Public Policy and Administration: The Concepts of Management and Leadership - Essay Example

Public Policy & Administration Section I: Leadership Compare and contrast the concepts of management and leadership Leadership and management are viewed differently by diverse people and in different concepts. However, some people view them as synonyms and often use them interchangeably. To others, they approach them as opposites. However, although the applicability of leadership and management can be viewed to be concepts of two people, that is, the manager and the leader, studies have documented that, with the right knowledge, one can be a successful leader and a manager all together. For a better distinction between the two, leadership is defined as the process whereby, a leader influences his/her followers to achieve a common goal (Bertocci 5). Management is the act of exercising administrative and supervisory duties of a group or an organisation. It is apparent that due to continued innovation and competition, organisations, and groups need both effective managers and leaders in order to have successful operations. In this regard, leadership and management are similar in several ways. Firstly, they both argued to influence employees or constituents in a particular manner. For example, team leader with leadership qualities can be able to lead his/her group in a successful way. In most cases, studies have found that leaders with no leadership qualities tend to influence their followers in the way that results in low performance and incompetence. Similarly, a good manager with managerial skills tends to influence his/her group in a way that results into top results, as opposed to when the group manager would be incompetent, and the results are poor performance due to lack of proper coordination (Bertocci 7). In both leadership and management, authority and power are manifested in both. For example, leaders can possess authority to influence their followers in a certain way as a result of the right conferred by the position they hold in an organisation or group. Leaders can also exercise power if they possess the quality to influence their followers with or without disagreements. On the other hand, managers can have the authority to influence their group in line with tasks performance. They also have the power to coordinate their group in the best way they can in order to perform their duties as required. Differences between leadership and management Even though there are similarities between the two, there are striking differences between the two. Firstly, management is often task oriented while leadership is considered to be more inspirational and visionary (Bertocci 9). In addition, management involves planning and budgeting, while leadership involves establishing direction. While management entails the establishment of agendas, leadership entails creating a vision. It is also apparent that management involves setting timetables, while leadership involves clarifying the big picture. In management, what follows setting timetables is the allocation of resources required to accomplish tasks while, in leadership, clarification of the big picture is followed by setting strategies. On another dimension, as management engages in organizing and staffing, leadership engages in aligning people. Management also involves the establishment of rules and procedures, while leadership involves building teams and coalitions. In this regard, management seeks making job placement, while leadership seeks commitment. Another major difference is that, in management, controlling and problem solving is apparent, while motivating and inspiration is apparent in leadership (Bertocci 10). Section II Policy analysis Describe and identify at least one example of the ideological conflict many Americans have with their negative attitude toward the idea of a large and active government, but positive desire to provide individual, public programs such as education and health programs like Medicare. Mainly, large governments are associated with corruption and inefficiency. Many Americans have a perception that a large government may constitute to large consumption of tax payers money, something that may lead to embezzlement of funds and inefficiency in many public institutions. In another dimension, some Americans believe that large governments could be translated to mean the federal government that controls the authority of local, public institutions (Henschen 295). This is viewed from the perspective of state authorities being superseded by federal legislation. An example of such a concept is on the issue of health care provision. Lack of equality between the rich and the poor in regard to enrolment in heath insurance schemes is highly viewed as a product of large government, which dictates or legislates on qualifications of individuals to enroll in health insurance schemes. Mostly, the rich are viewed as direct beneficiaries of such legislations. At the same time, the notion of many Americans is that a small government would enable every state to have its own legislations, which would benefit all classes of people. However, it is apparent that a large government does not necessarily translate to corruption and inefficiency of public institutions. For example, a large government means that every public institution is well represented in the federal government, and that underrepresented institutions can get support from the federal government (Henschen 296). In addition, it is evident that underperforming states get assistance from the federal government in several ways. Besides, large government ensures that there is equal distribution of the budget to all states. For example, although each states and local governments contributes to education funding, a portion of the funding comes from the federal government. However, this funding is set and controlled by congress. Although such acts are viewed by many Americans as a way of hampering provision of public service, the intentions are what maintain efficient running of public institutions. For example, the budget control Act ensures that that the country uses an appropriate budget in its operations in order to oversee equitable and proportionate allocation of funds in various public institutions. Section III: Public Administration General Incentives for economic development can lead to increasing the number and quality of jobs and to targeted investment, geographically and industrially. Identify three or four policy goals that can benefit from these incentives and describe the challenges and criteria for assessing the success of achieving those objectives. Incentives for economic development are components that foster economic development and seek to encourage growth in various sectors (Anderson and Wassmer 1). Mainly, these incentives come in terms of monetary and non-monitory incentives, which encourage business operations. Monetary incentives include tax breaks, which are put in place in order to encourage businesses to operate in specific areas and industries (Anderson and Wassmer 2). For example, federal, state, or local authorities may decide to reduce tax on agricultural inputs in underdeveloped or areas with low output of agricultural products. This aims at encouraging farmers to invest in agriculture in the selected areas. As a result, agricultural activities in those areas tend to increase, and as a result, number and quality of jobs are realized. In light with this, when such an incentive is induced in such a sector, agricultural business tends to increase the profit margins. This means that they can be able offer several and quality jobs to people working in their farms. Non-monetary incentives involve exclusion or relief from state regulations and increased government support on public infrastructure (Anderson and Wassmer 2). For example, the government can decide to allow companies or people from other states to invest in a certain region. The government may also deem it right to improve public infrastructure in order to pave the way for efficient business operations in that area. A region with poor road network, for example, may discourage investors from investing in that area due to high costs of transport or delay in delivery of products produced. When these incentives are given, investors are able to confidently invest in such areas. As a result, they are in a position to employ not only many employees, but also offer quality working conditions. One of the policy goals that can benefit from incentives for economic growth is economic growth for the selected area (Anderson and Wassmer 3). For example, when the government introduces incentives to encourage agricultural investment in a certain area, many companies invest in that area, and this translates to employment of many people in the sector. In fact, other sectors and businesses boom as secondary beneficiaries of such incentives. A good example of such a situation is where, when farmers harvest their products, other companies may come in to process the products from raw materials to consumable goods. With such deliberations, this area witnesses a general economic growth, which is as a result of these firms being able to sell their products at lower costs to locals, unlike when the locals would be buying such products from companies located at far regions. As many people get employees, it is apparent that their economic status is uplifted to higher levels. Another policy that can benefit from such incentives includes increase in the local resources. This is can be argued to be true because when businesses increases in a certain area, there is a direct benefit to locals, whereby resources increase with the increase with businesses. However, although these goals can theoretically be evaluated, it is apparent that there are challenges and criteria for assessing the success of achieving them. For example, it is possible to measure output of goods production and employment shifts. This is measured in terms of each sectors share such as manufacturing and agriculture, and their share of GDP. However, the measure of contribution of some sectors such as hospitals, universities, and law firms could be difficult. The real inflation adjusted by such industries can be hard to measure on how the service providers have performed. Works cited: Anderson, John and Wassmer, Robert. Bidding for business: the efficacy of local economic development incentives in a metropolitan area. Kalamazoo, Mich.: W.E. Unjohn Institute for Employment Research, 2000. Print. Bertocci, David. Leadership in organizations: there is a difference between leaders and managers. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 2009. Print. Henschen, Edward. America at odds. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2009. Print. Read More