehles, A.C., Van Riemsdijk, M.J. and Kees Looise, J., 2013. Employee perceptions of line management performance: applying the AMO theory to explain the effectiveness of line managers' HRM implementation. Human resource management, 52(6), pp.861-877. Bratton, J. and Gold, J., 2012. Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave Macmillan. Buller, P.F. and McEvoy, G.M., 2012. Strategy, human resource management and performance: Sharpening line of sight. Human resource management review, 22(1), pp.43-56. Delahaye, B., 2015. Human resource development. Tilde Publishing. Flamholtz, E.G., 2012. Human resource accounting: Advances in concepts, methods and applications. Springer Science Business Media. Harvey, C.P. and Allard, M., 2015. Understanding and managing diversity. Pearson. Hendry, C., 2012. Human resource management. Routledge. Kehoe, R.R. and Wright, P.M., 2013. The impact of high-performance human resource practices on employees attitudes and behaviors. Journal of Management, 39(2), pp.366-391. Mendenhall, M.E. and Osland, J., 2012. Global leadership: Research, practice, and development. Routledge. Storey, J., 2014. New Perspectives on Human Resource Management (Routledge Revivals).

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Strategic Thinking and Leadership

Abstract Based on the crucial trait of innovation that a leader is expected to have, scholars with a vast and rich background in leadership have formulated various theories that go hand in hand with exemplary or rather strategic leadership. Strategic thinking is one of them. In a tactical thinking, various strategies have been developed and implemented.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Thinking and Leadership specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This paper clearly reveals various theories on how a strategy is developed and implemented. The paper also subdivides the key theories of strategy development into two major groups: the classical and learning strategy theories. The classical theories include the design school of thought by Selznick, Learned and Chandler, and the position school by Porter. A strategy is a plan to conquer. Innovation is the creative ability to build up new ideas. Change involves develo ping fresh ideas that re-energise an organisation. Since all these aspects must be availed when implementing any strategy, the paper goes a step further to illustrate how the three link within the context of strategy development, implementation, and leadership. For instance, the leadership of an organisation ought to learn from its mistakes, change its past misleading plans, and ensure that it continually comes up with new ideas that translate to meeting the formulated deliverables of the organisation. The ability of a leader to develop strategies, implement them, learn them, and understand what need to be changed for the betterment of the organisation is key to innovation and strategic leadership. Therefore, the paper also reveals how strategic leadership develops and implements change in the organisation. It provides an insight on critical analysis of the classical strategic processes in a selected organisation, Harvard School of Economics for this case. This example is used to vi vidly demonstrate how the three schools of thought are imperative in strategic leadership and change. For this school to develop and implement its strategy, design, planning, and positioning were paramount. The paper details how innovative leadership is able to carry out strategy development and implementation. It further reveals how strategic leadership and innovation are crucial in a change process besides demonstrating how classical theory is more people-oriented. It also indicates how human resources are engaged in designing, planning, and positioning for the success of change processes in organisations. Finally, the paper goes further to provide a detailed recommendation on the need to improve strategic processes within an organisation through careful selection of the business, innovative leadership, strategic task identification and structuring, defining the long-term and short term organisational goals, development of talents and skills, and selective investment.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Introduction Every organisation, country, institution, or even individual embraces leadership. The field of leadership is so crucial and one that determines the destiny of all these bodies. As such, poor leadership translates to poor performance and vice versa. For any organisation that wishes to achieve its set goals and objectives, it has to be aware of the implication of strategy development and implementation. The available scholarly literature of key theories of developing and implementing strategy clearly portray the interrelationship between strategy, innovation, and change. A strategy is developed in the pursuit of answering the question how a leader will overcome the period ahead. Innovation enables an organisation to develop unique and new ideas. Change in an organisation is mainly linked with creativity, which is the ability to come up with new ideas. According to Mumford (2003), creativity involves the production of new, unique, and useful products. Strategic leadership must therefore understand the need for creativity, innovation, and continuous change in an organisation. Theories on Strategy Development and Implementation There are various theories that have been advanced on strategy development and implementation. The theories aim at enabling leaders to become winning managers in organisations. They can be classified into two major groups: the classical and learning strategy theories. The classical theories range from the design school of thought by Selznick, Learned, and Chandler to the planning school of thought by Ansoff, and the position school by Porter. In the classical strategy theory, the choice of industry determines