Chapter Review

Key Terms

Below is a list of some of the key terms you have learned about in this chapter. 

Summary

The chapter begins by discussing the difference between leadership and management. Robert House defines management as consisting of "implementing the vision and strategy provided by leaders, coordinating and staffing the organization, and handling day-to-day problems". In contrast, leadership is the ability to influence a group towards the achievement of a vision or set of goals. Leaders may emerge from within a group as well as by formal appointment to lead a group.

In early studies of leadership, management researchers explored which traits were associated with effective leadership. By the 1990s, after numerous studies and analyses, the best thing that could be said was that leaders differ from non-leaders. The predictive validity of traits was drastically increased when they were organized along the Big Five framework personality dimensions of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness to experience, and emotional stability. Many of the traits that were associated with effective leadership were found to be sub-dimensions of these larger traits. For example, ambition and energy are part of extroversion and self-confidence is part of emotional stability. Emotional intelligence, discussed in chapter 8, has also been found to be an important trait in leaders. 

Behavioural theories, unlike trait theories, suggest that effective leaders can be trained. In other words, leaders are made, not born. Both the Ohio State studies and University of Michigan studies evaluated two similar sets of traits comprised leader behaviours. The Ohio State studies examined the dimensions of initiating structure and consideration. Initiating structure refers to the extent to which a leader is likely to define and structure his or her role and those of employees in the search for goal attainment, while consideration refers to the extent to which a person is likely to have job relationships that are characterized by mutual trust, respect for employees' ideas, and regard for their feelings. Two conclusions emerged from these studies. First, employees who had managers who were high in consideration were more satisfied with their jobs and more motivated and also had more respect for their leader. Second, a manager that initiated structure was more strongly related to group and organizational productivity and evaluated performance. 

The University of Michigan studies examined the variables of employee-oriented behaviour and production-oriented behaviour. Employee-oriented behaviour is an interest in fostering interpersonal relations, such as help with help with personal problems, concern for well-being, and satisfaction. Production-oriented behaviour is emphasis on meeting of deadlines, assignment of group members to particular tasks, and organization of work relationships. The conclusions of the University of Michigan studies strongly favored leaders who were employee-oriented in their behaviour, citing higher employee productivity and higher job satisfaction. 

Blake and Mouton's managerial grid was an attempt to better conceptualize the framework presented by Ohio State and Michigan. The grid mapped the dimensions of "concern for people" and "concern for production". Blake and Mouton found that managers performed the best when high on both dimensions. 

Contingency theories suggest that situational variables are key to predicting effective leadership. The first of the contingency theories, Fiedler's contingency model, suggests that effective group performance depends on the proper match between the leaders' style and the degree to which the situation gives control to the leader. The leader's style is determined by his or her score on the least preferred co-worker (LPC) questionnaire, which measures the degree to which the respondent enjoyed working with the person they disliked the most. The situation is measured by the favourability of leader-member relations (the degree of confidence, trust, and respect members have in their leader), task structure (the degree to which the job assignments are procedurised), and position power (the degree of influence a leader has over power variables such as hiring, firing, discipline, promotions, and salary increases). Fielder developed a grid that identifies the most appropriate managerial style for a given situation, described in terms of the variables identified above. Fiedler assumes that leadership style is fixed, so either the manager or the situation must be changed if there is a mismatch between the situation and the manager's preferred style. A derive of Fiedler's LPC is cognitive resource theory, which focuses on stress as a form of situational unfavourableness and how a leader's intelligence and experience influences his or her reaction to stress. 

Hersey and Blanchard's situational leadership theory (SLT) argues that leader effectiveness is a function of follower readiness. A leader will need to alter their leadership style based on the following employee classifications: unable and unwilling, unable and willing, able and unwilling, and able and willing. For example, if the follower is unable and unwilling to do a task, the leader needs to give clear and specific directions. 

Robert House's path-goal theory assumes that the role of the leader is to provide the information, support, and other resources necessary for followers to achieve their goals. House identifies four leadership behaviour: directive leaders (give specific guidance and schedules), supportive leaders (friendly, show concern for the needs of followers), participative leaders (consult with followers and uses their suggestions), and achievement-oriented leaders (set challenging goals). House assumes that leaders are flexible and that the same leaders can display any or all of these styles. House also identifies a number of contingency variables: environmental factors (task structure, formal authority system, and work group) and personal characteristics (locus of control, experience, and perceived ability). Environmental factors determine the type of leader behaviour required as a complement if follower outcomes are to be maximized, while personal characteristics determine how the environment and leader behaviour are interpreted. 

Leader member exchange theory suggests that the way a leader behaves toward followers if a function of whether they are members of the leader's "in-group." In-group members tend to have attitude and personality characteristics that are similar to the leader's or a higher level of competence than out-group members. 

The final contingency theory is Vroom and Yetton's leader-participation model. This model argues that leader behaviour must adjust to reflect the task structure. Vroom and Yetton developed a seven step decision tree that led to five alternative leadership styles.