Foundations of Management: Leadership vs. Management

Question 1: In one of the videos shown in lecture one, Henry Mintzberg said that ‘Leadership and Management are part and parcel of the same thing, they shouldn’t be separated’. Do you agree or disagree with this statement, if so why? Use one or more examples to support your answer.

Introduction

For the past half century there has been continuous debate over leadership and management, whether they are separate areas of practice and if so, which produces a better outcome when displayed in an organizational context. Henry Mintzberg said that ‘Leadership and Management are part and parcel of the same thing, they shouldn’t be separated’. This statement implies that the practices of leadership and management are not separate, distinct or different when in fact there are over fifteen million articles, arguments and blogs which contradict this statement and affirm that instead, the practices of leadership and management are complimentary components vital to the success of an organization or team. This paper will highlight the differences and distinctions between leadership and management, discuss how they compliment each other when utilized in organizations and teams and provide an example of organizational success in todays business environment by implementation of both leadership and management.

Leadership

Leadership is a practice that has been studied and developed over many centuries. A popular belief starting in the late seventeenth century and following through to the mid eighteenth century was that ‘leaders are born rather than made’ (Nahavandi, 2012, pg. 73). This was known as the Trait Era. Following the Trait Era was the Behaviour Era that believed that successful leaders could be defined by the behaviours that they exhibited. However both beliefs had shortcomings and could not comprehend the entirety of the definition of leadership. So far the Contingency Era, which is still firmly supported to the present day, has been the most comprehensive theory of...