Since leadership management is a specific form of human activity, its whole process must be people-oriented. Otherwise leadership management will lose its meaning.
Leadership management has two basic functions: the rational organization of internal activities, and the maintenance and improvement
of external relations. The first function of leadership management is a natural attribute and is a general function produced by labor socialization production. The second function is a social attribute of leadership management and is a special function generated by the social nature of the labor process.
Different disciplines and different scholars have different opinions on leadership management functions. On the basis of drawing on Western theory, this book believes that leadership management has five functions.
The first function is the integrated planning function of leadership management. This is the creation of specific arrangements of established goals to create guidelines for all members over a certain period of time. On the basis of a variety of real resources and information, managers deliberate and develop plans, policies, programs, procedures, and goals in order to achieve the strategic aims of the organization.
At the start of leadership management, integrated planning runs through each function of management. Planning can help leadership management personnel make objectives clear and provide action directions; it can determine the main duties of the leadership management personnel; it can find and check problems in carrying out the plans, and thus predict future opportunities and risks; and can provide standard of controlling and measuring achievement.
As a procedure, integrated planning is essentially the rational act of applying one’s brain. Plans start from setting goals to making strategies, policies and detailed internal operating plans to ensure the realization of those goals, and finally return back to the starting point, and then start the plan for the next year. It can be seen that planning is a continuous cyclical process.
Developing a scientific plan must be conducted with a rigorous scientific analysis of the organization’s internal and external conditions. On the basis of field research, leaders need to take into account all aspects of a combination of factors, and referring to the experience and lessons from the past are able to develop a scientific and feasible plan.
An integrated planning function is conducive to an organization taking the initiative to adapt to the demands of social reality. According to changes in supply and demand and the competitors’ type of activity, scope, level of participation, strength and means, integrated planning is made on this basis, which can help an organization correctly understand the future and compensate for instability brought about by the external environment in order to maintain steady progress. Plans can improve the
allocation of human and material resources. Moreover, through organizational goals, plans can attract the attention of the members and increase their enthusiasm, so as to enhance the cohesion of the organization.
The second function is an organization’s system of leadership management. According to the objectives and requirements of plans, an appropriate organizational structure should be established to deploy the appropriate human and material resources to ensure the smooth progress of planned requirements and activities. In order to achieve the mission and goals of the organization itself, a reasonable division of labor and collaboration between people should be made, as well as the utilization of equipment and resources within the organization, and the correct handling of relationships between people.
The procedure of establishing an organizational system is as follows: according to the activities required to achieve their objectives, leaders need to determine a reasonable management system and establish a reasonable organizational structure. They need to divide the leadership management into levels, set up various working departments, and determine the nature of the activities and areas of responsibility of these various departments in accordance with the needs of the overall objectives. They also need to establish information communication channels to strengthen the links between the various departments and to carry out monitoring and supervision and a reasonable reward and punishment system.
The most common methods of setting up an organizational structure has the following types: the first is to set up institutions according to the functions required by the organization, such as planning, activities, property, personnel, and coordination. The working departments are generally divided into an integrated planning management, property management, activity management, personnel management and information management. The second is to set up an organizational structure in accordance with the tasks undertaken by organizations. That is, to set up an appropriate department to manage certain related activities. Generally speaking, leadership management departments are classified in accordance with the specific problems needed to be addressed.
Appropriate organizations need to be set up in accordance with their geographical activities, such as the Northeast, North China, East China, Central China, and South Central China. Businesses also set up branches in accordance with the locations of provinces.
The establishment of the organizational system should comply with the following eight principles:
The principle of a unified goal. All organizations should work towards the realization of a unified goal. If it is not conducive to the realization of this goal, then the organizational structure needs to be adjusted.
The principle of unified command. There should not be multiple leadership management within the organization. Everyone has only one boss and he is only responsible to that boss. Multiple leadership management will result in a situation where everyone is at a loss as to what to do and who to listen to.
The principle of efficiency. The setting up of the organization must take high efficiency into account, which means to achieve the desired purpose with minimal cost.
The principle of delegated authority and matching a function with power. Managers at any level of an organization should be granted the appropriate authority, and if that authority is delegated, this will be not conducive to mobilizing the enthusiasm of the relevant members. The so-called matching a function with power means that the position should be matched with the appropriate amount of power. Too much or too little is not suitable. The duties of the manager in charge at each level should be in accordance with his power.
