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PAPER NO.13 LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT UNIT DESCRIPTION
This paper is intended to equip the candidate with knowledge, skills and attitudes that will enable him/her to apply and demonstrate leadership and management skills to grow an enterprise under various circumstances and environments including under uncertainties.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
A candidate who passes this paper should be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of leadership techniques and management principles
- Apply knowledge of leadership and management theories in organizations
- Effectively undertake management functions
- Make rational management decisions in an organisational context
- Embrace and manage strategic change.
CONTENT
- Introduction to management
- Nature of management
- Importance of management
- Levels of management
- Multi-disciplinary nature of management
- Roles of management as advocated by Henry Mintzberg
- The changing roles of management and managers
- Qualities of an effective manager
- Management and administration
- Evolution and development of management thought
- Classical approaches to management
- Taylor’s view point
- Fayol’s administrative theory
- Max Weber’s bureaucratic theory
- Behavioural management approach
- Elton Mayo-Human relation theory
- Abraham Maslow’s theory
- McGregor’s X and Y theories
- Mary Parker Follett’s Management theory
- Modern management theories
- Quantitative thinking
- Systems thinking
- Contingency thinking
- Leading as a function of management
- Differences between management and leadership
- Attributes and skills of a good leader
- Delegation, responsibility and accountability
- Power, authority and accountability
- Other Functions of management
Planning function:
- Introduction to planning
- Importance of planning
- Planning process
- Types of plans
- Approaches to planning
Organising function
- Meaning and importance of organising
- Factors affecting the organising function
- Process of organising
- Principles of organising
- Organisational structures
Staffing function
- Meaning and importance of staffing
- Staffing process
- Factors that affect the staffing function
- Components of the staffing function
Controlling function
- Meaning and importance of control
- Steps in the control process
- Types of control
- Controlling for organisational and employee performance
- Tools for measuring performance
- Essentials of an effective control system
- Environmental Analysis
- Micro-environment
- Macro-environment
- Internal environment
- External environment
- Tools of environmental analysis
- Leadership approaches and strategy
- Leadership traits
- Leadership styles
- Leadership skills
- Formulation of an organisation’s strategic direction
- Differences between transactional leadership and transformational leadership
- Conflict resolution mechanisms
- Ethics in leadership
- Decision making
- Importance of decision making
- Decision making models/approaches
- Types of decisions
- Decision making process
- Problem solving skills
- Decision making under different conditions
- Challenges in decision making
- Effective decision making
- Enterprise management
- Meaning and concept of entrepreneurship
- Intrapreneurship
- Entrepreneurial development
- Enhancing creativity and innovation in organisations
- Methods of generating ideas
- Introduction to business plan
- Protection of intellectual properties
- Project management
- Project management concepts
- Characteristics of a project
- Importance of projects
- Features of projects and baseline surveys
- Illustration of the Project life cycle
- Project planning and organising
- Project resources and costing
- Project completion and evaluation
- Marketing management
- Meaning and importance of marketing
- Marketing management orientation/philosophies
- Marketing mix
- Development of marketing information
- Marketing strategies
- Marketing research and intelligence
- International marketing and e-commerce
- Leadership and Strategic Change
- Meaning of change
- Theories of change
- Types of organisational change
- Managing resistance to change
- Diagnosing the change context
- Levers for strategic change
- Methods of introducing strategic change
- Problems of formal change programmes
- Leading Change
- Case Studies in Leadership and Management Sample reading and reference material
TOPIC 1
INTRODUCTION TO MANAGEMENT
QUESTION 1
April 2024 Question Two B
Explain FIVE features of management. (10 marks)
ANSWER
Features of management
- Planning: Planning involves setting objectives and determining the best course of action to achieve them. It’s the initial step in the management process. This includes forecasting future conditions, setting goals, and developing strategies and tactics. Planning helps in anticipating potential challenges and opportunities, thereby guiding the direction of the organization.
- Organizing: Organizing is the process of arranging resources and tasks in a structured way to achieve the organization’s goals. This involves defining roles and responsibilities, creating an organizational structure, and allocating resources effectively. It ensures that all parts of the organization are working together efficiently.
