ANGLIA RUSKIN UNIVERSITY
FACULTY: ASHCROFT INTERNATION AL BUSINESS
SCHOOL
MODULE TITLE: EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP
MODULE CODE: BC415007S
ACADEMIC YEAR: 2011/2012
SEMESTER/TRIMESTER: 2-(MBA) BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
STUDENT ID NUMBER: 1134784/1
SCH OOL O F A CC OUN TIN G AN D MAN AGE MENT
L IMI TED
HAND IN DATE: AUGUST 13 T H , 2012
SUBMITTED: AUGUST 13 T H , 2012
WORD COUNT: 4,000 WORDS
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive summary i
1.0 Introduction 1
2.0 Crit ical ref lect ion on recent leadership and its effect iveness 3
2.1 Leadership styles 3
2.1 Motivat ion and Job sat isfact ion 4
2.3 Emotional and social intel l igence 6
3.0 Theoretical concept of the above leadership elements 8
4.0 Recommendation for future leadership development 11
5.0 References i
6.0 Bibl iography
7.0 Appendices
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Leadership is a fundamental requirement of an organizat ion’s survival . The
dynamics an organizat ion goes through during its l i fe cycle, demands leaders
who are f lexible and adaptive to change. Leadership styles become a cr it ical
requirement in expedit ing such changes because not al l styles are suitable for
al l s ituat ions. In this report, various leadership styles and theories have been
described; some of the theories explored include :
Trait Theory
Behavioral Theory
Contingency or Situat ional Theory.
There are many leadership styles which are suited to dif ferent organizat ional
sett ings such as ; Visionary, Transformational , S ituat ional and Transact ional
Leadership. This report detai ls a cr it ical analysis of the writer’s leadership
experience with in the Trinidad and Tobago Pol ice Service , where she was a
supervisor of Information Technology Unit .
The writer as a newly appointed lea der of the department identif ied three
leadership issues as cr it ical for restoring organisat ional and developmental
goals to help her in pursuit of personal growth, through al ignment of a mission
in attaining her vis ion. The three leadership chal lenges addressed in th is
report include:
Leadership styles
Motivat ion and Sat isfact ion
Emotional intel l igence
along with other recommendations for a future leadership development pla n.
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1.0 INTRODUCTION
Leadership is the provision of guidance to others i n execution of a shared
dream. This s imple def init ion implies that leadership exists only i f there are
people to be led and there is a circumstance that demands it . Leadership is an
art of inspir ing others to achieve share d dreams (Hersey & Blanchard, 1996,
p.34-39); i t p lays an instrumental rol e in the success of any organizat ion . An
effect ive leader is one who is able to motivate his subordinates and inspire
them to commit themselves to the vis ion a nd object ives of an org anizat ion, he
should possess leadership ski l l s that are suited to organis at ional dynamics.
This means that she/he should know that an organizat ion goes through various
stages during which it encounters varied chal lenges that require special
leadership strategies to expedite them. According to Bennis, Spreitzer and
Cummings (2001, p.128), an effect ive leader is a leader who is able to adopt a
f lexible leadership style that bef its the dynamics of organizat ional l i fe.
There are many leade rship styles in existence today; some of the most
common styles include servant leadership, transformational leadership,
vis ionary leadership, transact ional leadership, and autocrat ic or coercive
leadership (Davis, 2011, p.47). The writer of this paper is a supervisor of
Information Technology Unit in the Trinidad and Tobago Pol ice Service , though
with l i tt le experience in Information Technology, she wields in excess of
f i f teen years ’ experience in pol ic ing. In this new designation, she has to
coordinate act ivit ies of a team of female off icers who are tasked with the
responsibi l i t ies of ensuring that communicat ion channels a re up and
funct ioning at al l t imes. Some of her other duties include:
Assigning, direct ing and reviewing th e work of subordinate
Planning and carrying out the training and development of staff
Evaluating employees work performance,
Planning, scheduling and coordinating work operat ions
Solving problems related to the work supervised
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Determining material , equipment and faci l i t ies needed
Part icipat ing in projects relat ing to assigned responsibi l i t ies
Monitors and ensure security f i les are not compromised
Determining the needs and developing plans to meet the needs of
customers
The writer was promoted to this posit ion in early 2009 after meeting
leadership evaluat ion cr iteria by her senior unit supervisor which was
identif ied in a SWOT A nalysis The evaluat ion found a close associat ion of the
writer’s personal ity traits and type A personal ity attr ibutes such as sensit ivity
to t ime, result -oriented, abi l i ty to lead others by example, ambit ious, and, the
abi l ity to mult i -task (Fr iedman, 1996 p. 31). The transcripts of the SWOT
quest ionnaire are attached to the appendices a -t) . Besides her formal
occupation as a supervisor within the pol ice service, she is also engaged in
counsel ing youths, teaching aerobics and charitable act ivit ies along the East
West corridor. She is also Vice-Chair of the Calder Hal l Youth Organisat ion,
advisor to the Big Sister Foundation and a member of the Associat ion of
Business Executives. The abi l ity to involve in these hordes of informal
act ivit ies whilst working in the pol ice service is one of the strengths that were
identif ied by her supervisors to warrant promotion in to this new role.
