Management

1. Manager vs leader

Managers use their authority of control and power to have individuals work for them, while leaders use their charisma to inspire people to follow and trust them. Managers order you to do tasks, blame you first for any mistake, and take all the credit for any success, while leaders show you how to do the tasks, guide you all the way to avoid the mistakes, and give the credit to you or to the whole team. Managers force you to do tasks and don’t care about your opinion, while leaders give you priority, and ask for your opinion and suggestions.

2. Task focused vs people focused

Task focused managers have several standards that help ensuring tasks being accomplished efficiently and within the set timeframe. That maintain the balance between high quality and ideal performance. Employees who require structure and who struggle with managing their time perform better under this kind of management, because it’s more organized and has deadlines. It does have a negative side though, that when workers have to work under very strict deadlines and excessive task focus, that may lead to a situation of tension and discomfort among the people in the work place.

People focused managers often work on motivating and encouraging the workers since that make them really feel appreciated for the work they do. the focus on workers relationships makes them feel that they have a value in the company. Even better, more effective efforts come from people who feel that they’re a part of a company’s success. Negative side for this style is that sometimes employees may feel that the responsibilities they’ve been given are above their abilities, and thus may need more directing and assisting.

3. Direct vs delegate

When you direct, you give specific instruction, and inform your team member what you want to be accomplished and produced. Directing helps people who are fairly inexperienced and therefore need more supervising. directing employees is also effective when you have to quickly make important decision. Don’t use this style when people are very competent or when someone lacks commitment. If they lack commitment, they will need more support from you than what this style provides.

When you delegate or use a self-governing style, you give relatively little assistance and direction and effectively pass on responsibility for decisions making and problems solving to other team members. It’s recommended to use this style with individuals who are both qualified and committed and who therefore need minimal support and directing. They are capable and willing to work on a project by themselves and will get frustrated and less productive if you directly supervise them.

4. Hard data vs soft data

Hard data are information primarily based on measurable facts from confirmed sources. Hard data indicates statics that are directly measurable, effective and yet incontrovertible.

Soft data are information based on qualitative observations such as surveys, scores and polls. Soft data indicates statics that have been collected from qualitative observations and evaluations. That doesn’t mean that such data are unreliable. In many cases, the best data available are soft data. It is common to make business decisions based on soft data such as customer satisfaction surveys and product or after sale reviews.

5. Efficient vs effective

Being effective is about doing the right task, completing missions and achieving the set goals. While being efficient is more about doing things in an optimal way, just like finishing tasks within the shortest time while using the least or the most inexpensive resources. It could be the wrong thing, but it was done the best way it could.

6. Strategy vs tactics

Strategy sets your long-term goals and how you’re planning to achieve them. In other words, your strategy put you on the right track toward achieving your company mission. Tactics are much more specific and are often aimed to smaller steps and shorter timeframes along the process. They involve best practices, specific plans, resources, etc.

7. Formal organizational structure vs informal social network

Formal organizational structure describes when two or more individuals share the same vision and goal, and they follow a formal relationship, rules, and policies are established for compliance, and there exists a system of authority.

On the other hand, there is an informal organization, which is formed under the formal organization as a system of social relationship, which comes into existence when people in an organization, meet, communicate, interact and associate with each other.

8. Bureaucratic culture vs entrepreneurial culture

Entrepreneurial culture consists of the visions, values, norms, qualities that are helpful to improve the performance of the organization. It is ruled by using the concepts of opportunity, social values and ambition to helps the company to do something valuable. On the other hand, bureaucratic culture is the organizational style of life which focuses on existing opportunity. Bureaucratic organizations are formal and highly organized, with organizational charts for every department. Every employee knows his place, and understands his responsibilities. There is a protocol for decision-making, and control is absolute.

9. Line vs staff

In the field of business, the line hierarchy focuses on the manufacturing and selling processes, and line managers are accountable for attaining the company’s objectives, such as achievement of production and sales targets. They execute important functions, such as decision making, policy making and target setting. They direct the work of employees under their chain of command, and they have the power to decide on the company’s operations.

The staff hierarchy performs activities that support line functions. Staff managers also advise line managers to help them achieve their goals. Those with line authority have the right to direct the work of employees, while those under staff management have the right to offer advice on how to improve line operations. So, we can say that line managers have control over staff employees, and line managers need to inform staff managers before making important decisions that affect the organization as a whole. It is crucial for line and staff workers to perform as a team to ensure maximum sales and revenue.

