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Solution
Task-Questions
| (AC1.1) Explain how recent, current and potential future trends in your industry’s business environment are combining to underpin the case for a review of current leadership and management development activities or programmes. Illustrate your answer with specific examples.
Short references should be added into your narrative below. Please remember to only list your long references in the reference box provided at the end of this section. Word count: Approximately 390 words |
| Current External Trend
One of the external factors influencing Riyad Bank within the Saudi Arabian banking sector is the digital transformation. According to Cheese (2024), increased adoption of fintech solutions, mobile banking, and the use of Artificial Intelligence has elevated the demands for effective, efficient, and personalised services. This trend also encompasses legal requirements for companies’ data protection to secure consumer information and data within digital channels, to drive innovation and create market differentiation in a constantly shifting environment. Leadership and Management Development Programs to review Due to this Trend To address the digital transformation trend, Riyad Bank needs to assess its management and leadership training programs to include the digital skills, change management, and customer-centric innovation. For example, training may comprise of workshops on the use of AI in decision making and lessons on cybersecurity compliance. Leadership programs could also address the need to develop an agile mindset within the organisation where managers are equipped and ready to embrace change resulting from emerging technologies and changes in laws and regulations of the market environment (CIPD, 2014). Future External Trend One of the future external trends is the emphasis on sustainability and green financing influenced by the objectives of the Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. The banks, including Riyad Bank, are expected to fund sustainable projects and environmentally conscious investments while following the international environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles. This trend will in the future shape the investment strategies and the expectations of the major market players (Carmichael, 2011). Leadership and Management Development Programs to review Due to this Trend To address the future trend of sustainability and green financing, it is imperative that the leadership and management training of Riyad Bank provide thorough training in ESG and sustainable investment. Such programs should enable leaders to identify the environmental and social effects of the financial choices made and conform to global best practices on ESG (CIPD, 2024b). Tools like practical workshops and learning scenarios might be used to equip the leadership teams for problem-solving and decision-making, including how to address the conflict of interest between financial performance and environmental sustainability. In addition, the programs should focus on developing strategic thinking skills for identifying opportunities in sustainable investments, promoting innovation, and integrating with the vision of Saudi Arabia 2030. This way Riyad Bank will be able to further strengthen its position as a responsible bank and a value creator for the long term.
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| (AC1.2) Explain the meanings of ‘leadership development’ and ‘management development’ making a clear distinction between these two functions.
Short references should be added into your narrative below. Please remember to only list your long references in the reference box provided at the end of this section. Word count: Approximately 390 words |
| Leadership Development
Dent (2024) defines leadership development as the process of building people’s capacity to inspire, influence, and guide teams towards the accomplishment of specific tasks within organisations. It focuses on building vision, emotional intelligence, strategic thinking, and decision-making abilities. Leadership development ensures that the leaders that are being developed are able to create new ideas, manage change and steer the teams to the vision of the organisation in the future, such as Vision 2030 of Riyad Bank. To develop a leader, Riyad Bank could offer mentorship, leadership training, and experiential learning opportunities such as leading cross-functional projects. Specifically, programs should aim at enhancing strategic thinking, emotional intelligence, and change management capabilities. To develop their leadership skills, leadership coaching and practical experience gained through tasks like sustainability projects can also help them to motivate and lead change (Howlett, 2020). Leader development is different from manager development because the leader development focuses on vision, influence and long-term plans whereas the manager development focuses on operations, delegation and performance (Duggal, 2024). The leadership development at Riyad Bank might centre on Vision 2030 while the manager development might centre on change management and how to work more efficiently in order to meet the organisational goals. Management Development According to Kotter (2023), management development refers to the process of enhancing the knowledge and skills necessary for planning, organising, and directing work. At Riyad Bank, the management development enhances team effectiveness, the delivery of excellent services to the customer, and compliance with the banking operations regulatory measures. To develop a manager, Riyad Bank could offer training on project management, process improvement, and legal requirements. This may comprise of case analyses, team management training, performance measurement and monitoring tools (Willmott, 2023). Managers could also gain from feedback systems and learning that is tied to roles and aimed towards operational effectiveness. Management development is different from leadership development since it focuses on developing the functional, technical and operational competencies, capacities, and effectiveness of managers, for instance, to manage a branch, to achieve compliance or to implement changes (CIPD, 2024d). On the other hand, leadership development focuses on enhancing awareness of vision, strategic planning and management, and power to mobilise people. At Riyad Bank, the leaders are prepared to spearhead change initiatives which include digital change or sustainability strategies that supports the organisation’s strategic objectives such as Vision 2030.
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| (AC1.3) Drawing on published models of contrasting leadership and management styles, explain the prevalent current approach in your organisation (or an organisation with which you are familiar).
