OEM 201 : EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP --- THE OPEN UNIVERSITY OF TANZANIA.

Q.  With  examples  in  educational  context   evaluate  each  of   the  following  functions  of  management {  planning, organizing , controlling , coordinating  and  staffing }.

ANSWER

Organizing: Arranging everything and persons (all resources) to be at the right place and at the right time so that the performance of tasks may proceed smoothly.

Coordinating: Ensuring that the activities and contributions of all those working in the enterprise are properly combined and aligned to form a balanced and harmonious effective unit.

Directing: Deciding who, when and how employees carry out the tasks allocated to them.

Controlling: Checking regularly to ensure that performance tallies with plans, and if not, find out why, then review and take appropriate actions.

Staffing: Making sure the enterprise has the work-force it requires, and that all the staff are properly trained and groomed for current and future challenges.

Motivating: Ensuring that the urges, drives, desires, aspirations, striving or needs of employees are observed and harnessed as a way of influencing them to perform at a level high enough for achievement of the goals of the enterprise.

Communicating: Making sure information flows freely downwards, up­wards and side-ways so that management and the workforce know sufficiently enough to take informed and productive decisions and, at the same time, ensuring healthy relationships among individuals and units of the enterprise. 

Marshaling Resources: Ensuring efficient allocation of resources - hu­man, money (financial), materials and machines, in the operation of the business.

Forecasting: Looking into the future, ascertaining likely developments and opportunities for the purpose of setting out plans to optimally exploit avail­able opportunities.

Planning: Deciding what shall be done, by whom, when, where and how.

Decision Making: Considering the various alternatives of doing things and deciding which way to go, i.e. making choices concerning resource application, business opportunities and problems.

Problem Solving: Properly defining problems or obstacles in the way of good performance and removing such obstacles.

Leading: Influencing and getting commitment from employees to contrib­ute voluntarily and enthusiastically in the performance of needed tasks.

OEM 201 : EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP---THE OPEN UNIVERSITY OF TANZANIA.

Q. Identify  different  skills  that  you   consider   most  important  in   educational   management  and  give  an   example   to   each.

ANSWER:

Planning Skills

Planning involves estimating future conditions and circumstances and making decisions based on these estimations about what work is to be done by those involved in the management of the educational sector. What heads of educational institutions need to understand is the rapid transformation in the education sector. In achieving a sustainable system inline with this transformation, plans need to be long term and should therefore, be reviewed periodically.

Dan Power in his article what are planning skills suggested that planning skills should be developed in relation to the following seven competency areas:

1.     Analyzing and interpreting data and situations

2.     Diagnosing problems and identifying relevant causal factors

3.     Predicting and forecasting

4.     Goal setting and identifying possible courses of action

5.     Evaluating and comparing possible courses of action

6.     Communicating

7.     Implementing actions and monitoring them.

Planning in educational institutions should involve making arrangements for human resources such as the number of students that should be admitted, the number of teachers needed, the financial standing of the institution, the culture that should be adopted as well as the aims and functions of the educational institution. 

Controlling Skills

An efficient way of controlling performance of both students and lectures is by having system that records their attendance. This system can be in the form of a bio-metric device which registers the finger prints of both the staff and the students or a computerized system in which they clock in on assuming duty and clock out at the end of the day.

Training and Coaching Skills

·        Training Skills

Training is the process of helping individuals to acquire knowledge and skills in order for a person to carry out specific tasks or a job. Academic and non-academic staff of educational institutions need training to improve on their existing skills. The academic staff of educational institutions need to engage in systematic Continuing Professional Education (CPE) in order to maintain, improve, update and broaden their knowledge and skills and  personal qualities required in their professional careers.

·        Coaching Skills

Coaching involves providing feedback and support for staff to help them improve their performance in their role. In America for example, students are attached to a coach who handles students that have low IQ. These students are given individual attention so that they can catch up with the other of their classmates.

OEM 201 : EDUCATIONAL MANGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP --- THE OPEN UNIVERSITY OF TANZANIA.

Question: Contrast   transformational   with  transactional  leadership   theory.Explain  why  most  current theories  of  leadership  are  based  on situational  contingencies.

ANSWER:-

Transactional Leadership

Transactional leadership styles are more concerned with maintaining the normal flow of operations. Transactional leadership can be described as "keeping the ship afloat." Transactional leaders use disciplinary power and an array of incentives to motivate employees to perform at their best. The term "transactional" refers to the fact that this type of leader essentially motivates subordinates by exchanging rewards for performance.

A transactional leader generally does not look ahead in strategically guiding an organization to a position of market leadership; instead, these managers are solely concerned with making sure everything flows smoothly today.

Transformational Leadership

A transformational leader goes beyond managing day-to-day operations and crafts strategies for taking his company, department or work team to the next level of performance and success. Transformational leadership styles focus on team-building, motivation and collaboration with employees at different levels of an organization to accomplish change for the better. Transformational leaders set goals and incentives to push their subordinates to higher performance levels, while providing opportunities for personal and professional growth for each employee.

