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Showing posts with label leadership styles.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label leadership styles.. Show all posts

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Explain various leadership styles.

Explain various leadership styles. Critically evaluate the leadership styles being followed in your organization or any organization you are familiar with. Briefly describe the organization you are referring to.


Solution :
Leadership style is the manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating people. Kurt Lewin (1939) led a group of researchers to identify different styles of leadership. This early study has been very influential and established three major leadership styles. The three major styles of leadership are (U.S. Army Handbook, 1973):
o Authoritarian or autocratic
o Participative or democratic
o Delegative or Free Reign
Although good leaders use all three styles, with one of them normally dominant, bad leaders tend to stick with one style. Authoritarian (autocratic)

I want both of you to. . .
This style is used when leaders tell their employees what they want done and how they want it accompished, without getting the advice of their followers. Some of the appropriate conditions to use it is when you have all the information to solve the problem, you are short on time,
and your employees are well motivated.
Some people tend to think of this style as a vehicle for yelling, using demeaning language, and leading by threats and abusing their power. This is not the authoritarian style, rather it is an abusive, unprofessional style called bossing people around. It has no place in a leader's repertoire. The authoritarian style should normally only be used on rare occasions. If you have the time and want to gain more commitment and motivation from your employees, then you should use the participative style.
Participative (democratic)

Let's work together to solve this. . .
This style involves the leader including one or more employees in the decision making process (determining what to do and how to do it). However, the leader maintains the final decision making authority. Using this style is not a sign of weakness, rather it is a sign of strength that your employees will respect.
This is normally used when you have part of the information, and your employees have other parts. Note that a leader is not expected to know everything -- this is why you employ knowledgeable and skillful employees. Using this style is of mutual benefit -- it allows them to become part of the team and allows you to make better decisions.
Delegative (free reign)


You two take care of the problem while I go. . .
In this style, the leader allows the employees to make the decisions. However, the leader is still responsible for the decisions that are made. This is used when employees are able to analyze the situation and determine what needs to be done and how to do it. You cannot do everything! You must set priorities and delegate certain tasks.
This is not a style to use so that you can blame others when things go wrong, rather this is a style to be used when you fully trust and confidence in the people below you. Do not be afraid to use it, however, use it wisely!
NOTE: This is also known as lais…sez faire (or lais…ser faire), which is the noninterference in the affairs of others. [French : laissez, second person pl. imperative of laisser, to let, allow + faire, to do.]

Forces
A good leader uses all three styles, depending on what forces are involved between the followers, the leader, and the situation. Some examples include:
o Using an authoritarian style on a new employee who is just learning the job. The leader is competent and a good coach. The employee is motivated to learn a new skill. The situation is a new environment for the employee.
o Using a participative style with a team of workers who know their job. The leader knows the problem, but does not have all the information. The employees know their jobs and want to become part of the team.
o Using a delegative style with a worker who knows more about the job than you. You cannot do everything! The employee needs to take ownership of her job. Also, the situation might call for you to be at other places, doing other things.
o Using all three: Telling your employees that a procedure is not working correctly and a new one must be established (authoritarian). Asking for their ideas and input on creating a new procedure (participative). Delegating tasks in order to implement the new procedure (delegative).
Forces that influence the style to be used included:
o How much time is available.
o Are relationships based on respect and trust or on disrespect?
o Who has the information - you, your employees, or both?
o How well your employees are trained and how well you know the task.
o Internal conflicts.
o Stress levels.
o Type of task. Is it structured, unstructured, complicated, or simple?
Laws or established procedures such as OSHA or training plans.

