“Is management dead?” This was the question poised by Steve Kerr, chief learning officer at General Electric’s Management Development Institute. (Stewart) He asked this question because five years ago it seamed that all a company needed was a good idea or product. Dot-Com companies worried mostly about getting their product recognized and used by the public. They rarely had a strong strategic plan, vision, or mission statement. They just presented their product to the masses and waited to be bought out by a larger corporation hungry for the newest idea. Well, that concept is over. With the stock market now favoring well established, well run companies over the dot-com new idea companies, management has been brought to the forefront of each business again. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the future of management including emerging management concepts and trends. I will also differentiate between management and leadership. What caused management to get pushed back on the agenda of companies anyway? Technology has. Read more…
In the last five years or so management has seen a lot of changes. A lot of organizations are changing their structure from the traditional vertical structure to a flatter organization. Companies are also changing from the typical hierarchy of management to more team style departments. This means that management has to learn how to change to more of a leadership role.
One would think that a manager and a leader are one in the same, and sometimes they are. However, management skills are not limited to people with the title of manager, nor are leadership skills limited to people with the title of leader. The differences between the two are often subtle. According to Craig Hickman in his book Mind of a Manager, Soul of a Leader, learning the differences and how to use them appropriately is an art. Below is a sampling of a comparison of traits from Hickman.
Definition of Managers: are analytical, structured, controlled, deliberate and orderly Definition of Leaders: are experimental, visionary, flexible, unfettered and creative Managers’ primary problem-solving method is using the power of the logical mind, while leaders use the power of intuition. Read more…
