Organizational behavior chapter 12

Robbins & JudgeOrganizational Behavior13th EditionChapter 12: Basic Approaches to Leadership

Student Study SlideshowBob StretchSouthwestern College12-* 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

What Is Leadership?LeadershipThe ability to influence a group toward the achievement of goalsManagementUse of authority inherent in designated formal rank to obtain compliance from organizational membersBoth are necessary for organizational success

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Trait Theories of LeadershipTheories that consider personality, social, physical, or intellectual traits to differentiate leaders from nonleadersNot very useful until matched with the Big Five Personality FrameworkLeadership TraitsExtroversionConscientiousnessOpenness Emotional Intelligence (Qualified) Traits can predict leadership, but they are better at predicting leader emergence than effectiveness



Behavioral Theories of LeadershipTheories proposing that specific behaviors differentiate leaders from nonleadersDifferences between theories of leadership:Trait theory: leadership is inherent, so we must identify the leader based on his or her traitsBehavioral theory: leadership is a skill set and can be taught to anyone, so we must identify the proper behaviors to teach potential leaders 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.12-*


Important Behavioral StudiesOhio State University Found two key dimensions of leader behavior:Initiating structure the defining and structuring of rolesConsideration job relationships that reflect trust and respectBoth are importantUniversity of MichiganAlso found two key dimensions of leader behavior:Employee-oriented emphasize interpersonal relationships and is the most powerful dimensionProduction-oriented emphasize the technical aspects of the jobThe dimensions of the two studies are very similar



Blake and Moutons Managerial GridDraws on both studies to assess leadership styleConcern for People is Consideration and Employee-OrientationConcern for Production is Initiating Structure and Production-Orientation Style is determined by position on the graph

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Contingency TheoriesWhile trait and behavior theories do help us understand leadership, an important component is missing: the environment in which the leader exists.Contingency Theory deals with this additional aspect of leadership effectiveness studies.Three key theories:Fielders ModelHersey and Blanchards Situational Leadership TheoryPath-Goal Theory



Fiedler ModelEffective group performance depends on the proper match between leadership style and the situationAssumes that leadership style (based on orientation revealed in LPC questionnaire) is fixedConsiders Three Situational Factors:Leader-member relations: degree of confidence and trust in the leaderTask structure: degree of structure in the jobsPosition power: leaders ability to hire, fire, and rewardFor effective leadership: must change to a leader who fits the situation or change the situational variables to fit the current leaderExhibit 12-2



Assessment of Fiedlers ModelPositives:Considerable evidence supports the model, especially if the original eight situations are grouped into threeProblems:The logic behind the LPC scale is not well understoodLPC scores are not stableContingency variables are complex and hard to determine



Fiedlers Cognitive Resource TheoryA refinement of Fielders original model:Focuses on stress as the enemy of rationality and creator of unfavorable conditionsA leaders intelligence and experience influence his or her reaction to that stressStress Levels:Low Stress: Intellectual abilities are effectiveHigh Stress: Leader experiences are effectiveResearch is supporting the theory



Hersey & Blanchards Situational LeadershipA model that focuses on follower readinessFollowers can accept or reject the leaderEffectiveness depends on the followers response to the leaders actionsReadiness is the extent to which people have the ability and willingness to accomplish a specific taskA paternal model: As the child matures, the adult releases more and more control over the situationAs the workers become more ready, the leader becomes more laissez-faireAn intuitive model that does not get much support from the research findings



Houses Path-Goal TheoryBuilds from the Ohio State studies and the expectancy theory of motivationThe Theory: Leaders provide followers with information, support, and resources to help them achieve their goalsLeaders help clarify the path to the workers goalsLeaders can display multiple leadership typesFour types of leaders:Directive: focuses on the work to be doneSupportive: focuses on the well-being of the workerParticipative: consults with employees in decision-makingAchievement-Oriented: sets challenging goals



Path-Goal ModelTwo classes of contingency variables:Environmental are outside of employee controlSubordinate factors are internal to employeeMixed support in the research findings



Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) TheoryA response to the failing of contingency theories to account for followers and heterogeneous leadership approaches to individual workersLMX Premise:Because of time pressures, leaders form a special relationship with a small group of followers: the in-groupThis in-group is trusted and gets more time and attention from the leader (more exchanges)All other followers are in the out-group and get less of the leaders attention and tend to have formal relationships with the leader (fewer exchanges)Leaders pick group members early in the relationship



LMX ModelHow groups are assigned is unclearFollower characteristics determine group membershipLeaders control by keeping favorites close

Research has been generally supportive



Yroom & Yettons Leader-Participation ModelHow a leader makes decisions is as important as what is decidedPremise:Leader behaviors must adjust to reflect task structureNormative model: tells leaders how participative to be in their decision-making of a decision treeFive leadership stylesTwelve contingency variablesResearch testing for both original and modified models has not been encouraging Model is overly complexExhibit 12-5 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.12-*


Global ImplicationsThese leadership theories are primarily studied in English-speaking countriesGLOBE does have some country-specific insightsBrazilian teams prefer leaders who are high in consideration, participative, and have high LPC scoresFrench workers want a leader who is high on initiating structure and task-orientedEgyptian employees value team-oriented, participative leadership while keeping a high-power distanceChinese workers may favor a moderately participative styleLeaders should take culture into account 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.12-*


Summary and Managerial ImplicationsLeadership is central to understanding group behavior as the leader provides the directionExtroversion, conscientiousness, and openness all show consistent relationships to leadershipBehavioral approaches have narrowed leadership down into two usable dimensionsNeed to take into account the situational variables, especially the impact of followers



Organizational behavior chapter 12

Documents

leadership styleconcern

key theories

behavior theories

trait theory

traitsbehavioral theory

contingency theory deals

productionorientation

predicting leader emergence