goldman sachs

Leadership development at Goldman sachs:Ans.1 The culture of Goldman sachs was excellence oriented. The company focused on doing everything in the best possible way they could. It took pride of its high professional standards.They created insecurity amongst employees of not being liked by a client. It was believed that the interest of the clients were to be served first in the best possible way. They recruited the best possible talent in terms of manpower to provide superior returns to the stakeholders. They choose every employee with utmost caution to enable them to maintain their performance standards. They believed in the approach of  being the best in every task performed due to high commitment in excellence and took pride in professional quality of their work. One of the distinguishing feature of the firm was it’s approach of  emphasizing the importance of teamwork over individual performance. Since the size of the company was very large, they wanted to function in a well coordinated manner by following the principle of  espirit de corps and enabling coordination in the organization. Drivers of business success:The individuals working at Goldman Sachs were all high achievers. The organization’s commitment to excellence and confidence bred a culture of insecurity. They feared not being able to serve the interest of employees. The recruitment strategy of the firm was such that they chose individuals with high affiliation needs. These are referred to in the case as gold star types, who always believed to be at the top of everything they were in charge of.Success was the purpose of existence and failure was remembered for a long period of time. To all the employees,weak execution and weak quality were intolerable and things had to be done in the best possible way. There was a strong norm of feedback seeking behavior where employees adapted an open approach to critique. They believed in being harsh on themselves and to improvise their performance with each day. Also,they believed in teamwork and collaborative efforts. They believed that outcomes are always higher if individuals work in teams as compared to one individual’s effort. They worked in a coordinated manner and seeked approval amongst each other regarding decisions made to meet the needs of clients. Every achievement was addressed to the group. Rather than individual. Culture and its impact on Hr practices:Due to the high demanding nature of industry, the recruitment practices of Goldman Sachs were difficult. The employees employee s were selected in a manner to match the right person for the right job by undertaking unusual effort. Goldman sachs did not want to settle for anything less than best. Opportunities were provided to the employees to consistently grow and develop new skills. Initially.the model of apprenticeship was followed to encourage employees to learn skills by assisting their supervisors. It helped in growth of employees and increased their commitment towards the organization.

Ans2. The training and development policies prevalent in the company prior to 1999 were lead by the apprenticeship model i.e.by working closely with other senior leaders of the firm. The Wall Street firms believed that the mentorship program was lead to success as it helped in passing of ideals and cultur. Every individual was sat with someone who was very experienced and had been there for a long time.Initially, the strength of Goldman Sachs was less,hence it proved to be successful.It was an enriching experience to both the employees and the mentors. Professional development happened entirely on the job. There were certain firm wide formal orientations and narrowly focussed skill development programs designed by learning and professional development which was an arm of human capital management division. The formal programs were conducted for employees at lower level. Orientation programs were held for analysts,associates and MD’s.This trainining usually lasted for a month and in some areas for three months. The courses focused on specific skill and product knowledge. Seldom, some business also organized culture building and conferences. Usually, very basic formal training was conducted in a formal centralized way and no departmental training plans were implemented to train employees in functional area s. However,during 1990’s departments developed their own training programs.It was no longer considered to conducted centralized training as needs grew specialized in the organization.

Ans.3 The need for a new leadership development program was felt when the organization grew into a diverse globalised one. It was felt that a more systematic approach towards leader development was required. The organization was focused merely on the development of skills and performance.of  individuals. When the organization grew, it became difficult to conduct the mentorship program effectively.The size of the firm was the biggest issue. There was a need to supplement rather than substitute the apprenticeship program. There was a need to conduct a formalized training program which could enable the individuals to grow personally and professionally on the job.The growth objectives of the firm were very lofty.But the skilled manpower to achieve these objectives was not available with the firm.Also, there was a resistance amongm individuals of different departments to attend the centralized training program. As the organization grew in size and became more specialized,the objectives of skill enrichment were not fulfilled. It was necessary to provide individuals with ample growth opportunities to encourage career planning and leadership development. The organization felt it was necessary so as to develop the manpower of the firm which represented the firm’s most critical asset and convert them into competitive advantage. It was necessary to keep the talented workforce enthusiastic through training and development.It was also required to enable the individuals in accelerating their professional development.It was also necessary to implement training and development measures to enhance employee commitment and loyalty in the competitive industry.

Ans.4 The factors which influence the new leadership program are:1.Nature:- The nature of the training and development program is dependant upon the size of the organization,the time available with the employees to undertake training,the resources available and its feasibility.As the organization is small in size,observation and apprenticeship method can be used train employees by close supervision.However, when organizations grow in size,high need for specialization occurs.It requires a well defined,structured and planned training and development program. The time available with employees is also a major factor in determining the nature and scope of training program to be designed.It should consider whether an employee can take out time to attend the training sessions planned. The training program will also consider the resources available with the organization to conduct training in terms of location,faculty and material. The feasibility should be considered in order to determine the duration and method of training to be conducted for employees. 2.Content :3.Process:-The methods which are to be used in conducting training program were determined by the availability of space which enabled the organization implement developemental experiences successfully.The