Introduction:

Business leadership today is a field that requires the best of skill in managing business practices. Indeed, leading a business is a responsible job, and in this highly competitive and globalized world quality leadership in an organization is of great importance.

Managing businesses today is a sensitive process that defines whether or not a business will be successful. Business Leadership today is a science that requires the best of skills that one should be equipped with to survive in places like the international market or as top producers in a single country. However, it is managing a business itself and handling one’s employees that are also a great importance.

Competition is tough nowadays since there are many who are aware of all the tricks in managing business. With certain businesses emerging as the leaders in the market they also have to prove themselves and remain there. Becoming number one is easier than remaining number one. This is because of the fact that there will be other businesses that will mimic similar strategies in order to reach where any other has.
As compared to the past when competition between firms was not as tough as it is now leadership was not all that demanding. In contrast to yesteryears, it has become apparent that management needs to be skilled as much as possible in their concerned areas so that organization can perform to their maximum potential. Oversight of these processes is mandatory if optimum performance is desired. Having asserted this, it also must be realized that oversight here is also essentially considered important for internal business processes as well

Part 1:

For the past four years I have been a part of Manhattan International, an advertising agency that caters to both national and multinational clients. It was founded 47 years back and since then it has lived up to its reputation. Whether it is a promotional campaign or public service massage, Manhattan has excelled in living up to the demands of all its clients and helping them build their brands and hence increasing sales and revenues.
With total of 400 employees and five departments linked together Manhattan International follows the human resources policy and standards that are difficult to match. The human resource department at Manhattan is the heart of the organization, like heart pumps blood to the whole body; the human resource department provides the labor force that runs the whole company. The department is very well structured with the human resource director leading all the teams. The human resource department is divided into three parts: recruiting unit, training gym and motivating team. Recruiting unit is the first channel where they access and hire the potential candidates, the next step is training gym where the trainers educate the candidates about advertising, client servicing, team work and leadership. Last but the very important unit is ‘motivating team ‘ it encourages and motivates the employee to keep their morale high.

The human resource department is very well in tune with the overall business plan. The hiring and firing is done while keeping in mind what kind of labor force is needed in the particular project .The long term training and skill development depends on how much the particular candidate is potential and how fruitful he will be in the future.
Manhattan human resource department emphasizes a lot in:
• Increasing the productivity of the people
• To reduce unnecessary overtime expenses
• Eliminate wasted time by employees through sound job-design
• By creating an atmosphere that promotes job satisfaction
• Properly train and develop all employees so that they can improve their value to the company and do a better job of producing and selling high quality products and services at the lowest possible cost
• Hire the best people available and avoid over-staffing

As trends are changing, freelance and project based recruits are expected to be blooming. Most agencies nowadays prefer to outsource the project as it involves less hassle and resources. Manhattan is although very conservative in adopting this trend but this change is evitable as freelance workers are mushrooming. Human resource activities will also have a broader domain providing the more personal services that may include taxation, orientation, relocation, administrative services, host internal regulations and language translation services etc. It is also expected that Human Resource will play an independent role in the future to facilitate and resolve employee related issues in order to insure smooth functioning in the company. Last but not least the key element to be focused will be to develop good communication channels between and the HR specialized so that there will be integration in organization plans.

Part 2
Selecting and retaining top-notch staff is key for business success. Manhattan realizes that talented people who continue to develop skills and increase their value to the organization and to the customers are their most important resource. The primary elements of any plan to improve the quality of the staff they employ include improving the quality of new hires, identifying and retaining superior employees, and developing employees (especially those with high potential for growth). There are four steps in the recruitment process: defining manpower needs, finding and enticing quality candidates to respond to those needs, interviewing and selecting the best applicants, and orienting newly selected employees into the business.
Manhattan also believes in involving employees in the recruitment process. They use three strategies: employee as agent, employee as contributing evaluator, and employee as sponsor or peer mentor. Retaining the employees is also the main focus point of HR at Manhattan, for that they focus the following:
1. Pay employees fairly and well, then get them to forget about money.

2. Treat each and every employee with respect. Show them that you care about them as persons, not just as workers.
3. Praise accomplishments and attempts: Both large and small, verbally and in writing, at least 4 times more than you criticize, promptly (as soon as observed). Publicly … and in private and sincerely
4. Clearly communicate goals, responsibilities and expectations. NEVER criticize in public — redirect in private.
5. Recognize performance appropriately and consistently:
o Reward outstanding performance (e.g., with promotions and opportunities)
o Do not tolerate sustained poor performance — coach & train!
6. Involve employees in plan and decisions, especially those that affect them. Solicit their ideas and opinions. Encourage initiative.
7. Create opportunities for employees to learn & grow. Link the goals of the organization with the goals of each individual in it.
8. Actively listen to employees concerns — both work related and personal.
9. Share information promptly, openly and clearly. Tell the truth … with compassion.
However at the same time, Manhattan needs to take a hard look at under performing staff members. Ask whether each individual is in the wrong job. Determine whether they have provided specific and clear requirements so the individual knows what you expect from them. They should make sure to provided feedback against measurable goals and objectives so the person knows when he is not meeting expectations. At the same time Manhattan should avoid overstaffing, If they have done their part to create an environment in which an individual can succeed - and the person is not succeeding - let the person go.

