Management & Leadership Blog - Assignment Example

?Management &Leadership Blog Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Blog 3 Managerial &Leadership Theories 3 Blog 2 5 Examples of Leadership Style of Managers 5 Blog 3 7 The Utilities of Leadership Theories 7 References 10 Blog 1 Managerial &Leadership Theories The increased international marketing and business activities have made it necessary for organizations to work in unification with each other, employees and government. Globalization has compelled the employees of the organization belonging to various cultures and religions to work together in synchronization with each other (Jogulu, 2010). This has made it necessary for the managers to adopt leadership approaches at various levels and situations to help in accomplishment of goals and objectives of the organization. Therefore, the managers need to identify the leadership approaches which can help in integration of activities of the employees and achievement of goals and objectives of the organization. The traditional theorists regarded leadership as an integrated approach which focused on team work. Later, it was regarded as a powerful relationship which had the ability to influence its followers (Evans, 2003). The modern leadership theories proposed that the master servant relationship should be replaced by superior subordinate relationship. The leadership theory occurred in groups which involved the employees working together in unification towards a share goal. As per Author Adair (1984 cited in Mullins and Linehan, 2005) leadership can be expressed as a relationship with other individuals. Leadership can occur in various groups or social context and they should have followers. Leadership theories are concerned with how to convince the employees to attain the goals and objectives in a systematic method. Leadership can provide direction, guidance and activity for a collective group (Mullins and Linehan, 2005). Leadership helps in providing an organizational environment in which the employees are provided with financial motivators like rewards, incentives etc. One of the main motivational functions of the managers is to construct a reward system and increase the personal pay off for goal attainment by reduction of barriers and increasing the opportunities for personal satisfaction of the employees. The approaches of the managers need to align with the business goals and objectives. One of the main objectives of the organization is to increase the presence of the organization internationally and create a niche for itself in the market. The Cross - Vergence theory focuses on the economic ideology that believes in integration of cultural values with western influence (Theimann, April and Blass, 2002).The theory identifies the significance of the cultural values and its impact on an organization. Therefore, the theory recognizes the importance of national, sub culture, and the economic ideology influences. For example HSBC is pervasive in more than 88 countries worldwide and follows the Cross Vergence theory for guidance purposes. It is not possible to develop a universal theory of leadership which can be applicable to all organizations and in all situations hence a manager needs to identify the various approaches required at different levels and act accordingly. The difference in the cultural values of the countries may lead to the adoption of different approaches by the managers. It is not possible for every manager to adopt a leadership approach which aligns with the cultural values of the countries. The followership theory proposed by Brown & Thornborn (1998 cited in Evans, 2003) categorized the employees in four types; sheep people, yes people, alienated survivors and exemplary followers. Sheep people are extremely uncritical and passive but yes people are completely dependent on the leaders for opinions. Survivors keep adapting to changes and exemplary followers are able to think creatively and independently. Managers can devote certain portion of their time for in development of their emotional intelligence which can help in understanding the employees of diverse workforce .Thus, we can state that managers need to first identify and adopt various leadership theories which can act as successful contributors to a congenial organizational environment and increased performance. Blog 2 Examples of Leadership Style of Managers Leadership functions enable the development of strategies and direction to achieve goals and objectives of the organization. It helps in guiding the employees to align the professional and personal goals and successful communication of vision, mission of the organization (Groves, 2006). Leadership is different from management, it is the way the manager execute the functions in different manner. According to some theorists leadership theories have nothing in common with the traits and characteristic portrayal of the managers but it is the execution abilities of the managers. For example the transformational leadership is strongly associated with the performance which is beyond the expectations of the organization. Transformational and transactional leadership is a clear example which highlights the distinction between the managerial and leadership style. Transformational leadership style is strongly associated with the organizational culture and effectiveness (Dastmalchian and Blyton, 1992). The interdependent relationship between transformational leadership and culture has an effect on the organizational outcome (Xenikou and Simosi, 2008). The transformational leaders move in a different direction which encompasses intellectual stimulation and individual consideration. The present CEO of Hewlett Packard Meg Whitman was asked to serve for the post after a careful consideration by the management and board of directors. Meg Whitman had served for the post of chairman in eBay for more than 10 years. She was one of the successful contributors of the organization and was responsible for the profits yielded by the company. It is evident from her managerial decision making and managerial behaviour that she exhibits transformational leadership. Transformational leadership approach focuses on accomplishment of tasks and targets of the organization in a smooth and systematic way. Hewlett Packard has implemented the Management by Objectives which makes the company decisions effective and transparent. Although, during her tenure several employees were fired and the shareholders had filed suit against the company, the CEO kept her composure. Meg Whitman has laid emphasis that financial disclosure and sustainability accounting disclosure would be one of the main objectives of the company. Similarly, Mr. Ivan Seidenberg became the CEO of Verizon Communications since the year 2000 and the sole CEO in the year 2002. Although, the CEO gave his resignation in the year 2011 his leadership skills are still admired by his colleagues and competitors. It has been observed that the CEO has exhibited