Ethical Difference by Joseph Potts

¶ … Ethical Difference" by Joseph Potts

Joseph Potts, in discussing leadership and management in "The Ethical Difference," provides a newer, more humanistic perspective in viewing interaction and relations within an organization. It is evident that even though the issue of leadership vs. management is brought up in the book, giving the issue an analysis based on the humanist paradigm allows readers to look into the ethical implications and benefits that leadership brings to an organization than management.

Leadership is differentiated from management in that the former is associated with the ethicality of interacting and guiding other people towards the accomplishment of a particular task, while management is closely linked to the more objective, impersonal, and sometimes, unethical (or non-ethical) nature of controlling or guiding other people (members of the organization).

This distinction is vital in establishing the main theme of the book, which attempts to discuss the ethical difference between leadership and management. Under a leadership, members in an organization are dealt with by the leader in a personal and social manner. That is, a team, with its leader and members, come up with a solution to the problem or task by looking at both the skills and roles that each member play in the team. Skills and knowledge serve as the functional aspects of decision-making in a team, where rationalism and logic are used alongside the socio-emotional aspect -- that which involves communicating and interacting efficiently with other members of the team. This kind of guidance from a leader demonstrates the ethics of working with other people: in leadership, people witness a genuine respect for every individual in the team, and considers the welfare of each during a decision-making process.

The opposite, oftentimes, happen when mere management (without leadership) is utilized. A manager conducts decision-making activities with a team without concern or acknowledging the "human" aspect of the said activity -- that is, knowing the sentiments, attitudes, and feelings of each member. The manager acts objectively and interacts impersonally in order to accomplish his/her task. Thus, this creates disregard for the 'human element' of organizational or group membership and interaction -- the "non-ethical" aspect of management.

Apart from this discussion, a more important point that Potts brings out in the book is that leadership is "service-oriented," while management exists for 'survival' only. The author elucidates on these assertions in the book. What makes leadership service-oriented is the fact that the leader exists for the sake of the members of the organization, the individual who reconciles the management's and members' differences and conflicts. The manager, on the other hand, assumes responsibility to delegate mainly for the management, and although s/he shows regard and consideration for the members, their welfare is only secondary, as compared to management. A leader, moreover, is considered as part of the group or team composed of employees or members in an organization. He is both an outsider and insider: he is an insider because he is part of a subgroup/s created within the organization; he is also an outsider in that he is also part of the decision team of the management, an individual it relies on to provide information that will make negotiations and decision-making activities easier and fair for both parties (e.g., management and employees). The manager is also an outsider and insider. However, what distinguishes his/her role is that the manager has his/her allegiance with the management rather than the employees/members of the organization. Because of this, the manager has, oftentimes, an almost antagonistic relationship with the employees/members.