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ACCA Strategic Professional · Strategic Business Leader · Qualities of leadership

Dunmore Retail has stable operations and an experienced team. Its operations director, Kwame Boateng, spends most of his time agreeing monthly budgets, monitoring variances, resolving stock shortfalls and making sure each store follows standard procedures. Which conclusion is most consistent with the leadership versus management distinction?

His work is predominantly management. Budgeting, variance control, problem solving and enforcing procedures create predictability and order, which stable operations need. Leadership in Kotter's sense involves vision, aligning people and driving change, which is not the main content of his described activities.

  1. AHis activities are predominantly management, producing predictability and order, which is valuable but does not by itself supply visionCorrect
  2. BHis activities are predominantly leadership, because he influences store staff to follow procedures
  3. CHis activities are predominantly leadership, because budgeting and control are about change
  4. DHis activities are neither leadership nor management, because they are routine

Explanation

Budgeting, variance monitoring, problem solving and ensuring procedures are followed are classic management activities aimed at consistency and order. Leadership concerns vision, alignment and inspiring change. Influencing staff to follow procedures is compliance and control, not the transformational direction-setting associated with leadership.

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