Leadership & Management Essay Paper

Leadership & Management
Leadership & Management

Leadership & Management

Order Instructions:

The DEADLINE is DECEMBER 29, 2014. This is a Graduate course. Please use double-spaced format. Responses should be in APA style and must include citations and a bibliography. You are strongly advised to access a variety of information from academic journals and other scholarly works. Ensure that your answers are well-organized and that they respond to the specific question asked, display the range and depth of your learning, and demonstrate your ability to conform to the analysis, writing, and research standards of master’s level work. The question must be answered fully. Do not make your sentences too wordy. Each question needs to be 10 pages and should have at least 9 references.

Question 1

The city of Gainesville, population 54,000, has an undocumented population of immigrants totaling an estimated 3,200 people. This population is clustered largely in the southeastern portion of the city. Law enforcement is faced with the challenge of protecting this population from crime, while at the same time law enforcement is also charged with enforcing laws that prohibit illegal immigration. If law enforcement enforces the immigration policies, then the undocumented immigrants may be hesitant to call the police when they need assistance. As a result, however, crime within this area may increase. If law enforcement does not enforce these laws, then it may be neglecting its duty. What should the police department do? As a part of this, please identify the different stakeholders and constituents impacted by this policy, and assess any social, political, cultural, and ethical implications.

Question 2

What is leadership? As a part of your definition, please differentiate between leaders, managers, and followers. Explore the principles of leadership and how each of the following leadership theories can explain, shape, and improve the governance and management of public policy: Great Leader Theory; Servant Leadership; Transformational Leadership; and Situational Leadership; Be sure to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each theory explored.

SAMPLE ANSWER

PART 1

The city of Gainesville has a sizeable portion of illegal immigrants just like most places in the US. The police department is at a loss as to the action required in dealing with these people. Since they have a mandate to deal with illegal immigrants, they feel they cannot just ignore them. However, dealing with illegal immigration may cause the immigrants to refrain from sharing information with the police which is valuable for fighting crime. Once the illegal immigrants stop contacting police when they have problems, the city may become more prone to criminal activity.

The police department needs to make a choice between two sets of crime. First is illegal immigration which in itself is a violation of the laws in the country (Buchannan, 2006). Second is the lack of information on criminal activities or criminals operating in the city. Thus, the decision made should depend of solution of the greater crime. Research indicates that there is a concerted effort by many state governments in dealing with illegal immigrants. There is a consensus that this group of people is a valuable resource that can help the country develop further. There is also the need for tracking all people within the country for the purposes of planning and providing mandated services. All these factors indicate that the police department needs to consider all the facts before taking a decision.

The recommendation is that the police department overlook the fact that there are illegal immigrants and deal with the provision of security for all people. It is important that all stakeholders be involved in the decisions made and also in keeping Gainesville crime free. The mandate of the police department is to ensure that there is law and order. This can only be achieved if people within the city trust law enforcement enough to volunteer relevant information. The problem with dealing with illegal immigrants at the law enforcement level is that it alienates an important constituent that operates behind the scenes. Since illegal immigrants do not usually have the requisite documentation to operate as normal citizens, they are enlisted in an underground economy that may be a breeding ground for crime (Archibold, 2010). The people that are in that system are largely illegal immigrants making them valuable in combating crime.

There is a major consensus amongst US citizens that there is a problem of illegal immigration. However, the problem is that no one seems to have an idea of how to fix the system. There are many people that are affected by illegal immigration starting with the citizens, the government, legal immigrants and the illegal immigrants themselves. People that directly work with immigrants include lawyers, , social workers, teachers, healthcare providers, small business owners and law enforcement. The main problem that they cite is the lack of integration and assimilation of immigrant communities in the US. The illegal immigrants must seek education for their children and must have access to healthcare facilities. Thus, they divide opinions among many people since some hold that they cost more than they earn for the system. The policy of overlooking the status of illegal immigrants for the sake of maintaining security is largely based on the actions that have been witnessed in various states.

