Transformational Leadership and Leader Moral Orientation - Coursework Example

Transformational Leadership and Leader Moral Orientation Name of the Student: Name of the Instructor: Name of the course: Code of the course: Submission date: Transformational Leadership and Leader Moral Orientation Executive summary It has been pointed out that recent decades have seen an increased attention on the connection between leadership and ethics. This is best epitomized by studies in the past which have made extensive efforts to examine the linkage between moral reasoning and transformational leadership. It has been pointed out that there is some sought of difference in regard to the ethical basics of transformational and transactional leadership. This is founded on the fact that despite both of these styles of leadership possessing apparent philosophical elements and basics, there is divergence in their precise nature. This is because the ethical issues which are salient in the wider paradigm of transformational leadership are those which portray a concept of self which is connected and the moral compulsions of an individual are founded in a perception of an individual in the wider society. These qualities are principle to the transformational style of leadership as well as being central to the ethic of care. This is contrasting with the ethic of justice in which the idea of independence would be integral. It is imperative to note that transformational leadership hasbeen purported to possess four central components namely idealized influence, individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation and inspirational motivation. The inclination of transformational leadership towards ethics of care has thus led to the hypothesis that leaders who exhibit a higher predisposition towards the utility of an ethic of care are viewed by their followers as being more transformational when juxtaposed with lower inclination towards an ethic of care. Key findings The first finding is that there is a clear difference between transformational leadership and transactional leadership. This is whereby transactional leadership has been revealed to refer to exchanges which seek to progress the purposes of each distinct party in respect to political, psychological or economic paradigms. On the contrary, transformational leadership surpasses benefits which are accumulated to each individual through this process of social exchange. In this case, the followers and their leader are preoccupied with personal exchanges through a common purpose in different forms which transform and heighten their motivational level, behavior as well as ethical aspirations (Simola et. al, 2010). These differences also spill over to the moral inclination of either types of leadership. This is whereby whereas transactional leadership is more inclined towards the ethic of justice, transformational leadership is greatly inclined towards ethics of care. This latter reality is underpinned by the fact that the leader and the followers in the transformational model of leadership are bound to have more intimate interpersonal exchanges which culminate in the development and maintenance of the ethic of care. Thus, the greater inclination of transformational leadership towards ethic of care as opposed to ethic of justice has been perceived as explaining the discrepancies among the inferences of the studies in yester years which exhibit limited or absolute non-support for the intersections which are theorized between transformational leadership and an ethic of justice. The second finding is the there are four basic behavior dimensions which characterize transformational leadership in diverse institutional frameworks. These are idealized influence, individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation and inspirational motivation. In regard to idealized influence, the leader operates as an example to the followers as well as proving a vision and mission for the team. On the other hand, inspirational motivation is characterized by the stimulation towards a common vision by the team members. In this regard, the spirit of the team is projected towards the achievement of common goals and objectives at the group level. In relation to intellectual stimulation, this refers to the mechanisms through which the leader of a particular group is engaged in the stimulation of the interest and aspirations of the followers towards elevated levels of care in the problem solving processes, heightened levels of creativity and novelty. Lastly, individualized consideration becomes apparent when a leader develops an accommodating environment under which he/she carefully focuses on the distinct needs of the individuals in their respective groups. All these behavior dimensions in transformational leadership mold the ethical orientation of the leaders in this group which is characterized by shared goals and objectives. This ethical orientation thus tends to lie towards an ethic of care as opposed to an ethic of justice which is characteristic in transactional leadership as mentioned in the preceding discourse. The third finding is related to the relationship between transformational leadership and moral reasoning. At this juncture, it is imperative to highlight three echelons of cognitive moral reasoning as developed by Kohlbergian (cited in Simola et. al, 2010). The first level is pre-conventional stage where there is supremacy of self-interest. In this level, compliance with the overall authority is basically influenced by the need to evade punishment. The second level is conventional stage which lays greater emphasis on a mutual comprehension of the values and norms which are developed at the societal level in the processes of decision making and problem solving. The last level is the post-conventional moral reasoning which is the highest. In this level, moral decisions are anchored on moral principles which have found universal acceptance. It has been pointed out that leaders with more sophisticated forms of kohlbergian moral reasoning are bound to attract conceptions which are increasingly cognitively sophisticated in situations which encompass interpersonal exchanges. This led to the prediction by Turner et. al (cited in Simola et. al, 2010) that leaders who possess higher levels of moral reasoning as depicted by kohlbergian bound to portray more transformational leadership as opposed to the leaders who have lower moral reasoning. The fourth finding is in regard to the difference between an ethic of care and that of justice as evident in transformational and transactional leadership respectively. In this regard, tendencies within the care approach are inclined towards simultaneous fulfillment of contesting duties. This is contrary to the tendencies within the justice approach which are inclined towards interceding between rights which are contradictory in nature. Argument for or against The first argument which this paper agrees with is that there is an inherent difference between transactional and transformational models of leadership. This fact is supported by Riaz and Haider (2010) who determined that transformational leadership has a massive influence on the accomplishments of the followers as well as their level of novelty and creativity as opposed to transactional leadership. In addition, transformational leadership has more weighty association with the cohesiveness of the team, efficacy of a given work unit as well as organizational learning when juxtaposed with transactional leadership (Stashevsky and Koslowsky, 2006). The importance of transformational leadership is underpinned when an institution is going through an epoch of organizational change. This is founded on the fact that there is need of the followers to be motivated to elevate their commitment. In