AJANKOHTAISTA 69

For management

Raimo Nurmi

ABSTRACT lnstead of boring the reader by a detailed ana­ lysis of this jungle, 1 shall cut myself through it The paper highlights two points: 1) lt has all and end up with the following simplified defi­ been argued that there is too much of nitions: management and too little of leadership. This Management is a position in an organization paper speaks for management. 2) An excursion and a responsibility that comes with the orga­ to the linguistics of management shows that nizational position. Managers need manageria! the distinction between management and competences like professors, lawyers, artists, leadership is not universal. carpenters and cleaners need competences in their professional or occupational fields. Leader­ ship is a persona! skill to vision, act and influence 1. MANAGEMENT ANO LEADERSHIP people ahead and in frontof them. Leaders need persona! leadership skills. Management is based Whenever I write on management subjects in on a status in a hierarchy and leadership on the Finnish or in English, 1 come across the predi­ persona! prestige of the person. The two may go cament that the Finnish word johtaminen stands together, but it is not necessarily so. for both management and leadership. ln Fin­ A couple of decades ago leadership was still nish you can johtaa (the verb) a company as considered a necessary skill for supervisors or well as a race. lf this is confusing to an English middle-managers (e.g. McFarland, 1979; Miner, speaker, it is quite as confusing for a Finnish Singleton & Luchsinger, 1985, 188; Kreitner, speaker to understand that a conductor leads a 2001, 173 - 177). lt was thought that top mana­ symphony orchestra, but it is managed by some­ gement should work on strategic matters, and one in the back-officetaking care of financial and then delegate the implementation of the strategy other mundane matters. This has given me a few to the lower echelons. To get the delegated stra­ headaches in translating management thinking tegy implemented the middle management and between the Finnish and English languages. 1 supervisors needed leadership skills, meaning have had to study the differencein meaning of the that they should persuade the operative people two English words, something that is obviously to work for the wisdom invented by the top mana­ self-evident to any native English-speaker. This gement. The generals had the brain, the soldiers paper is an attempt to share what I think I have were the hands, and the latter should not mess learned. up with the generals' tasks. This verticaldivision First of all, let me check, if I have understood of labour is deeply rooted in the Western thin­ the concepts of management and leadership the king, and Aristotle was probably the first to write same way as a native English speaker would about it (Nurmi, 1984.) lndeed, the word stra­ understand them. Definitions abound in the lite­ tegy comesfrom Greece, and it means the office rature, and, needless to say, they are all but in of the general. This is still a difference between agreement. lt seems as though every self-res­ the Western concept of division of labour and pecting scholar on the subject would have liked the Japanese collective organizational thinking to leave his or her mark in the definition jungle. (Ouchi, 1981). HALLI NNON TUTKIMUS 4 • 2005 70

