According to Kevin, management and leadership are quite different based of their style of application in an organization. The purpose of management is limited to the act of managing resources in the organization. As a difference from leadership, management revolves its efforts in overseeing process like; budget, production, schedules, sales forecasting, projects, and workflow among other things (Eikenberry, 2010). This claim gives the implication that management entails decision making, planning and enforcing the achievement of strategic plans in the organization.
On the other hand, Kelvin finds leaders as being strongly engaged in leading people in an organization through influence and inspiration to promote their commitment to the objectives of the organization (Eikenberry, 2010). On this note, this article appreciates the fact that people like to be led rather than being managed. To realize leadership skills in the organization, one should qualify how they felt at one point for being managed. Building a strong relationship with team members is another important point by Kelvin in strengthening leadership skills. This is because it promotes cooperation and acceptance of the leader in the team (Eikenberry, 2010).
Unaeze on the other hand appreciates the fact that management and leadership have some visible difference. According to him, management is the process of utilizing resources and company workforce to oversee the accomplishment of the objectives of the organization (Unaeze, 2003). Based on this assertion, managers should promote effectiveness and efficiency in realizing the goals of the organization. Such dictate for ensuring that the objectives of the company are met at the least possible resource utilization. This brings the commonly cited four functions of management; planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.
Leadership according to Unaeze entails the process of having delivery of duties by others towards the objectives of the organization while promoting respect, commitment, loyalty, and the zeal for ensured cooperation (Unaeze, 2003). Therefore, leading encompasses practices such as directing, inspiring, and communicating to the workforce to enhance their commitment in executing their day-to-day activities. This makes leadership skills quite instrumental in promoting workforce performance in the organization as it serves to enhance employee engagement practices while incorporating other important aspects of management.
Just like the Unaeze and Kelvin, Murray appreciates the fact that leadership and management are different both in style and behavior. Based on this article, managers are marked with the responsibility of managing activities in an organization. These include resources and facilities to ensure their effective use in meeting company goals (Johannsen, 2007). To realize this, managers are found to focus much effort in planning, controlling and making decisions which affect the strategy business approach of the company (Johannsen, 2007). These give them the advantage of authority use in managing workforce and other resources.
On the contrary, Murray perceives leadership as a process of engaging and leading people to promote given group goals. This portrays leadership characteristics such as motivation, inspiration, and teamwork (Johannsen, 2007). Effective communication here is an important attribute for leaders as they engage in persuading commitment of team members towards the objectives of the organization. Therefore, all the three journal articles appreciate that leadership skills are important among managers for ensuring sustainable success of an organization.
References
- Eikenberry, K. (2010). “Leadership vs. Management: Why the Difference Matters”. Retrieved on August 18th from http://www.sideroad.com/Leadership/leadership-versus-management.html.
- Johannsen, M. (2007). “Effective Leadership and Effective Management”. Learning Central 38 PP 24-46.
- Unaeze, F. E. (2003). “Leadership or Management: Expectations for Head of Reference Services in Academic Libraries”. The Reference Librarian. 39(81) PP 105-117.
