Manager and Leader Roles

Some people thought that managers and leaders have almost the same roles and duties in managing and leading people. In fact, they carry different roles and have different views. Relatively, Bennis views that leaders have a skill which can be learned by the managers willing to put in substantial effort. It is, however, fundamentally different management. “To survive in the 21^st century we are going to need a new generation of leaders, not managers. The distinction is an important one. Leaders conquer the context - the volatile, turbulent, ambiguous, surroundings that sometimes seem to conspire against us and will surely suffocate us if we let them- while managers surrender to it.”   He goes on to list the fundamental differences between the two as:

               Managers                                           Leaders

-          administer                                         - innovate

-          copy                                                  - are original

-          maintain                                            - develop

-          focus on system & structure             - focus

-          rely on control                                  - inspire trust

-          have a short range view                    - have a long range

-          ask how and when                            - ask what & why

-          have eyes on the bottom line            - have eyes on the horizon

-          accept the status quo                       - challenge

-          are the classic good soldiers             - are on their own persons

-          do the things right                            - do the right things

              Mind                                                Soul

Sam Aun (Andy)

What Is Total Quality Management?

Total Quality Management (TQM) plays very important role in every organization. It does not only help the organization to run smoothly, but also attract the customers. In terms of talking about Total Quality Management, many questions have been asked that what Total Quality Management is. Total Quality Management is a set of principle that embodies a strong emphasis on establishing and maintaining a high level of quality. Its main function is related to products and processes. These products and processes are the responsibilities of everyone whom is involved the creation or consumption of the products and services offered by the organizations. Moreover, Total Quality Management capitalizes on the involvement of management, workforce, suppliers, and even the customers. Relatively, Total Quality Management is also related to product design, process management, supplier quality management, customer involvement, leadership, cross-functional training, or employee involvement. The key principle associated with Total Quality Management involves (Vecchio, 2006, p. 112):

            A. Getting it right the first time: Reducing the error by improved the techniques and processes

            B. Focusing on the customers or clients: Being close to and understanding the needs of one’s constituency

            C. Emphasizing continuous improvement: Making an emphasis on the quality part of “the ways we do things around here”

            D. Fostering mutual respect among co-workers: Eliminating fear based on hierarchical organizational designs and replacing that fear with autonomy and participation based on power sharing.

Sam Aun (Andy)

Obstacles to Accurate Perception

Globalization brings people from different nationalities to work in one organization. When these people come and work in the same organization, they also hold different behaviors, and these become the touchy barriers for the organization to grow better. There are many barriers to the precise perception of others’ behavior. Each barrier is a possible source of misleading or distorted information. These barriers are included (Vecchio, 2006, pp. 40-43)

            A. Stereotyping: Stereotype is a judgment of others that is based on group membership. Such attributes as sex, race, ethic group, and age are the basis of commonly held stereotypes. This is not to say that stereotypes are totally worthless and inaccurate. In some instances, stereotypes can provide a useful shortcut for quick evaluation. But the potential cost of erroneous evaluations must always be considered.      

            B. Halo effect: The halo effect occurs when a perceiver uses a general impression of favorableness or unfavorableness as the basis for judgments about more specific traits. In essence, the perceiver’s evaluation is influenced by the overall information. The halo effect explains why a subordinate who is liked by a superior can do no wrong in the superiors’ eyes, while a subordinate who is disliked may have difficulty in obtaining a favorable review from the same superior.  

            C. Projection: It refers to ascribing ones own feelings and attributions to others. This mechanism helps us protect ourselves from unpleasant or unacceptable truths. An individual’s emotional state has been shown to influence his or her perception of that emotional state in others.

            D. Perceptual distortion: This refers to defending the egos by projecting feelings and attributes onto others. We may simply deny that something occurred or that we witnessed something. Similarly, we may modify or distort what we report in an attempt to avoid an unpleasant reality. It is related to our own personal perception.

            E. Selective perception: This rises from the tendency to be influenced by our own interest. It occurs in the organization when managers tend to interpret problem situations in light of their own background and interest.

Sam Aun (Andy)

Model of Personality in the Organization

The workers who come and work in the organizations are from different backgrounds. Some of them are from rich family, higher education, or hold different nationalities. These lead to having different personalities, thoughts, behaviors and attitudes, and they become the obstacles in the organizations. With this, it is required to consider of the whole perspective especially the model of personality, and these can be:

A. Agreeableness: It is related to deferring to others, seeking harmony, cooperative and trusting. The workers who work in the same organization have to understand this, and then they can closely and happily work together. They have to consider of the whole benefits and keeping away of self-interest. They look for working in groups and sharing the ideas, and consolidating two in one approach.

B. Conscientiousness: It is related to being dependable, achievement-oriented, and acceptable responsibility. The workers work together to achieve the organization’s purpose. They do not divide into parties, cause the conflicts, and break themselves differently. The idea of everyone is a part of the organization is strongly encouraged, and they can actively participate in the organization so that it can run smoothly and successfully.

C. Emotional adjustment: It concerns with being relaxed and positive in orientation. Even though we know that the workers bring different behaviors and expectations into the organization, they are required to adapt their thoughts to the organization’s perspective and work towards ending-successfully approach. Putting the organization’s orientation first will be the best way that every worker can work together and keep apart their different thoughts.

E. Extroversion: It refers to being interested in what is happening around him than his own thoughts and emotions. It is contradicted to introvert that only considers of himself. The workers are outgoing and friendly, and they must be open to every one. All the things have to bring and put on the desk, and then everyone is required to take part in discussing and making a decision.

