CHAPTER 7: Leadership In Organization

INTRODUCTION
A major portion of all selection and training activity is devoted to leadership; the success or failure of any
organization is its leadership. All types of organization recognize the importance of leadership. In most cases, the business
failure is caused by poor leadership.
Psychologists play important role in leadership. They have conducted considerable research on aspects of
leadership such as characteristics of successful and unsuccessful leaders, effects of different styles of leadership behavior
and techniques for maximizing decision–making. The quality of organization leadership today reflects the research
activities and practical applications of psychologists.
Anything that affects the fortunes and futures of the organization for which you work also affects you. Much of
your motivation, enthusiasm, hope for the fortune, and even availability to perform your job will depend on how well your
leader performs his or her duties.
Changing Views of Leadership
The way in which leaders behave are based on certain assumptions about human nature. Consciously or not,
leaders’ function on the basis of some theory of human behavior, a view of what their subordinates are like as people.
The philosophy of management back then was scientific management. This approach, established by Frederick W.
Taylor, was concerned solely with ways to maintain or increase production levels. Through the use of time and motion
studies, representatives of scientific management were interested in standardizing the production process- getting the
machines and the workers who ran them to work faster and faster.
Scientific management regarded workers as extensions of the machines, and thus, the relations between workers
and the organization was highly impersonal. No considerations were given to employees as human beings- people with
needs, fears, and values. Indeed, workers were looked on unfavorably, as lazy, dishonest, shiftless and possessing a low
level of intelligence. The view of workers was reinforced by the research that was then being conducted in the United
States on intelligence testing. One of the pioneers in this field was psychologist H. Goddard who argued persuasively that
people with low intelligence required close supervision by people of more superior intelligence.
Nowadays, human relations approach to management were practice, which began under the impact of Hawthorne
studies that focused on the workers instead of on production. They were no longer criticized by their supervisors, they
could talk to one another while working, and their views on the work itself were solicited. In short, the leader treated them
like fellow human beings. The human relation of workers as human beings, no longer interchangeable giant production
machine. These two approaches to management behavior were given formal theoretical expression by psychologist
Douglas McGregor as Theory X and Theory Y.
Theory X which underlies three assumptions about human nature:
1. Most people have and innate dislike for work and will avoid if they can.
2. Therefore, most people must be “coerced, controlled, directed, threatened with punishment” to get them to work
hard enough to satisfy the organization’s goals.
3. Most people prefer “to be directed, wish to avoid responsibility, have relatively little ambition, and want security
above all.
Theory X provides a most unflattering image of human nature. According to this view, people would not work at all at
their jobs without a dictating and demanding leader.
Theory Y.
1. The expenditure of physical and mental effort in work is as natural as play or rest. Most people do not have an
innate dislike for work. Indeed, work may be a source of satisfaction.
2. External control and threat of punishment are not the only means for bringing about effort toward organizational
objectives.
3. Commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their achievement.
4. Most people under proper conditions, are capable not only of accepting responsibility but seeking it.
5. The capacity to exercise a relatively high degree of imagination, ingenuity, and creativity in the solution of
organizational problem is widely distributed to the population.
6. Under the conditions of modern industrial life, the intellectual potentialities of average human being are omly
partially utilized.
In radically different image of human nature that theory Y presents, people are industrious, creative, need and
seek challenge and responsibility, and are not at all averse to work.
APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF LEADERSHIP
All that appeared necessary was for researchers to measure the traits of good leaders and poor leaders and see
how they differed. This trait approach sought those characteristics that good leaders possessed in much greater degree than
did poor leaders. Thus, the emphasis in the traits approach is on the personal characteristics of leaders.
The trait approach to leadership has a common-sense appeal because it agrees with a popular notion that some
people are born leaders. However, psychological research does not fully support the trait approach. When psychologists
realized this, they turned from the trait approach to the situational approach in their investigation in their investigation of
the nature of leadership.
Psychologists have also been interested in leadership behavior, investigating what leaders do in addition to what they are.
