SRI4151- Introduction to Management

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1
Feedback Sheet

2
Acknowledgement

3
Executive Summary
The central intention of this study report was that, application of theoretical perspective of
management into practical implication on selected John Keells Holdings PLC. As per the
theoretical perception, conceptual, human and technical skills were determined along with
identification of 10 managerial roles while identifying skills and roles of a manager during
covid-19 pandemic. Because of scientific management, improvement of productivity means
that management itself would have to change and manner of change should be determined
only by scientific study. With the proper consideration about the individual situation of each
employee in Keells, decisions can be taken base upon rules of thumb and tradition be
replaced with precise procedures. The new normal introduced another novel working pattern
for the employees through ‘work from home’. Thus, different legal and technological factors
have to be considered by Keells when apply this concept for their employees in order to boost
organizational performance during pandemic. For instance, under the technological factors,
dedicated work phone at the workers’ home should be ensured by managers or mobile phone
should be given for them. As a result of, billing arrangements will be become easier without
considering employees’ personal phone bill. Moreover, broadband internet connection is
other technological factor should consider by the managers and as a result of, quick and easy
emailing and sharing documents will be done. Moreover, virtual meeting also another
important technological factor. Every employee must entitle to a basic policy document
regarding work from home instead of short notice due to the fast-moving nature of the
pandemic. In this policy, expectations of employees when they work at home are outlined.
Terms of engagement should be altered in accordance with new normal including location of
work, working hours and remuneration. The strategic plan, tactical plan, operational plan and
contingency plan are major organizational plans in every firm. To achieve different
organizational plans in Keells, new, flat organizational structure is implemented. Importance
of leadership to the Keells, group efforts has been motivated by leadership. This is because,
leader is performing an incentive role among followers.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Feedback Sheet...........................................................................................................................2

Acknowledgement......................................................................................................................3

Executive Summary...................................................................................................................4

Introduction................................................................................................................................6

Task One....................................................................................................................................7

Task Two....................................................................................................................................9

Task Three................................................................................................................................10

Task Four.................................................................................................................................12

Task Five..................................................................................................................................13

Conclusion and Reccomendations...........................................................................................15

References................................................................................................................................16

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 List of Tables and Figures

Table 1. 1 Managerial Skills......................................................................................................7

Table 1. 2 Managerial Roles......................................................................................................7
Table 1. 3 Differences between leadership and management..................................................14

Figure 1. 1 Organizational Structure........................................................................................12

Figure 1. 2 Controlling Process................................................................................................14

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Introduction
The term management can be defined as the process of setting and accomplishing the goals
through effective utilization of human, financial and material resources (Clegg, et al., 2016).
Thereby, concept of management is a leadership role which deliver overall leadership in
order to achieve organizational goals.

To adherence with the management concepts, writer selected John Keells Holdings PLC to
carry out this study report in order to scrutinization of major five tasks such as different kind
of managers and their skills in relation to the existing pandemic situation, application of
scientific management, different technological and legal factors regarding newest work from
home concept, different types of organizational plans and finally evaluation of leadership in
the chosen organization along with suggested recommendations to the company.

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Task One
Because of having current Covid-19 pandemic around the world, John Keells Holdings also
has to encounter with multiple circumstances utilizing different managerial roles and skills in
order to success of the organizational activities. As per the theoretical perception, managerial
skills and managerial roles are summarized under following table 1 and 2:

Table 1. 1 Managerial Skills

Managerial skills Description

Conceptual skill The ability to analyze and determine a
situation and search the cause and effect
Human skill The ability to understand, change, guide and
control people’s behavior
Technical skill The job-specific knowledge required to
perform a task.

The 10 common managerial roles were boiled down by the management expert of Professor
Henry Mintzberg. Furthermore, he divided those 10 roles into three categories like
informational, interpersonal and decisional (Mintzberg, 1989)

Table 1. 2 Managerial Roles

Managerial roles Description

Interpersonal Figurehead Provide information

Leader
Liaison
Informational Monitor Process information
Disseminator
Spokesperson
Decisional Entrepreneur
Disturbance handler Use information

