Business Management Skills: Leadership vs. Management - Coursework Example

Business Management Skills - Leadership vs. Management ID] [Lecturer] In the world of present times, the role of principle position holders with management is of utmost significance. There are many distinctions between leadership and management and this paper establishes a clear cut difference between the two. Business leadership and business management look at the pertinent aspects that come under the organizational domains. Both look to stabilize the manner in which an organization carries out its activities, processes and undertakings on a consistent basis. Same is the case with leaders, managers, employees, workers, third party members and so on. The role of a manager is a difficult one. This person has to take with him the whole company and mesh the different processes so that he could get instant results. He is a team leader right from the onset of his job. He needs to get work done from the different people who are working under him. The end result has to be a single goal, one that drives their efforts towards the financial success of the said organization. In doing so, the manager encounters a lot of hindrances, difficulties and hurdles. (Heath, 1994) He has to face a lot of pressure from the top most management, the people who are senior to him even. He has to be accountable to the publics of the organization, which could include the customers and the stakeholders as well since the latter are the people who have invested within the company’s shares and they want a quick buck out of the whole investment drive. On the other hand, business leadership is all about influencing other people in the organization to accomplish a task. It involves directing an organization in that it becomes more coherent and cohesive. Business leadership style can therefore be defined as approach for providing direction. It includes motivation. There are various business leadership styles that exist in business management. They include authoritarian or autocratic, participative or democratic, delegation or free reign business leadership. (Guarrero, 1998) The basic difference between a business leader and a business manager is within their working domains. They are basically doing the same job of managing people but in slightly different capacities. Whereas the business leader looks at forming instructions of his own which he will forward to the middle management, the middle line business managers basically aim to ‘manage’ people in the real sense of the word. This means that business managers have a duty of understanding the deep rooted values of the organization and the same cannot be compromised no matter what happens. These need to be aligned in a proper fashion with the activities and tasks of the team that the business manager is heading. It would be fair to comment that the business managers have a lot going for them and it is their will and determination to bring out the best from the whole team and indeed the entire process that they are working upon. Business managers have a responsibility to play within an organization, no matter how large or small it is. Business leader has to lead and that too by example. He has to show no compromise in his actions, saying and principles whereas the manager could be a bit lenient from time to time in his policies and undertakings. So the basic difference between a business leader and a business manager arises here on all counts. On some occasions, a business manager has to take up the business leadership role as well. This could include his team building tactics, getting the work done out from individuals who might have pretty different backgrounds and diverse educational capabilities, smoothening of the whole process of business management within several units spread across the company’s horizon, motivating the employees and being accountable for their tasks and activities, living up to the values of the organization. (Ibrahim, 1996) But a business leader would stick to his already formed principles and would not stray from the set course of action. He would have to demonstrate his oneness in decisions and actions that he undertakes and there would be no compromise on this aspect all said and done. A business leader must remain proactive in all his decisions while a business manager can articulate and change his decisions from time to time in order to suit the need of the workers and the employees working under him for a set task or objective. The role of a business manager is one that evolves over a period of time and the pivotal thing here is to fathom that this is something which requires a balanced head on the shoulders and more than anything else a clear vision, deep insight into the relevant knowledge circles and expertise to back them all up. The business manager focuses on the strong points that the employees have learned from their past colleagues and best case examples are also something that they can touch upon in the long run. On the flip side of the coin, leading is quite interpersonal in nature. It is not just the business manager in an organization that is supposed to lead. It can even exist between employees. It has to do with mutual influence. All these are normally based on different theories and assumptions. Any style that is incorporated in business management can be based on combination of preferences, values and beliefs. Organizational culture also plays a big role in influencing the leadership style used by management. Business leadership style used by management plays a big role in affecting the success of the organization. A business leader has to clearly understand the different types of business leadership styles and their impacts on the organization. Good business leadership always includes incorporation of all the leadership styles. Bad business leadership just sticks to one style. The business managers must make decisions which are best for the organizations, both from the short term perspective as well as from the long run since this indeed provides a measure of the eventual growth basis of the organization itself. For this to happen, it is indeed significant to realize the importance of having a proper and sound organizational behavior pattern in place and the employees should adhere to the policy that has been implemented in the regimes of the organization. Organizational behavior can only sustain if there are concerted efforts by all concerned within its lengths and breadths and for this to happen more than anything else, there must be a will and dedication from within. Organizations win and lose due to different strategies and policies that they adopt. This means that the long term as well as the short term basis owes strongly on the part of the business leaders that are leading the team within an organization. However there are certain instances where problems do arise and hiccups are created due to mismanagement or lack of business leadership qualities. (Hall, 2002) One of the biggest problems that the organizations of present times face is the fact that they try to be over complex in nature and try their hands at doing many tasks all at the same time. What this does is to make sure that there is a lot of trouble with regards to various processes and activities working within the realms of the different strategies and tactics employed by the organization in the first place. These problems stem from the fact that there is a complete misunderstanding on the part of the company heads to devise proper and adequate mission and vision statements and the lack thereof suggests a thing or two concerning the enormous predicaments that have thus come up with the passage of time and a major loss of resources on the part of this organization that we are talking about here, in the general sense. The comparisons and contrasts of business leadership and business management provide benefits as well as drawbacks to the realms of any organization and it is for the betterment of the organization itself if it comprehends how the two processes mesh along with each other and work hand in hand to produce results, both from the short term perspective as well as in the long term. (Rahim, 2001) In the end, it would be wise to suggest that the differences between business leaders and business managers is a marked one and it is because of these very differences that the business leaders have more say in the affairs of the task at hand than the business managers. Business managers are more into ‘managing’ people, the resources and the link between these people and those resources which are available at their disposal. Business leaders have more of a visionary role whilst the business managers look at the basics of those very steps which accumulate to become a goal or objective at the very end. (Gannon, 1987) All said and done, business leadership and business management are connected with each other in more ways than one. The need of the hour on the part of any organization is to understand how the two link with each other. References GANNON, Martin J. (1987). Organizational Effectiveness in Entrepreneurial and Professionally Managed Firms. Journal of Small Business Management, Vol. 25 GUARRERO, Chris A. (1998). The Leadership Challenge. Security Management, Vol. 42 HALL, Mary-Jo. (2002). Aligning the Organization to Increase Performance Results. The Public Manager, Vol. 31 HEATH, Robert L. (1994). Management of Corporate Communication: From Interpersonal Contacts to External Affairs. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates IBRAHIM, Hilmi. (1996). Leader or Manager? JOPERD--The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, Vol. 67 RAHIM, M. Afzalur. (2001). Managing Conflict in Organizations. Quorum Books Word Count: 1,520 Read More