This strict division betweenstrategic planning rished cultural achievements based on Church and nation-states. When European business and operations producedvoluminous and sophi�­ ticated strategic papers and long range plans m people, management consultants and educators many companies. lt tumed out that they had little talk about leadership in admiration of the Ameri­ influence on operations. People forgot the plans can doctrine, they do not always realize that they and the strategies - if they ever leamed to know try to apply the idea in a cultural and national about them. lt is not that long ago that I heard ethos that differs from the origins of the leader­ an executive say: "We had a marvellous stra­ ship doctrine. This may raise difficulties, to say tegy - only our personnel did not understand ir. the least. We have witnessed "The riseand fall of strategic Let us take a short excursion to the linguistics planning" to quote the title ofMintzberg·s (1994) of management. Language is a comucopia of book on the subject. meanings, connotations, nuances and dialects. Managers, consultants, textbook-writers and For all this, the following short review cannot management educators began to realize that do justice. There cannot be a neat, let alene planning and implementing are not two separate a perfect presentation on such a subject. But things; they must overlap timewise and organiza­ even with its roughness and simplifications, it tionally. Leadership then came on the agenda for may indicate that thinking about management top management. The term strategic leadership and leadership is neither as objective nor univer­ was coined (Schendel, 1989). Strategic leader­ sal as we tend to think. ship is not just delegating the strategy from top to bottom, but it is more importantly collecting stra­ tegic impulses that emerge in the organization 2. LINGUISTICS OF MANAGEMENT and at the customer interface. ln this process first the difference between strategy and opera­ 2. 1. English as a tangled language tions became blurred (Nurmi, 1999). Something similar may now be taking place to the difference English belongs to the Germanic group of lan­ between management and leadership. guages, but it has strong sediments of Latin Leadership has not only grown in importance, influence from the time of the Roman occupa­ but it has become a doctrine. Leadership is an tion. (Even Gaelic influences have remained, but example of American-based leadership doctrines my Gaelic is too rusty to trace these roots here). on what good management is. Some of it comes The word management has a Latin origin. lts close to a religion. There is recent American criti­ root is manus meaning hand. When Latin began cism of the concept as well (Goslin & Mintzberg, to take form as Italian languages, maneggiare 2003; Pearce & Conger, 2003; Raelin, 2003). became to mean horse training. Shakespeare Leadership is not actually used in the English used management in this sense in e.g. "King by the-man-in-the street as pompously as in the Lear" (32), but it also meant trickeryand deceit­ leadership literature. ful contrivance for Shakespeare in "As you like Leadership is rooted in the history of USA, it" (4) and for George Washington in his Letters in its myths and legends of strong and charisma­ (1893, 63). lt was only after the industrial revdu­ tic individuals, who can make the world better tion and particularly in America (Drucker, 1997, by their will-power, talents and charisma. Ameri­ 14) that management began to be established can democracy cherishes individual freedom and in its present decent meaning. Leadership on liberty. And indeed, much of the achievements of the other hand comes from Old Germanic langu­ the USA are based on this kind of heroic people. age. lts root is the verb laedan (or lithan or lidan) American history-writinghighlights individual and meaning travelling, going. At that time travelling entrepreneurial initiative and leadership. meant riding in front of a convoy. Europeans have experienced dictators. The­ refore, Europeans see democracy as a means to prevent too much power from being concent­ 2.2. Romani ducerent rated on one person. Democracy is based on resentment against holders of power (Russell, Let us go back to the roots of it all or to the Latin 1995, 136). European history-writing has che- language. Latin ducere (manage), dux (mana- AJANKOHTAISTA 71

ger) and ductus (management) remind now lta­ ness management takes ane af the prefixes Bet­ lians af Mussolini, who called himself II Duce. riebs-, Geschäfts- or Unternehmungs- -leitung Ducere comes from Latin conducere meaning or -fOhrung. UnternehmungsfOhrung is establis­ bringing things together, and from it comes con­ hed ta mean top management. Aisa F0hrung­ durre in Italian, conduire in French, conduct in skraftis used in the same meaning. But German English and similar forms in just about ali lndo­ speaking people aisa talk about Managers (see European languages. Italian maneggiare or man­ Kieser, Reber and Wunderer, 1995 and Szabo, & ediare is currently used in a pejorative sense. Reber, 2004). Even the word Organisation means Caesar would not have been pleased, had he roughly management (Ordnung muss sein). So been called a manager or maneggiatore in his does Verwaltung,literally administration, which is attempt ta invade Britannia. Gestion is the clo­ often considered a typicalGerman way af mana­ sest Latin word ta the present English mana­ gement legitimised by Max Weber. ln Swedish gement. So are gestione in Italian languages, the language construction is similar ta German. gestion in French and gesti6n in Spanish. Diri­ Ledning (leadership) becomes in companies gere in Latin is directing, and directors abound företagsledning or management (företag= com­ in ali Western languages though written in dif­ pany). ferent ways. Amministrare meant originally ser­ ving, and this is what good administration should be. 2.4. Fenno-Ugric management.