Resource allocator
Negotiator

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According to the aforementioned data, Keells is also altering their previous skills and roles of
a manager. Because, company is entitled to conglomerate industry including logistic, supply
chain management and transportation (Keells, 2021). Thus, previous managerial skills and
roles were changed into different way. Technical skill is very important during the pandemic
time. This is because, this skill allows managers to use the multiple techniques to acquire
organizational objectives. To increase the sales during the pandemic, designing of contrasting
types of products and services and market the services and the products such as
transportation, leisure, plantation, consumer foods, retail, information technology and
innovation and property. Secondly, current managers in Keells highly required that
conceptual skills because of need of abstract thinking and formulating ideas which are
matched with the pandemic situation. Furthermore, managers must have an ability to see
overall concept relating to the pandemic, analyzation of that proposed concept and diagnose
of pandemic situation along with effective investigation of creative solutions for the
pandemic. As a result of, managers will be benefitted through effective prediction of hurdles
at each department and business as a whole may encounter. On the other hand, every
manager must combine with interpersonal or human skill which is capability of manager in
order to interact, work and relate effectively with others. Because of this skill, manager can
motivate their employees towards win from the pandemic for the better results to the
company. The role of leadership is very important during pandemic among stated managerial
roles. Because, extreme stress is impacted for performance of all level workers in Keells. As
a result of, cool-headed employees were disappeared suddenly. To increase quality of work
managers can be used emotional support and role modeling during pandemic in Keells. Based
on the emotional support, they must be felt that, they are being cared from managers in Keells
and must felt that comfortable discussion work and non-work-related challenges. Apart from
those roles, work-life balance should be promoted during the pandemic time. Thus, managers
must rearrange given projects with flexible deadlines, supporting prioritize most important
tasks, eliminating irrelevant tasks and discouraging newly remote employees from feeling
like they need to be on the lock constantly.

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Task Two
The scientific management pinpointed towards enhancement of both efficiency and labor
productivity through scientifically determined jobs and management practices. The young
engineer of Frederick Winslow Taylor proposed that theory in the late 1800s. From his
perspective, he suggested that workers must be retooled like machines, their physical and
mental gears recalibrated for best productivity (Taylor, 1997). Because of scientific
management, improvement of productivity means that management itself would have to
change and manner of change should be determined only by scientific study. With the proper
consideration about the individual situation of each employee in Keells, decisions can be
taken base upon rules of thumb and tradition be replaced with precise procedures.

Based on this perspective, managers in Keells should build standard of methods to perform
each job role while electing employees including the suitable capabilities and training them.
Further, as per the concept official support for the employees should be delivered by the
managers while reducing interruptions and giving wage incentives. Thereby, increase in
productivity in all industry was highlighted by the Taylor. As a result of, 7 industries in John
Keells such as transportation, leisure, plantation, consumer foods, retail, information
technology and innovation and property can be utilized this approach. When consider about
John Keells, retail sector or supermarket chain was highly pinpointed by Frederick Winslow
Taylor by his scientific management approach. This is because, the perception of engineering
work for greater productivity has enjoyed a renaissance in the retail industry. For example,
John Keells can be used computerized or digitized waste eliminate system in accordance with
scientific management principles. The total system can be categorized into sub categories
such as greeting a customer, working the register, scanning items and so forth into
quantifiable units and devises standard times to complete each task. As a result of, all the
workers will be monitored routinely through digitized system while adhering to meet with the
strict standards because employees will be allowed to store more efficiently.

Moreover, influential innovations also another output of scientific management. To realize

that, Keells can create a system for maximum efficiency and organizing work for maximum

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productivity. Even though, social context and employees’ need are rejected by scientific
management. As a result of, conflicts and clashes among employees and managers will be
emerged. To eliminate this matter, cashier-performance system can be developed. Such
performance management system led to workers feel exploited a sharp contrast from the
harmony and cooperation (Drory & Zaidman, 2007)

Task Three
The new normal introduced another novel working pattern for the employees through ‘work
from home’. Thus, different legal and technological factors have to be considered by Keells
when apply this concept for their employees in order to boost organizational performance
during pandemic. Under the technological factors, dedicated work phone at the workers’
home should be ensured by managers or mobile phone should be given for them. As a result
of, billing arrangements will be become easier without considering employees’ personal
phone bill. Moreover, broadband internet connection is other technological factor should
consider by the managers and as a result of, quick and easy emailing and sharing documents
will be done. Moreover, virtual meeting also another important technological factor. Here,
different time and different place can be highlighted. It means that, via email every employee
is worked separately and connected with all relevant parties in the company. Under the
virtual meeting, same time and different place is shown. Here, using telephone conference
calling, video conferencing and instant messaging communication can be done each other in
real time. Another factor manager should consider about different time and same place. By
connecting intranet or extranet at the Keells, employees can easily connect to the business
network or database. Most of times, employees and managers wanted to do face-to-face
interaction. To do this, email and electronic-diaries can be used to arrange meetings and
transfer documents via wireless technology. Any time and any place are other technology
factor and here, employees should allow to use mobile phones and laptop computers via
wireless internet access wherever they are through mobile technology (International Labour
Organization, 2020)

