Leadership In-Groups and Out-Groups - Assignment Example

Leadership Leadership What are the differences between in-groups and out-groups? There are some notable differences between the in-groups and the out-groups. They are as follows: the in-group relationship is based on high levels of reciprocated trust, reverence, loyalty and influence where the two parties are supportive of each other which leads to strong social ties between them while the out-group relationship has no any or minimal social ties where the two parties are only bound by the tasks they are involved in. moreover, this relationship is also characterized by a top-to-bottom influence. In the in-group relationship, the leaders are known to use professional and reward power to attain the required followership from the members of this group while the in the out-group relationship, the leader is known to use lawful and coercive power in order to gain followership from the members of the group. The in-group members are delegated various responsibilities in an organization that may involve decision making while the out-group members are known to have their affairs managed according to the contract signed and occupation description. In addition, the in-group members enjoy support and positive influence from their leaders while the out-group members do not receive such privileges. Unlike in the out-group relationships, the in-group members receive rewards and other special offers in exchange for their loyalty and commitment (Lussier & Achua, 2010). 2. Describe three determining factors for high-quality LMX relationships. The Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory normally focuses on the quality of each dyad and the effects on organizational outcome over time. That is, the eminence of the mutual relationship between an employee and a leader. There are three main features that determine a premium LMX relationship. They are follower attributes, leader-follower perceptions of each other and situational factors. The follower attributes depicts the leader-member exchange model that proposes that practical followers show initiative even in areas that do not relate to their immediate responsibilities in an organization. The followers are portrayed as individuals with a well-built sense of loyalty to work on common objectives and a high level of accountability for unit success. In addition, the followers’ traits influence their leaders to show support, delegate more and practice open communication while encouraging mutual influence amongst themselves and the followers. The leader-follower perceptions of each other is the initial impression the follower gives the leader. Therefore, a positive relationship is likely whenever the follower is perceived to be proficient and reliable. Moreover, the follower should be seen as an individual whose attitudes and principles are akin to those of the leader. Conversely, the viewpoint of the follower to the leader is equally important (Lussier & Achua, 2010). Therefore, a positive leader-follower relationship is said to collate with more supportive behavior by the leader towards the followers. This entails less monitoring, more mentoring and more delegation. Moreover, the leader should be perceived as experienced, fair and straightforward by the follower. Finally, we have the situational factors. These refer to the random or planned situations that provide the chance for leaders to assess followers’ character. For instance, the follower reactions to “tryouts” described as “role episodes” give the leaders a good opportunity to have a clue about employees. A “role episode” may entail a manager asking a new employee to do a task beyond the formal employment agreement calls for. The employee’s reaction in forms of either accepting or grumbling would indicate either the potential loyalty and support or fewer opportunities and responsibility respectively. The perception of the leader from the tryout influences the kind of relationship that ensues between the leader and the follower (Lussier & Achua, 2010). 3. What are the benefits of using cross-functional teams? The benefits of the cross-functional groups are as follows. The teams bring together the right people giving the team a diverse base of knowledge and creative potential that exceeds anything a single functional team could accomplish. It also improves coordination where many problems are avoided since people from different functions word together as compared to working in separate units. A cross-functional team also provides the benefit of multiple sources of information and viewpoints, contacts outside of one’s functional specialty and speed to market which is crucial for success in the global competitive and technology market. The members of a group are in a position to learn new skills that are later carried to their functional units and successive teams. Finally, the positive synergy that occurs in effective cross-functional teams assists them to accomplish a level of performance that far exceeds the sum of the individual performances of members. 4. What is groupthink, and under what conditions is it more likely to occur? Groupthink “is when members or a cohesive group tend to agree on a decision not on the basis of its merit but because they are less willing to risk rejection for questioning a majority viewpoint or presenting a dissenting opinion” (Lussier & Achua, 2010, pg 283). The group culture that portrays groupthink values getting along more than getting things done in an organization. The group is more concerned with striving for harmony than with independently appraising different courses of action. Therefore, rebellious views are always concealed in favor of consensus. The problem with this kind of thinking can be solved through training the team members of a given group to become effective participants in the decision-making process. 5. Describe personal meaning and how it influences attributions of charismatic qualities. Personal meaning is portrayed in terms of principle in life. That is “the degree to which people’s lives make emotional sense and to which the demands confronted by them are perceived as being worthy of energy and commitment” (Lussier & Achua, 2010, pg 330). It represents the achievement of a balance between personal life and official life. Personal meaning influences attributions of charismatic qualities since it makes an individual’s life most significant, rational and valuable for him or her. It is through personal meaning that charismatic leaders are developed. The theoretical basis of personal meaning is derived from research on purpose in life. Purpose in life represents a positive attitude toward possessing a transcendent vision in life. The strength and type of personal meaning are chief determinants of motivation especially when one is facing challenges. Thus, charismatic leaders have a finely tuned sense of their personal meaning and are always willing to act on it. 6. Describe the characteristics that distinguish charismatic from noncharismatic leaders. There are four mannerism characteristics that differentiate charismatic from the noncharismatic leaders. These are dissatisfaction with status quo, convincing nature of the vision, and the use of unconventional strategies for attaining preferred change and the resource needs and other constraints for achieving desired change. First, the charismatic leaders are very much opposed to the status quo and strives to change it while the noncharismatic leaders agrees with the status quo and try hard to uphold it. The more discrepant the future objective is form the status quo, the better and the greater the gap from status quo, the