Leadership and management - Essay Example

Management 19 January Leadership and Management Leadership is an influential part of the development of the society, human advancement, and organizational development. Although a number of factors such as systems, economies, and mass media are believed to drive change, the tasks are motivated and organized by leadership. According to Waite, leadership “covers a complex set of circumstances that include the psyche of the period, the economic situation, and the structure of a culture. In other words, leadership transcends all boundaries” (1). However, not all individuals have the attributes of becoming capable leaders. Influence is the primary concept involved in leadership. It is a human invention process that is compared with successful business control, with powerful, influential and charismatic leaders, and Chief Executive Officers. Daft defines leadership as a relationship between followers and leaders that is based on influence in order to achieve actual changes and results based on their common objectives (4). Daft defines management as “the attainment of organizational goals in an effective and efficient manner through planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling organizational resources” (14). The efforts in management involve members of an organization focused on a particular goal. Management is therefore a group of people responsible for directing the workforce and ensuring that the organization meets its goals and objectives. Management is the act of getting work done through people. Management has various functions which include, planning, organizing, staffing, motivating, and controlling. Planning involves setting organizational objectives and outlining plans to achieve the objectives, organizing involves classifying and allocating tasks, and supplying necessary power to perform tasks. Staffing includes recruiting relevant and qualified individuals for various positions, motivating involves inspiring people to make great efforts in attaining organizational goals, while controlling involves seeing to it that organizational goals are achieved. Although leaders are sometimes managers and managers have to be leaders, leadership and management are different in a number of ways. While management concentrates on achievement of results through effective acquisition, arrangement, implementation, and regulation of all resources such as money, facilities and people, leadership “focuses on the most important resource, people. It is the process of developing and communicating a vision for the future, motivating people and gaining their commitment and engagement” (Armstrong and Stephens 5). Management is focused on managing complex issues pertaining planning and budgeting with an aim of producing results, while leadership focuses on producing change by developing a vision that will last for the future, along with strategies that bring about the changes needed. Management involves itself with the development of the capacity to achieve plans by creating an organizational structure and developing human system, while leadership organizes people by communicating the new created direction, and the creation of collaboration that understands the vision and is committed to achievement. Management ensures that plans are undertaken through controlling and problem solving, while leadership uses motivation to energize people, leadership tries to satisfy basic human needs through achievement (Armstrong and Stephens 6). Management is the most important human activity; because it’s the basic task of managers at all levels in all business and institutions. A leader has the ability to influence people, while a manager may not. Leaders have three major roles; defining a task, where they ensure to make it clear what they expect a group to do, achieving a task, where they ensure that the group`s purpose and goals are achieved, and maintaining effective relationships. They ensure that a good relationship is built between themselves and group members, and among the group members. A good leader is focused on maintaining a good relation among democrats, participative, and supportive group. A good leader should be flexible so as to meet demands in any particular situation. Good leaders are confident and are aware of what they want to do and where they want to go. They have the ability to take charge of team work into action and ensure goals are achieved (Armstrong 24). A good leader involves people in decision making; decision making is very important in an organization, and good leaders involve their team or people in the decisions they make. A good leader has enthusiasm; they get things done and easily communicate with people. However, a good leader should be tough, demand high standards, and seek respect rather than popularity. He should also have integrity, which involves being true to oneself, personal wholeness, and honesty, which brings about trust (Armstrong 25). A good leader should also be warm; he should be caring, considerate, and have an interpersonal relationship with his employees. A good manager should be self-motivated; self-motivation is a person’s ability to keep going and being in-charge of his responsibilities (“25 Qualities and Characteristics of a Good Manager,” PHDinManagement.org). A manager should be motivated so as to have the ability to motivate other employees. A good manager should have integrity; employees rely on managers who have personal integrity. The employees need a manager who will fight for their rights and who is true to his word. He should have the ability to communicate with his employees; the communication can either be verbal, written, or public speaking. A good manager should also have good relationship qualities, this is the ability to create or establish a good relationship among the employees, or employees and other managers. A leader is very important in an organization. Leaders are important in acquiring resources, for example in the acquisition of human capital. They are important in decision making when it comes to skills and knowledge bases, and take action to identify and recruit individuals who have the required skills and knowledge (Doh and Stumpf 25). It is important to be a manager because one is able to enhance a good relationship with the employees, which is important in solving conflicting issues. Empowerment is a task of a good leader; a leader challenges employees with assignments that they are capable and willing to do, so they can have a chance to understand their capabilities (Ananda 36). A good leader’s role is to listen and understand people; he should listen carefully and understand people. He is also a role model to the people; this is a major activity and task of a good leader. A good leader is not made from fame or titles. The tasks and activities of good managers involve being mediators; this is because people have different values, backgrounds, and opinions and have to work together in business. Managers act as mediators so as to solve conflicting issues in the organization (Kroon 16). Managers’ act as politicians; they should establish and maintain relations, and have the goal to achieve a common goal. They also act as decision makers; their main task is to make very important decisions in an organization. Tasks and activities of a good manager are planning; a manager should plan to determine objectives. Planning also occurs when developing procedures, daily activities of a manager include planning because staff members must be scheduled and maintained. Planning is for special events, and new orientation and training program. A good manager should have an objective before developing a plan, necessary information must be gathered before a plan is developed (Grossbauer 344). Organizing, this is the “process by which authority and communication flow within the organization” (Grossbauer 345). Organizing helps managers to know how communication flows up, down, and through the organization. In conclusion, leadership is an interaction among two or more members of a group that often involves the structuring or restructuring of any situation, and the perception and expectation of the members. Management is the process of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling organization members and using all other organizational resources to achieve stated organizational goals. There are particular qualities of a good leader, which include being focused on maintaining a good relationship among employees in an organization, confident, and flexible while a good manager should be self-motivated, and able to communicate with his employees. Just as leaders have a number of differences from managers, so does management and leadership differ as discussed in this paper. Works Cited Armstrong, Michael. How to Manage People. London: Kogan Page Publishers, 2008. Print. Armstrong, Michael, and Stephen, Tina. A Handbook of Management and Leadership: A Guide to Managing For Results. London: Kogan Page Limited, 2005. Print. Ananda, Vanaja. Dreams Are Reality: Reprogram Your Subconscious and Obtain Your Dreams. Liberty Drive: Balbao Press, 2012. Print. Daft, Richard. The Leadership Experience. Mason: Thomson South Western, 2008. Print. Dale, Ernest. Management: Theory and Practice. Florentino: Rex Printing Company Inc, 1993. Print. Doh, Jonathan, and Stumpf, Stephen. Handbook on Responsible Leadership and Governance in Global Business. Massachusetts: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, 2005. Print. Grossbauer, Sue. Managing Foodservice Operations: A Systems Approach for Healthcare and Institutions. London: Kendall Hunt, 2001. Print. Kroon, J. General Management, 2nd edition. Cape Town: Pearson South Africa, 1990. Print. Waite, Mitchell. Fire Service Leadership: Theories and Practices. Sudbury: Jones and Bartlett Publishers Inc, 2008. Print.  “25 Qualities and Characteristics of a Good Manager”. PHDinManagement.org. October 19, 2011. Retrieved January 18, 2013. . Read More