Part 3
Performance appraisal plays a pivotal role in the development of the employee. Observing work performance and providing feedback is the regular process at Manhattan. Regular and Effective feedback helps the employee sustain good performance, to develop new skills and to improve performance when necessary. From the standpoint of performance management, observation involves noticing specific facts, events, or behaviors related to work performance and the results of work performance.
Basic Steps in a Performance Appraisal at Manhattan
1: Conduct ongoing observations and measurements to track performance
the human resource manager keeps the record of the work the employee has been doing for the certain amount of time. Observations are not only based on the output of that persons but also he behavior towards work and his loyalty with the organization/
2. Exchange ongoing feedback about performance
Feedback is information relevant to how well results are being achieved. Useful feedback is timely, feasible and understood. Ideally, feedback address key activities to improve or reinforce performance. This ongoing feedback is often one of the most important aspects of performance management.
3. Conduct a performance appraisal (sometimes called performance review)
A performance appraisal (or review) includes documentation of expected results, standards of performance, progress toward achieving of results, how well they were achieved, examples indicating achievement, suggestions to improve performance and how those suggestions can be followed.
4. If performance meets desired performance standards, reward for performance
by ding this management motivates the employee and ensures that the performance will keep on improving.
5; Performance development is an ongoing process but it become more easy when people are evaluated, awarded and rewarded well
Although at Manhattan the appraisal are regular but sometime we feel that some employees are rewarded well than other. The performance appraisal process should be:
• Open, fair, and understood by everyone.
• Employees should e routine one-on-one meetings with your management to discussion the performance or lack of it.
• Periodically review and discuss should be arrange with employees to evaluate the standards of performance for his or her job and the managements expectations.
• The feedback should be regular and constructive.
• Specific performance problems should be discuss
• Employees should be involve in all the stages
• Peer evaluation should also be included in the over all performance review

Part4
At Manhattan training and development is initiated for a variety of reasons for an employee or group of employees, e.g.
: a.) When a performance appraisal indicates performance improvement is needed
b.) To "benchmark" the status of improvement so far in a performance improvement effort
c.) As part of an overall professional development program
d.) As part of succession planning to help an employee be eligible for a planned change in role in the organization
e.) To "pilot", or test, the operation of a new performance management system
f.) To train about a specific topic
The typical Topics of Employee Training are communications, computer skills, customer service, diversity, human relations, quality initiatives, safety, and
Sexual harassment:
The general benefits for training and developments are
1. Increased job satisfaction and morale among employees
2. Increased employee motivation
3. Increased efficiencies in processes, resulting in financial gain
4. Increased capacity to adopt new technologies and methods
5. Increased innovation in strategies and products
6. Reduced employee turnover
7. Enhanced company image, e.g., conducting ethics training (not a good reason for ethics training!)
8. Risk management, e.g., training about sexual harassment, diversity training

Training and development strategies at Manhattan focus on long-term personal development. Programs are developed in-house or employees have an opportunity to attend programs, e.g., at a local university, college or training center. Employees are often sent abroad to get new, fresh and more productive ideas for business.
The following are the example of some of the effective training techniques used by Manhattan HR.

Case study: as an ad agency they provide us case studies on different brands, their evolution and success story.
Conference (discussion): it’s a healthy way to exchange ideas and opinions
Lecture: the re known advertisers come to share their knowledge
Business Games: exciting games are design to develop the business sense
Films: documentaries and related vides make the training process interesting.
Programmed instruction
Role Playing: exercise to teach plurality of views
The training has played an important role in my career and personal development It is the most effective method as a trainee learns by experience, making him or her highly competent It is highly motivated to learn since he or she is aware of the facts that his or her success on the job depends on the training received. .

Part 5
As we approach the 21st century there will be greater diversity in a work place to handle. The inability to manage diversity in the workplace can lead to discrimination suits, litigation time and money, legal fees/settlements, high employee turn over rates and negative community image. Manhattan keeps its risks to the minimum by understanding what diversity is, why it matters, and how to effectively manage the business in terms of diversity. For businesses and communities to not only survive, but to thrive, companies needs to be aware and sensitive to ALL the members of the community.
Diversity, or sensitivity, training is now commonplace in the corporate world. Manhattan tries to create a balance of respect and understanding in the workplace to have happy and optimally productive workers. In addition to this, it is aware of the importance of respecting diversity when dealing with the clients. As Managing Diversity is the effort to ameliorate racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination in organizations, Manhattan is focused on the areas like, no discrimination between men and women when it comes to appraisals. No one is allowed to challenge the other person’s religion. No one is differentiated because of color, caste and race.

. Although strict measures have been taken in the past to curb any unpleasantness but there is no permanent solution. Rather than reacting to periodic events, organizations will be better served by thinking strategically about the level of proficiency and understanding required to achieve its diversity goals. Doing so will help to address negative occurrences in the context of an overall diversity framework, and will prove useful in determining appropriate intervention. Thus, the organization will have the advantage of correlating the chosen intervention to the strategic business purpose that makes it necessary.
Ethic training at Manhattan is only the form of leaflet and other code of conduct paper that we get every year. Developing a code of business ethics will not stop unethical behavior however it gives people something to think about, a measurement against which to assess their behavior.
There should be seminars and hands on training to reduce and eliminate it. There should be check and balance at every stage and everyone should be answerable for his/her behavior.

For managing your own career you should focus on the real work rather than difference and diversities. All people around you can’t be same and they all have their own opinion as yours. Ethics are very personal when it comes to following them. Your reputation and track record for ethical behavior and integrity are vital for establishing the trust that is the basis for all successful relationships you sustain including those with your customers, employees, community and your stock holders. Why would you leave something this important to chance?