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ACCA Strategic Professional · Strategic Business Leader · Leadership and organisational culture

Zentra Foods has a new chief executive, Amira, who spends most of her time painting a picture of a sustainable-food future, inspiring staff to commit to it and challenging long-held assumptions. Her operations director, Ben, concentrates on schedules, budgets and resolving daily production problems. Which description best fits their respective emphases according to the leadership versus management distinction?

Amira is leading because she sets a vision, inspires commitment and challenges assumptions, while Ben is managing because he plans, budgets, organises and controls resources to keep daily operations running. Leadership concerns direction and change; management concerns order and control.

  1. AAmira is leading by creating direction and motivating change; Ben is managing by planning, organising and controlling resourcesCorrect
  2. BAmira is managing by controlling resources; Ben is leading by creating a vision
  3. CBoth are managing because each has formal authority over staff
  4. DBoth are leading because each influences the behaviour of others

Explanation

Leadership is commonly associated with establishing direction, aligning and motivating people and driving change. Management is associated with planning, budgeting, organising and controlling to achieve results. Amira's vision-setting is leadership; Ben's focus on schedules and budgets is management. Options 1 and 3 reverse or blur the distinction.

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