Good leadership depends on the use of power, influence, vision, persuasion, and communication skills to coordinate the behaviors of individuals and groups so that their activities and efforts are in harmony and to encourage employees to perform at a high level (Jones & George 2006, p. 12). Not all managers are good leaders and vice versa, but to truly excel in management, a manager must train to be a leader. Being able to lead people enables a manager to achieve organizational objectives at a better rate and with excellent results. A fine example of leadership is illustrated with a look into practices at Flight Centre, a Brisbane-based travel company with strong and sustained growth. The company is 'highly decentralised,' (McShane & Travaglione 2005, p. 501) meaning that employees within the hierarchy are empowered. Their belief in themselves as stakeholders is amplified. Good leadership, then, is not totalitarian rule, but a skill set that draws the best performance from others.
To ensure the organization is functioning at optimal capacity, a good manager needs control. Control is the function of management that monitors inputs, processes, and outputs. By being able to monitor operations, the manager ensures that actions are focused on attaining organizational goals. Control also enables managers to evaluate how well they themselves are performing the other three functions of management -- planning, organizing, and leading -- and to take corrective action (Jones & George 2006, p. 12). The success of mortgage lender John Symond shows the value of control as defined in this way. Over the last number of years, the company 'has experienced a series of near-changes, each of them canny attempts to broaden the brand...
27). Management looked at the market and altered its course in response. Managers would have had to take stock of their functioning in the areas of planning, organizing, and leading and take the actions needed to expand company influence and provide more and greater services to customers.
The four management functions discussed in this paper are complementary and dependent. An effective manager is able to balance them in order to achieve the objectives of the organization. As the brief case study of Ponsonby Pies illustrates, different managers bring different skills to the table. At Ponsonby, manager Katrina Cole is the academic, with the ability to see the big picture and formulate strategies. Co-manager Anthony Cole has been able to effectively implement Katrina's strategies on the factory floor (Twiname 1999, p. 525, cited in McShane & Travaglione). Together, they provide strong management for a small company that has enjoyed tremendous success, even when competitors charged that Ponsonby would not succeed.
Within their individual skill sets, good managers realize where their strengths lay and use them to their best advantage. They must bring industry expertise together with interpersonal skills to effectively plan, organize, control and lead their organizations in the pursuit of current and future objectives.
Bibliography
DeBruyn, S. 2007, 'Mortgage Master,' BRW, vol. 29, no. 11, pp. 26-28.
Jones, G.R. & George, J.M. 2006, Contemporary Management, 4th ed, McGrawHill/Irwin, Boston, MA.
McShane, S.L. & Travaglione, T. 2005, Organisational behaviour on the Pacific Rim, McGraw-Hill, North Ryde, N.S.W.