- Leading (or Directing): Leading involves motivating and guiding employees to work towards the organization’s goals. This includes communication, leadership, motivation, and conflict resolution. Effective leading helps to inspire and influence team members, fostering a positive work environment and enhancing productivity.
- Controlling: Controlling is the process of monitoring and evaluating progress toward the organizational goals and making adjustments as needed. This involves setting performance standards, measuring actual performance, and comparing it with the standards. If discrepancies are found, corrective actions are taken to ensure that goals are achieved.
- Decision-Making: Decision-making is the process of choosing the best course of action from available alternatives to solve problems or capitalize on opportunities. This includes identifying issues, analyzing options, and selecting the most appropriate solution. Effective decision-making relies on accurate information, thorough analysis, and often involves a balance between risk and benefit.
QUESTION 2
April 2022 Question Four A
Examine three skills required by managers at different levels of management. (6 marks)
ANSWER
Skills required by managers at different levels of management
- Conceptual skills: Conceptual skills refer to the ability think in abstract and to visualize the organization in a holistic manner. These skills enable a manager to see the relationship between forces in the environment that other people cannot see. It is the ability to think creatively and understand complicated or abstract ideas. These skills are critically important to the top-level management since the top management is responsible for positioning the entity as a whole strategically in its external environment. They also responsible for formulating the vision and the long-term goals of the enterprise as a whole. These responsibilities imply that the managers should be able to see beyond time and space. The conceptual skills are moderately important to the mid-level managers and less important to the lower level managers.
- Diagnostic skills: Diagnostic skills refer to the ability to understand and interpret the underlying issues beneath a phenomenon and to draw answers from the underlying issues. The skills are critically important to the top-level managers, moderately important to the mid-level managers and less important to the lower level managers.
- Technical skills: Technical skills refer to the proficiency in handling the techniques of a given trade such as accounting techniques, engineering techniques and others. Technical skills are the knowledge and capabilities to perform field-specific, specialized tasks. They are practical, and often relate to mechanical, information technology, mathematical, or scientific tasks.
- Human relation skills/interpersonal skills/soft management skills: Human relations skills relate to the ability to deal with and work with other people. it is the ability to build up cooperative, work teams, secure cooperation of staff and to handle diversity. The manager needs to know how to manage relationships between himself and his subordinates, as well as manage the relationships among those who work under him. The manager should also know how to develop relationships with his superiors, and coordinate relationships across the hierarchy. The manager should to be able to build good relationships with customers, and see things from the customers’ perspective.
- Political skills: Political skills relate to the ability to have your own way without appearing to be egotistic or self- centered. It is the ability to get your own share of power and use it without fear of losing it. These skills will enable a manager to establish the rigid connections then skillfully use these connections for the advantage of the firm.
- Communication skills: This is the ability to communicate effectively. Management involves working with people and through people. In addition, managers are the conduits of all communication flows in and out the organization. It is therefore important for managers to had exemplary communication skills. Some of these communication skills include: listening ability; empathize, communicate precisely and concisely as well as provide information on a timely basis.
QUESTION 3
December 2021 Question Five B
Analyse four arguments against management as a profession. (4 marks)
ANSWER
Arguments against management as a profession
- A profession is based on an approved body of knowledge which requires rigorous intellectual training which takes a considerable period of time. Hence management is not a profession.
- Professions typically require a significant period of hands-on, practical experience in the protected company of senior members before an individual is recognized as a professional. After this provisional period, continuous education toward professional development is a mandatory requirement hence management is not a profession.
- Entry into a profession is restricted by an association of members, membership of which is restricted to people with common training and attitude thus management is not a, profession.
- In a profession the emphasis on service to others. In relation to this, a professional involves great responsibility. Professionals deal with matters of vital significance to their clients and are hence entrusted with great responsibilities and obligations. Professionals therefore owe a duty of care to their clients, breach of which can cause grave damage to the client. Arising from the duty of care is accountability, Professionals are personally accountable for the quality of their work with the client. Management may not quite fit in this perspective of a profession as it does not focus on service to others but rather it involves manipulating the organizational resources with a view of optimize their use in order to maximize profits and achieve other organizational goals.
- In a profession there is a code of ethics that regulates the behavior of the members of the profession thus management is not a profession.
- A profession maintains an experimental attitude towards information and is constantly in search of new information through research and practice. Thus, management is not a profession
QUESTION 4
What are the four managerial functions and how do they interrelate with each other?
