Roles and Characteristics of Leader vs Manager

This report discusses the roles and characteristics of leaders and managers in an organization, with a focus on General Electric. It also explores management theories and the difference between hard management skills and soft leadership skills.

MANAGEMENT AND
OPERATIONS
1

INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................4
Roles and characteristics of leader v/s manager..........................................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9
2

INTRODUCTION
Operations management is defined as a study of business activities and practices in order
to evaluate information related to working manner of employees as to ensure accomplishment of
task time effective manner. It is a process in which labour resource and raw materials get
converted into finished products with an aim to generate value from them (Caniani and. et. al.,
2015). This process of transformation allows entity to accomplish their goal of earning high
profitability and consumer base in a well effective manner. Present report has been conducted on
General Electric. Company operate their functioning as renowned organisation in USA with
having strong culture of shaping leaders from within in. In these report formative discussions has
been made on roles and responsibilities of leaders and managers. In addition to this project
include management theories and Theory of leadership along with hard management skills and
soft leadership skills.
TASK 1
Roles and characteristics of leader v/s manager
Manager is defining as an individual who hold the responsibility to manage activities and
functions within organisation (Reim and. et. al., 2016). In addition to this managers also hold
responsibilities to direct employees within organisation towards entity goals.
Leader is termed as a person who effectively motivates, inspire and guide individuals or
group towards performing their task with great efforts. Leader provides formative guidance and
supervision to workforce within an organisation with an aim to utilise their talent as to
accomplish organisational objectives.
Difference between leader and manager
Leader creates vision and manager creates goals:
Leaders within an organisation have responsibility to define roles to each and every
individual in a team and motivate them towards company goals in a well defined manner. Leader
possesses ability to encourage behaviour of individual. Henry Lawrence Culp Jr effectively
understands the difference between growing and winning. In addition to this they aim towards
ensuring that every individual within an organisation knows the expectation for winning. Leaders
provides organisational workforce by providing them great motivation in order to increase their
existing performance. While on the other hand, manager possess formative authority to set goals
3

and manage organisational activities within company and make sure that functioning of company
are going according to the set budget.
Leader is a change agent while manager maintains status-quo:
Leader is considered as a proud motivator as with the use of their tactics and creativity
they encourage and influence behavioural characteristics to influence within organisation with an
aim to increase their performance. They effectively foster change in the organisation as to make
entity compatible with change. This has been analysed that change effectively bring uniformity if
it gets introduced in organisational workplace in a well-defined manner. While, managers in
General electric mainly aim towards implementing such reforms and structure that aid entity to
perform their activities (Johnstone, 2016). By implementing such reforms and structure aid entity
to perform their activities in better manner.
Leader is unique, manager imitates:
Leaders are defined as a creative and innovative person as they regularly comes up with
innovative and unique believes as well as ideas in order to persuade employees to adapt changes
on dynamic basis. For this, they provide effective motivation to each and every individual in
order to increase their performance. While in context with managers of General Electric this has
been analysed that they take use of copied traits and style of successful individuals like, Jack
Welch and his successor Jeff Immelt rather than two developed by their own.
Leader takes risk while manager controls it:
Leaders are the individual have daring nature towards undertake risk with aim to provide
welfare to employees and organisation. GE, Ceo Henry Lawrence Culp junior once said that
when you are growing it is very easy to think that you are winning. Thus in order to grow it is
essential to undertake regular changes. While on the other hand, managers of General Electric
take use of those systems as well as techniques that aim towards minimise risk to a great extent.
Similarities between manager and leader
Both supervise team:
Both managers and leaders provide formative supervision to the individuals or group as
to perform their activities in organisation as to direct them towards effective accomplishment of
organisational objectives in time effective period. Both of them have responsibility to offer
formative supervision to employees in order to increase their performance level and fulfil
corporate goals.
4

