Human resource management

Michelle_Michy

HRSIMWeek4.pptx

Home >Education homework help >Human resource management

Session 4/5 Human Resource strategies for the international manager: leadership

Learning Objectives

To understand and apply various models for analysing managerial and leadership styles

To differentiate between management and leadership as separate activities

To examine the impact of culture and cross-cultural differences as a factor affecting leadership style

To identify key competencies of leaders who engage with multinational teams

Why Leadership?

Overview of Leadership:

Leaders should be visible

Leaders should provide a clear mission which they believe in passionately

Leaders should be able to provide clear objectives and the necessary resources to deliver them

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKUPDUDOBVo

(5 mins)

Leadership and Management

Leader

inspires

thinks

motivates

initiates change

takes decisions

sets objectives

driving force

unmethodical

apart from others

self-sufficient

Manager

controls

does

organises

adjusts to change

implements decisions

gets results

co-ordinator

methodical

involved with others

dependent

Michael Shea 1990

Can a leader be too methodical? Look at some of the criticisms directed at US presidential candidate Marco Rubio. He is said to be ‘too scripted’. He gives the same responses to all instances the same question. On the face of it, this would seem to be a good point - after all, he’s been consistent. If he didn’t do this, he could be charged with ‘flipping’. However, in terms of a leader, this seems to be interpreted as a overly rigid mindset.

Chris Christie A- A B+

Jeb Bush B+ A- B

John Kasich B A- C

Donald Trump C+ B C-

Ted Cruz C+ B C-

Marco Rubio C- B D

Ben Carson

Rubio’s debate is likely to be remembered for his repeating the same line about President Obama almost verbatim four times (example: “Let’s dispel with this fiction that Barack Obama doesn’t know what he’s doing; he knows exactly what he’s doing”). Three of them came in an exchange with Christie, and two of them after Christie had already mocked Rubio for repeating the same sound bite answers. It was an embarrassing moment for Rubio, particularly given that the line of questioning that started the exchange was about his lack of accomplishments in office, a critique Rubio should have been better prepared for. He was not only repetitive but also nonresponsive.

Some of the reason we reporters thought Rubio’s answer was so awful is because it confirmed some of our gossip about Rubio, namely that he tends to give pat, repetitive answers. But we tend to be more sensitive about that stuff, because we watch every debate from start to finish, and then we see lots of the candidates’ stump speeches and town halls on top of it. There’s a fine line between a candidate who seems stilted and repetitive and one who seems “on message” instead.

Leadership and Management

Leadership is more than just management

Focuses more on people than task

Requires ability to motivate and inspire

Has capacity for independent vision

Management is more than just leadership

Requires a wider range of skills

Responsible for tasks and people

Needs to work within organisational objectives

Management

Henri Fayol – forecasting, planning, organising, commanding, co-ordinating

Management is a set of competencies, attitudes and qualities distributed throughout the organisation

The Managerial Cycle

Identification of objectives – organisational, departmental, individual; Planning – in sufficient time, allowing for the unknown; The organisation of resources – time, money, material etc; Communication; Motivation; Feedback and Control – eg problems, priorities; Corrective action as appropriate

The Authority of the Manager

Dealing with conflicts

Change in workforce – technological, education, better communication, specialisms

Manager as a focal point for assembling the right mix of information and personnel

Facilitator – critical to know politics, organisational procedures, decision making

Relationship with other departments: Negotiation skills; Communication skills; Complex (with ‘authorities’ often overlapping); Specialist advisers may control part of manager’s authority

Leadership - Schools of Thought

Three main ways of looking at leadership:

Trait theories

What personal qualities are required for leadership?

Style theories

How leadership works (behaviour)

Situational theories

How the situation affects leadership

Trait theories (1)

Based on the belief that there are people born with leadership qualities (or develop them early in life)

Numerous studies (eg Bennis and Nanus, 1985) have tried to identify key traits

In 100 studies up to 1950 only 5% agreement:

intelligence initiative self-assurance

Hundreds of theories but only 5 traits keep reappearing:

Intelligence – above average, not genius

Initiative – independence and inventiveness

Self assurance – self confidence, self esteem

Helicopter ability to give overview

Good health

The trait approach has earned new interest through the current emphasis given to visionary and charismatic leadership. Charismatic leadership has catapulted to the forefront of public attention to 8 election United States first African-American president, Barrack Obama. In a study to determine what distinguishes charismatic leaders from others, researchers have found that charismatic leaders distantly possess traits of self-monitoring, engagement in impression management, motivation to attain social power, and motivation to attain self-actualisation. The trait approach began with an emphasis on identifying the qualities of great persons, shifted to include the impact of situations on leadership, and has apparently shifted back to re-emphasise the critical role of trades and effective leadership.

