Introduction
The Chartered Management Institute, CMI, is a UK based organization with the mandate to provide both practicing and would be managers with the best management and leadership skills. Being the only chartered organization in the UK that is devoted to improve management and leadership practice, the magnitude of CMI’s mandate cannot be underestimated.
It is assumed that, while only a fifth of managers in the UK have the necessary professional requirements, it is expected that at least 0.8 million new management positions are likely to be created by in five years’ time (CMI, 2010). This statistics comes at a time when management has been declared as the biggest profession in Britain.
CMI is an organization that draws best practices from established customs such as the National Occupational Standards. Using these standards, CMI is able to set the best benchmarks for both corporate and individual clients. CMI’s main aim is to promote the attainment of the best leadership and management skills. Due to its successes, CMI’s expanding membership currently stands at 86000 individuals and about 450 corporate members.
These figures were taken in 2010. CMI is not a mere leadership and management accreditation body. It is an organization that creates real value for its clients through practical lessons. To attain this, CMI has a variety of mechanisms through which managers can attain the best leadership and management skills. As such, CMI’s training is designed from mentorship programs, case studies and extensive research.
CMI delivers its training program both formally and informally, mostly through on the job training, e-learning among other mechanisms. CMI offers the Chartered Manager Award but only to those managers who demonstrate competence in at least 6 key management skills. As such, CMI is a very critical body in not only in improving management and leadership training but also in acquisition of desirable professional qualification for managers
What are the benefits of well trained and qualified managers to employees, businesses and the UK economy?
CMI main mandate, as previously stated, is it to ensure that managers attain the best management and leadership skills. Coincidentally, well trained managers accrue numerous benefits not only to employees but also to businesses, and by extension the UK economy. The table below highlights these benefits.
What is the relationship between leadership and management?
Leadership and management involve the organization and control of people and physical resources for the attainment of a company’s goals. Nevertheless, the difference between Leadership and management is best captured through their definitions. While Leadership enables managers to direct a team to willingly utilize its capabilities, management on the other hand, involves organizing team members as well as other resources for the purpose of the attainment of set goals.
This implies that leadership and management have a relationship and that they are not exclusive of each other. According to the Chartered Management Institute CMI, management is divided into three major categories, and involves making forecasts and planning, controlling individuals within the team, directing the utilization of all resources as well as issuing instructions to team members (CMI, 2010).
Management also involves controlling the work process and the activities therein and correcting team members for the purpose of the attainment of set objectives. There are three subcategories of management, and in each of them, managers ought to develop leadership skills as follows. For senior managers, leading and inspiring employees is of crucial importance. Middle level managers also need to lead their teams to attain set objectives while junior level managers ought to start learning team leadership skills.
Leadership on the other hand, enables the attainment of these objectives with minimum obstructions. Leadership involves enhancing the capabilities of team members, while establishing and effectively communicating to the team the direction in which the team is headed.
While this usually leads to higher productivity, it nevertheless involves influencing team members to be willingly engaged in the work process. As a result, leadership usually attains high level productivity for the each of the team members. Subsequently, the overall team performance improves. Thus, while management involves the control and organization of resources, leadership influences employees to be willingly involved in the work process. This leads to improved productivity.
Why do effective managers need to acquire leadership skills?
From the assertions made above, it is evident that effective managers do not necessarily possess leadership qualities. This therefore underlines the need for effective managers to develop leadership skills. CMI asserts that modern day managers not only need to enhance their management skills but also need to develop leadership skills.
This is to enable them to meet demands of an evolving profession. So far, it is evident that by acquiring leadership skills, managers are able to motivate their employees to achieve beyond expectations. Leadership skills enable effective managers to use their influence to the extent that they motivate employees not only to work willingly but also to own the responsibilities entrusted to them. This improves satisfaction with their work and positively the level of productivity.
