One of the best ways that managers can increase the level of motivation among subordinates is to be effective leaders. Leadership can be defined as a process of influence in which the leader is able to get the follower to stay on a prescribed path toward the attainment of specific goals that are desired by the leader. Thus, by definition the art of leadership is an important part of effective management. The art of leadership may be inherent within the individual. If leadership can be acquired through education and training it may be the most difficult thing to learn (Shell, 2003). Managers in the professional environment are likely to have specialized training and are often preoccupied with the technical or scientific aspects of subordinate jobs. Consequently, they may pay little attention to the development and application of leadership skills (Shell, 2003). When overall organizational success is related to leadership qualities, it is clear that effective leadership can and does make a difference Leadership qualities assume great importance in the professional work environment because professionals are highly sensitive to how they are managed (Shell, 2003).
A categorization of leadership types can be established relating to the institutional settings within which leadership is exercised and which allow or prevent feasible leadership action. Leadership styles by contrast can be categorized according to the actual behavior of leaders faced by particular situations. The leadership component is not much easier to identify. Traditional organizational culture is sometimes expressed in terms such as risk aversion, inertia, hierarchy and sometimes political clientelism (Haus, Heinelt & Stewart, 2004). Leadership styles associated with this kind of political culture are far removed from the values and expectations which might be linked to an effective complementarily between leadership and community involvement. A range of leadership styles may therefore be appropriate for joint working dependent on the personal characteristics evident in the leaders reflecting the degree of charisma, commitment, persuasion, ambition etc. which rest within any individual (Haus, Heinelt & Stewart, 2004). For different kinds of situation in the workplace environment, managers and supervisors use different strategies. In managing and supervising a creative environment, managers and supervisors can still use the leadership style they wish to use but they should maintain their discipline and they need to have higher rates of sensitivity since creative people tend to be more sensitive than others. The managers and supervisors of creative environments need to have high sense of discipline so that they can keep up with the demands of the employees working in a creative environment. The managers and supervisors of creative environments need to be aware of every need of the personnel in the creative environment. The creative personnel have more needs than other personnel thus the manager and supervisor must be always ready to satisfy this needs. Managers and supervisors must know their boundaries and limitations of dealing with personnel on a creative environment. The creative personnel sets a wider range of limitations and has the tendency to require more personal space, the managers and supervisors need to recognize the personal space demanded by the personnel.
How are employees rewarded and recognized for innovation
Venturing into new management territory can be daunting. The old haunts are familiar and comfortable and, besides, they’ve worked fine for generations despite short-term thinking, turf wars, and fear of conflict just to name a few of the most obvious drawbacks. But the problem is that the old haunts are also limiting (Jonash & Sommerlatte, 1999). Remaining huddled inside them limits access to new realms of growth and value and does nothing to cope with the whole new set of circumstances facing business today. As the economy shifts from a product-based system to knowledge-based one, managers need ways to manage their investments in intangible assets that drive innovation. Keeping intellectual property or any kind of secret secure in this era of the Internet, high staff mobility, and open communication has become very difficult. And maintaining the loyalty of smart employees is a problem of major proportions (Jonash & Sommerlatte, 1999).
The innovation premium is about working smarter rather than simply working harder. Companies must become faster and more versatile. Companies do not need to dramatically restructure their company’s entire strategy, reorganize all their resources, or completely change their processes and organizational structure. What should be done is to find ways to alter the business’ approach and overlay new management practices that can create and capture more value from innovation (Jonash & Sommerlatte, 1999). Being creative is such a natural part of being human that we can view creativity much the way we view language; no human cultures, no matter how isolated, have ever been found that do not use language. The same may be said of creativity. Of course, some cultures may boast more extensive technological, scientific, literary, or artistic accomplishments, but this depends on the relative value societies place on innovation, not differences in the basic mental processes of which people are capable (Finke, Smith & Ward, 1995).
Capitalizing on the techniques of creative cognition can help. It’s no secret that business today is ruthlessly competitive. Corporate executives find themselves navigating a harsh landscape in which a single misstep, a slight misreading of their guiding compass, can spell disaster. At the same time, a successful journey, a mapping out of a new market, can secure extravagant monetary rewards, and bring immense personal satisfaction corporations must find creative new ways to quickly manufacture products, and more generally, to run their entire organizations (Finke, Smith & Ward, 1995). Innovation is important for business because it will help them increase their lead over rivals in the market. Innovation helps a company make moves that will affect the firm’s future. Innovation also helps the company to determine the future path of a department or the organization as a whole. In all organizations a characteristic that an employee must have is innovation. A company usually checks or asks for signs that will show them that a certain employee has implemented innovations in a product or a service. Innovation in employees are recognized and rewarded through bonuses, public appreciation or other complementary gestures.
How administrative procedures must be changed to facilitate a creative environment
The process of strategic management involves the systematic examination of a number of interrelated elements, which results in an explicit statement of company objectives and how they are to be achieved (Drejer, 2002). In changing administrative procedures strategic management is used so that the changes would be done in an organized and acceptable way. The administrative procedures should meet the demands set by the employees in a creative environment. The administrative procedures should be realigned with the characteristic of every personnel. Certain administrative procedures that deem too offensive or too insensitive should be replaced so that issues with the employees in a creative environment will be minimized. In relation to dealing with employees in a creative environment, the article on better living through will be discussed.
Better living through culture
Organizational culture helps in aligning the values and norms of the employees to the values and norms of the organization. There should only be one dominant organizational culture for the company, having more than one culture can lead to arguments and fights even if there is already a strong structure. The article talks about how culture has become one of the most important considerations in making sure that a firm maintains its focus and for a firm to have a good long term financial performance. The article discusses about how culture is seen as something that will become a much important consideration in determining corporate success or failure. For this reasons the culture of the firm should be always healthy and unique so that the company can work well in its industry. If a company has a culture that puts emphasis on creativity, the firm and its managers must know how to maintain that culture and not try to change it in their own idea of corporate culture.
Review of the culture of Hallmark
Hallmark is one greeting card company that aims to connect people with each other through greeting cards that artistically voice out their messages. Hallmark have employees that care, have creativity, know about quality and innovation, v and makes use of the proper values that guided them in their daily activities. Their culture is embedded in creativity, innovation, quality and caring. These characteristics guide the company in making decisions for the future of the firm and these characteristics helped the company to be trusted by their client base. The characteristics of Hallmark’s culture are the ones that helped and will continue to assist the company in achieving their goals. All companies need to be creative, innovative, have high sense of quality and must know how to care for their clients. No client would want to transact business with a company that has a weak customer service. No client would want to buy products that are just recycled from older products. The culture of Hallmark should be followed by all companies, one thing is missing though and that is good employee relations. Good employee relations should always be an important part of a culture of a firm because the employees and the management need to have a good understanding and they need to work together to achieve overall goals.
References
Better Living Through Culture 2001, retrieved 14, August
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Drejer, A. (2002). Strategic management and core
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Haus, M., Heinelt, H. & Stewart, M. (2004). Urban
governance and democracy: leadership and community
involvement. New York: Routledge.
Hallmark Inc. 2007, Company Profile, retrieved 14, August
2008, from < www.hallmark.com>.
Finke, R.A., Smith, S.M. & Ward, T.B. (1995). Creativity
and the mind: Discovering the genius within. New York:
Plenum Press.
Jonash, R.S. & Sommerlatte, T. (1999). The innovation
premium: how next generation companies are achieving
peak performance and profitability. Cambridge, MA:
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Shell, R.L. (2003). Management of professionals. New York:
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