The principle of management breadth. In leadership management, the number of people to do this efficiently at each level is limited, and should not be too broad or too narrow. A lot of management experience has shown that the number of subordinates efficiently supervised by the upper levels should be no more than six.
The ladder principle. Organizational structure goes from top to bottom with each layer followed by another layer. The organizational structure must be clear. Each level has its own scope of responsibility and its own rights and obligations. The lower level cannot bypass their immediate line managers, and the upper levels cannot act for the lower levels.
The principle of balance. The size of each part of the organizational structure should ensure effective work and coordination. Too big or too small is inappropriate.
The principle of flexibility. The so-called principle of flexibility means that the organization should have as sufficient flexibility in structure just as in its activities. In accordance with the change of objective conditions, making the necessary adjustments in a timely manner aims to make the people in charge at all levels be mentally prepared for a higher or lower position.
The third function is leadership management command. This means that leadership management personnel lead and manage by
communicating with and urging the subordinates to make members do their work correctly, thereby achieving the organization’s goals and plans. From a narrower perspective, leadership management command has to make the subordinates perform their duties better by using their functions and power which contain both command and domination. The activities of modern organizations have become increasingly complex, and their division of labor has become increasingly fine. Their work is closely linked, interrelated, and mutually restricted. In such cases, depending on the circumstances, an organization establishes a set of scientific and powerful systems of command with high efficiency in order to achieve a unified command, unified pace and unified action throughout the entire organization. It is of a very important significance for the normal activities of the organization.
The key to doing a good job in leadership management command lies in the leading managers being in a commanding position. Leading managers have certain powers that are applied to give orders to the subordinate. Apart from the powers formally granted by the organization, the leading managers also have powers of reward, such as incentives, bonuses, and good treatment; but on the other hand they have restrictive powers, such as pay cuts, withholding salary, and demotion. Besides, the leadership management itself also has influence that plays an important role for the subordinates and sometimes it is a silent command.
The art of leadership management command is one of the master arts of leadership. It is difficult to make good use of power. In general, in a centralized management system, the leadership policy adopted by leading managers is closer to a natural style of supervision. In a system paying attention to efficiency, the leading managers emphasize the application of power and strict discipline. But in recent years, modern leadership management has had a decentralizing tendency. The focus of leadership management has shifted to how to use the workers’ recognition of power, their education and motivation to improve their morale and strengthen their sense of responsibility and mission, so that members can consciously fulfill their obligations.
The fourth function is the coordination of regulation and communication functions of leadership management. This means that an organization surrounding a target makes coordinated arrangements and scheduling, and communicates their activities to each link and department, so that they can complement and coordinate with each other and work in a more unified manner. Coordination and communication are comprehensive concepts with a wide range, such as lateral coordination and communication between various departments and various links, as well as the vertical
kind between leading managers and those being led. It also includes coordination and communication between the organization and external units such as the community, the relevant government departments, the news media, other branches, and partners.
Coordinated regulation and communication is a comprehensive function. It can be said that the coordination work of an organization influences not only the activities of the organization but also the its ability to gain a firm foothold in the community. It is sometimes related to the survival of an organization. So every organization cannot ignore the role of coordination and communication. Only good coordination and communication can give full play to the functions of management within businesses, in order to create a good, active environment.
The fifth function is the control and correction of leadership management. This means to assess and check the work of subordinates and to check and take control of the organization’s activities to identify gaps, and then to promptly make corrections to ensure normal operations and the achievement of the goals of the organization in accordance with established plans, goals and standards.
The control and correction functions include two parts. One part is the control of normal work. The working situation is constantly revised and reviewed by controlling. The other part is the control of the current affiliated members. According to performance of members, it appraises and supervises to make members become more devoted to their duties, and complete the objectives and tasks.
Control and correction should follow a few principles. The first is to apply remedies according to indications. They must be able to reflect the characteristics of the controlled work, and take into account the internal and external environmental factors and the actual situation and to have a certain flexibility. The second is that control and correction should be fair and objective. The control process must adhere to the principle of fairness, and avoid disputes. The third is that control and correction should try to prompt a military-style decision, having correctly identified problems in time and without delay.
In addition to the above five functions, there is a further important function of the decision-making function. Decision-making plays a vital role in all the activities of today’s organizations in society. The leadership management activities of any unit and any organization are not indispensable from decision-making. Decision-making throughout all its aspects is at the core of leadership management work, and it is the basis for the implementation of the importance of leadership management. This importance has gained more and more attention from leading
managers. About this question, the author will make a detailed exposition of leadership decision-making and leadership management.