chapter 5

, the take-away from the model provides useful clues about making group versus individual decisions, as follows:*

1.A consultative or collaborative decision-making style is likely to bring about the best results when (a)you need information from others to solve the problem in question, (b)the problem is not clearly defined, (c)team member acceptance of the decision is important, and (d)you have sufficient time t o deal with a group decision. A decide decision-making style (making the decision by yourself) is recommended when (a)you have more expertise than the individual group members , (b)you are confident about your ability to make the decision in question, (c)the team will most likely accept your decision, and (d)the time available for decision making is limited.

Four Ethical Leadership Behaviors

1.Be Honest and Trustworthy and Have Integrity in Dealing with Others •Integrity refers to loyalty to rational principles. •Practicing what one preaches regardless of emotional or social pressure. 2.Pay Attention to All Stakeholders •Ethical and moral leaders strive to treat fairly all interested parties affected by their decisions. Authentic leaders have a deep commitment to their personal growth as well as to the growth of other stakeholder

Factors Contributing to Ethical Differences

1.Leader moral identity 2.Level of greed, gluttony, & avarice 3.Rationalization and implied permission 4.Moral development level •Pre-conventional •Conventional •Post-conventional 5.Sense of entitlement 6.Situational influences 7.Character of the person 8.Motivated blindness

Victor H. Vroom and Arthur G. Jago have identified three conclusions about the role of situations in leadership, and these findings support the model of leadership presented

1.Organizational effectiveness is affected by situational factors not under leader control. -The leader might be able to influence the situation, yet some situational factors are beyond the leader's complete control. star bucks opening across the street

leader interested in maximizing shareholder wealth might attempt to cut costs and increase profits in such ways as

A leader interested in maximizing shareholder wealth might attempt to cut costs and increase profits in such ways as (1) laying off valuable employees to reduce payroll costs, (2) overstating profits to impress investors, (3) overcharging customers, and (4) reducing health benefits for retirees.

2.Situations shape how leaders behave.

Contingency theorists believe that forces in the situation are three times as strong as the leader's personal characteristics in shaping his or her behavior. How the leader behaves is therefore substantially influenced by environmental forces. In the face of competition from Starbucks, our coffee shop owner might now act with a greater sense of urgency, be much more directive in telling her workers what to do, and become much less warm and friendly. Her normal level of enthusiasm might also diminish.

Contingency Factors and Application of the Model -The situational factors, or problem variables, make the model a contingency approach. The decision-making style chosen depends on these factors, which are defined as follows:

Decision Significance: The significance of the decision to the success of the project or organization (significance deals with decision quality). Importance of Commitment: The importance of team members' commitment to the decision (commitment deals with decision acceptance). Leader Expertise: Your knowledge or expertise in relation to the problem. Likelihood of Commitment: The likelihood that the team will commit itself to a decision you might make on your own. Group Support: The degree to which the team supports the organization's objectives at stake in the problem . Group Expertise: Team members' knowledge or expertise in relation to the problem. Team Competence: The ability of the team members to work together in solving problems.

3.Situations influence the consequences of leader behavior.

The leader behavior of empowerment illustrates this idea. Perhaps empowerment will work for our coffee shop owner because she has a group of dedicated workers who want their jobs and her enterprise to endure. However, empowering incompetent workers with a weak work ethic is likely to backfire because the workers will most likely resist additional responsibility

The Ethical Mind for Leaders

The view that helps individuals aspire to good work that matters to their colleagues, companies, and societies in general. •Behaving ethically •Establishing an ethical compass •Adhering to ethical values •Reflecting on ethical behavior through self-tests •Asking mentors to comment on ethical behavior •Acting quickly to confront unethical behavior of others

Using Path-Goal Theory to Match Leadership Style to Situations

Three broad classifications of contingency factors in the environment are (1) the group members' tasks, (2) the authority system within the organization, and (3) the work group. •DIRECTIVE •When the task is unclear, the directive style improves morale •SUPPORTIVE •Tasks are frustrating and stressful, plus group members are apprehensive •PARTICIPATIVE •Tasks are non-repetitive and group members are capable and motivated •ACHIEVEMENT-ORIENTED •Tasks are unique or entrepreneurial and group members are competent and committed

4.The type of organization influences which leadership approach is best.

