Leadership and Management Development Skills and Attributes

Question: Discuss about theLeadership and Management Developmentfor Skills and Attributes. Answer: Table Analysis Summary analysis of the knowledge, skills and attributes required of the candidates for the position of Director of Strategy, Marketing, and Public Relations at the Blue Riband Snacks Ltd. Name James McKay Greta Green Emily Schneider Ranking 1st 2nd 3rd Education knowledge BSC (Hons) First Class in Marketing from University of Strathclyde and an MSc in International Business (H1) from Griffith College. 8/10 BA (Hons) First Class in Modern Languages and Business from Trinity College Dublin and MBA from Harvard Business School 6/10 BSc (Hons) Upper Second in Accounting from Queens University Belfast (QUB) and MBA from Griffith College. 5/10 Soft knowledge Friendly, highly sociable, people centered 3/5 Builds consensus, very loyal to the company, honest 3/5 Motivational, people oriented, mentor 5/5 Family given Skills Married with two children - entrenches patience, sense of responsibility. 3/3 Married with one child - entrenches patience, sense of responsibility. 3/3 Unmarried, has a partner 2/3 Formal and Informal on-the-job learning Participated in the development of new brands which meant-research. Informal learning through his juniors and superiors at Blue Riband Snacks. Member of Marketing Institute of Ireland, and represents Ireland on the Board of the European Federation of Marketing. 5/5 Comes from enterprising background most likely that Entrepreneurship skills have been part of her growth to adult. Fifteen year experience at Blue Riband Snacks informal learning from her superiors and juniors. Engages in research being head of the research unit 5/5 Vast experience gained through informal learning having been Co-owner and CEO of Choconoux. A company whose products are considered to be in same consumer group with snacks. Gained informal training by learning through her colleagues at work and her superiors. 5/5 Managerial positions held or Equivalent. Worked as assistant Brand Manager for Diageo for five years. Assistant Brand for Snaxy brand of crisps for one year. Current Brand manager Snaxy. Note Snaxy is the premier brand of Blue Riband Snacks accounting for 38% of total annual revenue being realized by the Blue Riband Snacks Ltd. The brand comes in Potato, Corn and Vegetable varieties. 9/10 Assistant accounts manager for Blue Riband Snacks in various countries including Germany and United Kingdom. Financial controller for continental European Division of the business. Manager research and Development Division Brand Manager for Blue Riband Biscuit Brand responsible for 12% of the companys revenues. 6/10 Chief Executive officer Choconoux. During this time she and her co-owner managed to grew sales of the brand achieving average growth rate of 30% in the year 2010 through 2015. 6/10 Member/Professional bodies/ qualifications Associate member of European Federation of Marketing Associations. Member Marketing Institute of Ireland. 3/5 Chartered Accountant. Member Continental European Division of business. 2/4 - 0/4 Physical Traits Language proficiency Tall, healthy, fit, regular tennis player and hiker. 2/2 English (C2), Irish (C1), Swedish (B1). 2/4 Attractive, healthy, fit, regularly attends gym. 2/2 English (C2), Irish (B2), French (C1), German (C2), Spanish (C1). 4/4 Tall, healthy, athletic, runner and sailor. 2/2 English (C2), French (C1), German (C2), Swedish (B1). 3/4 Style of working and personality Has a reputation for always achieving his goal People-oriented who achieves objectives through others Has an ability to create a positive culture. Empowers others. 4/6 Someone who thinks about the long term Builds consensus Achieves things through authority and authentic leadership 4/6 Good at planning and sticking to the rules A social architect, generally motivational Always achieves the bottom line. People oriented, Good in crisis solving 4/6 Finale grading/ Score 41/50 82% 35/50 70% 30/50 60% James McKay is the most suitable candidate for the position of Director of Strategy, Marketing and Public Relations based on the outcome of the above knowledge, skills and attributes ratings. The role entails considerable high level of workload on marketing and strategic planning. The business deals with consumables which are associated with quite volatile market stability in terms of public perception. The incumbent should therefore be highly knowledgeable in marketing and has consumer taste, a fact very well demonstrated by James Mckay being the brand manger of the companies premier brand. (Mooradian, Matzler and Ring, 2012) Mr. James also boasts of impressive academic records as well as an MBA in International business a trait that marries well with the companies of objective of expanding her market to other foreign countries like Germany, Nordic countries Austria, Spain and Portugal within three years. According to Maslows the theory of Human Motivation, human beings tend get motivated when in friendly environment. This is an important factor that Mr. James brings into the team. The workforce, behind any successful company is motivated and hardworking employees. (Kerin and Peterson, 2001) The incumbent will also most likely be the next Blue Riband Snacks CEO once the current CEO exists. It therefore important that the holder of this role be someone who his /her colleague thinks the future of the company is secured. This especially important to mitigate the prevailing low moral among the company workforce as demonstrated by the research which concluded that a paltry 38% of the workforce thinks the company has a future. This trait is well demonstrated by Mr. James going by the reports that people thinks that Mr. James is likely to become a CEO in future or own his own