Leadership behavior is examined in the following way. The psychologist collects. Usually by means of interviews,
examples of effective and ineffective leadership that actually occurred on the job.
An underlying assumption of behavioral approach to the study of leadership is that leaders can be trained to
function well. In sum, there are several separate but interacting elements in the leadership process; the characteristics of
leaders, the characteristics and behavior of followers. And the nature of the situation of which leader and followers
interact. To analyze and understand fully the nature and requirements of leadership, all these elements must be studied.
THEORIES OF LEADERSHIP
There are several ways of discussing leadership, several theoretical viewpoints from which to approach the topic.
Traits, situations, and behavior are the three approaches to be considered. Each assumes a different definition of the nation
of leadership.
Contingency Theory are a more specific, theoretical view of leadership relate to these broad approaches because
they take the position that effective leadership is dependent or contingent on a particular alliance or combination of leader
traits and behaviors pus the characteristics of the situation in which the leadership is required.
A. Contingency Theory
Perhaps the best known and most thoroughly researched of the contingency theories is the one proposed by Fielder.
He argues that a leader`s effectiveness is determined by the interactions between the leader`s personal characteristics and
some aspects of the situation. Fielder classifies leaders as primary person oriented or task oriented. The kind of leader who
will be the more effective depends on the leader`s degree of control over the situation.
The control of situation depends on:
1. The relations between the leader and the followers.
2. The degree of task structured.
3. The leader`s position power or amount of authority.
B. Path-goal Theory
The Path-goal Theory of leadership focuses in the kind of behavior a leader should exercise to allow subordinates to
achieve their goals. The theory states that leader can increase their subordinates` satisfaction and performance by giving
rewards that are contingent on reaching performance goals.
Four styles of leader behavior proposed by House:
1. In direct leadership – the leader lets subordinates know what they should do and how they should do it.
2. In supportive leadership – the leader shows concern and support for subordinates.
3. In participative leadership – the leader allows the subordinates to participate in decisions that affect the work.
4. In achievement-oriented leadership – the leader sets challenging goals for subordinates and emphasizes high
levels of performance.
C. Normative Decision Theory
Normative Decision Theory focuses on one aspect of leadership, decision making situations. It attempts to prescribe
behaviors for leaders in decision-making situation. The word normative refers to a norm or standard of behavior
considered to be correct one. The most crucial part of the theory involves the extent to which a leader invites or allows his
or her subordinates to participate in decisions.
Five styles of leadership behavior:
1. Autocratic (A1) - using an autocratic style of leadership, the leader will make the decision by himself or
herself, using the information readily available.
2. Autocratic (A2) – using a less stringent autocratic leadership, the leader will consult the group members to
gain more information, then will make the decision himself or herself. The final decision may or may not be
shared with the group.
 3. Consultative (C1) – Using a consultative leadership style, the leader will consult individuals to seek their
opinion. The leader will make the decision himself of herself.
4. Consultative (C2) – using a consultative leadership style, the leader will consult the group to seek individual
opinions and suggestions. The leader will make the decision himself or herself.
5. Collaborative (G2) – using a collaborative leadership style, the group will make the decision. The leader will
play a supportive role to ensure that everyone agree on the decision.
Normative decision theory provides an objective means for leaders to choose the best approach by answering several
diagnostic questions relating to the situations. The theory is a promising one with some degree of empirical support
behind it.
LEADERSHIP STYLES
Increasing research has been focused on what leadership do their styles of leadership and the behaviors by which
it is manifested. This section describes several dimensions that distinguish various styles of leadership.
A. HEADSHIP VERSUS LEADERSHIP
Basic distinction between leadership styles is the source of the decision about who will be the leader. Headship or
nominal leadership, leaders are imposed on the group by external sources, while leadership or effective leadership,
members of the group select those whom they wish to lead them.
