Professional Management And Leadership

Running head: PROFESSIONAL MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP
PROFESSIONAL MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Executive Summary:
The report is going to be discussed separately in task one and task two, and a different
set of introduction will be added to both the tasks. In task one, leadership theories as well as
management theories by incorporating the reflection on the case study. In task two is going to
be discussed on the assimilation game, which will be compared with the case study of
Kimmel’s story of the war. Both the tasks will be incorporated with a different set of
introduction, discussion and conclusion that will lead to their separate desired results.
Table of Content

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s
1. Task One:...........................................................................................................................3
A. Introduction:................................................................................................................3
B. Discussion:..................................................................................................................3
I. Leadership theories:.....................................................................................................3
a. Trait Theory:................................................................................................................4
b. Situational Theory:..................................................................................................5
c. Path-Goal theory:.........................................................................................................6
II. Management theories:.................................................................................................7
a. Team work:..................................................................................................................7
b. Decision-making:.....................................................................................................9
c. Organizational design:...............................................................................................10
III. Implementing leadership skills and planning:...........................................................11
C. Conclusion.................................................................................................................11
2. Task Two:.........................................................................................................................13
I. Application of Strategic decisions:...............................................................................14
References:...............................................................................................................................17

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1. Task One:
A. Introduction:
The report is going to be discussed on the reflection of leadership as well as
management skills, which will be based on strategic ambitions. It will provide immense help
to the readers, and they will be able to stimulate their ideas appropriately. I have been
successfully handling a different set of roles that have proven to be successful while
managing the business ventures by implementing theories of management along with
leadership skills in order to apply such methods and understanding the vision of the
organization. I was engaged with different charitable community projects in Sunderland,
which helped me to gain specific knowledge regarding management policies and provided me
enough positive influence. In this way, I could reflect and utilize the theories during the
course of my hard-work. It had taught me to manage risks through irrational decision-
making. I believe sociology has been enhancing in many ways, and it has contributed a major
in developing my thought process towards the society, especially in qualitative and
quantitative research approaches along with data analysis. It has been quite useful in
improving the broader aspect of my skills and has successfully implemented in many areas of
work along with the multi-culturalism area. Other elements will be discussed in the upcoming
section and it will be related to my own experiences that I have gained in the last ten years of
my work experience. The primary purpose of the report is to present the various theories
related to the development of management and leadership skills that I have obtained during
my course of work in order to help the readers so that they can combine such theories and can
enhance their strategies.

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B. Discussion:
I. Leadership theories:
I was a student of Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, and the subject itself helped me to
overcome specific issues and led the foundation of the critical thinking aspect within me.
Later on, I was fully occupied with my organization and have tried to incorporate ideas,
thoughts, methods and skills that were required to handle the risks through irrational
decision-making (Schedlitzki and Edwards 2017). I have been managing a different set of
roles in order to achieve my strategic ambitions. There are some essential theories and skills
that benefitted me in my hard-work and understanding of the issues while working in an
organization.
I was committed to my leadership theories and followed the methods of the author,
Northouse, that led to the foundation of constructing myself as a leader in order to manage
the team and to coordinate with the work as well. I believed, the trait theory, situational
theory and path-goal theory. According to Northouse, many methods can enhance a leader’s
skills and will enable them to manage their work accordingly (Northouse 2019).
a. Trait Theory:
Trait theory is the theory that deals with the systematic attempts in order to attain
knowledge of leadership. The traits of leadership are quite essential because it is focused on
those individuals who possess the qualities of a leader. The theories are evolved from the
Great Man theory, which is focused on recognizing the important conditions as well as
specific features. It has been named so because of some influential leaders that have changed
the perception of the nation and led the country on their own terms such as Abraham Lincoln,
Joan of Arc, Napoleon Bonaparte, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, and so on (Northouse
2019). The theories are attached to their names because they have emerged as a successful
leader who has all the great qualities and traits of a leader that usually a leader may possess