As explained earlier, effective management involves organizing resources, as well as controlling the work process and the activities there in, in line with the plans and forecasts of the organization. However, the global economy has increasingly become competitive. Firms require more than effective managers to survive in an increasingly competitive atmosphere.
This further underscores the need for the development of leadership skills amongst managers. Leadership is also crucial for senior level managers especially in six key areas. Leadership skills enables senior managers to inspire trust amongst members of an organization, effect change within the organization, understand and meet the demands of the consumer, management of information for best outcomes, as well as personal management.
Additionally, leadership enables senior managers not only to manage resources and the work process but also to ensure that very high quality outcomes are achieved and maintained (CMI, 2010). CMI’s assertion on effective management is not a mere theoretical gimmick. CMI provides a practical example by citing the achievement of one of its members, Justin Skinner.
A PhD holder in Math and Statistics, and intending to move into a senior management position, Skinner undertook a diploma course in management (CMI, 2010). This resulted to not only becoming a better manager, but also leading his team to also out perform others within the industry. Thus learning how to manage people is necessary but learning how to lead them is essential.
Management styles
A survey conducted by CMI indicates that most managers use inappropriate management styles. CMI asserts that most of the managers in the UK fail to understand that different tasks require different management styles. As such, managers fail to adjust their management style according to the nature of the task at hand.
This kind of approach leads to undesirable outcomes. CMI aims to equip managers with skills that enable them to adopt the most appropriate management style that ensures desirable response from employees. To illustrate the usefulness of adapting different type of management style for each task two scenarios are here in outlined.
The first scenario involves a team that enjoys working together and whose purpose is to introduce changes in the working practice. This type of a scenario requires a type of manager able to engage employees to the maximum, while building trust within the team. As such, theory Y manager seems appropriate for this type of task. The appropriateness of theory Y managers for this scenario is necessitated by overarching perceptions about employees.
Unlike theory X managers who believe that employees dislike work, have to be pressed and controlled to attain set objectives, theory Y managers perceive employees as capable of thinking for themselves and able to make the right decisions for the team as well as for themselves. Theory Y managers also believe that employees can generate useful ideas and are able to manage themselves.
Two issues from this scenario make theory Y managers most appropriate; team work and change management. According to CMI, one of the key competencies that effective managers ought to develop is the ability to encourage creativity, ingenuity and innovativeness, and effectively drive change.
Doing this requires the type of manager capable of inspiring trust within the team as well as encourages employees to share new ideas that generate innovative solutions for work related challenges. Additionally, theory Y managers perceive employees as people who want to be fully engaged in the task and therefore create the necessary environment for employee engagement. This not only allows for team work but also for shared ownership of the task (CMI, 2010).
Having outlined the qualities of the appropriate type of manager for this scenario, it is thus important to outline the type of management style most appropriate for theory Y manager. CMI outline four basic types of management styles, two of which are the most appropriate for this scenario. These are democratic and laissez faire styles of management.
Laissez faire is especially useful for a team of highly skilled experts and thus employees have the freedom to make decision. However, laissez faire is likely to result to loss of control within the team and therefore breed chaos. Since employee commitment is one of the urgent needs in this scenario, the need for democratic management seems to override laissez faire management style.
Democratic managers encourage equal participation of all employees. They also share information indiscriminately with employees, which effectively achieves employee’s commitment (CMI, 2010). This enables the managers to create the necessary environment through which the team is able to effect change.
Scenario two involves a potentially hazardous task that requires urgent action. This scenario is the opposite of scenario one in that it requires less creativity but strict adherence to instructions. As such, obedience rather than innovativeness is the most urgent need in this scenario. This requires a manager who is able to effectively control employees especially in accomplishing difficult and potentially hazardous tasks.
Thus, unlike theory Y manager, theory X manager is the most appropriate for this scenario. In addition, theory X manager ought to employ the type of management style that enables the issuance of strict instructions without negotiations. As such, in a potentially risky situation, theory X manager is able to retain control within the team and as such ensure the attainment of set objectives without any objection from team members (CMI, 2010). As such, autocratic management style is the most appropriate for this scenario.
