Effective Management and Leadership. Key Functions of Leadership and Management, and Their Application - Essay Example

?Effective Management and Leadership Introduction In the modern world, managers will have to polish their skills to ensure that entities can compete effectively to attain their goals and objectives. It is critical to note that management is different from leadership (Armstrong, 2012: 5). Leadership can be described as a calling. For one to practice as an effective leader, they must tap into management skills. It is important to note that leadership and management are two different concepts that must go hand in hand for the successful operation of an organisation (Armstrong, 2012:15). Notably, effective management and leadership are important in guiding a particular team towards the attainment of its goals and objectives. Particularly, any leader requires effective management skills to direct any organisation efficiently. One must therefore adapt excellent managerial principles to be an efficient leader. Various Theories of Leadership and Management and Appreciate the Contemporary Issues Facing Leaders and Managers There are various theories that can be used to describe the issues of leadership and effective management. For one to be an effective leader they must understand how an efficient team works therefore it is important to look at John Adair’s action centred leadership framework. This model supports previous on motivation by Maslow (Janet, 2006:45). The model offers a well defined strategy for the effective management and leadership of any group, team or organisation. It is a basic leadership and management framework that can be easily adapted or applied to various business situations. Effective managers and leaders have command of the three areas stipulated by the model. These are task, individual and team. Effective managers and leaders are said to have command of the three areas and can balance them to improve productivity within a team, improve staff morale, develop teams and build and improve quality. According to Adair’s framework, there are three basic responsibilities for management. These include accomplishing a particular task, managing a team or a group and managing people. The framework stipulates the roles and duties of a manager in achieving a given task. Some of the important roles that have been identified include defining the activities to be achieved, coming up with a plan on how to attain these tasks, monitoring and evaluating performance of the group and reporting the progress to the relevant authorities. The framework spells out the responsibilities of a manager towards the group (Gray, 2010:34). These are to set up and communicate to the members of the group the culture, ethics and aims and objectives of the group. Finally, it spells out the responsibilities of managers for different team members. Managers should understand their team members in terms of skills, personality, strengths, weaknesses and goal. This model concludes that management and leadership are different. Furthermore, good leaders are not necessarily effective mangers but good leaders will have effective management skills. Secondly, there is the management theory of leadership that is commonly referred to as the transactional theory. This model pays close attention to the role of group performance, supervision and organisation. It is based on a system of rewards for outstanding performance and punishments for substandard performance. From the leadership perspective, the relationship between managers and employees is an exchange. Both parties have something to offer. Rules and regulations are important in leadership (Forssell, 2008:78). Employees are not required to be creative or come up with solutions to problems. This framework is application in entities where there are simple problems. This model is only effective in specific situations and it hinders managers and employees from realising their optimum potential. There is the contingency theory of leadership and management that states that no leadership or management style is suitable for all work environments. According to the model, there are various variables in the environment that determine the style of management or leadership to apply in a given situation (Armstrong, 2012:15). Success of an effective manager depends on various aspects such as leadership style and the character traits of the employees. In summary, the model states that a manager in an institution should adopt a leadership approach that calls for participation from the employees. On the other hand, a leader who is in charge of an army may adopt an autocratic approach. Trait theories of leadership and management assume that people possess certain characteristics that make them effective leaders or managers (Armstrong, 2012:78). They identify specific behavioural characteristics that are displayed by effective leaders and managers. Traits and behaviours such as courage, extraversion, courage, effective time management and self- confidence are some of the major attributes of effective leaders and managers. Key Functions of Leadership and Management and Their Application Leaders play an important role in organisations. The first key function is planning by seeking all the important information, stipulating the tasks to be carried out by a group and making a work plan. Secondly, leaders initiate activities to be carried out by a group or a team (Bennet et al., 2003). This is by allocating activities to team members, breaking down the activities to the team members and informing the team on the aims and objectives of a given project. Thirdly, leaders control the activities in a given team this is by ensuring the group standards are attained, ensuring that all activities are taken towards the achievement of set goals and objectives and push the team towards the attainment of set goals and