Unit 3 Individual Project Leadership and Organizational Power MGMT675-1902A-01

MGMT675 - CTU Library Resources

The following articles are from the Business Source Premier database in the CTU Library.

Phase 1

Boseman, G. (2008). Effective leadership in a changing world. Journal of Financial Service

Professionals, 62(3), 36-38. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.

The article focuses on the theoretical concept of leadership and the traits of a leader. Two issues

are discussed: defining the leadership role and evaluating the two types of leaders, transactional

and transformational. Three components in leadership theory are the leader, the follower, and the

situation or context in which they take action. Traits that followers look for in leaders are

honesty, competency, the ability to recognize trends and mobilize, and the skill to inspire and

empower others. The definition used by Winston Churchill to assess effective leadership is

mentioned, as well as the "4E" framework used by Jack Welch. Characteristics of the

transformational and transactional leader are contrasted.

Buckingham, M. (2005). Managers and leaders. Leadership Excellence, 22(12), 5-6. Retrieved

from Business Source Premier database.

The article presents insights on the roles of managers and leaders. There are differences in the

roles of managers and leaders. Great managers bring out the talents and strengths of people and

capitalize on them through techniques. Leaders transform people strategically.

Singh, A. (2009). Organizational power in perspective. Leadership & Management in

Engineering, 9(4), 165-176. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.

Power and influence are fundamental human phenomena that are deeply ingrained on the psyche

and conscious personality of individuals. The difference between proper and improper use of

power is the difference between success and failure, high and low productivity, motivation and

disillusionment. This paper includes a review and analysis of the classical concepts of power in

management literature, a description of power styles, and classical research findings on the

optimum use of power. In it I describe power bases and cover the relationship of power with

project uncertainty, organizational climate, situational leadership, productivity, and individual

independence. Links are made to leadership styles, and references are made to negative uses of

power. Overall, the concept of power is placed in perspective as it relates to management needs,

and ideas are discussed for managing and controlling power for the benefit of organizations. The

immense advantages of expert power and personal influence (reference power) are emphasized.

Overwhelming evidence is presented regarding the negative nature of coercion and

authoritativeness as viable management styles in well-developed organizations. Any power base

is seen potentially to be double-edged: effective usage depends entirely upon organizational

climate and culture. A developed organization must be designed based on increasing use of

expert and reference powers that promote reflection and choice in decision making.

Phase 2

Arrata, P., Despierre, A., & Kumra, G. (2007). Building an effective change agent team.

McKinsey Quarterly, (4), 39-43. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.

The authors focus on the importance of change agents who implement novel processes, train

employees in new skills and act as role models during the process of organizational change. They

mention the value of an organizational change agent program. They focus on the elements that

are essential to change agent programs, including their design. The recruitment and development

of personnel for the program are discussed as well as the integration between the team of change

agents and the organizational areas to be transformed.

Higgs, M. (2009). The good, the bad and the ugly: Leadership and narcissism. Journal of Change

Management, 9(2), 165-178. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.

Leadership is becoming increasingly recognized as a crucial issue for organizations facing

change in a complex and volatile environment. This leads to a need for an understanding of the

extensive leadership literature. However, it is notable that this literature is primarily focused on

'good' leadership. Until relatively recently it has ignored 'bad' or 'dark-side' leadership. Yet recent

research in the field of change has provided evidence that such 'negative' leadership impacts

adversely on change implementation. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to review the

literature on 'bad' leadership and to explore the extent to which leader narcissism provides an

explanation of 'bad' leadership behaviors. Building from this review the paper presents

recommendations for future research.

McMurray, P., & Rosenke, S. (2005). Leadership in a changing environment. Rural

Telecommunications, 24(5), 30-36. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.

Focuses on the leadership strategies to manage employee resistance to corporate changes.

Perceptions of employees on changes; Impact of changes on employees' expertise and

motivation; Adjustment shared by employees and corporate leaders in the change process.

Why is the failure rate for organisation change so high?. (2008). Management Services, 52(4),

10-19. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.

The article explains the reasons for the failure of organizational change. Among the reasons cited

are absence of dedicated and fully resourced implementation teams, lack of structured

methodology and project management, failure to plan and manage quick wins, failure to fully

mobilize change champions, lack of sympathetic human resource policies, use of an outsider to

transact change, and failure to monitor and evaluate outcomes. Strategies to manage transition

are also cited, notably change in leadership culture.

Phase 3

Da, Y., & Liang, J. (2004). A new model for examining the leader - member exchange (LMX)

theory. Human Resource Development International, 7(2), 251-264. Retrieved from

Business Source Premier database.

