HFT 4296

Define and discuss how the five plotted communication styles of Blake and McCanse fit with Hersey and Blanchard's situational leadership approach. Provide hospitality examples.

1. Blake and McCanse's communication style is an example of task and interpersonal approach to leadership communication. Blake and McCanse identify communication styles based on the degree of concern for production and concern for people exhibited by a leader. The five styles are: a. Impoverished management: The impoverished leader demonstrates a low concern for tasks and a low concern for relationships. b. Authority Compliance: This leader is highly concerned with the completion of task assignments but demonstrates little concern for personal relationships. c. Middle of the Road management: The middle road leader is adequately concerned with both production and people. The leader engages in compromise. d. Country Club management: the country club leader is more concerned with interpersonal relationships than with the completion of tasks. e. Team management: Team leadership involves a high concern for both production and people. This leadership style is the ideal in which the successful execution of task assignments as well as individual support and caring are emphasized. 2. According to Hersey and Blanchard's situational leadership approach, suggest that the readiness level of followers play an important role in selecting appropriate leadership behavior. They divide behavior into task and relationship dimensions. According to their approach, follower readiness consists of two major components that can be plotted along a continuum: ability and willingness. These leaders communicate expectations and rewards with successful completion of tasks. Readiness levels can fluctuate as a follower moves from task to task or from one situation to another. The four combinations of ability and willingness are: a. Readiness Level 1: low ability and low willingness (follower lacks skills and motivation) b. Readiness Level 2: low ability and high willingness (follower lacks skills but is committed) c. Readiness Level 3: high ability and low willingness (follower is skilled but lacks motivation) d. Readiness Level 4: high ability and high willingness (follower is skilled and motivated) 3. While the Blake and McCanse theory is for leaders and Hersey and Blanchard's suggest that the readiness level of followers dictates effective leader behavior.

There are seven types of power discussed in class and in the text. Select four of the seven, define them and discuss the costs and benefits of each. Why did you select these four types of power?

1. Reward power: rests on the ability to deliver something of value to others. Rewards can be tangible or intangible. Many organizations use both to recognize superior performance. All rewards must be desirable and attractive enough to serve as a sufficient motivation. Reward power is beneficial in that it focuses attention on group priorities and is effective for gaining obedience. This kind of power however offers lower task satisfaction than with expert and referent power, and is not consistently linked with high task performance. 2. Legitimate power: resides in the position rather than the person. Persons with legitimate power have the right to prescribe our behavior within specified parameters. The amount of legitimate power someone has depends on the importance of the position she or he occupies and the willingness to grant authority to the person in that position. Both reward and legitimate power are culturally sanctioned, however only legitimate power also incorporates the weight of the entire organization. This kind of power is negative as it lowers follower task performance and task satisfaction. 3. Expert power: based on the person, not the position. In contrast to legitimate power. Experts are influential because they supply needed information and skills. 4. Referent power: Role model power. Referent power depends on feelings of affection, esteem, and respect for another individual. This loyalty generally develops over an extended period of time. Expert power and referent power both have high follower task satisfaction and task performance. They also both take a long time to develop both must also possess the necessary knowledge and interpersonal skills. The difference between the two is that expert power may not be effective if followers do not share the leader's goals where as a leader with referent power might not have this problem. I choose these powers because they were the first listed.

Define and describe the Path-Goal Theory of the Situational Approach to Leadership. List and discuss the four communication styles. Provide hospitality industry examples for each.

1. The situation approach to leadership is a contingency approach. This type of leadership assumes that leadership behavior is contingent on variations in the situation verses trait approach leadership. Since this leadership style depends on situations it can change based on task or relational structure, superior-subordinate interactions, the motivation of followers or numerous other situational factors. 2. Path-goal theory is based on a theory of organizational motivation called expectancy theory. Expectancy theory claims that followers are more motivated to be productive when they believe that successful task completion will provide a path to a valuable goal. The belief was that leaders play an important role in influencing follower perceptions of task paths and goal desirability. The ability to motivate followers is influenced by a leader's communication style as well as by certain situational factor. The four communication style in path goal theory are: a. Directive leadership: is a procedure-related communication behavior that includes planning and organizing, task coordination, policy setting and other forms b. Supportive leadership: interpersonal communication focusing on concern for the needs and well-being of followers and the facilitation of a desirable climate for interaction c. Participative leadership: communication designed to solicit opinions and ideas from followers for the purpose of involving followers in decision making. d. Achievement-oriented leadership: communication focusing on goal attainment and accomplishment, emphasizing the achievement of excellence by demonstrating confidence in the ability of followers to achieve their goals.

Define, compare and contrast democratic, authoritarian, and laissez-faire styles of leadership communication.

1. There are many different leadership communication styles. 2. Democratic leadership engages in supportive communication facilitating interaction with followers. Democratic leaders encourage follower involvement and participation determining goals and procedures. Their followers are capable of making informed decision. These leaders believe contributions of others improve overall quality of decision-making. 3. Authoritarian leadership maintains strict control over followers by directly regulating policy, procedures and behavior. They believe in distance between leaders and followers and emphasize role distinctions. They believe effective followers require direct supervision to be productive. An example of this would be a manager who never gets close to their staff and tries to control every move that their staff makes. 4. The last leadership type is laissez-faire. This is a type of non-leadership. When ineffective it involves abdication of responsibility on the part of the leader. This means that they withdraw from followers and offer little guidance. When positive, it affords followers a high degree of autonomy and self-rule with guidance and support from the leader. This would be a good way to handle an employee who has been doing his job correctly for an extend amount of time. 5. Laissez-faire and democratic leaders are not the same. Authoritarian leaders have the most efficient employees but democratic leaders also achieve high efficiency. Groups with authoritarian leaders experience more hostility than groups with democratic or laissez-faire leaders.

Compare and contrast charismatic leadership with transformational leadership.

Many researchers have tried to describe transformational leadership. The five primary characteristics, which appeared throughout research, are: transformational leaders are creative, interactive, visionary, empowering and passionate. Furthermore, transformational leaders can convert followers into leaders themselves. These types of leaders are innovative and foresighted. They prepare, incubate, illuminate, and verify information. Transformational leaders are masterful communicators able to articulate and define ideas and concepts that escape others. They also communicate a vision to their followers; this may well be the most important act. They also empower others. Lastly they are passionately committed to their work. Charismatic leaders are the superstars of leadership. They are a leader with extraordinary talents, they handle unstable or crisis situation, a radical vision for providing a solution to the crisis, a group of followers attracted to the extraordinary leader because they believe they are linked through the leader to powers that exceed usual limits. A validation, through repeated success of the extraordinary leader's talents and power. Both transforming and charismatic leaders have a powerful effect on followers and organizations. Types of leaders achieve extraordinary results, both inspire and both are skilled communicators. Both approaches even appear to share the same potential weaknesses. Both were originally criticized for overlooking the bad or dark side of leadership. The two differ in many aspects. Charismatic leadership is more person centered. He or she must demonstrate high energy, self-confidence, risk taking, courage, and superior impression management skills. The transformational leader, on the other hand, is more group-centered appealing to the values and needs of followers. He or she wants to elevate the aspirations and morality of followers and leaders alike.