The writer’s vis ion is to become an effect ive leader by bridging the
weaknesses identif ied in her SWOT assessment , while leveraging on her
strengths. The weaknesses include impatience, exasperat ion, and irr itat ion.
She is obsessed with results in al l she d oes and easi ly gets frustrated and
irr itated when results are not forthcoming (Friedman, 1996, p.32). She was
promoted to this posit ion amid leadership cr ises in the unit which had
resulted in high staff turn -over, low motivat ion leading to poor performanc e
and high confl icts among the subordinates in the unit .
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2.0 CRITICAL REFLECTION ON RECENT LEADERSHIP AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS
At the t ime of promotion to leadership of the Information Technology Unit , i t
comprised mainly of female employees who had been led in the past by men.
This Information Technology department is one of the 32 units that make up
Trinidad Tobago Pol ice service which has an overal l populat ion of 6,399 ful l
t ime pol ice off icers and 790 supplemental off icers. There was a dire need for
change leadership as evidenced in the transcripts attached to the appendix
and the writer was promoted to this posit ion with senior management’s trust
and confidence of restoring order in the unit .
From the exist ing problems which the writer was briefed upon he r promotion,
it was evident that the lapses stemmed from poor leadership qual it ies and
styles that were obl ivious to subordinates’ diversity. As the new leader she
considered leadership styles, motivat ion and job sat isfact ion, emotional and
social intel l igence as cr it ical leadership issues of concern in addressing the
problem. Their appl icat ion and effect iveness are as described below:
2.1 LE A D E R SH IP STY LE S
Previous supervisors of the Information Technology Unit were
predominantly male off icers who employed transact ional and autocrat ic
leadership styles characterized by issuance of orders which demanded
str ict adherence by the subordinates. They did not l isten to the pl ight of
their subordinates and lacked leadership ski l ls to al ign the object ives of
the employees with the vis ion and goals of the organizat ion. They
employed one-way top-down communicat ion which did not al low them to
l isten to their subordinates’ complaints and views on t he way they wanted
to be led. The subordinates were not given avenues of communicat ing
their issues to the management and only received orders from above as
evidenced in most of the research responses in the transcripts attached to
the Appendix. Most of the respondents cited transformational, vis ionary,
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situat ional, and servant leadership as the most appropriate leadership
style that wil l restore motivat ion and commitment among the subordinates
in the Information Technology unit . The writer considered
Transformational and Visionary leadership as the most effective styles of
solving leadership cr is is. The change leadership employed identif ied the
organizat ional vis ion which is maintenance of law and order and employed
inspirat ional ski l ls to make subordinates commit themselves to its
achievement. The new leader’s ski l ls and attr ibutes such as integrity and
effect ive communicat ion as cited in quest ion one of the transcripts in the
attachment were instrumental in effect ive implementation of the above
proposed change leadership. The key strategies involved interpretat ion of
the organizat ion’s vis ion to the subordinates and creat ing value and
meaning to their work. Many of them were able to identify higher reasons
of working such as self -actual izat ion and fulf i l lme nt than money.
Transformational and vis ionary leadership led to improved motivat ion, low
staff turnover and improved qual ity of work as seen in f igure 2 in the
appendix.
2.2 MO TIV A T IO N A ND JO B S A TIS FA C T IO N
From the attached research transcripts, i t is clear t hat lack of motivat ion
among the employees in the Information Technology department is one of
the primary causes of poor performance. Some of them felt undervalued
and exploited instead of being appreciated for their efforts at work. From
this background information, it was apparent for the writer to employ
motivat ional ski l ls to promote job sat isfact io n among the subordinates.
The basic motivat ional ski l ls employed by the writer included recognit ion
of subordinates’ efforts by word confirmation, promotion, recognit ion of
their object ives and commitments in l i fe, and inter -personal
communicat ion (Grenway, 2008, p.21; Petroni &Colacino, 2008 , p. 22).
Word confirmation of subordinates’ efforts involved praising dist inguished
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performers and encouraging them to keep up the spir it of hard work.
Those who did not merit this recognit ion were also encouraged to improve
their performance. The writer implemented promotion strategy at the
unit ’s level by delegating supervisory roles to high performers and
encouraged others to fol low suit in order to prepare themselves for future
supervisory roles in the larger pol ice service , she also communicated their
recognit ion to senior management. Delegation of duties promoted self -
management among the team members which reduced le adership
involvements. Inter -personal communicat ion between the writer and
subordinates, also, among subordinates themselves promoted unity of
purpose and teamwork which were essential in reducing confl icts and
promoting employees’ commitment to the organi zat ional object ives. The
writer employed open door pol icy to enhance inter personal
communicat ion.
Recognit ion of subordinates’ commitments in l i fe made them feel valued
by the organizat ion and boosted th eir motivat ion to work. This open door
pol icy encouraged open communicat ion from the subordinates without
vict imisation. The writer’s act ive l istening ski l ls were essential in
understanding the subordinates’ pl ight. She then used communicat ion
ski l l s to correlate these commitments and the organizat ion’s ob ject ives.
