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Ob 2
Ppt 1 DECISION MAKING
Decisions are important since you have to make plenty of them in a day. Some are easy, some are made automatically, some are more complex. The word “decision” from the latin means: “de-caedere” (to cut). The work of a manager is to make decisions. Today, we are discovering that uncertainty plays a major role. DECISION MAKING MODELS: Rational (or normative) model Administrative model Appropriate Models Garbage-model Rational These models are defined rationale as they assume that decision-makers use a carefully designed set of criteria or rationales for making their decisions (Color of Regions in Italy during Pandemic) They also assume the process is rational as well (think about the decision to buy a car) The assumption here is that people will select the best alternative possible using economic- type of reasoning — i.e. rational decision makers will know exactly the weight of each criteria identified and will chose among the N alternatives the one that maximises the output. The main logic behind this model are: Logic of consequences : actors will choose alternatives based on expected results of their actions. Logic of appropriateness : actors will choose alternatives based on their preferences. How does this model work? Recognize and define the problem Generate N alternative solutions Evaluation of alternatives based on well-defined criteria and also clear understanding of weight associated with each criteria. Decide on the optimum solution Implement the decision. Main assumptions: People have a clear set of preferences All the potential n alternatives are present in an environment Decision-makers know all the n alternatives and cause-effects relationships between actions and consequences The decision-maker is able to estimate the outcome and calculate the expected value of each alternative The decision-maker selects carefully the optimal alternative possible. This process seems very far from the reality (i.e. think of the purchase of a car)
Administrative Model The decision-making process is less systematic than what the rational model suggests. Two factors that characterize the administrative model are (i) bounded rationality and (ii) satisfaction. Think of the last time you have bought a mobile phone. Which process did you follow? What information did you consider? Did you compare different alternatives, models, prices, etc. Decisions – in the reality – are characterized by a bounded rationality: people know a limited number of alternatives AND only few consequences for each alternative. A first limited aspect of our mind is attention : it is difficult to have clear attention to all aspects of a problem. Our memory has also limited capacities, our storing capacity is limited and the capacity to retrieve information is limited as well. Moreover, such memories are also different from the original ones. Understanding Even if memory can recall some information in an accurate way another problem arises when information need to be organized and summarized in order to develop a complete understandingof the problem Not always the connections among problems are clear in the focal actor. Communication Communication is not easy among people who have different cognitive schema, experiences and background. Think about cross-cultural communication or communication across people of different age and geographical origin So, the decision-making process (perceptions and judgements) is affected by several limitations:
- cognitive limitation of understanding
- Distortion with problem representation
- Difficulties with information processing
- Availability of relevant information
- Bias related to prior experiences The decisions, therefore, are less perfect. It does not mean that decisions are not rational but rather that, due to boundaries of our mind, the outcomes should be evaluated more according a principle of satisfaction than of a principle of optimisation
- To summarize: o When facing a problem, managers start searching a possible solutions. o It is very luckily that managers will focus on solutions that enable to resolve the most easily identified aspect of the problem. o A manager could search possible solutions for months, but rather time pressure or costs associated with the problems will lead to narrow the search of possible alternative consequences. o Some minimum criteria will be identified and the solution that matches these criteria in an acceptable way will be adopted. o This solution will not be the optimal one but the most satisfying one considering all possible factors and contextual constrains.