Me: however note the current emphasis on traits that imply self-awareness and self-monitoring - implies adjustment to the audience/stance triangle.

Scandals in the corporate world, such as Enron and WorldCom, have led people to become sceptical of leaders who are not highly ethical - hence the importance of the ‘integrity’ trait. Integrity is the quality of honesty and trustworthiness. People who are dear to a strong set of principles and take responsibility for their actions are exhibiting integrity. Leaders with integrity inspire confidence in others because they can be trusted to do what they say they are going to do. They are loyal, dependable, and not deceptive. Integrity makes a leader believable and worthy of our trust.

Trait theories (2)

The following traits appeared regularly in studies EITHER 1945-1989 OR 1990 – present. Which are which?

Masculinity Social Intelligence Openness

Self-Monitoring Dominance Integrity

Cognitive Abilities Emotional Stability

Intelligence Social and Emotional Intelligence

Responsibility Adjustment Conservatism

Watch the following video clip from 1960 showing a famous television encounter between presidential hopefuls Richard Nixon and John F Kennedy

In your view, which leadership qualities did both candidates demonstrate?

Which candidate had the upper hand, and why?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMWQnoDA0o8

Now, read the retrospective of this famous interview:

https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/kennedy-nixon-debates

Trait Theories in Action (1)

Supreme Commander of Allied forces in Western Europe during World War II, Dwight D. Eisenhower

In 1952, leading Republicans convinced Eisenhower to run for president; he won a convincing victory over Democrat Adlai Stevenson and would serve two terms in the White House (1953-1961).

Trait Theories in Action (2)

Criticisms of Trait Theories

seek an impossible ideal personality

too many exceptions to the rule

difficult to define the qualities

impossible to measure the qualities

they do not acknowledge context of the leader

what came first - trait or leadership

more democratic society

organisations are complex

What are ‘Competencies’

The following article sets this out clearly:

https://www.talentalign.com/skills-vs-competencies-whats-the-difference/

Using the example of “Programming”, identify a competence that you have – be prepared to discuss!

Leadership Competencies Bolden and Gosling (2006)

1980s/1990s – divergence in applying concept of competenices (p149). Limitations of the approach include too much focus on what is measurable (p150-2).

Study found the following ‘desirable qualities of leaders’ (in addition to some of the ‘key traits’ from previous studies) :

Leadership Competencies Bolden and Gosling (2006)

Personal vision based on self-belief and moral courage

Leader makes sense of complexity and uncertainty on the basis of strong moral beliefs and an emotional engagement with others

Style Theories of Leadership (1 dimension)

How does behaviour affect leaders’ effectiveness?

One dimensional theories identify a single continuum:

AUTOCRATIC DEMOCRATIC

power from one person power from group

Style Theories of leadership (2 dimensions)

Two dimensional theories recognise that leaders tend to focus on task AND/OR people

Blake and Mouton 1964

The style approach differs from the trait approach to leadership because the style approach focuses on what leaders do rather than who leaders are. It suggests that leaders engage in two primary types of behaviour: task behaviour and relationship behaviour. How leaders combine these two types of behaviour to influence others is the focus of the style approach.

The style approach originated three different lines of research: the Ohio State University studies, the University of Michigan studies and the work of Blake and Mouton on the managerial/leadership grid. Researchers at Ohio State developed a leadership questionnaire the leader behaviour description questionnaire which identified initiation of structure situation as core leadership behaviours. The Michigan studies provided similar findings called the leader behaviours production orientation and employee orientation.

Using the Ohio State and Michigan studies as a basis, much research has been carried out to find the best way for leaders combine task and relationship behaviour. The goal has been to find a universal set of leadership behaviours capable of explaining leadership effectiveness in every situation. The results from these efforts have not been conclusive. Researchers have had difficulty identifying one best style of leadership.

Blake and Mouton developed a practical model for training managers ascribe leadership behaviour along the grid with two axes: concern for results and concern for people. How leaders confine these orientations results in five major leaderships styles: authority-compliance, country-club management, impoverished management, middle-of-the-road management and team management.