Four of the most basic leadership styles are:
--Autocratic
--Bureaucratic
--Laissez-faire
--Democratic
This article will briefly define each style and describe the situations in which each one might be used.
Autocratic Leadership Style
This is often considered the classical approach. It is one in which the manager retains as much power and decision-making authority as possible. The manager does not consult employees, nor are they allowed to give any input. Employees are expected to obey orders without receiving any explanations. The motivation environment is produced by creating a structured set of rewards and punishments.
This leadership style has been greatly criticized during the past 30 years. Some studies say that organizations with many autocratic leaders have higher turnover and absenteeism than other organizations. Certainly Gen X employees have proven to be highly resistant to this management style. These studies say that autocratic leaders:
--Rely on threats and punishment to influence employees
--Do not trust employees
--Do not allow for employee input
Yet, autocratic leadership is not all bad. Sometimes it is the most effective style to use. These situations can include:
--New, untrained employees who do not know which tasks to perform or which procedures to follow
--Effective supervision can be provided only through detailed orders and instructions
--Employees do not respond to any other leadership style
--There are high-volume production needs on a daily basis
--There is limited time in which to make a decision
--A manager’s power is challenged by an employee
--The area was poorly managed
--Work needs to be coordinated with another department or organization
The autocratic leadership style should not be used when:
--Employees become tense, fearful, or resentful
--Employees expect to have their opinions heard
--Employees begin depending on their manager to make all their decisions
--There is low employee morale, high turnover and absenteeism and work stoppage
Bureaucratic Leadership Style
Bureaucratic leadership is where the manager manages “by the book¨ Everything must be done according to procedure or policy. If it isn’t covered by the book, the manager refers to the next level above him or her. This manager is really more of a police officer than a leader. He or she enforces the rules.
This style can be effective when:
--Employees are performing routine tasks over and over.
--Employees need to understand certain standards or procedures.
--Employees are working with dangerous or delicate equipment that requires a definite set of procedures to operate.
--Safety or security training is being conducted.
--Employees are performing tasks that require handling cash.
This style is ineffective when:
--Work habits form that are hard to break, especially if they are no longer useful.
--Employees lose their interest in their jobs and in their fellow workers.
--Employees do only what is expected of them and no more.
Democratic Leadership Style
The democratic leadership style is also called the participative style as it encourages employees to be a part of the decision making. The democratic manager keeps his or her employees informed about everything that affects their work and shares decision making and problem solving responsibilities. This style requires the leader to be a coach who has the final say, but gathers information from staff members before making a decision.
Democratic leadership can produce high quality and high quantity work for long periods of time. Many employees like the trust they receive and respond with cooperation, team spirit, and high morale. Typically the democratic leader:
--Develops plans to help employees evaluate their own performance
--Allows employees to establish goals
--Encourages employees to grow on the job and be promoted
--Recognizes and encourages achievement.
Like the other styles, the democratic style is not always appropriate. It is most successful when used with highly skilled or experienced employees or when implementing operational changes or resolving individual or group problems.
The democratic leadership style is most effective when:
--The leader wants to keep employees informed about matters that affect them.
--The leader wants employees to share in decision-making and problem-solving duties.
--The leader wants to provide opportunities for employees to develop a high sense of personal growth and job satisfaction.
--There is a large or complex problem that requires lots of input to solve.
--Changes must be made or problems solved that affect employees or groups of employees.
--You want to encourage team building and participation.
Democratic leadership should not be used when:
--There is not enough time to get everyone’s input.
--It’s easier and more cost-effective for the manager to make the decision.
--The business can’t afford mistakes.
--The manager feels threatened by this type of leadership.
--Employee safety is a critical concern.
Laissez-Faire Leadership Style
The laissez-faire leadership style is also known as the “hands-off¨ style. It is one in which the manager provides little or no direction and gives employees as much freedom as possible. All authority or power is given to the employees and they must determine goals, make decisions, and resolve problems on their own.
This is an effective style to use when:
--Employees are highly skilled, experienced, and educated.
--Employees have pride in their work and the drive to do it successfully on their own.
--Outside experts, such as staff specialists or consultants are being used
--Employees are trustworthy and experienced.
This style should not be used when:
--It makes employees feel insecure at the unavailability of a manager.
--The manager cannot provide regular feedback to let employees know how well they are doing.
--Managers are unable to thank employees for their good work.
--The manager doesn’t understand his or her responsibilities and is hoping the employees can cover for him or her.
Varying Leadership Style
While the proper leadership style depends on the situation, there are three other factors that also influence which leadership style to use.
1. The manager’s personal background. What personality, knowledge, values, ethics, and experiences does the manager have. What does he or she think will work?
2. The employees being supervised. Employees are individuals with different personalities and backgrounds. The leadership style managers use will vary depending upon the individual employee and what he or she will respond best to.