F. Inquisitiveness: It refers to being open to new experiences, imaginative with artistic sense and intellectual curiosity. When the workers come and work in the organizations, they do not just only work but are inquisitive in looking for new ways to build up the organizations and also themselves. They can learn from each other and work together to initiate the successful and efficient tactics, to conduct the integrity, and assist the organizations to go smoothly.

Sam Aun (Andy)

The Effective Ways to Correct the Organization Failure

To survive in the information age, the organizations have to compete with each other. Some of the organizations adopted change management whereas the others change management, conduct training, or employ new strategies. With this competitive environment, some organizations can survive, yet some others almost get bankruptcy. To recover from this bad situation, some effective strategies have been suggested:

A. Restructuring: It is a strategy through which the organizations change their set of businesses or their financial structures. The organizations change both internal and external environments. There are three restructuring strategies that the organizations can use”

1. Downsizing: It is a reduction in the number of the organizations’ employees, and, sometimes, in the number of its operating units, but it may or may not change the the composition of business in the organizations’ portfolio. The ways of reduction can be lay off, or attrition (early retirement, resignation or death).

2. Downscoping:  It refers to divestiture, spin-off, or some other means of eliminating businesses that are unrelated to the organizations’ core businesses. Commonly, downscoping is described as a set of actions that causes the organizations strategically focus on their core businesses.

3. Leveraged buyout: It refers to a restructuring strategy whereby a party buys all the organization’s assets in order to take the organization private.   

B. Reengineering: It began as a private sector technique to help organizations fundamentally rearrange how they can do their work in order to dramatically improve customer service, cut operational costs, and become world-class competitors.

1. Rethink: It is related to thinking of the new ways for improving the organization rather than depending on the old ways of managing.

2. Redo: It is the way that is used to manage an organization's core business processes with the aim of achieving dramatic improvements in critical performance measures, such as cost, quality, service, and speed

3. Retool: It is related to the resources used to create products and services that meet the needs of particular customers or markets. As a structured ordering of work steps across time and place, a business process can be decomposed into specific activities, measured, modeled, and improved.

4. Redesign: It is related to the way that work is done to better support the organization's mission and reduce costs. It starts with a high-level assessment of the organization's mission, strategic goals, and customer needs.

Sam Aun (Andy)

Leadership Behavior

Good leaders lead the followers to where they have never been. They guide and pave the ways for the followers to become leaders one day in the future too. With this, the leaders themselves have to well perform and act as models for the others. Leaders are required to hold good behavior that can be learnt and followed by the others and these can be:

A. Showing enthusiasm: The leaders have to show the strong admiration and feeing in both leading and working so that these can be used as motivators or stimuli for others.

B. Supporting other people: The Leaders work closely with the followers, and they have to support by teaching, guiding, or showing the ways for them to work towards accomplishment.

C. Recognizing individual effort: The leaders do work only work relatively with the followers, but they have also to recognize individual effort so that this can taken to be the example for the others to follow.

D. Listening to individuals’ ideas or problem: Good leaders always get all the information that is related to work itself. They are required to listen to, share the ideas with, and participate with their followers in order to manage the work to run smoothly.

E. Providing the direction: The leaders have to provide the directions for the followers so that they can accomplish their work effectively and easily. These directions can be related to both management and leadership.

F. Demonstrating personal integrity: The leaders have to work their best to achieve all kinds of activities. They have to consider of the groups’ interest rather than individuals.  

G. Practicing what he/she preaches: The leaders have to walk the talk, or they will be respected and listened by the followers. They have to put into practice what they have already talked or promised to do.  

H. Encouraging team work: The leaders have to motivate and encourage the followers to work in groups or teams. As one said “Two heads are better than one”, and the leaders have to keep this in mind so that they can work together to achieve the desired purposes.  

I. Actively encouraging feedback: Feedback is really necessary that can be used as indicator to evaluate what we have already for both good and bad points so that we cab make an improvement. The leaders need to encourage the followers to give the feedback as said in 360 degree book.  

J. Developing other people:  Teaching the followers to be the leaders is considered to be the main job of the leaders. The leaders do not only lead alone, but they have to give the chance to the others to hold this position too.  

Sam Aun (Andy)

The Elements of Leadership Quality

Every person can be a leader, but not everyone can choose to do so. Some people said when one person is chosen to lead the team that one is considered to be a leader. However, this idea is sometime judged to be wrong. When talking about the leader, it is required to talk in terms of the elements of leadership qualities and these can be (John Adair):

A. Enthusiasm: Enthusiasm refers to strong feeling of admiration, interest or great eagerness.  Every leader has to be enthusiastic in leading the others. They do not only communicate to get things done, do the thing right but also do the right thing.

B. Confidence: Confidence refers to feeling or showing trust in oneself or ability. The leaders have to be confidential in every kind of activity such as giving a speech, making a decision or leading the other people. They have to believe themselves so that the others can take to be the example in order to become good leaders in the future.

C. Toughness: Toughness refers to the ability to ensure the hardship that is not easily defeated or injured. The leaders have to be resilient, tenacious, demanding high standards, or seeking respect. Even though they are in a very difficult situation, the leaders can peacefully fight against it and work towards achievement.

D. Integrity: Integrity refers to the quality of being honest and morally upright. It is the condition of whole or undivided respect, preserve, or threat. The leaders comprise of wholeness, soundness, honesty and belief so that they can build trust among the followers.

E. Warmth: Warmth refers to caring for the others. The leaders have to take into consideration of followers and prepare them for their good future too. They do not only lead the followers, but also teach and guide them the way how to become good leaders.

F. Humanity:  Humanity refers to regarding every body as human-being. The leaders are not the kings, but they act as teachers, negotiators, communicators or others while they are leading the followers. They are willing to listen to and take blame from their followers.  

Sam Aun (Andy)