Every employee must entitle to a basic policy document regarding work from home instead
of short notice due to the fast-moving nature of the pandemic. In this policy, expectations of
employees when they work at home are outlined. Terms of engagement should be altered in
accordance with new normal including location of work, working hours and remuneration. In
writing this should be done legally. Every employee must entitle to a sufficient offset clause

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on agreement. Individual flexibility arrangement under the fair work act should be adopted by
the managers. Here consultation and safety are added. Under the physical safety of work from
home like ergonomic workplace should be confirmed from legal factor. Sufficient security
and lighting, exposure to domestic violence and employees’ psychological safety should be
covered by legal factor. Under the new normal, psychological injuries of employees have
been increased at an alarming rate. As a result of, employees’ compensation claims also have
been increased significantly. Thus, documented information should be available in Keells
which shows ‘reasonable management action’ happened if a claim is to be avoided. Thereby,
new legal policies relating to storage and ownership of Keells’ confidential information and
IP accessed and stored at home, parameters around expectations of employees and managers
engaging in regular communication, performance management process and accessing and
submitting working from home requests and requirements to be observed by employees while
they are working from home should be introduced. Further, insurance policy should be
rearranged due to inadequate insurance when employees are using company’s properties and
technology at home (Chambers, et al., 2019)

Task Four
The strategic plan, tactical plan, operational plan and contingency plan are major
organizational plans in every firm. The strategic plan is setting broad and long-term goals by
top managers. The identification of specific and short-term goals is done by lower-level
management through tactical plan. The setting of work standards and schedules are done
through operational plan and contingency plan is backup plan which in case primary plans
fail (Griffin & Moorhead, 2010). When consider about Keells, playing major part in tourism,
quenching the palates of millions of Sri Lankans, transforming Colombo to be a lifestyle
capital, creating value for all stakeholders in Keells, the coming of age through broad-basing
share ownership, employee participation in ownership drives alignment, became first Sri
Lankan company to obtain an overseas listing, enhance the know-how and technology
capability of the country and intellectual property to drive innovation are some of long-term
plans in Keells (Keells, 2019)

To achieve different organizational plans in Keells, new, flat organizational structure is

implemented as follows.

Figure 1. 1 Organizational Structure

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This organizational structure allows to a implementation of decentralized fashion for the
decision-making at Keells which makes the case that decentralized ‘starfish’ are less-
vulnerable to attack than centralized ‘spiders’. Even though, Keells does not decentralize all
decisions. Managers are diagnosing the organizational situation and elect the decision-
making level which will best meet the organization’s needs. Another fundamental attribute of
organizational structure is that, departmentalization and it is grouping positions into
departments and departments into the total company. Here, functional, divisional and matrix
approach are used traditionally and teams and virtual networks are used as innovative
approaches to the departmentalization.

Thereby, Keells is grouped positions into departments relied on equal skills, expertise, work
actions and resource use like departments of sales, maintenance, distribution, research and
development, human resources, accounting, engineering, production and logistic etc. Second
approach of divisional approach developed towards getting single organizational output while
getting diverse departments together whether it is a product, program or a service.
Geographic or customer-based division is appeared at Keells like an alternative for assigning
divisional responsibility is to group company activities by geographic region or customer
group. The horizontal coordination and information sharing at Keells are improved by matrix
approach which is a combination of both functional and divisional approaches. In addition to
these traditional approaches, innovative team approach in Keells, barriers are breakdown
across all departments while increasing coordination and cooperation. Because of this
approach, response time is shorten and quicker decision have been made with better morale
and enthusiasm through employee involvement. Under the virtual netwrok approach, can
draw on expertise worldwide highly flexible and responsive along with reduced overhead

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cost because of having increased flexibility and competitiveness on a global scale (Handy,
1993)

Task Five
The term leadership defines that, ability to influence people towards the achievement of
organizational goals. Thereby, its importance to the Keells, group efforts has been motivated
by leadership. This is because, leader is performing an incentive role among followers. As a
result of, motivated employees will be created through economic and non-economic rewards.
Leader has an ability to initiate actions because leader is the person who commence the work
through two-way communication of policies and plans to the workers from where the work
actually starts. Not acting the supervising role, leader acts as guiding role among followers.
Thereby, leader instructs the employees the way they have to perform their work effectively.
The confidence also creates by leaders while listening to both problems and complaints of all
employees and explaining employees clearly about their roles and giving sound guidelines. In
addition to that, morale is built through leadership while getting willingness of employees to
do their tasks with proper cooperation. Thus, leader acts as morale booster. So, management
is getting things done from their workers. Sound and fixed working environment is created
from right leadership in the firm. Thus, human relation is highly used by leadership as major
importance. Thus, humanitarian term will be appeared in the firm (Bass & Bass, 2008)

