The articles by Livers and Culver, Glen, and Morison, et al - Essay Example

1. The articles by Livers and Culver 19), Glen 18), and Morison 20), et al., focused on the need to “lead differently” in order to reach the particular impacted group discussed in each article. a. What are the practical leadership implications of such a statement, for day-to-day leadership in today’s organizations? (that is, leading each “sub-group” differently) b. Be sure to include in your answer a brief statement about the primary focus or message of each of these authors. c. How might Frost & Robinson’s (#32) “toxin handlers” be impacted by these articles’ perspectives? In the world today it is important to maintain a leadership perspective so that the businesses can thrive and do not have to face any problem. The diversity that has been created in the world serves the purpose of different views on leadership. It is this diversity which has created several thoughts regarding the leadership of certain individuals. The articles of Liver & Caver, Glen and Morrison focus on these issues of leadership. Because of the diverse population that is working in the corporate sector it is necessary that the views of leadership are changed in accordance. It is for this purpose that these articles provide views as to how leaders should behave on certain instances. It is necessary that the steps proposed by these authors are considered by the leaders so that the workforce can be encouraged further. In my view Livers and Cavers in their article have provided a way through which blacks can be lead differently from how they are being treated in the corporate sector these days. The problems faced by the black population have been increasing because of their cultural ethnicity. The problems that the blacks are facing in the workplace become an issue and these blacks have to suffer from the problem of ‘miasma’ as laid down by Cavers. Miasma is a problem suffered by the blacks and this can lead to discouragement of these workers. The ideas given by Livers and Cavers can be implemented in a daily life setting so that the morale of the employees can be boosted. Self development is a solution for black employees which can be targeted in a workplace. This self development would help them to know about themselves and get used to the environment that they face in all kinds of settings. In a practical environment it is important that a person who has knowledge about miasma is made the leader so that the morale and performance of the black employees can be enhanced. Secondly Glen in his article provides a brief overview about technology and geeks. He gives an insight as to how these geeks can be helpful in a working environment. Geeks have become a source of knowledge for the corporate sector and they have to be used in the right manner. Leadership qualities are acquired and they should be used in the right manner so that the performance of the employees can be enhanced. In a practical setting it is important that the leaders know how to take advantage of technology and geeks. It is important that the leaders who are hired for this purpose should look after geeks but these leaders should ensure that they do not discriminate between workers. It is important that the leaders know how to handle these geeks properly so that they can benefit the workplace. Leadership skills to sort out geeks and technology are possible in the environment today. Moreover one can ensure that the leader knows how to use geeks and technology so that the productivity and creativity of the workplace is increased. Morison in his article provides details about middlescences who are another group working in the corporate sectors. These middlescences are people who are in their middle ages and have worked halfway towards their career. These employees are bored of their job and do not seem to be interested towards work. It is here that Morison brings the use of a leader who can energize these workers. In my view the middlescences are the most useful group that can be energized in a work setting. With their experience the workers can prove to be useful to the workplace and can increase the productivity. It is important that the leaders are trained in such a way that they can handle these types of employees. A leader should possess the capability of handling different types of employees. Black population, middlescences and geeks are an important group which these leaders should know how to handle. Leaders should energize the middlescences and provide them with new work so that they can use the experience to improve the output of the company. Organizations should hire such leaders who have the capability to handle all the groups together in an efficient manner. The leaders should also make sure that discrimination does not exist in the workplace. Frost and Robinson in their article provide an overview about toxin handlers who are found in almost every organization. These toxin handlers are managers who tend to work for the problems that are commonly encountered in the daily life. With their rich experience about organizations they are able to help the workers by listening to them and propose solutions accordingly. These toxin handlers are known to be the best workers of the organization who know about the problems of the workers. The leadership articles of Liver, Glen & Morison can be applied on the toxin handlers. These toxin handlers can be made the leaders of the organization as they know a lot about the workers. The diverse population of workers can be handled by these toxin handlers if they are handed the task of leadership. 2. Hurwitz and Hurwitz, and Bennis make a strong case for considering followers in organizations, rather than focusing entirely on leaders as being responsible for organizational innovation and effectiveness. a. Identify several of their (both Hurwitz’s & Bennis’) key assertions about the follower-leader relationship in organizations. b. How might Gratton and Hunsaker & Hunsaker incorporate those insights into creating effective virtual teams? In the article of Hurwitz it is seen that the emphasis has shifted on the followers rather than the leaders. In the article several points are given regarding the employees working in the organization and their effectiveness. It is important that the follower and leaders have a strong relationship so that the company can increase its productivity. Moreover the followers and leaders both should be intelligent and creative so that the problems of the organization can be solved with collaboration. The authors believe that the followers of a leader play an integral role in the firm so that the effectiveness of the leader can be improved. The followers should play a supporting role for the leaders so that their morale is boosted. Although the role of leaders is emphasized in the productivity of a company the role of followers should not be left out as they also play an important role. Support in terms of collaboration by these followers is a key assertion laid down in the article by the authors. This collaboration can help the overall effectiveness of the organization with the help of leaders and followers. Followers should have a certain degree of involvement in decisions as laid down by the authors. The authors assert that the followers should provide the leaders with feedbacks regarding the organization so that the work can be improved on a grass root level. Many researchers have been struggling to define and explain the leadership traits, theories, challenges and related affairs. The importance that has been given to this area of research is the importance of leadership on employees, performance and overall success of the organizations. There have been a lot of facts and myths associated with the concept of leadership. In the