Essay on introduction to management

The paper investigates the concepts of management andleadershipby considering the case of a manufacturing firm producing camping equipment. The investigation stems from the importance for firms to develop managers as leaders and effective leadership for successful management in order to achieve both thegoalsof managing day-to-day affairs of the business and fostering opportunities for innovation. Solutions to the problems of the firm manufacturing camping equipment follow a consideration of its management and leadership problems.

2. 0 THEORIES OF LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT 2. 1 Management v Leadership The perception of managers and leaders led to the seemingly divergent characterisation of management and leadership. Leaders are innovative and flexible in addressing change, risk, uncertainty, and emerging ideas. This contrast with the traditional role of managers as adaptors or conformist by addressing problems as these arise, control oriented, unwilling to takes risks, and lacking in innovation.

(Caldwell 2003; Borgelt & Falk 2007) These differences in the characteristics of managers and leaders lead to divergence in the manner that these perceive and handle tasks with leadership focusing on people while management focuses on tasks. Leadership sets the long-term vision while management plans details of implementation. Leadership also facilitates the decision making process while management makes decisions on work-related issues.

The mode of control of leadership is proactive while management is reactive so that leaderships constitute a more transformational process while management involves a more transactional process. Leadership involves taking risks, breaking rules, and using conflict to innovate and achieve change while management minimises risk, makes rules, and avoids conflicts to achieve stability in the existing direction of the organisation. (Caldwell 2003; Borgelt & Falk 2007)