Question: Zaleznik (1977) said that leaders and managers are different. What research evidence is there to support or reject such a view? Do you agree with him?

Essay from the year 2005 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: 2,0 (B), University of Salford (School of Management), course: Organisational Behaviour, language: English, abstract: The business sector in today's society is increasing rapidly. On the one hand this increase produces the need for more people to manage and lead the growing companies. On the other hand this growing need also raises some potential questions: Could anyone become a leader or a manager? Is there a difference between both? Can people be trained to become leaders or managers? Just like many other questions that might be asked in business; these questions have no exclusive, definite answer. Due it is important to produce an assignment with the following issues: Part 2.1: Support of the thesis: Leaders and managers are different Primarily this part points out Zaleznik's notion about the differences between leaders and managers. Moreover it highlights further arguments from researches that support this main idea. Part 2.2: Rejection of the thesis: Leaders and managers are equal In this juncture it is attempted to reject the thesis from the previous part. Hence it is the essential issue to set out the similarities between both economical occupational titles. Part 2.3: Personal comment on the thesis: Leaders and managers are different The last topic compares both former parts and includes my personal opinion towards Zaleznik's assumption.