ANSWER
The four managerial functions are:-
a) Planning – (Decision making, looking ahead). It is the determining of organisation’s goals and deciding how best to achieve them. Managers think through their goals and actions in advance, that their actions are based on some method, plan or logic, rather than on a hunch. It is the basis by which:-
- The organisation obtains and commits the resources required to attain its objectives
- Members of the organisation carry on activities consistent with the chosen objectives and procedures.
- Progress towards the objective is monitored and measured so that corrective action can be taken where such progress is unsatisfactory.
b) Organising – (harnessing, combining, co-ordinating resources). While planning provides the framework in terms of organisational goals, organising refers to the process of arranging and allocating work, authority and resources among an organisation’s members so that they can achieve the organisation’s goals effectively and efficiently.
It entails setting or designing the organisational structure that suits the organisation in terms of its resources and gaols. Students will note organising should necessarily follow after planning.
Management cannot organise without any idea as to the purpose of such an exercise, thus tasks and positions are allocated after an organisation has established its direction (planning)
The organisational structure defines the reporting levels within an organisation and provides a hierarchy of formal positions
c) Leading: – (Directing, supervising, overseeing, guiding, motivating). This entails directing, influencing and motivating the task related activities and efforts of organisational members to achieve set goals of an organisation.
The leadership function is distinct from planning in that it involves dealing with people. It should be borne in mind that leading function necessarily follows after organising. Managers are given authority and responsibility as well as confirmation of their levels in the company through that organisation function. It should therefore follow that you cannot effectively lead without knowing:
Who to lead? Where you belong in terms of the various departments of the organisation. How much authority is bestowed upon you, and finally. Who you report to in the organisational hierarchy.
d) Controlling :- (Monitoring, Evaluating, Checking, Making sure). This process is the ultimate management function and it evaluates the efficiency and effectiveness of the other management functions. The control function is concerned with ensuring that the action s of the organisation’s members does move the organisation towards its stated goals.
It is sometimes referred to as the process of monitoring progress towards achievement of goals. The controlling function entails:-
- Establishing standards of performance and how it will be measured
- Measuring current performance
- Comparing actual with standard performance, and
- Taking corrective action where deviations from stated goals are detected.
Through the control function, the manager keeps the organisation on its chosen track through timorously investigating and correcting and deviations from set standards
SAMPLE WORK
Complete copy of LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT REVISION KIT is available in SOFT ( Reading using our MASOMO MSINGI PUBLISHERS APP) and in HARD copy
Phone: 0728 776 317
Email: info@masomomsingi.co.ke
QUESTION 5
Explain three ways of classifying managers
ANSWER
Ways of classifying managers
a) Managers can be classified by management levels were we have:-
- First line managers also known as operations managers or just line managers. These are responsible for the work of employees only and as such do not supervise any managers. They are the lowest management level in the organisational hierarchy, being directly responsible for the supervision of non-managerial staff. First line managers’ activities tend to focus mainly on the day to day running of the organisation and they focus on the activities of sub-units such as departments and sections thereof.
Typical titles of first line managers are: foreman, supervisor, operations managers etc
- Middle managers (also known as tactical managers or management control level). This may incorporate more than one level in the organisation. They are primarily concerned with directing the operations of lower level management. In addition they are also responsible for implementing and interpreting the policies formulated by the top management level. Thus they are intermediaries between top management and lower level management.
Typical titles include: Branch managers, Regional managers, senior managers etc.
- Top management (also known as strategic managers or corporate level managers). Top managers probably account for a relatively small group of executives who control the organisation. They are thus responsible for establishing the organisation’s goals, strategies and operating policies. In addition, they also represent the organisation to the external environment e.g. by meeting with government officials, other business executives, other institutional heads etc.