o Problems do not exist in nature, they exist when people notice them and each of us has a different perspective o Once we adopt a point of view, our brain starts reducing cognitive complexity bynot considering (or considering less) information that create cognitive dissonance. two alternatives are not different, however they evoke different associations and evaluations. Outcomes that are certain are overweighted relative to outcomes that are uncertain in their possible outcomes. The certainty of saving people is disproportionately attractive, while accepting the certain death of people is disproportionately aversive. Affective responses shape the final decision of people. ARCHITECTURE OF CHOICES People can influence the decision-making process by changing the context in which decisions are made Sometimes little changes, in the order of options can significantly affect the final outcomes and decisions of people. Opt In: Please check this box if you would like to donate your organs Opt Out: Please check this box if you would like to not donate your organs HEURISTICS Relative simple and primitive strategies for decision-making processes. These methods are used as shortcuts to find good acceptable solutions when time is not so available. Example of this method is using a rule of thumb, an educated guess, an intuitive judgement or common sense. They are not necessarily conscious and deliberate. They work well often but sometimes they produce cognitive biases. AVAILABILITY An interviewer who asks to a sample of adults to estimate the percentage of the labor force currently unemployed: -Unemployed workers tend to overestimate the percentage of unemployment, while those with jobs tend to underestimate -Every unemployed person is more likely to know and meet other unemployed people and vice versa
-Unemployed persons can easily share the same neighborhood, the same socio- economic backgrounds and occupations with others who are without work -It’s also likely that these people meet with other unemployed during daily activities such as going in search for a job, to visit employment agencies, shopping in low-cost stores -They will try to share information or signs of mutual solidarity with people in the same situation REPRESENTATIVENESS This is a description of a person made by someone who knows him best: “Stefano is a very shy and reserved, always available but showing little interest in people and the world in general. He is submissive and has a need for order and structure; he is very detail-oriented”. (Is Stefano a librarian?) ANCHORING People often make evaluations starting form a given value and then adjust in the direction they believe correct. This adjustment is often not sufficient.
Ppt 2 ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
WHAT IS ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE?
You can’t define culture, but you know it when you see it! It has been defined as the “ specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organization and that control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organization. It is the system of shared meaning held by members that distinguishes the organization form others. It is a set of shared mental assumption that guide interpretation and action in organizations by defining appropriate behaviors for various situations Culture is how organizations do things. DRAWBACKSD OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE Despite all its positive effect, culture can be also a liability: Institutionalization : a company values just for itself and takes a life on its own, apert form founders or members. Resistance to change : it occurs when the shared values of the members are not aligned with the innovation that people want introduce in the organization Conformity ; organizations with strong cultures can favour conformity and social pressure, thereby being an obstacle to leverage the benefits of diversity. Mergers and acquisitions : strong cultures can represent a barrier to mergers and/or acquisition, causing the entire process to fail.
- Facilitate the generation of commitment to something larger than self-interests;
- Regulate employee behavior (reduce ambiguity);
- It facilitates the stability of the entire system;
- Serves as sensemaking and control mechanisms for fitting employees in the organization. STRONG VS WEAK CULTURES Strong cultures are composed of a core set of assumptions and implicit rules that govern day- to- day behavior in the workplace. It ensures that everyone is pointed in the right direction, even spontaneously. Lower employee turnover. The stronger is the organizational culture, the less management requires developing formal rules and regulations to guide employee behavior. DARK SIDE OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE People criticize the role of organizational culture, assuming it operates like a brainwash! Culture might be a barrier to change, especially in dynamic environments where ability to innovate and change is essential for survival(e.g. kodak) Culture might be a barrier to leverage on diversity especially especially in strong cultures where there is pressure to conformity. “Yes men!” Barriers to acquisition and merge. Number of mergers have failed because of culture incapability. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NATIONAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE. The research indicates that national cultures has greater impact on employee behaviour then does their organization’s culture. HOFSTEDE (1980) He was the most important scholar to investigate differences in national culture by studying IBM emploees in several nations. These are few of the most important factor taken into consideration. Collectivism versus Individualism Power distance Masculinity versus Femininity Uncertainty avoidance HOW A CULTURE BEGINS Organizational culture is shaped by company’s founders. They have no constrains by existing ideologies and might shape the company on their values; They hire people having the same vision, think and feel the same way (any memory on this?) They indoctrinate and socialize their employees to their way of thinking and feeling; Founders’ behavior acts like a role modeling. Robert Keirlin has been called “the cheapest CEO in America”. He is the CEO of Fastenal Co., the largest speciality retailer of nuts and bolts in US with 6,500 employees. He takes a salary of only $60,000 a year. He owns only three suites, each of which he bought used. He clips grocery coupons, drives a Toyota, and stays in low-priced motels when he travels on business. With his behaviour he suggests that they don’t waste things in his company. KEEP A CULTURE ALIVE: SELECTION
To keep the culture alive company usually hire people having values essentially consistent with those of the organization, or at least a good portion of those values. Even candidates recruit the company and if they perceive a conflict between their values and company’s ones they can self-select out of the applicant pool. KEEP A CULTURE ALIVE: SOCIALIZATION Even if candidates shows some valuer consistent with organization’s owns, they are not fully indoctrinate with it. The organization might help new employees adapt its culture with socialization. Three stages process: prearrival, encounter, metamorphosis.
