1.0 Introduction

Hatton National Bank PLC is one of the leading commercial banks in Sri Lanka. Market share wise, they are known to be the 5th largest bank in the market. Currently they have about 251 branches and 485 ATMs island-wide (Annual Report, 2016). The bank has a good reputation for its customer service and they have won many awards for their excellent service standards and processes. Most of the emerging banks use HNB as a good benchmark when it comes to the customer service levels and sales drive. The bank’s senior leadership had a clear vision from the initiation and that has been the main reason behind their consistent results over the last few decades. The senior leadership team has been able to create a shared vision which promotes customer service excellence at the core of the bank’s operational strategy.
Sri Lankan banking industry is highly competitive with the presence of 23 commercial banks and over 50 finance companies. Since customers have a wide variety of choice, industry players cannot compromise on service and operational standards. HNB follows the differentiation strategy to compete within the market. They try to achieve a competitive advantage through their innovative products, unmatched service standards, wide coverage and highly reputed brand name. Having identified the intensity of the industry rivalry, the bank’s leadership has a key role to play in driving the business to the next level. Hence it’s important to apply the key leadership theories and management concepts within the context of HNB to identify the areas of improvement. This will help the bank to further strengthen its position within the market place. The bank’s marketing team has been chosen for the study as it would facilitate a more focused analysis rather than choosing the entire organization.
The strengths and weaknesses of the leadership and management practices with relevant to the marketing team of HNB will be largely analyzed in this report. The role of leadership in creating a service driven culture, key leadership traits and roles, leadership style, ways and means how leaders motivate their team members, conflict resolution procedures, power distribution and decision making, etc. will be the main pillars of analysis. The report intends to identify the key gaps within these areas and also recommends key strategies and corrective actions to make things better for the company.