The subordinates were able to see how achievement of the organizat ion’s
goals is cr it ical in achievement of their personal object ives and self -
actual izat ion. The cumulat ive effects of motivat ion led to the improvement
in employees’ job sat isfact i on as seen in improved performance, decl ine in
conf l icts, complaints and disagreements, and a reduction in staff turnover
rate (Manzoor, 2011, p.3 -4). Behavioral and contingency theories are well
explored in this change leadership plan. The writer used her personal
behavioral traits and the premise of s ituat ional theory to motivate
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employees to higher commitment to the Trinidad and Tobago Pol ice
Service.
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2.3 EMOT IO NA L A ND SO C IA L IN TE L L I GE NC E
Emotional and social intel l igence is the leadership abi l ity to identify and
control one’s emotions and others’ (Kluemper, 2008, pp.1407). Emotional
intel l igence is essential in identifying one’s leadership strengths and
weaknesses and developing measures to expedite weaknesses while taking
advantage of opportunit ies b orne from strengths. It helps a leader to
understand the strengths of the subordinates and develop a good inter -
personal relat ionship with them. According to Davis (2011, p.35), there are
two major perspect ives of emotional intel l igence; inter -personal and intra-
personal intel l igence. The former embodies the abi l ity to understand other
people; i t helps a leader to know how other people work, what motivate s
them, and how to develop a working relat ionship with them. Intra -personal
intel l igence is one’s abi l it y to comprehend self ; i t helps a leader to access
personal thoughts, feel ings, the way of working, l ikes and disl ikes,
purpose, and the relat ionship between them. Ruderman et al . (2001, p. 3 -
4) underscores that the knowledge of self is helpful to a leader in
developing a leadership style which is authentic to one’s personal ity and
building motivat ional phi losophies for success in leadership. The key
competences in emotional intel l igence include self -awareness, self -
regulat ion, motivat ion, empathy, and socia l sk i l ls . Self - regulat ion helped
the writer to manage internal states through adaptabi l ity, self - control ,
trustworthiness, and conscientiousness. Motivat ion helped the writer in
developing a guide to faci l i tate achievement drive, commitment, and
optimism among the subordinates. Empathy or awareness of others was
cr it ical in leveraging diversity, developing fol lowers and developing a
service orientat ion geared towards leadership change that enhances
performance (Davis, 2011, p.38). The writer’s social ski l ls were used in
effect ive communicat ion, inf luence, conf l ict management and resolut ion,
cooperat ion and col laborat ions, a lso bui lding team bonds.
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The knowledge of her subordinates was sought through team interact ions
and interpersonal communicat ion betwee n them. She lobbied for team
building sessions from senior management to enhance team interact ion to
expose subordinates’ strengths and weaknesses. Self -awareness and
knowledge of the subordinates were used in developing a team culture
that values staff diversity and promote performance (Luca & Tarricone,
2011, p.369). The effect ive implementation of emotional intel l igence and
i ts f indings was helpful in promoting teamwork among the unit ’s
employees and consequent improvement in performance. Behavioral
theory is well explored in emotional intel l igence because personal traits
and behavior of the writer were used in promoting team cohesion among
the subordinates (Masoudi, 2011, pp. 540-543).The overal l effects of the
appl icat ion of emotional intel l ige nce, employees’ motivation,
transformational and vis ionary leadership styles led to high performance
in the Information Technology unit , low staff turnover, a decl ine in
conf l icts among subordinates and the new supervisor. These indicators
were ref lected in the f irst and subs equent years of performance appraisals
in the unit . The writer was capped as the most effect ive and productive
supervisor in the history of that department . A research was conducted in
the pol ice service after two years of the writer’s reign as the supervi sor of
Information Technology Unit to f ind out which department employees
preferred most to work in. The opinion pol l indicated that 70% of them
would prefer Information Technology department as shown in f igure 1 in
the appendix. The results show a big per formance improvement when
compared to 10% of 2007 during the reign of the writer’s predecessor as
shown in f igure 3 in the appendix. A performance assessment of 2010 on
how each department faired towards the achievement of key performance
indicators (KPIs ) for that year indicated that I nformation Technology unit
was the most productive at 52% when compared to two other top
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performing units or departments. The results show that the writer’s
leadership style was effect ive.
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3.0 THEORETICAL CONCEPT OF THE ABOVE LEADERSHIP ELEMENTS
The success of any group entity or organizat ion is determined by its
leadership. The posit ive dif ference in the performance of Information
Technology Unit seen during the tenure of the wr iter as the unit ’s supervisor
underscores that di fferent leadership styles have dif ferent impacts on leader -
led relat ionship and performance of an organizat ion. There are dif ferent types
of leadership styles such as transact ional, transformational, vis ionary, and
situat ional leadership.
Transact ional leadership, also referred to as managerial leadership, is
characterised by str ict adherence to an outl ine of commands. This
leadership style uses reward and punishment as a motivat ional tool.
According to Bass (2008, p.50), people working under a transact iona l
leader are motivated to work hard in order to be rewarded and evade
punishment . The predecessor of the writer employed a managerial style
of leadership characterised by issuance of orders and commands to the
subordinates. The system denied the latter a c hannel of communicat ing
their pl ight to their leaders leading to frustrat ions and high staff
turnover (Vroom & Jago, 1974, p.325). This was expected because one
way communicat ion leads to lack of understanding by the communicator,
who is the supervisor in this case. This wil l consequently result in
dissat isfact ion and eventual quitt ing of jobs by employees.