Even though the Finnish johtaminen does not 2.3. Germanpeoples were coming make a difference between management and leadership, the difference exists in Estonian and The Romans called the peoples beyond Rhine Hungarian. Juhtimine is management in Esto­ and Danube German, Teutonic and barbaric - nian, while the word eestvedamine (pulling in ali these names had a scornful meaning for front af) is a leadership equivalent, but it is not Romans. Vikings were ane af these peoples. used in as grand a way as in the leadership The present day lcelandic is remarkably similar literature (Uksvärav, 2003). ln Hungarian intez ta Old Norse, the language af the Vikings, which refers ta management, while vezet is leading and began ta take a distinct form from Old Germanic conveying in front. during the first millennium. There are in lceland What do we learn from this linguistic excur­ today language guardians who object, if some­ sion? Certainlythat the subjectis far from simple, one uses an anglo-expression where there is a even though all I write here is a deliberate attempt proper lcelandic expression in place. This pre­ ta simplify it. The distinction between manage­ servation af archaeology af a language is compa­ ment and leadership is not universal. And I dare rable ta the preservation af Colosseum in Rome not say anything about the Arab, Russian, Chi­ or Stonehenge in England. Stj6rn is manage­ nese, lndian and varied African languages, and ment in the lcelandic language - fromthis comes their concepts and thinking about management. steer in English. Without steering the Vikings How does this archaeology af language reflect could not have sailed over the Atlantic and down itself in the national and cultural differences in ta the Mediterranean. The Vikings Guide ta Good management in differentparts af the world? This Business from the 13th century and the Birka is an exciting question, but there are no easy Code are collections af advice and wisdom for answers ta it. Whatcan be said for sure, is that managers (Thorlaksson, 2003). leadership is quintessentially an American con­ Leitung and Leiter or F0hrung and F0hrer are cept and an American phenomenon - it is not words for management and leadership in the such a grand thing even in Great Britain. Organi­ present day German language. They are actu­ sation and Verwaltung are German characteris­ ally closer ta the idea af leadership than mana­ tics, and they are recognizable in German owned gement. Leitung is more bureaucratic and not companies and their subsidiaries even in other that often used, whereas F0hrung is more cha­ countries. Scandinavian management af today rismatic, and in this sense, closer ta leadership. has an identity af its own that bears marks af F0hrer is however seldom used afterHitler. Susi- the Viking legacy (Czarniawska & Sev6n, 2003). 72 HALLINNON TUTKIMUS 4 • 2005

