MGMT 201 Critical Thinking

MGMT 201

Critical Thinking 6.4

1. Explain the difference between someone who “manages” and someone who “leads.” Think of someone who you consider to be an effective leader. Now, explain why you consider him or her to be effective.

According to our text, leaders manage, and managers lead, but the two activities are not synonymous (Kinicki & Williams, 2019, p. 536). The way I see it, managers are not always capable of doing the job of the employees in which they manage. A leader can get in there and get their hands dirty alongside their employees. A manager controls by instruction. A leader controls by example. At AAA, both of the managers over fleet have never driven a tow truck before. Two out of the six supervisors have never done the job either. Sometimes it can be difficult to have respect for and listen to someone that has never done the job. How can they instruct someone on what they should be doing if they have never done the job themselves? At Shamrock Towing, all of the supervisors and most of the managers started out driving a tow truck. The general manager even started out driving a tow truck. When the general manager even started out driving a tow truck, that is someone you can respect, listen to and look up to. His name is John Wicke. I viewed him as an effective leader because he had been there and done the job and understood what it took. There is nothing like going out on one-hundred and forty degree asphalt and doing sit-ups in the middle of a Phoenix summer. He knows what that is like, because he had done it. It also enabled him to recognize driver abilities whether great or not so great. I was selected, by the general manager, for a recovery that was two-hundred feet off the side of a cliff because of the abilities that I had demonstrated throughout the time that I was there. That recovery took three drivers and one manager sixteen hours to complete. I will never forget that experience he allowed me to gain. Influence and inspiration separate leaders from managers, not power and control (Nayar, 2014).

2. Deliberate over the importance of charisma in transformational leadership. Do you believe that people who are not overly charismatic can still be transformational leaders? Explain your point of view. Then, explain the action steps leaders can and should take to ensure that their transformational leadership is ethical.

Charisma is defined as one, a personal magic of leadership arousing special popular loyalty or enthusiasm for a public figure, or two, a special magnetic charm or appeal (“Charisma,” n.d.). A person does not need to be overly charismatic to be a transformational leader, but they do need to possess some level of charisma. A charismatic person has the ability to rally others to work towards a common goal. Charisma is magnetic and can attract others and encourage them. It can drive moral up and get people excited about what they do. Transformational leaders have the ability to inspire trust in the team members they lead by being consistent, single minded and persistent in pursuit of their goal (Kinicki & Williams, 2019, p. 565). This expresses integrity. Integrity directly relates to maintaining the ability to be ethical. Transformational leaders can inspire other to get out of the mindset of “it’s not my job”, “it’s above my pay grade”, or “it’s not my department”. Instead it encourages others to challenge themselves to be better, overcome challenge and seek creative solutions. Our text has these five steps listed to make sure transformational leadership is ethical. Employ a code of ethics. Choose the right people. Make performance expectations reflect employee treatment. Demonstrate commitment to diversity. And reward high moral conduct (Kinicki & Williams, 2019, p. 567). Having and employing a code of ethics is the first step. Choosing the right, ethical people is the next step. You cannot employ a strong sense of ethics without ethical people. Having performance expectation around how other employees are treated is the third step. Training employees to value diversity. Identify, reward and praise the employees that demonstrate high levels of moral conduct.

3. Controlling is defined as monitoring performance, comparing it with goals, and taking corrective action as needed. Describe the reasons why control is a difficult managerial function. What are the challenges involved with controlling?

Controlling can be a difficult balance of how much. Too much control, and a manager begins to micromanage. Not enough, and tasks are not accomplished to achieve goals. Both are equally detrimental. Being too laxed in the monitoring of employee performance is an example of not enough control. Letting short comings go unnoticed gets in the way of the goal being accomplished. No one in their right mind enjoys being micromanaged. Micromanaging can lead to lowered moral, dissatisfaction with the job and high employee turnover (Wilkins, 2017). There is nothing worse than constantly having a manager or supervisor breathing down your neck. It also lowers productivity and the effectiveness of an employee. Micromanaging may get short term results, but will, over time, impact the team, company and/or product negatively. Control is a delicate balance of recognizing problems when they occur or the precursors of a problem, and overly or micromanaging every situation. While a “Minority report” type of approach is a poor execution of the law, in controlling can help avoid costly delays of achieving a set goal. Recognizing a detail that could lead to a problem later down the road makes a good manager.

References

Charisma. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2020, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/charisma 

Kinicki, A., & Williams, B. (2019). Management, 9th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Education

Nayar, V. (2014, August 7). Three Differences Between Managers and Leaders. Retrieved February 22, 2020, from https://hbr.org/2013/08/tests-of-a-leadership-transiti

Wilkins, M. M. (2017, December 6). Signs That You’re a Micromanager. Retrieved February 22,

2020, from https://hbr.org/2014/11/signs-that-youre-a-micromanager 

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