HR assignment on: Leadership in an organization
Issues
In order to resolve the various issues mentioned in the case study, the following aspects of organizational behavior should be kept in mind. The three main aspects which should be taken into consideration would be Leadership theories, work in groups and teams & implement various motivational theories at the organization.
All the three aspects of organizational behavior mentioned above should be taken into consideration. These aspects or strategies should be kept in mind & would help a Rossett NHS Trust Hospital to resolve all its issues.
Leadership:
The first aspect to be kept in mind would refer to implement various Leadership theories which would help in order to describe the entire process of leadership. This would also help to complete the task or the goal fixed by the organization.
In order to adopt leadership theories, it must be noted that which type of leadership style is currently being used at the enterprise. The first step in the leadership theory would be to have a deep look regarding the three leadership styles which might be applicable in the organization. The three major styles applicable would be as follows:
Þ Democratic
Þ Participative
Þ Free Reign
It must be analyzed after reading the case study that, the democratic leadership style should be adopted at NHS Trust. It should be seen that, this style of leadership would act openly & this style would help to run the entire team. The ideas of the individuals would be communicated amongst the other members of the organization. The discussion in case of this leadership style would be one on one & free flowing in nature.
This leadership style would be quite helpful for the organization as this organization is rapidly changing its form & does not stay constant. Such type of organizations is known as Fast Moving organizations and every small change in the organization would lead to the betterment of the same. Each & every improvement in the same would help to upgrade & maintain its position in the industry.
This leadership style would also help in order to encourage all the members of the organization to share their ideas, communicate freely with one another, analyze the information available with them & take up the most effective & efficient decision. The democratic leaders would also help to comment upon the decision so taken as well as bring certain levels of unity in the enterprise.
Such type of leadership style would help in order to make changes as well as provide various deals or ways to perform or handle the situations in the enterprise. By adopting this leadership style, the entire decision making process would become quite slow. Hence, the enterprise would take long period of time to adopt as well as implement the new methods in the organizations. This type of leadership style would also help to bring the best out of all the employees working in a team. The democratic leaders would shine in the organization when the entire decision making process becomes very complex to handle. The democratic leaders in such a situation would help in order to use its expertise in the various domains which would help the organization in the future years to come.Some of the aspects of a good democratic leader which should be kept in mind would refer to as follows:
Þ Maintain creative groups: The first aspect of democratic leader which should be kept in mind would be to maintain proper groups, new designs, innovate the products which would help to meet the demands of the customers.
Þ Proper consulting: The second aspect of the democratic leader would be to provide proper consulting as well as analyze the issues in a much deeper manner. The main role of such type of leaders would be to have an open discussion amongst all the members of the organization.
Þ Meet the ever changing demand of the customers: The last aspect which should be kept in mind by the democratic leaders would be meeting the ever changing demands of its customers by providing novel & innovative products.
The democratic leadership would be quite successful & effective in the organization due to the following reasons such as:
Þ Practice open communication amongst all the members of the organization: The first aspect which should be kept in mind by the democratic leaders would be to practice open communication amongst all the members of the organization. Each & every individual should try to open up with one another by sharing their views, opinions, etc. In such type of a leadership style, all the members of the enterprise are allowed to speak without any hesitation.
Þ Concentrate upon the conversation: It must be seen that, all the decisions shall be structured in a well defined manner. Proper balance must be created between the job & the ideas flown by the various people involved.
Þ Commitment: The level of commitment in case of democratic leadership style should be quite high. In this type of leadership style, many suggestions or possibilities would arise where in commitment would be required. Therefore, it must be seen that, at the time of need clear & self explanatory commitment should be practiced.
Þ Respect the ideas, thoughts of others: As mentioned above that, this type of leadership style instills the people working in the organization to share as well as respect each other’s opinions & views. Therefore, structured discussions should be practiced by the same. Fair balance should be created between ideas & goals to be achieved in the years to come. It must be seen that proper flow of ideas should be kept in mind while practicing the same.
Þ Make other employees understand: It must be kept into consideration that all the people involved in the decision making shall be made understood that their thoughts would be considered valid. The decisions in the organization should be communicated to all the people involved in the same.
Leadership Models:
The leadership theories which could be discussed in this regards would be the Blake Mouton & the Fiedler’s Contingency Model. They have been described as follows:
Þ Blake Mouton Theory:
The first leadership model or theory to be kept in mind would refer to the Blake Mouton Theory. This theory majorly takes into consideration a managerial grid. The grid would focus upon the employees i.e. people & the output or the task they accomplish. The grid mainly comprises of the two extremes i.e. people & the output.
The grid has been illustrated in the following manner. The two main aspects have been listed upon the horizontal & vertical axis respectively. The five leadership styles have been highlighted on the grid. The numbers allotted have been listed in an order that, the first number refers to the output & the second to the people involved in it.
