Effective Leadership Management - Assignment Example

Management and Organization case study (Course Instructor) (University Affiliation) (Student’s Name) Date Question 1. Leadership Styles A leadership style refers to the style that a leader uses to provide direction, to implement plans and to motivate the people who work under them. Different organizational situations call for different styles of leadership (Michael and Adeniyi, 2007). Take for instance an emergency where there is no much time for a meeting to deliberate on a common course of action and where those in authority are more experienced than the rest of the team, the most effective leadership style would be an autocratic leadership style. In a highly motivated team however, with similar experiences and expertise, a democratic style of leadership would be the most appropriate (Apex Leadership Ltd, 2013). From the examples above, it is evident that the leadership style adopted should be one that achieves the objectives of the organization in the most effective way without sacrificing the interests of individuals in the organization. The following are the various leadership styles provided in literature together with the most appropriate in different environmental situations and with different categorizations of employees (Schmid, 2006) . a) Authoritarian style of leadership In the authoritarian style of leadership, all the decision making powers are made in a centralized place by a single leader as in the way that dictators do. The leadership style discourages subordinate initiatives and neither does it entertain suggestion from the stakeholders. A number of studies have suggested that the authoritarian leadership has been successful since it gives a strong motivation to the leader to make decisions they know will go unchallenged (Candy, 2016). This therefore makes it easy for quick decision making because only one person makes decisions for the whole organization and keeps the decision to them until they feel they need to share the information. It has often been argued that the authoritarian leadership style is long gone. However, it is important to remember that each of the leadership styles has their strengths and weaknesses and in most cases, the styles are used where the situation calls upon it. The authoritarian type of leadership is usually used in a scenario where the task at hand is urgent and requires to be dealt with at the shortest time possible especially where there is little or no time for one think over what to do or even plan what to do (Candy, 2016). The other scenario is when the skills needed to perform a certain task are in short supply and the people available need to be guided through a clear structure. The style can also be employed where the task at hand is so sensitive such that the remotest margin of error is expected. b) Participative or democratic leadership style The democratic type of leadership is leadership style where the leader shares his or her decision making abilities with their subordinates by promoting the organizational interest and at the same time practicing social equality. A democratic type of leadership is currently the most preferred leadership style, especially in cases where decision making is shared and the team is taken into consideration and highly contributes to the attainment of organizational vision and objectives. The leadership style is mostly suitable where the subordinates are more than willing to participate in decision making where their ideas are captured and implemented for the good of the organization (Miller and Miller, no date). c) Free rein type of leadership Also known as the laissez faire type of leadership, the free rein is where the decision making responsibilities are passed on to the subordinates. In this type of leadership, the subordinates are given a complete power and the right to make decisions that are geared towards establishing goals and working out of the problems (Cherry, 2016). The Laissez Faire type of leadership is very appropriate in situations where the team members are highly skilled, highly motivated and have the ability to work on their own. Since the subordinates are highly skilled with experience in different situations to work on their own, they are able to carry out the organizational roles with minimal supervision. The leadership style can also be used where the subordinates have more knowledge compared to the team leader. This style allows the subordinates to demonstrate their knowledge and skills on particular tasks. The laissez faire is very vital in situations where the subordinates have a passion for work and have an intrinsic motivation to do more for the organization to meet its goals (Cherry, 2016). Question 2. Hiroshi Okuda’s leadership style/s? The leadership styles of Hiroshi Okuda are that of authoritarianism. An authoritarian leadership style is one where all the decision making powers are made in a centralized place by a single leader as in the way that dictators do. The style discourages subordinate participation and neither does it take into consideration suggestions from the stakeholders. His style authoritarian style of leadership is hugely conspicuous 18 months after becoming the president of Toyota where he single handedly introduced changes to the human resource structure of the organization by scrapping the existing promotion policy and bringing a new system in place. Okuda also showed signs of his authoritarian leadership when he goes against the rest of the team members, and ignoring the conclusions of the rest within the organization and went ahead to set up a manufacturing firm in Taiwan. In his social activism, Okuda clashed with the authorities from time to time on certain policies he did not like particularly tax regimes. He was also accused of not bailing out other parties that needed his helping hand, who would eventually fall out of the industry. The leadership style of Hiroshi Okuda can also be described as participative. The participative type of leadership is currently the most preferred leadership style, especially in cases where decision making is shared and the teams are taken into consideration and highly contribute to the attainment of organizational vision and objectives. In the case study, we are informed that Okuda worked with Toyota vehicle designers to design vehicles that became acceptable to the Japanese consumers. The Toyota president was tired of the bureaucratic tendencies in government that does not involve the lower level employees to make decisions. In order to motivate the company’s workers, Okuda works with the workers into making sure that the organizational objectives have been achieved. He for instance works with the designers in developing a framework that will enable the company get a new motor vehicle into the market It is worth noting that the corolla designs at the time had become victims of competition to Honda and Mitsubishi that were much cheaper in terms of cost and the cost of operations. Question 3. Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory. Situational Leadership Theory is commonly known as the Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory draws significant perspectives from the contingency school of thought. As the name suggests, initiative relies on every individual circumstance, and no single leadership style can be viewed as the best. For Hershey and Blanchard, roles are distinct and every sort of undertaking requires an alternate leadership style (Leadership-Central, 2010). A good leader will have the capacity to adjust his or her initiative to the objectives or targets to be refined. Objective setting, ability to accept duty, training, and experience are variables that make a leader. Not just is the authority style imperative for a leader led circumstance, but also the capacity of those being led is a basic component, too. The responsibility of being a leader is not in any case an easy one and the act of leadership can be exercised in a number of ways. Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard indicated that a number of factors exist that defines the leadership styles. According to them, the defining factor is not just the personal attributes of the leader but also those of the employees that they lead. The two scholars designed four situational style of leadership based on a parabola. In the situational leadership theory, they indicated that the situation in the organization is one that determines the leadership style of the organization. The determining factor in this case would be the maturity of the workers and their attitude. The theory therefore identifies four levels of maturity in the model (Leadership-Central, 2010): S1: Telling (Leading) At this level of situational leadership, the leader needs to manage employees that are not skillful and not motivated. The act could have diverse causes. New and untested employees are not sufficiently competent to carry out certain roles on their own. It might be experienced as debilitating when an employee is not sufficiently capable to carry out an assignment. This may make him put off the assignment or do this unwillingly (Leadership-Central, 2010). S2: Selling (Guiding) At this level of situational authority, the employees have a passion to work freely, however they are not equipped for doing this yet. They are employees who have not achieved full development and are blocked by circumstances for instance a change or a change of the association. This worker needs to set to work energetically however, he can't work freely due to his absence of abilities and learning (Leadership-Central, 2010). A circumstance like this may make a worker uncertain. By clarifying his basic leadership and by listening to the worker and giving him full focus, the leader is controlling him. S3: Participating (Support) At this level of situational leadership, the workers are highly skilled yet unwilling to carry out assignments. They are qualified specialists but because of the volume of roles, they may feel that they are being overworked by the authorities. This can make them insecure and hesitant. To take away this instability, it is critical that the leader consults with the employees and back them in their work (van Vliet, 2015). By having employees take an interest in the basic leadership process, motivation will increase and the employees will have the capacity to work freely once more. S4: Delegating At this level of situational initiative, the workers can and need to complete their undertakings autonomously, they have an abnormal state of errand development as an aftereffect of which they require less backing. Employees advise the leader about their advancement voluntarily and in the meantime, they make indications when issues present themselves or when the work is not progressing as it should. They get to be motivated as a result of their freedom and thus a leader does not need to counsel with them persistently (van Vliet, 2015) In relation to the case study on Hiroshi Okuda the former president of Toyota a Japanese based company, one can say that the leader used a bit of Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory. The in the situational leadership theory, they indicated that the situation in the organization is one that determines the leadership style of the organization. The determining factor in this case would be the maturity of the workers and their attitude. This is evident in cases where the lackluster performance of the company’s employees led the company into losing a sizeable market share to its competitor. Okuda had to act tough both on the company’s engineers and other staff to enforce policies that were aimed at taking back the company to the level that it was in the past. Question 4. ‘Transactional’ and ‘Transformational’ Leadership. The transactional style of leadership is concerned with maintaining the flow of normal operations. The leadership style can be described as attempting to keep the boat afloat. The leaders in this case use disciplinary power and a number of other ways to push employees into performing to the best of their ability. The term transactional is used to refer to the fact that the type of leader motivates their subordinates by exchanging rewards for performance. The leader generally does not necessarily guide the organization on a strategic market leadership but rather making sure that the day to day activities of the organization are not interrupted. A transformational leader on the other hand goes beyond the management of the day to day administration to come up with strategies for taking the organization to the next level of success and performance. The leadership style focuses much on team building motivation as well as collaboration amongst workers at different levels of management to meet the organizational performance (Apex Leadership Ltd, 2013). The transformational leaders set goals and incentives that motivate the people they lead to much higher levels of performance and at the same time providing an opportunity for individual growth and development within the organization. Hiroshi Okuda showed signs of transformational leader in the case study. The Toyota president was tired of the bureaucracies in government that does not involve the lower level employees to make decisions. In order to motivate his subordinates, Okuda works with the workers. He for instance, works with the designers in developing a framework that will enable the company get a new motor vehicle into the market (Apex Leadership Ltd, 2013). Transformational leadership has to do with confronting the new challenges in the industry as Okuda did in the Taiwan project which he in insisted the company should invest in despite the fact that the majority in the company considered it a risky venture. Bibliography Candy, L 2016, Authoritarian leadership: Why and when to use it. Available at: http://www.educational-business-articles.com/authoritarian-leadership/ (Accessed: 3 September 2016). Cherry, K 2016, How does Laissez-Faire leadership work? Available at: https://www.verywell.com/what-is-laissez-faire-leadership-2795316 (Accessed: 3 September 2016). Apex Leadership Ltd 2013, Types of leadership - a leadership style for every situation. Available at: http://www.defining-leadership.com/types-of-leadership/ (Accessed: 3 September 2016). Leadership-Central 2010, Hersey-Blanchard Situational leadership theory. Available at: http://www.leadership-central.com/situational-leadership-theory.html#axzz4JCMNYDgL (Accessed: 3 September 2016). Michael, A.A.D. and Adeniyi, M.A. 2007, Effective leadership management: An integration of styles, skills & character for today’s CEOs. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse. Miller, R.W. and Miller, J.P. no date, Leadership styles for success in collaborative work. Available at: http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/316071/Tamarack_New_Website/success_in_collaborative_work.pdf?t=1468538685366 (Accessed: 3 September 2016). Schmid, H. 2006, ‘Leadership styles and leadership change in human and community service organizations’, Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 17(2), pp. 179–194. doi: 10.1002/nml.142. Van Vliet, V. 2015, Situational leadership by Hersey and Blanchard. Available at: http://www.toolshero.com/leadership/situational-leadership-hersey-blanchard/ (Accessed: 3 September 2016). Read More