‣ Organizations often develop unique terms to describe employees, equipment, customers, products. New employees might be overwhelmed with acronyms, jargon, etc. (e.g. googlers). HOT TOPICS ON ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE Organizations are trying rebuild trust, by stressing the assumption that organizations are economically, ethically and socially sustainable. A CULTURE OF CANDOR Focus on transparency and candor to stop greed and corruption. Do not lie, internet will find out the truth… no yes men! Create a climate for reporting mistakes. GO GREEN! Today company emphasize the importance to adopt eco friendly behaviours. Introduction of policies to minimize resources use and address pollution, on a voluntary basis. However without a sustainability oriented culture the result will be poor. Ppt 3 SUPPORTIVE COMMUNICATION The best way to improve communication is by training for it as you would do for physical fitness. Communication involves the activity of conveying information, the creation, sharing and understanding of meaning WHY IS COMMUNICATION IMPORTANT? Because it provides the information necessary to get the work done in organizations; Because fosters motivation by clarifying to employees what they must do; It conveys emotional expression of feelings in teams. It facilitates decision-making; It helps controlling employees’ behaviors; It is critical for managing human resource activities (mentoring, developing, coaching, facilitating) ASSUMPTION #1: IT NOT POSSIBLE NOT TO COMMUNICATE. Every single behavior in our life is interpreted as a form of communication. It does not exist a specific behavior that does not convey a message related to communication and even when we decide to not communicate, we actually are communicating something. So, we can only decide if we want to do it effectively or not. ASSUMPTION#2: CONTENT AND RELATION
It is important to pay attention to both the content and the relational dimension of the communication when we communicate as each message we give has both dimensions; The relational dimension can have much more importance than the context and shape different reactions in our interlocutor ASSUMPTION #3 VERBAL AND NON VERBAL COMMUNICATION We communicate with our words but also with our body and sometimes non- verbal communication is much more powerful. ASSUMPTION #4: COMMUNICATION AS A PROCESS Does she (he) yell because he (she) does not listen or he (she) does not listen because she (he) yells? SUPPORTIVE COMMUNICATION It is a form of communication that helps leaders to communicate honestly and accurately, especially in difficult circumstances, without jeopardizing interpersonal relations; It allows to communicate information to others that is not complementary, or to resolve an uncomfortable issue with another person but, in the process, strengthen your relationships; The goal is not to be liked by other people or to be judge to be a nice person, but to create conditions to preserve interpersonal quality and enhance productivity by avoiding conflicts and tensions in the workplace. PRINCIPLE OF SUPPORTIVE COMMUNICATION Congruent, not Incongruent Descriptive, not Evaluative Problem-oriented, not Person-oriented Validating, not Invalidating Specific, not Global Conjunctive, not Disjunctive Owned, not Disowned Supportive Listening, not One-Way Listening #1 CONGRUENT Congruent basically means being honest ; It means communicating what you intend (and not communicating something that does not correspond to real intentions or thoughts, e.g. denying to be anger with someone). If managers are perceived to be incongruent (i.e. that they hidden something or do not communicate the entire message), the trust towards them will reduce dramatically; Congruence, genuineness and authenticity are at the heart of positive relationships; This requires matching the tone of voice, body languages, and words spoken. Many people are afraid to respond in a completely honest way or are not sure how to communicate congruently without being offensive. #2 DESCTIPTIVE, NOT EVALUATIVE Evaluative communication consists of making a judgement on other people’s behaviors that are perceived as offensive and aggressive and make people grow defensive; People very often incur in such form of communication to resolve own bad feelings or anxieties: “You are dumb” implies “Therefore I am smart!” Very often, people engage in evaluative communication because they do not know an alternative approach. The risk is to activate a negative spiral of reciprocity that make all parts grow defensive; Descriptive evaluations offers an alternative, as it allows to be congruent, authentic and helpful.
