Influence on Job in Leadership Effectiveness, Leadership Style and Employee Readiness by Jui-Chen - Article Example

Leadership Effectiveness, Leadership Style and Employee Readiness: A Literary Review (Fill in with your information etc.) Leadership Effectiveness, Leadership Style and Employee Readiness: A Literary Review "The influence of leadership style on job performance, satisfaction, stress, and turnover intention has been well established." Excerpted from the article Leadership effectiveness, leadership style and employee readiness written by Jui-Chen Chen and Colin Silverthorne (2005); their purpose for writing this paper was to directly research the relationship between the Situational Leadership Theory (SLT), as well as the effect that leadership itself has on organizations, departments, teams, and work climate and atmosphere. In order to properly interpret and understand the article, the following questions must be addressed: 1. What is the premise of the article 2. What are three major findings we can draw from this article 3. How does this article relate to the topic of the leader's guide to moral and social ethics This review of the literature focuses on these three questions. What is the Premise of the Article This article was written for several important reasons, one of the most primary being that there was as of yet no research that directly looked at and evaluated SLT. In SLT, leadership effectiveness is thought to be enhanced if "a manager uses the style of leadership that best matches the readiness, ability and willingness of subordinates and that a good match between leadership style and subordinate readiness leads to a higher level of subordinate satisfaction and performance." (Chen & Silverthorne, 2005, pp.280-288). The focus of this article was primarily to thoroughly view, discuss, and advise on the topic of proper leadership. The matter of how truly crucial good leadership is (in the workplace) and how the actions of the leader(s) affect the overall outcome is a major point of discussion in the article, with Chen and Silverthorne's main precept being that as the level of follower readiness increases, so will that of the leader, and that "a leader's task and behaviors interact with subordinate readiness to significantly influence leader effectiveness, which is defined as the extent to which a follower demonstrates the ability and willingness to accomplish a specific task." (Chen & Silverthorne, 2005, pp.280-288). In other words, the way a leader behaves and interacts and the methods he uses with employees incredibly affect the ability and willingness the employees (or 'followers') will have to accomplish specific tasks. What are Three Major Findings we can Draw From This Article The first and perhaps most significant finding which can be drawn after a review of this article is that of how incredibly crucial proper leadership is. It is the leaders who make the greatest impact, whether physically, emotionally, or efficiently; it has been said that leaders "have a strong influence on employee and organizational outcomes." (Vries et al, 1998, pp.486-501). One of the main sources of job stress has been linked to the organizational climate and staff attitude created by the leadership style of supervisors and managers in the workplace. It is for reasons such as this that Chen and Silverthorne wrote this article; leadership is a critical subject matter in regards to efficient and positive results. Another finding is that of employee satisfaction and how important a factor it is in the overall scheme of things. "It has long been believed that employee satisfaction increases employee performance and productivity and satisfaction and performance are correlated." (Lucas, 1999, pp.774-778). Voluntary turnover occurs when an employee terminates the employment relationship themselves. In 2001, Price found that most turnover is voluntary and is, therefore, potentially avoidable and controllable, costly, and disruptive to an organization. (pp.353-508). Whether particularly regarding poor job feedback, job dissatisfaction, unmet job expectations, performance problems, situational constraints, socialization difficulties, a greater degree of job stress, or a lack of career advancement opportunities - this proves that employee satisfaction and voluntary turnover are completely related and if employee satisfaction was met (which would thus be primarily through proper leadership effectiveness and style), then the voluntary turnover rate would drastically decrease. A third major finding would be equally linked to both previous findings; how critical the relationship between leadership style and subordinate job satisfaction is. Through understanding of how leaders need to be effective and how high the rate of voluntary turnover is when the role of leader is not being acted out properly; thus explains why this finding is of such importance in the article. Only when there is leadership effectiveness and proper leadership style will there be a result of positive employee readiness and satisfaction. How Does This Article Relate to the Topic of the Leader's Guide to Moral and Social Ethics Demonstrated by Dukerich et al (1990), when leaders are more morally mature, those they lead display higher moral reasoning. There are three major pillars to which the ethics of leadership rests upon: 1. The moral character of the leader 2. The ethical values embedded in the leader's vision 3. The morality of the processes of social ethical choice and action that the leaders' followers engage in and collectively pursue. (Bass & Steidlmeier, 1998). This article relates to the leader's guide of moral and social ethics in that social and moral ethics are considered to be of the utmost importance when discussing leadership effectiveness, leadership style, and employee readiness. Through proper leadership an acceptable stance of employee satisfaction can be made, and the end result will be determinably more positive and satisfactory. Joanne B. Ciulla's book Ethics, The Heart of Leadership (2004), is in many ways relevantly related to the previously discussed article by Jui-Chen Chen and Colin Silverthorne. The criticality of moral and social ethics, how they work, and how they relate to proper leadership is reviewed in both writings. Both discuss and consider how ethics are treated in the study of leadership. As in Chen and Silverthorne's article, Ciulla's book sees leadership and ethics as impacting not only upon the relationship between a leader and his or her subordinates in a business. In summary, Ciulla's book has many issues in relation to Chen and Silverthorne's article on leadership. Ciulla's point on ethics dealing with leadership implores for leaders to consider the moral and social relationship between themselves and the employees; a factor which is also incredibly imperative in Chen and Silverthorne's article. Perhaps most important of all, both parties insist that only through proper leadership and ethics will a positive end result come. References Bass, Bernard M. & Steidlmeier, Paul. (1998, Sept.). Ethics, Character, and Authentic Transformational Leadership. Retrieved January 15, 2006, from http://cls.binghamton.edu/BassSteid.html Chen, Jui-Chen & Silverthorne, Colin. (2005). Leadership effectiveness, leadership style and employee readiness. Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 26, pp.280-288. Lucas, J.W.. (1999). Behavioral and emotional outcomes of leadership in task groups. Social Forces, 78, pp.747-778. Price, J.L.. (1997). Handbook of organizational management. International Journal of Manpower, 18, pp.303-558. Vries, R.E., Roe, R.A., & Taillieu, T.C.B.. (1998). Need of supervision: its impact on leadership effectiveness. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 11, pp.486-501. Read More