Management and Leadership Strategic Management and Leadership

Management and Leadership

Strategic Management and Leadership

Strategic management and leadership theories supporting organizational direction

TRW

This document focuses on the leadership theories based on transformational and contingency approaches as well as the management theories based on supporting the accomplishment of organizational objectives. It attempts to review the different approaches and deliver a subjective leadership style that will guide the organization to achieving its goals.

Application of leadership and management theories to support organizational direction

Organizations exist to make profit. That is the sole purpose of corporation and combined companies. Effective organizations are those that are able to adapt to ever changing forces in the general and task environment. Therefore strategic management plays a vital role in helping organizations achieve the means necessary to gain profits and build customer loyalty.

Strategic management is the set of decisions and succeeding actions taken by management that will provide a competitively superior fit between the organization and its environment.

Theories

Following is a summarized review of the existing theories of leadership and management that are coherent in maintaining organizational direction with the set path.

Leadership

Leadership is defined as the ability to influence people toward the attainment of goals (Daft, 2008). This definition captures the idea that leaders are critically involved with other people to bring about positive change and maintain productivity and encourage innovation.

Contingency approach.

Situational approaches toward leadership that makes use of strategic change in a manager's leadership style as required by internal and external factors.

Hersey and Blanchard's Situational Theory links the leader's behavior style with the task readiness of subordinates (Daft, 2008). The theory explains that a manager must understand the level of readiness of his/her employees and adopt one of four leadership styles that vary between high relationship behavior, low task behavior and low relationship, high task behavior. On the hand Fiedler's Contingency Theory focuses on the situation itself and considers the factors that demand a manger to adopt a particular approach. (Miner, 2005). Fiedler suggested that a managers leadership style is rigid and hard to change and therefore maintained that it is according to a situation a suitable manager should be assigned.

Case Study

Earlham College library section made ample use of the contingency approach. Earlham College has long been known for its bibliographic and literacy program. Therefore the librarians were well versed in a wide variety of literature modern and classic and were away a third of the year teaching these courses. As temporary replacements to fill in these librarians, paraprofessional staffs with less than forty-hour work weeks were chosen. These individuals were schooled in bibliographic record keeping and charged with maintaining library records. (Kirk jr., 2004) In this way Earlham College library was able to maintain its prestige as well as expanding into international scholastic programs.

Creating a leadership strategy that supports organizational direction.

Managers today must understand the need to adapt to changing conditions of the environment and demands of the consumer. Which leadership style to adopt is coherent with what strategic steps must be taken by the organization to attain management system objectives? Motivating employees and keeping suppliers loyal are one of the hardest challenges a manager must face in modern corporations large and small. Therefore it is important to maintain a sufficient mix of conceptual, technical and human skills ready to use when needed. It is also worthy to note that human resource is the most vital organizational resource available to a manager.

The leadership style

Bernard Bass defined transformational leadership as a leadership in which the followers grow to respect, trust and admire the leader (Covey, 2007). Transformational leadership is a unique type of leadership that encompasses the motivation and relationship building needs of the employees and encourages and motivates them to become more innovative and important people.