- Another example of invalidating communication is rigidity : the communication is portrayed as absolute, unequivocal and unquestionable (e.g., reducing complex problems to simplistic definitions or generalizations);
- Another form of invalidating communication is indifference (no eye-contact, silence, doing other things during the interaction, distraction);
- Imperviousness means that the person does not acknowledge the feeling of the other part (You should not feel that way). #4b VALIDATING COMMUNICATION
- Validating communication helps people feeling understood, valued, and accepted.
- It is egalitarian: even if exist status difference, this is not emphasized through the use of inclusive statements and reciprocal exchange (e.g., a boss that asks collaborators’ opinions);
- Flexibility : opinions and facts are not stated as facts but are stated provisionally and a person should show he is open to revise the opinions if more data become available (e.g., this is my opinion but, what do you think?)
- Two-way communication: individuals feel valued when they are asked questions, given the time to respond, encouraged to participate.
- Further, validating communication identifies areas of agreement and jointcommitment. (agreement facilitates progress).
- Change the focus of your communication. Some examples include pointing out important points made by the other person before pointing out trivial ones, areas of agreement before areas of disagreement, advantages of the other person’s statements before disadvantages, compliments before criticisms, and positive next steps before past mistakes. #5 COMMUNICATION SHOULD BE SPECIFIC.
- Communication is effective when it is specific, as it can be easily understood and can produce behavioral changes.
- Global statements (Like: You never ask for my advice ) are not effective since they are vague and encourage defensive responses.
- Global statements also deny any alternatives to the one proposed: Either he goes or I go.
- Specific statements might not be effective if they focus on things on which people have no control and only convey frustration (e.g., the sound of your voice bothers me).
- Specific communication is supportive and useful as long as it identifies a problem or a behavior about which something can be done.
- This is valid also when making compliments. AN EXAMPLE (POSITIVE)
- During the last meeting, I noticed that you emphasized my contribution on the dossier…
- …I felt very proud…
- …because I need to feel useful and contributory…
- I appreciate very much what you did and think about my job. AN EXAMPLE (NEGATIVE)
- During the last meeting, I noticed that you emphasized Pierre’s contribution on the dossier and you did not evoke my contribution…
- …I felt discouraged…
- …because I need to feel useful and contributory…
- I would really appreciate if you could also mention my contribution on the project in the next meeting. #6 SUPPORTIVE COMMUNICATION IS CONJUSCTIVE
- Conjunctive communication is connected to prior messages, not disconnected from them.
- First, disjunctive communication occurs when a person dominates the discussion and when two or three people try to talk at the same time;
- Second, communication is disjunctive when there are long pauses;
- Third, communication is disjunctive when the topics are disjointed (when a person unilaterally decides which are the next topic in the conversation).
- Exemplary behavior of a conjunctive communication are: waiting a sentence to be completed before beginning a response, asking questions that are directly related to the last statement, by saying only three or four statements at a time before pausing to give other the chance to intervene. Management of time, taking turns speaking, and topic control are the three most important factors for a supportive communication #7 SUPPORTIVE COMMUNICATION IS OWNED
- Supportive communication is owned, it means that a person takes the responsibility of what he/she says.