the profit that a firm gains and its market ability. Basic Design School Model Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Thinking and Leadership specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Source: (Mintzberg et al. 2003) In classical theories, a strategy is developed by carrying out a need analysis of the organisation. For example, leadership may realise that there is a need to increase the profit margin, gain a larger market share, improve the level of customer satisfaction, or even complete its projects. In fact, Beer and Eisenstat (2000) affirm that many organisations only succeed in drafting good strategic plans though they lack the ability to implement them. In the classical schools of thought, leaders are not guided by the past. They do what is right now. The major guidelines are how to plan, how to position, and how to design. The learning strategy theorists completely counter the classical theories. Proponents of this theory pose it that learning drives strategy. The strategy development team members should learn from their mistakes, change past plans, and ensure that they continually solve problems. Sou rce: (Johnson et al. 2011) According to Grant (2008), the ability of the strategy development and implementation team to learn and to understand what they learn is paramount in strategic management. Learning theorists also expound on organisational learning. In strategic leadership, leaders have to continually acquire new ideas, become more creative, and manage change.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This strategy makes organisations experience growth and development.In addition, de Witt (2005) argues that learning theories also provide insights on how companies create knowledge through strategic thinking. Strategy developers and implementers who apply these theories have to understand the purpose of knowledge development in the organisation. Strategic leadership therefore evaluates the levels of profit, the percentage of market share, the levels of customer satisfaction and approval, and the past mistakes in project developments. Leadership therefore learns from it past mistakes. This is how a strategy is developed in learning theories. The process of strategy implementation is similar in both classical and learning theories. The process involves analysis of an organisation’s operation context, selecting the strategic choices available, and assessing and choosing the best alternatives. According to Capon (2008), resources are always scarce for organisations. Therefore, s trategic management teams should ensure competitive resource management. There exist a relationship between strategy, innovation, and change. A strategy is a plan that an organisation comes up with in order to conquer in its business venture. This plan is paramount to the achievement of organisational goals. Innovation is the ability of organisation leadership to come up with unique ideas that steer it towards achieving better results. Change is the new ideas and results that an organisation targets. All these are aimed at making the organisation more competitive. When an organisation leadership comes up with a plan to conquer its venture, it must therefore develop unique ways of doing things. The new ideas result in transformations. The three forces are interrelated as shown: A critical analysis of selected strategic process A critical analysis of selected strategic process in an organisation sheds more light on strategic thinking and strategic leadership. This paper takes the exa mple of the Harvard School of Economics. For this school to develop and implement its strategies, design, planning, and positioning were paramount. The organisation adopted the classical strategy theories. After carrying out its needs analysis, the organisation realised the need for increasing its profits in a bid to improve its market share. According to Pearce and Robinson (2011), the process of strategic management must begin with needs analysis. This forms the foundation of the evaluation process. After adopting the classical theories of strategy development and implementation, the leadership of the Harvard School of economics followed a three-stage process. This process involved context analysis, strategic variables identification, and best option selection. In contextual analysis, strategic leadership of the Harvard school of economics ensured that it understood itself and the condition of its environment. The leadership examined the available resources, the abilities, the lia bilities, and weaknesses of the organisation to enable it to major on perfecting its strength in attracting business students from all over the world. The weakness of the organisation to integrate business courses with science courses was also resolved by silently scrapping science courses that had a low market share. After a clear evaluation of the environment, the leadership realised that the world is tended towards business. In fact, Johnson et al. (2011) confirm that strategic management makes organisations flexible and dynamic. This meant that there was a need to intensify the quality of economics graduates from this school. Leadership also came up with plans to win over the customers by ensuring that they were satisfied. Analysis of stakeholders of the institution also enabled it to reveal their needs to satisfy them better. Today, this strategy has greatly improved the market segment of the Harvard School. The other analysis that leadership in the Harvard School carried out i s on its competitors. The leadership analysed how the graduates of this school compared with other graduates in the job market. This strategy indicated that graduates of this school were more competitive relative to business graduates from other schools. The leadership department therefore devised a design that ensured that its competitors would not reach its standards. According to Capon (2008), organisations