Principles and Practises of Leadership and Management

Principles and Practises of
Leadership and Management
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
CW1.................................................................................................................................................3
CW2.................................................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14
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INTRODUCTION
An organisation is said to be successful when individuals involved in it are working on
the right path. This road of success is developed by a leader and a manager. The consequences of
good leadership can be experienced in the form of quick achievement of goals and objectives,
organisational harmony or balance, etc. In this report contemporary leadership theories and their
application in modern day business organisations has been provided. One can easily understand
these attributes of a person who is visualised as future leader of a company. The first section of
this assessment shall provide knowledge about basic theories of leadership and their suitability in
an organisation. Moreover, critical issues that are faced by modern day leaders while handling a
team or entire institution will also be discussed.
The latter part of this report consists of information regarding case study of PepsiCo’s
director. He has applied an innovative approach in managing work stress and increasing
employee efficiency. The report shall help in understanding basic qualities which are essential
for a leader to manage his activities and the subordinates without losing the essence of
leadership. Moreover, a supportive assessment shall also be provided in this section which will
be derived from the theories like trait and contingency or even behavioural (22 Qualities that
make a great leader, 2017). Basic attributes that are desired by individuals who are going to be
leaded in an organisation like PepsiCo are inspiration, patience, vision and focus. These
characteristic traits and their evaluation will help in understanding leadership practises and
principles in modern day business organisations.
CW1
1) Critical evaluation of contingency theories and trait theories
Over time the perception of followers towards leaders has evolved and changed
according to their needs. The only important thing that has remained constantly applicable in
organisation management and dynamical balance is value of leadership and their basic theories
(Avolio and Yammarino, 2013). Before evaluating different leadership theories and their
application in modern day organisation, it is important to understand what leadership basically is.
A person or an individual who portrays certain extra-ordinary characteristics which are way
deflective from natural behaviour while working within an institution or company then he/she is
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said to be a leader. These behavioural traits include focus, coordination, effective management,
patience, leading or guiding people and the most important is vision. Leadership is often
confused with managerial attributes. A manager is limited to his/her daily goals and targets
which are to be met no matter whatever the circumstances are. But leaders have a vision be it
short term or long term (Chang, Chen and Fan, 2016).
The four basic leadership theories that have been the basis of various researches and
studies are The Great Man Theory, Traits Theory, Behavioural Theories and Contingency
Theories in the chronological order. Historically, leadership was considered as an intrinsic
quality which cannot be imbibed in an individual forcefully according to the Great Man theory.
However, Traits theory guided that leaders are either born or made with exceptional qualities
which they portray to fulfil their purpose (Daft, 2014). Both these concepts make a person
believe that it is not possible to imbibe leadership characteristics in a person.
Considering Behavioural Theories helped in attaining a different perception towards
leadership. It was proposed that human behaviour in a leader is entirely deflective to the traits or
physical characteristics which were initiated in the previous two theories. Hence, business
organisations started changing their viewpoints for selecting a leader. For instance, Henry Ford
was the first person who developed his innovative idea of assembly line manufacturing. His
behaviour was quite different from ordinary individuals which made him a good and successful
leader (Derue and et. al., 2011). There are three types of leaders that are identified in this
theoretical concept. These include autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire. Contradicting to
behavioural theory, a better concept of leadership arrived in 1960s which is termed as
Contingency Theories. According to this theory, modern day civilisation leaders do not portray
one type of behaviour in every situation. Their styles of leading people keep on changing
according to need of situation. For instance, the leader of Red carnation Hotel may function with
democratic or transformational leadership style but during crisis situation, that same person
portrays autocratic or bureaucratic rule. Hence, adaptation of leaders to these fluctuating
conditions is depicted in the contingency theory (Dugan and Komives, 2011).
Every leader is subjected to certain situations while functioning in an organisation
irrespective of its purpose. These situations include managing changes, leading teams, leading
individuals, handling diversity, overcoming critical crisis, etc. Unlike in history where leaders
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