Management-Leadership Theories - Coursework Example

2 Essays Instructions 2 Essays Essay Management-Leadership Theories Introduction Leadership is an essential element of business because it creates forces of drive and motivation towards attainment of set objectives. This topic forms a field of research emanating from continued interest in quality leadership styles. There is a need that all corporate institutions work at finding the best management tools to suit their organizational structures. This work explains the effectiveness of management theories in the context of young leaders managing relatively young staff. Predominant Leadership Constructs Dulewicz and Higgs’ Model of Management This theory is a model of change for leaders, emphasizing the need for and the process of change to newer and efficient management techniques (Adetule, 2011 p. 82). In the context of this scenario, the company needs to adopt a new style of leadership. According to the theory, leaders need to develop the following personal attributes to ensure that they manage changes: They need to be risk takers When taking over new positions, it is necessary that managers restructure their managerial plans to suit their style of leadership (Adetule, 2011 p.85). This act presents a risk because it is an exploration into new ideas of how the firm can improve performance. It also relates closely with organizing staff members to suit the new management systems. They need to be assertive A good leader needs to be assertive and decisive. While putting into consideration the poor managerial history of the company, my friend should ensure that the decisions she make are well coordinated and implemented. All leaders need to be firm as it concerns decision making to formulate policies that are to the rest of the staff. She should engineer the change needed in the firm A leader is a figure of authority, upon which the rest of the staff depend for policy formulation and implementation. To achieve these aspects, leaders should be goal oriented and ensure they motivate the staff to work towards attainment of the objectives. Goal orientation is the focus of any business and therefore, a leader should ensure the rest of the staff is working towards the targets. The objective of my friends’ firm is growth, which will be realized. The focus of the management should now shift to sustenance of the growth. Managerial skills A manager needs to be an all-round person, which implies that his or her skills should be exemplary. She should develop the following skills according to Dulewicz and Higgs ‘model of management: Effective planning Success depends on the blueprint developed to drive it and to ensure that it is acceptable. A good plan is one that focuses change on the positive trend for any institution. A manager should be an affective planner (Adetule, 2011, p. 94). They should work to organize the rest of the staff to suit the blueprint for success. As a new manager of a declining department, my friend needs to plan well for the process of changing the department. She should be a controller According to the Dulewicz and Higgs’ Model of Management, to exercise control means being the head of a department (Adetule 2011, p. 100). It is clear that my friend is a department head, which then follows that she needs to establish her reputation as a controller. This personality will enable her to regulate the activities of the rest of the staff including the current problem of late coming. The act of controlling the department will also incline the department to work in line with the set code of conduct. She should be a manager By appointing her to her post, the administration of the firm expressed their levels of confidence in my friend. She is therefore required to show that she can manage the rest of the notorious department by motivating them to work at attaining the set goals (Adetule, 2011, p. 100). Staff motivation is the basic of management, and therefore, to whore their support, my friend needs motivate them to have a different approach to work. Fielder’s Contingency theory Fred Fielder put the theory of contingency in 1960 to help change the perception of leadership styles. According to Fielder, there is no specific approach t management, but instead, the best administrative decisions depend on the situation that calls for decision-making and the leadership styles adopted (Adetule, 2011, p. 105). Leadership style A difference exists in the manner in which managers perceive junior staff, which varies according to individuals. From the Fielder’s Model, I advise my friend to be a task-oriented manager, who will always see her juniors as effective task managers. This style of leadership will help her to cultivate confidence in her staff and change their attitude to work. She should also work with the rest of the staff to respond to emergign problems. According to Fielder’s Contingency theory, all team members are useful according to the style of management adopted by the managers (Adetule, 2011, p. 114). Conclusion An evaluation of the management state of the department that my friend inherited from her predecessor suggests that management styles need a review. In proposing the best management theories, I advise her to use Dulewicz and Higgs ‘model of management because it outlines her importance to the department as a leader. The theory emphasizes the need for personal attributes in management. I also suggest she uses Fielder’s Contingency theory because of its emphasis on management styles. Essay 2 Motivation Introduction Motivation is the literal urge to achieve by involved in activities. It defines the basic reason why people will always hope that they will do things that are unachievable at one time in their lives. According to researchers, it forms the basic component of goal attainment and the push by people to work. Researchers like Abraham Maslow (1943) suggested that a person has the ability to motivate him or herself. It is therefore critical that all people feel motivated to achieve their goals. This work analyses the motivation theories and puts them in the context of the firm whose employees feel demotivated to work. