TASK 3
3.1 DIFFERENT LEADERSHIP STYLES AND THEIR EFFECTIVENESS
There are a number of different approaches, or 'styles' to leadership and management that are based on different assumptions and theories. The style that individuals use will be based on a combination of their beliefs, values and preferences, as well as the organizational culture and norms which will encourage some styles and discourage others.
Charismatic Leadership:
The Charismatic Leader gathers followers through dint of personality and charm, rather than any form of external power or authority [8].
Participative Leadership:
A Participative Leader, rather than taking autocratic decisions, seeks to involve other people in the process, possibly including subordinates, peers, superiors and other stakeholders.
The question of how much influence others are given thus may vary on the manager's preferences and beliefs, and a whole spectrum of participation is possible, as in the table below [9].
<Not participative
Highly participative >
Autocratic decision by leader
Leader proposes decision, listens to feedback, then decides
Team proposes decision, leader has final decision
Joint decision with team as equals
Full delegation of decision to team
Situational Leadership
When a decision is needed, an effective leader does not just fall into a single preferred style, such as using transactional or transformational methods. In practice, as they say, things are not that simple.
Factors that affect situational decisions include motivation and capability of followers [10].
Yukl (1989) seeks to combine other approaches and identifies six variables [11]:
* Subordinate effort: the motivation and actual effort expended.
* Subordinate ability and role clarity: followers knowing what to do and how to do it.
* Organization of the work: the structure of the work and utilization of resources.
* Cooperation and cohesiveness: of the group in working together.
* Resources and support: the availability of tools, materials, people, etc.
* External coordination: the need to collaborate with other groups.
Transactional Leadership
The transactional leader works through creating clear structures whereby it is clear what is required of their subordinates, and the rewards that they get for following orders. Punishments are not always mentioned, but they are also well-understood and formal systems of discipline are usually in place [12].
Transformational Leadership
Transformational Leadership starts with the development of a vision, a view of the future that will excite and convert potential followers. This vision may be developed by the leader, by the senior team or may emerge from a broad series of discussions. The important factor is the leader buys into it, hook, line and sinker [13].
The Quiet Leader
The approach of quiet leaders is the antithesis of the classic charismatic (and often transformational) leaders in that they base their success not on ego and force of character but on their thoughts and actions [14].
In 'personal humility' they put the well-being of others before their own personal needs, for example giving others credit after successes but taking personal responsibility for failures [14] [15].
Servant Leadership
The servant leader serves others, rather than others serving the leader. Serving others thus comes by helping them to achieve and improve.
There are two criteria of servant leadership:
The people served grow as individuals, becoming 'healthier, wiser, more autonomous and more likely themselves to become servants' (Greenleaf, 1977) [16].
The extent to which the leadership benefits those who are least advantaged in society (or at least does not disadvantage them).
Spears (2002) lists: listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to growth of people, and building community [17].
EFFECTIVENESS OF LEADERSHIP
A leader is a person who influences a group of people towards a specific result. It is not dependent on title or formal authority.
Leaders are recognized by their capacity for caring for others, clear communication, and a commitment to persist [18].
An individual who is appointed to a managerial position has the right to command and enforce obedience by virtue of the authority of his position. However, she or he must possess adequate personal attributes to match his authority, because authority is only potentially available to him.
In the absence of sufficient personal competence, a manager may be confronted by an emergent leader who can challenge her/his role in the organization and reduce it to that of a figurehead. However, only authority of position has the backing of formal sanctions. It follows that whoever wields personal influence and power can legitimize this only by gaining a formal position in the hierarchy, with commensurate authority [19].
Leadership can be defined as one's ability to get others to willingly follow. Every organization needs leaders at every level [20].
3.2 MOTIVATIONAL THEORIES
MOTIVATION:
Motivation is to inspire people to work, individually or in groups in the ways such as to produce best results. It is the will to act. It is the willingness to exert high levels of effort towards organizational goals, conditioned by the efforts and ability to satisfy some individual need.
