Learning and Development Term Paper

Business

Leadership Learning & Development

The reorganization of a business can take many forms. One of the most crucial areas for reorganization when expanding a business, buying a new business, or even restructuring because of bankruptcy, is to focus the new management team and to incorporate viable solutions for leadership learning & development protection. This report aims to draw up a management development program, devise a program that ensures that the learning needs of the organization are met in a sound and reliable strategic plan and illustrate how a well formatted strategic plan can tie in the objectives associated with learning and development planning.

In addition, the report must also justify the management development program including the strengths and weaknesses of this type of program. By explaining the importance of learning and development in the strategic direction of an organization, the management team is more likely to successfully evaluate what is and is not necessary. Strategic human resource management is a great reason to draw up plans that are based on realistic activities that clearly meet the development needs of the directors.

History

The Craiglock Nursery, set up in 1974, was originally a consortium of local businessmen from Edinburgh who provided individual gardeners and nursery services. The business thrived during the 80's and 90's so it expanded to six dispersed units across the city and in some surrounding towns. These individual units were more self sufficient in the terms of management structure and systems and served their own market areas. As the industry evolved, larger garden centers in addition to more gardening programs on television reduced the nurseries' market share. Another concern was that in 2008 the original owners retired and left the organization to their children James Malone, Catherine Neale and Susan Willson.

Susan Willson has worked with the company since she was 18 and has a good grasp of the business, including the organization's strengths and weaknesses and has a good report with the staff. James Malone also has worked with the company during summers and weekends during his days in school. He currently works in London as a financial manager and will therefore serve as a part time financial advisor. Catherine Neale worked during summers and weekends during school. She has managerial experience from a large hotel chain and her Post-Graduate management qualifications. She has been working hard to gain insight into the business to ensure future business success. The new directors get along well together and have come up with a common vision to make and expand Craiglock Nurseries into strong company that has local, national and international market success.

New organization

Brian Tracy is one of the best-known motivational speakers and leaders of our time. In his book The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success, Tracy draws on his more than thirty years of business experience and knowledge and presents the reader with a set of principles or what he terms "unbreakable universal laws" that are at the root of each person's business success (or failure). "These are natural laws that work everywhere for everyone, virtually without exception. Every year, thousands of companies underperform or even fail, and millions of individuals underachieve, frustrated by thwarted ambition and dreams -- all because they either attempt to violate or did not know these universal laws." (Tracy, 2000, p. 13)

The laws were broken by the original company in many ways. The current situation is that the company has a staff of 50 employees scattered across the 6 sites and directors are based in a main city office apart from the main nursery. Seventy five percent of the staff has been with the organization over 10 years and some are nearing retirement age. There has always been an ingrained culture with the 'old crowd' and at all 6 sites this carries over to Craiglock being seen as a local supplier of each local community.

The new organizational structure that the directors have come up with for the Craiglock Nurseries moves in a new strategic direction. The company aims to combine the six smaller units into a single centralized unit that would be based just outside Edinburgh city in a well established shopping complex. The company's new name would be Craiglock Garden Centre and the new facility has already been completed and the business would be fully operational over the next 18 months.

Combining the six individual units will help the company take advantage of the economies of scale and the there will also be a 25% reduction in human resources saving additional costs. Any gaps in the labor pool will be filled with temporary and agency staffers. The Human Resource policies and procedures will be examined and reshaped to ensure an effective performance management output and Craiglock strives to also become a learning-based organization and achieve Investors in People status.

One challenge may be that the move to a central location will affect the staff even though some of the staff would be quite happy in the new setting. Other staff may become very upset about these new proposed changes causing some inner conflict issues.

Strategic Planning & Organizational Development

The success of the Craiglock Garden Centre will depend on a variety of critical factors. The organization must set the right goals to become profitable while also meeting unstated objectives to protect the environment and human health. Craiglock Garden Centre will have a close collaboration and good communications with the various governmental partners, suppliers and vendors because they are a critical aspect of a meaningful business development strategy. The company and partners will need to use the best available economic and technical information in order to establish priorities and make decisions. Incorporating the right technology will help the company determine whether problems pose mission critical risks to the organization, the environment, human health, or the quality of life. By incorporating sound economic information will ensure the company's ability to make intelligent and cost effective decisions.

Craiglock Garden Centre will also collect and maintain environmental information that can be used to make the facility assess how to best serve its customers while also improving its green objectives and the global footprint. The company will establish a baseline of current conditions from the six outlets and identify how to best incorporate this information into the single new facility. Craiglock Garden Centre will also use this baseline data to help create new and viable business objectives and goals and to assess the progress and evaluate the performance.

Craiglock Garden Centre's new director base will continue to explore new and creative ways to achieve the organizational goals and they will look for new and innovative ways to address environmental needs and how to best use this information to serve their customer base. Craiglock Garden Centre's future success will be greatly influenced by the company's ability to develop and sustain a highly skilled, adaptable, results-oriented workforce and they aim to hire an employee workforce that consists of a proper mix of technical expertise, experience, and leadership capabilities to achieve the company's goals and to carry out the company's mission.

Recommendations and Action Plan for Human Resources and Management

Craiglock Garden Centre will maintain a modern work environment and will hire a fluid and dynamic workforce. Hiring and keeping accurate job analysis data and up-to-date personnel information will be a vital part of the organization and the overall industry. By implementing the following Human Resource and company objectives, this strategic plan will help Craiglock Garden Centre become more streamlined and efficient. The hiring process will be greatly improved by using sound business focused methodologies that will greatly increase productivity and will create an atmosphere that is performance based.

First and foremost, the three directors will utilize strategic business planning techniques that will focus on offering the management team a sound guide to thinking in a Craiglock Garden Centre way. This training process that the directors will implement will make the entire management team apply a comprehensive systems thinking approach that will enhance the manager's strategic and business planning process. The directors will explain how the management team will develop departmental strategic plans that ensure successful implementation of the overall organizational plan while also building and sustaining a high level of performance by each and every employee of Craiglock Garden Centre over the long haul. "Continuous practice of a key skill reduces the time required to perform the task and increases the output achieved." (Tracy, p. 285)

Employee management will have to address their current aging population. The company will need to create processes that allow them to enable Craiglock Garden Centre managers to recruit, train, motivate and retain new young employees. In simple terms, Craiglock Garden Centre will actively make Generation X employees feel welcome. The Directors aim to implement strategies to have the management team understand how to best put the new younger employee's unique skills and characteristics to work for to improve the company's goals and objectives. Craiglock Garden Centre will also actively recruit the newer cohort of young adults, called…