Transformational leadership entai ls motivat ion of subordinates and
connecting their individual object ives in l i fe with the vis ion and goals of
the organizat ion (Al imo, Metcalfe & Alban-Metcalfe, 2001, p.5-8). Its
popularity is based on its abi l i ty to identify subordinates with the
organizat ion’s object ives and goals , which promotes greater
commitment to work. Burns is one of the proponent theorists of
transformational leadership. In his book t it led “ Leadership”, i t is
underscored that transformational leadership transcends usual
relat ionship between a leader and fol lowers and inspire them to a
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higher commitment to work that leads to personal fulf i l lment and self -
actual izat ion (Davis, 2011, p.11; Burns, 1978). It makes subordinates
feel they are part of ownership of the organizat ion. This higher
inspirat ion can be achieved through leader’s focus on organizat ion’s
vision, appeal ing to the senses of fol lowers, creat ing value and meaning
in their work, and disseminating adequate information on roles, duties,
and organizat ional phi losophies.
Visionary leadership entai ls sett ing a vision and mobil is ing fol l owers to
the commitment of its achievement. A vis ionary leader translates the
vis ion of an organizat ion into a meaningful and individual ised
phi losophy, consistent with each individual’s object ives and motivate s
them to its pursuit . According to Wang, Chic h-Jen, and Mei-Ling (2010,
p.3925), vis ionary and transformational leadership leads to improved
organizat ional performance.
The use of motivat ional and inspirat ional ski l ls by the writer transformed the
perception of her subordinates about their work and improved their
commitment to the vis ion of the organisat ion . Such ski l ls inc luded open -door
pol icy, act ive l i stening ski l ls , involving subordinates in the decision making
process by l istening to their opinions and integrat ing them in to the work plan.
According to Saleem, Mahmood, and Asif (2010, p.215), motivat ion of
employees promotes their loyalty in their leader and emotional attachment to
the organizat ion which leads to job sat isfact ion. A sat isf ied employee is self -
driven and performs assigned work with minimum supervision (Ukandu &
Ukpere, 2011, p.11523). In general , job sat isfact ion leads to improved
performance and low staff turn -over (Saleem, Mahmood, & Asif , 2010, p.14).
The effect iveness of the appl icat ion of emotional and social intel l igence is well
grounded in theory. According to Kafetsios and Zampetakis (2008, p. 715),
emotional intel l igence promotes social relat ionship and trust among
employees in an organizat ion. The two organizat ional elements improve
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employees’ job sat isfact ion and good performance. Blake, Sheperd, and
Mouton (2008, p.144), argues that the most effect ive leadership style is the
one that leverages on the balance between concern for organizat ion’s workers
and its vis ion.
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4.0 RECOMMENDATION FOR FUTURE LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
The writer has succeeded in h er leadership role as a supervisor of Information
Technology unit ; however, there is st i l l an opportunity for improvement and
thus the need to explore more f ields of effect ive leadership. From the
leadership experience, the writer identif ied team trust , motivat ional ski l ls ,
effect ive communicat ion, developing an effect ive working team and personal
leadership as f ields of leadership growth to be explored. The vis ion is to
become an effect ive change l eader in the pol ice service. Described in table 1
below are the leadership development act ion plan and required support
materials and tools. The rat ionale of the leadership development plan is the
fundamental bel ieve that while leadership is an inborn trai t , i ts success is
greatly inf luenced by a leader’s traits, behaviors, and the situat ion that
requires leadership Bennis (2007, p.4).
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Leadership Strategy Required skills an attributes Actions Tools and support materials Timeline
Effective communication
Clear communication up, down, and across the Unit’s ranks, consultative actions, confidence, and active listening skills
Attending workshop seminars on effective communication skills, initiating self- help reading programs of communication skills through online support and literature on communication skills, and leadership consultation from successful leaders in various capacities.
Support of top management of Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, seminars and workshops, a coach and a mentor, and assessment questionnaires to assess progress
The program will commence on 1st October, the year 2012 and last for five weeks. Assessment will be done after every fortnight to ascertain whether the program is effective or not.
Motivational skills
To know what drives and motivates team members of Information Technology Unit, to develop motivation skills, to promote trust and team-work spirit in the team, to develop abilities to correlate personal objectives of subordinates and the vision and goals of an organization, and to know personal leadership weaknesses and strengths
Lobbying for team interaction through team building sessions for the department, lobbying for rewarding of distinguished performers at work, living the vision and objectives of the organization, adopting professional coaches and mentors, implementing an open-door policy which is essential in developing inter-personal relationship and friendship between the writer and subordinates
Police Service’s support, workshops and seminars on motivational skills, developing emotional intelligence, developing inter-personal relationship with subordinates, coaches and mentors, and distribution of prints of organization’s philosophies such as mission and vision to the subordinates
The program Events will take Two months beginning from the Second week of November 2012. The writer will go Through the development plan for two weeks and then conduct her subordinates. Through the same Program for the remaining six weeks of the program. Two Team building sessions will be scheduled in the second and fourth week of the program. An evaluation of emotional and social intelligence progress will be evaluated at the third and sixth week of the program to measure effectiveness of the intervention program.
