Training and development assignment report on: Leadership development – Microsoft Corporation 

Executive Summary

The project Titled Leadership Development provides an analysis of Effective Leadership Training and Development plan at Microsoft. This report presents the analysis of William Bill Gates as an Effective leader at Microsoft. The report also draws an attention to the fact that the Gates as a Leader had various qualities and attributes for Microsoft to make it successful and contribute in its growth. Microsoft is spending both time & resources in acquiring the Talent and developing Employees skills at individual, departmental and organizational training & Development Programs for further growth.

Report shows that how the CEO of Microsoft company had built a successful and globally renowned organization. It also shows how Microsoft can do the task analysis and develop the Training and development Model for identifying the Gaps to move to the desired position. The result also shows that top management & HR Department must plan strategically before implementing the Training Model.

Recommendations discussed  includes :

• Microsoft has been continuously spending time and money for developing their employees as an effective leader to maintain its global presence.
• The employees get inspiration from Gates to work effectively in a Team to increase its revenue.
• A proper method of Task analysis and setting of objectives for the employees at individual and departmental level will help to achieve the organizational goals.
• The proper training and development model followed by Microsoft to competitive business environment.
• A good leader will provide a source of inspiration and will always empower the employees in an Organization.
• Effective leaders will always think for their vision and about the goals achievement activities.

Table of Contents                                                                  Page No

1.0  Introduction…………………………………………………4

  1.1   William Bill Gates as a Global Leader………………4

2.0   What make an effective Leader?………………………………….4

3.0   Key Attribute of an Effective Leader…………………….6

4.0   Task Analysis………………………………………………7

5.0   Objectives………………………………………………….8

6.0   Training to Increase leadership Potential……………….8

        6.1 Identification of Training & Development Needs…..9

        6.2 Designing Training & Development Curriculum……9

        6.3 Methods used for the Development Purpose…………9

        6.4 Measuring the Performance………………………….9

7.0   Conclusion…………………………………………………9

8.0   Reference…………………………………………………10

1.0  Introduction

Leader is a person who leads from the front and has many followers behind him. Leader is one who has an ability to show the direction and decision making. Previously the meaning of leader was a member of a political party. Today many organizations throughout the world are speaking about their Leaders of the organization. They are one who have passion to do something new, change as per the required situation, have an ability to create long term vision, and are proactive in nature. Leader innovates before the development process. He is one who provides lots of insights for any problem. Leadership process provides a source of inspiration for the employees of the organization. Effective leaders will not only delegate the work but also provide assistance during any problem. There are many successful corporate leaders in this world (Career Success for NewBies   2006).

1.1 William Bill Gates as a Global Leader

He is known as the founder and the CEO of Microsoft Corporation. He always had a thought that someday personal computer would be a valuable device for every office and home. He had a vision to create and innovate something which nobody thought of. His ability to take decisions strategically helped him a lot to makes Microsoft a successful company. As per the Forbes ranking of 2012 Bill Gates is the second richest person in the world (Forbes   2012).This shows that how effective Leader he was. Their competitors like Google, and apple always helped Microsoft to think out of the box.

2.0  What make an effective Leader ?

Various qualities are there which helps to make an effective leader in any organization.

Vision

A leader must have vision that helps to recognize him globally. Bill Gates had a vision that every house and office must have Computer to provide assistance at work. He saw an opportunity which helped him to climb the ladder of success in no time.

Integrity

Leaders must be honest towards everyone. William Bill Gates also trusted his employees in the organization. He has a proper control over the emotions and was valued equally outside and inside the Microsoft Company.

Dedication

Bill gates devoted his time and energy to accomplish the work in an appropriate time. The employees also get the inspiration to work in same manner as their Leaders. This helped to achieve the goals of Microsoft and employees feel motivated to perform their best.

Openness

Bill Gates was creative enough to think out of the box. He also accepted the suggestions and ideas given by the employees for the benefit of Microsoft. It helped to cultivate trust for their Leader and helped in aligning the employees towards the vision of the company.

Fairness

Leader must be fair enough like William Bill Gates who works consistently with the equal Justice. Whenever there was some problem at Microsoft no judgment was given before hearing the employees. Evidences are checked properly before declaring the results. Employees are not being discriminated on the basic of caste and gender .Gates was rewarded for his fair dealings similarly he also rewarded his employees for their better performance.

