e management theories are numerous, but they all seem to follow the principles provided in the two dominant theories in management, the scientific management theory, and the human relations theory.
The scientific management theory, also called Taylorism, is a theory which focuses on analyzing and synthesizing the work flows. The primary goal of the theory is to accomplish the superior economic efficiency, especially when it comes to the labor productivity (Kaufman, Beaumont, & Helfgott, 2003).
The human relations movement is a theory which views the organizations in the psychological prism rather than the "mechanical parts" prism. Thus, it focuses on the social relations, motivation, and the employee satisfaction (Kaufman, Beaumont, & Helfgott, 2003).
Discussion 讨论
Management and leadership; comparative analysis 管理与领导;比较分析
The argument that leadership is more important than management is, or vise versa, has not been settled. Some argue for one, and the others highlight the importance of the other. However, they all agree that the leaders and managers provide a valuable contribution to the organizations (Lunenburg, 2011).
The first one to take a stand on the roles of the leadership and management was Abraham Zaleznik, in 1977 in the Harvard Business Review (Lunenburg, 2011). He argued that, leaders and managers play a vital role in the organization, but their functions, roles, and impacts are different. According to him, leaders promote the change and development of the new approaches, while the managers advocate for the stability and the status quo. Furthermore, leaders are concerned with the people's understanding and gaining their commitment, while the managers are focused on the responsibilities, exercising authority, and accomplishing the immediate tasks at hand (Lunenburg, 2011).
However, in 1990 John Kotter has offered his view on the roles and importance of the leadership and management in the organization (Lunenburg, 2011). As he argued, the roles of the leaders and managers are important in organizations, but they are different, and they are complementary. This was a big change in how the two concepts were viewed in the business as well as the academic circles. As Kotter argued, the role of leadership is to cope with change, while the role of the management is to cope with the complexity.
According to Kotter, the leadership process is focused on: developing the vision for the organization, getting people on board through the communications, and motivating people via empowerment and basic need fulfillment (Lunenburg, 2011). Thus, leadership creates change and uncertainty in the organization.
On the other hand, management is concerned with: planning and budgeting, organizing and staffing, and controlling and problem solving. Thus, management reduces the uncertainty and provides the stability in the organization (Paauwe, 2004 ).
Thus, based on the above discussion and views, it is obvious that, depending on the views on the leadership and management, there are aspects that differentiate the two, and there are areas which may overlap. According to the older views, the overlaps are much more common and large, and according to the latest views on the roles and functions of the leadership and management, the common areas are much smaller (Paauwe, 2004). As it seems, the latest views, ones presented by the Ko