addition, the consolidation of the team’s focus towards a common vision is key in the attainment of common goals and objectives. Similarly, the ethical orientation towards an ethic of care is imperative in the efforts to create robust cohesiveness among the members of the group as well as increasing efficacy of the decision making and problem solving processes. The second point that this paper agrees with is the fact that an ethic of care is greatly linked to transformational leadership as opposed to an ethic of justice. This fact is fortified by Simola et. al (2012) who cited that transformational leadership has a definite linkage and inclination towards ethic of care as opposed to an ethic of justice. On the contrary, transactional leadership gives more prominence on impartiality of exchanges between independent individuals in a given setting and greatly inclined towards an ethic of justice. Thus, the tendency towards using care reasoning as an ethical foundation is more necessary and apparent in the transformational style of leadership. Indeed, three points of view, each with a distinct focus or ‘mode of approach’ to the connection between oneself and other individuals form the foundation problem solving mechanisms which are care-based. These three viewpoints vary from the least to the most progressive; attention on self, an emphasis on others and lastly a focus on both the self and others. Two phases of transition are in existence between these modes which have some qualitative diversity (Simola et. al, 2012). This shows the robust linkage between transformational leadership and the ethical orientation of care. The third point that this paper agrees with is that there are three primary stages of moral reasoning. In this regard, individuals who demonstrate the most advanced level of moral reasoning are bound to exhibit behaviors which are greatly inclined towards transformational leadership when juxtaposed with individuals with lower echelons of moral reasoning. The linkage between these levels of cognitive moral reasoning and transformational leadership is evidenced by Turner, Barling, Epitropaki, and Milner (cited in Daniel, 2005) who studied the connection between transformational leadership and moral reasoning in two different countries. Results from this study revealed that leaders who have low altitudes of moral reasoning exhibit fewer transformational behaviors when compared to their counterparts with higheraltitudesof cognitive moral reasoning. These findings have been fundamental in offering empirical evidence to the theorists who have expressed opinions that higher moral development has a great interconnection with the greater utility of transformational leadership in diverse institutions around the world. The last point that this paper agrees with is that the ethical orientation of transformational leadership which is inclined towards care is imperative in cultivating creativity and increasingly imperative among organizations which are faced by massive market volatility and necessity for organizational change. This is founded on the fact that the transformational leader plays a central role in setting the goals and objectives in an organization, promoting personal exchanges among the followers which is key in fostering teamwork and cohesiveness. This fact is evident among diverse organizations around the world which have been in the past confronted by increased competition in the market as well as the need for organizational change. This is best epitomized by Apple Corporation which needed the transformational leadership of Steve Jobs in its efforts to gain competitive advantage in the market as well as command a sizeable market share amid competition from other players in the telecommunication industry, for instance Microsoft. This is just one example that shows the centrality of transformational leadership in the efforts towards confronting organizational change and increasing innovation and creativity among the employees. Critical analysis of the article This article has played a key role in expounding on the moral orientation in transformational leadership. It has borrowed from different fields like psychology (cognitive reasoning) and leadership among others which has culminated to the inference that an ethic of care is central to transformational leadership as opposed to an ethic of justice. In addition, this article has also explored the transactional aspect of leadership concurrently with transformational leadership. This is key in giving the reader a robust platform of interrogating both models of leadership and gaining a comprehensive understanding of their moral orientation. Nonetheless, this article fails to consider whether developmental style of care reasoning as opposed to the inclination towards the utility of perspectives contribute to the understanding of the reader of the moral basics of transformational leadership. Evaluation of this issue would have been integral in responding to the demands for more deliberation on the care-based viewpoint in leadership which is endowed with effectiveness. This is based on the fact that despite the potential of these viewpoints for significant value in moral deliberation and awareness, they are often dismissed. Application of the subject matter from the article in the UAE The subject matter in this article can be applied in the UAE. Nonetheless, it is imperative to note that the cultural orientation in the UAE is founded on the Islamic culture and leadership is often reserved for a certain people, mostly male. Thus, despite the great relationship between transformational leadership and increased teamwork and cohesiveness of different organizations, this might find limited utility among women who are secluded from the leadership positions despite their moral reasoning and transformational behavior. However, the subject matter in this article can be applied both in the public as well as private institutions in the UAE. This is founded on the reality that transformational leadership and the moral orientation which underpins it can play a central role in fostering creativity and innovation among members of the UAE population. Conclusion The above analysis has evidenced that fact that recent decades have seen an increased concentration on the linkage between ethics and leadership. This is mostly in regard to transformational leadership which is tied to an ethic of care. Four behavior dimensions that underpin transformational leadership have also been explored. In addition, the preceding analysis has also expounded on the applicability of the subject matter in the article under analysis in the UAE setting, both in the public and private institutions. This is despite some cultural realities which might hinder its application in the UAE, which are founded on the Islamic culture that forms the foundation of UAE. References Daniel, C.L., (2005). The relationship between levels of moral reasoning and transformational leadership behaviors of West Virginia public school administrators. (PhD Dissertation). Retrieved January 28th 2013 from http://library.ciis.edu/information/handouts/citing%20dissertations.htm Riaz, A. & Haider, M.H., (2010). Role of transformational and transactional leadership on job satisfaction and career satisfaction. Peer-reviewed & Open access journal, 1.1: 29-38. Simola, S.K., et. al, (2010). Transformational leadership and leader moral orientation: Contrasting anethic of justice and an ethic of care. The Leadership Quarterly, 21: 179–188. Simola S.K., et. al (2012). Transformational Leadership and Leaders’ Mode of CareReasoning, Journal of Business Ethics, 108:229–237. Stashevsky, S. &Koslowsky, M., 2006. “Leadership team cohesiveness and team performance”, Top of Form International Journal of Manpower, 27(1): .63-74 Read More