past, leadership was linked by people with the superhuman characteristics bestowed by God to various leaders. This idea was further developed by Weber and named as Charisma by him. The leadership charisma involved the qualities and special characteristics that leaders posses. The leaders having leadership charisma are Charismatics. The concept of Charisma actually directs towards the special power and influence of Charismatics over the followers. This charisma is necessary to keep a check upon the followers. Bennis in his article also puts forwards this point by providing the view about both the qualities in an organization. Followers are necessary in his view for the effectiveness of the organization and these followers can amplify the performance of the leader with their strengths. The views of leadership can be implemented in the article of Gratton. Gratton in his article has provided different ways through which team work can be encouraged. Virtual teams are a way through which leaders can get a chance to prove their skills. The workers in virtual teams are assembled through technology and the follower-leader system can be implemented through the virtual teams. Virtual teams can be implemented in this pattern and this would help the followers to provide their feedback through different technological advancements. Appraisal of performance can also be also be checked through visual teams. Leadership is an important perspective which can be implemented in a virtual setting. Followers can be integrated in virtual teams and can help the leaders by providing them feedback about the organization. Performance can also be monitored by the use of virtual teams and the followers can play a great role in this. The followers can bring a report to the leaders through these technologies and this can help to improve the overall performance of the organization. 3. Bossidy (#31), et al, talk about Execution as being the critical factor in organizational success. a. What does “Execution” mean? b. Does effective executive equate with micro-managing, thereby reducing leadership effectiveness? Why or why not? c. How might Bolman& Deal’s (#26) conceptualization of “political behavior” help facilitate or potentially inhibit a leader’s ‘execution” of organizational objectives? Organizational success is dependent on a number of different elements, traits and styles running through the businesses. The conceptual analyses of certain factors define how those elements contribute to the success of the organization. Leadership and management are the two broader concepts which simply make the organizational success certain. The article written by Bossidy et al. gives the opinion on the concept of execution as one of the critical success factors in the way of organizational success. According to this study, execution is an order, a system and an important element to follow a strategy. Execution is the concept which provides the way to get things done. It provides a way to execute or carry out the strategy and not formulation of them. Execution is, in simple words, the way and the path to achieve the tasks. It is not about merely planning but it provides a practical way of completing the plans. Execution consists of 3 major procedures involving people process, strategy process, and operation process. Execution is the concept which is essential for a business leader to be adopted. It helps the leader in critically assessing the factors involved in any decision and executing the tasks basing his decision on his evaluations. The questioning and incisiveness in viewing things helps in maintaining the competence of his role. Execution needs the leaders to be involved completely in the business. Execution should be a part of the organizational culture as it empowers the employees and workers not by delegation but by active involvement of the business leader in the daily issues of the organizations which rests as one of the three elements defined above. Micromanaging is one of the styles that bring no good to the organizational performance and individualistic behavior within the organization. Micromanaging simple takes away all rights form the workers to perform, initiate and uphold their own values and working styles. An effective executive obviously opposes this style. An effective executive follows all the elements which are necessary to be an effective leader. The enforcement of decisions and ending the creativity and interest of workers is not what is expected of an efficient executive. Execution requires such leaders to follow a multi-directional approach which empowers the employees by delegation, motivates them through reward system yet keeps a close relationship with them to know their problems, the issues that are or might cause harm to the organizational success and resolve them through active participation. This does not reduce any of the abilities of employees but in fact increases their confidence and satisfaction level which are necessary for effective performance of staff. Hence, we may say that execution brings in the multi-directional and more flexible approach to leadership and it rejects the older norms of leadership which were flawed in one way or the other (i.e. either too strict or too flexible to control the performance and activities of people working in the organization). Bolman and Deal emphasize in their study on the political realities, agenda setting, mapping the political terrain and creation of a network of support with allies and adversaries when formulating and implementing plans of organizational change. An effective leader keeps the long-term interests and goals in view when setting agenda. Such leaders focus on both the key stakeholder and factors which may cause resistance to their plan when mapping the terrain. The map, carefully formulated keeping the stakeholders and resistance factors in view, is then used to measure the performance and success of such leaders. The failure and success of the plan is dependent on the number of resistance factors. Higher resistance points direct towards higher risks of failure. Coalition building plays a vital role in making organizational change real. Leaders in the context of implementing change need to identify the potential resisting minds that may repel any changes or plans to change. Leaders need to build good and closer relationships with them and influence their thinking and perceptions to persuade them on adopting the change strategy. An example which may support the claims in favor of coalition is the Challenger Disaster. Before the disaster occurred the engineers had put their best efforts to fix the failed o-rings but due to lack of coalition with the upper management, their struggles went in vain. The memo defining the o-ring problem and fixing it was left unanswered. If they had a strong coalition with the upper management the disaster could have stopped. Stronger relationships and coordination in such cases helps in immediate circulation about the upcoming event and problems may be resolved before they actually become irresistible and unstoppable. B&D concepts help in understanding the ethical needs and expectations of people from each other. Bolman & Deal provide the conceptualization of the true expectations, duties and responsibilities of people working together, Their decisions should not based on their own selfish interest but their decisions should incorporate the stakeholders. B&D emphasizes on mutuality, coalition and strong relationships which simply direct towards good leadership standards as defined by Bossidy in the form on execution. The concepts of both articles are related in a sense that they create and provide some best practices for good leadership and emphasize on the concept of mutuality rather than individualism in decision making. Read More