Management_and_Leadership

Management and Leadership Management and leadership are often thought of as interchangeable words in regards to business. The fact is that each of these has a different meaning. According to businessdictionary.com a manager is “an individual who is in charge of a certain group of tasks, or a certain subset of a company” and a leader is a “person or thing that holds a dominate or superior position within its field, and is able to exercise a high degree of control or influence of others.” This paper will discuss the difference between management and leadership, the roles and responsibilities of leaders, and the managers in creating and maintaining a healthy culture. This paper will also explain how the four functions of management support creating and maintaining a healthy organizational culture. Management vs. Leadership As stated in the introduction, a manager “is in charge of a certain group of tasks, or a certain subset of a company” (businessdictionary.com, 2010). Managers are responsible for getting certain tasks completed. This could include managing people to get the task done. A leaders is a “person or thing that holds a dominate or superior position within its field, and is able to exercise a high degree of control or influence of others” (businessdictionary.com, 2010). An effective leader knows how to motivate people to get them to give maximum output while keeping up morale. There are those that are born with leadership skills and those that learn leadership skills. One of the main differences between a manager and a leader is that one does not have to have leadership skills to manage and a leader may not be in a management position. Management deals with procedures while leadership deals with behaviors (businessballs.com, 2009). There are some people that have leadership skills but do not manage people. This could be an employee that can motivate the employees but does not want the responsibility of a management position. Leaders in a healthy organization A healthy organization needs to have several key points. These could include a clearly stated mission statement, a shared feeling for growth and a strong ethically commitment. Leaders in an organization are not necessarily the managers. They are at every level of the organization. To be an effective leader in a healthy organization, there should be several skills that the leader should possess. A leader has the ability to motivate employees. This skill helps the organization to have growth in both business and in the employees’ careers. Leaders deals with the less tangible things, such as trust and decision-making (businessballs.com, 2009). People are often drawn to a person with leadership skills. Some of the qualities that a leader will possess are integrity, honesty, sincerity and confidence. People will want to be like that person and emulate their behavior (businessballs.com, 2009). In today’s world, ethical behavior is imperative for leaders. The world is more connected with new technical devices so the actions of leaders are more visible. This means that leaders need to watch what actions and communications are being seen and heard. The public and media outlets are more critical of the actions of leaders today than ever before. Management in a healthy organization Management on a healthy organization should start with good people. The management team should include leaders but often managers are not natural leaders. These people need to have a structure to follow. As stated above, management deals with procedures. This means as long as the manager can get the employees to follow procedure and produce quality work, he or she does not necessarily have to possess leadership qualities. The manager of a department may have an employee that has the leadership skills and will let that person motivate his or her co-workers. The manager then only has to oversee the work and make sure it is being done. Four functions of management The four functions of management are planning, organizing, directing and control. These four functions support a healthy organization by laying a strong foundation. The foundation of an organization is important for all employees because it gives them a roadmap to guide them. This roadmap starts with the mission statement of the organization. It then encompasses the planning stage of the organization or project. The next step is to gather and organize information into the a strategy to complete the tasks that are set in the planning stage. After that, the management is set to direct the employees in the direction that the organization would like to go to fulfill the plans and strategies set. The final function is control. This function encompasses the implementation of standards the organization has and to monitor the employees to make sure they are performing up to the standards. These four functions show how the organization lays the foundation and then maintains the direction that is laid out. Two strategies for a healthy organization The first strategy for a healthy organization would begin with looking at an existing mission statement. The management, at one time, formed this statement as the direction that they wanted the company to go. Taking this mission statement, the organization should start at the beginning of the four functions of management. They would need to begin with the planning stage and decide where they want the organization to go. This step will make the management team decide if they want to keep the current mission statement or change it. If they decide to keep the current mission statement, they will need to make a plan. This plan will then lead them to the organize, direct and control functions. If the organization follows the four functions of management, they will get back on track to a healthy organization. Another strategy for a healthy organization would be to try different methods of management or leadership styles. Every group of people will be made up with different personalities, work ethics and motivators. The management team should also be aware of hidden leaders. Those are the employees that have the natural leadership abilities but are not in management roles. These individuals can help the management team by forming a leadership team. This team can give the managers an inside look at the departments and employees. If the management team finds that their organization is not growing and moving forward, they should look to try a new method. The leadership team can work with the management team to help identify and create new methods of motivating the employees. These methods could include a reward program, a more structured work day, or even flex time. The management and leadership teams should know the employees and find out what works best for the majority of the people. They should then create the work environment that would best suit the employees. Conclusion As we have seen, management and leadership are two different skill sets. Many times managers are leaders. There are times when that is not true. In this paper we have discussed the difference between management and leadership, the roles and responsibilities of leaders and the managers in creating and maintaining a healthy culture. These topics have shown us that both managers and leaders are needed to create and maintain a healthy organization. The four functions of management are also key to providing a foundation for an organization to create a healthy environment as well as maintain it. We have also seen two strategies that can create and maintain the health of an organization. These strategies focus on both the four functions of management as well as looking to the employees for leadership qualities to create a leadership team. References businessballs.com. (2009). Leadership. Retrieved from http://www.businessballs.com/leadership.htm. businessdictionary.com (2010). Business Dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.businessdictionary.com/404.php.