Leadership and Culture

The Difficulty of Strategic Change

Approaches to the Study of Leadership

• Trait theories (emphasize HR selection?)

• Behavioral theories (emphasize HR training?)

• Contingency theories

Trait Theories

• No set of traits that always occurs • These traits are more strongly and consistently

present in effective leaders:– drive (high energy level)

– desire to lead

– honesty/integrity

– self-confidence

– intelligence

– job-relevant knowledge

Behavioral Theories

• OSU (cont’d.)

• Rating high on both dimensions shows mostly positive results, however– high i.s. can lead to turnover, grievances– high consideration can lead to lower ratings by

the leader’s manager

Behavioral Theories

• Ohio State Studies - two categories of behavior– initiating structure - imposing organization on a

situation– consideration - concern for others; mutual

respect

Behavioral Theories

• University of Michigan studies also found two general dimensions– employee-oriented actions that were

relationship driven– production-oriented actions that concentrated

on the task

• UM studies viewed employee-oriented leaders as the most effective

Behavioral Theories

• Blake and Mouton’s managerial grid– concern for people

– concern for production

• Team management (considered best)• Country club management• Task management• Impoverished management• M-O-R management

Fiedler Contingency Model

• Match up the leader’s approach to employee interaction with position power and task structure

• Least-preferred coworker scale - determines basic style

• Diagnose:– leader-member relations

– position power

– task structure

Fiedler Contingency Model

• Leadership style may be – task-oriented– relationship-oriented

• A relationship-oriented style is best in moderately favorable situations

• A task-oriented style is best in either very favorable or unfavorable situations

Path-Goal Theory

• Ensure unit’s goal compatibility with those of the organization

• Facilitate the progress of employees toward their goals

• Make valued rewards available in the workplace

Path-Goal Theory

• Leader behavior may be:– directive– supportive– participative– achievement-oriented

• Assumes that leaders can change their styles to in view of the work situation (in contrast to Fiedler’s model)

Charismatic Leadership

• Charisma is a leader trait

• It is a form of interpersonal attraction that inspires support and acceptance

• Theory first proposed by House (path-goal theory)

Charismatic Leadership

• Three elements– leader must envision future, set high

expectations, and model behaviors consistent with expectations

– leader must energize others– leader must enable others

Transformational Leadership

• Goes beyond ordinary expectations

• Inspires new ways of thinking

• Stimulates learning by employees

• Transmits a sense of mission

Power Bases

• Reward

• Referent

• Coercive

• Legitimate

• Information

• Expert

adapted from French and Raven

Organizational Culture

• Values, norms and beliefs that are shared among employees and passed along to new organizational members

• Culture evolves, but often slowly

• Strong or weak - strong cultures exercise control

Organizational Culture

• Cultures may manifest themselves in– jargon– dress codes– unwritten rules

• Many of you work – what are some of the aspects of your organization’s culture?

Succession

• Insiders vs. outsiders– Insiders represent a “promotion from within”– Outsiders come from outside the organization

but not necessarily from outside the industry

• Outsiders are more likely to be chosen if:– the last CEO was fired– no internal heir apparent– board has a large % of outside directors

Organizational Decline

• Stages of organizational decline– blinded - decline begins– inaction - will things get better on their own?– faulty action - could be escalation of

commitment or some other mistaken action (executive replacement most likely in this stage)

Organizational Decline

• Stages of organizational decline (cont’d.)– crisis - resources may be getting scarce; last

chance for reversal in competitive environment; otherwise, slow decline continues; bankruptcy (for reorganization) an option

– dissolution - sell company, its assets; bankruptcy (for disposal) possible

Downsizing: A Tool for Decline

• Planned elimination of positions or jobs - a retrenchment strategy

• Guidelines– Eliminate unnecessary work (not across the board cuts)

– Outsource

– Think in terms of investments

– Communicate

– Invest in remaining employees

– Transfer employees