Differences Between Headship and Leadership
Personal and situation Headship Leadership
variables
Power exercise by Appointed by Elected or Chosen leader
Sources of authority Delegated from above Accorded from below
Basis of authority Legal or Official Personal competence
Authority vested by Values institutionalized in Recognition of contribution to
formal contact group goals
Relationship of superior to Domination Personal influence
subordinate
Responsible to Superiors Superiors and subordinates
Social gap with followers Wide Narrow
Behavior pattern Authoritarian Democratic

B. AUTHORITARIAN VERSUS DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP

- The words authoritarian and democratic are familiar as forms of government.
- the democratic versus authoritarian dimension is an oversimplification.
Authoritarian Government
- Is a dictatorial and tyrannical, and its leaders exercise absolute political, economic, and social power.
Democratic Government
- Places a large measure of power in the hands of the people who are able, through a vote, to influence the major
issues affecting the country. The leaders in democracy-elected, not appointed.
Laissez Faire
- This is hardly a style of leadership behavior because it characterized by the absence of leadership.
Participatory Democracy
- is a conducive to higher job satisfaction among a majority of employees.
NOTE: An analysis of studies comparing the two styles of leadership indicate that 60 percent found the democratic
approach to be superior to the authoritarian approach, whereas 30 percent found no difference between the two and only 9
percent showed higher satisfaction with the authoritarian approach than democratic approach.
 For actual job performance rather than job satisfaction, research results do not favor the democratic style of
leadership quite so strongly. 22 percent of the studies showed performance to be higher under the democratic style, but no
differences in performance were reported between the two leadership styles in 56 percent of the studies. Job performance
was found to be higher with authoritarian leadership in 10 percent of the studies.
THE ROLE OF POWER IN LEADERSHIP
Role of Power on Two Level
1. The power that leaders have over their subordinates.
2. How leaders are motivated by power.
Five Kinds of Power (French & Raven, 1959, Kipnis,19676)
1. Reward Power
- Organizational leaders possess the ability to reward their subordinates.
2. Coercive Power
- An equally strong source of power is the ability to punish subordinates by firing them, failing to give them
promotions or pay raises, or keeping them in undesirable jobs.
3. Legitimate Power
- This refers to the formalization of the power structure by the rules of the organization.
NOTE: These three sources of power are derived from and defined by the formal organization which leader and
subordinates belong. Formal organization means that the power are dictated or prescribed by the organization.
The next two sources of power derived from the leaders themselves.
4. Referent Power
- This relates to the extent to which followers identify with their leaders and the leaders goals.
5. Expert Power
- This refers to the extent to which leaders are perceived to be knowledgeable in an area that is necessary to the
attainment of group goals.
Power
- plays an influential role in organizational leadership, both in leader-follower interactions and in the motivation of
the leaders themselves.
FUNCTIONS OF LEADERS
Two Dimension of Leadership
1. Consideration Structure
2. Initiating Structure
Four Elements of Consideration
1. Creating a feeling of approval. Employee must feel that their bosses approve of them as human beings of the
work they do. This approval can be communicated in several ways such as giving praise, being patient with
errors, listening to employee problems, and showing an interest in their personal situations
2. Developing personal relations. Interpersonal relations are vital to any work situation and are necessary for
creating a feeling of approval. The key issue is for effective managers to be close enough to subordinates for
personal relationships to develop, yet not so close that friendship interferes with the ability to manage. The
relationship must be cordial but must remain one of leader and follower.
3. Providing fair treatment. This is an obvious facet of any relationship whether teacher-student or boss-worker. No
one likes to be treated unfairly, particularly when one person is dependent on another for his other livelihood l.
Nor should an organization condone unfair treatment.
4. Equitable rule enforcement. This facet of manager behaviour, equitable rule enforcement, refers primarily to
discipline and punitive action. It means not only that all employees will be treated similarly with respect to
discipline and that no favouritism will be shown but also that punishment will be administered in accordance with
certain rules
Consideration is an obvious and important function of organizational leaders. Ideally, it enhances employee morale and
job satisfaction and may also improve productivity.
How do managers balance the two often conflicting sets of demands?