The theory of leader - member exchange (LMX) is re-examined. The concepts of social and economic exchange misused in previous research are clarified. A model that describes the

exchange relationships between manager and subordinates is presented. The model challenges

the well-accepted positive relationship between high quality of LMXs and organizational

performance in previous studies by pointing out that the relationship may lead to negative

results. New research propositions based upon the model are offered to encourage further

research efforts.

Dixon, M., & Hart, L. (2010). The impact of path-goal leadership styles on work group

effectiveness and turnover intention. Journal of Managerial Issues, 22(1), 52-69.

Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.

Leaders continuously seek to improve organizational performance and enhance work group

effectiveness to drive competitiveness and curtail the cost of employee turnover. The diversity of

many work groups in the U.S. creates potential benefits and challenges for their leaders. Using

data gathered from a manufacturing facility in southeastern U.S., this study examines how Path-

Goal leadership styles, diversity, work group effectiveness, and work group members' turnover

intention are related. Although all three Path-Goal leadership styles demonstrated significant

positive correlations with work group effectiveness, only the Supportive style showed a

significant negative relationship with turnover intention. Interestingly, work group effectiveness

showed no significant correlation with turnover intention.

Spinosa, C., Glennon, B., & Sota, L. (2008). The virtues of transformational leaders. Business

Strategy Review, 19(4), 82-86. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.

They are a rare breed: transformative leaders earn that heady title by transforming not just

companies, but industries. Charles Spinosa, Billy Glennon and Luis Sota believe there are four

virtues that such leaders manifest.

Vera, D., & Crossan, M. (2004). Strategic leadership and organizational learning. Academy of

Management Review, 29(2), 222-240. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.

Adopting the strategic leadership perspective, we develop a theoretical model of the impact of

CEO and top manager leadership styles and practices on organizational learning. We take a fine-

grained look at the processes and levels of organizational learning to describe how strategic

leaders influence each element of the learning system. Researchers have implicitly assumed

transformational leadership approaches to organizational learning. We challenge this

conventional wisdom by highlighting the value of transactional leadership as well.

Phase 4

Kellerman, B. (2004). Leadership warts and all. Harvard Business Review, 82(1), 40-45.

Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.

According to today's business literature, to be a leader is, by definition, to be benevolent. But

leadership is not a moral concept, and it is high time we acknowledge that fact. We have as much

to learn from those we would regard as bad examples as we do from the far fewer good examples

we're presented with these days. Leaders are like the rest of us: trustworthy and deceitful,

cowardly and brave, greedy and generous. To assume that all good leaders are good people is to

be willfully blind to the reality of the human condition, and it severely limits our ability to

become better leaders. Worse, it may cause senior executives to think that, because they are

leaders, they are never deceitful, cowardly, or greedy. That way lies disaster.

Goleman, D. (2000). Leadership that gets results. Harvard Business Review, 78(2), 78-90.

Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.

According to the author, although effective leadership eludes many people and organizations,

new research has determined six distinct leadership types that appear to have a direct and unique

impact on the working atmosphere of an organization. Research shows that leaders with the best

results do not rely on only one leadership style. The six styles are coercive, authoritative,

affiliative, democratic, pacesetting and coaching. Findings indicate that the more styles a leader

exhibits, the better. This can be accomplished by building a team with members who employ

styles the leader lacks. An alternative approach is to expand one's own style repertoires.

Maner, J., & Mead, N. (2010). The essential tension between leadership and power: When

leaders sacrifice group goals for the sake of self-interest. Journal of Personality & Social

Psychology, 99(3), 482-497. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.

Throughout human history, leaders have been responsible for helping groups attain important

goals. Ideally, leaders use their power to steer groups toward desired outcomes. However,

leaders can also use their power in the service of self-interest rather than effective leadership.

Five experiments identified factors within both the person and the social context that determine

whether leaders wield their power to promote group goals versus self-interest. In most cases,

leaders behaved in a manner consistent with group goals. However, when their power was

tenuous due to instability within the hierarchy, leaders high (but not low) in dominance

motivation prioritized their own power over group goals: They withheld valuable information

from the group, excluded a highly skilled group member, and prevented a proficient group

member from having any influence over a group task. These self-interested actions were

eliminated when the group was competing against a rival outgroup. Findings provide important

insight into factors that influence the way leaders navigate the essential tension between

leadership and power.

Yunxia, Z. (2007). Do cultural values shape employee receptivity to leadership styles?. Academy

of Management Perspectives, 21(3), 89-90. Retrieved from Business Source Premier

database.