company. (Wilson and Gilligan, 2005) Vision, Mission and Values A draft Vision, Mission Statement and Statement of Values for Blue Riband Snacks Draft Vision To Position ourselves as the top brand in Snacks market with cutting edge customer satisfaction and well known snack brands within Ireland, Europe and in the world. Draft Mission Statement To continue with our expertise in snacks, a tradition of best quality and taste and consumer driven approach motivated by our strong desire to leave a fulfilling experience with our customers every time they use our products. Draft Statement of Values Quality Products We honor our promise to always produce quality products in the most hygienic way within our service level agreement. Innovative We always expand our brands and come up with new ones in response to customer needs and taste preference from time to time. Efficient We constantly improve our efficiency to have sustainable value addition for highest return on investment possible to our stakeholders. Teamwork The company recognizes our collective efforts of all employees by providing support to each other for optimization. Recommendation Recommended personal and professional development plan for the highest ranked candidate, Mr. James Macky The director will also need to further learn and develop skills on marketing intelligence. This is because the competition always improves on their quality of products and customer. This is a continuous exercise by observing consumer behaviors and conducting training to his sales team right from agents, to brand managers to keep them abreast with the current and latest changes in the market. The company also plans to open retail outlets and caf market intelligent skills will help the director to advice the company where best to set up these outlets. (Gilligan and Wilson, 2003) James should progressively work on his emotions when the team doesnt meet the sales targets assigned. This is phenomenon that is very much likely to happen anytime and if the Director of Strategy, Marketing and Public Relation will be loosing his cool every time targets are not meet, then that is likely to demoralize the employees further considering recent research which reported low morale among the employees of the company. There is no specific time line on this personal development but Mr. James is always expected to be more stable emotionally especially when targets have not been met. He can engage a professional on emotion like a counselor who can then advice him on how best to handle a crisis. The candidate needs to learn and develop professional knowledge and skills in accounting by enrolling in professional courses in accounting within two years. The rational for this that he is likely successor of the current company CEO. Apart from marketing and posting impressive performance in sales the CEO must have deep understanding of the financial position of the company. The CEO advices the board on matters expansion and other major projects that the company is likely to initiate. It is therefore important that the advice is financially sound to avoid leading the company in incurring bad investments that affects cash flow and smooth running of the business. The cost for this development can be met by the candidate or the board may decide to sponsor him. (Jensen and Ronit, 2013) The candidate needs to learn and understand the market dynamics of the healthier sugar free snacks within one year. The rational for this is that when the Blue Riband Snacks Company has a vision to develop this product and wrest fro its market share. He needs to learn what the consumption trend of this product is. The most preferred brand currently in the market and what makes consumers prefer the said brand. The company will need to commission a research on this front using available resources like the brand managers. The brand managers can interview consumers observe the product in the market and note any important aspect noticed. The candidate also needs develop skills and knowledge in oversees markets in Germany, the Nordic countries, Austria, Spain and Portugal. These are the target markets for the company within the next three years. He should learn these skills within the next one year for Germany, the Nordic countries and Austria markets and within two years for Spain and Portugal. These markets provide new challenges because the company doesnt have experience in them as of now but will need it all within the next three years when it plans to have entered these markets. The company can utilize markets consultants in the respective areas to provide the insights. References Acuff, D. and Reiher, R. (2014). What kids buy. [Place of publication not identified]: Free Press. Gilligan, C. and Wilson, R. (2003). Strategic marketing planning. Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann. Grunes, B. and Yoakam, L. (2004). Diabetes snacks, treats, easy eats. Chicago: Surrey Books. Jensen, J. and Ronit, K. (2013). Food Industry Firms' Economic Incentives to Provide Nutritional Information to the Market: European Breakfast Cereals, Snacks, and Soft Drinks Industries. Journal of International Food Agribusiness Marketing, 25(3), pp.209-224. Jovanovic, A. (2012). PR in culture - culture in PR. Kultura, (136), pp.325-339. Kerin, R. and Peterson, R. (2001). Strategic marketing problems. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall. Lane, N. (2009). Special issue: strategic sales and strategic marketing. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 17(3-4), pp.189-190. Mooradian, T., Matzler, K. and Ring, L. (2012). Strategic marketing. Boston, MA: Pearson Prentice Hall. Proctor, T. (2000). Strategic marketing. London: Routledge. Wilson, R. and Gilligan, C. (2005). Strategic marketing management. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann.