Leadership, Management, and Organizational Behavior - Term Paper Example

? Mgt 380 Written Assignment Leadership and management are the tools because of which many organizations fly high in the current era of tough competition. It is not difficult for an organization to achieve the defined goals and objectives if they understand the meaning of leadership and management effectively. Managers have the authority given to them by the company over subordinates. Managers get remuneration to perform their work; they plan, organize and direct things. They decide what the task of subordinate is and how is he going to carry it out. They have the power to organize new structures or alter the old ones. Lastly, they have to keep a check on the completion of all the determined goals and take actions if they are not completed. On the other hand, the essence of leadership is to bring a change in peoples’ lives. Leaders might not have any formal authority to do yet they maintain cordial relationships with people and give credit where it is due. By doing this, they acquire a referent power (McConnell). Although, they are good with people, they have to maintain their remoteness to keep the charisma of leadership alive. This somehow makes their work easy because remoteness gives them opportunity to ponder upon things, and come up with great ideas that encourage people to accomplish their tasks. A leader has an immense impact on an organization because he is the one who motivates people to work, encourages them to do better than before, makes them look at the positive sides of things and indirectly contributes in the productivity of an organization. Steve Jobs comes to mind when one thinks of leadership that took an organization to soaring heights of success. His leadership proved exemplary when he was fired from the company that he founded and instead of complaining about his loss, he started ‘Next’ which Apple Computers Inc. ultimately acquired. His perseverance and innovation makes him a phenomenal leader and his company an epitome of perfection. Another great leader who had a vision, who believed that failures give us an opportunity to learn, who said when you strive for something big, there are people who will ridicule and try to tear dreams apart, but audacity will decide how long will one go is none other than Bill Gates. An important mantra of Bill Gates is that success must never reach the head. No matter how high you go, there is always chance to learn more. Bill Gates showed a new aspect of leadership that it is not necessary to lead, motivate and guide others but first lead yourself, make yourself capable enough to make others follow you voluntarily. People often consider management and leadership as same, but a few differences separate the two. A manager typically takes care of what one is doing, whereas a leader motivates one to do something new (Linda K. Stroh, Neale and Langlands). A manager seeks short-term objectives, whereas a leader has long-term vision in his mind. A manager makes an employee do things where as a leader guides him to achieve it. A manager’s concern is to be right whereas, a leader tries to know what is right. For example, the military has to manage its assets well to exploit its efficiency however, at the time of war, the military’s significant duty is to win the war regardless of assets required. At that moment, only a good leader can mould the situation in his favor and achieve victory. Management will not work here because it uses long processes and analyses to reach a decision. Manger gives people money to work, on the other hand, a leader gives them excitement and support. A manager will only try to find out solutions whenever he confronts a problem but, a leader will try to hear the noise behind silence and create questions to identify the cause of the problem. I disagree with the idea that all managers are leaders because there are fine differences in their style of work. All leaders are good managers but all managers are not leaders (Daft). Leaders perform the same practices that managers do, but what really makes them different is their gentle and helping attitude. They listen to what their employees say and find out the underlying problems. They make employees realize that their work contributes the most to a company’s success, and praise them for small achievements and encourage them to do better. Managers only give monetary rewards on an accomplishment by an employee, which is not enough for them because praise and kind words of appreciation are equally desirable after an accomplishment. A leader tries to know the strengths and weaknesses of each employee individually to get the most out of their capabilities. This helps leader get closer to an employee and win his trust. Managers do not know their employees personally; they just assign them work according to their job position, which could de-motivate subordinates. Great leaders also have the ability to build teams by setting practical goals, providing supervision, and empowering the team to do its best. Leaders can be managers as they do the same things effectively; they achieve long-term visions as well as short term. The difference lies in their attitude. Manager’s preference is work, its completion, and effectiveness. On the other hand, a leader’s preference is people; they understand people, and they want right people to do right things and are intrinsically motivated. Managing the work is easy but leading people is difficult, it requires patience, to listen to their whines, courage, to motivate them, strength, to face failure, humbleness, to stay on earth after great success. Good management makes organizations achieve its objectives, but good leadership makes it go beyond its objectives and reach new heights. Leaders practice the five “Ls”-they look, they listen, they learn, they lead and they laugh with their team (Howatt). These qualities motivate people to do their best. Leadership finesse will motivate people to attain their very best rather than just completing day-to-day objective. Indeed, a leader that is admirable and dependable will do the appropriate things for their staff to make them enjoy their work and ultimately lead to profitability. Works Cited Daft, Richard L. Management. Cengage Learning, 2007. Howatt, William A. Leadership Vs.Management. Way with Words, 2008. Linda K. Stroh, Northcraft, Dr Margaret A Neale and Chr Langlands. Organizational Behavior: A Management Challenge. Routledge, 2001. McConnell, Charles R. The effective health care supervisor. Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2007. Read More