Motivation is getting somebody to do something because they want to do it. It was once assumed that motivation had to be injected from outside, but it is now understood that everyone is motivated by several differing forces.
Motivation is a general term applied to the entire class of drives, desires, needs, wishes and similar forces. To say that managers motivate their subordinates is to say that they do those things which they hope will satisfy these drives and desires and induce the subordinates to act in a desired manner.
In the initiation a person starts feeling lackness. There is an arousal of need so urgent, that the bearer has to venture in search to satisfy it. This leads to creation of tension, which urges the person to forget everything else and cater to the aroused need first. Because of the performance of the activity satisfaction is achieved which than relieves the tension in the individual [21].
THEORIES
Some of the theories that are used for the motivation process are discussed as under [22].
1. Jeremy Bentham's "The Carrot and the Stick Approach":
Bentham's view was that all people are self-interested and are motivated by the desire to avoid pain and find pleasure. Any worker will work only if the reward is big enough, or the punishment sufficiently unpleasant. This view - the 'carrot and stick' approach - was built into the philosophies of the age and is still to be found, especially in the older, more traditional sectors of industry.
For centuries, however, they were too often thought of as the only forces that could motivate people. At the same time, in all theories of motivation, the inducements of some kind of 'carrot' are recognized. Often this is money in the form of pay or bonuses
2. Abraham Maslow's "Need Hierarchy Theory":
One of the most widely mentioned theories of motivation is the hierarchy of needs theory put forth by psychologist Abraham Maslow. Maslow saw human needs in the form of a hierarchy, ascending from the lowest to the highest, and he concluded that when one set of needs is satisfied, this kind of need ceases to be a motivator.
As per his theory these needs are:
(i) Physiological needs:
Food, water, warmth, shelter, sleep, medicine and education are the basic physiological needs which fall in the primary list of need satisfaction.
(ii) Security or Safety needs:
These are the needs to be free of physical danger and of the fear of losing a job, property, food or shelter. It also includes protection against any emotional harm.
(iii) Social needs:
People try to satisfy their need for affection, acceptance and friendship.
(iv) Esteem needs:
According to Maslow, once people begin to satisfy their need to belong, they tend to want to be held in esteem both by themselves and by others. It includes both internal esteem factors like self-respect, autonomy and achievements and external esteem factors such as states, recognition and attention.
(v) Need for self-actualization:
It is the drive to become what one is capable of becoming; it includes growth, achieving one's potential and self-fulfilment. It is to maximize one's potential and to accomplish something.
3. Theory X and Theory Y" of Douglas McGregor:
McGregor, in his book "The Human side of Enterprise" states that people inside the organization can be managed in two ways. The first is basically negative, which falls under the category X and the other is basically positive, which falls under the category Y.
On analysis of the assumptions it can be detected that theory X assumes that lower-order needs dominate individuals and theory Y assumes that higher-order needs dominate individuals. An organization that is run on Theory X lines tends to be authoritarian in nature, the word "authoritarian" suggests such ideas as the "power to enforce obedience" and the "right to command." In contrast Theory Y organizations can be described as "participative", where the aims of the organization and of the individuals in it are integrated; individuals can achieve their own goals best by directing their efforts towards the success of the organization.
4. Contributions of Elton Mayo:
The work of Elton Mayo is famously known as "Hawthorne Experiments." He conducted behavioural experiments at the Hawthorne Works of the American Western Electric Company in Chicago. Although this research has been criticized from many angles, the central conclusions drawn were:
* People are motivated by more than pay and conditions.
* The need for recognition and a sense of belonging are very important.
* Attitudes towards work are strongly influenced by the group.
5. The Porter and Lawler Model:
Lyman W. Porter and Edward E. Lawler developed a more complete version of motivation depending upon expectancy theory.
Actual performance in a job is primarily determined by the effort spent. But it is also affected by the person's ability to do the job and also by individual's perception of what the required task is.