The effectiveness of CMI’s chartered status in improving management training
Acquisition of leadership and management skills is necessary for managers if firms are to remain relevant in a competitive global economy. CMI provides necessary opportunities for the acquisition of such skills. To do this CMI has developed an effective qualification framework that leads to the attainment of the ultimate management status, the Chartered Manager Status.
Chartered Manager Status is very effective in improving the training of managers in the UK. To attain this status, CMI has developed a training regime that enables managers to acquire skills. This is done through numerous avenues that increase opportunities for leadership and management training. Is also involves both formal and informal training. For instance, CMI conducts on the job training which gives managers a chance to learn from experience.
Additionally, CMI offers e-learning opportunities for managers willing to learn theoretical principles of effective management. This is besides the social networking opportunities offered within CMI training programs, and through which CMI implements its mentorship program. Within its management training program, CMI has developed a very effective assessment criteria based on extensive research and case studies (CMI, 2010).
This ensures that the assessment criterion through which the Chartered Manager Status is attained is not only accurate but also leads to the most desirable outcomes. In offering all these opportunities, CMI underlines the importance of the Chartered Manager Status in improving management training within the UK.
It is also imperative to note that the attainment Chartered Manager Status involves the acquisition of multiple management skills. As explained earlier, CMI has identified six areas where managers ought to develop key competencies.
The six key competencies are purpose driven leadership, the ability to institute change by tapping on people’s creativity, the ability to identify and meet customer demands, personal development, information sharing as well as meeting and sustaining very high quality standards. A manager has to demonstrate all these skills before Chartered Manager Award if offered.
The Chartered Manager Status is the highest professional standard for managers and comes at a time when, according to CMI, only a fifth of the managers in the UK are properly qualified.
The attainment of its 1000th member in 2010 is not only a milestone in increasing CMI membership but also in increasing the number of accredited managers within the UK. As such, Chartered Manager Status is very effective in improving management skills. Chartered Manager Status also allows managers to understand the skills they possess, those they need to acquire and how to effectively utilize them in different contexts.
The relevance of CMI in developing management training
Management is the largest profession in Britain, and will continue to generate new job opportunities in the near future. Managers have over the years gained skills through job experience, meaning that it is likely to take a longer period of time before managers gain all the relevant skills.
In a world that is increasingly becoming competitive, there is need for managers to have the necessary skills before they enter into the job market. Additionally, the acquisition of such skills ought to be based on best practices that ensure the attainment of the most desirable outcomes. There is also need to have a standardized criterion through which managers within the UK are trained. This is the primary reason why it is important for British managers to have accredited organization such as CMI supporting them.
CMI supports managers in the acquisition of the highest level of management and leadership skills. To attain this objective, CMI follows a variety of accredited standardization qualifications based on National Occupational Standards. CMI uses such standards not only to set the benchmarks for which its leadership and management training programs are based but also to design assessment criterion.
Additionally, the same standards are utilized by CMI to measure the performance of managers. Besides this, it is important to note that CMI is not a mere leadership and management accreditation body. CMI aims at giving the best value to its members, especially individual managers. CMI delivers best value through an array of practical lessons it offers not only during training but also through their management careers.
The Chartered Manager Award is one of the accredited methods through which CMI instills best management and leadership skills. Since CMI realizes that not all managers can be served through Chartered Manager Award, it has put in place other mechanisms through which it helps practicing and would-be managers to acquire the best leadership and management skills.
These include its mentorship program, e-learning opportunities, networking events, on the job training among others. While this increases opportunities for managers to gain the best management and leadership skills, managers ought to realize that such opportunities are rarely available outside CMI’s domain (CMI, 2010). As such, managers willing to gain the best management and leadership skills have no option but to seek help from CMI and other similar institutions.
Reference List
CMI. (2010, Nov 05). The importance of effective management. The Times. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/cmi_managers/the-importance-of-effective-management