The most common sentiments by members of the American society were that there needed to be more religious tolerance, diversity, integration, citizen engagement, contribution, positive impact, defused tension and access. The society is divided into both liberal and conservative citizens. The major concern for the conservatives is how much money is spent on immigrants in addition to what they can legally do. There also seems to be a misconception about the current immigration law. There seems to be popular support for dealing with illegal immigrants. The terms that are associated with illegal immigrants are mostly about social security. For the immigrants themselves, they simply would want to be treated humanely. There seems to be a general feeling of discrimination with illegal immigrants that are well educated and rich being favoured unlike the poor and uneducated. The law enforcement and immigration officers often speak to the illegal immigrants with harshness and associate them with criminality. Several authors on immigration around the world seem to be in consensus that immigration officials have a common mindset in associating illegal immigration with criminality.

President Obama has severally stated his desire to reform the immigration sector in the US (Obama, 2012). One piece of legislation that is expected to be passed by congress is the DREAM act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors). The act is meant to target people who immigrated to the US before they were 18 years old and who have lived for over five years before the bill was crafted. The act targets those people that have been declared as having good moral character and have graduated from high schools in the US. The people that serve for a period of two years in the military of serve two years in a four year institution of higher education qualify for a six year temporary residence with the option of making it permanent when the period lapses. Although there are many issues with legislation of immigration in the US, there is still a genuine concern that the enforcement of the DREAM act would be tricky. The first point of contention is how to determine a person’s moral character. The people that are opposed to such legislation argue that it may reward illegal immigration and insist that there must be more punitive action against illegal immigrants. There are many states in the US that already have a version of the DREAM act.

The laws that allow for illegal immigrants to access basic facilities and services are informed by the fact that illegal immigrants might be pushed to crime if they do not have access to basic amenities. In California for example, plans are underway for the illegal immigrants in the state to be awarded driving licenses. The state government thought it prudent since there were increased cases of people driving before they reach the defined age and causing many accidents. There were also increasing cases of theft of motor vehicles by people that were unknown to the system. The best way for dealing with these vices was to allow illegal immigrants access to the department of motor vehicles so that their driving is monitored. Such laws are progressive and are informed by the need of enlisting a large number of citizens in reporting crime. Thus, the best way of dealing with illegal immigrants is not by deporting them but by registering them so that they may make contributions to the societies they inhabit.

The problem with illegal immigrants is not the activities that they involve themselves in. Most people illegally immigrate to the US in search for better life for themselves and their families (Cafferty, 2007). These people are discriminated against by the citizens of the US and are accused of committing acts that they have not. Data on criminality indicates that the most likely people to commit crime are those of American decent. This data was sourced from people that are institutionalised across the country and reveals that citizens are ten times more likely to commit crime that immigrants (Ousey, & Kubrin, 2009). Therefore, the notion that illegal immigrants or immigrants in general are responsible for a lot of ills that bedevil the society is biased and is not based on fact. As a matter of fact, discrimination and negative labelling of immigrants reflects intolerance on the part of the citizens. The singular concern for many immigrants is that they be treated more humanely. However, acts of legislation like the DREAM act are not sufficient in themselves to enlist the help of immigrants in fighting crime. There must be a concerted effort on the part of individual state governments in fighting discrimination of illegal immigrants so that they can volunteer information necessary for fighting crime.

There is much emotion that is elicited whenever immigration is discussed. Partisans on both sides of the debate are usually more concerned with support their positions through conjecture and half-truths rather than with hard facts. The simple fact is that not all illegal immigrants are bad (Camarota, & Vaughan, 2009). While illegal information is in itself a crime, it is not the worst. Modern societies need not act without consideration of all facts. There are many reasons that people immigrate to the US. The major reason is that the country offers opportunities for prosperity in addition to it being a beacon of freedom and democracy. People that choose to immigrate to the US do so with the expectation of enjoying the opportunities there. Therefore, it would be unfair to assume that all those that immigrate illegally are bad. Since research has shown that the immigrants are less likely to commit crimes when compared to natives, the assumption is that they would be invaluable in reporting crimes they witness but are not participants in. what they simply need is empowerment and an equal opportunity.