1. Managers must determine realistic objectives.
 2. Managers must provide the necessary resources.
3. Managers must make their expectations known.
4. Managers must provide an adequate reward structure.
5. Managers must delegate authority and invite participation.
6. Managers must remove barriers to effective performance.
7. Managers must periodically appraise their subordinates' performance and inform them of the results.
ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
Characteristics of Leaders
Effective leadership is required to be able to predict candidates for leadership positions who are most likely to succeed;
we must know the traits and abilities of leaders who are already successful.
The characteristics required for successful leadership vary with the person's level in the organization. The higher the
leader on the corporate ladder, the fewer consideration functions and the more initiating - structure functions he or she
performs.
Supervisors
1. Person cantered. Successful supervisors were much more concerned with the needs, hopes, goals, and problems
of their employees. Less effective supervisors were more concerned with job-related matters-quotas, deadlines
and costs. Despite the greater concern of less effective supervisors for the initiating-structure function, their work
units were less productive.
2. Supportive. Good supervisors were more willing to defend their employees against criticism from higher
management.
3. Loyal to both company and employees. Poor supervisors gave their primary allegiance and loyalty to the
company. Good supervisors shared their loyalty between their subordinates and the company.
4. Democratic. Effective supervisors held many more meetings with their employees n which they encouraged
participation. Less effective supervisors were more authoritarian.
5. Flexible. By explaining the goals of a job and the guidelines for achieving them in general or loosely structured
way, the effective supervisors left their employees free to accomplish the goals in their own way. Poor supervisors
dictated precisely how each job was to be handled and allowed no deviation or flexibility on the part of their
subordinates.
Executives
Executives are less people oriented and more work oriented. One study of the skills and characteristics displayed by
middle level to upper level executives divided these skills into three categories: conceptual, human, and technical.
Conceptual and technical skills are the one most concerned with initiating structures.
Some of the specific skills within each category are the following (Guglielmino, 1979):
1. Conceptual skills-making decisions, identifying opportunities, innovating for the good of the organization,
understanding and monitoring the business environment, and structuring the organization.
2. Human skills-writing and speaking effectively, handling grievances and disturbances, leading and motivating
others, and negotiating and controlling change.
3. Technical skills-understanding a balance sheet and budgeting, writing a computer program, preparing a cost-
benefit analysis, and searching for information.
THINKING
• Capacity to abstract, to conceptualize, to organize, and to integrate different data into a coherent frame of
reference
• Tolerance for ambiguity, can stand confusion until things become clear.
• Intelligence has the capacity not only to abstract but also to be practical.
• Judgment, knows when to act.
FEELINGS AND INTERRELATIONSHIP
• Authority has the feeling that he or she belongs in the boss’s role.
• Activity, takes a vigorous orientation to problems and needs of the organization.
• Achievement, oriented toward organization’s success rather than personal aggrandizement.
• Sensitivity, able to perceive subtitles of other’s feelings.
• Involvement, sees himself or herself as a participating member of an organization.
• Maturity, has good relationship with authority figures.
• Interdependence, accepts appropriate dependence needs of others as well, as of himself or herself.
• Articulates, makes a good impression.
 • Stamina has physical as well as mental energy.
• Adaptability, managers stress well.
• Sense of humor, does not take self too seriously.
OUTWARD BEHAVIOR CHARACTERISTICS
• Vision, is clear about progression of his or her own life and career as well as where the organization should go.
• Perseverance, able to stick to a task and see it through, regardless of the difficulties encountered.
• Personal organization, has good sense of time.
• Integrity, has a well-established value system that has been tested in various ways in the past.
• Social responsibility, appreciates the need to assume leadership with respect to that responsibility.
STABILITY OF MANAGERIAL CHARACTERISTICS
SIX PERSONALITY FACTORS
1. Leadership motivator
2. Ambition
3. Impulsivity
4. Affability
5. Self-esteem
6. Optimism
PRESSURES AND PROBLEMS OF LEADERSHIP
Just as leader characteristics vary with the level of leadership, so do the pressures and problems. We deal with two
levels of organizational leadership, the first-line supervisor and the executive. Each faces unique stresses and conflicts.
FIRST-LINE SUPERVISORS
• In most organizations, a distinction is made between first line supervisors and higher level managers. In terms of
responsibilities, obligations, and background, there are many differences between two levels.
