Original Question:
For this week's Forum, respond to the following:
• Write a one-two sentence personal definition of organizational management. Base your definition on what you have encountered this week, as well as on what you have already learned about the topic.
• Discuss this statement by Paul Hawken: " Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive that everyone wants to get to work and deal with them."
• Finally, write about the differences between leadership and management.
Reply to the following response with *** 150 words minimum, including direct questions to the post. (please make response as if having a conversation, respond directly to some of the statements in below post.This is not providing an analysis of the original post. Respectfully address it and even ask clarifying or additional questions.)
These responses are to be informative and contribute to advancing the knowledge of the topic.
1. Organizational management is an overarching concept that identifies one's ability to lead in a dynamic environment. This means being able to lead employees to an end state, identify and resolve conflicts/issues that arise, as well as performing these functions within a diverse environment. Simply put, it means leading in our diverse world.
Managers today have far different issues today than they had 10 or even 20 years ago due to the evolution of technology, changing laws and regulations, and due to having the diverse workforce mentioned previously.
Paul Hawken stated that "Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive that everyone wants to get to work and deal with them." This Paul Hawken statement is in essence the driving force behind transformational leadership. Transformational leadership is defined as being able to inspire an individual to want to work towards the company's goals.
If a leader is able to instill the drive to think innovatively and work harder within an organization, then less micromanaging is required from a leader's perspective. Transformational leadership also begins to grow leaders within an organization who could potentially fill future leadership positions.
This also allows the company to lower their employee turnover which cuts down on a company's costs. Continuing on the same train of thought of the previous topic, leadership relates to transformational leadership while a manager falls into more of a transactional leader. A leader will grow and inspire their employees, while a manager is simply there to make sure that tasks are completed in a timely order.
Transactional leadership gives employees incentives to complete their work such as a bonus. This typically gets the job done, but it also has higher turnover rates than transformational leadership. Leaders also tend to have followers that believe in their ability compare to managers who just have employees.
2. Organizational management is the entire operations aspect of a unit. This includes, but is not limited to,future and present plans, acquiring whatever logistical support that may be needed, and providing guidance and leadership to ensure these plans stay on track within the prescribed time table as well as the execution of those plans.
Paul Hawken once stated that "Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive that everyone gets to work and deal with them." Subordinates do not wish to come to work and sit in a cubicle. They do not want to feel unimportant or unvalued.
By making the company's problem important to the entire team and letting everyone have a say in how the problems are rectified makes everyone feel needed and their work important. This will keep your employees interested and vested in what is happening at work. I once had a supervisor years ago tell me to "Take what was important to your boss and make it important to you. That way you can never fail."
There are numerous difference in a manager and a leader. Some believe that the differences between the two are vague, but others say there are distinct differences. (Edwards, et al, 2015) It has been stated that leadership is a subset of management. I personally believe that it is the other way around.
A leader has the great vision to decide the direction he wants his element to go. A manager then takes that vision and develops goals and procedures to capture the end result.
Reference
Edwards, G., Schedlitzki, D., Turnbull, S., & Gill, R. (2015). Exploring power assumptions in the leadership and management debate. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 36(3), 328-343.
3.
1. Write a one-two sentence personal definition of organizational management. Base your definition on what you have encountered this week, as well as on what you have already learned about the topic.
Organizational Management is a decision making process involving the directing of business resources and processes within an operating environment to successfully attain stated goals and objectives.
2. Discuss this statement by Paul Hawken: "Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive that everyone wants to get to work and deal with them."
This statement is apparently made by Paul Hawken at an undisclosed time which my research was unable to locate. Nonetheless, I believe it can be taken within the framework of a 2000 interview he did with Nick Robins to add context for consideration.
In that discussion about business, Hawken elaborated about topics including change management, policies, culture and the environment.
He furthered with observations about business owners who build consensus based on their past experiences - a testimonial perhaps supportive of management over leadership. (Robins, 2000). I drew some conclusions from that article to hypothesize Hawken was talking more about inactive, second order effects produced by a manager's charisma.
He specifically discusses management as opposed to leadership there, which to me aligns this statement with activity to shape a problem and allow subordinates to feel compelled to become more active in determining solutions.
3. Finally, write about the differences between leadership and management.
I have reflected on this topic for years during education and in the field under direct observations. Many theorists and associated literature describe these two topics and themes or trends emerge.
Leadership can be described as the ability to influence through direction of others. (Mescon, Albert &Khedouri, 1988). This can be associated with the concept of being a change agent, or having broader impact beyond a business or organization.
(Rigolosi& Elaine, 2012). Other notable theorists have associated leadership with personality. (Drucker, 1988). Management is seen as a coordination of personnel resources and organizational processes to attain outcomes.
Many associate this with administration or education within as opposed to exceeding organizational boundaries. Some offer managers can become leaders with the former being subordinate to the latter in a hierarchy of development. (Rasberry& Lemoine, 1989).
Rather than take a hard stand on differentiating these terms, I prefer to note attributes observed over the years of different individuals in charge to discern what I believe are best business practices. To me it is the outcomes that matter most. I offer the following for consideration.
• In an important staff meeting is the person in charge a manager or leader? Does that matter most or is it more about obtaining necessary outcomes?
• Is the commander under fire a manager or leader when determining the outcome in battle? Is it Mel Gibson's movie portrayal in the Patriot saying "Hold the Line", or an armed North Korean commander following his weaponless troops during attack against the Pusan Perimeter? Or rather their coordination of organizational resources to obtain unity of effort?
References
Drucker, P. F. The Practice of Management, Harper Row, Publishers, N.Y., 1954, pp. 159.
Hawken, P. (n. d.). Management Quotes. UMUC Course. BrainyQuote Press.
Mescon M., Albert M., Khedouri F., Management, Third Edition Harper-Row, Publishers, N.Y., 1988 pp. 464.
Rasberry, R. & Lemoine, L. (1989). Management traits and style: What makes a manager a leader? Legal Professional. 6(6). 26-34.
Rigolosi, E. L. M. E. J., & Elaine, L. M. R. E. J. (2012). Management and leadership in nursing and health care: an experiential approach, third edition.
Robins, N. (2000). Conversation with Paul Hawken. Reflections, 1(4), 57-61. doi: 10.1162/152417300569845