Advantages

Both leadership styles are needed for guiding an organization to success. Transactional leaders provide distinct advantages through their abilities to address small operational details quickly. Transactional leaders handle all the details that come together to build a strong reputation in the marketplace, while keeping employees productive on the front line.

Transformational leadership styles are crucial to the strategic development of a small business. Small businesses with transformational leaders at the helm shoot for ambitious goals, and can they achieve rapid success through the vision and team-building skills of the leader.

Applications

Different management styles are best suited to different situations. When it comes to front-line supervisors of minimum-wage employees, for example, a transactional leadership style can be more effective. Shift supervisors at a fast food restaurant will be much more effective if they are concerned with ensuring all of the various stations run smoothly, rather than spending their time thinking up better ways to serve hamburgers.

On the other hand, CEOs or sales managers can be more effective if they are transformational leaders. Executive managers need the ability to design and communicate grand strategic missions, passing the missions down to transactional leaders for implementation of the details.

OEM 201 : EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP--THE OPEN UNIVERSITY OF TANZANIA

Core Leadership Theories

The Four Core Theory Groups

Let's look at each of the four core groups of theory, and explore some of the tools and models that apply with each. (Keep in mind that there are many other theories out there.)

1. Trait Theories – What Type of Person Makes a Good Leader?

Trait theories argue that effective leaders share a number of common personality characteristics, or "traits."

Early trait theories said that leadership is an innate, instinctive quality that you do or don't have. Thankfully, we've moved on from this idea, and we're learning more about what we can do to develop leadership qualities within ourselves and others.

Trait theories help us identify traits and qualities (for example, integrity, empathy, assertiveness, good decision-making skills, and likability) that are helpful when leading others.

However, none of these traits, nor any specific combination of them, will guarantee success as a leader.

Traits are external behaviors that emerge from the things going on within our minds – and it's these internal beliefs and processes that are important for effective leadership.

2. Behavioral Theories – What Does a Good Leader Do?

Behavioral theories focus on how leaders behave. For instance, do leaders dictate what needs to be done and expect cooperation? Or do they involve their teams in decision-making to encourage acceptance and support?

In the 1930s, Kurt Lewin developed a framework based on a leader's behavior. He argued that there are three types of leaders:

1.     Autocratic leaders make decisions without consulting their teams. This style of leadership is considered appropriate when decisions need to be made quickly, when there's no need for input, and when team agreement isn't necessary for a successful outcome.

2.     Democratic leaders allow the team to provide input before making a decision, although the degree of input can vary from leader to leader. This style is important when team agreement matters, but it can be difficult to manage when there are lots of different perspectives and ideas.

3.     Laissez-faire leaders don't interfere; they allow people within the team to make many of the decisions. This works well when the team is highly capable, is motivated, and doesn't need close supervision. However, this behavior can arise because the leader is lazy or distracted; and this is where this style of leadership can fail.

Clearly, how leaders behave affects their performance. Researchers have realized, though, that many of these leadership behaviors are appropriate at different times. The best leaders are those who can use many different behavioral styles, and choose the right style for each situation.

Our article "Laissez Faire" versus Micromanagement   looks at how you can find the right balance between autocratic and laissez-faire styles of leadership, while our article on the Blake-Mouton Managerial Grid   helps you decide how to behave as a leader, depending on your concerns for people and for production.

3. Contingency Theories – How Does the Situation Influence Good Leadership?

The realization that there is no one correct type of leader led to theories that the best leadership style depends on the situation. These theories try to predict which style is best in which circumstance.

For instance, when you need to make quick decisions, which style is best? When you need the full support of your team, is there a more effective way to lead? Should a leader be more people-oriented or task-oriented? These are all questions that contingency leadership theories try to address.

The Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory   is a popular contingency-based leadership framework, which links leadership style with the maturity of individual members of the leader's team. Other contingency-based models include House's Path-Goal Theory   and Fiedler's Contingency Model  .

You can also use the Leadership Process Model   to understand how your situation affects other factors that are important for effective leadership, and how, in turn, these affect your leadership.

4. Power and Influence Theories – What is the Source of the Leader's Power?

Power and influence theories of leadership take an entirely different approach – these are based on the different ways that leaders use power and influence to get things done, and they look at the leadership styles that emerge as a result.

Perhaps the best-known of these theories is French and Raven's Five Forms of Power  . This model highlights three types of positional power – legitimate, reward, and coercive – and two sources of personal power – expert and referent (your personal appeal and charm). The model suggests that using personal power is the better alternative, and that you should work on building expert power   (the power that comes with being a real expert in the job) because this is the most legitimate source of personal power.

Another leadership style that uses power and influence is transactional leadership  . This approach assumes that people do things for reward and for no other reason. Therefore, it focuses on designing tasks and reward structures. While this may not be the most appealing leadership strategy in terms of building relationships and developing a highly motivating work environment, it often works, and leaders in most organizations use it on a daily basis to get things done.