Contrast Between Leadership And Management Management Essay
The paper is about todays leadership and discuss about the impact on leadership from diverse culture. Two leadership models are introduced with application of one famous leader.
Mullins (2007) defined leadership as a relationship, which a person influences others on their behaviors. It is always associated with group activities.
Many people may be confused with leadership and management. Leadership plays one function of management (Anon., 1997). Management has four major functions, planning, organizing, leading, and controlling (Kinicki & Williams, 2006). Leadership has the function of ‘leading’. Leaders have followers by influence them, while managers get subordinates and rule them. Vick (2012) distinguished them by regarding managers as the liaisons between individual success and organization’s success, and regarding leaders as “instigators”. Although it’s very ideal to play a role with the combination of leader and manager, a manager is not necessary to be a leader, vice versa.
1.3 The way leaders influence others
One major reason is leaders can influence others by their power. Bartol and Martin (1991) stated that “Power is the capacity to affect the behavior of others”. It includes legitimate power, reward power, coercive power, expert power, information power, and referent power.
By using different type of power, the followers may have different reaction. Hellriegel, Jackson and Slocum (2002) classified the reactions into three types: commitment, compliance, and resistance.
Most Likely Response from Followers
Type of power Used by Leader
Expert
Referent
Reward
Legitimate
Coercive
Commitment
Compliance
Resistance
1.4 Leadership with cultural diversity
Nowadays, with the development of globalization, leaders are more likely to face followers with different cultures than before. In organizations, whether companies have international activities, they may have a workforce with diverse culture (Den Hartog & Dickson, n.d.).
2 A Leader for Example
Today’s would is heavily affected by the developed technology. PC has become an indispensable part in the life. And the person who made PC universal is the co-found and chairman of Microsoft, Bill Gates. He also founded Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with his wife, Melinda Gates (Bellis, n.d.). Bill Gates is an entrepreneur and a philanthropist as well. He had been the wealthiest man in the world for a long period.
Bill Gates has many common traits which also appear in many other successful leaders. The following ones are some of them:
Passion on career: Since first exposure to computers in 1968, Bill Gates was inspired passion on computers. He took part in many computer related activities, such as being hired by CCC to find bugs. He even dropped out of Harvard and set up Microsoft to devote into developing software (EVAN CARMICHAEL, n.d.).
Spirit of innovation: Bill Gates has the spirit of innovation. Windows 1.0, an operation system which was far cry from existing ones at that time, is a brainchild of Bill Gates (Microsoft, n.d.).
Ambition:
3 Leadership Model
Leadership models are established for people to follow to
3.1 Transformational Model
DuBrin (2010) stated that “Transformational leadership focuses on what the leader accomplishes yet still pays attention to the leader’s personal characteristics and his or her relationship with group members”. Transformational leadership was firstly proposed by James MacGregor Burns in 1978. She conceptualized leadership as either transactional or transformational (Bass & Riggio, 2006). The latest transformational model includes four elements, idealised influence (II), inspirational motivation (IM), intellectual stimulation (IS) and individualized consideration (IC), which are also known as 4I’s.
The variables of transformational leadership (Bass & Riggio, 2006)
Idealized influence: Idealized influence refers to the leaders generating trust, respect and loyalty from followers by their high level of ethical and moral behaviors. Followers approve the leaders and intend to imitate them. Idealized influence has two aspects, the leaders’ behaviors and followers’ perception.
Inspirational motivation: Transformational leaders have strong vision for the future. They stimulate followers by giving challenge and meaning to followers’ work. Leaders make followers involve in imaging fascinating future and drive up followers’ enthusiasm and optimism.
Intellectual stimulation: Transformational leaders encourage followers to be innovative and creative. Individuals’ mistakes are not to be criticized publicly. New ideas and approaches from followers are encouraged.
Individualized consideration: Transformational leaders act as a coach or mentor and lay emphasis on individual follower’s needs for achievement and development. Different needs and wants of individual are recognized. Leaders prefer a two-way communication with followers and personalized interaction.
The full range of leadership model
The full range of leadership model is a combination of both transactional and transformational leadership. The components of transactional leadership include contingent reward (CR), management-by-exception (MBE), and laissez-faire leadership (LF).
Fig.3.1 The full range of leadershipThe components are evaluated by two dimensions, activeness and effectiveness. Bass and Riggio (2006) stated that optimal leaders display LF leadership most infrequently, and display MBE and CR higher frequently. They choose transformational leadership, 4I’s, most frequently. In contrast, poor leaders preform oppositely.
Bill gates, a transformational leader
Bill gates started Microsoft with a strong vision, “a computer on every desk and Microsoft on every computer”. He attributed the astounding success of Microsoft to the vision.
(EVAN CARMICHAEL, n.d.).
3.2 Situational leadership model
4 Impact from cultural diversity
Leaders use a combination of different leadership style. National cultural is one of the important factors which affect the decisions of choosing leadership style (Robbins and Decenzo). With the increasing globalization, the situation of cultural factor becomes more complex for the leaders.