3. The company. The traditions, values, philosophy, and concerns of the company will influence how a manager acts.
Leadership & Impact On Organisation Climate - Presentation Transcript
1. LEADERSHIP & IMPACT ON ORGANISATION CLIMATE
2. Different leadership styles on the organizational climate and performance directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective
3. Leadership Styles The Affiliative Style The Coercive Style The Pacesetting Style The Democratic Style The Authoritative Style The Coaching Style Leadership Styles
4. Leadership Styles Overall impact on climate When the style works best Underlying EI competencies The style in a phrase Leader’s modus operandi Most strongly positive Negative appropriate when a new direction is required or a clarification of the goals to be achieved appropriate in emergencies and severe situations Self confidence, empathy, change catalyst Drive to achieve, initiative, self control “ Come with me” “ Do what I tell you” focuses on the goal or vision of the future and inspires others to follow Demands immediate compliance Authoritative (a.k.a. 'The Visionary') Coercive (a.k.a. 'The Dictator‘)
5. Leadership Styles Overall impact on climate When the style works best Underlying EI competencies The style in a phrase Leader’s modus operandi Positive Positive a useful style to adopt when attempting to involve a wide range of people in decision making or building a consensus healing dysfunctional relationships within a team Collaboration, team leadership, communication Empathy, building relationships, communication “ What do you think” “ People Come First” Forges consensus through participation focus on people, teambuilding, bonding and forging alliances; create teams and a motivator Democratic (a.k.a. 'The Listener') Affiliative (a.k.a. 'The People Person')
6. Leadership Styles Overall impact on climate When the style works best Underlying EI competencies The style in a phrase Leader’s modus operandi Positive Negative is especially useful in building skills to develop managers and future leaders To get quick results from a highly motivated and competent team; useful to raise the stakes when a competent and motivated team is working well Developing others, empathy, self-awareness Conscientiousness, drive to achieve, initiative “ Try this” “ Do as I do, now” focuses on helping to improve people's strengths sets an example by working to extremely high standards of performance Coaching (a.k.a. 'The Nurturer') Pacesetting (a.k.a. 'The Superman/Superwoman')
7. Leadership styles offers clear guidance to the manager, using these styles as appropriate as situation require
o All of these styles are useful at different times, but used at the wrong time they can be disastrous e.g. too much listening when immediate action is required, or only providing a vision when a team needs building or rebuilding.
o The type of leadership styles use will affect performance and results
Leadership Styles
8. Flexibility i.e. how free employees feel to innovate unencumbered by red tape;
o Level of standards that people set;
o The sense of accuracy about performance feedback and aptness of rewards;
o The clarity people have about mission and values;
o The level of commitment to a common purpose
6 key factors that influence organization climate
9. How different leadership styles affects the organizational climate and performance
o Reap strong loyalty by building strong emotional bonds
o Drives up flexibility and does not impose unnecessary strictures on how work is done
o Offers ample positive feedback for motivation
o Creates a sense of belonging for employees
o Most effective among the 6 leadership styles
o Motivates people and able to lead them to a clear direction
o Maximizes commitment to the business’s goals and strategy with defined standards
o Gives employees the freedom to innovate, experiment and take calculated risks.
o appropriate in severe situations and emergency i.e. during a turnaround or when a hostile takeover is looming
o Able to break failed business habits and shock people into new ways of working
o Can work with problem employees when all else has failed
POSITIVE ASPECTS NEGATIVE ASPECTS
o Exclusive focus on praise can allow poor performance to go uncorrected
o Perception that mediocrity is tolerated
o Rarely offers constructive advice on how to improve (directionless)
Affiliative
o Will not work when working with a team of experts/peers who are more experienced.
o Can undermine an effective team if authoritative becomes overbearing
o top-down decision overrides new ideas
o Staff unable to act on their own initiative, loss of ownership
o has a damaging effect on rewards system
o Undermines motivation to employees
Authoritative Coercive
10. How different leadership styles affects the organizational climate and performance
o Helps employees to identify their strengths and weaknesses; establish long-term development goals and helps to attain them
o Employees are more responsible when they know what is expected of them and how their work fits in the pic
o Works well when all employees are self-motivated, highly competent and need little direction/coordination
o Get work done on time and even ahead of schedule
o Drives up flexibility and responsibility when letting employees have a say in decisions
o Employees tend to be very realistic about what they can and cannot be accomplished
POSITIVE ASPECTS NEGATIVE ASPECTS
o Ineffective if employees are resistant to learning or changing their ways
o May create fear or apathy through ongoing performance feedback
Coaching
o overwhelmed by demands of excellence; morale will drop
o Employee don’t feel trust to work in their own way or to take initiative as ideas will be shot down
o Work becomes task focused, dependant and routine, with no sense of flexibility and responsibility
employees may not be competent or informed enough to offer sound advice
o Unable to reach to a consensus/decision
Pacesetting Democratic
11.
o Leaders who used styles that positively affect the climate had better financial results than those who did not;
o Studies have shown that leaders who have mastered 4 or more styles (esp. the authoritative, democratic, affiliative and coaching styles) have the very best climate and business performance
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Explain the various leadership styles.

