Introduction. Industry
The industry chosen is skincare products with the appropriate name. They offer a wide variety of beauty and skincare products used for basic skincare, health-related skincare, and professional cosmetology uses. The business operates both in retail and direct-to-business sales, most of them occurring regionally. The company products are known for minimal artificial components, using fresh, natural, and local ingredients, and high quality. They maintain a largely by-hand process in creating, testing, manufacturing, and packaging products. The company is respected and known regionally, but they are unable to match the volumes of other local and nationwide brands.
Company Culture
The company is very conservative and ingrained in its own ways. In many aspects, that is beneficial, such as it provides jobs for the local community, it is recognized locally, and it values its reputation of being a customer-first, high-quality skincare product producer. This has provided stability and even industry-matching salaries. However, the lack of changes in either process or personnel has resulted in a lack of innovation, the company is not keeping up with the digital age, and it has little to no staff that can help it usher in these necessary changes.
Changes Needed
The company has to be modernized and updated in many ways from the traditional means that it has operated for years. Layoffs will be required for cost-saving and automation while also making space for young specialists that can push the company forward with innovation in the industry. Both supporting and production processes have to be updated to match other companies in the industry. These changes have to be introduced to the workforce, ensuring that they understand and accept these changes, which will also be difficult for morale given the layoffs and tight-knit environment that had been in existence. Operations should be expanded to grow the company strongly within the context of the existing modernizations.
Big Five Personality Traits
The Big Five Personality Traits is a theorem that is supported by many experts and psychologists, suggesting that each individual has five dimensions of personality, each of which is a gradient (Thomas Co., 2021). The leader necessary for the company will have to have these levels of traits. Openness will be required to drive innovation and creativity. Conscientiousness should be high to maintain rationality and consider important decisions without impulse. The leader will have to be extraverted to an extent in order to make social connections with existing and new workers and be able to inspire them. Agreeableness should be low as the leader, in a difficult situation, would face many conflict scenarios where they cannot back down. Finally, neuroticism should be very low as this position is for those who are stable, think about the greater good, and maintain a strong ability to cope with stress. A good balance of these traits should allow for a leader that can make the appropriate changes in the company.
Holland’s Typology
Holland’s typology suggests that individuals can be identified by six ideal vocational personality types. One can be on a scale for each similar to the Big Five, but there is commonly a highly dominant type. The above are expectations for what a leader for the company should be like to address all the changes, with the dominant typology being enterprising (Hopkins Medicine, n.d.).
Cognitive-Affective Personality System (CAPS)
The CAPS theory of personality suggests that people react differently to various contexts based on situational variables as well as the cognitive qualities of the individual. The above are cognitive-affective units on how an individual processes information and interacts with the environments, thus the qualities that will reflect in behavior. Each person develops individually, and patterns of behavior form based on how the affective qualities interact with variables and the environment (Psychology Today, n.d.).
Benefit to Employees
The leadership qualities described earlier can be highly beneficial to the employees of Beauty Skin Unlimited. Without a doubt, the layoffs and massive changes to the company will be demotivating and stressful. A leader that is able to establish a connection to the workforce is empathetic, but strong is necessary. The company will require a lot of motivation with a leader that leads by example and works alongside everyone else to better the firm. Social and situational awareness will be necessary to navigate these difficult situations and build a rapport with existing and new employees as the company transitions.
Benefit to Success
The traits outlined earlier present a strong leader and manager, one that is thoughtful, analytical, and creative to an extent but is competent in complex situations. The company will require much change and innovation, so the transformational leadership style fits perfectly in this context, focusing on encouraging, inspiring, and motivating employees to create and accept this change.
References
Hopkins Medicine. (n.d.). Holland’s typology. Web.
Psychology Today. (n.d.). Theories of personality. Web.
Thomas Co. (2021). What are the big 5 personality traits? Web.