Week 6 DQ 1 How would a manager know which variables in a given situation should influence which approach to leadership he or she should take?
In determining which approach to leadership should be taken in various situations, important variables to consider include needs, objectives, resources and competencies. This is based on the assumption that the decision-maker already has a thorough understanding of the situation.
In selecting a leadership approach, the preliminary action is to understand the situation and its context. This means that the manager should have comprehensive information or knowledge on the dynamics of relationships between and among members of the organizations as well as systems and processes in that given situation. This is followed by the consideration of the goals targeted by the organization and the different departments in that situation. After which, issues or problems arising from these relationships or goal accomplishment need to be considered.
After having a thorough understanding of the underlying causes and effects of the situation, the variables will then be considered as criteria for selecting the appropriate leadership strategy. First variable is needs, which pertains to the decisions and actions demanded by the situation or the people involved in situation. Second variable is objectives that refer to the results expected such as the resolution or problems or the achievement of organizational targets. Third variable is resources, which refers to the extent of financial and non-financial tools that the organization can allocate to address the needs and objectives in that given situation. Fourth variable is competencies that pertain to the extent of capabilities of its human resources in addressing the situation.
Week 6 DQ 2 Suppose a company has been rocked with financial scandal, and a new CEO is brought in from the outside. Which of the five approaches to contingency leadership in the executive suite should this new CEO implement? Explain your reasoning.
Of the five approaches to contingency leadership, the new CEO should implement the multiple-linkage approach to address organizational issues arising from the scandal. The multiple-linkage theory provides that the behavior of the leader influence one or more intervening variables that in turn affect other members or aspects of the organization. This approach provides for six common intervening variables influenced by a leader’s behavior, which are 1) clarity of ability and role, 2) work organizations, 3) commitment to tasks, 4) mutual trust and cooperation, 5) support and resources, and 6) external coordination. These variables then influence performance results in varying ways depending upon whether these variables intervene singly or together with other variables.
As a new CEO taking over an organization experiencing financial scandal that likely affected the morale and performance of members of the organization, the CEO applies the multiple-linkage approach by understanding the problems arising from the scandal, identifying the changes that need to be made, determining which intervening variables would bring about the needed change, and behaving in a manner to catalyze the workings of these variables. The idea is for the leader to behave in a manner that would bring about change through a ripple effect with the intervening variables affecting various aspects of the organization. In the case of the financial scandal, the leader would bring about mutual trust and cooperation within the organization by strictly enforcing auditing and accountability standards across the organization and developing communications linkages between various departments.
Week 6 DQ 3 Describe a situation where you led during a crisis. This can be a professional or a personal experience. What leadership characteristic did you exemplify.
The crisis arose when the online advertisement contract of the company was cancelled due to valid reasons provided by the advertising company. This advertising company hosts a search portal widely used by internet users around the world so that advertising in the portal increases the probability of the company to gain an international market opening the company to opportunities for growth and expansion. Prior to the cancellation of the contract, the organization has shifted its marketing efforts to online channels and it has been able to increase sales through this advertising portal. As such, sales started to decline but not radically. Since the organization is small, a continuing decline in sales would mean cost-cutting or even downsizing. This caused most of the organization members to panic.
As a member of the organization likely to be affected by the consequences of the decline in sales, there was nothing to be gained by panicking. During the meeting, I urged the other members of the organization to cooperate in providing their objective assessment of the situation in order for the organization to gain a thorough understanding of the problem and looking for alternative advertising portals was agreed upon as the best option. After all areas of the problem have been considered, I led a brainstorming session to identify and select from a number of equally global advertising portals with consideration of the priorities of the organization and the resources available to the company.
In this crisis, being in control of the situation became necessary in allaying panic and directing the issue-resolution process helped the members of the organization in channeling their efforts towards activities that addresses the problem.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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