Explain the various leadership styles. Discuss the leadership styles of your organization and how influential it is in improving the performance of your organization or any organization you are acquainted with. Briefly describe the organization you are referring to.

Many people believe that leadership is simply being the first, biggest or most powerful. Leadership in organizations has a different and more meaningful definition. Very simply put, a leader is interpreted as someone who sets direction in an effort and influences people to follow that direction. How they set that direction and influence people depends on a variety of factors that we'll consider later on below. To really comprehend the "territory" of leadership, you should briefly scan some of the major theories, notice various styles of leadership and review some of the suggested traits and characteristics that leaders should have. The rest of this library should help you in this regard.

The Autocrat

The autocratic leader dominates team-members, using unilateralism to achieve a singular objective. This approach to leadership generally results in passive resistance from team-members and requires continual pressure and direction from the leader in order to get things done. Generally, an authoritarian approach is not a good way to get the best performance from a team. There are, however, some instances where an autocratic style of leadership may not be inappropriate. Some situations may call for urgent action, and in these cases an autocratic style of leadership may be best. In addition, most people are familiar with autocratic leadership and therefore have less trouble adopting that style. Furthermore, in some situations, sub-ordinates may actually prefer an autocratic style.

The Laissez-Faire Manager

The Laissez-Faire manager exercises little control over his group, leaving them to sort out their roles and tackle their work, without participating in this process himself. In general, this approach leaves the team floundering with little direction or motivation. Again, there are situations where the Laissez-Faire approach can be effective. The Laissez-Faire technique is usually only appropriate when leading a team of highly motivated and skilled people, who have produced excellent work in the past. Once a leader has established that his team is confident, capable and motivated, it is often best to step back and let them get on with the task, since interfering can generate resentment and detract from their effectiveness. By handing over ownership, a leader can empower his group to achieve their goals.

The Democrat

The democratic leader makes decisions by consulting his team, whilst still maintaining control of the group. The democratic leader allows his team to decide how the task will be tackled and who will perform which task. The democratic leader can be seen in two lights: A good democratic leader encourages participation and delegates wisely, but never loses sight of the fact that he bears the crucial responsibility of leadership. He values group discussion and input from his team and can be seen as drawing from a pool of his team members' strong points in order to obtain the best performance from his team. He motivates his team by empowering them to direct themselves, and guides them with a loose reign. However, the democrat can also be seen as being so unsure of himself and his relationship with his sub-ordinates that everything is a matter for group discussion and decision. Clearly, this type of "leader" is not really leading at all.

Ratan Tata

Leading a large group of companies in the days of fast changing business scenario of changing regulations, increasing completion and opening up of economy could be an arduous challenge for many. Leading the firm through these times and four-folding the group’s revenues could be a dream. Doing this requires clear vision, innate conviction, ability to inspire and guide along the way. Ratan Tata established himself to be the right leader who could help the company sail through the turbulent waters and reach the desired lands. These targets never existed or were thought not feasible by the company earlier. Prior to his handling the mantle, these were hard even for conceiving. When Ratan Tata became the Chairman of century old, well respected Indian business group, Tata, it was a conservative company, dominated by the paradigm of manufacturing. It was deriving dominant share of revenues from the domestic market when domestic market itself was marked by two important trends. First, it was making shift towards services and secondly was moving towards opening up. Realizing that when the economy as whole is shifting to more of services, the future belongs to the one that belongs to that segment and the need for globalization is important when your domestic economy itself is opening up, he initiated right moves. To be there when it happens, he had to lead the company from over-dominantly manufacturing paradigm to services based one and from domestic focused to the one with global mindset. This was not to be achieved by compromising on the existing focus or by resorting to hasty retreat from the areas of operation. It was to be accomplished while with continuity (may be diluting/withdrawing from some) but more through furthering towards new areas. One such instance can be quoted is that of entering into the passenger car segment by the group company Tata motors (previously TELCO). While continuing to produce trucks, and being a strong name in trucks, the company was induced to think along the lines of an indigenous car. He helped it to realize the dream from drawing board to dusty roads and result was Indica. This was followed by an enhanced version. He also helped the group company Tata Tea internationalize and acquire a dominant global player Tetley. The vision can be appreciated fully with the knowledge that when acquired, Tetley was double the size of Tata Tea and present in many markets. Further, following the adage of “gold at the bottom of the pyramid”, he is leading the company to enhance the coverage of offerings. This they are planning through budget hotels, a truly middle class car (for lakh rupees, half the price of the entry car in the market). Helping it to reach out to new areas and acquire a global mindset, he by complementing through his characteristic leadership, helped the Tata group to survive the uncertain times, overcome the stagnation. Quantum Corporation is a leading manufacturer of hard disks and computer peripherals, where "time-to-volume" is of critical importance. For this company it is of prime importance that the customers actually get new products they want, at the right time and in the right quantity they require. Time-to-volume requires rapid product development without sacrificing quality and also ability to ramp up production fast enough to meet customer needs. Quantum identified a set of value behaviors such as flexibility, adaptability, taking charge of one's own development, resolving issues in objective manner etc. as drivers to support the deliverable "time-to-volume". This company did not stop by identifying the behaviors; they integrated them directly into performance criteria. Merit pay was based equally on financial results and employees' display of value behaviors. Instead of thinking in terms of HR focused enablers, it is important to gauge how specific HR enablers are supporting core performance drivers in operations, customer and financial segments of the organization. The following example of a major money-center bank shows the disastrous effect of not connecting HR enablers with the various performance drivers of the organization. This particular bank decided to shift its focus in retail business from service to sales and accordingly identified a set of key performance drivers such as increased cross-selling to existing customers, teller product knowledge, sales skill etc. But unfortunately, the HR enablers still emphasized the importance of service. The HR policies and practices like training, recruitment, performance appraisal, compensation continued rewarding service rather than sales, though the focus of the organization had already changed. The mismatch between the bank's new goals and obsolete HR enablers hindered achievement of its sales and profitability targets. The entire HR system influences employee behavior in many ways and it has great impact on the strategic drivers in the larger organization. Therefore every organization should evaluate on an ongoing basis the degree to which the firm's entire system of HR enablers, from employee selection to development to reward and retention, support the non HR drivers outlined in the firm's business balance scorecard.
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Explain various leadership styles.

