Competing Value Framework
Question 1
1st Factor
Middle management is considered the hardest job in an organization. The main reason is that people are not trained in leadership hence creating a crisis in middle management. Everyone would want to judge the middle managers right from the top to bottom and their performance is always under scrutiny. At the same time, competition is also very fierce at this stage. The challenging economy also brings in disruptive technology that throws most middle managers off the balance. Besides technology, the changing corporate landscape is also changing very fast creating a lot of leadership challenges for middle managers (Alvesson, Blom, & Sveningsson, 2017). A lot of expectations are piled on middle managers as they are required to be both strategic and commercial to be able to lead the organization to achieve its goals. Transitioning into middle management lacks special skills in listening, communication skills, effective confrontation and how to receive feedback. When compared to accounting, the accountants are always trained on everything but middle management lacks effective training on how to handle organizations. It is impractical to promote people into middle leadership and expect that they will handle the job successfully.
When middle managers lack these leadership skills, they are unable to connect the top and bottom parts of the organizational management. As connectors middle managers are supposed to be agile and adaptable. Due to a lack of proper leadership middle managers lack effective communication skills. This means the organization may suffer from poor communication or assume a communication model that is not effective and accountable.
The competing value framework (CVF) comprises collaboration, creation, control and competition. CVF aims to ensure an organization becomes effective in its performance. From the first factor identified in the video, the factor of collaboration was not effective (Spicer & Alvesson, 2019). The organization must be effective through collaboration and must incorporate culture and deploy collective responsibility for purposes of effectiveness. At an individual level, middle managers are supposed to engage in personal development through leadership training and career planning. At the team level middle managers through training are supposed to engage in team development and create shared vision and values. The ability to interconnect between low power and higher power while dealing with different people is necessary for middle management. Leadership styles and mentorship required at this level should be based on human development and high commitment to drive effectiveness. The leader must be seen to be a facilitator, mentor and team builder at the same time.
2nd Factor
The other challenge observed is that middle managers can self-challenge themselves. They read books, attend conferences and have mentors. The major problem is that the senior management ignores their effort and are only concerned about the financial gain of the company. This indicates that the second factor observed by the speaker is the lack of proper mentorship and support from the senior management team. The middle managers are trying very hard to do the best thing but the senior management team only cares about quarterly earnings (Dopson & Stewart, 2019). There is no support from the top management. There is no motivation and everything is focused on financial performance alone. The best option for the middle managers is to remain the best they can ever be. They should transform themselves into dream leaders. Their main concern should be the people around them. They should embrace leadership theories that support people around them to mentor them and help them achieve organizational goals.
The VCF that has been ignored in this case is creation. There is no open system that is leading to the breakthrough in the organisation. This is because the top management is missing the fundamental values of VCF that entail practice, purpose and people. The middle managers are supposed to practice continuous invention and innovation of new products and venturing into new markets. This is only possible if they get support from the top leadership team. They are also expected to place purpose in the form of innovation and growth at the core of the system (Quinn, Bright, & Sturm, 2020). This must be steered by the top leadership team. In addition, the most important factor is the people and their skills in the form of artistry, visionary and entrepreneurial must be factored in. When the top management team fail to support middle managers, it is a sign that the organization is lacking a good organizational culture that is capable of handling the diverse nature of views. The organization lacks competency and processes within the organization. The middle managers can maintain their most effective quality of maintaining personal values as a leader to steer the rest of the employees towards achievement of the organizational goals. This indicates that the relationship of the middle managers will only succeed if they collectively generate new ideas and mutually learn about the strengths and weaknesses of all the employees while supporting each other (Down & Reveley, 2020). This will lead to value creation with other teams through the process of collaboration. Evaluation of effective procedures can take place also. If this is done consistently the middle manager will be in a position to successfully create value with the rest of the employees in the large-scale innovation which can be nurtured over a long period. Eventually, the organization will gain success when the main objective is to generate new knowledge industry.
Part 2
- Regal Heritage Hotel is facing tension when it comes to time-honoured culture and the need for modernization. Middle managers are considered the link between the top and the bottom part of the organization. They are vision bearers and carriers of the vision. The major tension is usually observed when these leaders are unable to adapt to modern technology effectively. This means they may not communicate the vision of the organization effectively. This weakens the hierarchical pressure in the organization. It also breaks the organizational culture. When it comes to the hospitality industry lack of innovation results in a lot of challenges. As already observed this problem comes in when the top management team are unable to effectively train and induct the middle managers. This creates a gap between the top and middle leadership. The gap is due to poor transition into leadership (Gomes & Knowles, 2019). When middle managers are not in a position to follow the directions from the senior leadership team it jeopardizes the organization's success. This creates tension as the middle managers have influence as well. They may end up directing the organization in a different direction from what is expected. This is because they may not be sharing a common goal and vision of the organization due to poor communication. Tension will also exist since there is a lack of deeply embedded culture which has prevented the company from incorporating technology. It is also important to understand that the hospitality industry is full of competition and currently faces a lot of changes due to innovation and technology. When middle managers cannot communicate their visions correctly then the organization will face a lack of innovation and creativity. Stiff competitors will stifle the organization and run it down.
- Cultural tension has an impact when it comes to the process of decision-making within the organization. This is because most of the employees may not be accustomed to new techniques of dealing with consumer demands. In order to create harmony and avoid conflicts a harmonious balance of competing values may be fostered through teamwork and collaboration. The organization is also already engaging in training of employees. Deep research and development and embracing a culture of technology may help in creating teamwork and accountability. Collaboration and teamwork are very necessary as this will encourage innovation at the organisational level. Bold and breakthrough ideas will be allowed to work while value drives such as innovation transformation and agility will steer the organization towards greater heights. The middle manager is expected to be an innovator, entrepreneur and visionary.
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