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and can justify their position appropriately. This theory is focused on measuring the traits as
well as qualities that a leader will utilize in order to lead his followers and will help them in
every possible way by incorporating their individual ideas and thoughts adequately. It is
signified as an inborn talent that will benefit any individual while dealing with any issue.
I was critically indulging in such critical situations that taught me to rise like a leader
in my organization as well as coordinating with my group was quite a challenging aspect. My
team members were quite cooperative and earned me the privilege to lead as a leader. Some
major decisions have to be taken at some crucial times; otherwise, some severe consequences
may occur at any time (Northouse 2019). The trait theory helped in many ways especially
when I was in charge of the director of two big projects in Sunderland firstly, Voluntary
Community Action Sunderland and secondly, Sunderland Black Minority Ethnic Network. I
along with my team members, we were supposed to take some crucial strategic decisions
regarding these projects. There were some funding issues, which most of the directors never
readily accepted it and thus, we need to dismiss some of the members of the organization for
the betterment of the projects. The chief executive, as well as two other employees, were
rejected because there was a need to sell the additional infrastructure for acquiring money to
dissolve the issues. It was a necessary step to follow so that the cash flow may increase and
other strategies were essential to gain success in the organization.
b. Situational Theory:
The situational theory of leadership is defined as the method that highlights the
qualities processed during the given situations. Therefore, business is an unpredictable field
of work, where problems may occur at any time and can damage the organization by
producing risks. At that particular period, a leader needs to handle all the situations with the
utmost confidence and in a calm way. There are only a few leaders who can actually adapt all
the situations in order to meet the desired requirements and can be ready to face any

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consequences appropriately (Northouse 2019). They need to figure out cues like the type of
project, the nature of the team, undissolved issues, and so on, that may generate a connection
to fulfill the job to be done. In this way, the leader will approach the followers and will
instruct them on what to do and how to execute the tasks appropriately. The leaders need to
contact their followers with innovative ideas and new thoughts over different tasks so that the
process will be delivered appropriately. Thus, a sense of cooperation is required and it may
help them to process the task according to a single order.
While being in charge of a CEO, it was quite hectic for me to indulge my followers
and to make them believe in my plans and to make them work accordingly. It is not an easy
job to acquire success as a leader in the field of hard work. In one project, I needed to make
some critical decisions in order to execute the task efficiently and my employees were not
enough reluctant to give their consent on my words. For example, I needed to form a group to
assimilate a group exercise and being the CEO; I took the responsibility to lead the members
and support them in every possible way. I was quite cooperative as well as calm while
dealing with different views along with recommendations. It took a set of time to convince
my group to have faith in my decisions in order to overcome the storms that were wondering
in business ventures. Therefore, my professional experience proved it right that I took the
right decision so that success and profits may flourish in my organization. Thus, believing the
theory, I was enough confident and cooperative with my group and my experiences worked
effectively in order to meet the desired outcomes.
c. Path-Goal theory:
The path-goal theory is defined as the theory, which is based on the desired styles as
well as the behavior of a leader that will fit the leader in the most convenient way. The
method along with the desired behavior of a leader needs to provide with the employees
along with the work environment so that it will help to attain the desired goals (Northouse

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2019). The desired goal is to raise the motivation of the employees, empowerment, along
with satisfaction so that they turn into productive employees of the company. The primary
purpose of the path-goal theory is that the leaders need to be flexible so that they can
transform their nature according to different styles. The theory instigates two efficient
variables including the characteristics of the other members and the healthy environment so
that they can manage the leader’s behavior-outcome relationship. The followers also have a
different set of roles to play and maintain in order to achieve the desired outcomes. Thus, a
leader’s responsibility is to diminish the obstacles and help the followers to meet the
expectations so that they can complete the tasks and can increase their satisfaction with their
job.
Decision-making is an essential process to deal with risky tasks, and therefore, it may
remain a positive impact or negative impact on that project (Pugh and Hickson 2018). I was
quite good at making various decisions but it was a difficult job to execute along with my
group members. I believed in team-work; if one does not have a cooperative team, then the
project may not be completed on time. I took numerous decisions such as in order to raise the
fund; I need to dismiss the contract of the Chief executive and two other employees so that
we can raise money by selling off the additional infrastructure. At a certain point, leaders
need to think about the desired necessities or requirements of that particular situation and the
followers need to understand the need for such decisions. It took a lot of effort to manage my
team members and getting their consent during a decision-making process. The actual
outcome of the decision was considered right and bagged success very well and it happened
because of my professional experiences.
II. Management theories:
Some management theories developed my skills effectively and helped me to
represent as a leader effectively:

