Table of Content

Used  short forms  3

Tables   3

1.  Introduction  4

2.  Management vs. Leadership, similarities and differences  5

3.  Conclusion  10

References   13

Internet-References   14

2

Used short forms

Etc. Etcetera

HRM Human Resource Management

LS Leadership

OB Organisational Behaviour

Qt quote

TB Textbook

Tables

Table 1: Leadership versus Management ........................................................................................ 8 Table 2: Managerial Roles according to Mintzberg (1975) ..................................................... 11

1. Introduction

By this assignment I am going to highlight the differences and similarities between “Leadership and Management”.

Kotter states in of his published books in 1990 that our business environment is becoming more competitive and volatile, requiring changes to survive and compete (Kotter 1990). In addition to his past statement, today our economy is signed by a hard competition on almost every single market and since September 2007 our economy is in an economical downturn which has strengthened this situation. However, to tackle this worldwide current situation companies are searching for shrewd businessmen who know how to manage and who know how to lead, especially to safe and increase the own market shares. But what actually is management and what is leadership?

Surely, by doing a survey a lot of people would say that these are meaning exactly the same, whilst others would say that these are absolute different approaches. In the following part I am going to present the characteristics of both - Management and Leadership. Then I will discuss the similarities and differences of each approach. The assignment will end with a conclusion, by mentioning my own opinion and how organisations could use this knowledge.

2. Management vs. Leadership, similarities and differences

"Managers do things right, while leaders do the right thing." (Bennis, Nanus 1985)

As aforementioned states, Management and Leadership seem to be two different approaches, but what are actually the differences?

Whilst certain analyst has the opinion that leadership is just one facet of management, others argue that they have different roles; their contribution to an organization is individually; the distinction is significant (Buchanan and Huczynski 2007). Hales for example states that the distinction between them is just a matter of academic view and both fields have no significance for practical actions or situations at all (Hales 2001). Simon Caulkin calls leaders ´mangers on steroids´.

Furthermore Leadership and Management being topic of a debate, discussed for nearly a century (Kotter 1990).

After a few minutes of research it is recognizable that there is really a lot of material of wellknown authors, especially of Mintzberg, Burnes, Buchanan and Huczynski, Pascale, Kotter etc., but also a lot of online resources which examine the different characteristics of leaders and managers. Obviously each concept, leadership and management as well, are not yet fully explored and we have still problems what to call exact features of leaders and managers (Janet Moyles 2006)..

Leadership, the word “Leader” is derived from laed, which is known to Old North European languages and means “path or road”, in course of a ship at sea “journey”. In this context a leader is like a guide accompanying people to their port of sail, holding them as a group together and steering them in the right direction (Mc Caffery 2004, p. 55). To bring this in a more business or organizational correlation you could say that a leader guide employees, forms his/her team and by doing so he operates the daily business by encouraging them and offering advice when it is needed.

Nowadays by searching several sources a usual definition of a leader is like the following: “A Person that holds a dominant or superior position within its field, and is able to exercise a high degree of control or influence over others.” (http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/leader.html)