Analytical

Whether it is Google or IBM, Bill Gates have employees who work with the analytical mind to develop something new which helps to create a strong Brand Image in the Market. If Gates was not analytical enough then Microsoft would not have seen such success. Success should be celebrated but it never signifies that consistency of performance should be stopped.

Proper Communication

At Microsoft things were made clear .It was communicated properly to avoid various problems. A proper channel of communication is used to delegate the work to the employees. There was timely reporting by the supervisors to their leader.

Managing Humor

Running a business is not an easy task. Bill gates accepted the criticism in a positive manner. When Leaders start something big, there are people who make fun and try to pull down. The Bolder the Leaders Stand the better they face such negatives with their positive attitude. Gates knew his strength and weakness while managing the Humor (Catapult Ltd    2012).

3.0 Key Attribute of an Effective Leader

The Key attributes of an effective Leader are explained below.

Act as a Change Agent

Leaders must change organization for the better progress and for managing the competition. To implement any sort of change the Leaders must plan in advance. Gates acted as a change agent to implement various changes as and required for Microsoft from time to time, for managing its business globally by changing the resources, Technology, and the style of management.

People Oriented

Gates always behaved in a friendly manner with his employees. He was always participative, supportive to the employees by providing the resources, helping them to complete the work in proper time. He always persuaded his employees to perform their best by providing appropriate support to them.

Have enthusiasm

A leader like William Bill Gates had self efficacy to perform the work at Microsoft. He was always committed to the mission of Microsoft which was reflected to the employees. He was capable enough to deals with various situations.

Team Player

Bill Gates along with his team member Paul Allen created a success story for Microsoft throughout the world. In Team  there is a proper planning and flow of synergy which helps in sharing of the ideas. Team members are dedicated to achieve the particular goals (Hospitality Upgrade   2011).

4.0 Task Analysis

It will help in analyzing and articulating the things in a proper manner. It can be used to analyze the organizational goals. It helps to explain the various tasks that employees need to perform on the basis of their Learning. Microsoft vision is to contribute globally by being a key partner to government and IT sector at different countries. Task analysis will help to know what and how it is to be done before and after. Task analysis will help to identify the Gaps that an Organization needs to fill up to cope up with its competitors. Task Analysis consists of Performance Analysis, Learning Analysis and Cognitive Analysis. It will help to move from the current position to the desired position. It was also said by Microsoft that their revenue from windows fell down to 13% on July 2012 (The New York Times   2012).

5.0 Objectives

The Objectives are listed below.

• The objective of Microsoft Corporation is to be Global Leader throughout the world.
• Increase its revenue by increasing its sales.
• Identify organizational, departmental and individual goals.
• Create an effective Training and development model for the Microsoft as a whole.
• Create a linkage between the Employee’s and the Microsoft Performance.
• To develop employees as an effective Leaders to cope up with its competitors.

6.0  Training to Increase leadership Potential

This can be done by providing Training & developmental to the employees at Microsoft. Management Development training programs helps to provide insights, prepare employees for the senior positions, and increase the analytical abilities. To develop the leadership qualities certain development programs must be held to increase the manager’s potential . Before framing the model Microsoft mission, vision and goals must be identified. The model which will help to identify the Gap is shown below. There should be a proper planning by the Top management to implement such process effectively (Yosh 2009).

6.1 Identification of Training & Development Needs

Training and development needs can be identified when there are reasons such as lots of complaints about the employees, technological changes, poor quality of work, frequent errors at the work, larger staff turnover, accidents, and complaints, lower sales. The requirement of training is indicated by the department Heads. Suppose at Microsoft Training is to be given at an Individual, Departmental Level to move the organization from the current position to the desired position. If Training & Development needs are not assesses properly then it can create problem in the performance of the employees, and can also align with the wrong objectives. Such training can be might not deliver the expected financial results for Microsoft (Kozlowski steve    2012).