objectives. The fourth key function of leadership is supporting. This is done by reconciling any differences among the employees, instilling the team spirit, encouraging the team member, disciplining team members and commending team members for their contribution. The fifth key task of employees is informing the employees on the various tasks, receiving any information from the group members and summarizing the ideas received from the group members (Gold, et al., 2010:67). Finally, leaders are involved in evaluation of team and individual performance, viability of new ideas presented by the employees, evaluating the consequences of suggested courses of action and assessing whether the standards are followed. Effective management entails employee motivations and creative problem solving to ensure that the entity achieves the set goals and objectives. There are five key functions of management including planning, organising, staffing, coordinating and controlling (Bertocci 2009:67). The first key function of management is planning that involves spelling out the actions to achieve a given goal or objective. For example, if a company plans to improve its sales, the management comes up with ways to improve this by increasing advertising. The second important function of management is organising. This is done after coming up with a plan of action. Managers need to align their team members and materials as stipulated by the plan. Secondly, the management is involved in overall leadership. This is by influencing their subordinates to attain a certain goal. Managers should have the ability to influence their employees positively to motivate them to work towards the achievement of the set goals and objectives. Thirdly, the other key function of management is controlling. This is by ensuring all the activities in a company are operating efficiently and according the set goals and objectives. Fourthly, the management is involved in coordinating the activities within an entity and ensuring that all activities are in cohesion. Coordinating involves supervision, communication and direction (Armstrong, 2012:15). Finally, the most important function of management is staffing. This is made up of all activities relating to employee recruitment and personnel needs in a company. In addition to, staffing is made up of other activities including performance appraisals, transfers, promotions and training and development. Characteristics of Effective Management and How This Differentiates From Leadership Effective management is a key component of as successful organisation. The management not only supervises the employees but also is involved in making important decisions concerning the company (Baker, 2010:67). Effective management is one that respects and appreciates their employees. This is by giving them an appropriate pay and through other forms of monetary rewards including bonuses. Secondly, effective management provides employees with the resources necessary to accomplish their duties and responsibilities (Janet 2006:45). Thirdly, effective management must have relevant knowledge on how to compete in their respective industry and how to deal with any issues arising in the daily operations of the entity such as employee conflict. Fourthly, effective management has the capability to identify and nurture talent. In other words, effective management identifies employees with outstanding skills and helps to develop them through training and development (Gray, 2010:34). Fifthly, effective management leads employees and team members effectively by delegating their tasks and duties. Lastly, effective leadership makes proper decisions by taking employee participation into consideration. Effective management calls for the proper management of the resources and implementation of the company’s goals and objectives. Effective management and leadership are used interchangeably; however, they refer to two different concepts. This is owing to the fact that effective management is based on an incremental way of thinking while leadership is based on radical thinking. Effective management follows the organisation’s guidelines and policies while leaders lead with emotion and concern for their employees (Armstrong, 2012:15). Effective management gets its power from the position and formal authority while leadership gets power from influence and charisma. Effective management is mainly focused on getting positive results while leadership is mainly concerned with achievements. Various studies have been used to study the concepts of effective management and leadership. These studies are based on the leadership and management theories. These studies are based on several theoretical and practical assumptions (Janet, 2006:45). The findings from these studies are used for universal application. Data in these studies is collected from organisations to prove the application of leadership and management theories in the real world. References Armstrong, M. (2012) Armstrong's handbook of management and leadership: Developing effective people skills for better leadership and management, Kogan Page Publishers. Baker, T.E. (2010) Effective police leadership: Moving beyond management, Looseleaf Law Publications. Bennet, N., Crawford, M. & Cartwright, M. (2003) Effective educational leadership, SAGE. Bertocci, D.I. (2009) Leadership in organisations: There is a difference between leaders and managers, University Press of America. Forssell, D. (2008) Management and leadership: Insight for effective practice, Living Control Systems Publishers. Gold, J., Thorpe, R. & Mumford, A. (2010) Gower handbook of leadership and management development, Gower Publishing, Ltd. Gray, I., Field, R. & Brown, K. 2010 Effective leadership, management and supervision in health and social care, SAGE. Janet, M. (2006) Effective leadership and management in the early years, McGraw-Hill International. Read More