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Leadership Strategy Required skills an attributes Actions Tools and support materials Timeline
Team trust
Open Communication, honesty, self-awareness and knowledge of team
members, self-confidence, self-awareness, knowing what motivates
subordinates and how to develop skills that promote trust and
confidence among them
Attending leadership trainings, seminars, and workshops, personal
meditation and reflection, and allowing others to assess the writers weaknesses and strengths and my values, and being open to criticism and willingness to take
advice.
Coaches and mentors, assessment tools like DISC questionnaires , Organizational support
and reading materials on how to develop trust among workers
A six weeks’ program will be implemented after communication
program. A coach will guide the writer through a single session every week with a professional
coach. Reading and self-reflection throughout the program will be critical. Evaluation of personal value system will be done by at
least two external contact evaluators on weekly basis. A team building session with subordinates will be organized when the training
program ends.
Personal leadership profile
To develop emotional intra-personal intelligence, to know personal weaknesses and strengths, self-knowledge of the writer’s character and developing it into a personalized leadership profile.
Administering Questionnaires seeking opinion and views of others about the writer, consulting other successful leaders on effective leadership style that suits my work situation and personality type, researching on the leadership styles of previous supervisors to know why they failed or succeeded, and carrying out a research in the external organizations on the various leadership styles and their effectiveness
A coach and a mentor, Team members, Materials on developing leadership skills, organizational support assessment questionnaires.
The program will take five weeks following team trust. Evaluation of the writer’s personality development and strengths will be done at the beginning and end of the program to assess the reliability of the program. Coaching and training on how to use the exposed personality strengths to develop leadership opportunities will also be employed.
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Leadership Strategy Required skills an attributes Actions Tools and support materials Timeline
Developing an effective working team
Clear purpose, effective processes and systems, good communication, cooperation and participation, mutual trust, commitment, supportive environment and appropriate leadership
Professional training on building teamwork, workgroups, and teams through seminars and workshops, extensive reading on teamwork, consulting successful team leaders on how to promote teamwork in a work group, and developing a Consultative leadership with subordinates to find out how they want to work.
Organization’s support subordinates cooperation. Mentors and coaches, literature on leadership, and evaluation and assessment toolkits for assessing progress
The training program will last for six weeks after developing a personalized leadership style. There will be two mentorship and coaching sessions per week. An assessment questionnaire will be administered to the subordinates to seek their views on the way they want to be led at the training’s end.
Table1: Recommended leadership development plan
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The above leadership development plan wil l be implemented in s ix months as
seen in the t imeline column of the table. The assessment cr iteria wil l entai l
the administrat ion of two assessment quest ionnaires at the beginning and end
of the leadership plan to col lect people’s opinions of the effect iveness of the
writer as a supervisor of the Information Technology department. The f indings
from the two assessments wil l be compared to verify whether the intervention
program is effect ive or not. The vis ion and obj ect ives of the plan are specif ic,
measurable, attainable , real ist ic and t ime bound (S.M.A.R.T) . This is because
the required ski l ls and attr ibutes in the plan are key elements of effect ive
leadership consistent with theoretical expectat ions. For instance, the writer’s
leadership style is transformational and vis ionary as described above. The two
leadership styles embody attr ibutes of effect ive communicat ion, motivat ion,
and team trust (Burns, 1978; Davis, 2011, p.12).
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Masoudi, M (2011), The Impact of the Emotional Intel l igence on Dimensions
of Learning Organizat ion: The Case of Isfahan university.
Interdiscipl inary Journal Of Contemporary Research in Bus iness Vol.
3(5) , pp.536-545.
Saleem, R, Mahmood, A & Asif , M (2010), Effect of Work Motivat ion on Job
Sat isfact ion in Mobile Telecommunicat ion Service Orga nizat ions of
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No. 11; November (2010) , pp.213- 222.
Spears, L (1998), Insights on Leadership: Service , Stewardship, Spir it ,
and Servant Leadership. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Wang, F, Chin-Jen, S & Mei-Ling, T (2010) Effect of leadership style on
organizat ional performance as viewed from human resource
management strategy. African Journal of Business Management
Vol . 4(18), 18 December, (2010) , pp. 3924- 3936.
Petroni, A & Colacino, P (2008), Motivat ion Strategies for Knowledge Workers:
Evidences and Chal lenges. Journal of Technology Management and
Innovat ion (2008), Vol . 3(3) , pp.21-32.
Vroom, V & Jago, A (1974), Leadership and Decision Making. Decision
Sciences Inst itute from Decis ion Sciences, Vol. 5, (1974) , pp.743-755.
Ukandu, N & Ukpere, W (2011), Strategies to improve the level of employee
motivat ion in the fast food outlets in Cape Town, South Afr ica. African
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B IB L I OG RA P H Y
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Angle, H. L. , & M. S. Poole (Eds.) , Research on the management of
innovation:
The Minnesota Studies. pp. 135-170. New York: Harper & Row.
Breen, B. (2004). „The 6 Myths of Creativity.
Interview with Teresa Amabile in Fast Company. Issue 89.
