Role of Leaders and Functions of Managers in Management and Operation

Management and Operation
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Table of Contents
Task 1.........................................................................................................................................3
LO 1: Differentiating between role of leader and function of manager.....................................3
LO 2: Applying the role of leader and functions of a manager in a given scenario..................5
Task 2.........................................................................................................................................7
LO 3: Demonstrating the role of leaders and functions of managers in the operational
management of the company.....................................................................................................7
LO 4: Explaining the relation between leadership and function of management in a business
..................................................................................................................................................10
Reference List..........................................................................................................................12
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Task 1
LO 1: Differentiating between role of leader and function of manager
As per Adam Jr and Swamidass, (2015) leadership is a term that only suggests the level of
motivation and skills used by the individual to take the company forward and achieve the
desired goals and objectives. Leadership is a dynamic duty that is not the capability of any
person to implement readily. Managers come close to being a leader but their roles and
functions suggest the dissimilarity between the two.
Leaders Managers
According to Angell and Klassen (2014), a
leader is what a leader does. They innovate
various operational strategies and
procedures that pave the way for the
business to achieve its objective.
Arndt (2014) suggested that managers have
the duty and responsibility of managing
their team and boosting teamwork. Unlike
leaders they do not engage in new strategy
development but focus on the performance
of the team and their approach towards
company goals.
Another characteristic that separates leaders
from managers is the development of trust
and confidence that they can instil among
workers in the organisation. By verbally
motivating the workers and through policy
making they can boost workers to strive
towards achieving the objectives,
The manager’s role is to effectively conduct
the various administrative functions and
monitor all the daily operational activities to
understand daily progress made by the
various departments.
The vital role that a leader needs to fulfil is
the strategic vision of wanting to achieve
specific long-term goals of the company.
Keeping this in mind, various goals,
strategy and policy making is carried on.
Unlike leaders, the responsibility is limited
only for the achievement of short-term
objectives of the company. They monitor
daily progress and their decision making is
limited to this extent.
According to Coughlan and Coghlan
(2014), leaders are supposed to take vital
and risky decisions for the benefit of the
company.
The role and function of a manager is to
carefully assess employee performance and
generate necessary performance reviews
that can help in showing the employee
progress and performance evaluation can be
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initiated.
Proactive nature is a characteristic that
every leader possesses and this translates
automatically in their policy making
strategies.
The decision making function of managers
is restricted to managing operational
activities and improving existing policies.
This allows them to change daily routines
and way of work.
The leaders must continually drive towards
the creation of new business ideas and
strategies so that the company functions are
not hindered by the constant change in
business environment.
As per Croxton et al. (2014), managers are
responsible for the operational activities that
are critical for the running of the
organisation.
Table 1: Differences between leaders and managers
The above table suggests how dissimilar the functions and roles of a manager and leader are.
This difference is critical as it allows to understand the role which both a leader and a
manager play in making the organisation run smoothly and on track to achieve the objectives.
The distinctive approaches of both helps in understanding that they are critical in their
respective functions and are irreplaceable from their functionality. A key point is the fact that
leaders cannot be made. The qualities required for leadership can be learnt to some extent,
but some features remain inherent in the leaders and that makes them stand out from the
managers. The importance of both cannot be underestimated since both are good at what they
do. The prime importance of both their roles and functions is the fact that they help the
company in staying organised through well planned strategies.
As per Goodhue et al. (2014), the true test of both managers and leaders lies in the various
traits and qualities that each possesses and implements for collectively working towards
making the company successful. Managers sometimes may have to bear the burden of ill
planned objectives by leaders and it may also happen that well chalked out plans are not
monitored and administered properly by mangers. Both this situation leads to the bad
performance of the company. Hence, in a way it can be stated that leaders need managers to
carry out their duties and managers need the guidance of leaders to implement strategies. This
is a sign of a closely knit group who undoubtedly work as a unit to achieve the set objectives
both in the short-term and in the long-run.
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