must formulate strategies that are within the ability of their resource base. Since this organisation had successfully trained competitive business graduates, it was easier to intensify the same venture using sophisticated software in teaching. The next step in the implementation was the identification of strategic options that existed as a way of creating competitive advantage. According to Mintzberg (1998, 2003), strategic processes offer competitive advantages to organisations. Strategic leadership and thinking at this level utilised the brainstorming strategy, which enable d it to come up with a variety of profitable projects. In addition, this strategy also enabled the Harvard School to identify its threats and opportunities. The greatest threat to the success of this institution was the declining market share, which was eliminated through rigorous advertising across all media platforms. The third step involved the evaluation and selection of strategic choices, which involved a detailed assessment of strategies that was followed by selection of the best. From a variety of proposed projects, each of them was evaluated in the context. The financial factors like break-even points and cost analysis were considered. The strategies that were within the financial ability of the Harvard School of Economics were adopted. They included cost effective marketing, advertising, and quality control. After the evaluation, the best strategic option was chosen. The only strategic options that were considered were those that were in tandem with the vision, values, and objectives of the Harvard School of Economics. These strategies were implemented for the success of the school as it is today. It was through strategic planning, design, and positioning that this organisation became very competitive. Assessment of the engagement of people in this strategy An assessment of the level in which people within the Harvard School of Economics are engaged in the strategy affirms the viability of it. The classical theory is more people-oriented since it uses people as a resource. According to Pearce and Robinson (2011), human resources are engaged in designing, planning, and positioning. The affirmation of the level of engagement of the people in the implementation of this strategy can be realised through evaluation (Schumpeter 1942). The three-step strategy implementation process involves human resources at various stages. First, the whole process of strategy implementation in Harvard School of Economics was people-centred. The process was geared towards be tter profits and more market share. Both of these objectives have people at heart. Secondly, the process of contextual analysis and environmental assessment involved people specifically the strategic leaders of the school who began by understanding the entire people in the organisation. If the leadership did not clearly understand the people in this organisation, the implementation of the strategy would not have succeeded. Every leader including management and supervisors was involved in the evaluation of the environment. Thirdly, the actual implementation of the strategy involved all the ‘publics’ of the organisation including employees, stakeholders, students, the media, government, customers, and even financial institutions. The competitors were evaluated followed by a thorough analysis of their competitive ability to ensure that the competitors who mainly included other universities and institutions of higher learning did not outdo the Harvard School. Customers were also analysed followed by the laying down of strategies of retaining them to ensure that no customer felt unsatisfied or moved to another institution. To maintain this level of customer approval, employees and the leadership team had to be more innovative in relation to their competitors as confirmed by Davila et al. (2006) who say that companies cannot develop via cost cutback and reengineering only without innovation as the main building block in realising forceful development. The institution leaders also gained from this innovation. With innovation supervision, monitoring and evaluation became simpler. For example, in the process of innovation, the organisation came up with a new way of allocating duties, appraising employees, students, and even rewarding their performance. A good example was the application of central monitoring computers by supervisors in the Information Technology department of the Harvard School. From his office, the supervisor is now able to monitor what e very employee is doing in real time thus enabling leaders to save time and energy besides making their work more efficient. The second phase of strategy implementation involved people as well. The process involved brainstorming where various stakeholders including employees and management gave their opinions. A variety of projects came up with the most feasible ones being adopted thus affirming the high level of people involvement that this strategy adopts. At this step also, the human resource of the Harvard School was used to solve the existing problems to ensure that all stakeholders were at ease with their responsibilities. In addition, it also ensured that everyone in that organisation discharged his or her duties efficiently and effectively. People were also used in the implementation of the third face of this strategy. Major decision makers in the organisation were used to look into the available options. From the suggestion of many stakeholders, the management chose to adopt some projects that were feasible. Because of the number of employees, the organisation had to choose from a variety of many projects. Pearce and Robinson (2011) affirm that all strategies require people to implement. People were also involved in decision-making. At this step, they came up with the best strategic designs and plan for implementation. The human resources in the Harvard School of