EDU602 - Educational Leadership and Management

Assignment No 1

Q no 1: How can you differentiate between the functions of “Planning” and Organizing” in
an organization?

Ans:

Planning means defining performance goals for an organization and determining what steps and
resources are needed to achieve those goals. Through planning, what the future of the
organization should be and how to achieve it. Strategic plans are long term and impact the entire
organization. A strategic plan bridges the gap between what an organization is and what it will
be. Strategic plans translate strategic plans into concrete actions to be implemented by
departments throughout the organization. The plan explains what needs to be done, who will do
it, and what resources are needed to do it.

For example, Due to increased competition from Chinese steel, Thessalonica Corp AG decided
to become an elevator manufacturing and maintenance company. The company's management
has set a goal to gain a majority in the elevator business. To do this, management planned to
form partnerships or take over existing elevator companies. The team has developed plans for the
development of new human resources and other material resources. The company also had to
spend resources related to the steel industry to raise capital for a new venture. This example is a
long term strategic plan that will take years to complete and will require many changes in the
process. But it all starts with explaining the goal and the initial way to achieve it.

Once the plans are in place, you need to decide how best to implement them. The organizational
function includes deciding how the organization will be formed (departments, matrix teams, job
responsibilities, etc.). Organization involves delegating authority and responsibility to different
departments, allocating resources throughout the organization, and explaining how teams and
individuals will be coordinated.

In the case of Thessalonica AG, management had to decide how to support two very different
business lines in order to achieve its long-term goal. Management needs to continue
manufacturing steel to ensure continued funding as the focus is gradually shifting towards
elevator manufacturing. He also had to develop new skills and resources to expand the
company's elevator manufacturing capabilities. A new organizational structure was needed to
support business activity as one was downsized and the other in construction.

Q no 2: Being a head of a school, what are the characteristics that he/she must posses?

Ans:

Principals must be some of the most effective leaders in the world to be successful. There are
some characteristics of a principal must possess.

Act Decisively

Effective leaders take time to make sure they are fully aware of the challenges they face and
respond to them with decisive action without questioning themselves.

Motivate Change

The fastest way to build a school where teachers and staff are stagnant and stuck is to create an
environment that believes "don't fix it unless it's broken." A key role in the life of a principal is to
be constantly on the move for change. This means change for schools, teachers, students, parents
and neighbors.

Deep commitments

Principal must not be polishing their resumes, but rather should have deep
commitment to their school, the advancement of the school' missions, and the
wellbeing of everyone in them. It is this deep commitment that makes leadership in
schools so challenging, because it requires a commitment to every employee, student,
and parent.

A sense of purpose

The values of a School must be clear, members of the School should know them, and
they should exemplify and uphold them in their own actions.

Courage
Principal are paid to set direction, not wait for direction to emerge. They have to be
willing to follow their convictions and bring their School to new places. This is most
sorely needed in response to the test-based regimen that has taken over our schools at
the expense of true education and social-emotional and character development.

Priority Management

It's easy to spend significant time and energy on important tasks if you don't have clear priorities.
As much as the principal may choose to work better, he can focus his efforts on the things that
matter most to his students and teachers.

These are the some significant characteristics for a good school principal.

Q no 3: Leaders are born or made, leadership is an art or science. What is your opinion
about the above two aspects?

Ans:

Are leaders born or made? This is one of the most frequently asked questions about leadership.

Research by psychologists has shown that, in general, leaders are "mostly made up." The best
estimates offered by the studies are that leadership is about one-third and two-thirds.

The ability to effectively direct, motivate, and direct a group of people - whether in business,
sports or politics - requires a very complex set of skills, most of which are experience, self-
development, and then achieved through access to learning. Expecting the birth of someone who
is a complete leader, able to inspire and guide his team, does not matter what we know about
group dynamics. The fact that leadership is formed most of the time is good news for those of us
who are involved in leadership development. However - and this is the third. Great leaders have
some innate qualities that they use to their advantage.

Lead by Example
this may be considered a natural born quality but examples only come through experiences.
Noted leadership scholar, Bernard Bass, noted, "The leader must be able to know what followers
want, when they want it, and what prevents them from getting what they want."
Never Stop learning
The well-known business coach, Hugo Heij says, “True leaders ensure they continue to develop
their leadership skills throughout their careers, through learning and development materials and
activities.” Fortunately, there is tremendous interest in leadership and in leader development.
Self-motivated Leaders may consider embarking on their own leadership development
programme.

Doing the Right Thing

To be successful, all leaders – whatever their leadership style, type and so on - must choose the
right action at the right time and “keep a steady eye on the ball”. They must be courageous, self-
aware – and ensure the consistent support of their team of followers.  This is a skill which needs
to be practised.

Is leadership is an art or science?

Art is human skills, imagination, expression, communication, emotions, and more. Science is the
process of understanding how an environment works through observation and experimentation.
In business, it is the understanding of social, physical, economic, technological, and political
environments.

It’s an Art. It's just like an Artist who, according to the requirements of any specific Character,
transforms himself. Whereas Science and scientific knowledge is something different from
Leadership... We may use some of the elements of scientific knowledge to prove leadership and
its interconnection but cannot say it as a "Science".

If we define leadership separately as an art or science, one can define and elaborate. But it will
be incomplete. In my opinion leadership is both. Sometimes it works as an art and sometimes as
a science. Leadership is both, an art and science. They work together for good results.