What Are the Differences Between Leaders and Managers?

What are the differences between leaders and managers? Is one “better” than the other? Why or why not? Are both necessary and if so, when is each one necessary? Feel free to give some examples if you need more length (You can use the internet for this part).

There are significant differences between leaders and managers. Managers create goals while leaders create a vision. The managers deal with the setting, implementing and evaluating goals. They are also responsible for controlling the situations to ensure that set goals are achieved (Drucker, 2012). Leaders inspire and engage people to ensure that the intended vision is realized. Managers also tend to maintain the status quo while the leaders tend to appear as change agents. Managers focus on things that work before, changing structures, process and systems in the organization to ensure that they work better (Drucker, 2012).  On the contrary leaders act as proud disrupters in an organization as they innovate new ways of doings things. Further, managers tend to control risks while leaders take risks. Managers focus on reducing risks in the operations by either avoiding or controlling hitches instead of embracing them. Leaders tends to try new ideas even if they failed, they always acknowledge that failure is often part of a success path.

Between leaders and managers, none is better than the other. Organizations need managers and leaders for them to run effectively. Lack of leaders makes the workforce of an organization to remain stagnant and uninspired. Lack of manager’s subject an organization at risk of not meeting the set goals and objectives and even for not complying with required standards (Drucker, 2012). Further, despite that concerning authority, managers and leaders fall on the opposite sides, they are still the same team. Managers are responsible for ensuring that the organization standards are maintained throughout, however, this cannot be achieved if there is an absence of leadership that share a vision with the workforce to inspire them to work towards that direction.

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Both leaders and managers are necessary. Leadership is necessary when there is a need to there is a need for people to be innovative and creative. Leaders are required to have a conversation with employees concerning the policies of the organization to inspire them to generate new ideas together (Drucker, 2012). Managers are required in an organization when there is a need to minimize risks. They either control or avoid uncertainties in the tasks of the employees to ensure that expectations are met.

Business and psychology permeate all other fields of study/majors. Do you agree or disagree? Why or why not? Are there other fields that you believe permeate all other fields of study/majors? Why?

I do agree that business and psychology can be permeated with all other fields of study. Students undertaking other courses should have business knowledge and skills to apply in their future respective careers (Steele, 2017). The business provides transferrable skills that can be used in any future job or career. Learners combining their main respective courses would develop the ability to think critically, solve problems using innovative ways and have proper time management. Other skills that can have from business include management of resources, having self-motivation, report and presentation writing and having the ability to interpret financial information.

Further, students can take a business-related course and combined it with their passion. For example, if a student has a passion for fashion design, he/she can study fashion-related courses as a major and combine business-related courses such as marketing to boost their careers (Steele, 2017). They can take a business course as a major or register for an online program that is currently being offered by many universities and colleges across the world.

Psychology course as a minor course would be of great importance. A huge part of almost all the careers needs human interaction and therefore, having psychology as a minor course would help students to understand the fundamental of how people think, act and feel. Understanding those elements would greatly improve their personal and professional relationship (Dunn and Halonen, 2017). Further, psychology as a minor would help students to understand those people around them, including their future professional parties.

Other fields that I believe permeate with all other fields of study are communication studies and political science. I believe that all other careers involve human interactions and for that to be effective, having communication skills would be an added advantage to students who takes communication studies as a minor course. Again, it is important to understand how governments operate in the country and others across the world by taking political science. Students taking political science as a minor would greatly understand how systems of political authorities work in their future professions.

What is organizational behavior and why is it important? If you don’t think it’s important, why not? What are some of potential applications of topics/principles from organizational behavior?

Organizational behavior is the study of how people act within the organizational environment, the organization itself and the interface between the organization and behavior of people (Judge and Robbins, 2017). Researchers of organizational behavior focus on studying primary individuals’ behavior in their organizational roles.

Organizational behavior has great importance to the company or an agency. Organizational behavior helps in the development of skills as people get new ideas that improve their performance and assist them to perform required tasks independently. Besides skills development, organizational behavior helps in improving employee motivation. Managers and supervisors can have a regular conversation with the employees which in turns enhances their commitment and creativity in the organization (Judge and Robbins, 2017). For example, supervisors can conduct employee’s reviews regularly to assist in discussing the necessary improvements that are required.

Further, from the motivation of the employees, productivity in the organization can be enhanced from positive organizational behavior. One of the most important goals in an organization is to improve productivity, where small inputs can be used in the production of large input, and it requires active participation between employees and management. Moreover, it helps in the understanding of customer behavior in business (Judge and Robbins, 2017). A business that has a strong connection with its customers will get ideas about the kind of products and services that they need.

There are various applications of organizational principles in a workplace that can make organizations more successful. Principles of organizational behavior are applied in motivating employees in the organization. Supervisors with effective organizational behavior would communicate well with employees to the extent of boosting their morale in the workplace (Judge and Robbins, 2017). Further, principles of organizational behavior are applied in dealing with human resource management. The managers use these principles to conduct recruitment, training and employee appraisal processes to get the best out of their workforce. Furthermore, management applied the principles in emphasizing on the issues that affect people (employees, suppliers, customers, shareholders) in the organization like other business activities such as production.

References

• Drucker, P. (2012). Management. Routledge.
• Dunn, D.S & Halonen ,J.S. (2017). The psychology major’s companion: Everything you need to know to get where you want to go. New York,NY:Worth.ISBN:978-1-319-02143-6
• Judge, T. A., & Robbins, S. P. (2017). Essentials of organizational behavior. Pearson Education (us).
•          Steele, H. (2017,October 17). 11 Awesome Reasons Why You Should Study Business. Business  Student. Availbale at https://www.businessstudent.com/topics/11-awesome-reasons-why-you-should-study-business/ [Accessed 13 September 2019].