Immigration as a debate is multifaceted. There are many microeconomic, macroeconomic, and humanitarian aspects that must not be overlooked. The main purpose of the data given by partisans is usually to convict or acquit immigrants in the court of public opinion. However, the fact is that there is an abundance of data that indicates that illegal immigrants are the least contributors to crime in the US. President Obama conceded that the major problem with illegal immigration is not that it makes a mockery of the people trying to immigrate legally but rather that it creates an underground economy where there are unscrupulous businesses that see the opportunity to exploit a cheap labour source (Camarota, 2006). These businesses cut corners by skirting taxes and paying illegal immigrants less than the minimum wage. There are an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the US today with most of them coming from Mexico (Hoefer, Rytina, & Baker, 2012). These people work in deplorable conditions where the health and safety issues are disregarded. This is a clear indication that avoiding dealing with illegal immigrants leads to breaking of numerous other laws. There is a misinformed notion among Americans that equates the underground economy brought on by illegal immigration with crime (Rumbaut, & Ewing, 2007).

There is no doubt that illegal immigration puts pressure on the system. The one area, other than income and social status that affects all stakeholders is crime. No individual is immune to criminal activity. There is thus a need of enlisting all stakeholders in combating crime. This cannot be achieved by vilifying illegal immigrants. More important however is the fact that these immigrants would be invaluable to the system as they are assimilated in all strata of the society. They are thus a rich source of information that would be important in reducing criminal activity in Gainesville.

Illegal immigration is a red hot in America and especially in the southwest. This is the region that borders Mexico. There is a debate between the two prominent political parties in the US. The democrats view immigrants and their collaborators as an important voting bloc during elections while republicans view them as social conservatives that will eventually vote for them. This political issue is usually at the heart of many discussions. Thus, the decision by the Gainesville police department to overlook the illegal status of immigrants plays into the hands of politicians. It has been reported that democrats prefer keeping the status quo since they advocate for less stiffer action against illegal immigrants thus ensuring their support during elections. However, republicans are much harsher and they advocate for deportation of illegal immigrants. Depending on the political tide in Gainesville, there are many political gains to be reaped for the existence of illegal immigrants.

Illegal immigration is a point of contention for many Americans since the immigrants are viewed as being direct competitors for available jobs with citizens. The jobs that they perform are in competition with those done by economically deprived citizens. The debate is usually between people in the low and high end income brackets in the US with those on the high end supporting illegal immigrants since they are more hardworking and require less pay. There was a shift in focus after 9/11 that made people more wary of the unsecured border with Mexico that may be a route for influx of criminals. However, this was an overreaction as not all immigrants are criminals. The events of 2006 in France made governments around the world more aware of the problems that might arise from having a large immigrant population that is impoverished.

There is uproar in the US due to the fact that the president is willing to change immigration laws to grant illegal immigrants legal status. However, the problem is that no executive action can be taken without consultation with congress. While some people, especially on the republican side feel that illegal immigrants are a burden, there is the question of ethics. One of the most fundamental factors that the police division in Gainesville should consider is that ultimately, immigration involves human beings. Thus, they should be treated in the most humane way. This does not however mean that they should be granted legal status against the rules and laws. The important thing to consider is that the lack of security is a threat to all other laws, rules and rights. The mandate of any police division is to ensure that the citizenry is well protected. This entails having the relevant information at all times in order to curb any planned and intentional action against innocent civilians.

Allowing illegal immigrants to be a source of information is not easy. This is because the citizens living around them will demand contrary action. Thus, there will be action against the police department from the legal residents of Gainesville. While this is to be expected, it is prudent to consider that any acts of insecurity will be blamed on the police department. Therefore, the police must be able to defend their actions to the public. This is no mean feat as disregarding the illegal status of illegal immigrants is tantamount to a circumvention of the law. The social impact of having illegal immigrants is minimal as the population of Gainesville is already cosmopolitan. Therefore, there is expected to be little change in any actions that the police take towards illegal immigrants since there is no way of telling the difference between legal and illegal immigrants at face value. The contrary option of demanding to see the papers of any suspected person would amount to profiling which is against the laws and ethics.

