Question

Roger works for a business software firm and is passionate about his work. He is committed to delivering high-quality software solutions on schedule. He maintains a precise and accurate project schedule with meticulously detailed documentation of product design specifications and processes. Roger’s subordinates never have to guess about expectations. When the rigorous quality assurance process uncovers a problem, Roger can proceed largely unfazed. He knows the capabilities of the developers on his team so well that he knows exactly who to assign to fix the issue. He is quick to offer encouragement and guidance when needed. Roger’s team is productive and happy.

Linda works at the same company as Roger. She closely monitors industry trends. She is watching the rapid rise of mobile computing and sees competitors introducing new mobile applications with rapid speed. The company has yet to attempt to design software for a mobile platform, but she knows that the company can be competitive in the industry if it makes changes quickly. She is working hard to gain support from members of the executive board and is planning a kickoff meeting for the employees to announce the company’s entry into the new market. She wants to make certain the employees see the change as a great opportunity and know that training will be available. She already has the company’s first mobile project and an ideal timetable in mind. She is anxious to hit the ground running.

What are the roles of the individuals in the above scenarios? Are they managers, leaders, or both? What distinguishes management from leadership and managers from leaders? The nature of the relationship between leadership and management remains a topic of debate among scholars. The debate provides insight into the definition of leadership and offers a suitable avenue for beginning an in-depth exploration of the topic of leadership.

Answer 1

Introduction

Leadership and management are two primary ways that are utilized to organize people, and for this reason, they are widely applicable in business relationships. Today, it is impossible to imagine a successful business organization that exists without both effective leaders and effective managers (Yukl, 2010). In fact, leadership and management have quite much in common according to organizational researchers. In fact, a combination of leadership and management are considered some of the critical elements for successful business operations. At the same time, leadership and management depict considerable differences. The primary aim of this paper is to discuss leadership and management and how they are different but still similar.

Definitions of Leadership and Management

Leadership and management have different definitions that have been put forward by different scholars. To begin with is the definition of leadership. According to Kotter (2011), leadership refers to a process of influencing a group within an organization towards achieving some defined organizational goals and objectives. In other words, leadership is the process of influencing others to understand and agree on what needs to be done and how it must be done. Leadership seeks to facilitate individual and collective efforts towards accomplishment of shared objectives (Northouse, 2016). Fundamentally, it is about a leader motivating his or her followers and designing organizational contexts with the goal of improving performance.

In contrast is the definition of management. According to Mullins (2010), management is concerned with getting work done through the efforts of other people. A manager is a person who performs management functions using the available resources efficiently and effectively with the primary goal of accomplishing desired goals and objectives. In other words, therefore, management is the process of getting people together towards an accomplishment of desired goals and objective using available resources efficiently and effectively.

Scenario Analysis

The scenario presented depicts aspects of leadership and management distinctively. Roger and Linda work in the same company, but their approach to work suggest that Roger is a manager while Linda is a leader. To begin with is a focus on Roger who is basically more of a leader than a manager. The scenario shows that Roger is leading a happy and productive team. He is successful in creating a morale system that inspires, motivates, and guides his team to be productive, effective, and constructive. Besides, Roger seems to foster useful means for wellness, healthiness, and a holistic approach focused on good caliber and good results for his team. Overall, Roger is less concerned with tasks but more concerned and interested in the relationships within his team. These aspects show that Roger is influencing rather than managing his team. He demonstrates that motivation is core to his leadership skills and strengths.

In contrast is a focus on Linda who is basically more of a manager than a leader. The scenario shows that Linda is more concerned with her deadlines, vision, goals. She is self-centered about her abilities to get the job done. Besides, she is concerned about how compliance and personal advantage or self-interest take priority over her team. She is said to have a vision of introducing a new mobile platform to keep pace with competitors that are already ahead. There is a clear indication that Linda will be task driven to control the outcome of her speed in the production process. Further, Linda is seen to have little influence over her team as she tends to focus more on tasks rather than the relationship of her team. Therefore, Linda is a manager rather than a leader.

From the scenario presented, Roger has been depicted as a leader while Linda has been depicted as a manager. Just as Roger has been differentiated from Linda as being a leader rather than a manager, and vice versa, leaders can be distinguished from managers in various respects. Basically, leaders are innovators while managers are administrators, leaders develop while managers maintain, leaders focus on people while managers focus on systems and structures, and leaders inspire trust while managers control (Mullins, 2010). Other sets of differences are that leaders challenge the status quo while managers maintain it, leaders originate while managers imitate, and leaders do the right things while managers do things right (Mullins, 2010).

Similarities and Differences between Leadership and Management

Leadership and management go hand in hand, and are used interchangeably. Even though they are not the same, they tend to complement each other, and for this reason, they share an array of similarities. Basically, leadership and management are similar in that they both involve directing the activities of others (Mullins, 2010). Leaders do so by engaging others through inspiring shared vision and effectiveness while managers do so by focusing on the organization and performance of tasks as well as fostering efficiency. Besides, leadership and management can be said to be similar in that each complements the other. Ideally, the ability to manage a group of people or organization properly is equivalent to being an effective leader (Yukl, 2010). The rationale for this is that management entails being able to direct the efforts of a particular group of individuals just like leadership.

In contrast, leadership and management can be distinguished on three points of differences. These include attitude towards goals, relationships with others, and self-perception and development. To begin with is attitude towards goals. Leaders adopt personal and active attitudes. Without these qualities, leaders cannot succeed in their leadership roles that are more concerned with innovating, developing, inspiring, and motivating (Northouse, 2016). In contrast, managers adopt impersonal and passive attitudes. These are ideal for their managerial roles that are more concerned with planning, organizing, and coordinating.

Secondly is relationship with others. The main difference here is that while leaders have people following them, managers have people working for them. Leaders, thus, are empathetic with others while managers tend to depict low emotional involvement (Northouse, 2016). Finally is self-perception and development. While leaders tend to search out for opportunities for change, managers are conservative and regulative of affairs from which they gain reward (Northouse, 2016). In other words, leaders develop and challenge status quo while managers maintain and preserve status quo.

Conclusion

The paper discussed leadership and management, and how they compare and contrast. It noted that leadership and management are interchangeable because their characteristics are interdependent. Nevertheless, they are two distinctive aspects. From the discussion, leadership and management can be differentiated on the basis of attitude towards goals, relationships with others, and self-perception and development. Therefore, leadership and management can be said to be complementary and linked but still different aspects.

References

Kotter, J. P. (2001). What leaders really do. Harvard Business Review, 79(11), 85–96.

Mullins, L. J. (2010). Management and organizational behavior (9th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Higher Education.

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishers.

Yukl, G. (2010). Leadership in organizations (7th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Higher Education.

Hope everything is covered in this.

****Please please please LIKE THIS ANSWER, so that I can get a small benefit, Please****