This article discusses management science and the contextual factors that influence how

employees respond to various leadership styles. Research has explored how group level

collectivism might moderate the relationship between transformational leadership and employee

attitudes. The author reflects on how the use of other leadership styles, such as transactional,

might influence these relationships. With consideration of increased diversity within work

groups and the growth of international business, cultural values and the reaction of employees to

various leadership styles warrants increased attention.

Phase 5

Carson, J., Tesluk, P., & Marrone, J. (2007). Shared leadership in teams: An investigation of

antecedent conditions and performance. Academy of Management Journal, 50(5), 1217-

1234. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.

Shared leadership refers to a team property whereby leadership is distributed among team

members rather than focused on a single designated leader. We examined antecedent conditions

that lead to the development of shared leadership and the influence of shared leadership on team

performance in a sample of 59 consulting teams. Both the internal team environment, consisting

of shared purpose, social support, and voice, and external coaching were important predictors of

shared leadership emergence. In turn, shared leadership was found to predict team performance

as rated by clients. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for team

leadership and effectiveness.

Druskat, V., & Wheeler, J. (2003). Managing from the boundary: The effective leadership of

self-managing work teams. Academy of Management Journal, 46(4), 435-457. Retrieved

from Business Source Premier database.

We used in-depth critical incident interviews with the external leaders of self-managing work

teams and their team members, and interviews and surveys provided by managers, to understand

how effective leader behaviors and strategies unfold over time. Content analyses of the data

produced a process model showing that effective external leaders move back and forth across

boundaries to build relationships, scout necessary information, persuade their teams and outside

constituents to support one another, and empower their teams to achieve success.

Hobson, C., Strupeck, D., & Szostek, J. (2010). A behavioral roles approach to assessing and

improving the team leadership capabilities of managers. International Journal of

Management, 27(1), 3-15. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.

Success in today's globally competitive marketplace requires that managers have the ability to

effectively lead teams. While some individuals appear to have an innate, almost effortless

capability to lead teams, most managers benefit from systematic efforts to assess and improve

their performance in this critical area. Research on small group interaction and leadership

behavior in teams is used to identify a set of task, social, and dysfunctional behavioral roles that

are critical to team leader success. The widely used, well-researched leaderless group discussion

(LGD) exercise is proposed as a potentially useful tool to measure team leadership role

behaviors. A structured protocol is introduced, employing the LGD to assess and improve team

leadership capabilities in individuals. Examples of protocol use in business and academia are

discussed. Finally, several directions for future research are considered.

Pearce, C. (2004). The future of leadership: Combining vertical and shared leadership to

transform knowledge work. Academy of Management Executive, 18(1), 47-57. Retrieved

from Business Source Premier database.

Knowledge work is becoming increasingly team-based. With the shift to team-based knowledge

work comes the need to question more traditional models of leadership. Traditionally, leadership

has been conceived around the idea that one person is firmly "in charge" while the rest are

simply followers--what is termed vertical leadership. However, recent research indicates that

leadership can be shared by team leaders and team members--rotating to the person with the key

knowledge, skills, and abilities for the particular issues facing the team at any given moment. In

fact, research indicates that poor-performing teams tend to be dominated by the team leader,

while high-performing teams display more dispersed leadership patterns, i.e., shared leadership.

This is not to suggest that leadership from above is unnecessary. On the contrary, the role of the

vertical leader is critical to the ongoing success of the shared-leadership approach to knowledge

work. Thus, this article addresses the following questions: (1) when is leadership most

appropriately shared? (2) how is shared leadership best developed? and (3) how does one

effectively utilize both vertical and shared leadership to leverage the capabilities of knowledge

workers?

Pinar, M., & Girard, T. (2008). Investigating the impact of organizational excellence and

leadership on business performance: An exploratory study of Turkish firms. SAM

Advanced Management Journal, 73(1), 29-45. Retrieved from Business Source Premier

database.

The article focuses on the study of the impact of organizational excellence and leadership on the

performance of firms in Turkey. It cites the three key factors that are critical for business

performances including customer oriented, quality of personnel, innovation and four key

leadership techniques. Furthermore, the seven factors, personal interviews and surveys with 200

firms were folded up in three major cities in the western part of the country and the outcome for

each factor was examined carefully to help managers weigh the value of various approaches and

strategies. The study suggests the significant link of organizational and leadership on business

performances.

Cascio, W. (2005). Strategies for responsible restructuring. Academy of Management

Executive,19(4), 39-50. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.

