Understanding Human Resources Democratic Leadership Style

Question: 1. Identify the various forms of organisational structure, culture and management styles and to be able to give examples. 2. Describe the role of an HR department within the context of an organisation. 3. Demonstrate key activities managers undertake and the skills required when managing people within an organisation. Answer: Introduction HRM refers to the formal systems which are managed by the HR managers of an organisation in order to generate revenue by managing the concerns of the people associated with the company. Human Resource Management includes many aspects such as staffing, compensation, and employee benefits. The essay focuses on HRM functions of Capco. Human Resource Management of Capco is designed in a way to maximise the performance of employees in the context of strategic objectives of a particular employee. Different concepts of human resources included in HRM are personnel management, employee relations, performance management, leadership, and retention. 1. The flat organisational structure is suitable for Capco. The organisational culture of Capco is driven by team spirit, entrepreneurship and innovation. Capco is a multinational organisation operating over 20 locations worldwide. According to the nature of the organisational culture, flat structure is best for Capco. In a flat structure, there are very few numbers of middle management. Flat structure organisation will perfectly define the organisational nature and culture of Capco (Lustenberger 2014). The managers and the consultants of Capco are allowed to enjoy individuality and entrepreneurship within the company. Tall structure organisation will not allow this type of organisational culture. There will be many hierarchies in between where staffs and executives have to report for their specific work. The flat structure will enable smooth maintenance of open line of communication between the middle management with the junior executives (Smith et al. 2013). Integrity and openness are easy to follow while having a flat organisational structure in a company. Decentralised decision-making is possible in flat structure through employee involvement. In this structure, executives receive fast feedback from their seniors due to few middle-level managers in the organisation. Hence, quick decisions are taken regarding customer feedback or strategic perspectives (Nrman, Johnson and Gingnell 2016). Self-managing teams are encouraged in Capco for excellent performance. 2. The span of control is defined as the number of subordinates present in an organisation. Many businesses in human resource management use this term. It is discussed earlier that Capco will flourish if the company follows flat structure (Wallin, Pousette and Dellve 2014). Self-directed teams are there in Capco that have a specific level of the span of control. The span of control creates positive impact on employee motivation. The organisational culture of Capco encourages entrepreneurship, individuality, openness, good communication, etc. Employees of Capco are motivated, as they enjoy less span of control from their superiors. They are also allowed to work individually in a creative way (Wong et al. 2015). Hierarchy is an essential element in the organisational structure of a company. Different companies follow a different style of hierarchy. Being a flat organisation or a tall organisation, the hierarchy will be present in every organisation. Hierarchies of management are not only formed for controlling different activities but also for employee motivation. Employees will work hard to reach themselves in higher levels of management in the organisation (Diefenbach 2013). Employees of Capco are provided with many opportunities in socialising and grow their career within the organisation. Higher post in the hierarchy of Capco will provide employees benefits and responsibilities that are more interesting as well as challenging. 3. Among the three leadership styles mentioned in the question, the leaders of the organisation follow democratic leadership style in Capco. Democratic leadership is also known as participative leadership. As Capco is a consulting firm, democratic leadership is the best form of leadership that explores problems and finding solutions. This form of leadership will help consultants and executives to experiment the possibilities in depth leading to a discussion among different level of employees along with sharing of ideas in order to provide solutions for the problems (Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee 2013). New ideas will flow smoothly in Capco that will allow more flexibility among the employees to communicate with each other. Participative or democratic leadership include supervisors and consultants in providing ideas regarding business solutions, as well as they, can participate in the major decision-making process of the company (Teles 2015). Openness in working environment is maintaine d in Capco that can be possible by following democratic leadership within the organisation. This form of leadership is responsible for bringing the best from an experienced professional team. Democratic leaders capitalise on the talents and skills of the consultants by providing them with an opportunity in sharing their views in front of everyone rather than simply expecting the employees to conform (Bhatti et al. 2012). 4. Performance management is a vital aspect of an organisation that ensures meeting goals in an efficient manner. The focus of performance management is measuring the performance of the employees as well as the organisation in a broader concept (Buckingham and Goodall 2015). Capco will formulate performance management in a way that will lead to improved management control, motivated workforce, increased financial gain, etc. Organisational development will also be included in performance management of Capco through performance appraisal, performance planning and performance coaching. Capco should focus on the aspect of performance appraisal where individual performance is measured along with feedback provided to the consultants (De Waal 2013). Reward management is related to the performance management system of Capco. Capco sets rewards based on performance of consultants. Reward management of a company refers to implementation and formulation of policies and strategies that aim in rewarding people consistently, equitably and fairly according to the performance and their values within the organisation (Rose 2014). Reward management of Capco includes controlling and analysing compensation, remuneration, incentives, monetary and non-monetary benefits for the employees. It is a part of employee motivation that can also includes non-monetary rewards such as recognition, development and training. Capco will concentrate both on extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. Conclusion and Recommendations Creativity, individuality, openness are the main characteristics of organisational culture which influence the employees of the organisation to grow their career and contribute their ideas to the business development of Capco. Capco is a consultant that has to focus on different aspects of human resource management such as rewards, performance appraisal, democratic leadership, the flat organisational structure in order to develop organisational culture as well as the development of employees associated with the company. 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