The movement of people from one place to another often results in the exchange of cultures and consequently acculturation. Gainesville is already a cosmopolitan city. The geographic dynamics of the city places it in close proximity to Mexico where most illegal immigrants originate. Thus, the cultural influence that is already prevalent in the city is of mixed origin. The population that is not Mexican will nonetheless experience a degree of influence from having illegal immigrants. One of the most fundamental aspects about culture is language. Most illegal immigrants do not speak English and hence would require effort on the part of the US citizens in communicating with them. Most illegal immigrants are employed below the minimum wage and thus are in odd jobs and those for the low in society. They include house helps and gardeners. These people rarely speak any English and thus require the citizens to learn a bit of their indigenous languages, in most cases Spanish, or the immigrants themselves learn English. The circumstances thus create a conducive environment for exchange of cultures. This is assuming that allowing illegal immigrants to stay and be a source of information for security reasons amounts to granting them legal status.

Back in 2010, the state of Arizona passed a law that required police to check the immigration status of suspected illegal aliens. The law criminalized being in the state without the necessary documentation. This law was met with numerous protests and marches around the US. These protests, organised in May, were aimed at voicing the disapproval of having draconian laws that were unfair to some people. The major source of the problem was that civilians were being victimized just for being suspected of having no legal status. The process of checking legal status would have been unfair to certain races that were suspected of not being natives. These included mostly Mexicans and blacks. This law allowed for racist acts and unfair treatment of some individuals. It exposed the need for serious reforms to the immigration sector in the US.

The immigration crisis in the US has led to initiatives by different states to try and alleviate the situation as the federal government continues to drag its feet with passing legislation that will allow for humane treatment of suspected illegal aliens in the country. Most of the opinions from different quotas argue anywhere from deporting illegal immigrants to allowing them to acquire American citizenship. One thing that is not in doubt is that regardless of the statuses of suspected illegal immigrants, there must be humane ways of treating them. This entails allowing them to have access to basic facilities and services including health, security and education. The action of the Gainesville police department to allow illegal immigrants to phone in and share information or make enquiries can be construed as allowing access to basic services. It ensures that the people are treated in a humane manner and that there genuine concerns are addressed.

The alternative action would be for the police to deny illegal immigrants access to state security. This apart from denying the police access to important information can lead to the proliferation of crime. Human beings have an inherent need of being in a community and having an identity. Thus, denying illegal immigrants’ access to the police can be construed as denying them access to the community in Gainesville. This would be counterproductive to the economy of the city as well as to the reduction in crime. The most important thing to consider is that not all illegal aliens are predisposed to commission of crime and that most of them contribute positively to the communities they live in since they do lowly jobs that many Americans prefer not to.

Illegal immigrants are a problem in many societies around the world. They have to be understood and legislated from numerous perspectives. The city of Gainesville is not alone in regards to looking for ways to deal with them. While the city is mandated to look out for the safety and security of its entire population, it must nonetheless prioritize. The integrity of the whole city can only be maintained by ensuring that no people residing within its borders are marginalized. The police division must realize that it thrives on sharing of information with the population. Therefore, it must, in principle, safeguard the opinions, information and rights of these people. This entails giving the illegal immigrants the freedom to report crime and access police services in anticipation of when the state of Florida or the entire country of the US passes legislation to comprehensively deal with the problem of illegal immigration.

References

Archibold, R.C. (2010, June 20). In Border Violence, Perception if Greater Than Crime Statistics. The New York Times, A16.

Buchannan, P. (2006). State of Emergency: The Third World Invasion Conquest of American. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press.