Explain various leadership styles. Describe the style of a leader from an organization you are familiar with. Why this particular style has been adopted. Give reasons. Briefly describe the organization you are referring to.


Leadership styles
Most of the managers use several styles at one or the other point of time, but in which category a manager foils, is decided by the style that is mostly used by him. Basically and broadly, there are three important leadership styles as follows:
1. Autocratic or authoritarian style: It is also known as directive style. It is basically treated as a traditional method of leadership. The autocratic leader himself decides all policies. He gives orders to the subordinates and expects them to follow such orders completely without any grudge or question. Under this style, subordinates are thought to be inexperienced and wisdom less and therefore they are given no freedom-the technicalities and modalities of the work, and the course of action are decided by the autocratic leader. Hence the future action is not known to anyone except the leader.
This style may be appropriately used where subordinates are uneducated, unskilled, unwise, inexperienced; where the company endorses fear and punishment as accepted disciplinary techniques; and where the leader prefers to be active and dominate in decision making.
2. Democratic or particle active style: The democratic leader decentralizes power. He involves subordinates in the decision making. He has faith in the subordinates and their wisdom, skills and capacities. He halos objective approach. Communication pattern is multidimensional.
The major advantages of this style are: It improves job satisfaction and morale; develops positive attitudes; reduces resistance to change; generates self motivation due to participative decision making and freedom of thought an-I impression; increases productivity; and develops better subordinates.
The major disadvantages of this style are; It is time-consuming and causes delays in decision making; may fail when the communication pattern and skill are not strong enough; is not workable where subordinates do not want to take extra responsibility of sharing in decision making and becoming part of every decision; decreases productivity in some case especially, when decisions are diluted to appease or please everybody.
Democratic style is more appropriate where subordinates are educated, skilled, wise, creative, and enthusiastic; where the company endorses self direction and self-control, and rewards and involvement as prime means of motivation and control; and where leader desires to hear subordinates before making decisions and to develop a strong and capable force of followers.
3. Free-rein or Laissez-faire or Permissive style: There are several forms of this style. For example, in some cases the subordinates are given a goal to achieve in their own way, whereas in some other cases, they themselves decide their group goals. Infect, there is almost complete delegation of authority; and the path leading to the goals is decided by the subordinates themselves. The leaders behave primarily as a member of the group and play the role of a member only. He gives his opinion or suggestion only when it is demanded from him. Under this style, tube group members are educated and motivated by themselves, the leader is not required to educate but he acts, as a link primarily for arranging adequate resources needed for attaining the goals, for establishing contact between employees and the outside world, for collecting necessary information from external sources, and for establishing coordination. The concept of management by exception' promotes this type of style. Subordinates themselves plan. Control, evaluate and decide. The major advantages of this style are: It increases subordinates' freedom, develops their expression, compels them to work as group members, increases job- satisfaction and morale, utilizes subordinates' potential to the maximum possible extent, and promotes creativity or innovation.
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Explain different leadership styles.

Explain different leadership styles. Is there any difference between successful and an
effective leader? Discuss with suitable examples from an organization you are familiar
with. Describe the organization you are referring to.



Answer. Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent.