Activities undertaken at this level are thus of a long term nature and mainly guide the organisation’s conduct with the environment. They tend to focus on the organisation as a whole, with emphasis on both the present and the future scale of operations
Typical titles are: Chief Executive Officer, Managing Director, and General Manager etc.
b) Management can also be classified according to the scope of activities
- Functional Managers- These are responsible for just one speciality organisational activity e.g. the finance manager (responsible for finance) and the human resources managers (responsible for the human resource function) this level of management may be likened to that of operational management for they are also responsible for the day to day running of the organisation as well as the direct supervision of subordinates.The people headed by a functional manager are engaged in a common set of activities
- General Managers. Unlike functional managers, general managers oversee the complex units e.g. subsidiaries or independent operating divisions. In this case they will be responsible for all the activities of that unit such as marketing, production etc. Thus the general manager will be in charge of the functional managers falling under his sub-unit or division.
QUESTION 6
State and explain three managerial roles as identified by Henry Mintzberg. Clearly identify how each is subdivided.
ANSWER
Managerial roles as identified by Henry Mintzberg and how each is subdivided
a) INTERPERSONAL ROLES:
These roles relate to how a manager interacts with others i.e. subordinates, peers, supervisors and outsiders. They include the roles of:-
- Figurehead: – As a figurehead, the manager performs certain ceremonial roles, which are of a legal nature. Typical example include welcoming visitors, attending subordinates’ weddings and performing ribbon-cutting ceremonies as well as taking customers to lunch. In this case, managers are symbols and as such personify an organisation’s successes and failures.
- Leader: – Managers are accountable for the actions of their subordinates as well as their own. It therefore follows that by showing subordinates how to perform under pressure, what hours they should work, promoting, etc, managers will be performing the role of leader.
- Liaison: – In the liaison role, managers must learn to work with everyone both within and outside the organisation who can help them achieve their goals. This role necessitates establishing networks of contacts and creating obligations among the people with whom the manager interacts. In this instance, managers also act as a contact person and his activities include those of writing correspondences, replying customer enquiries, etc. Thus liaison role enables the manager to win support for his/her proposal.
b) INFORMATIONAL ROLES
These relate to the manager’s tasks of receiving and communicating information. Managers need information to make quality and informed decisions.
Similarly other people, both within and outside the organisation rely on information received from and / or transmitted through the manager. Mintzberg identifies the following three informational roles that managers have to undertake:-
- Monitor: – Managers are constantly and actively seeking for information from both inside and outside the organisation that may be useful to the organisation. They establish a network of contacts through which they get information. In addition they ask subordinates for information where the subordinates are more informed.Where possible, they also obtain information from unsolicited sources. It is because of this role, therefore that managers are often said to be the most informed people in an organisation
- Disseminator: – Here managers will be responsible for contributing important information to subordinates. The manager has to make sure that subordinates have all the information to ensure that they carry out their duties efficiently and effectively. This role may also be thought of as a communication role, especially combined with the role of monitor.
- Spokesperson: – Managers in this instance are responsible for transmitting information to the outside world. Literally put, managers are said to be the organisation public relations managers (officers). Typical activities include, among other things, replying letters from customers, giving speeches on behalf of the organisation etc.
c) DECISIONAL ROLES
According to Mintzberg, information is the basic input for managerial decision-making. The following are four decisional roles:-
- Entrepreneur: – Managers try to improve performance of their sub-units as if they are the actual entrepreneurs. Examples include situations when managers make decisions that will maximise shareholders’ wealth and add value to the organisation, thus, managers act as entrepreneurs whenever they act in the best interest of the providers of capital. They make decisions that will minimise costs and maximise returns.
- Disturbance Handler: – This is the role of problem-solving. In this case the manager is expected to take care of ‘sticky’ situations. Thus the manager is expected to come up with solutions to difficult situations. The role of disturbance handler requires both the analytical and conceptual skills. Good examples of disturbance handlers (which the manager has to deal with) could be industrial actions (strikes), low performance, high employee turnover etc.
- Resource Allocator: – The role of the resource allocator entails all the activities that the manager undertakes to minimise revenue and minimise costs. It is primarily concerned with the activities relating to allocating resources (human physical or otherwise) among the organisational members. For instance, a manager is expected to make decisions, say, on the best way of utilising resources such as that the revenue of the organisation reaches the desired targets.
- Negotiator: – As negotiators, managers spend a lot of time bargaining for a better deal for their sub-units or for the organisation as a whole.
Typical examples include bargaining with workers for salary increases, bargaining with suppliers for cheaper materials etc. Thus, negotiating requires the application of various managerial skills such as interpersonal, diagnostic, technical, etc