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a. Teamwork:
It is a leader’s responsibility to manage their employees and to make them work
together. The best leaders can engage the employees in order to mold the team effectively,
and it will affect their course of hard work (Clegg, Kornberger and Pitsis 2015). The primary
elements of a team are defined as the collaborative nature of action as well as having a
common objective, which will lead them to a successful path. In a team, every individual is
responsible for their respective area and are responsible for all the issues and problems.
Therefore, healthy communication is required in order to build strong and positive
relationships and will help them to acknowledge excellent work (Landers 2018). They should
have the ability to manage all the problems as well as severe conflicts so that they can
achieve the desired goal.
Tuckman’s stage of team development is one of the best theories that has helped me
to evolve as a leader and has served as one of the positive aspects of my professional life. It
has been defined as the study of group behavior, which helps to develop and recognize the
desired qualities in order to establish certain features among the team members. There are
four phases in this theory including forming, storming and norming and performing.
Tuckman clearly states that it is quite challenging to reach the performing stage. In the
forming stage, it is the initial stage, where every individual is busy searching for their places
and they are seizing their places in the team. In the storming stage, individuals are supposed
to recognize themselves in a team and the team leader will be instructed about the things they
need to do. Certain conflicts, as well as confrontations, may arise and that the performance
may get affected in their respective tasks. Norming is the phase, which is identified as that
team members are to come together, should develop the processes and should establish strict
rules and regulations. The performing phase is the final phase, which helps to modify the

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team members as well as manages the focus so that they can sustain the task and execute it
effectively.
Therefore, I have gained my qualities and strategies from Tuckman’s theory and
being a student of sociology, I can adapt many situations and know to handle the members of
a team and it may provide success several times. I have successfully gained the confidence of
my team members and they have supported my plan. Somehow, it was tough actually to
gather them in my plan and being a leader, I am capable of incorporating many theories and
ideas so that the work can be completed on time. Therefore, to work in a team, everyone
needs to cooperate with innovative ideas and have to manage the work in every situation.
b. Decision-making:
The whole business is based on the aspects of the decision that is going to affect the
company in a positive way as well as in a negative way. It is every single member’s
responsibility to engage in the session of decision-making and should contribute their ideas,
thoughts and plans that can help to secure a better place for the organization (Clegg,
Kornberger and Pitsis 2015). It is one of the most integral parts of a business especially in the
field of management and it will help to develop the organization both in scoring profits as
well as forming new establishments (Johnson 2016). In this process of decision-making,
many things are incorporated such as a different set of plans, alternatives, attempting some
risky ventures and most importantly, executing the decisions appropriately in the course of
work (Brockman 2013).
I definitely consider Herbert Simon’s theory of decision-making, which is critically
related to the bounded rationality (Mintzberg 1989). It is defined as that the individuals can
never make rational decisions because acquiring the information is quite difficult, and

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therefore, they need to do a lot of researches as well as studies. They need to acquire accurate
decisions so that they can execute the following tasks appropriately.
Some risky decisions gained me a meaningful experience and helped me to overcome
some onerous burdens. When I was assisting the project named New Horizon, I was fully
equipped with useful skills like planning as well as developing the charitable projects
successfully. It actually benefitted me to enhance my skills in a broader aspect thorough
qualitative as well as quantitative methods of research along with a proper data analysis. It
gave me a chance to understand the other members of a group and showed me the way to
manage the employees in order to achieve the desired outcome. I have also acquired a better
sense in the field of organizational skills as well as motivational skills.
c. Organizational design:
The organizational design in any company is defined as the step-by-step method that
recognizes the dysfunctional factors of the flow of work, policies, strategies, structures, along
with the system. It is highly required to recognize certain parts so that the business activities
can fit the estimated goal and it may enhance the plans to apply by incorporating innovative
changes (Clegg, Kornberger and Pitsis 2015). A precise strategy is required to manage as
well as to develop the business. The primary significance of organization design along with
structure benefits to improve communication, raising productivity, and inspiring innovation
in the field of business. Organizational design is based on the reflection of a structure that
will be aligned to the business venture at any desired time and situation (Easterby-Smith,
Thorpe and Jackson 2015). It will help to produce an environment where individuals can
cooperate and work appropriately. The majority of the productivity, as well as the issues of
the performance, can generate a poor organizational design. It will affect the organization in
the long run inappropriately and it may cause a set of losses if it cannot be dealt effectively.