Some leadership styles are described below:
Autocratic Leadership
Autocratic leadership is an extreme form of transactional leadership, where leader has absolute power over his or her employees or team. Employees and team members have little opportunity for making suggestions, even if these would be in the team or organization’s interest.

Bureaucratic Leadership
Bureaucratic leaders work “by the book”, ensuring that their staff follow procedures exactly.

Charismatic Leadership
A charismatic leadership style can appear similar to a transformational leadership style, in that the leader injects huge doses of enthusiasm into his or her team, and is very energetic in driving others forward. However, a charismatic leader tends to believe more in him- or herself than in their team. This can create a risk that a project, or even an entire organization, might collapse if the leader were to leave: In the eyes of their followers, success is tied up with the presence of the charismatic leader. As such, charismatic leadership carries great responsibility, and needs long-term commitment from the leader.

Democratic Leadership or Participative Leadership
Although a democratic leader will make the final decision, he or she invites other members of the team to contribute to the decision-making process. This not only increases job satisfaction by involving employees or team members in what’s going on, but it also helps to develop people’s skills. Employees and team members feel in control of their own destiny, such as the promotion they desire, and so are motivated to work hard by more than just a financial reward.

Laissez-faire Leadership
This French phrase means “leave it be” and is used to describe a leader who leaves his or her colleagues to get on with their work. It can be effective if the leader monitors what is being achieved and communicates this back to his or her team regularly. Most often, laissez-faire leadership works for teams in which the individuals are very experienced and skilled self-starters. Unfortunately, it can also refer to situations where managers are not exerting sufficient control.

People-Oriented Leadership or Relations-Oriented Leadership
The style of leadership is the opposite of task-oriented leadership: the leader is totally focused on organizing, supporting and developing the people in the leader’s team. A participative style, it tends to lead to good teamwork and creative collaboration.

Task-Oriented Leadership
A highly task-oriented leader focuses only on getting the job done, and can be quite autocratic. He or she will actively define the work and the roles required, put structures in place, plan, organize and monitor. However, as task-oriented leaders spare little thought for the well-being of their teams, this approach can suffer many of the flaws of autocratic leadership, with difficulties in motivating and retaining staff. Task-oriented leaders can use the Blake-Mouton Managerial Grid to help them identify specific areas for development that will help them involve people more.

Transactional Leadership
This style of leadership starts with the idea that team members agree to obey their leader totally when they take on a job: the “transaction” is (usually) that the organization pays the team members in return for their effort and compliance. You have a right to “punish” the team members if their work doesn’t meet the pre-determined standard.

Transactional leadership is really just a way of managing rather a true leadership style as the focus is on short-term tasks. It has serious limitations for knowledge-based or creative work, but remains a common style in many organizations.

Transformational Leadership
A person with this leadership style is a true leader who inspires his or her team constantly with a shared vision of the future. Transformational leaders are highly visible, and spend a lot of time communicating. They don’t necessarily lead from the front, as they tend to delegate responsibility amongst their team. While their enthusiasm is often infectious, they generally need to be supported by “details people”.

In many organizations, both transactional and transformational leadership are needed. The transactional leaders (or managers) ensure that routine work is done reliably, while the transformational leaders look after initiatives that add value.

Using The Right Style – Situational Leadership
While the Transformation Leadership approach is often highly effective, there is no one “right” way to lead or manage that suits all situations. To choose the most effective approach one must consider:
• The skill levels and experience of your team
• The work involved (routine or new and creative)
• The organisational environment (stable or radically changing, conservative or adventurous)
• You own preferred or natural style.

A good leader will find him- or herself switching instinctively between styles according to the people and work they are dealing with. This is often referred to as “situational leadership”. For example, the manager of a small factory trains new machine operatives using a bureaucratic style to ensure operatives know the procedures that achieve the right standards of product quality and workplace safety. The same manager may adopt a more participative style of leadership when working on production line improvement with his or her team of supervisors.

EXAMPLE: CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP IN THE CIVIL FACILITIES PROJECT
In the civil facilities project the municipal manager represented the municipality in a project to design and construct various ecological civil facilities in an urban area of 250 houses. The purpose of the municipality was to develop civic facilities with environmentally friendly materials. The primary participants in this project were: a municipality as the client, represented by the municipal manager, and the same municipality as the designer, represented by a project team.

The municipal manager performed a charismatic leadership style to direct the design activities of the municipal project team and communicated in visionary images about environmental friendliness and a sustainable society. The municipal manager organized meetings to stimulate the team members to discuss ecological topics. The team members were annoyed by the so-called vague ambitions of the project and complained about the absence of concrete goals and measures.

The municipal manager tried to energize the team members and invited them to express their visions on ecological building. The team members didn’t develop any new ideas and continued complaining about fuzzy leadership.

