Organize Meeting and Interpretation (OMI) is an international organization that offers event organization for world leaders to gather and discuss important world issues. OMI determines the location fo

Question 1: What is the difference between management and leadership?  Assume you have two “hypothetical personalities “, Person A is to represent the leader of SAPPS and person B is a manager in SAPPS project. Use these “hypothetical personalities “and give examples of that they will do in SAPPS.

Leadership and management should go very closely on hands. Two are not exactly the same thing but kind of linked. Any effort to separate the two is likely to cause more problems than it solves.

The manager’s job is to plan, organize and coordinate the project.

There was a time when the calling of the manager and that of the leader could be separated. A foreman in an industrial-era factory did not have to give much thought to what he was producing or to the people who were producing it. The job was to follow orders, organize the process, assign the right people to the necessary assignments, coordinate the results. Also, make sure the task got done as requested. The focus was on efficiency.

Nowadays, in the new economy, where value comes increasingly from the knowledge of people, and where workers are no longer undifferentiated cogs in an industrial machine, management and leadership are not easily separated. People look to their managers, not just to assign them a task, but to define for them a purpose. And managers must organize workers, not just to maximize efficiency, but to nurture skills, develop talent and inspire results.

The main role of the Person A in SAPPS Project is leadership i.e. is a combination of personal qualities that inspire others to follow. Here are some key skills required for being a good leader:

- the leader innovates.

- the leader is an original.

- the leader develops.

- the leader focuses on people. Communication is the key, especially in such complex project. The leader has to convey the idea of the functionalities of a new IT system to a team in proper manner.

- the leader’s eye is on the horizon.

- the leader inspires trust. The effective leader incorporates all aspects of communication including altering tone and style and initiating conversations between appropriate parties when necessary.

- the leader originates.

- the leader challenges it.

- the leader is his or her own person.

- the leader does the right thing. This requires an uncommon level of maturity where personal egos are continuously held in check.

- the leader has a long-range perspective. He or she manages that the project is successful even when work is completed on his side.

Person B in SAPPS  Manager Skills & Competencies

Good business skills and familiarity SAPPS regulations are important in this field but being a good airport manager also requires broader soft skills.

- The manager is a copy;

- The manager maintains;

- The manager focuses on systems and structure;

- The manager relies on control. The manager should be able to deal with safety and security issues on daily basis and provide calm leadership during extreme situations.

- The manager has a short-range view;

- The manager asks how and when;

- The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line;

- The manager imitates;

- The manager accepts the status quo;

- The manager is the classic good soldier. Professional airport managers constantly need to stay on top of issues within multiple departments.

- The manager does things right;

Manage the things you need to manage, but lead the people you are supposed to lead.

Question 2:  SAPPS is going to be expanded in different part of the world. Some airports in Central Asia and Middle East would like to have SAPPS in their airports. At this point, you will be engaging with people from different cultures and languages.  What are the challenges that you might going to face while dealing with these international projects? List the challenges and given one example for each.

The project to deploy new IT system may touch in-house staff in a number of countries plus several third party suppliers who provide niche services. Managing international projects can be very interesting and rewarding, but they can be a challenge.

1. Language

The problem of a common language is far greater than you can imagine. In projects led from an English speaking country it does not have to be English for everything. IT system management tool may have interfaces in several languages. The team abroad can enter their timesheet data and interact with menus in their own language while keeping the ‘official’ language of project documents as English. The integration and training might be in English or another team might need to be hired for the integration process in other countries.

2. Time

Other cultures have different interpretations of time. The other team might not be punctual. The only way to manage this is to have frank conversations with everyone involved, spelling out what the potential challenges might be and asking for collaborative solutions to dealing with them. It is better to have these conversations early than spend a lot of time hanging around on conference calls waiting for the others to turn up.

3. Roles and Responsibilities

The role of the project manager might be very well respected in your own country, but your role may not be understood elsewhere. Colleagues in countries where companies have very hierarchical structures may not take direction from you because they may not see you (or your role) as very important. In addition, the team may not have received instructions about how their project responsibilities fit with their day to day activities.

4. Virtual Teams

If management decide to integrate the new IT system remotely, you might face another challenges. Managing virtual teams is difficult and it takes a lot of commitment from everyone involved. The team has to be consistent at documentation, knowledge sharing and team building. The team has to be aware to the challenges of virtual teams is the first step to identifying methods to help keep your team on track.

Question 3: Describe the democratic leadership style, the pacesetting leadership style, and the coaching leadership style. Explain why is the application of ethics to business settings important.

The democratic leadership style is used to attain important facts and info from the experts.

It focuses more on listening than it does directing and encourages participation from employees. The leadership style is essential, you will have specialists whose knowledge and experience will far exceed your own. 

Any leader that is skilled enough to eliminate their ego and use their team and the individuals in their teams to their strengths is clearly going to outperform a leader who cannot.

Correctly Used:

- Any situation that requires a big change from the entire team.

- Seek expert opinions when your own knowledge is less than that of your team.

The Pacesetting leadership style is very results focused, it focuses on the end result more than on the process of achieving those goals. Leaders using the pacesetting leadership lifestyle expect excellent performance from their teams when results are below expectations the leader will often jump up to pick up the slack. Due to this “follow my lead” approach each individual is held accountable to the leader’s high standards. 

Used Correctly:

This works well with a highly competent team that is well motivated and well trained.

- This style of leadership will not work well with an unconfident team who lack experience or motivation

- Use when needing to improve performance to deliver short term goals

The coaching leadership style focuses on developing people for the future by joining the development of individuals goals with the long term goals of an organization’s success. The coaching leadership style develops people professionally working on identifying weaknesses and improving their skill sets. When used correctly this leadership style is very beneficial to both the organization and individuals being coached as both their success and the organization’s long term goals are aligned with the organization’s mission. Used Correctly Improve a particular skill in an individual or team

- Use with well-motivated people who want to improve

- Generally a great method for continuous long-term improvement

The application of ethics to business settings is important because it is important to know that the company you deal with has stated its morals and made a promise to work in an ethical and responsible manner, so that allows investors’ peace of mind that their finances are being used in a way that arranges with their own moral standing. Working for a company with strong business ethics, employees are comfortable in the knowledge that they are not by their own action allowing unethical practices to continue.  Customers are at ease buying products or services from a company they know to source their materials and labor in an ethical and responsible way.

Question 4: What is resistance? How might an individual or group resist the implementation of a new information system? Explain why would people resist change even if it was beneficial to them?

Resistance occurs when employees don't understand how they fit into the new way of doing things, so resistance is the ability to adapt and change which is essential to business success. But not everyone embraces change so easily.

There are ' perceive ' and ' threat ' key terms here. An individual or group resist the implementation of a new information system by effectively engaging employees, implementing changes in several stages, poor communication and engagement.  People resist changes because of fear of losing job or opportunity, fear of the unknown, peer pressure, lack of competence, not being consulted or climate of mistrust.

When you know the reasons people resist change will help you implement change with fewer issues. To eliminate fear of the unknown by letting affected groups know there will be changes coming. Avoid mistrust and the feeling of loss of control by getting others involved in the changes before they occur and asking them to offer input and feedback.

References: https://blogs.accaglobal.com/2014/11/25/why-is-ethics-important-to-business/

https://guides.wsj.com/management/developing-a-leadership-style/how-to-develop-a-leadership-style/