This grid given by Blake Mouton signifies one of the best leadership styles to be adopted in the organization. The grid would help in order to resolve all the issues mentioned above in the report.
Þ Fiedler’s Contingency Model:
Fiedler’s contingency theory postulates that there is no single best way for managers to lead. Situations will create different leadership style requirements for a manager. The solution to a managerial situation is contingent on the factors that impinge on the situation. For example, in a highly routine (mechanistic) environment where repetitive tasks are the norm, a relatively directive leadership style may result in the best performance, however, in a dynamic environment a more flexible, participative style may be required.
Fiedler looked at three situations that could define the condition of a managerial task:
1. Leader member relations: How well do the manager and the employees get along?
2. Task structure: Is the job highly structured, fairly unstructured, or somewhere in between?
3. Position power: How much authority does the manager possess?
Managers were rated as to whether they were relationship oriented or task oriented. Task oriented managers tend to do better in situations that have good leader-member relationships, structured tasks, and either weak or strong position power. They do well when the task is unstructured but position power is strong. Also, they did well at the other end of the spectrum when the leader member relations were moderate to poor and the task was unstructured. Relationship oriented managers do better in all other situations. Thus, a given situation might call for a manager with a different style or a manager who could take on a different style for a different situation.
These environmental variables are combined in a weighted sum that is termed “favourable” at one end and “unfavourable” at the other. Task oriented style is preferable at the clearly defined extremes of “favourable” and “unfavourable” environments, but relationship orientation excels in the middle ground. Managers could attempt to reshape the environment variables to match their style.
Another aspect of the contingency model theory is that the leader-member relations, task structure, and position power dictate a leader’s situational control. Leader-member relations are the amount of loyalty, dependability, and support that the leader receives from employees. It is a measure of how the manager perceives he or she and the group of employees is getting along together. In a favourable relationship the manager has a high task structure and is able to reward and or punish employees without any problems. In an unfavourable relationship the task is usually unstructured and the leader possesses limited authority. The spelling out in detail (favourable) of what is required of subordinates affects task structure.
Positioning power measures the amount of power or authority the manager perceives the organization has given him or her for the purpose of directing, rewarding, and punishing subordinates. Positioning power of managers depends on the taking away (favourable) or increasing (unfavourable) the decision-making power of employees. 
The task-motivated style leader experiences pride and satisfaction in the task accomplishment for the organization, while the relationship-motivated style seeks to build interpersonal relations and extend extra help for the team development in the organization. There is no good or bad leadership style.
Each person has his or her own preferences for leadership. Task-motivated leaders are at their best when the group performs successfully such as achieving a new sales record or outperforming the major competitor. Relationship-oriented leaders are at their best when greater customer satisfaction is gained and a positive company image is established.
Hersey Blanchard Model:
The Hersey-Blanchard Leadership Model also takes a situational perspective of leadership. This model posits that the developmental levels of a leader’s subordinates play the greatest role in determining which leadership styles (leader behaviours) are most appropriate. Their theory is based on the amount of direction (task behaviour) and socio-emotional support (relationship behaviour) a leader must provide given the situation and the “level of maturity” of the followers.
• Task behaviour is the extent to which the leader engages in spelling out the duties and responsibilities to an individual or group. This behaviour includes telling people what to do, how to do it, when to do it, where to do it, and who’s to do it. In task behaviour the leader engages in oneway communication.
• Relationship behaviour is the extent to which the leader engages in two-way or multi-way communications. This includes listening, facilitating, and supportive behaviours. In relationship behaviour the leader engages in two-way communication by providing socio-emotional support.
• Maturity is the willingness and ability of a person to take responsibility for directing his or her own behaviour. People tend to have varying degrees of maturity, depending on the specific task, function, or objective that a leader is attempting to accomplish through their efforts.
In summary therefore leader behaviours fall along two continua:
Directive Behavior :
• One-Way Communication
• Followers’ Roles Clearly Communicated
• Close Supervision of Performance
Supportive Behavior:
• Two-Way Communication
• Listening, providing support and
encouragement
• Facilitate interaction Involve follower in
decision-making
For Blanchard the key situational variable, when determining the appropriate leadership style, is the readiness or developmental level of the subordinate(s). As a result, four leadership styles result:
• Directing: The leader provides clear instructions and specific direction. This style is best matched with a low follower readiness level.
• Coaching: The leader encourages two-way communication and helps build confidence and motivation on the part of the employee, although the leader still has responsibility and controls decision making. Selling style is best matched with a moderate follower readiness level.
• Supporting: With this style, the leader and followers share decision making and no longer need or expect the relationship to be directive. Participating style is best matched with a moderate follower readiness level.
• Delegating: This style is appropriate for leaders whose followers are ready to accomplish a particular task and are both competent and motivated to take full responsibility. Delegating style is best matched with a high follower readiness level.