Two examples will suffice here. In an entrepreneurial organization, the key leader will engage in considerable doing and dealing as well as creating visions. In a machine organization, or classic bureaucracy, the leader will engage in a considerable amount of controlling.*

Situational Leadership® (SLII)

explains how to match leadership style to the capabilities of group members on a given task •SLII is designed to increase the frequency and quality of conversations about performance and professional development between leaders and group members so that: •Competence is developed. •Commitment takes place. •Turnover among talented group members is reduced. According to SLII, effective leaders adapt their behavior to the level of commitment and competence of a particular subordinate to complete a given task.

Measuring the Leadership Situation

high, moderate, and low control. (1) leader-member relations measure how well the group and the leader get along; (2) task structure measures how clearly the procedures, goals, and evaluation of the job are defined; and (3) position power measures the leader's authority to hire, fire, discipline, and grant salary increases to group members.

contingency approach to leadership

implies leaders are most effective when they make their behavior contingent on situational forces, including group member characteristics and the internal and external environment surrounding the leadership situation

Evidence-Based Leadership

•Before taking action, a leader asks "What does the research literature tell me is most likely to work in this situation?" • •Leaders translate principles based on best evidence into organizational practices. • While evidence-based leadership and management is not yet widely practiced, taking the study of leadership and management seriously will move managers and organizations toward basing their practices and decisions on valid evidence In this example, a principle (empowerment works best when cultural values are compatible) is translated into practice (using empowerment to motivate and satisfy workers when the cultural values of the workers are compatible with empowerment).

Leadership During a Crisis

•Crisis leadership is the process of leading group members through a sudden and largely unanticipated, intensely negative, and emotionally draining circumstance.

Guidelines for Evaluating the Ethics of a Decision

•Ethical Screen/Guidelines to Help Leaders Determine if a Given Act is Ethical or Unethical •Is it right? •Is it fair? •Who gets hurt? •Would you be comfortable if the details of your decision or actions were made public in the media or through email? •What would you tell your child, sibling, or young relative to do? •How does it smell?

Evaluating Fiedler's Theory- contingency theory

•Fiedler's work did prompt others to conduct studies about the contingency nature of leadership. • •Fiedler's model/theory did alert leaders to the importance of sizing up the situation when working to gain control. • •Fiedler pioneered taking into account both traits and situation to understand leadership. • •However, Fiedler's Contingency Theory is too complicated to have much of an impact on the majority of leaders.

The Normative Decision Model

•Leaders must choose a style that elicits the correct degree of group participation when making decisions. • •Views leadership as a decision-making process where the leader examines the elements involved in the situation in order to determine the most effective decision-making style. • •Model includes: •Five decision-making styles Seven situational factors

Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) and Contingency Theory

•Leaders who adapt their style to different individuals within the group, or have different quality relationships with individual group members, are essentially practicing contingency leadership.

Path-Goal Theory-robert house- expectanty theory of motivation

•Specifies what a leader must do to achieve high productivity and morale in a given situation. • •In general, the theory says a leader who attempts to "clear the path" to a goal for a group member tends to find the group member's job satisfaction and performance increase. •A leader should choose a leadership style that takes into account the group member characteristics and the task demands. • The theory is based on the Expectancy Theory of Motivation -To achieve the outcomes of productivity and morale, the manager chooses one of four leadership styles, depending on (a)the characteristics of the situation and (b)the demands of the task.

Least Preferred Coworker (LPC) Scale

•The LPC scale measures the degree to which a leader describes favorably or unfavorably an employee with whom he or she could work least well. •Not the coworker the leader LIKED least, but the one the leader had the most difficulty getting a job done with. •Relationship-motivated leaders tend to describe their LPC in favorable terms. • •Task-motivated leaders tend to describe their LPC in unfavorable terms.

Fiedler's Contingency Theory of Leadership Effectiveness

•The basic idea is simple: •Match the leader's style with the situation most favorable for his/her success. •The theory was designed to enable leaders to diagnose both leadership style and organizational situations. • •Leadership style may be relationship- or task-motivated. •Leadership style is relatively enduring and difficult to change. •Leaders are regarded as having a consistent style of task or relationship orientation. charitable attitude toward people you had a difficult time working with, you are probably relationship oriented. In contrast, if you take a dim view of people who gave you a hard time, you are probably task oriented high, moderate, and low control. (1) leader-member relations measure how well the group and the leader get along; (2) task structure measures how clearly the procedures, goals, and evaluation of the job are defined; and (3) position power measures the leader's authority to hire, fire, discipline, and grant salary increases to group members.

Evaluating Path-Goal Theory

•The basic tenets of the theory are on target. • •Any comprehensive theory of leadership must include the idea that a leader's actions have a major impact on the motivation and satisfaction of group members. • •The theory, however, has never attracted much interest from leaders or managers because of its complexities.