December, pp. 75–78.
Bryman, A. (2008). Social Research Methods.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Cohen, W. M. and Levinthal, D. A. (1990). Absorptive Capacity: A New
Perspect ive on Learning and Innovation.
Administrative Science Quarterly . Vol . 35. No 1. Special Issue:
Technology, Organisat ions, and Innovation (Mar 1990). pp. 128–
1 52.
Deal, T. and Kennedy, A. (1982). Corporate Cultures: The Rites and
Rituals of Corporate Life.
Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. pp117 –125.
European Commission, 2011. SME Definition. Online. Avai lable at:
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/pol icies/sme/facts - f igures analysis/sme
def init ion/index en.htm Accessed: 3 rd May 2012.
Gorard, S. and Taylor, C. (2004). Combining Methods in Educational
and Social Research.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Handy, C. (1995) Gods of Management: the changing work
of organizations .
Oxford University Press.
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Kantner, R.M. (1989). When Giants Learn to Dance; mastering the
challenges of strategy - management and careers in the 1990s
Routledge, London.
Kirk, J . and Mil ler, M.L. (1986) Reliabi l ity and Validity in Qualitative
Research.
Cal i fornia: Sage Publicat ions Inc.
Lowth, G., Prowle, P . and Zhang, G. (2010) The impact of economic
recession on business strategy planning in UK companies .
CIMA: Research Executive Summary Series, Volume 6,
Issue 9. McLean, L. (2005)
Peters, T. and Waterman, R. (1 982). In search of excel lence: lessons
from America’s best -run companies.
Warner Books.
Sarantakos, S. (2005). Social Research.
Basingstoke: Palg rave MacMil lan.
Schein, E. H. (1990) „Organisat ional Culture. ‟
American Psychologist , February 1990. pp. 109 – 119.
Siedel, S. , Rosemann, M. and Becker, J . (2008). P roceedings 16th European
Conference on Information Systems .
Galway, Ireland. Van de Ven, A., Pol ley, D., Garud, R. and
Venkataraman, S. (2007). The Innovation Journey.
OUP.
Wilson, D. C. and Ro senfeld, R. H. (1990). Managing Organisations
McGraw Hil l .
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7.0 Appendices
S.W.O.T ANALYSIS OF LEADERSHIP WITHIN THE T.T.P.S INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY (IT) UNIT
Transcript 1
1. In your opinion what are the personality traits of the supervisor?
(list at least three)
a. Optimistic
b. Trusting
c. Persuasive
d. Aggressive
2. Please explain briefly two of the traits in question 1
a. Optimistic trait: I have worked with the new IT supervisor for the last two years
during the time which I have known her as a person who believe in
possibilities. She has never given up in any task assigned to her even when it
was hard to many of us
b. Persuasive trait: There was a time when I thought of quitting my job. I
consulted her and she strongly encouraged and persuaded me to stay. She
challenged me to change the organization if I thought it was not a good place
to work at.
3. In your opinion, what are the strengths of the Supervisor?
a. Good communication skills
b. Good relationship with others
c. Trustworthiness
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4. What are her weaknesses?
a. Unwilling to admit defeat
b. Easily gets frustrated when results are not forthcoming
5. In your opinion, what are the solutions to the weaknesses?
a. The new supervisor should learn that one instance of failure is not an overall
verdict of failure. She should accept to learn from failure and defeat.
6. What are possible threats she will face if promoted to IT supervisory role?
a. Constant conflicts among the subordinates
b. Insufficient support from senior management
7. Do you think the new supervisor will succeed?
a. Yes! This is because of his personality traits listed in question 1
8. Which is the most effective leadership style for change in IT department?
a. I don’t know
9. What is/are the current problem (s) in the IT department?
a. Trust
b. Communication breakdown
c. Failure of management to appreciate workers
10. Cite a justification for your believe that there is a leadership problem in IT unit
a. A colleague of mine was transferred from this unit after telling the supervisor,
that she did not like how she spoke to her
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Transcript 2
1. In your opinion what are the personality traits of the writer?
(list at least three)
a. Strong willed
b. Persuasive
c. Ambitious
d. Ability to multi-task
2. Please explain briefly two of the traits in question 1
a. Ambitious trait: The new IT supervisor once shared with me during a lunch
break that she will become a senior of Trinidad and Tobago Police Service
someday. I think the new appointment confirms her ambitions
b. Persuasive trait: There was a time when I thought of quitting my job. I
consulted her and she strongly encouraged and persuaded me to stay. She
challenged me to change the organization if I thought it was not a good place
to work at.
3. In your opinion, what are the strengths of the writer?
a. Aggressive
b. Consistency
4. What are her weaknesses?
a. Impatience
b. Easily irritated
5. In your opinion, what are the solutions to the weaknesses?
a. N/A
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6. What are possible threats she will face if promoted to IT supervisory role?
a. Internal organizational politics
b. The poor performance record of predecessor
7. Do you think the new supervisor will succeed?
a. It depends on her leadership style.