On the positive side, this approach broadens the scope of leadership research to include the study of behaviour of leaders rather than just personal characteristics. It has also been supported by a wide range of studies. On the other hand, researchers have not been able to associate the behaviours of leaders - task and relationship - with outcomes such as morale, job satisfaction and productivity. Moreover, researchers have not been able to identify a universal set of leadership behaviours that consistently result in effective leadership. The approach implies but fails to support fully the idea that the most effective leadership style is a high task and high relationship style.

https://makeadentleadership.com/blake-and-mouton/

Criticisms of Style Theories

Too simplistic to say autocratic leadership is wrong and democratic leadership is right

Some people prefer to be directed and their work to be structured

Theory may be round the wrong way:

Not -

Democratic leadership leads to effective working

But -

Effective working leads to democratic leadership

Theories emphasise relationship rather than tasks

Authority-compliance: heavy emphasis on task and job requirements, less emphasis on people, except to the extent that people are tools for getting the job done. Communicating subordinate is not emphasised except for the purpose of giving instructions about the task. The style is results driven people are regarded as tools to that end. A leader in this style is seen as controlling, demanding, hard-driving and overpowering: autocratic?

Team management style places a strong emphasis on both tasks and interpersonal relationships. It promotes a high degree of participation in teamwork in the organisation and satisfies a basic need employees to be involved they work. A leader in this style stimulates participation, gets issues into the open, makes priorities clear, follows through, is open-minded: democratic?

Video - Style Theories

Expert Program Management is a company that explains very clearly the various models of Leadership Style:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmqsV1293Rk

(16 mins)

And/or read:

https://expertprogrammanagement.com/2017/02/leadership-styles/

Seminar Activity - Media AG

Read the case study then answer Q1 and Q2.

Q1 relates to the intercultural aspects and leader style

We will return to Q2 later . . . .

Contingency Approach

Style AND Situation

John Adair (1982)

Fred Fiedler (1967, 1974)

John Adair

3 variables to decide appropriate action

Task needs, group needs, individual’s need

Successful leader reads situation and is aware of priorities

Contingency Theory (Fiedler)

This is a leader match theory because it tries to match leaders to appropriate situations

A leader’s effectiveness depends on how well the leader’s style fits the context

The theory was developed by studying the styles of leaders in situations and whether they were effective (primarily in military organizations)

Concerned with styles and situations

Fiedler, F.E. (1967), A Theory of Leadership Effectiveness, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.

Contingency Theory

Leadership styles are either task motivated or relationship motivated

Situations have three factors: leader-member relations, task structure and position power:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N719umOxj-A

LPC Scale

Used to measure a person’s leadership style

For example, it measures your style by having you describe a coworker with whom you had difficulty completing a job. NB: Not necessarily someone you dislike, but someone with whom you would least like to work with.

After you choose this person, the LPC instrument asks you to describe your coworker on 18 sets of adjectives

Least Preferred Coworker (LPC) Scale

Scoring

Your final score is the total of the numbers you circled on the 18 scales

57 or less = Low LPC (task motivated)

58-63 = Middle LPC (socio-independent leaders, self directed and not overly concerned with the task or with how others view them)

64 or above = High LPC (motivated by relationships)

Contingency Theory (1)

How it works:

By measuring a leader’s LPC score and three situational variables, you can predict whether the leader is going to be successful in a particular setting.

It is important to note that contingency theory stresses that leaders are NOT successful in all situations.

In short, contingency theory is concerned with style and situations. It provides a framework for effectively managing the leader and the situation. Effective leadership is contingent on matching the leader’s style to the right setting.

Contingency Theory (2)

Pros

Empirical research supports this theory

Includes the impact of situations on leaders

This theory is predictive and therefore provides useful information about the type of leadership that is most likely to be successful in a specific context

Does not require people to be successful in all situations (perfection is not required)

Data from this theory could be useful to organizations in developing leadership profiles

Contingency Theory

Cons

Fails to fully explain why people with certain leadership styles are more effective in situations than others

Questions regarding the LPC scale have been made because it does not correlate well with other standard leadership measures.

LPC instructions are not clear – leaders are unsure how to choose a least preferred coworker

Also fails to explain what to do when there is a mismatch between the leader and the situation in the workplace

Situational Leadership Hersey and Blanchard

The Hersey and Blanchard model is also prescriptive - it suggests how leaders can become effective in many different types of organisational settings. The approach provides a model that suggests appropriate behaviour based on the demands of a particular situation. This model classifies leadership into four styles: high directive-low supportive; high directive-high supportive; low directive-high supportive and low directive-low supportive. The model describes how each of the leadership styles applies to subordinate who work at different levels of development, from low in competence and high in commitment through moderately competent and low in commitment; moderately competent but lacking commitment to high in competence and high in commitment.