• In some ways, supervisors have more difficult and demanding jobs, yet paradoxically, they often receive less
formal training in how to manage others.
• Almost all the companies indicated that they provided some form on-the-job training for new supervisors. In some
cases, supervisors have college degrees.
• Many company training programs place new graduates, in first line supervisory positions in one or more
departments for several months to several years, the job rotation techniques.
• The purpose is to familiarize them with various aspects of production while providing leadership experience. For
college graduates, the job of supervisor is a stepping stone to higher levels of executive responsibility.
• At a time when the business and industry stress a college educator, the first-line supervisory position is about as
high in management as less well-educated persons may be allowed to rise an unfortunate and unwise use of talent.
• Supervisors promoted from the ranks are often placed in a difficult position because of conflicting demands and
loyalties.
• New supervisors become part of a new group, management working with people whose level of education,
background, values, and lifestyles are usually vastly different.
• First-line supervisors must ensure that safety procedures are being followed properly and instruct workers on new
safety methods and new devices, be alert to unsafe practices, and explain to superiors the reason for any accidents
that may occur.
Supervisor must handle any grievance on the part of their subordinates. If a grievance is not resolved in a
manner that is not satisfactory to the workers, they will take it to union and it then becomes more serious in terms
of morale and production.
 First-line supervisors also act as purveyors of rewards and punishments. They must provide incentives in
the form of verbal praise to the workers, feedback trough performance evaluation reports, and salary increases.
They must also act as disciplinarians in cases of sloppy work, tardiness, absenteeism or drinking on the job.
First-line supervisors must exercise great care in disciplining or firing subordinates. Fair employment
legislation was designed to protect minorities in firing as well as hiring decisions, and supervisors must be alert to
any possible violations to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Regulations (Klotchman &
Neider, 1983.
A third problem for supervisors resulting from faire employment legislation is the possibility of conflict
between the new workers and those already on the job. It is easy to understand why many first-line supervisors are
enthusiastic about affirmative-action programs. One solution is for higher management to provide additional
support and consideration for first-line supervisors.
EXECUTIVES
The problem faced by executives’ changes as a function of their level in the corporate hierarchy. We can
distinguish two levels of executives: (1) middle level managers, of then face a great deal of discontent in their
lives. The most frequent complaints voiced by middle managers is their lack of influence in the formulation of
company policy. And also, the complain about not having sufficient authority or resources to carry out company
policy. (2) upper level or higher level, the have the intense commitment of energy and time to the organization.
Most of their time are spent in the office, but many executives bring work home with them; home becomes not a
haven from work but just another place to work. And also, companies expect the upper level managers to involve
themselves actively in community. “The willingness of a person to go to extra mile is a quality that I very strongly
consider in my appraisal of a senior manager.” (Reeser, 1976, p.46)
There are potential rewards for management, it is the position, power, money, status, challenge, and
fulfillment are great but so are the stresses. Surveys have shown that 66 per cent of high-level executives would
continue with their jobs even if they suddenly found themselves financially independent and no longer needed
their executive salary.
WOMEN IN MANAGEMENT
Over the past decade, the number of women in management has increased and doubled from 1974-1984.
Fewer are found in top management (Garen, 1982). Many women are restricted to management positions clearly
defined as areas of responsibility, notable those dealing with personnel, public relations, consumer affairs, and
social responsibility.
Sex stereotype is being applied in this case, such as, discriminating against women managers by keeping
them “women’s” work, that is job requiring so-called “feminine” abilities such as empathy and sensitivity. and the
stereotype that men are tougher, more aggressive, forceful, self-reliant, ambitious, and less emotional than
women. Women were not so steeped in traditional management approaches and values, and they brought new
insights and viewpoint to management problems.
The problems of women managers are many, but more and more in traditional management approaches
and values, and they brought new insights and viewpoint to management problems.
The problems of women managers are many, but more and more and more women are being accepted as
competent executive. And, as always, performance is the bottom line, the only criteria of importance in
managerial decisions.