Free «Loads of Fun» Essay

Introduction

Taira Brandt wants to take over her father’s business named “Lots of Fun”. Garret Salmon, Taira’s father, started the firm forty years ago and has not made great changes in it since then as it has been successful. Taira has worked in the company but not on a senior leadership position, which has made her know what her father has been controlling. She intends to deal with a number of issues including going green, doing e-commerce, merging with Invitations Inc., reducing costs and increasing growth rate, and identifying the place to put her father while she establishes herself and her style with the company’s management and employees. This paper evaluates the current position of Taira in the business and how it affects her leadership potential, describes her current and future business plans, assesses styles and ways she can establish herself with employees, identifies challenges she faces while building her relationship with the management and father, and assesses the environment for change and how she will implement her ideas to build her future in the business.

Taira’s Current Role in the Business

Taira has currently worked on some position in the business but not on a senior leadership post. The fact that she has worked on some position means that she has led or supervised a team of employees, however, it could have been a small team. Being on that post has allowed her to gain leadership skills that would enable her to effectively apply and lead the business to success. In addition, being the “boss daughter” lets Taira draw some respect from employees and the management. It also allows her have authority which is an essential attribute of a leader. However, not being on a serious leadership position is disadvantageous to Taira since it makes her not have enough experience of leading larger teams or groups, which include the entire company. Taira’s personal affairs were also noticed within the company, especially her divorce with her husband. This affects her leadership potential negatively because it indicates her inability to manage her family. In this regard, employees may believe that Taira cannot lead a large business if she was unable to lead her small family which caused her divorce with her husband.

Taira’s Business Plans

Taira has great plans for the business now and in future. Now she plans to create a positive relationship between her and employees and among the employees. She intends to develop a culture of trust among personnel. According to Manzoor, Ullah, Hussain, and Ahmad (2011), trust among employees makes them work as a team to meet the expectations of business. In addition, Taira plans to increase the growth rate of the company and minimize costs. She also needs to restore the image and marketing plans of the firm.

In future, Taira intends to sell the business’ products directly to customers through e-commerce, to capture new markets, and concentrate on popular products such as “high end” expensive paper products and “budget” invitations. In addition, with an effort to conserve the environment and uphold consumerism, she plans to “go green”. Taira intends to develop invitation cards using materials that do not encourage cutting down of trees.

Styles and Ways of Establishing Taira’s Personal Self with the Employees

For Taira to establish her personal self with the employees, she should implement a transformational leadership style. It inspires followers to realize the aims and goals of organization (Sahgal & Pathak, 2007; McCleskey, 2014). Taira should thus inspire employees of the company to meet the changes she needs to make in the business. She should train and develop the business’ personnel, develop the vision of the organization among them, and create a relationship of trust between her and employees. Taira should also offer examples to workers for them to emulate and work with integrity. Her major aim should not only be to transform the business, but also to change the entire organization.

In addition, Taira should positively develop her personal branding. It should represent the value she is to deliver. In this regard, Taira should show the employees the achievements she has done so far while giving direction regarding the future of the organization. She should remind the personnel of the good things the company has achieved before and inspire them to work hard to achieve the targets of the business in future. According to Shaker and Hafiz (2014), personal branding is a requirement of every leader and it enables leaders to be better and authentic.

Lastly, Taira should be aware of her strengths and weaknesses. She should work towards enhancing the former, while, at the same time, eliminating the latter. Taira should make employees aware of her strengths and weaknesses so that they can trust her. She will thus be helped with other able workers on areas in which she is weak hence improving the chances of the business success. In addition, since information is power, Taira should be aware of a lot of information within and outside the organization to help her give direction in all aspects of leadership. She should also be a good communicator.

Relationship Building Challenges Facing Taira

The first relationship challenge facing Taira is that of creating a good relationship between her and employees and among employees themselves. She had been divorced and the news about it was known by all workers in the company. The divorce might have made the employees see Taira as not fit for leading the business if she could not manage her family. She can build this relationship by spreading her positive emotions to personnel. Taira should also effectively cooperate with employees and unite them to work towards a common shared goal. Trust is another aspect that Taira should strive to build among workers. She should always do the right things and make employees believe that she always keeps her promises.

Another relationship building challenge facing Taira is that between her and her father. She is still not sure the position her father will take in the company after she takes over, and she is also not sure whether or not her father will be happy with the position given to him and the changes she wants to make in the business. Taira can thus build the relationship by offering her father some responsibilities in the business and showing him that she trusts him by commending him for the successes he accomplishes.

Assessing the Environment for Change

The business has been succeeding when Taira’s father was the CEO since it was established. However, no major changes occurred with regard to its operations and ways of doing business. The employees are therefore used to the old ways of doing things. When Taira starts implementing the changes, she is going to face the resistance not only from workers, but also from her father. Taira can successfully implement the ideas she has by involving all employees and her father in the entire change process for them to accept that the alterations are carried out for the benefit of all of them. According to Pieterse, Caniels, and Homan (2012), involving all stakeholders in the transformation process reduces the chances of resistance to change.

Conclusion

In summary, Taira needs to improve revenue of the business and reduce its costs. She has a great role to play to ensure that the company meets her ideas. Taira has to implement various leadership aspects such as practicing transformational leadership style, developing her personal branding, and knowing and communicating her strengths and weaknesses to personnel. She also needs to build relationship between her and employees, among employees, and between her and her father. Since Taira will meet some resistance in the process of implementing her ideas, she should involve all workers and her father in the change process.