Cafferty, J. (2007). The Frauds, Bunglers, Liars, and Losers Who Are Hurting America: It’s Getting Ugly Out There. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Camarota, S. A. (2006, July 26). Immigration’s Impact on Public Coffers. Center for Immigration Studies. Retrieved Dec 22, 2014 from http://www.cis.org/articles/2006/sactestimony072606.html

Camarota, S. A. & Vaughan, J. (2009). Immigration and Crime: Assessing a Conflicted Issue. Center for Immigration Studies. Retrieved Dec 22, 2014 from http://www.cis.org

Hoefer, M., Rytina, N., & Baker, B.C. (2012). Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: January 2011. Office of Immigration Statistics Policy Directorate, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Retrieved Dec 22, 2014 from http://www.dhs.gov/elibrary/assets/statistics/publications/ill_pe_2011.pdf

Obama, B. (2012). Fixing the Immigration System for America’s 21st century. The White House: Washington. Retrieved Dec 22, 2014 from http://www.whitehouse.com/issues/fixing/immigration/

Ousey, G. C., & Kubrin, C. E. (2009). Exploring the Connection between Immigration and Violent Crime Rates in the U.S. Cities, 1980-2000. Social Problems, 56 (3), 447-473.

Rumbaut, R.G., & Ewing, W. (2007). The Myth of Immigrant Criminality and the Paradox of Assimilation: Incarceration Rates Among Native and Foreign-born Men.Washington, DC: Immigration Policy Center

PART 2

Leadership starts out with a common task that needs completion. The person responsible for the completion of the task enlists the help of others in a process of social influence referred to as leadership. To many people, a leader is the person being followed and whose influence others take to heart. The process of leadership requires an individual to lead others towards the achievement of a common purpose.

Often, people fall prey to labeling titles and other individuals. In many cases, leaders are praised whereas managers and followers are disparaged. However, the simple truth is that people that ascribe to these titles are all important to an organization. The manager has traditionally been associated with functions of administration, directing, organizing, budgeting, staffing, controlling and planning (Judge, & Piccolo, 2004). He/she is an individual charged with looking at tasks and objectives. Managers are those individuals that use head skills including financing and daily operations of an organization. They are concerned about an organization’s bottom line, stability, efficiency and other short term objectives. They are about solving problems that occur in an organization and tactical issues. They make sure that they keep emotional distance from people and use their authority and power to direct subordinates into complying with their demands. The main concern for managers is asking the how and when questions.  There is a major bone of contention in the way that people interchangeably refer to managers and leaders. There are fundamental differences between the two groups of individuals and their skills and expertise are required in equal measure for organizations to function properly.

Traditionally, leaders are charged with the functions of synthesizing, aligning, innovating, inspiring and reducing organizational boundaries. They are those people that are charged with ensuring that there are changes within an organization and the management of people. Rather than using head skills like managers, they use heart skills and are concerned with compassion, empathy, courage, character and emotional intelligence. They focus on the opportunities that may arise for a business and the possibilities available in the long term. Strategic issues, listening to other people, connecting and asking questions are also central to being an effective leader. Leaders desire for the personal and professional growth of those they lead and serve and are concerned more about asking what and why questions.

On the other hand, followers are the essential people in an organization that perform the line tasks. Engaged followers are more useful to the achievement of organizational goals than passive followers. Passive followers are characterized by being disloyal and less connected, engaged and committed to an organization. They simply follow the directions they are given and on occasion deliver the results expected of them. Passive followers prefer to work independently, are compliant, reactive and rely on their own wisdom, skills and competencies. They are mostly characterized by saying that tasks outside their job description are not theirs. Therefore, organizations much prefer having engaged followers that are loyal, engaged, committed and connected. While they take directions like passive followers, they add their own initiative. They take responsibility for the expected results and are accountable for the tasks they undertake. Good followers are those that collaborate with their managers, leaders and fellow followers. They do not react to situations but are proactive, diligent, thorough and professional in their undertakings. Rather than complain about tasks that are not in their job descriptions, they argue that their organizations are much better with their inputs where needed.

Most bureaucratic organizations have the distinct roles of managers, leaders and followers. However, more organic organizations that are keen on taking the numerous opportunities in the business environment do not have clear distinctions as their roles overlap. Modern organizations like IBM and Cisco do not follow traditional hierarchies as they understand that every individual is important to an organization. The ideal situation is for an individual to espouse all three roles of leadership, management and followership. Every role has its strengths and weaknesses and an organization benefits by having individuals that can grow into either role. Leadership is important as it is concerned with the future outlook. Management is equally important as it is concerned with short term achievements. Followership is indispensable to an organization since it allows for learning and growth.