Economics were used to draft an implementation procedure besides being involved also in design, planning, and positioning. Recommendation on how strategic processes can be improved From the strategic processes analysed in this paper, it suffices to offer some recommendations pertaining to the area that need improvement as far as strategy development and implementation are concerned. Firstly, the strategic leadership should carefully carryout the selection of business. It should embrace innovative leadership, strategic task identification and structuring, be creative, define the long-term and s hort-term organisational goals, develop talents and skills, and encourage selective investment. When selecting a business venture, a careful situational analysis needs to be carried out. According to Grant (2008), strategic leadership should guide the organisation on the feasibility of every business venture that interests it. Organisations should not just invest their resources in any business undertaking. The possibility of attaining high levels of customer satisfaction, good profit margins, better relationship with suppliers and financial markets, and even employee satisfaction should be prioritised. A strategic analysis of the environment should be done way before the investment. It should be noted that every organisation has an inner and outer environment and that both environments should be evaluated. Another recommendation is that the leadership of every organisation should be innovative. Grant (2008) says that leadership should also be the major inventor in an organisation. While innovation is the introduction of new ideas, persons, products, and business functions, an invention is an inimitable or new device, process, composition, method, or finding that has been realised. An invention can also be an enhancement upon a machine, a product, or even an alternate method of realising a process. Innovation enables an organisation to develop unique and new ideas. When leadership is innovative enough the organisation is able to stand out from its competitors. According to Grant (2008), apart from processes, products, and systems, opening of new markets and development of new sources of supply of raw materials are also parts of the innovation. Strategic leadership should steer the organisation from redundancy to excellence through innovation. This strategy raises the competitive ability of the organisation. Another recommendation on strategic processes is that the leadership should be creative enough to initiate change. According to Mumford (2003), creativity involves the production of fresh and constructive products. A creative leader must possess a certain skill or idea that he or she can use, or that can be used by others to develop new things. Such a leader will come up with something completely new, for example, a product, explanation, a piece of work, or even a valuable device. In addition, organisations must clearly define both short-term and long-term goals to enable them keep on benchmarking besides acting as plans to guide it towards its specific objective. Goals are road maps for successful organisations. Finally, organisations should allow development of skills and talents. Organisations are always hunting new technologies, ideas, human resource, and even policies that can win over news customers and even maintain the existing ones. The need to increase the quality of ideas, products and devices, to save time, and or reduce production cost is generated from the traditional problem solving methods. Conclusion In conclusion, st rategic thinking and leadership continues to be the key drivers of success in organisations. Various schools of thought have been advanced towards this end. These theories are grouped into learning theories and classical theories. In strategy development, there is a close relationship between innovation, change, and the strategy itself. In the implementation of strategies, leadership has to engage people in the organisation for its success. Competition among institutions, individuals, and functions increases on a daily basis. The need to outdo competitors and or have products that are more appealing will result in the need for strategic innovation, change, and development of an organisation such as the Harvard School of Economics discussed above. In this light, every organisation should identify and nurture talents. Various methods can be adopted to improve strategic processes in organisations as recommended in the paper. References Beer, M Eisenstat, R 2000, ‘The Silent Kill ers of Strategy Implementation and Learning’, Sloan Management Review, vol. 41 no. 4, pp. 29-40. Capon, C 2008, Understanding Strategic Management, Pearson Education, Harlow. Davila, T et al. 2006, Making Innovation Work: to Manage is, measure it, and profit from it. Upper Saddle River: Wharton Scholl Publishing. de Witt, B Meyer, R 2005, Strategy Synthesis: Resolving Paradoxes to Create Competitive Advantage, Thompson Learning, London. Grant, R 2008, Contemporary Strategy Analysis, Blackwell, Malden, MA. Johnson, G et al. 2011, The Practice of Strategy from Exploring Strategy: Text and Cases, Pearson Education Ltd: Harlow. Mintzberg, H et al. 1998, Strategy ‘And over here, Ladies and Gentlemen, the strategic management beast, Prentice Hall, Safari FT. Mintzberg, H et al. 2003, The Strategy Process: Strategy Formation, Prentice Hall, Safari FT. Mumford, M 2003, ‘Where have we been, where are we going? Taking stock in creativity’, Creativity Research Journa l, vol. 1 no. 15, pp. 107–120. Pearce, J Robinson, R 2011, Strategic Management: Formulation, Implementation and Control, Organisational Structure, McGraw Hill, Boston. Schumpeter, J 1942, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, Harper Row, New York. This essay on Strategic Thinking and Leadership was written and submitted by user PuppetMaster to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.