Thomas Cook Tours Company and High-Performance Management Paper Example

Introduction

Thomas Cook Safaris is an international tourism organization that offers travel and tour packages to different consumers across the world. At the helm of the organization is the Chief Executive Officer who plans and makes most executive decisions of the organization. As such, the choice of deciding on an organization CEO should be given high priority because of its far-reaching implication on the organization future performance. As such, hiring a new CEO should be given priority to ensure an organization continuity. The choice of an organization CEO should be in alignment with the organization management needs as well as the nature of business (Milana & Maldaon, 2015). This briefing paper will assess how Thomas Cook Safaris can hire a high performing manager to be able to continue the legacy of the organization and ensure further future success and sustainable development of the organization regarding market share and sales.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Background

Thomas Cook Tours Company has been in operation since 1841 when it was founded, and today it enjoys a very prestigious position in the tours and travel industry due to the effort of previous and current management stakeholders. From a humble beginning of a one-day rail excursion which the company charged a shilling from Leicester to Loughborough the company has been able to establish itself being a reputable tour organization that offers the best travel experience to its customers. The grand vision and goals of the previous managers have played a significant role in the success enjoyed by the organization today. Since becoming the chief executive officer of the organization, I have dedicated my time and life towards sustaining the organization performance as well as expanding the organization portfolio further. Although this has not been easy, strategic management approach and the use of critical thinking in making decisions for the organization has significantly paid off. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that the most influential position of the organization is passed down to a high-performance manager who will be able to further the achievements of the organization and safeguard what has already been achieved by the many executive managers who have come before us (Erickson et al., 2007). The travel industry has become very competitive, and only organizations with firm and high-performance managers can be able to overcome the future challenges to ensure the organization continues to be a leader in the tour and travel industry.

Recommendation for a High-Performance Manager

A high-performance manager is the ideal chief executive officer for the organization due to their inherent skills and approach to management which is in line with the management culture of Thomas Cook Tour Company. As such, the organization has always enjoyed great transformation and success under the guidance of high-performance managers who are transformational oriented and can be instrumental in the future of the company (Zakharova & Korobeynikova, 2015). The travel industry is undergoing constant change and development, and a high-performance manager can help the organization to attain market leadership which adds up to the organization a competitive advantage.

Recommended Characteristics of a High-Performance Manager

Clear Priorities and Goals

The ability to create goals plays a significant role in the success of a high-performance manager. Goals and priorities in any organization can help an organization to attain certain milestones which are essential towards achieving organizational goals. Thomas Cook organization operates from goals which are set at the beginning of every financial year. As such, a high-performance manager is more suited to be able to achieve the organization goals because high-performance managers are goal oriented and can set clear priorities and manage resources towards achieving the set goals (Zakharova & Korobeynikova, 2015). An organization success highly depends on the ability of the chief executive officer to prioritize development and activities because resources are always not in excess and there is a need for proper planning and clear priorities to ensure one achieves set goals with a specified period. Therefore, the ability of the high-performance manager to set good intentions and an explicit priority setting makes him an ideal future CEO for the organization.

Adaptability

In most industries, the operating environment does not remain constant due to random changes that can affect the organization operations and ability to deliver services. In such occasions, the organization requires a high-performance manager who can be able to adapt to changes and ensure that services remain uninterrupted by being able to improvise solutions. The ability of the CEO to adjust to the organization environment changes is essential especially in the travel industry where technology fails and changes in travel schedules as well as the market can significantly affect service delivery (Zakharova & Korobeynikova, 2015). A high-performance manager should be able to adapt to the changing business seasons easily and to make informed decisions. Managers who are rigid and inflexible are not able to lead big organizations such as Thomas Cook because of the uncertainty that the manager is supposed to deal with in day to day organization activities.

Transactional leader

The next executive officer of the organization should have transactional leadership skills which are founded on the ability of the leader to build trust and cooperation with other leaders and organization stakeholders. A high-performance manager should be able to understand that a successful organization requires leaders to value the input of other leaders by ensuring partnership and negotiations to ensure that the voice of different stakeholders is taken into account especially in important organization decisions (De, 2012). Therefore, the future executive manager in the organization should be able to use reward and punishments when dealing with junior managers and employees to motivate employees and at the same time ensure that employees are becoming better with time. The transactional leadership approach ensures that the executive manager prepares the junior managers through supervision, performance and proper organization which ensures that the full potential of the employees is realized and at the same time the organization creates leadership potential in the departments and organization niches which contributes to the overall organizational success. However, a high-performance manager should ensure that the other managers are compliant to the organization needs and goals through rewards and punishments when necessary (Zakharova & Korobeynikova, 2015).

Transformational Leadership

The high-performance manager should be able to facilitate the development of the individual employees while at the same time ensuring that the organization can retain a sustainable workforce for optimum organization operations. Transformational leadership competency by a high-performance manager is necessary to ensure sustainable organization workforce (De, 2012). Through transformational leadership, the new chief executive officer can nurture leaders in the organization which is essential in ensuring that other management roles in the organization are under qualified leaders who can be able to make very competent decisions that promote the future organization development. A transformational leader can motivate, influence and stimulate the leaders in the organization which can help to inspire change in the organization.

Integrity

Lack of integrity is one of the challenges that many organizations face which in most cases leads to the fall and decline of the organizations due to the embezzlement of funds and malpractices. Lawsuits due to malpractices are expensive and negatively affect an organization reputation. Therefore, the organization should look out to ensure that the next CEO has a high level of integrity and sense of responsibility to ensure that the excellent reputation of the organization remains intact and also to ensure that the organization does not lose resources through embezzlement and corruption (Zakharova & Korobeynikova, 2015).

Rewards of High-Performance Managers

In a world where technology and globalization continue to cause constant change and needs within an organization and its operating environment a high-performance manager can significantly contribute towards ensuring that the organization attains a competitive advantage in the market. Employees are a significant asset in the organization, and the future manager should be able to manage, supervise and motivate the employees towards achieving the organizational goals. A high-performance manager can employ strategic thinking to ensure that the organization decisions are secure and future-oriented. The failure to take note of the importance of strategic decision making denies an organization competitive advantage and success (De Waal et al., 2012). Therefore, during the recruitment process, it is essential for the organization to prepare a recruitment framework that addresses the high-performance manager profile requirements for the organization future Chief Executive Officer.

References

De Waal, A. A., Van der Heijden, B. I., Selvarajah, C., & Meyer, D. (2012). Characteristics of high performing managers in The Netherlands. Leadership & organization development journal, 33(2), 131-148.

De, W. A. (2012). What Makes a High-Performance Organization: Five Validated Factors of Competitive Advantage That Apply Worldwide. Global Professional Publishing.

Erickson, J., Menozzi, E., Pieper, N., Quinn, J., & Speck, M. (2007). Recommendations for the First Time Manager.

Milana, E., & Maldaon, I. (2015). Managerial characteristics and its impact on organizational performance: evidence from Syria. Business: Theory and Practice, 16, 212.

Zakharova, L. N., & Korobeynikova, E. V. (2015). Personal characteristics of active managers in organizational cultures of different types. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 8(3), 69-83.