There are many theories that deal with leadership. One of the theories is the great leader theory. This theory has its genesis in history where people believe that the greatest achievements of human beings have been as a result of great individuals more commonly referred to as heroes. These are highly influential people that had great impacts on others and history. They are those that rely on charisma, wisdom and their own personal intelligence (Hirsch, 2002). Many of the traditional great leaders used their political power in a decisive manner that had historical impacts. The great leader theory is important as it allows for individuals to use their skills and influences to impact others. However, its main weakness lies in the fact that great leaders are in themselves a result of the societies they grow up in. nowadays, collaboration is more important to the society that individual skills.

The great leader theory attempts to underline the importance of individual charisma and intelligence. It states that people that have the natural skills to lead and influence society can be important in the general outlook of a company or other form of organization (James, 2005). Public policy can benefit from such people as they would dilute bureaucracy in the public sector and get things done more promptly and effectively. The most developed societies, albeit having good social structures, can trace their successes to key individuals in their histories. Great leaders include Abraham Lincoln that emancipated the blacks from slavery (Friedman, & Langbert, 2000), Mahatma Gandhi, an immortalized leader in India and Nelson Mandela. These leaders ensured that their societies became better and were credited with the development and growth of those societies. There are many great leaders in the world today. These people have the natural skills to influence and change others. Most of these leaders are found in political spheres. However, leaders in private business that make noticeable impacts in the world are also recognized for their greatness. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are some of the most noticeable leaders in recent times. They defined the organizations that they were associated with and created trends emulated by others. A great leader is that individual that influences others or events in a manner that is memorable.

Another theory of leadership is that of servant leadership. The concept of servant leadership has existed for many years. Most prominent however is the mention of the philosophy by Lao-Tzu, a Chinese philosopher in the Tao Te Ching between 570 BCE and 490 BCE (Wu, 2006). The greatest definition of a servant leader is the leader whose existence followers are barely aware of. Many ancient writers believed that the king, the leader in many traditional societies, considered good things as those that pleased his subjects rather than his own self. This benchmark of a good leader is founded on the concept of servant leadership. The leader in today’s society enjoys many trappings of power at the behest of followers and subjects. However, in democracies the leader must always be consciously aware that he/she is a privileged servant. The concept of servant leadership is also prominent in religious texts. The Gospel of Mark has a text that has Jesus communicating to his followers. He said that he, unlike the lords of the gentiles, was not a ruler but a servant of the people. He cautioned his disciples that if they wanted to lead people, they must first of all agree to be their servants. The greatest act according to Jesus that indicated his nature as a servant was his death for the sake of all mankind. The concept has also been embraced in other religions including Islam that considers the leader of a people as their servant.

Servant leadership can be associated with participative leadership. All other popular forms of leadership including autocratic and laissez-faire do not fully capture the concept of being a servant. A servant leader is guided by the principles of supporting, enabling and encouraging subordinates to realize their full abilities and potential (Hersey, & Blanchard, 1977). The leader encourages his followers to be active in the decision making process. Employee performance and satisfaction is maximized where leaders act as servants.

The concept of servant leadership goes beyond behaviours that are employee related. It is one that calls for a major paradigm shift in the relationship between the leader and his/her subordinates. The major point of focus is not on the leader and his/her actions but rather on the outcomes that are evidence in the way that his/her subordinates work. The overall results of an organization and the direction it takes are what evidence servant leadership.

Servant leadership is an important concept in influencing public policy. This is because public policy in itself is based on the ideas and wishes of the majority. For a leader to be effective, he/she must first be able to connect with the needs of those at the grassroot level. The best way of knowing what the needs of the people are is by experiencing them firsthand. Thus, the most effective leader is that person that can connect on a fundamental level with those at the end of a pyramid. Public policies mostly concern themselves with fulfillment of the most basic needs that individuals have. However complex the needs of individuals are, they can best be fulfilled by experiencing them. Servant leadership thus enables people in position of influence and power to be in touch with the needs of their constituents whether they are customers, subordinates or the general population.