8. Which is the most effective leadership style for change in IT department?
a. Transformational and situational leadership style
9. What is/are the current problem(s) in the IT department?
a. Trust
b. Low salaries
c. Inaccessibility to management
10. Cite a justification for your believe that there is a leadership problem in IT unit
a. N/A
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Transcript 3
1. In your opinion what are the personality traits of the writer?
(list at least three)
a. Friendly
b. Warm
c. Ambitious
d. Aggressive
e. Has the ability to lead
2. Please explain briefly two of the traits in question 1
a. Friendly trait: I have never seen her frowning. I have known her as a smiling
person
b. Aggressive trait: I worked with her and during she always completed her
assigned tasks ahead of most of us
3. In your opinion, what are the strengths of the writer?
a. Aggressive
b. Good communication skills. She is precise and clear in her communication
4. What are her weaknesses?
a. Obsession with result pursuits
b. Workaholic
5. In your opinion, what are the solutions to the weaknesses?
a. Should learn to accept either a positive or negative outcome in any work
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6. What are possible threats she will face if promoted to IT supervisory role?
a. High expectations in the department
7. Do you think the new supervisor will succeed?
a. She will succeed because of her aggressiveness
8. Which is the most effective leadership style for change in IT department?
a. Visionary leadership style
9. What is/are the current problem (s) in the IT department?
a. Trust
b. Low salaries
c. Inaccessibility to management
10. Cite a justification for your believe that there is a leadership problem in IT unit
a. A colleague of mine was transferred from work last year when she was
considered to be lazy
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Transcript 4
1. In your opinion what are the personality traits of the writer?
(list at least three)
a. Honesty
b. Understanding
2. Please explain briefly two of the traits in question 1
a. Honesty: I have her as a person who does not hide anything when called upon
to give an opinion or advice someone.
3. In your opinion, what are the strengths of the writer?
a. A good and positive personality
b. Good communication skills. She is precise and clear in her communication
c. Good relationship with others
4. What are her weaknesses?
a. Obsession with result pursuits
5. In your opinion, what are the solutions to the weaknesses?
a. Should learn to accept either a positive or negative outcome in any work
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6. What are possible threats she will face if promoted to IT supervisory role?
a. High expectations in the department
b. High staff turnover
c. Lack of sufficient support from senior management
7. Do you think the new supervisor will succeed?
a. She will fail because of high staff turnover and lack of support from senior
management
8. Which is the most effective leadership style for change in IT department?
a. Transformational leadership style
9. What is/are the current problem (s) in the IT department?
a. No avenues to express grievances
b. Trust
c. One-way dictatorial communication from supervisors to workers
10. Cite a justification for your believe that there is a leadership problem in IT unit
a. N/A
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Transcript 5
1. In your opinion what are the personality traits of the writer?
(list at least three)
a. Trustworthy
b. High integrity
c. Hardworking
d. Supportive
e. Sensitivity to time
2. Please explain briefly two of the traits in question 1
a. Trustworthy: She is trusted by many workers in IT unit compared to her
predecessors.
b. Hardworking: This is her second promotion since joining Trinidad Tobago
Police Service. There is no any other person who was employed the same time
with her who has achieved this.
3. In your opinion, what are the strengths of the writer?
a. Her good listening and understanding attribute
b. Good communication skills. She is precise and clear in her communication
c. Good relationship with others
d. She know the problems in the Unit because she has worked in it for a long time
4. What are her weaknesses?
a. She easily trusts people. This can be used by wicked subordinates to plot her
down fall
b. She is over-confident with her way of doing things
5. In your opinion, what are the solutions to the weaknesses?
a. She should not trust many people
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b. She should surround herself with positive people
6. What are possible threats she will face if promoted to IT supervisory role?
a. Low salary
b. High staff turnover
c. Low motivation among employees in the department
7. Do you think the new supervisor will succeed?
a. I don’t think
8. Which is the most effective leadership style for change in IT department?
a. Transformational and situational leadership style
9. What is/are the current problem (s) in the IT department?
a. Autocratic leadership
b. Inability of supervisors to listen to subordinates’ plight
c. Trust
10. Cite a justification for your believe that there is a leadership problem in IT unit
a. I was denied an off to take my child to hospital
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Transcript 6
1. In your opinion what are the personality traits of the writer?
(list at least three)
a. Strong-willed
b. Careful
c. Enthusiastic
d. Aggressive
2. Please explain briefly two of the traits in question 1
a. Aggressive: She has already undertaken measures to establish the effective
means of solving
b. Problems within the short time of her appointment
3. In your opinion, what are the strengths of the writer?
a. Aggressiveness
b. Good relationship with others
c. Easily trusted because she consults her subordinates
4. What are her weaknesses?
a. She involves many people decision making. Ill-motivated ones might mislead
her
5. In your opinion, what are the solutions to the weaknesses?
a. She should not trust many people
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6. What are possible threats she will face if promoted to IT supervisory role?
a. Ill-motivated and greedy subordinates
b. Lack of employees’ motivation
c. Bureaucratic management style
7. Do you think the new supervisor will succeed?
a. She can succeed if she develops a good relationship with her subordinates
8. Which is the most effective leadership style for change in IT department?
a. Transformational and situational leadership style
9. What is/are the current problem (s) in the IT department?
a. Autocratic leadership
b. Poor motivation among subordinates
c. Trust
10. Cite a justification for your believe that there is a leadership problem in IT unit
a. The supervisor do not appreciate worker’s efforts
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Transcript 7
1. In your opinion what are the personality traits of the writer?
(list at least three)
a. Strong willed
b. Persuasive
c. Ambitious
2. Please explain briefly two of the traits in question 1
a. Ambitious trait: The new IT supervisor once shared with me during a lunch
break that she will become a senior of Trinidad and Tobago Police Service
someday. I think the new appointment confirms her ambitions
b. Persuasive trait: There was a time when I thought of quitting my job. I
consulted her and she strongly encouraged and persuaded me to stay. She
challenged me to change the organization if I thought it was not a good place
to work at.