- Disowned communication uses terms like: “We think”; “They said” or “One might say”;
- Disowned communication signals either that the speaker is not confident enough in the ideas expressed or is uncaring about the receiver;
- This influences the level of trust in the interaction; People do not know how to respond to disowned communication as he is unsure whose point of view the message represents #8 SUPPORTIVE COMMUNICATION REQUIRES
- So far we focused on the deliver of the communication; Here we focus on the receiver as supportive and active listening is crucial as well.
- When judging about people’s communication competences, one third of the evaluation relies on the listening abilities.
- The listener is the part who learns the most in the communication process;
- Despite the crucial role of listening skills in the communication process, there is a very few investment in developing such skill;
leadership behavior. Rather, the style approach provides a valuable framework for assessing leadership in a broad way as assessing behavior with task and relationship dimensions. Finally, the style approach reminds leaders that their impact on others occurs along both dimensions. Skill approach The skill approach is a leader-centered perspective that emphasizes the competencies of leaders. In the “ three skill approach” effective leadership depends on the basic personal skills: technical , human and conceptual. Although all the three skills are important for leaders, the importance of each skill varies between management levels. At lower management levels technical and humans skills are the most important. Leaders are more effective when their skills match their management. The leader competencies at the heart of the model are problem-solving skills, social judgment skills, and knowledge. These competencies are directly affected by the leader’s individual attributes, which include the leader’s general cognitive ability, crystallized cognitive ability, motivation, and personality. The leader’s competencies are also affected by their career experiences and environment. This model stresses the importance of the leaders’s abilities placing learned skills at the centre of effective leadership. The skill approach describes leadership in such a way that it makes it available to anyone. Skills are competencies that we all can develop and improve. Third; it provides a sophisticated map that explains how effective leadership performance can be achieved. Last, this approach provides a structure for leadership education and development programs that include creative problem solving, conflict resolution, listening, and teamwork. Some negative aspects are: First the beadth of the model seems to extend beyond the boundaries of leadership, including for example, conflict management, critical thinking, motivation theory. Second, the skills model is weak in predictive value. It does not explain how a person’s competencies lead to effective leadership performance. Third, the skills model claims not to be a trait approach; nevertheless, individual traits such as cognitive abilities, motivation, and personality play a large role in the model. Finally, the skills model is weak in general application because it was constructed using data only from military personnel. UnBl the model has been tested with other populations, such as small and large organizations and businesses, its basic tenets must still be questioned Style approach It focuses on what leaders do rather then who the leaders are It suggests that the leaders engage in two primary types of behaviours: task behaviour and relationship behaviours. Researchers at Ohio State developed a leadership questionnaire called the Leader Behaviour Description Questionnaire (LBDQ), which identified initiation of structure and consideration as the core leadership behaviours. The Michigan studies provided similar findings but called the leader behaviours production orientation and employee orientation. According to Ohio studies, there have been lots of studies to find the best way for leaders to combine task and relationship behaviours. the goal is to find the an universal set of leadership behaviour capable of explaining leadership effectiveness in every situation. The results form these efforts have been conclusive, however researchers had difficulty identifying one best style of leadership. The style approach has several strengths and weaknesses. On the positive side, it has broadened the scope of leadership research to include the study of the behaviors of leaders rather than only their personal traits or characteristics. Second, it is a reliable approach because it is supported by a wide range of studies. Third, the style approach is valuable because it underscores the importance of the two core dimensions of leadership behavior: task and relationship. Fourth, it has heuristic value in that it provides us with a broad conceptual map that is useful in gaining an understanding of our own leadership behaviors. On the negaGve side, researchers have not been able to associate the behaviors of leaders (task and relationship) with outcomes such as morale, job satisfaction, and productivity. In addition, researchers from the style approach have not been able to identify a universal set of leadership behaviors that would consistently