Fin ns consider themselves reservedand modest lity means tyranny; responsibility without power is - or perhaps just envious, if someone has the frustrating, even suffocating. Or in the frequently courage to raise his or her head an inch above cited words by Lord Acton (1887): "Power tends others. This is probably why there has not been to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolu­ a leadership fever in Finland, even though the tely". But leadership is based on the persona! fashionable concept is often verbalised without charisma and qualities of the leader. Charisma is properly understanding what it means. not checked by positiona! accountability. When Globalization is a reality of today. ln this pro­ manageria! power is balanced by manageria! res­ cess the differences in meanings, concepts and ponsibility, leadership needs ethics as a balan­ thinking are not just a linguistic exercise, but they cing factor. are conducive to daily misunderstandings bet­ Just seeing a few newsreels of Hitler's ween people. Making people understand each speeches makes one believe in his enormous other is a very practical everyday exercise for leadership skills. He created the vision of a Reich intemational managers. for a thousand years (Hitler, 1933), but in the end he destroyed his country and as a by-pro­ duct much else in Europe. Martin Luther (King), 3. SPEAKING FOR MANAGEMENT Gandhi and Jesus are also considered great leaders, but history has given them a much higher lt has been argued that there is too much ethical grade. Obviously, the leaders achieve - of management (Parker, 2002) and too little of for better or for worse - much more than mana­ leadership (Nunni & Darling, 1997). There is gers do. This is why ethical considerations are ample literature to speak for leadership (e.g. necessary, whenever leadership is assessed. Bennis, 1991; Conger & Kanungo, 1985; Bennis & Clearly, leaders would benefit from manage­ Nanus, 1983). HarvardBusiness Reviewwanned ria! competence. Had Hitler learned at !east the up the view in its January issue in 2004 by repub­ ABC of economic thinking, organizing interna­ lishing Zaleznik's, Goleman·s, Maccoby's and tional operations and logistics, he would have Prentice·s articles in its Best of HBR -series. learned that conquering Stalingrad was doomed Also books like Grint (2000) and Ashby & Miles to fail. Actually, his generals, trained in mana­ (2002) keep the leadership issue alive. Leader­ gement, tried to tell him so (Shirer, 1958, 423 ship is considered grander, more lucrative and - 439), but Hitler's leadership vision blindfolded admirable, in a word: better, than the less visible, him from seeing what did not fit with his commit­ down-to-earth, greyer management. Whereshall ment. we ever find enough of these flamboyant and Jesus seems to have been more realistic a excellent leaders - do they unfold by nature or by leader and a manager. Even his followers seem nurture? lt is time to speak for management. to have learned their lessons in marketing (see First of all, running a company requires down­ Jones, 1995). Jesus himself had a vision that to-earth, common, dull, trite, everyday, manage­ has so far stood for two millennia, but he could ment. Even disgusting and repulsive things must also organize and manage his disciples, who be done to keep things going. Managers are spread the message throughout the world they there to take careof and be responsible for these knew and organized a church, whose presence kinds of things, even though it would be nicer to is known on this day everywhere on our planet. beam as a leader in front of everybody on high lt may be a reason of the undeniable success platforms. Management is getting things done. story of Christianity that Jesus could combine his Churchill was celebrated as The Great Leader leadership skills with manageria! competence. in Oxford Street in London in the Victory Day Was Jesus a leader or a manager? Let me sug­ in 1945, but before it he had had to manage a gest this as a theme for a doctoral dissertationin chain of events that belongs to the cruellest in any Learned School of Theology. 1 am not after the English and European history. a copyright or royalties here. After all, all cultu­ Management is based on a position in an orga­ ral products have been more or less legal thefts nization. The position implies power and respon­ until somebody invented the television formats. sibility. The two go together. They should be by A manager develops his or her organization to and large in balance. Power without responsibi- the extent that he makes himself or herself unne- AJANKOHTAISTA 73 cessary. Clearly, there are cases when a new des a manager in an executive position cannot manager must be recruited from outside of the affordmany big errors just for his or her own lear­ company, because leaders have been unable to ning, because these errors have strong reper­ develop manageria! competence in their organi­ cussions. A good manageria! competence is a zation or downright unwilling to delegate, autho­ necessary condition in all manageria! tasks. Add rize and empower their subordinates to increase leadership skills, - given by nature or leamed their manageria! experience and competence. by nurture - and you have ingredients of good This is not the whole truth. There are cases when manageria! leadership. a new brush is needed to sweep or the manage­ To leam leadership is a much more complica­ ria! echelon has been too thin to make internal ted a matter. lt is certainly difficult to become a management succession possible. Or then the leader by way of formal education. A high aca­ manager of the manager may have realized that, demic grade in leadership is scarcely a grant indeed, s/he has one unnecessary manager, and for becoming a leader. lt is possible to grow in it is easier for him or her to axe the poor fellow leadership skills. Will-power - a crucial charac­ than to promote him or her to a more demanding teristic of leadership - requires innate qualities, job, where s/he could again make himself or her­ and, then an appropriate nurture can seal it. lt self unnecessary on a higher level. is possible to develop will-power and leadership Manageria! competence is based on some kind skills by way of exercises in character building. of a substance, whereas leadership is based Boarding Schools and military education have on persona! skills, assertiveness and persuasive this kind of objectives. But leadership skills can influence. lf there is no substance behind the also emerge in compensation of inadequate leadership skills, there is a chance of colossal formal education. This is true as regards Hitler. misleading. The combination of a strong belief The world did not lose a great painter in him. and incompetence has produced time and again Leading too far from the front runs the risk of great disasters by good-willing people with good losing touch with the led, the rest of the organiza­ conscience. Sometimes only a cynic can cor­ tion, its operations and its people. Another option rect what an ignorant idealist has done wrong is to manage neither from above nor in front (Greene, 1956). but in the middle. This means working with the A leader promotes him- or herself to persona! others and getting oneself exposed to the ope­ greatness, heroism and glory rather than deve­ rations. Part-time management has increased lops the organization and the maturity of the particularlyin knowledge-intensive organizations people. The great leaders may have a narcissis­ (Nurmi, 1998). ln them, anyone who has promo­ tic syndrome (Maccoby, 2004) to increase their ted himself or herself to be a big boss may soon power, which may or may not work to the benefit find himself or herself isolated from the organi­ of the organization. lf the leader succeeds in this zation. endeavour, and, yet, becomes for one reason ln times of crises there is a quest for leader­ or another incapacitated, the whole organization ship. People are looking for a saviour to elevate falls into a great trouble. There are examples of them and draw out their group and a whole nation this, and it easily breeds the illusion that the Great from the trouble they have seen. Clearly George Leader was irreplaceable. Another reason may W. Bush responded to this need and showed be that The Leader had a distaste for mentoring great leadership in a reaction to the terrorist his successors and did not let people share res­ attack to the World Trade Center. But national ponsibility. lndeed, organizational development leadership becomes more and more confined might have been a threat to his leadership. at a time, when the Brussels, the New York The basics of management can be studied and Stock Exchange, cheap imports and the trans­ learned, albeit it is the practice that makes a fer of work to countries that are more attractive master. lt eases manageria! career, if all is not to companies rock nations, companies and citi­ learned by trial and error. Manageria! education zens alike. Local leaders and national leader­ alone cannot make a competent manager, but it ship encounter global limitations. is possible to cut the long and cumbersome way There may be a demand of a Churchill, Roose­ of learning everything via persona! experience velt or Reagan, but he would probably not have by learning from the experience of others. Besi- the same manageria! margin any longer. 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