Managers and Leaders in Organizations of a Post-transition Economy

Abstract

Managers and leaders are different figures within an organization but are also alike. During different stages of the organizational life cycle we sometimes need more manager-oriented people and at other times more leader-oriented people. However most of the time we need them both in order to achieve a balance within the organization. Slovenia is a post-transition economy, facing new challenges and opportunities therefore the need for leader-oriented people is expected to be huge. Nevertheless our research showed that in Slovenian profit and non-profit organizations, upper management positions have been occupied by manager-oriented people but at the same time a balance exists between the two roles. We also found out that managers and leaders perceive the success of their organisations in quite a similar way. An adapted Hickman’s questionnaire together with a content analysis of subordinates’ comments about how they perceive their organization was used to ascertain the differences between them and their superiors. By knowing how employees perceive their managers and how the latter perceive themselves and their organizations we can develop better approaches to management development in post-transition economies.