Management and Organisational Behaviour - Case Study Example

Leadership vs. Management Affiliation Leadership vs. Management The question of what is more important: having a good leader or having a good manager, has been a continuous debate in the business world due to the differences in character and reasoning of the two individuals. This essay aims at comparing the differences and similarities of the two to gauge the most important and critical component in business management. The question of what leadership is remains critical in assessing the characteristics of a good leader. According to Shackleton (1996), leadership entails three vital components: group interactions, influence and goal achievement. Any good leader should possess the capability to influence the behavior of other people around him to act and perform actions that he wishes them to. Further, he should have the capability to assess and examine the context of a group to determine their effectiveness and importance and lastly a group goal has to be the main influence and drive behind his actions. Therefore, according to Shackelton (1996), leadership can be defined as the process of influencing group members towards the achievement of a common goal. It is also important to note that the followers influence the leadership decisions made in a group. A good leader is therefore one who is capable of inspiring, influencing and guiding others to participate in the common goals of an organization (as cited in Morell & Capparell, 2001). On the other hand, Theodore Levitt, an American economist and professor at Howard Business School, states that management comprises the ability to rationally assess a situation and analyze the systematic goals and purposes. Analysis and assessment of the available resources in a business, the design direction, organization, and control of the activities and tasks needed in order to achieve the goals while rewarding the people performing the activities considerably (Zalezink, 1975). This means that it is up to the managers in organizations to decide the direction the organization is headed to while identifying the risks and problems that they might face while trying to achieve the goals and the requirements in dealing with in them to ensure the wellbeing of the organizations employee while striving to achieve the set goals. Managers can be referred to as "task makers" in a business, according to Kotterman (2006), since orders are passed down and acted upon in a hierarchical manner (as cited in Bohoris & Vorria, 2008). For example, in a large organization the top-level management (CEO) might pass an order to a specific department in the organization with an aim of increasing the company’s sales. Thus, his orders are received by the top manager in the department, who forwards it the low-level managers and ultimately the orders are carried out by the front line management who delegate them based on efficiency and effectiveness of the employees under him. It is, therefore, identified that managers in an organization reduce chaos even in the most complex organizational structure by following a hierarchy thus achieving the goals set effectively. The following is the comparison between management and leadership where the key distinctions and similarities between the two are identified and compared to gauge the importance of each. Management is perceived to be more formal and scientifically efficient compared to leadership since it relies on the universal skills, which can be acquired through learning and studying them such as planning, controlling budgeting etc. Since these skills are universal, they can be applied and implemented in various situations making management an explicit set of organizational tools and techniques that is highly based on reasoning and planning. Leadership on the other hand involves the capability of an individual to have a vision of what a business can achieve. He should mobilizes the employees and other people to work in order to achieve his vision. Leadership qualities are considered natural and hence mostly cannot be attained through learning. Leadership hence requires specific qualities, teamwork, and cooperation from a large network of people who are constantly motivated and influenced by the leader through persuasion in order to achieve the goals and visions of a business. Many researchers argue that a good manager should be a leader while it is not necessarily vital for a good leader to be a good manager since management is perceived as a more comprehensible and acceptable quality in contrast to leadership. Due to this, leadership is perceived as a facet of management leading to its inclusion in the management qualities of a good manager. The role of a manager in any business is to maximize the output of the business through administrative implementation thus; leadership is a quality that they should possess although a manager cannot be entirely a leader. According to Mullins (2007), a manager should be effective in the management of a business resources in order to achieve utmost effectiveness and efficiency while ensuring resources are used sparingly. In contrast, a leader should be in the organization to design and manage the management policy of the business, operation, control and manage the products and services being offered by the business. Mullins (2007) explains that the relationship between leadership and management are but two sides of the same coin and should accompany each other in order to achieve the goals and visions of a business with the utmost efficiency since possessing both qualities ensures that the resources in an organization are used sparingly while still maintaining the employees trust through persuasion. The similarities and differences between the two can also be achieved by analyzing their roles in an organization and the qualities each requires to possess in order to achieve maximum efficiency and results. Managers’ Role Based on the interpersonal requirements for fulfilling the role of a manager, a good manager should display the capabilities of being a figurehead, a leader, and a liaison. He needs to be perceived as an authority figure when performing both legal and social routine duties, be responsible of for the motivation, direction, and appreciation of his subordinates, and still maintain a network of reliable contact outside the organization to provide effective and reliable information and the supply of required resources. A good manager should be able to