Short references should be added into your narrative below. Please remember to only list your long references in the reference box provided at the end of this section. Word count: Approximately 390 words |
| Leadership Style in Riyad Bank
Riyad Bank has adopted transformational leadership style, aligning with James MacGregor Burns’ theory. This style is aimed at motivating employees to go beyond the ordinary through sharing organisational goals, creativity, and commitment (Golema, 2019). Transformational leaders at Riyad Bank promote change in the organisation and inspire teams to adopt change for example during the digital and sustainable transformations. Leaders focus on teamwork, the development of trust, and ensuring that employee goals match with the company’s Vision 2030 goals. For instance, transformational leaders may explain the reasoning behind technological changes, for instance, how they improve customers’ experience and support Riyad Bank’s strategic plan. They help their employees through coaching, enable them to enhance their talent and performance, and appreciate them in order to create a sense of belonging and meaningfulness (Ugochukwu, 2024). This approach assists Riyad Bank in meeting the dynamic challenges in the banking industry and environment, including the compliance with the regulatory requirements and the customers’ demands. The focus on creating a common vision for the organisation, and innovation management makes sure that the organisation is well positioned to integrate new technologies as well as sustaining its market position and thus delivering value to stakeholders and meeting strategic goals. Management Style Riyad Bank uses the delegative management style, which aligns with Tannenbaum and Schmid’’s Continuum of Leadership model. According to Drew (2023), this theory explains leadership behaviours ranging from autocratic to democratic leadership to enable managers to change their management style depending on factors such as employee competence and job characteristics. In Riyad Bank, delegative style is used mostly in high-skill teams, for instance, IT or risk management. Managers give authority to the team members to work on specific tasks and make decisions within the parameters set by the management. For instance, while creating a new digital banking solution, the management offer the overall strategy, but the technical details are left for the team to determine. This approach improves accountability and takes advantage of experiences of other specialists. This way, managers foster an organisational culture based on trust and employee independence, which leads to innovation and effective problem solving (Ganesh, 2024). This management style is particularly useful in the context of the rapidly evolving bank industry, for example, in the process of incorporating fintech solutions, or adapting to the changes within the regulatory framework, thus ensuring the competitiveness and customer orientation of Riyad Bank.
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| (AC1.4) Compare the knowledge, skills and behaviours of leaders and managers in your organisation (or an organisation with which you are familiar) and identify the areas they most need to improve in. Justify your answer.
Short references should be added into your narrative below. Please remember to only list your long references in the reference box provided at the end of this section. Word count: Approximately 390 words |
| Knowledge Required for Leaders and Managers
Leaders at Riyad Bank need to have excellent knowledge of strategic planning in order to ensure that the goals of the organisation are coherent with Vision 2030 and have an overall understanding of the economic and environmental context in order to promote the creativity and sustainable development (Daisley, 2017). Managers, on the other hand, must have excellent knowledge of the operational processes that are involved in everyday banking, including aspects of financial laws, work flow, and resource management to enable smooth delivery of services in the organisation. Skills Required for Leaders and Managers Leaders need visionary thinking skills which are critical for leaders to spot opportunities in the market, motivate employees, and develop strategies for the future, especially in digital transformation and sustainability projects in Riyad Bank. On the other hand, managers need to possess effective problem-solving skills in order to tackle various issues that arise in the market place, for example handling a dissatisfied customer, improving on certain operations to meet the requirements of the customers. Comparison: Leadership skills are associated with vision and motivation, while management skills are associated with problem solving (Pearce, 2004). They both are interrelated as the strategic vision cannot exist without effective execution. Behaviours Required for Leaders and Managers Leaders need to exhibit inspirational behaviour and be a source of motivation to their teams especially when dealing with change or innovation processes. On the other hand, managers should show accountability. According to Kurter (2024), this means that they need to ensure that the set tasks are accomplished in the right manner and at the same time, maintaining transparency in their actions to uphold trust and operational standards. Comparison: Leaders set overall direction and vision and motivate people to achieve strategic objectives while managers set clear expectations and ensure that work is completed efficiently. Improvement Areas for Leaders and Managers Leaders should develop self-awareness and emotional intelligence, specifically, empathy and flexibility to be able to work with different people and help them in the process of change. Managers should enhance the communication skills in the organisation so that there is proper and effective communication between the managers and employees, thus avoiding any form of confusion and hence improving on the departmental cooperation (Landry, 2019).
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| (AC2.1) Drawing on your wider reading, identify two different ways in which the people management team in your organisation (or an organisation with which you are familiar) could support established leadership and management practices and programmes.
Short references should be added into your narrative below. Please remember to only list your long references in the reference box provided at the end of this section. Word count: Approximately 390 words |
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