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Wants Abraham Maslow advanced this theory in his works of 1943 in a book called Motivation and Personality. The theory summarizes the findings on what controls human motivation. According to Maslow, human beings feel motivated to when the environment is able to meet their needs, which he categorized into five in his Hierarchy of needs (Adetule, 2011, p. 118). According to him, there are two types of wants: The D-needs These represent basic needs whose deprivation leads to demotivation to work. When satisfied, individuals will feel the urge to work once again. Such needs include social, esteem needs, physiological needs and security needs. B-needs These needs do not originate from deprivation of any aspects of life, but form the urge to grow. These needs constitute the higher levels of Maslow’s pyramids. In the hierarchy of wants, the basic ones are satisfied before the others. In real life situations, this theory is applicable as tool of motivating people at the workplace. In the case given for this work, a growth in size of the company caused workers to be overworked. Some of them felt demoralized because the benefits that they get out of working were not worth the amount of input that they give. Such employees need their manager to start looking into their issues. Their welfare at the workplace, which includes the length of working hours need a review. By being concerned with their issues, the manager will obey the Hierarchy of needs at the base of the pyramid. At this level, individuals need basic needs like food, clean water, air and sleep, which Maslow refers to as physiological needs. After the manager does that, they should proceed to the second level of the hierarchy of needs, called the security needs. This category of needs include the feelings that the employees have job security, a healthy working environment, safe neighborhoods as well as protection form the environment. Satisfying these forms a foundation for the next level in the Maslow’s pyramid. The company takes gradual steps at meeting the needs of the employees as well as motivating them to work. (Adetule 2011, p.123). The managers should then proceed to meeting needs in the next level of the hierarchy of needs called Esteem Needs. At this level, needs include those that provide a reflection of personal worth, personal accomplishment, self-esteem, and social recognition. It develops from a step to the other, signifying the fact that change does not happen at an instant. It needs planning and assessment of the situations. Remembered the company in this case is a small firm and cannot therefore afford a massive move to satisfy all the needs at once. It makes Maslow’s theory a reality and very practical. The last category of the needs is the self-actualization category. At this level, the firm is able to make its employees self-aware and inquisitive about growth. As traced, the company takes a slow pace, but in the end, it attains maximum motivation for its workers. McClelland’s Acquired Needs Theory David McClelland proposed in his theory called McClelland’s Theory of needs that specific needs by individuals are obtained overtime. He classified the needs into three broad categories: achievement, affiliation, and power (Adetule, 2011, p. 135). Achievement According to McClelland, individuals with a high need to achieve in their lives end up successful and should therefore avoid low risk situations. The high-risk situations provide challenges to the individuals. In this case, the managers find it difficult to contain the conditions at the workplace. The toughness of the situation makes it a high-risk factor. It acts a tool for managerial orientation to the real world of worker related problems. Affiliation A manager is a team builder whose needs for affiliation with the workers should be incredible. This part of the McClelland’s theory establishes managers in the context of problem solvers, which is the practical case for this paper. The manager needs to coordinate with the rest of the staff to ensure that there are good relationships at the place of work. Social power The need for social power results from individuals’ desires to organize and run departments. Power in this case belongs to the managers who should coordinate and make the working environment a suitable place for success. Conclusion The theories discussed in this work represent gradual processes employee management and motivation. Ultimately, there is total change in the manner that employees view the places of work. Both theories emphasize that change is not rapid, but a slow learning process whose results are long lasting. Managers need to take leading roles in advocating for change at the work place. Bibliography Adetule, J. (2011). Handbook on Management Theories. Bloomington, Author House Read More