MANAGEMENT VS. LEADERSHIP IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Management vs. Leadership in Public Administration



Table of contents

Chapter I: Introduction3

Purpose6

Research Questions7

Definitions8

Disposition9

Chapter II: Literature Review12

Chapter III: Methodology21

Chapter IV: Results31

Chapter V: Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations35

Management vs. Leadership in Public Administration

Chapter I: Introduction

The demands on responsiveness towards customers, within an public administration , have increased noticeably within the last decade. Many public administration s has moved from large, strict structures with high stock levels to lean, slim structures with minimum or non existing stock levels. It is essential to be able to meet the requirements from customers quickly, efficiently and within time, in order to be competitive and be able to stay in business. Alongside these changes in the market a new leadership paradigm (Bryman, 1992) is evolving. In this new paradigm more attention is directed towards charisma and motivation of followers. This change is not just affecting top leaders, but entire public administration s. Traditionally public administration s have been hierarchal and the leader at the lowest levels that are closest to the locations where problems may arise has had little actual power. However the new demands from customers and the fast changing environment of today puts new demand on the leaders that are closest to the actual problems as well as the top-management. This gives an idea about how vital the leadership is in order to create a successful public administration . “To navigate the turbulent seas of change every public administration needs leaders at all levels - team, operational and strategic. The golden key to sustained success is to have great people working for you - and great leader's at all three levels.” (Adair, 2006 p. 3) This implies that it's important to have great leaders within all different levels of the company. Stogdill (1974) mentions that there are almost as many definitions of leadership as there are persons who have tried to define leadership. It is very difficult to give one definition of leadership since it involves so many aspects. For example Northouse (2004 p. 11) define leadership as “…a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal“. This definition is a very common description and the one adopted for this thesis. How a leader influences and motivates its subordinates is a part of the transformational leadership style. Transformational leadership is a new way of observing leadership instead of using a transactional leadership, which is a more traditional view of leadership. The main differences between transactional leadership and transformational leadership is according to Burns (1978) that while transactional leadership focus on the exchanges between leader and follower, e.g. a soccer coach gives a player credit and perhaps a bonus when that player present good result, transformational leadership is more about the process between leader and follower. A leader is engaged and raises the motivation of followers, both as a group and as individuals, to a higher level than expected. Transformational leadership arouses a deeper view of leadership why it has been the theory chosen and selected ...