Transformational leadership is credited with helping many organizations adopt the new global market trends. In the current society, organizations that have the desire to grow must have transformational leaders. This type of leadership is characterized by energy, passion and enthusiasm. Leaders that aspire to be transformational must have a genuine concern of the wellbeing and development of their subordinates. Transformational leadership is primarily about stimulating the intellect of others (Gupta, 2004). Thus, rather than maintain the status quo, leaders in this category prefer challenging it and creating an environment in which creativity can thrive. Followers are driven towards a direction within which they can explore new ways of doing tasks and learning.

Another characteristic of transformational leadership is individualized consideration (Joyce, & Judge, 2004).  Followers are offered support and encouragement so that they can realize their full potential. The most important aspect of this leadership style is having an open door policy that allows leaders to listen to the problems of their followers and take a genuine interest in them. The advantage of having such a policy is that leaders get new insights on different problems and plausible solutions. By taking an interest in followers, ideas are shared and the organization benefits from it.

Transformational leadership calls for inspirational motivation. Leaders ascribing to this style must be able to articulate a clear vision for their followers to follow. There must be an additional effort to not only enable followers to perform to the best of their abilities but also to motivate them towards achievement of personal and organizational goals. Leaders must have an idealized influence on their followers. This is because the leader also doubles up as a role model for his/her followers. The process of emulating a leader and internalizing his/her ideals must start by the followers being able to respect and trust that leader.

Transformational leadership is a very important style. Globalization has opened markets and has eliminated national boundaries that were prohibitive for the performance of business. States are now run as companies as competition for resources stiffens. Leaders that can articulate a shared vision for all individuals in a society or group are important. The developing nations are working hard to ensure that they catch up with developed nations. On the other hand, developed nations are expanding their influence so that they can move their goods and services and grow their societies further. Both groups of countries require transformational leaders to move them forward. The most important point to consider is that the input of all stakeholders must be considered. The leader who occupies a position of power or influence must be able to communicate a common sense of direction for all people. Transformational leadership must be considered in its entirety. The leader must have a genuine concern for his/her followers, must challenge the status quo and must have enthusiasm. Additionally, the leader must ensure that he/she communicates the enthusiasm he/she has to followers. The major strength of transformational leadership is that every person’s perspective gets to be considered. Since people are the most important resource to a society or organization, an abundance of different viewpoints gives an avenue for affecting real changes. The weakness however is that transformational leadership can be slow in effecting change due to the fact that many viewpoints have to be considered. In some instance, giving followers much leverage can be counterproductive as they may take advantage of the space they are given.

Situational leadership is another popular theory. The theory’s main point is that there is no universally best style of leadership. Depending on the task at hand and the objectives that require to be met, a leader can tweak his style accordingly (Blanchard, Zigarmi, & Zigarmi, 1985). Thus, success in leadership can be guaranteed by adaptation to prevalent conditions. A leader must be mature. This means that he/she must not only set high standards but must also take responsibility for meeting them. The leader must have the necessary educational and professional competencies in order to fulfill his/her duties and responsibilities. Maturity also reflects a leader’s ability to influence those around him/her to perform their tasks to the best of their abilities. Situational leadership demands that the leader vary his/her approach to different tasks depending on the circumstances and in consideration of all factors. The most important factors to consider are the maturity of the followers and details of the task at hand. Thus, situational leadership requires leaders at any one time to put more or less emphasis on tasks and more or less emphasis on their relationships with followers. The determinant of the choice to take must be the successful completion of a task.

The developers of the situational leadership theory argue that there are four styles of leadership. The first is telling where leaders tell their followers what they are expected to do and how they are expected to do it (Scouller, 2011). The second style is selling where the leader is expected to provide requisite information and direction for followers. In this style, there is more communication between the leader and the followers. The concept is that the leader must sell his/her concepts to followers and they in turn must buy into these ideals. The third style is participating where the leader focuses more on the relationship between him/her and the followers than on directing them. There is a sense of sharing responsibilities and decision making between the leader and his/her followers. The fourth style is delegating where the leader passes most of his/her responsibilities onto followers. The leader is less involved in the decision making process but still takes a keen interest on progress. The first and second styles are more concerned with completion of tasks whereas the latter two are concerned with increasing the capacity of followers.

