Pros and Cons of Leadership Theories Essay

Some theorists use the terms ‘leadership’ and ‘management’ reciprocally as if they are tantamount with one another, while others use them in a very purposeful sense to express that they are, in effect, rather different (Bush, 2003). Organisational successfulness, it is generally accepted, is dependant on both competent leadership and consistent management (Dimmock and Walker, 2005) According to Grace (1995) they do not follow from one or the other, but

Leadership and management are two terms which are different and should not be confused with one another. The difference in these terms is based upon their motivation, personal history, how they think and act, their orientation toward goals, work, human relationships and themselves, and their views of the world (Grossman & Valiga, 2009, p.5). In leadership, their vision and goals come from a personal interest and passion in which may not be within the goals of the organization. In management, their vision and is from within the organization and not from their personal interest or

Prosperous businesses should ensure dedicated frontrunners and supervisors that cultivate, reinforce, and reassure member of staff endurance within a business. At hand is a substantial differentiation concerning guidance and supervision. Generally leadership can be perceived as a perception of communication and business’s visualization, whereas, management can be viewed as achievement of the business’s visualization. It is to my belief that when speaking of leadership and management, the two stands strongly connected, yet equally signify and sustain different assignment and obligations.

Within this assignment I will describe my understanding of the links between management and leadership, the skills and styles of management and leadership, the application of management and leadership theories in an organisational context and planning for the development of management and leadership skills.

Much has been written about the difference between management and leadership. In the past, competent management staffs ran effective companies. In light of our ever-changing world, however, most companies have come to realize that it is much more important to lead than to manage. In today's world the old ways of management no longer work. One reason is that the degree of environmental and competitive change we are experiencing is extreme. Although exciting, the world is also very unstable and confused. In an article entitled What’s the Difference between Your Hospital and the Other? Gary Campbell states that the difference between a manager and a leader is that the manager “finds himself quite willing to

Leadership and management are alike and different in many ways. There are many different debated by scholars regarding the differences of leadership and management (Marquis & Huston, 2009). Part of the confusion stems from the word “leadership”. Marquis and Huston state that, “the word leadership was not known in the English language until the first half of the 19th century” (Marquis & Huston, 2009, p. 32). Theorists and leadership researchers disagree on what the word leadership is (Marquis & Huston, 2009). Therefore, it is wise to state what roles are integral in leadership (Marquis & Huston, 2009). Marquis lists leadership roles as decision maker, communicator, evaluator, facilitator, risk taker, mentor, energizer, coach, counselor, teacher, critical thinker, buffer, advocate, visionary, forecaster, influencer, creative problem solver, change agent, diplomat and role model (Marquis & Huston, 2009). “Leaders are in the front, moving forward, taking risks, and challenging the status quo” (Marquis & Huston, 2009, p. 33). According to Marquis & Huston (2009), the functions of management include planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling” (GCU, 2009). Grand Canyons lecture notes go on to state that, “within each of these functions,

Leadership will be defined as “a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task” (Chemers, 1997) and management will be defined as the process of “working with and through other people to accomplish the objectives of both the organization and its members” (Montana and Charnox, 2008)

Task Oriented Leader: Leaders that focus more on the task at hand than anything else. These leaders believe that if they want the task to get done right, they need to do it themselves. They have to be in charge and will seek out ways to get the task done quickly. When they assign their employees a task to do to, they have to supervise every step of the way.

Fiedler’ model is considered the first highly visible theory to present the contingency approach. It stated that effective groups depend on a proper match between a leader’s style of interacting with subordinates and the degree to which the situation gives control and influence to the leader (Fiedler, 1967). Fiedler argued that the leadership style could be indentified by

Total quality management (TQM) is a management philosophy developed by Deming based on his experiences in US industry before and during the Second World War. The successive implementation of TQM by Japanese industry, but not by the USA, is widely credited for the former’s marvelous post‐war economic modernization and the current massive trade inequity between the two countries. Deming (1986) published a book entitled “Out of the Crisis”, in which he summarized his ideas and encouraged US industry to implement them as the Japanese had done so successfully. The TQM philosophy has also been promoted by a number of prominent writers, principally Crosby (1979, 1984), Ishikawa (1983, 1985) and Juran (1988, 1989).

There are many differing theories on the styles of management and leadership which attempt to differentiate the skills, strengths and personalities required between management and leadership although it is clear from the studies of these theorists that many of the skills are applicable to both.

In the article, Kotter discusses that management and leadership are different concepts. However, these concepts are complementary and needed in order for a particular organization to be successful. For instance, management tends to bring about order and consistency to a particular organization. Meanwhile, leadership enables a particular organization to be able to handle change in this volatile and unpredictable business environment.

The Contingency Theory applied to factors unique to each situation to determine whether specific leader characteristics and behaviors will be effective. Researched findings credit Fiedler 's contingency theory as the first to specify how situational factors interact with leader traits and behavior to influence leadership effectiveness. This theory suggests high interest in the situation determines the effectiveness of task- and person-oriented leader behavior.

The concepts of leadership and management are often viewed in different ways with different theories and schools of thought regarding the meaning of these terms (Gold, Thorpe and Mumford, 2010). Management and leadership can be defined individually and encompass different roles and attributes, however, both management and

The relation between leadership and management has for a longtime influenced how organizations are perceived. It has also contributed to maintain some type of confusion in education and within the organization itself.