result in effective leadership. Last, the style approach implies but fails to support fully the idea that the most effective leadership style is a high–high style (i.e., high task and high relationship) Situational approach Situational leadership is a prescriptive approach to leadership that suggests how leaders can become effective in many different types of organizational settings involving a wide variety of organizational tasks. This approach provides a model that suggests to leaders how they should behave based on the demands of a particular situation. Situational leadership classifies leadership into four styles: S1 is high directive–low supportive, S2 is high directive–high supportive, S3 is low directive–high supportive, and S4 is low directive– low supportive. The situational leadership (SLII) model describes how each of the four leadership styles applies to subordinates who work at different levels of development, from D1 (low in competence and high in commitment), to D2 (moderately competent and low in commitment), to D3 (moderately competent but lacking commitment), to D4 (great deal of competence and a high degree of commitment). Effective leadership occurs when the leader can accurately diagnose the development level of subordinates in a task situation and then exhibit the prescribed leadership style that matches that situation. Leadership is measured in this approach with questionnaires that ask respondents to assess a series of work-related situations. The questionnaires provide information about the leader’s diagnostic ability, flexibility, and effectiveness. They are useful in helping leaders to learn about how they can change their leadership style to become more effective across different situations. There are four major strengths to the situational approach. First, it is recognized by many as a standard for training leaders. Second, it is a practical approach, which is easily understood and easily applied. Third, this approach sets forth a clear set of prescriptions for how leaders should act if they want to enhance their leadership effectiveness. Fourth, situational leadership recognizes and stresses that there is not one best style of leadership; instead, leaders need to be flexible and adapt their style to the requirements of the situation. Criticisms of situational leadership suggest that it also has limitations. Unlike many other leadership theories, this approach does not have a strong body of research findings to justify and support the theore@cal underpinnings on which it stands. As a result, there is ambiguity regarding how the approach conceptualizes certain aspects of leadership. It is not clear in explaining how subordinates move from low development levels to high development levels, nor is it clear on how commitment changes over @me for subordinates. Without the basic research findings, the validity of the basic prescriptions for matching leader styles to subordinates’ development levels must be questioned. In addition, the model does not address how demographic characteristics affect employees’ preferences for leadership. Finally, the model does not provide guidelines for how leaders can use this approach in group setings as opposed to one-to-one contexts. LME Theory Since it first appeared more than 30 years ago under the title “vertical dyad linkage (VDL) theory,” LMX theory has been and continues to be a much-studied approach to leadership. LMX theory addresses leadership as a process centered on the interactions between leaders and followers. It makes the leader– member relationship the pivotal concept in the leadership process. In the early studies of LMX theory, a leader’s relationship to the overall work unit was viewed as a series of vertical dyads, categorized as being of two different types: Leader–member dyads based on expanded role relationships were called the leader’s in-group, and those based on formal job descriptions were called the leader’s out-group. It is believed that subordinates become in-group members based on how well they get along with the leader and whether they are willing to expand their role responsibilities. Subordinates who maintain only formal hierarchical relationships with their leader become out-group members. Whereas in-group members receive extra influence, opportunities, and rewards, out-group members receive standard job benefits. Subsequent studies of LMX theory were directed toward how leader– member exchanges affect organizational performance. Researchers found that high-quality exchanges between leaders and followers produced multiple positive outcomes (e.g., less employee turnover, greater organizational commitment,