Individual Level

There is a problem among the Employees at individual Level that they lack Technical skills. The supervisor will convey regarding the particular individual who needs to be trained in technical field by observing him at his work. The Job analysis method and his current performance can be tracked. The need can be assessed by interview method if employees are few in number. The Job Description will have certain competencies which are linked with the Departmental Goal and Organizational Goals. Suppose if the employee needs to write 4 programs daily at Microsoft but currently he is able to write 2 programs per day that means individual is unable to perform so training must be given to accomplish how to complete the work in time. If he is unable to complete the work in time that means it will affect the particular department’s performance which will also affect the Microsoft Company’s Performance.

Departmental/Functional Level

An Organization Consists of different departments/Function for the smooth functioning of the business activities. Suppose the managers at departmental/Functional level at Microsoft are lacking the Team Spirit then it will directly affect the performance of the organization. It can be identified by the help of job analysis, special training surveys, from the peer group who are working with them. There is a problem that marketing Team at Microsoft needs to achieve the sales revenue of 10 Lakhs US$ per month. But the Team is unable to achieve the target. A questionnaire can be mailed by the trainer and asked to be filled by the team members to identify the Gap.

Organizational Level

If Microsoft has grown last year by 12% and it plans to grow this year by 14% .But due to certain problems like High Attrition rate there is less productivity which has affected the sales then its performance will be reduced. The Microsoft performance can also be identified by doing the SWOT Analysis and by analyzing the Hr Plans strategically. All the performance must be linked with the organizational growth. Certain factors like the weakness in Microsoft can be its threat in the future. The strengths can be converted into the opportunities at Microsoft.

6.2 Designing Training & Development Curriculum

There should be proper designing of the Academic training curriculum for the employees at Microsoft.  Before conducting the Training sessions the employees and departments head must be conveyed about the training programs. It should be designed keeping various factors in mind such as rooms to be allotted, trainer to be invited, time to be devoted and etc. Microsoft must arrange necessary resources for conducting the effective training programs.

6.3 Methods used for the Training & Development Purpose

There are various methods of Training & development programs. They are Group Discussion Method, In Basket Training, Business Games, Role plays, Transactional Analysis, Case Study Method, Syndicate method and by participating in the seminars.

Individual Level

To develop the Technical skills the individual must be given on Job Training to write 4 programs on daily basis. Experts must teach how to utilize the time effectively.

Department/functional Level

The methods like Role plays, Business Games, Case Study method, and Transactional Analysis can be used at Microsoft to develop the team spirit to achieve the sales target of 10 lakhs US$ per month in a team.

Organizational Level

The SWOT analysis can be done by the top management at Microsoft. Individual & Department SWOT must link with the organizational Analysis process. It can be done by framing goals at top level and breaking down into sub goals and distributing it to departmental and the employee’s level.

6.4 Measuring the Performance

Performance can be measured immediately after the training session at the Job. Proper feedback should be given at Microsoft because the factors like Promotions Transfers and layoffs are related to it the measurement of the employee’s performance.

Individual Level

The performance should be measured immediately after training by assigning him to write 4 programs per day. If the Employee is able to successfully complete the work then the training is successful and the feedback will be given by the supervisor to the Hr Trainer who will record his performance level in a proper draft order. He will have the copies of the performance before and after the Training session at Microsoft.

Department Level

If the marketing team is unable to perform after receiving the training then it becomes a problematic situation for an organization because its revenue cannot be generated. In such situation the ineffective team members can be replaced and new members who have been trained can be fitted by hiring them. The peer group or the department head will give the feed back to HR manager when teams will achieve the sales of 10 lakhs US$ on monthly basis.

Organizational Level

The top managers must be aware that their performance will be linked with the growth of Microsoft and timely changes need to be implemented and it should be conveyed to all the employees at Microsoft. The proper strategic planning must be framed and the assessment should be done by the consultants or the assessment Centers for any organization. This can also be done by the successful corporate Leaders.

7. Conclusions

Gates has been always trying to maintain its position globally. He has been developing the qualities and attributes required at various levels for the superior performance. Microsoft has been continuously spending time and money for developing their employees as effective leaders. The employees get inspiration from Gates to work effectively in a Team to increase its revenue. A proper method of Task analysis and setting of objectives for the employees at individual and departmental level will help to achieve the organizational goals. The proper training and development model followed by Microsoft helps to grow manifold times in a competitive business environment. A good leader will provide a source of inspiration and will always empower the employees in an Organization. Effective leaders will always think for their vision and about the goals achievement activities (Mind Tools     2012).

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