Leadership and Management Theories - Term Paper Example

The paper 'Leadership and Management Theories' is a great example of a Management Term Paper. As much as there has been significant progress in the development of management theories over the past few decades, the discipline has had more theories coming up most of which have offered less direction in practice but instead, brought about more confusion. Though earlier classical theorists such as Fayol, Weber, and Taylor developed various works that proved to be significant contributions to the practice of management and leadership, some of which are currently applicable, various questions have arisen concerning the universal validity of their theories (Adetule 2011, p. 7). Such theories tend to be best suited for their countries of origin, such as the United States of America (USA) and the United Kingdom (UK), among others. In this regard, the contribution of Geert Hofstede to the applicability of leadership and management philosophies and principles has added sanity to the knowledge base by addressing the various differences that exist between regions and giving relevance to cultural differences as a major contributor to management practice across the globe.

According to the definition projected by Hofstede, culture is a way of thinking, pattern, reaction, and feeling, acquired and passed on through symbols, leading to the development of human groups, their artifacts and embodiments (Adetule 2011, p. 23). With the increase in globalization, different organizations expand into multinationals and are forced to expand across their regional boundaries into other regions. In most cases, such boundaries are not only geographical but also cultural, such that as such multinationals move into new geographical regions, they are faced with the challenge of new cultures. With such cultural challenges, it is increasingly evident that management theories that currently exist have various limitations. However, one cannot overlook the benefits of the theories of leadership and management in facilitating good management practices across regional and cultural boundaries once the cultural differences have been identified and addressed appropriately through strategic planning. There are four major categories of management and leadership theories, including the Classical Management theories, the Human Relations theories, the Systems Theories, and the Contingency theories, which define the fabric of managerial practice (Adetule 2011, p. 8).