answer to people who are searching for good and sound leadership in an uncertain world. Second, authentic leadership is prescriptive and provides a great deal of information about how leaders can learn to become authentic. Third, it has an explicit moral dimension that asserts that leaders need to do what is “right” and “good” for their followers and society. Fourth, it is framed as a process that is developed by leaders over time rather than as a fixed trait. Last, authentic leadership can be measured with a theory- based instrument. There are also negative features to authentic leadership. First, the ideas set forth in the practical approaches need to be treated cautiously because they have not been fully substantiated by research. Second, the moral component of authentic leadership is not fully explained. For example, it does not describe how values such as justice and community are related to authentic leadership. Third, the rationale for including positive psychological capacities as an inherent part of a model of authentic leadership has not been fully explicated. Finally, there is a lack of evidence regarding the effectiveness of authentic leadership and how it is related to positive organizational outcomes. In summary, authentic leadership is a new and exciting area of research, which holds a great deal of promise. As more research is conducted on authentic leadership, a clearer picture will emerge about the true nature of the process and the assumptions and principles that it encompasses. Contingency theory Contingency theory represents a shift in leadership research from focusing on only the leader to focusing on the leader in conjunction with the situation in which the leader works. It is a leader–match theory (Fiedler, 1964, 1967) that emphasizes the importance of matching a leader’s style with the demands of a situation. To measure leadership style, a personality-like measure called the Least Preferred Coworker (LPC) scale is used. It delineates people who are highly task motivated (low LPCs), those who are social independent (middle LPCs), and those who are relationship motivated (high LPCs). To measure situations, three variables are assessed: leader–member relations, task structure, and position power. Taken together, these variables point to the style of leadership that has the best chance of being successful. In general, contingency theory suggests that low LPCs are effective in extremes and that high LPCs are effective in moderately favourable situations. The strengths of contingency theory include these: It is backed by a large amount of research, it is the first leadership theory to emphasize the impact of situations on leaders, it is predictive of leadership effectiveness, it allows leaders not to be effective in all situations, and it can provide useful leadership profile data. On the negative side, contingency theory can be criticized because it has not adequately explained the link between styles and situations, and it relies heavily on the LPC scale, which has been questioned for its face validity and workability. Contingency theory is not easily used in ongoing organizations. Finally, it does not fully explain how organizations can use the results of this theory in situational engineering. Regardless of these criticisms, contingency theory has made a substantial contribution to our understanding of the leadership process. Transformational leadership One of the most encompassing approaches to leadership—transformaDonal leadership—is concerned with the process of how certain leaders are able to inspire followers to accomplish great things. This approach stresses that leaders need to understand and adapt to the needs and motives of followers. Transformational leaders are recognized as change agents who are good role models, who can create and articulate a clear vision for an organization, who empower followers to meet higher standards, who act in ways that make others want to trust them, and who give meaning to organizational life. Transformational leadership emerged from and is rooted in the writings of Burns (1978) and Bass (1985). The works of Bennis and Nanus (1985) and Kouzes and Posner (1987) are also representative of transformational leadership. Transformational leadership can be assessed through use of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ), which measures a leader’s behavior in seven areas: idealized influence (charisma), inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration, contingent reward, management-by- exception, and laissez-faire. High scores on individualized consideration and motivation factors are most
indicative of strong transformational leadership. There are several positive features of the transformational approach, including that it is a current model that has received a lot of attention by researchers, it has strong intuitive appeal, it emphasizes the importance of followers in the leadership process, it goes beyond traditional transactional models and broadens leadership to include the growth of followers, and it places strong emphasis on morals and values. Balancing against the positive features of transformational leadership are several weaknesses. These include that the approach lacks conceptual clarity; it is based on the MLQ, which has been challenged by some research; it creates a framework that implies that transformational leadership has a trait-like quality; it is sometimes seen as elitist and undemocratic; it suffers from a “heroic leadership” bias; and it has the potential to be used counterproductively in negative ways by leaders. Despite the weaknesses, transformational leadership appears to be a valuable and widely used approach. PPT POSITVE LEADERSHIP DEFINITION OF LEADERSHIP It is an influencing process occurring between a leader and his or her collaborators which is influenced by;
- the leader’s dispositional characteristics (traits) and behaviors;
- the collaborators (followers)’ perceptions, attitudes and behaviors;
- the socio-emotional context (situation) in which this process takes place.