To determine the appropriate leadership style to use in a given situation, the leader must first determine the maturity level of the followers in relation to the specific task that the leader is attempting to accomplish through the effort of the followers. As the level of followers’ maturity increases, the leader should begin to reduce his or her task behaviour and increase relationship behaviour until the followers reach a moderate level of maturity. As the followers begin to move into an above average level of maturity, the leader should decrease not only task behaviour but also relationship behaviour. Once the maturity level is identified, the appropriate leadership style can be determined.
Group & Team:
A team could be defined as a group of people who would sit together with one another in order to take up a common decision. Teams or groups have been identified as one of processes with which fair & an unbiased decision making could be practiced within the organization.
Teams would refer to a group comprising of people from varied backgrounds encompassing of different skills. Each & every member of the organization would have certain strengths & weaknesses. While working in a team, the individuals would learn a lot from one another. This would create an environment which would help all the members to share each other’s thoughts & opinions in the most effective & efficient manner.
Some of the advantages & disadvantages of working in a group or a team have been listed in the report. It would be advisable to keep in mind the entire positive as well as the negative aspects while working in a group.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Group Decisions
Just as any other process, this process also compasses of a set of advantages as well as disadvantages. They have been described as under. They are as follows:
Advantages of Group Decisions:
Some of the major advantages attached while working in a group or a team has been listed as under. They are as follows:
Þ While working in a group, the individuals involved in the same would sit together & practice decision making.
Þ People form varied backgrounds would come together, share their thoughts as well as ideas & take a decision which would help the organization in the years to come.
Þ The decision making process practiced in groups would be more committed as compared to the decisions taken up by each & every individual.
Þ Taking decisions in a group would help in order to grow the sense of team spirit. This would help in order to bring all the people together & take up a random decision.
Þ The success of failure of the entire enterprise would be dependent upon the decision taken up by the whole team rather than an individual.
Þ The group decision making & working in a team should be taken up in a broad manner as compared to the decision making practiced on individual basis.
Disadvantages of Group Decisions:
Despite of the various advantages, there are certain disadvantages attached in working team or a group. They have been listed as under:
Þ The major disadvantage attached while working in a group or team is that, it has been referred one of the most time consuming methods as compared to working individually.
Þ Decision making practiced in case of teams are lengthier as they take into consideration opinions of all the employees working in the organization.
Þ The other major disadvantage attached to this type of working style refers to a conflict amongst any of the parties in the organization. The decision making process would come to a halt if there is a split in the group. This would hamper the overall effectiveness or efficiency of the enterprise.
Þ The last disadvantage to be considered while working in a team or a group refers to the fact when the opinion of any one of the parties is not taken into consideration & the entire decision making process is spilt into pieces. Therefore, there is lack of team spirit & the growth of the group ceases.
Motivation & Theories:
Motivation of the employee’s refers to one of the most important roles in the area of management. This has been proved both practically as well as theoretically. Motivation of the mangers refers to one of the integral parts of the organization. This would help them in order to enhance as well as increase their productivity (Cropanzano & Rupp, 2006). Motivation at work place plays a key role in order to keep the employees working in the organization happy as well as content.
The term motivation has been derived from a Latin word i.e. movement. According to one of the researcher, the term motivation has been defined as a forcing element or a direction which would entice the people working in the organization to work towards the accomplishment of its goals (Cropanzano & Rupp, 2006). According to Vroom, motivation has been defined as a governing process which is being made by individuals in order to select amongst the various alternatives available. It refers to the various dependent as well as independent variables which would explain the relationship as well as have a proper understanding of the task. The definitions discussed above, have three major denominations i.e. motivation refers to the various enforcing factors which would sustain the behavior, energize as well as channel over a period of time (Luthans, 2007).
The Maslow’s need hierarchy motivational theory would also help the managers at work place in order to prioritize its need taking into consideration the physiological needs, safety & security needs, esteem & attaining self actualization (Ambrose & Kulik, 2009). The second type of need which is discussed in the article refers to the McClelland Theory. It is discussed that, there will not be any hierarchy & the various needs would be kept in a distinct manner. With the help of the McClelland Theory, the focus would be upon the behavior to be carried in the work place. The Herzberg theory of motivation states that, there are two types of key indicators such as Hygiene & Motivational factors (Bandura, 2007).
Motivation at workplace should be regarded as one of the key elements which would help in order to enhance as well as increase their productivity. Motivation at work place plays a key role in order to keep the employees working in the organization happy as well as content (Ambrose & Kulik, 2009). Much research has been conducted in the areas of leadership, team management, performance management, ethics, decision making & its importance (Luthans, 2007). This topic refers to one of the most researched topic. Various journals & research papers have been written taking into consideration the various efforts which might help the organization in long run. Various advancements in the current motivational theories would help in better understanding at the workplace (Allport, 2004).