3. In your opinion, what are the strengths of the writer?
a. Aggressive
b. Consistency
4. What are her weaknesses?
a. I don’t know any of her weaknesses, if there are.
5. In your opinion, what are the solutions to the weaknesses?
a. N/A
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6. What are possible threats she will face if promoted to IT supervisory role?
a. Internal organizational politics
b. The poor performance record of predecessor
7. Do you think the new supervisor will succeed?
a. It depends on her leadership style.
8. Which is the most effective leadership style for change in IT department?
a. Transformational and situational leadership style
9. What is/are the current problem (s) in the IT department?
a. Trust
b. Low salaries
c. Inaccessibility to management
10. Cite a justification for your believe that there is a leadership problem in IT unit
a. N/A
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Transcript 8
1. In your opinion what are the personality traits of the writer?
(list at least three)
a. Friendly
b. Ambitious
c. Aggressive
2. Please explain briefly two of the traits in question 1
a. Friendly trait: I have never seen her frowning. I have known her as a smiling
person
b. Aggressive trait: I worked with her and during she always completed her
assigned tasks ahead of most of us
c. Ambitious trait: The new IT supervisor once shared with me during a lunch
break that she will become a senior of Trinidad and Tobago Police Service
someday. I think the new appointment confirms her ambitions
3. In your opinion, what are the strengths of the writer?
a. Ability to bond with people
b. Aggressive
c. Good communication skills. She is precise and clear in her communication
d. Good understanding skills
4. What are her weaknesses?
a. Obsession with result pursuits
b. Lack of leadership experience
c. She is over-ambitious
5. In your opinion, what are the solutions to the weaknesses?
a. She should go slow and expect anything in an undertaking
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What are possible threats she will face if promoted to IT supervisory role?
a. High expectations in the department
b. Lack of motivation in the department
c. Laziness among her subordinates
6. Do you think the new supervisor will succeed?
a. She will succeed if she expedites her above weaknesses
7. Which is the most effective leadership style for change in IT department?
a. Situational and servant leadership styles
8. What is/are the current problem (s) in the IT department?
a. Autocratic Leadership
b. Lack of trust among the subordinates
c. Imposing male supervisors on female workers
9. Cite a justification for your believe that there is a leadership problem in IT unit
a. N/A
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Transcript 9
1. In your opinion what are the personality traits of the writer? (list at least three)
a. Trusting
b. Understanding
c. Cautious
d. Exacting
e. Honesty
2. Please explain briefly two of the traits in question 1
a. Honesty: I have her as a person who does not hide anything when called upon
to give an opinion or advice someone.
3. In your opinion, what are the strengths of the writer?
a. Trustworthiness
b. Good communication skills. She is precise and clear in her communication
c. Good relationship with others
4. What are her weaknesses?
a. She lacks leadership experience
b. She will not be able to lead people who are mostly older than her
5. In your opinion, what are the solutions to the weaknesses?
a. She should widely consult older and successful leaders in her duties
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6. What are possible threats she will face if promoted to IT supervisory role?
a. Older employees might ignore her leadership because she is younger
b. High staff turnover
c. Lack of sufficient support from senior management
7. Do you think the new supervisor will succeed?
a. She will fail because of high staff turnover and lack of support from senior
management
8. Which is the most effective leadership style for change in IT department?
a. Transformational leadership style
9. What is/are the current problem (s) in the IT department?
a. Autocratic leadership
b. Lack of sufficient motivation
c. One-way dictatorial communication from supervisors to workers
10. Cite a justification for your believe that there is a leadership problem in IT unit
a. No avenue of expressing your problems to the supervisors
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Figure 1
PEOPLES PREFRENCE ON WHERE TO WORK IN THE TTPS, DURING 2007 TO 2009
Figure 2
RELATIVE ACHIEVEMENT OF KPIS IN THE TTPS BETWEEN THE PERIOD 2007 TO 2009.
70%
20% 10%
PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLES PREFERENCE OF WHERE TO WORK IN THE TTPS
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY UNIT SPECIAL UNIT OTHERS
52% 38%
10%
PERCENTAGE PERFORMANCE OF THE TOP THREE UNITS IN THE TTPS
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY UNIT SPECIAL UNIT OTHERS
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Figure 3
PERCENTAGE PREFERENCE OF WHERE TO WORK IN TTPS BETWEEN 2000 TO 2006
52% 38%
10%
PERCENTAGE PREFERENCEOF WHERE TO WORK IN TTPS BETWEEN THE PERIOD 2000 TO 2006
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY UNIT SPECIAL UNIT OTHERS