Both evaluate personnel:
Leaders and managers of General Electric engage in the process of constant evaluating
behavioural conduct and performance of their employees in order to make sure that they are
directed towards organisational goals in a best effective manner. Along with both of the
personals effectively identify end output in order to analyse the difference between desired as
well as actual performance.
Both are responsible for outcomes:
Leaders and managers of General Electric have formative aim which is to accomplish
organisational goals with great profitable results. Both of them have formative responsibility to
fulfil organisation objectives.
Function of manager according to Fayol
Managers perform different type of functions in an organisation with the motive to
provide effective assistance to individual in order to effectively manage all the operations in
organisational processes (Shabanpour-Haghighi and Seifi, 2015). In General Electric manager
have responsibility to perform five essential functions that are only stipulated by Fayol:
Planning:
Planning is a most important function in which manager is required to formulate plan as
well as procedures by evaluating needs of employees and organisation. In addition to this they
are responsible to take important decision on the behalf of organisation as to accomplish
organisational objectives. In General Electric managers evaluate every essential and required
need of employees and department and formulate plan accordingly with proper decisions.
Organising:
This is another most essential function that has been undertaken by manager of General
Electric. In this function manager hold the responsibility to manage all the activities that are laid
down in plan and identify the requirement of resources and funds in order to make sure that laid
objectives must done in a well effective manner.
Commanding:
In this managers effectively engage in the process of directing and commanding
employees according to the predetermined objectives. In this managers of General Electric by
5

taking advantage of effective communication command employees within premises of
organisation as to accomplish objectives of organisation best effective manner.
Control:
Managers within General Electric hold one of the most important responsibilities which
are to control the resources and activities and every essential aspect within an organisation. They
identify difference between actual and desired outputs and further undertake use of strategies as
to control organisation objective as to attain maximum output.
Coordination:
In organisation coordination play key essential role. In this process managers of General
Electric make sure that there is effective compliance of policies and procedures by each and
every employee in order to fulfil objectives in a desirable manner. Managers formulate proper
coordination and cooperation among all the departments of General Electric as to fulfil
organisational goals in a well defined manner.
Leadership Theories
Transformational leadership:
In transformational leadership, leaders within organisation undertake the function related
to inspiring, encourages and motivating employees as to fulfil organisational objectives
performance with high performance (Peng and. et. al., 2015). In contract with leaders of General
Electric it has been analysed that according to the different situation leader take use of
transformational leadership in order to bring creativeness and innovation within organisational
premises. With this leader aim towards increasing existing performance of employees and
perform their operations with additional efforts in order to fulfil goals of company with
maximum results. In addition to this with the use of this form of leadership leaders can make
employees feel independence that makes them to contribute more effectively in corporate goals.
Along with this it has been identified that General Electric leaders believes that they can
undertake best decisions in a workplace structure after getting training from their superiors. As a
result, these employees give new solutions to old issues or problems.
Transactional leadership style:
Transactional leaders provide value to structure and order orders at workplace. These
leaders strictly abide all the regulation and rules and provide further command to employees that
are require to be strictly abide by them. In this leaders are mainly self-motivated and perform
6

their operations with high passion. In context with General Electric this has been evaluated that
leaders mainly take advantage of this leadership if they are about introduce new change or
technology within workplace and are required to accomplish project in a short period of time
with great effectiveness.
Action-centred leadership:
Action Centre leadership mainly include three elements that are individual, task and
team. This model duly states that leader believes to achieve a task by effectively managing team
and group while dealing individual who are the part of team (White, 2016). In context with
General Electric leaders take use of action Centre leadership according to the situation. This
model allows leaders to achieve task in an effective manner. This model also assists leaders to
manage individual during fulfilment of task.
Hard Management Skills v/s Soft Leadership skills
Hard management skills:
Hard skills are required by an individual as to ensure success of job role with the help of
heard management skills performance of employees can be improved in a well defined manner.
In this skills like legal knowledge, web designing, mathematics, computing programs are
included that are required to perform a specific job. For example leaders of General Electric unit
undertake use of legal knowledge as to ensure that the entire task is done under proper legal
measures. As if activities are done according to the legal interest then it aid organisation to
ensure maximum profitability without any legal penalties.
Soft leadership skills:
Soft skills include different type of skills required by a leader in order to increase
employee’s sustainability for long period of time. In General Electric take feedback from
employees and further motivate them in a best effective manner. Along with the use of soft
leadership style leaders then company encourage employees to deliver best performance.
Management Theories
Management by objectives (MBO):
It is strategic management model that aim towards maximizing overall productivity and
performance of organisation by stating entity goals as well as objectives (López and. et. al.,
2015). With the help of this theory General Electric can effectively ensure that work is aligned
and initiated according to the corporate objectives.
7