perform the informational role in an organization whereby he should be able to monitor the performance, requirements, and best decisions to make in the organization this is achieved by receiving information and acting on it as required. He should also be a disseminator in that he should be able to effectively transmit information received from the outside to the internal organization structure to aid in the achievement of the organization’s goals. He should display the qualities of a good spokesperson in order to effectively transmit information in and out of the organization that will aid the company in achieving its goals through proper planning, actions, and policies. Management should also incorporate the decision-making function of the organization, thus the manager should be able to handle the functions of an entrepreneur, disturbance handler, negotiator, and a resource allocator efficiently. Therefore, a good manager should be able to analyze the business and its environment for viable opportunities and hence initiate projects that will increase the sales and growth of the organization while still managing to handle negotiations regarding the business when needed. He should also be in a position to handle unexpected risk and challenges that might face the company and hence allocate resources accordingly so that they are not misused. Leaders’ Role On the other hand, the roles of a leader are mostly defined by the leadership and management skills that an individual possess thus to be good leader one must possess the following skills: Self-confidence This ensures that a leader can handle tough situations since he or she is self-assured and hence instills self-confidence in his team members by showing that he believes something is possible and hence the team works together to realize the goal. This is among the first leadership skill that researcher have identified in relation to being a good leader. Hence, a good leader must possess self-confidence while a manager is not necessarily required to. Humility A good leader is humble and applies humility in his leadership approach by listening to suggestions from his team members in situations where they are required and in areas that the leader knows he is weak in. This is attributed to good leadership since managers commonly assume that they are learned and hence do not require suggestions from low-level employees. Presentation Skills This entails the relationship between a leader and his followers/team members whereby a good leader should assess the influence each party has over the other, that is, how the followers influence the leadership style of the leaders and how the leaders’ decisions influence the followers. This is different from management in that in management, the influence is issued in a hierarchical order hence suggestions by low-level management have little or no influence compared to top-level managers. Both managers and leaders pose some similar roles and qualities that influence the way they handle certain problems and challenges such as: Stress Management Both should be able to handle stress in the organization and develop ways of reducing or getting over stress. It is not automatically achieved by being educated but has to be learned over time so as to reduce panic in case of a tough challenge and continue managing/leading the organization towards achieving its goals. This gives manager and leaders the capability to handle risks and challenges with a straight mind thus realizing the best possible way out. Time Management Time is considered as an non-renewable resource: Once wasted, it cannot be recovered, hence each manager and leader should possess the skills to handle time efficiently to ensure that tasks and activities are completed according to schedule hence the realization of the organizations goals in the required time frame. Time management skills can be learned hence managers and leaders should find a way to understand the importance of activities, prioritize their implementation thus achieving organized work performance, and delay handling. Conflict Management In each case, the leader, and manger should be in a position to handle conflicts within the organization with minimal cost to the organization in terms of time, money, and resources. Hence they should possess the capability of settling disputes in the organization by mentoring, counseling, training and/or other psychotherapy ways. From the above arguments, management and leadership can be clearly differentiated based on the qualities and roles and their importance to an organization are realized to be equal. From the arguments is clear that a manager can perform certain tasks that a leader cannot and vice versa hence in an organization both are required in order to achieve efficiency in leadership and management hence having a leader manager or a manager leader in and organization is an added advantage (Manikutty, 2005). A manager leader will pose to be more effective in the management of a business resources in order to achieve utmost effectiveness and efficiency while ensuring resources are used sparingly while still maintaining a balance between the needs and requirements of his team members. According to Mullins (2007) the relationship between leadership and management are but two sides of the same coin and should accompany each other in order to achieve the goals and visions of a business with the utmost efficiency since possessing both qualities ensures that the resources in an organization are used sparingly while still maintaining the employees trust through persuasion. In conclusion, in the current society, both good manager and good leaders are very vital to an organization. Since they perform different tasks and their approached are different hence the followers and team members of an organization are more likely to be productive since the manager/leader will analyze the best approach to take and get influence from the team members. References Bohoris, G. A., & Vorria, E. P. (2008). Leadership vs. management: Business excellence / performance management view. Lund: Lund University. Manikutty, S. (2005, May). Success and succession in family firms: An investigation into changes in managerial practices with generations. Family Enterprise Research Conference, Oregon. Morrell, M., & Capparell, S. (2001). Shackletons way: Leadership lessons from the great Antarctic explorer. Penguin. Mullins, L. J. (2007). Management and organisational behaviour. Pearson Education. Read More