When Taylor was working in America, he was determined to get rid of something that was referred to as ‘Systematic Soldiering’, which was meant that organised groups of employees worked no harder than what was absolutely necessary. This is shown by the workers slowing down their work rate extending their breaks. This is not what today businesses want from employees. Even though Taylor’s theory of ‘Scientific Management’ was developed in the early 1920’s, it is still widely used today by such companies like McDonald’s, where employees do not have to think too much to do the job in hand, all they have to do is follow instructions that have been set out by the management staff.
Herzberg suggested three of improving job design, to make jobs more interesting to the employee and hopefully improve performance. “Job Enrichment” building greater responsibility and challenge of work into the job. “Job Enlargement” increases the number of operations and “Job Rotation” where a worker can switch between several tasks.
McGregor developed two theories of human behaviour at work X and Y. Theory X is where an employee dislikes work and tries to avoid it, three is also a lack of ambition, likes to be led by others and desires security whereas theory Y, an employee would like to seek some responsibility, would like to be rewarded and creates an effort to work and be part of a team player. (The Business Environment, Ian Worthington & Chris Britton: P19-20)
Many more theories were developed to show how an employee would or should be treated at work and how organisations should reward their employees for the time and success they have brought to the organisation.
As well as employees, businesses are run by leaders as in CEO and Directors. But are managers considered to be Leaders?
"Are manager’s leaders?” Some think of leadership as being associated with the role of a manager, and use the terms synonymously. However, a manager may not necessarily be a leader and vice versa.
A leader, is defined as "Someone who occupies a position in a group, influences others in accordance with the role expectation of the position and co-ordinates and directs the group in maintaining itself and reaching its goal" (Raven, B.H. & Rubin, J.E. Social Psychology: People in Groups: P37).
The functions of leadership are many and varied, depending upon the basic problem with a group must deal with, and the type of leadership style in action, which is dependent on the leaders basis of power. Power, in the case of leadership, is divided into six categories; however, each can be linked with another, as they are inter-related. Expert and Informational power are concerned with skills, knowledge and information, of which the holders of such abilities, are able to utilise to influence others, i.e. technicians and computer personnel.
Most leaders make use of a combination of these six types of power, depending on the leadership style used. Authoritarian leaders, for example, use a mixture of legitimate and reward powers, to dictate the policies, plans and activities of a group. In comparison, a Labour or conservative leader would use mainly referent power, involving all members of the group in the decision-making process.
Trait Theory - Personality consists of broad dispositions, called traits, which tend to lead to characteristic responses. People can be described in terms of the basic ways they behave, such as whether they are outgoing and friendly, or whether they are dominant and assertive.
Basic Six Factors are :- (1) Emotional stability - Being calm rather than anxious, secures rather then insecure, self-satisfied than self-pitying. (2) Extraversion - Sociable instead of retiring, fun-loving instead of sober, and affectionate instead of reserved. (3) Openness - Imaginative rather than practical, preferring variety to routine, and being independent rather than conforming. (4) Agreeableness - Being soft-hearted, not ruthless, trusting, not suspicious, and helpful not uncooperative. (5) Conscientiousness - Being organised rather than disorganised, careful rather then careless, and disciplined, not impulsive. (6) Individualism - Giving priority to personal goals rather then to group goals; it emphasises values that serve the self such as feeling good, personal distinction, and independence.
The trait theory expands further on this assumption, by concentrating on the personal characteristics of the leader. The theory, which until the mid-1940s formed the basis of most leadership research, cited traits believed to be characteristic of leaders, the list of which grew in length over the years, to include all manner of physical, personality and cognitive factors, including height, intelligence and communication skills. However, few traits emerged to conclusively differentiate leaders from non-leaders. The traits an individual has may, increase the probability that a person will become a leader, though whether such leadership is guaranteed, is uncertain. Nevertheless, it can be seen to be true that some people are more likely than others to assume leadership positions.
"The research on trait theories of leadership has shown that many other factors are important in determining leader success, and that not everyone who possesses these traits will be a leader" (Adler, R.B. & Rodman, G. Understanding Human Communication, Holt Rhinehart & Winston: P 267)
Managers, in conclusion, can in certain situations, be leaders, however, leadership is only one aspect of their function. Some people have the capacity to become excellent managers, but not strong leaders, other have great leadership potential, but for a number of reasons, have great difficulty becoming strong managers. Both leading and managing are desired aspects in a group situation, i.e. at a group situation, both should be present, in order for the group to become an efficient and effective body.
"Leadership is different from management, but not for the reason most people think. Leadership is not mystical and mysterious. It has nothing to do with having Charisma or other exotic personality traits. It has not the province of a chosen few. Nor is leadership necessarily better than management or a replacement for it. Rather, leadership and management are two distinctive and complementary activities. Both are necessary for success in an increasingly complex and volatile business environment” (Kotter, J.P. "What Leaders really do". The Best of the Harvard Business Review. Harvard University, Boston: P 73-82)
As I have shown a business is run from the inside rather than the outside. Internally we could see that businesses need to train and maintain their staff/employees to give the right attitude to work, for this they must be rewarded for the work they have carried out which can be anything from bonuses, wage rise, promotion, better pension or even a health benefit. As well as employees, managers or ‘leaders’ need to show what they can do to meet company demands, this is all judged by their behaviour and attitude.
Bibliography
Organisational Behaviour, Andrzej Huczynski & David Buchanan
The Business Environment, Ian Worthington & Chris Britton
Social Psychology: People in Groups, Raven, B.H. & Rubin, J.E.
Understanding Human Communication, Adler, R.B. & Rodman, G
"What Leaders really do?” Kotter, J.P.