10. Process vs system

When we look at something and see a sequence of activities producing outputs, we are observing a process, while when we look at something and see the infrastructures, the people, the relationships, the activities and the interactions we are observing a system. Systems create outcomes, while processes produce outputs. In less words, we can define the system as the “what”, while the process is the “how”. For example, PVTA is a “system” of transportation to commute people within Springfield area, and to perform that “system” activities, there are series of “processes” such as providing reliable buses, accurate scheduling, available tickets booking, vehicles repair and maintenance, etc.

11. Position power vs personal power

Position power comes from given titles such as CEO or GM or PM, and clearly sets hierarchies. It is certainly important in organizing, establishing goals, objectives, and defining strategies; but this power will play a minimum role in gaining followers that want to be led by you, and its excessive use may even come in the way of enabling leadership.

Personal power comes from the values that a leader holds and demonstrates and has nothing to do with titles. Some remarkable leaders have achieved amazing things with either no or very little position power, like Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela.

12. Planning vs control

Planning is a formulization of what is intended to happen at some time in the future. But a plan does not guarantee that an event will actually occur. Rather it is a declaration of intention. Although plans are based on expectations, during their implementation things do not always happen as projected. For example, Customers might change their preferences about what they want and when they want it, suppliers may not always deliver on time, machines may fail, or staff may be short.

Control is the process of adapting with changes in these variables. It might indicate that plans need to be redesigned in the short term. It might also indicate that intervention will need to be made in the operation to bring it back to the right path. Control makes the adjustments which allow the operation to achieve the objectives that the plan has set even when the assumption on which the plan was based doesn’t apply.

13. Compromising vs collaborating

A compromise is when the members come to a middle ground where they form a solution that is most likely to make the majority satisfied. The negative aspect of a compromise is that the process of negotiation usually results in some disappointment in group members.

Collaboration refers to working together on an activity. When faced with a particular problem, the individuals or groups approach the problem with an open mind. This allows them to keep away their own preconceived ideas and work as a group to find the best solution to the problem. It is true that all members of a group do not have the same ways of thinking. But this works as an advantage because every individual gets an opportunity to contribute by voicing their perspective. A solution can be arrived, once all the options have been explored.

An example to show the difference between these two aspects of conflict, let’s assume that two kids arguing about who’s right to take the last apple in the plate. Each one of them claiming he has the right to have it, then they compromised to cut it in half. Each one was partially happy with what he got. Then one of them ate his half, while the other one wanted only the seeds to plant them and threw away the rest of the apple. If they collaborated, then each one of them will fully fulfill his needs and would have been completely satisfied.

14. Theory X vs Theory Y

“Theory X” assumes that people are naturally lazy and don’t want to work other than to maintain a standard of living, want to avoid work as much as possible, do not wish to take responsibility, have no ambition and prefer to be supervised. Management treats workers as units of production rather than recognizing them as human beings who have other needs that must be met.

“Theory Y” assumes that people have different needs, and they are inherently happy to work, they want to exert themselves and they are motivated to pursue objectives. There is no need for the system that involves rewards and punishments. People are prepared to take responsibility for everything they do. People want to use their creativity and they like to take a creative problem-solving approach. Management recognizes that and treats them accordingly.

15. Group vs team

A group is a collection of people whereas a team is that same collection of people who are working together for a shared goal. Groups are a social community, consisting of two or more people who have something in common. A team is a special instance of a group in which the commonality is a shared goal. This fact, itself, creates a dynamic between team members because they are dependent on each other for success. For example, group of people at the convenience store. Each of them has a different agenda, suddenly a thief stole one lady’s purse, then this group will become a team to stop that thief and recover the lady’s purse, that shared goal will transform them from a random group into a team.

16. Job vs career

A job is a defined role for specific pay, like a teacher or a doctor or a cashier. We do it with our paychecks in mind. We may learn some specific skills on the job, but without the context of progressive achievement, the skills we learn take us nowhere in particular. We are only focused on our specific role and pay little attention to other roles.

A career is an occupation requiring special training which provides the possibility for progressive achievements. Of course, we care what we get paid, but we are not only focused on our paychecks, but on our achievements and the skills we need to continuously improve. We have an eye on the future instead of being grounded solely in the role we currently hold. We may also define career as the sum of your entire life journey that includes you hobbies, interests, education, jobs, positions, etc.