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The theory of organizational theory emerges as a strong point that can help to
establish an organization by acknowledging the issues and challenges and maintaining the
situations effectively and adequately. This approach will help the readers to stimulate their
ideas and to incorporate the approach in their individual businesses. Therefore, this theory
emerged as the best way to deal with the risks and will help to enable all the required
qualities in order to meet the desired outcome. I have gained enough knowledge about this
theory, and it helped me during my college days in the U.K. Thus, I managed to incorporate
the ideas as well as thoughts during the process of decision-making especially managing risks
in my projects.
III. Implementing leadership skills and planning:
There are various skills that all together provided the inner strength within me, and it
may help the readers to understand why is it important to attain such skills:
Firstly, healthy communication is required in order to achieve any task especially
while dealing with different types of employees, who have a totally different set of mind. A
concise, as well as clear connection, is required so that the leader can coordinate with every
subordinate. Secondly, engaging the employees in teamwork and supporting them in every
possible way so that they can also contribute their ideas, thoughts, strategies, and plans
appropriately. It is essential to engage every employee in a group because working together
will increase productivity and work will be completed on time. Thirdly, inspiring the
employees so that they can feel motivated in order to achieve the desired goal, and it is
required to motivate them in the right way (Landers 2018). Fourth, a leader needs to take
some critical decisions along with the employees in order to achieve a difficult task that may
fetch profits. Fifth, cooperation is required among the team members so that the leader can
pass a plan and can deliver the job appropriately (Ferriss 2017). They should have the
knowledge and collaboration to handle the difficult task and should possess the capability to

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handle problem-solving situations. And lastly, innovation is required so that a project can
proceed with a different set of ideas and the employees should coordinate with the leader and
should have faith in his or her work and capabilities.
C. Conclusion
Therefore, coming to a conclusion, a leader, whether he is a director or CEO, needs to
indulge themselves by taking risky tasks and should understand the potentiality and
capabilities to deal with the problems. Thus, the team members need to cooperate and
coordinate with the leaders and should acknowledge their mistakes along with rectifying it
for the betterment of the organization. In short, I believe it is essentially a professional place
where healthy communication as well as a clear set of mind so that they can actively execute
their individual roles. In my past experience of ten years, I have seen numerous ups and
downs but that did not stop me from acquiring success in the field of hard work. I have
gathered enough knowledge especially in teamwork, decision-making, challenging activities,
balancing expenses, and managing risks so that the company can flourish adequately. Thus,
my ambition was to fulfill all the criteria of being a leader, whether in the position of director
or CEO, who has developed my strengths of actively participating in every activity and
controlling weakness through managing risks and wrong decision-making.

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2. Task Two:
A. Introduction:
The report is going to be continued in the task two where the reflection on the
simulation game will be discussed briefly along with incorporating certain strategies and
skills. The skills that have been discussed in task one will be attached with task two in order
to channelize the focus on the problems as well as solutions added to it. According to my
leadership skills and strategies are concerned, I believe some strategies decisions were
difficult in order to proceed towards one ambition. Therefore, being a leader, I incorporated
some essential along with critical decisions so that the organization will never face any
losses. There was a journey that introduced to me various aspects and improved by critical
thinking and logical reasoning in every aspect. The assimilation game was facing some
problems regarding financial issues, which resulted in taking some major changes in
organization. Hence, I do not regret on any decision-making process and have gained enough
knowledge to fix the issues adequately. The primary purpose of task two is to focus on the
positive and negative impacts of assimilation game along with applying certain strategies of
task one so that the readers can understand and can stimulate their individual ideas.
B. Discussion:
In my past experiences, I had a few successful ventures that improved my leadership
skills and helped me to overcome many situations. I was occupied with another project, the
assimilation game along with my team members and our main client to whom we delivered
our supplied toys, was facing a lot of financial issues. So the question arises here where
should we stop delivering products or should we focus on the monetary issues? Therefore, I
was in dilemma and our HR manager advised to decrease the production of goods and
services of our Sunderland toys and should close the branch in Scotland. There were other
suggestions available to us such as our financial manager advised us to inherit five percent