Classical Management Theory:
By undertaking advantage of classical management theory General Electric possess the
formative ideology which defines employees as a person who has economic and physical needs.
This theory does not consider elements like social need for job satisfaction but rather than that
advocate workforce specialisation, profit maximization, centralised leadership decision making
etc.
Behavioural Management Theory:
This theory effectively aims towards fulfilling human dimension and the implementation of
behavioural management theories. General Electric facilitates formative motivation and reducing
conflicts, group dynamics as to fulfil organisational goals with maximum productivity
CONCLUSION
According to the above mentioned report it has been concluded that operation management
act as a most important element within organisation in which leaders and manager play key
essential role. In this leaders have responsibility to align employee’s behaviour characteristics
and motivate them to perform their objectives in a well defined manner. Manager undertakes
responsibilities, to coordinate all departments towards corporate goals. In this by taking
advantage of different leadership and management theories and approaches both the key
personnel can fulfil the organisational aim to attend high profitability and productivity in well
defined manner.
8

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Caniani and. et. al., 2015. Towards a new decision support system for design, management and
operation of wastewater treatment plants for the reduction of greenhouse gases
emission. Water.7(10). pp.5599-5616.
Jabbari-Sabet and. et. al., 2016. Microgrid operation and management using probabilistic
reconfiguration and unit commitment. International Journal of Electrical Power &
Energy Systems.75. pp.328-336.
Johnstone, S., 2016. Labour and management co-operation: workplace partnership in UK
financial services. Routledge.
Lindström and. et. al., 2015. Sustainable management of operation for Functional Products:
Which customer values are of interest for marketing and sales?. Procedia CIRP.30.
pp.299-304.
López and. et. al., 2015. Demand-side management in smart grid operation considering electric
vehicles load shifting and vehicle-to-grid support. International Journal of Electrical
Power & Energy Systems.64. pp.689-698.
Morschett and. et. al., 2015. Strategic international management (pp. 978-3658078836).
Springer.
Nunna and. et. al., 2016. Multi-agent based demand response management system for combined
operation of smart microgrids. Sustainable Energy, Grids and Networks.6. pp.25-34.
Parisio, A., Rikos, E. and Glielmo, L., 2016. Stochastic model predictive control for
economic/environmental operation management of microgrids: An experimental case
study. Journal of Process Control.43. pp.24-37.
Peng and. et. al., 2015. Uncertainty management in power system operation. CSEE Journal of
Power and Energy Systems.1(1). pp.28-35.
Reim and. et. al., 2016. Risk management for product-service system operation. International
Journal of Operations & Production Management.36(6). pp.665-686.
Shabanpour-Haghighi, A. and Seifi, A.R., 2015. Multi-objective operation management of a
multi-carrier energy system. Energy.88. pp.430-442.
Thomas and. et. al., 2018. Optimal operation of an energy management system for a grid-
connected smart building considering photovoltaics’ uncertainty and stochastic electric
vehicles’ driving schedule. Applied Energy.210. pp.1188-1206.
9

Tian and. et. al., 2015. A hierarchical energy management system based on hierarchical
optimization for microgrid community economic operation. IEEE Transactions on
Smart Grid.7(5). pp.2230-2241.
White, P.R., 2016. Public transport: its planning, management and operation. Routledge.
10