In a last attempt to accelerate the team members’ contribution to the project, the municipal manager organized meetings in which they were invited to brainstorm about the specifications of an ecological civil facilities design; with no result. The final result of the charismatic leadership style in the civil facilities project was a completely traditional design for civic facilities without a single ecological innovation.


Charismatic leadership in the civil facilities project
In terms of innovative ecological project outcomes, the performance of charismatic leadership in the civil facilities project was a failure. The main reason was that the municipal manager lacked knowledge of ecology and ecological building. The municipal manager did not absorb information and knowledge of ecological building during the project and did not hire internal or external consultants to inject the project with the knowledge needed. The municipal manager had to manage a project team consisting of members without competence in the field of ecology or ecological building. The charismatic leadership style was based on the municipal manager’s belief that it would inspire the participants in the project. As a consequence of the absence of the necessary information, knowledge and competence in the project, the charismatic style had no effect.

To improve the efficiency I think the manager should eliminate the deficiency in the field of ecology and ecological building. He should inject the projects with ecological information, knowledge and competence.

Moreover, on an analytical level the performance of an innovation leadership style can have a positive effect on the ecological innovativeness of a construction project when the leading manager also assures that the project is injected with information, knowledge and competence in the field of ecology and ecological building.
What Do Successful Real Managers Do?
To answer the question of what successful real managers do, we conducted several types of analyses -- statistical (using multiple regression techniques), simple descriptive comparisons (for example, top third of managers as measured by the success index vs. bottom third), and relative strength of correlational relationships.8 In all of these analyses, the importance that networking played in real manager success was very apparent. Of the four real manager activities, only networking had a statistically significant relationship with success. In the comparative analysis we found that the most successful (top third) real managers were doing considerably more networking and slightly more routine communication than their least successful (bottom third) counterparts. From the relative strength of relationship analysis we found that networking makes the biggest relative contribution to manager success and, importantly, human resource management activities makes the least relative contribution.
What does this mean? It means that in this study of real managers, using speed of promotion as the measure of success, it was found that successful real managers spent relatively more time and effort socializing, politicking, and interacting with outsiders than did their less successful counterparts. Perhaps equally important, the successful real managers did not give much time or attention to the traditional management activities of planning, decision making, and controlling or to the human resource management activities of motivating/reinforcing, staffing, training/developing, and managing conflict. A representative example of this profile would be the following manager's prescription for success:
"I find that the way to get ahead around here is to be friendly with the right people, both inside and outside the firm. They get tired of always talking shop, so I find a common interest - with some it's sports, with others it's our kids - and interact with them on that level. The other formal stuff around the office is important but I really work at this informal side and have found it pays off when promotion time rolls around."
In other words, for this manager and for a significant number of those real managers we studied, networking seems to be the key to success.
What Do Effective Real Managers Do?
Once we answered the question of what successful managers do, we turned to the even more important question of what effective managers do. It should be emphasized once again that, in gathering our observational data for the study, we made no assumptions that the successful real managers were (or were not) the effective managers. Our participant observers were blind to the research questions and we had no hypothesis concerning the relationship between successful and effective managers.
We used the relative strength of correlational relationship between the real managers' effectiveness index and their directly observed day-to-day activities and found that communication and human resource management activities made by far the largest relative contribution to real managers' effectiveness and that traditional management and especially - networking made by far the least relative contribution.9
These results mean that if effectiveness is defined as the perceived quantity and quality of the performance of a manager's unit and his or her subordinates? satisfaction and commitment, then the biggest relative contribution to real manager effectiveness comes from the human oriented activities - communication and human, resource management. A representative example of this effectiveness profile is found in the following manager's comments:
"Both how much and how well things get done around here, as well as keeping my people loyal and happy, has to do with keeping them informed and involved. If I make a change in procedure or the guys upstairs give us a new process or piece of equipment to work with, I get my people's input and give them the full story before I lay it on them. Then I make sure they have the proper training and give them feedback on how they are doing. When they screw up, I let them know it, but when they do a good job, I let them know about that too.
This manager, like our study of real managers in general, found that the biggest contribution to effectiveness came from communicating and human resource management activities. Equally important, however, was the finding that the least relative contribution to real managers' effectiveness came from the networking activity. This, of course, is in stark contrast to our results of the successful real manager analysis. Networking activity had by far the strongest relative relationship to success, but the weakest with effectiveness. On the other hand, human resource management activity had a strong relationship to effectiveness (second only to communication activity), but had the weakest relative relationship to success. In other words, the successful real managers do not do the same activities as the effective real managers (in fact, they do almost the opposite). These contrasting profiles may have significant implications for understanding the current performance problems facing American organizations. However, before we look at these implications and suggest some solutions, let's take a look at those real managers who are both successful and effective.
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Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Describe various leadership styles.

