Leadership and Management: Theories, Styles and Organizational Impact

This essay provides a comprehensive overview of leadership and management. It begins with an introduction to the historical development of leadership and management, highlighting its significance in modern organizations. The essay then delves into various leadership theories, including the trait theory, great man theory, behavioral theory, and contingency theory, explaining their core principles and implications. Furthermore, the essay examines the role of leadership and management within an organization, emphasizing their importance in motivating the workforce and achieving organizational goals. Two contrasting leadership styles, autocratic and democratic, are discussed and exemplified with real-world examples such as the police force and IKEA. The essay concludes by summarizing the crucial aspects of leadership and management, emphasizing the importance of these concepts in the context of globalization and the evolving business landscape.

Running head: LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT
LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT
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Introduction:
Historical Development of Leadership and Management:
Leadership refers to the skills of managing a team effectively and marinating between the
organizational goals and the requirements of the employees simultaneously. The concept of
leadership can be interpreted as a personality trait of an individual, however, according to one
sect of the leaders, the aspect or the features of leadership can be developed as well, if the skills
of communication, practicality, goal management and managing the team can be developed.
In this light, the discussion of management is very important. Managers are responsible
for the process of management of the goals of the organization and to communicate between and
among the teams. The managers are responsible for the entire process of managing, planning,
organizing and leading and controlling the organizational conducts.
These two terms had been conceived during the same time. Along with the age of
globalization, the private organizations or the modern organization came into being, which
needed to be managed, along with some leaders who can make the huge base of employees,
mobile and effective. Since 20th century the practice of leadership and management was
rigorously into use, and since then, the practice of leadership and management has become
common and an eminent part of the organizations (Hallinger et al. 2015). The leadership and
management concept and process are more specifically explained by the following theories.
Trait Theory:
The trait theory of leadership states that a person holds certain leadership characteristics
or traits and it is these traits of the individuals that determine the traits of leader. According to
the trait theorist, it is not possible for everyone to become a leader, and therefore, it is the traits

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that are present among them which determine their ability to become a leader. According to the
theorists, these leadership traits include, Achievement Drive, Leadership Motivation, Honesty
and Integrity, Knowledge of the Business, Emotional Maturity, Cognitive Ability, Self-
confidence and Charismatic attitude (Kumar. 2013). Therefore, an individual having these traits
are likely to become a leader than the others lacking these characteristics.
Great Man theory:
The Great man theory states that some people were born to become a leader, thus
determining the fact that leaders are born and not created. According to the great man theorists,
people who are leaders are not like other people, and they have an aura or charisma around
themselves which determine this position (Kumar. 2013). The theory has included the examples
of sportsmen and world leaders and political personalities and stated that all the leaders in these
fields, have a certain charisma and set of traits, which are not possessed by anyone, and it is
these traits or characteristic aptitudes that help them to become a leader.
Behavioral Theory:
The behavioral theory focuses on the behavioral aspects and the actions and reactions of
the leaders and the followers, and states that it is the actions and the behaviors of the leaders that
help them to gain the same position. The basic assumption of the theoretical understanding is
that, leaders can be made as well, and are not simply born, and it is the behavioral
understandings of them which determine their position (Kumar. 2013).
Contingency Theory:
The Contingency theory of leadership has a different approach stating that the
effectiveness of a leaders is determined by his or her approaches and opinion, during a particular

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situation and believes that there is no one approach of leadership, rather the leadership style
should match with the situational aspects (Fiedler. 2015).
The Role of Leadership and Management:
In an organization the most crucial and important is to be played by the leaders and the
mangers as they are determined to motivate and mobilize the entire work force and therefore,
meet the organizational goals at the same time, helping the employees to meet their personalized
goals as well. Therefore, there are a number of approaches or leadership styles, and two of them
are discussed in the following.
Two Contrasting Leadership Styles:
Autocratic- Police Force:
The Autocratic Leadership or the Authoritarian Leadership refers to the leadership style
whereby the control or the decision making power is centralized. In the type of autocratic
leadership the leader himself or herself makes the decisions and sometime he or she may involve
the little advisory group that he or she possess. The autocratic leaders typically chooses their
ways and makes their own decision and therefore, imply them on their employees (Akor. 2014).
One of the best example, where the autocratic leadership is in practice is the police force.
The autocratic leaderships is strictly rules based and it has a military like approach once it is
executed. In such an organization the leaders or the person holding the highest authority
practices the control and the decision making skills (Vatikiotis. 2014). Therefore, considering a
police force it can be said that in the police force an autocratic leadership is applied.

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Democratic- IKEA:
The Democratic leadership, also referred to be the Participative leadership refers to the
leadership approaches whereby, the leaders include a liberal outlook, and the employees of the
organization are also involved in the decision making process. The responsibility is shred and the
control is distributed among the teams and the members of the teams (Kane, and Patapan. 2014).
IKEA is one of the best example to exemplify the practices of leadership.
IKEA has a china of organizations, involving a number of hierarchies within itself.
Therefore, the organization practices a democratic leadership, rigorously. In order to maintain
the communicational aspects along with the chains and at the same time to maintain the
communication among the teams (Kristoffersson. 2014). Also, the employees are given the
provision to be a part if the decision making process, thus making the leadership process and the
organizational conducts successful.
Conclusion:
The leadership process is one of the crucial approaches and aspects of the organizations,
and the management level of the organization is responsible for the al the organizational
conducts. Since the age of globalization, the practice of specifications and the division of labor
has become more prominent, therefore, the development of the private bodies and the private
organizations have given the rise to the concepts of management and leadership into the
business.

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References:
Akor, P.U., 2014. Influence of autocratic leadership style on the job performance of academic
librarians in Benue State. Journal of Educational and Social Research, 4(7), p.148.
Fiedler, F.R.E.D., 2015. Contingency theory of leadership. Organizational Behavior 1: Essential
Theories of Motivation and Leadership, 232, pp.01-2015.
Hallinger, P., Wang, W.C., Chen, C.W. and Liare, D., 2015. Assessing instructional leadership
with the principal instructional management rating scale. Dordrecht: Springer.
Kane, J. and Patapan, H. eds., 2014. Good democratic leadership: on prudence and judgment in
modern democracies. OUP Oxford.
Kristoffersson, S., 2014. Design by IKEA: a cultural history. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Kumar, R.D., 2013. Leadership in healthcare. Anaesthesia & Intensive Care Medicine, 14(1),
pp.39-41.
Vatikiotis, P.J., 2014. Popular Autocracy in Greece, 1936-1941: A Political Biography of
General Ioannis Metaxas. Routledge.