Leadership and Management in Nursing - Term Paper Example

? Leadership and Management in Nursing Introduction Leadership and management have a lot of similarities in many ways butare essentially different both in scope and function and are all necessary in an organization. This paper will have a deep insight into management and leadership with regard to the similarities and differences of the two terms which are often confused and sometimes used interchangeably by individuals. The paper will first look into the definition of the two terms and what they entail and then explore into the similarities and differences of leadership and management. The paper will then discuss the importance and essence of both leadership and management in organizations and their role in streamlining organizational culture and performance of organizations. Leadership Leadership can be defined as a process whereby one or more persons influence a group of followers to accomplish a specific goal the way he/she wants it to be done. A leader directs his/her efforts towards the followers who are to try and achieve the common goals together. Leadership might include one or a group of leaders who affect the steps that the followers will follow (Northouse, 2013). Leadership involves taking ethical responsibilities to ensure that there is a good communication linkage and to satisfy the needs of the followers for easy achievement of their goals. A leader should induce others, must be the center of the group and have power to effect change in the followers. Leadership is also viewed in terms of the power that the leaders have towards their followers and it is this power that the leaders utilize to effect change in their followers (Giuliani & Kurson, 2002). In this context, power can be said to be the capability or the potential to influence others in regard to their belief, attitude, culture and even course of action (Northouse, 2013). This is the very essence of transformational leadership which involves leaders affecting change that may not be very popular in the organization but it is of great benefit to the organization. It is through such power that leaders can influence the thoughts and even the course of action of their followers which is very important in imparting an organizational culture (Adler, 2008). There are different bases from which leaders derive their power which are referent, expert, legitimate, reward and coercive, all which increase the leaders potential to influence the attitudes, values, beliefs and behavior of others. Referent power is power that is got from the followers liking and identification of the leader while expert power is power that is derived from the knowledge and the competence that a leader has in a certain sector. Legitimate power is the power that is derived from having status or formal job authority in an organization while reward power is that which is derived from the capacity of rewarding others who in turn recognize the person as a leader. On the other hand, Coercive power is the power that is derived from the ability to penalize or punish others in an organizational set up. (Northouse, 2013). In an organization, there are two main bases of power which are position and personal power. Position power is derived from position or rank while personal power is the power that an individual gains from recognition and liking by others. Management On the other hand, Management is the act of organizing and coordinating all the activities to achieve the desired goal and it involves planning, organizing and controlling the organization (Northouse, 2013). A manager has the power and responsibility to make a decision and also the responsibility of organizing the staffs to nurture skills develop their skills as well as to maximize efficiency in performing their duties. Management focuses on defining the purpose, seeks order and stability on the objectives in an organizational set up. Management can also be said to be a unidirectional process geared towards coordination of managers and subordinates to join efforts towards achievement of their objectives (Northouse, 2013). Managers exercise their powers through leadership and good and effective mangers are essentially leaders Managers ensure that their organizations or departments operate efficiently and effectively and are accountable for the attainment of the required goals (Sadler, 2013). This means that it is the management that is responsible and held into account in the achievement of the organizations goals. Management is also expected to get the best out of the personnel and also affect proper plans to the effective utilization of available resources. It is the duty of the manager to set the pace and ensure that every person knows what is expected of them. The management also has the duty to initiate and manage change that is meant to improve performance in the organization to ensure that it is able to adapt and respond quickly to changing demand and circumstances (Armstrong & Stephens, 2005). Similarities between leadership and management Leadership and management have been used to mean one and the same thing due to their similarities in many ways. Leadership is a process that involves working with a group of people which is the same case in Management and secondly, both leadership and management work towards achieving a specific goal that exists within the groups (Northouse, 2013). Both management and leadership are effected through exercise of power to influence belief, culture and behavior of individuals in groups or organizations. There are a lot of things that management and leadership share in common and most of the activities of management are in agreement with the definition of leadership (Adler, 2008). It actually goes without saying that good managers are leaders and motivate their followers in attainment of the goals of the organization. Difference between leadership and management On the other hand, leadership and management are not one and the same though they are somehow linked and they complement each other. Leadership is a process of inspiring and motivating the followers to work and achieve the set goals while management involves planning, organizing and coordinating the followers. A leader has the duty to innovate and develop ideas while a manager administers and maintains the existing ideas (Bertocci, 2009). Leadership focuses on the group of followers so as to inspire trust in them whereas management focuses on the available systems and structure so as to take control of the organization. Leadership is a multidirectional and it is influenced with the existing relationship between the leader and the followers while management is unidirectional and its only based on the authority of the manager without concerns of the subordinates (Northouse, 2013). Leaders are original and they do things in their own way to change the way people think about what they are doing whereas managers try to imitate others and work with others to solve the problems though they do it with low emotional involvement (Northouse, 2013). Leadership is the process of keeping people moving in the right direction despite having available barriers to change and achievement of the goals while management involves deciding on what should be done to create a good network and relationship that will accomplish the desired goals (Kotter, 1990). Leadership is an influence relationship that does not require coercion but follows a regular form of behavior to influence the followers while on the other side management is an authoritative relationship that allows use of coercion as a regular and patterned form of behavior between the subordinates and the manager (Kotter, 1990). Leadership is also relationship involves two groups of people, the leader and the followers while managerial involves subordinates and managers where subordinates can be leaders as managers can (Kotter, 1990). Conclusion Leadership and management are every so often confused and used interchangeably because of the similarities that exist between them. Despite the fact that both management and leadership are similar and consistent, they are fundamentally different both in scope and function. Though this two key processes are different, they are consistent and complementary and are in fact both necessary in an organization if the organization is to prosper. It is of no essence for an organization to have strong management with no leadership or strong leadership without management. References Adler, N. J. (2008). International dimensions of organizational behavior. Mason, OH: Thomson Learning. Armstrong, M., & Stephens, T. (2005). A handbook of management and leadership: A guide to managing for results. London: Kogan Page Publishers. Bertocci, D. I. (2009). Leadership in organizations: There is a difference between leaders and managers. New York, NY: University Press of America. Giuliani, R. W., & Kurson, K.( 2002). Leadership. New York, NY: Hyperion. Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership interactive ebook: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Kotter, P. J. (1990). Force for change: How leadership differs from management. New York, NY: Free Press. Sadler, O. (2003). Leadership. New York, NY: Kogan Page Publishers. Appendix Outline Thesis: Leadership and management have a lot of similarities in many ways but are essentially different both in scope and function and are all necessary in an organization I. Leadership II. Management III. Similarities between management and leadership IV. Differences between management and Leadership V. Essence of Management and Leadership in an organization I. Leadership Leadership is a process where individuals influence a group of followers A leader must induce others, must be the centre of a group and must have powers to effect change II. Management Management is the act of organizing and controlling all the activities to achieve goals in an organization Managers ensure that their organizations or departments operate efficiently and effectively and are accountable for the attainment of the required goals III. Similarities between Management and Leadership . Leadership is a process that involves working with a group of people which is the same case in Management Both management and leadership require power Both leadership and management work towards achieving a specific goal that exists within the groups IV. Differences between management and Leadership Leadership is a process of inspiring and motivating the followers to work and achieve the set goals while management involves planning, organizing and coordinating the followers Leadership is multidirectional whereas Management is unidirectional Leaders are natural whereas managers try to imitate others to get things done. V. Essence of Management and Leadership in an organisation Management and leadership are often used interchangeably though they are different An organisation requires a blend of management and leadership to succeed Read More