When consider about similarities between leadership and management, first similarity is that
both have an ability to effectively work well with others. Thereby, both have to determine
how team operates and what strategies should be taken to support them. Further, both terms
in authority roles. Because, team members of both management and leadership look up to
them. So, employees’ behavior based on actions and expectations of their leader or a
manager. However, there are some highlighted differences between leadership and
management as following table:

Table 1. 3 Differences between leadership and management

Management Leadership
Engages in day-to-day caretaker activities Formulates long-term objectives for
like maintain and allocate resources reforming the systems like planning strategy
and tactics
Exhibits supervisory behavior like acts to Exhibits leading behavior like acts to bring
make others maintain standard job behavior about change in others congruent with long-
term objectives
Administers subsystems within Innovates for the entire organization

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 organizations
Asks how and when to engage in standard
practice
Acts within established organizational
culture
Uses transactional influence like induces
compliance in manifest behavior using
rewards, sanctions and formal authority
Relies on control strategies to get things
done by subordinates
Status quo supporter and stabilizer
Asks what and why to change standard
practice
Creates vision and meaning for the
organization
Uses transformational influence like induces
change in values, attitudes and behavior
using personal examples and expertise
Uses empowering strategies to make
followers internalize values
Status quo challenger and change creator

Based on the basic steps in controlling process:

1. Establish standards and methods to measure performance

2. Measure the performance
3. Determine whether performance matches with the standards
4. Take corrective actions

Figure 1. 2 Controlling Process

Under the first stage, criteria of performance is developed. It means that, points will be
selected at the entire planning program at which performance will be going to measure. Thus,
managers will be received signals on how things are going. For instance, sales and production
targets, work attendence goals and safety records can be shown as few of standards in
industrial firm. By second step, measurement of performance against standards by forward
looking basis is done. Under the third step, actual and expected performance will be
measured and matched. If both will be matched, manager assumes that everything is under
control. Even though having some mismatches, corrective actions should be taken. The

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corrective action could involve a change in one or more activities at the firm’s operations
(Bass & Bass, 2008)

Conclusion and Reccomendations

To sum up the study, writer selected John Keells Holdings PLC in order to adherence with
management concept. The different kind of managers and their skills in relation to the
existing pandemic situation, application of scientific management, different technological and
legal factors regarding newest work from home concept, different types of organizational
plans and finally evaluation of leadership in the chosen organization were added by the
writer. The continue innovating is suggested by the writer to Keells specially during
pandemic. Especially, ‘C’ attributes should be cultivated by Keells including confidence,
calm, communication, collaboration, community, compassion and cash. In addition to that,
company must try to study from noisy signals and quickly adapt their activities to novel
emerging information, must actively coordinate with external stakeholders even competitors
to pool and disseminate information and safeguard and stability of company’s eco-system and
must rapidly adapt and shift company’s value proposition to reflect ever-evolving demand
conditions and discover newest growth opportunities.

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References
Bass, B. M. & Bass, R., 2008. Handbook of Leadership: Theory, Research and Application.
New York: Free Press.

Chambers, A., Robertson, M. M. & Baker, N., 2019. The effect of sit-stand desks on office
worker behavioral and health outcomes: A scoping review. Applied Ergonomics.

Clegg, S., Kornberger, M. & Pitsis, T., 2016. Managing & organizations: an introduction to
theory and practice. 4th ed. London: Prentice Hall.

Drory, A. & Zaidman, N., 2007. Impression management behavior: effects of the
organizational system. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22(3), pp. 290-308.

Griffin, R. W. & Moorhead, G., 2010. Organizational Behavior: Managing People and
Organizations. South-Western: Cengage Learning.

Handy, C., 1993. Understanding organizations: managing differentiation and integration..

New York: Oxford University Press.

International Labour Organization, 2020. An employers' guide on working from home in

response to the outbreak of COVID-19, Geneva: International Labour Office.

Keells, 2019. 150 Years and Beyond: Growing with the Nation. [Online]
Available at: https://www.keells.com/our-150-year-journey
[Accessed 8 June 2021].

Keells, 2021. Investment in Sri Lanka | John Keells Holdings PLC, Sri Lanka. [Online]
Available at: https://www.keells.com/
[Accessed 8 June 2021].

Mintzberg, H., 1989. Mintzberg on management: inside our strange world of organizations.
London: Free Press.

Taylor, F. W., 1997. The Principles of Scientific Management. s.l.:Dover Publications.

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