What are the similarities and differences between leadership and management?
a Case Study
Key Learning Outcomes
By the end of the case, students should be able to:
- Understand the meaning of leadership and management and the relationship that exists between the two
- Understand the similarities and differences between leadership and management
- Apply these two concepts to real life organizations
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This assignment is going to assess the similarities and differences between leadership and management. Major questions looked at are; what are the similarities between leadership and management and what is the difference between management and leadership? What is the relationship between the two? Among others.
Leadership is defined as a process of leading an organization or a group of people toward achieving a common objective. The leadership of an organization is the ability of the management to safeguard the company’s welfare by realizing its employee’s wants and the company’s targets by providing a safe working environment so that they can both achieve their goals and objectives. Organizational leadership is the most fundamental part of any company's strategy since it describes and clearly explains its vision and the goals it is intending to achieve. According to Armstrong (2009), “Management is concerned with the effective use of all resources, including people. While leadership concentrates on getting the best out of people to do their best to achieve a desired result. It involves developing and communicating a vision for the future, motivating people, and gaining their engagement.”
Management in an organization is the organization and administration of responsibilities so as to achieve a set goal. It involves structuring, planning, organizing, and directing resources and processes within an organization to achieve its goals. These goals may vary depending on the organization and may include financial, marketing, or operational objectives. Organizational management may also require establishing authority, clarifying job roles, and outlining growth opportunities. According to Armstrong (2009), Management is all about the effective use of resources. The role of management in an organization is to ensure that all employees are working towards the same goal. Managers are responsible for setting the organization’s strategy and coordinating the efforts of staff to accomplish these objectives through the application of available resources. They also motivate staff members and departments to stay on task.
Leadership and management are two distinct notions that are sometimes used reciprocally. Whereas there is some connection between these two concepts, they entirely focus on different things. Leadership is mainly about creating and communicating a vision, inspiring and persuading followers, and building relationships and teamwork while Leadership authority comes from the followers who trust and respect the leader. In summary, leadership sets a direction for an organization while management executes that direction.