As organizations struggle to enhance their competitive positions, employment downsizing

continues as a preferred part of a restructuring strategy. Its objective is to reduce operating costs

as a way of increasing earnings and stock prices. A study of S&P 500 firms from 1982-2000,

however, casts serious doubt on the long-term payoff of this approach. The purpose of this article

is to suggest several alternative approaches to restructuring. In contrast to employment

downsizing, a strategy that regards people as costs to be cut, a responsible restructuring strategy

focuses on people as assets to be developed. This focus recognizes that people are the source of

innovation and renewal, especially in knowledge-based organizations, and that the development

of new markets, customers, and revenue streams depends on the wise use of a firm's human

assets. The article presents company examples and research-based findings that illustrate

mistakes to avoid and affirmative steps to take when restructuring responsibly.

Coyne, K., Coyne, S., & Coyne, S. (2010). When You've Got to Cut Costs Now. Harvard

Business Review, 88(5), 74-82. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.

The article discusses strategies that managers can use to reduce overhead costs by 10, 20, and 30

percent. The authors say that managers will have to look at a combination of at least 10 actions

that will produce opportunities for administrative cost savings and recognize the proportional

amount of organizational disruption that accompanies cost control. Topics discussed include

consolidating incidentals such as organizational events, resolving overdue personnel issues such

as under-performing employees, eliminating interdepartmental liaisons, coordinating

departments' parallel activities such as purchasing, redesigning the hiring and performance

management processes, and restructuring cross-department activities.

Fryer, B., Stybel, L., Peabody, M., Dormann, J., & Sutton, R. (2009). The Layoff. Harvard

Business Review, 87(3), 33-40. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.

Astrigo is in trouble. The home improvement chain has missed its earnings forecast badly and

sales are falling. A 10% reduction in staff looks like the only choice. Layoffs, however, would

undermine the retailer's longtime commitment to employees and the ability to provide its famed

customer service. But tapping cash reserved for strategic acquisitions goes against the firm's

values, too. What should the CEO do? Board advisers Laurence J. Stybel and Maryanne

Peabody, of Stybel Peabody Lincolnshire, suggest that the company borrow a page from

McDonald's and declare Astrigo's intention to focus on the interests of long-term shareholders.

This move would establish a framework that would help management make tactical decisions

with more clarity and flexibility. The company could then use its cash to buy a little time to

study the options. If Astrigo can't avoid layoffs, a last-in, first-out approach would be the least

costly. Former CEO Jürgen Dormann understands the challenge Astrigo faces. When he took

over ABB, the company was in deep distress. After shaking up his executive committee,

Dormann personally reached out to all 180,000 employees to enlist their help. They came back

with ideas that saved $1.6 billion -- and rescued the company. Management professor Robert I.

Sutton thinks too many executives assume that layoffs are the best way to reduce costs. They

don't factor in how long it takes to realize the savings from job cuts, the costs to hire and train

people once business picks up, or the damage to morale and productivity. Astrigo's executives

should consider alternatives such as pay cuts, reduced benefits, unpaid time off, and incentives

for departure. If layoffs are inevitable, Astrigo should do them quickly, and firing the bottom

10% of employees would be the worst approach.

Kowske, B., Lundby, K., & Rasch, R. (2009). Turning 'Survive' into 'Thrive': Managing Survivor

Engagement in a Downsized Organization. People & Strategy, 32(4), 48-56. Retrieved

from Business Source Premier database.

The articles discuss the effect that downsizing can have on the workplace environment and the

attitudes and productivity of the workers who survived the layoffs. Some research has shown that

while downsizing is usually undertaken to reduce costs and increase efficiency, there may be

limited long term benefits due to worker turnover, dissatisfaction and disengagement. The

authors suggest that managers can mitigate against the negative aspects of downsizing by

communicating with employees about the changes and the subsequent vision for the future of the

organization. Dealing with the remaining employees in a fair and supportive manner can help

create an environment of trust after downsizing has taken place.

(2009). Maximize Productivity, Minimize Layoffs. (cover story). HR Focus, 86(4), 1-15.

Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.

The article focuses on the effort of human resource professionals to maximize productivity and

minimize layoffs in the U.S. It explores the means to seek alternatives to avoid layoffs and keep

as many employees as possible. It illustrates how an organization can avoid and handle such

situation during a recession and gives an overview on how it affected organizations and

operations in the country.

Parks, C. (2002). Instill Lean Thinking. Industrial Management, 44(5), 14. Retrieved from

Business Source Premier database.

Discusses the role of corporate culture and change management in a company's transformation to

a lean organization. Need for strong project leadership and support from top management;

Lessons from lean implementation initiatives that failed; Description of the Toyota Production

System; Elements of effective change management strategies; Need for cross-functional training

in order to have productive multifunctional workers.