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loan to our client but a set of decisions were also taken by reviewing such situations. Every
leader has to look on every side of their decisions so that they can understand the necessities
of the organization that can heal up the issues and could provide positive results. It is a tough
job to lead because many leaders has overlooked certain essential elements that needed the
utmost assistance.
I. Application of Strategic decisions:
a. I have implemented certain strategies that would fit the best for the organization, such
as instead of closing the branch in Scotland, we had to remove a few of our skilled
professionals and hired zero hour contract for the company. We decided to spend
more capital on training employees that will influence the production of our
organization.
b. I along with my team members of our organization, lend money for about two percent
to the prime customers and for about two years so that we can avoid our unwanted
costs.
c. I was quite confident about one decision of expanding the base of the customers so
that such situations can be avoided in the upcoming future. Customer’s satisfaction is
highly required in every possible way especially in the online market but we were not
ready to deal with e-commerce at that time.
d. The last and the most effective decision was to diminish the production of nightshift
as the organization was costing double compared to the day shift. Thus, we were
seeking the most relevant and concise ways to reduce the current crisis.
Therefore, in order to focus on every element, the leader needs to take help from other
employees and managers as well for example, a building will stand firmly and appropriately
only if all the four pillars are strong enough to provide that same amount of support and

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strength. This reminds me to a case that led the leader into a troublesome situation. So, being
a leader and able to take difficult decisions at crucial times is quite a challenging task.
It is a story of a Commander in Chief, named as Admirel Kimmel, who took three
wrong decisions and actually lack in various places. He got the most crucial warnings from
Washington that Japan was about to strike a war with their country. Admirel’s men were not
ready to fight against the war so he engaged them in a training programme. He was unable to
dismiss the peace-time shore leave. Sixty American warships along with aircrafts were
anchored in Pearl Harbor and in the airports of Hawaii simultaneously. He was warned by the
naval officers about a surprise movement, which can come from any direction. Neither, he
changed his orders nor his process of handling the preparation for the war was clear to
anyone. He was not as keen as a leader should be and have neglected a few factors that
should have been his actual focus (Fisher, Ury and Patton 2011). He did not bother to clarify
his doubts and failed to approve his assumptions over the call. Hence, another message was
generated that the Japanese have ordered to destroy most of the secret codes, which he never
paid attention on the other side of this incident. Kimmel was ordered to burn all the
confidential documents on the outline of pacific islands. The information was not clear and
appropriate and it was impossible to intercept the radio signals. Unfortunately, the Japanese
attacked the Americans and were quite wise to generate such an effective plan of sending a
submarine in the Pearl Harbor. Yet, Kimmel wait for the confirmation in order to gather
information on whether the submarine was of Japanese or not. Ultimately, the destruction
occurred and Kimmel was court-martialed as well as demoted.
Hence, being a leader he failed to recognize a few things such as primary priorities,
negligence, wrong decision-making, and overlooked certain aspects, which led the
destruction not only upon the country but also upon him. Therefore, being a leader, he should

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have rectified his few aspects including immediate actions, not just focusing on the words,
taking wise decisions and managing the crucial times appropriately.
C. Conclusion:
Therefore, it is equally important to understand that being a leader, one needs to focus
on various aspects that may lead on to the estimated success story of that organization or any
situation. A leader should incorporate right decisions at right time by staying calm and
cooperative. Thus, certain elements should be kept in mind such as situation theory can be
applied to the above section as Kimmel was not as wise or calm to handle the tough
situations, which led to his end. Hence, handling by going against immense pressure can only
be achieved by incorporating various strategies and ideas in that desired situation.

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References:
Brockman, J., 2013. Thinking: The New Science of Decision-Making, Problem-Solving, and
Prediction in Life and Markets. Harper Collins.
Clegg, S.R., Kornberger, M. and Pitsis, T., 2015. Managing and organizations: An
introduction to theory and practice. Sage.
Easterby-Smith, M., Thorpe, R. and Jackson, P.R., 2015. Management and business research.
Sage.
Ferriss, T., 2017. Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World. Houghton
Mifflin Harcourt.
Fisher, R., Ury, W.L. and Patton, B., 2011. Getting to yes: Negotiating agreement without
giving in. Penguin.
Johnson, G., 2016. Exploring strategy: text and cases. Pearson Education.
Landers, R.N., 2018. A Step-By-Step Introduction to Statistics for Business. SAGE
Publications Limited.
Mintzberg, H. (1989). Mintzberg on management: Inside our strange world of organizations.
Simon and Schuster.
Northouse, P.G., 2019. Leadership: Theory and Practice.
Pugh, D.S. and Hickson, D.J., 2018. Great writers on organizations: The second omnibus
edition. Routledge.
Schedlitzki, D. and Edwards, G., 2017. Studying leadership: Traditional and critical
approaches. Sage.

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