Describe various leadership styles. Explain the present leadership style in
your organization or any organization you are acquainted with which leadership style in your opinion will improve efficiency of the organization and why? Discuss


INTRODUCTION:-
Leadership is defined as influence, that is the art or process of influencing people so that they will strive willingly and enthusiastically toward the achievement of group goals. Ideally people should be encouraged to develop not only willingness to work but also willingness to work with zeal and confidence.
Different leadership styles used by organization are:-
1. STYLES BASED ON USE OF AUTHORITY:-
Some Leaders were seen as applying three basic styles. The autocratic leader commands and expects compliance, is dogmatic and positive and leads by the ability to withhold or give rewards and punishment. The democratic, or participative, leader consults with subordinates’ Concurrence to the one who makes decisions but consults with subordinates before doing so. The free-rein leader uses his or her power very little, if at all, giving subordinates a high degree of independent in their operations. Such leaders depend largely on subordinates to set their own goals and the means of achieving them, and they see their role as one of aiding the operations of followers by furnishing them with information and acting primarily as a contact with the groups external environment.
2. LIKERTS FOUR SYSTEMS OF MANAGEMENT:-
Professor Rensis Likert and his associates at the University of Michigan have studied the patterns and styles of leaders and managers for three decades. In the course of this research, Likert has developed certain ideas approaches important to understanding leadership behavior.
• System 1:- System 1 management is described as “exploitive authoritative”, its managers are highly autocratic, have little trust in subordinates, motivate people through fear and punishment and only occasional rewards, engage in downward communication, and limit decision making to the top.
• System 2- System 2 management is called “benevolent-authoritative”, its managers have a patronizing confidence and trust in subordinates, motivate with rewards and some fear and punishment, permit dome upward communication, solicit some ideas and opinions from subordinates, and allow some delegation of decision making but with close policy control.
• System 3:- System 3 management is referred to as “Consultative” managers in this system have substantial but not complete confidence and trust in subordinates, usually try to make use of subordinates ideas and opinions use rewards for motivation with occasional punishment and some participation engage in communication flow both down and up, make broad policy and general decisions at the top while allowing specific decisions to be made at lower levels, and act consultatively in other ways.
• System 4:- System 4 management as the most participate of all and referred it as “participative-group” System 4 managers have complete trust and confidence in subordinates in all matters, they always get ideas and opinions from subordinate and constructively use them.
They also give economic rewards on the basis of group participation and involvement in such areas as setting goals and appraising progress towards goals.
3. THE MANAGERIAL GRID:-
A well- known approach to defining leadership styles is the management grid. developed some years ago by Robert Blake and Jane Mouton
(i) The grid dimensions:-
The grid has two dimensions: concern for people and concern for production. As Blake and Mouton have emphasized, their use of the phrase “concern for” is meant to convey “how” managers are concerned about production or “how” they are concerned about people, and not such things as “how much” production about getting out of a group.]
(ii) The four extreme styles:-
Blake and Mouton recognize four extremes of style. Under managers concern themselves very little with either people or production and have minimum involvement in their jobs; to all intents and purposes, they hae abandoned their jobs and only mark time or act as messengers communicating information from superiors to subordinates. They are the real “team managers” who are able to mesh the production needs of the enterprise with the needs of individuals.
• EXAMPLE OF ITALIAN ITALIEL:-
In 1981, when Marisa Bellisario become director and CEO of ITALTEL, a state-owned telecommunication equipment manufacturer in Italy, the company was in trouble high losses large debts insufficient research and development, and an over, unionized organization. Ms. Bellisario took some major steps to term the company around and a improve productivity.
Here are some examples of the new direction:-
Restructuring the organization into business units.
• Reducing the number of employees by more than one third between 1980 and 1985, which was accomplished through open communication and cooperation with the Union.
• Leading the company into electronics, which required retraining of employees.
• Developing a program to upgrade low-skilled women in the work force.
• Pushing for intra-European cooperation with companies in France, England, and what was when west Germany.
• Improving efficiency through innovation in products and manufacturing processes.
Leadership such as this has to be analyzed in terms of the characteristics of the leader (technical, human, conceptual, and design skills); good relations with the followers, specially the unionized workforce; and the situation which in the early 1980s demanded a strong leader to deal with the crisis.
Here, Likert’s Four system of management would be very beneficial and would improve efficiency of the ITALTEL because it would divide the entire organization carefully and system 4 would be the best for it.
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