Situational leadership theory has been improved by its developers and is described by use of the terms commitment and competence. The former espouses motivation and confidence while the latter entails knowledge, ability and skills. These terms are used to describe the different levels of development within the situational leadership model. The evolution of the theory views development as a stepped process. Individuals that are starting out on a new job approach it with little competence, knowledge, skills and abilities, which is compensated by presence of high enthusiasm, commitment and motivation. Development is thus the process through which people move from being rookies to being professionals in their jobs. The role of the leader is to check the level where a person is and apply the right leadership skills. This means that the leader can change his/her style depending on the perceived level of follower development.

The belief in the evolved situational leadership theory is that new task approach is characterized by low competence in terms of transferable skills but the need and energy to learn. The progression of an individual to a higher job level is determined by the experience he/she acquires and the ability of the leader to support him/her in the different levels. As the individual progresses, he/she has gained some competence but has dropped some commitment to the task due to complexity of tasks to levels higher than previously anticipated. The third level of development is characterized by a variation in competence. This fluctuates between moderate and high knowledge, transferable skills and abilities. The commitment level varies too as the individual has gained some task and role mastery. The fourth level of development is characterized by high competence and commitment.

The application of either style is dependent on the maturity of followers. Maturity is also broken down into four levels. The first level entails people at the bottom end of the maturity spectrum since they lack the skills, knowledge and confidence to function on their own. This group thus needs to be pushed for tasks to be completed. The second level entails people that are willing to work on different tasks but lack the skills and knowledge to perform them. The third level entails people that are willing and ready to help with tasks and have more skills than those in the previous level. The distinguishing factor is that this group is characterized by people with low confidence on their abilities for task completion. The last level contains people that can work on their own. These people have the skills and knowledge required and additionally have the required confidence for task completion. Thus, they are more committed.

Situational leadership is important in the formulation of public policy as it allows for leaders to change tact depending on the competencies and skills of their followers. This strength allows for different levels of progress depending on the people being led. Thus, organizations and societies develop at constant pace regardless of the people being led. The weakness however is that the style does not consider mixed groups of people with varying levels of competence and skills. The theory also assumes that all people in leadership positions have the capacity to tweak their approaches at different turns which is too simplistic. The determination of the competence levels of employees is not a one-time approach and requires collection and collation of relevant data which is a long process that might make the change from one style to another redundant if factors change before determination of maturity is completed.

References

Blanchard, K.H., Zigarmi, P., & Zigarmi. D. (1985). Leadership and the One Minute Manager: Increasing Effectiveness through Situational Leadership. New York: Morrow

Friedman, H.H., & Langbert, M. (2000).Abraham as a Transformational Leader. Journal of Leadership Studies, 7(2), 88-95

Gupta, V. (2004). Impact of Socialization on Transformational Leadership: Role of Leader Member Exchange. South Asian Journal of Management.

Hersey, P., & Blanchard, K. H. (1977). Management of Organizational Behavior: Utilizing Human Resources (3rd ed.) New Jersey: Prentice Hall

Hirsch, E.D. (2002). The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy (Third Edition). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company

James, W. (2005). Great Men and Their Environment. Kila, MT: Kessinger Publishing

Joyce, E., & Judge, T.A. (2004). Personality and Transformational and Transactional Leadership: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(5), 901-910.

Judge, T.A., & Piccolo, R.F. (2004). Transformational and Transactional Leadership: A Meta-Analytic Test of Their Relative Validity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(5), 755-68.

Scouller, J. (2011). The Three Levels of Leadership: How to Develop Your Leadership Presence, Knowhow and Skill. Cirencester: Management Books

Wu, J.H.C. (2006). Lao Tzu, Tao Teh Ching (translation). Boston, Massachusetts: Shambhala

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