Are Leaders and Managers The Same or Different? An Argumentative Essay

Introduction

I think that leaders and managers are not the same. They are different to each other. In my opinion, a manager is defined as a person who controls, supervises, and directs either an office or department towards accomplishing the company's goals. A manager view processes from the standpoint of product specifications, cost limitations, customer satisfaction, or any number of viewpoints. Management can either be located locally, overseas, or at a remote location. There are many types of levels of management, except when you are the owner. Although, even being the owner of an organization, you still have your shareholders to attend to. Being a manager means responding to the needs of diverse parties within the company. The management team quite justifiably focuses on products and their costs. However, a manager also ensures a smooth movement of all stages of the transformation of development process, while also satisfying parties of the executive management team.

Discussion

I believe a manager, in today's world, works only because he or she has to. He or she must ensure the executive management team that waste and economical products from the production process will not cause product quality to suffer or change. A manager should manage multiple projects, however, I usually see managers passing their projects or responsibilities onto other individuals like supervisors or team leaders. Management of an operation will likely spell the success or failure of a company, in today's society. A manager is supposed to manage multiple aspects of the everyday workload. Bazerman (pp. 89-99) mentions a good manager would be proficient in ensuring that work is evenly distributed. He or she should also make certain that employee morale is kept coherent with company standards. An excellent manager will be actively involved with his or her co-workers' education, career path and personal life.

The terms "manager" and "leader" (Bazerman, pp. 89-99) are often used interchangeably, but they are also often confused and misinterpreted. Management has always had a dictatorial connotation and implied a boss/employee relationship. It was based on an autocratic style with systematic rules and guidelines. Warren Bennis, one of the most recognized businessmen in the 21st century, states that today most employees are over-managed and under-led. That statement in itself acknowledges that there is a distinct difference between management and leadership.

Leadership today must create value, generate creativity, inspire innovation and communicate a compelling vision for the future (Bazerman, pp. 89-99). Managers in the true sense of the word are a dying breed. Today our managers must also have leadership skills. Managers often shoulder the blame for failure--some justified, some not. When I have done turnarounds for financially troubled companies in every company I dealt with that was in trouble, the problem was not the managers. The problem was generally with the leadership that existed at the top of the organizational chart.

In words of Northouse (pp. 34-37) middle managers might be the most undervalued and the most misunderstood species in modern times. They seem to get ...