more likely followers will attribute unexpected vision to the leader. Unlike the noncharismatic leaders, the charismatic leaders have the ability to articulate an ideological and motivating vision. That is, an inspirational vision that assures a better prospect than the present. This entails the charismatic leaders’ capacity to articulate the circumstance of their message by putting weight on positive images of the future apparition and negative images of the present situation. In addition, the charismatic leaders communicate their self-confidence, certainty and commitment in order to give credibility to what they support. The noncharismatic leader’s professionalism lies in using available means to achieve existing goals while the charismatic expertise lies in using unconventional means to go beyond the existing order. Furthermore, the charismatic leader is perceived as a hero due to his or her involving personal risk and self-sacrificing behavior. Thus the behaviors of the noncharismatic leader are perceived as standard and conforming to the existing norms while that of the charismatic leader is unconventional and counter the norm. In awareness for resource needs and constraints, the charismatic leaders are good strategists who understand the need to perform realistic evaluation of the environmental resources ant constraints that may affect their ability to effect major alterations within their organization. They are also sensitive to the capabilities and emotional needs of their followers and comprehend the resources and constraints of the physical and social surroundings in which they operate. There is need to put in line the organizational approach with the existing ability to guarantee a thriving transformation (Lussier & Achua, 2010). 7. Explain the difference between transformational and transactional leadership. The transactional leadership process involves an exchange of valued benefits based on present values and motivations of both the leader and the follower while the transformational leadership motivates followers by appealing to higher ideals and moral values. A transactional leader is normally referred to as a manager who is involved in a management’s role of planning, organizing and implementing the leader’s vision while the transformational leader is regarded as a leader whose responsibility lies in developing and communicating a vision, the objectives and strategies for realizing such a vision. The transformational leadership serves to change the status quo by articulating to followers the problems in the current system and convincing vision of what the organization should be while transactional leaders enter into definite contractual understanding with followers. Transactional leadership tends to be temporary in that once the transaction is completed, there is need to end the relationship or redefine it while in transformational leadership, the relationship is enduring. Transactional leaders promote stability while transformational leaders create noteworthy modification in both followers and organizations. Moreover, transactional leadership entails emphasizing on the importance of group values and focusing on collective interests while transactional leadership entails focusing on defined roles and task requirements (Lussier & Achua, 2010). 8. Describe Hofstede’s value dimensions of national culture. Culture is a product of values and norms that guide people in their behavior. The Hofstede’s value dimensions of national culture have five key dimensions. The individualistic to collective cultures is a dimension that involves an individual’s source of identity in the society. Some communities value individualism more than collectivism. Individualism is the psychological state where people see themselves first and believes that their own interests are always primary while collectivism is the state where the values of a group are primary. The second dimension is the high to low uncertainty avoidance cultures. The high uncertainty avoidance is where a society contains a large number of people who do not tolerate risk and are at ease with a predictable future while individuals with low uncertainty avoidance are comfortable with accepting the unknown and tolerate uncertainty and irregularity. The third dimension is the high to low power distance cultures. This dimension entails the society’s orientation to authority. The high power-distance culture is where the leaders and followers seldom relate as equals while in a low power-distance culture, the leaders and their members interact or several levels as equals. Decision making with high power- distance culture entirely lies in the hands of the leader while in low power-distance culture; decision making is group oriented and a participative activity. The fourth dimension is the long-term to short-term oriented cultures. This dimension refers to a society’s long or short-term course towards life and work. Individuals from a culture with long-term orientation have a future-oriented view of life while individuals from short-orientation culture derives from values that express a concern for maintaining personal happiness and for living for the present. Finally, we have the masculinity-femininity value dimension that makes a distinction between the quest for material assets and the quest for social connections with people. In this dimension’s context, masculinity represents cultures that accentuate insolence and a drive for money and material objects while femininity describes a culture that emphasizes developing and fostering personal relationships and high quality life (Lussier & Achua, 2010). 9. Describe the three phases of the force-field change process. The force-field change process is a model that proposes that the change process is divided into three phases namely: unfreezing, changing and refreezing. The changing phase is the implementation phase where change takes place. In this phase, people look for leadership to find fresh ways of conducting activities. At this stage, a plan should be well made to avoid uninspiring outcome. The changing phase has seven steps. In the refreezing phase, the old habits, attitudes, mindset and traditions are permanently replaced as new ones are instilled in their places. This phase involves institutionalizing the new changes so they become an essential part of the organizational culture. The unfreezing phase entails rekindling the old habits that had been refreezed. 10. Describe the five-step process to crisis risk assessment. The five step process for risk assessment consists of risk identification, risk assessment ranking, risk reduction, crisis prevention and crisis management. Risk identification entails the identification of a worst-case incident that would have extreme consequences on people, the organizations financial position or image. The second step is risk assessment and ranking where the incidents are analyzed and ranked using criteria such as loss of life, injuries, emotional trauma and so on. Step three is risk reduction. This is where the crisis leader presents the risk assessment findings to debate and formulate strategies for countering each crisis or threat. The fourth step is crisis prevention where tests and simulations are carried out to test employees under pressure. This step helps to emphasize on the need for crisis planning. Finally, we have crisis management where a team is put together and is prepared to respond in an event of a real crisis (Lussier & Achua, 2010). Reference Lussier, R. N., & Achua, C. F. (2010). Leadership: Theory, Application, & Skill Development. (4th ed.). Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning. Read More