In this model, effective leadership occurs when the leader can accurately diagnose the development level of subordinates in a task situation and then demonstrate the prescribed leadership style that matches that situation.

The model recognises that there is not one best style of leadership, but that leaders need to be flexible and adapt their style to the requirements of the situation. Although the model seems to suggest flexibility in matching leader styles to subordinates’ development levels, there is an insufficient body of research to suggest that any leader can adapt to any situation. Furthermore, it is not clear has subordinates move from low development levels to high development levels, or how commitment levels change.

Situational Approach

Situational leadership stresses that leadership is composed of both a directive and a supportive dimension, and needs to be applied appropriately in a given situation.

A leader must evaluate the subordinates, assessing how competent and committed they are to perform a given task.

In short, to be an effective leader requires that a person adapt their style to the demands of different situations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pykuvuA-QFU (10 mins)

Seminar Activity - Media AG

Read the case study then answer Q1 and Q2.

Q1 relates to the intercultural aspects.

Q2 takes us deeper into leadership theory:

Does Fiedler’s contingency theory of leadership (1967) allow for sufficient flexibility on the part of the leader?

Justify your answer with reference to at least one other leadership model, such as the situational approach of Hersey and Blanchard (1985).

Seminar Activity – Commentary (1)

What the two models have in common:

leader-match theory - emphasises the importance of matching a leader style with the demands of a situation

prescriptive - provides a model that suggests appropriate behaviour based on the demands of a particular situation

Seminar Activity – Commentary (2)

The Hersey and Blanchard model seems to suggest flexibility in matching leader styles to subordinates’ development levels, but there is an insufficient body of research to suggest that any leader can adapt to any situation.

Furthermore, it is not clear how subordinates move from low development levels to high development levels, or how commitment levels change.

Seminar Activity – Commentary (3)

The Hersey and Blanchard model does at least show that effective leadership occurs when the leader can accurately diagnose the development level of subordinates in a task situation and then demonstrate the prescribed leadership style that matches that situation.

Fiedler - does not offer adequate explanation of the links between style and situation, and relies heavily on the LPC scale. This scale has been questioned for its face validity and workability.

Differences in how people from specific countries view

authority and leadership in work teams:

High PD countries (eg Malaysia) – do not react well to delegated responsibility; Low PD – comfortable in bypassing their boss and accepting high levels of responsibility

‘Doing’ cultures (USA) – more willing to set own goals than ‘Being’ cultures (Malaysia)

‘Free-will’ cultures (USA)- citizens happy to make changes within a work team; ‘Deterministic’ cultures (Malaysia)- greater reluctance to engage in self-management

USA – society values makes easier for leaders to set up self-managing work teams; Malaysia – employees require a more interventionist leadership approach

Cultural Variations

Project GLOBE

Project GLOBE (2001-onwards) – large scale research programme looking at relationship culture-leadership

Leaders influenced by dominant norms and values in their culture

Strategic organisational contingencies (size, environment) affect leader attributes and behaviour

GLOBE = Global Leadership and Organisational Behaviour Effectiveness research programme

Authors: House, Javidan and Dorfman, 2002- 2004

Data collected from 17,000 participants (managers) from 950 work organisations (financial services, food and telecommunications)

See French (2010) – pages 178-179

The globe research programme was initiated by Robert House in 1991. The primary purpose of the project is to increase our understanding of cross-cultural interactions and the impact of culture on leadership effectiveness.

The Multicultural Team

Project GLOBE (2001-onwards) – large scale research programme looking at relationship culture-leadership

Leaders influenced by dominant norms and values in their culture

Strategic organisational contingencies (size, environment) affect leader attributes and behaviour

Harris, Brewster, Sparrow’s research (2003-2012)

International strategies mean managers need to work through multicultural team networks

Strategies of localisation try to reduce reliance on expatriates

GLOBE = Global Leadership and Organisational Behaviour Effectiveness research programme

Authors: House, Javidan and Dorfman, 2002- 2004

Data collected from 17,000 participants (managers) from 950 work organisations (financial services, food and telecommunications)

See French (2010) – pages 178-179

Modern Organisations

Typified by diversity and difference

Modern leaders must have vision

Team based leadership takes over from single leader; many different views needed

Different skills needed at different levels

eg middle managers very competitive,

CEOs need integrity and corporate thinking

Modern Organisations

Zaha Hadid, revolutionary architect:

https://www.engelvoelkers.com/en/blog/luxury-living/architecture/zaha-hadids-style-and-design-philosophy/