transformational and bureaucratic leadership at various stages and multiple situations. Apart from attaining goals and objectives of the organization the leadership approach focuses on active participation of the employees, enabling creative and independent thinking. This allows flexible thinking which can increase the efficiency of the employees and the organizational commitment. The company CEO believed in the importance of the hierarchical order and believes in facilitation of communication of instruction from the top level managers to the lower level managers. However, the CEO also believed in the influential power of informal communication procedure which allows the employees to work at ease. Thus, we can observe that both the managers have displayed traits of transformational and bureaucratic leadership. It is evident that transformational leadership is instrumental in positive organizational change and development. The cultural and behavioural traits of the manager are responsible for increasing the organizational effectiveness and commitment to a certain extent. However, it is also to be noted that it is the leadership effectiveness and the power of the two managers that have been responsible for the growth of the organization. Blog 3 The Utilities of Leadership Theories Leadership has always been associated with growth, development and commitment. Although various theorists have associated leadership with followership, influential power and effectiveness personally for the author of the study it has been a motivational factor. The leadership style exhibited by Meg Whitman and Mr. Ivan Seidenberg has been exemplary examples for their competitors and author of the study. Transformation leadership style has been a source of inspiration for various leaders and the author because it has helped in creative, independent thinking and also helps in achieving targets timely. Various theorists have associated transformational leadership with exercise, power, creation of identity, community development and also a social exchange (Svensson and Wood, 2008). Transformational leadership has helped in substantial growth of technologies, technological developments and also innovation process giving rise to various management perspectives (Stamm, 2009). Transformational leadership has helped in melding the varied dimensions of the organizations which was instrumental in bringing about positive change and development in the organization (Carneiro, 2008). Mr. Ivan Seidenberg has helped in enhancing technological system of Verizon communications and the company had developed the 4G LTE Network during his CEO tenure. The efficiency of the employees working in the Verizon communications was a result of the various dynamics of the strategic leadership style exhibited by the CEO. Similarly, Meg Whitman believed that the leadership and followership should not be interdependent but employee should be at par in decision making and providing input for creative thinking. The informal relationship that she shared with the employees at eBay and Hewlett Packard was one of the prime factors behind the organizational development. According to various theorists motivational speech and display of behavior by the managers can influence the employees partially but the values, belief of the managers direct the behavior and the performance of the employees. Active participation is not limited to the creative and independent thinking but motivating them by providing a suitable technological environment, incentives and the cultural network. This has a positive impact on the attitude of the employees, mangers and technical staff. As per Barbuto and Scholl (1999 cited in Carneiro, 2008) the effectiveness of the managers can enhance the communication and technical skills of the employees. This helps the employees in aligning the personal and professional interest of the employees. Employees can attach personal values to the objectives of the organization that can help in goal and objective achievement. The motivational effect of the employees is a continual process and requires regular monitoring of the employee performance and the behavior. As per the author’s opinion it would be difficult to be selective about a particular leadership theory which is universally applicable for all situations. Varied leadership theories would be required at different levels and situations. However, transformational leadership approach has covered all aspects of management to a certain extent and helps the employees adapt to various organizational climate (Bolden, 2004). The author thinks that transformational leadership approach can be very much applied to certain managerial situations and can inspire the employees to a large extent. It is the only theory which helps in pointing out the employee self interest through charisma, inspiration, intellectual stimulation and individual consideration (Erkutlu, 2008). Transformational leadership style has served the purpose of a unifying theme since many centuries for many mangers and has helped in designing a strong organizational structure. Thus, according to the author, transformation leadership would help in bringing about positive change and development within the organization. References Bolden, R., 2004. What is Leadership? South West of England, p.01-38. Carneiro, A., 2008. When leadership means more innovation and development. Business Strategy Series, 9(4), p.176-184. Dastmalchian, A. and Blyton, P., 1992.Organizational structure, human resource practices and industrial relations. Personnel Review, 21(1), p.58-67. Erkutlu, H., 2008. The impact of transformational leadership on organizational and leadership effectiveness. Journal of Management Development, 27(7), p.708-726. Evans, G., 2003. Leadership and Followership in a Changing Public Service. University of Warwick, p.03-52. Groves, K.S., 2006. Leader emotional expressivity, visionary leadership, and organizational change. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 27(7), p.566-583. Jogulu, U.D., 2010. Culturally-linked leadership styles. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 31(8), p.705-719. Mullins, J. and Linehan, M., 2005. Leadership and followership in public libraries: Transnational perspectives. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 18(7), p.641-647. Stamm, B.V., 2009. Leadership for innovation: What you can do to create a culture conducive to innovation. Strategic Direction, 25(6), p.566-583. Svensson, G. and Wood, G., 2008. The serendipity of leadership effectiveness in management and business practices. Management decision, 43(7), p.1001-1009. Theimann, N.M., April, K. and Blass, E., 2002. Context Tension: Cultural influences on leadership and management practice. Ashridge Business School, 18(7), p.01-23. Xenikou, A. and Simosi, M., 2008. Organizational culture and transformational leadership as predictors of business unit performance. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 21(6), p.566-579. Read More