To fully understand organizational behavior, we have to understand the people within the organization. As part of that, we will study leaders, followers, motivation, development, and many other topics in this course.
As we begin our course, it is a good idea to see where the study of leadership has brought us through history. Leadership theory has changed and evolved. Leadership theorists have conflicting views on the traits of effective leaders and what followers need from them. Leadership theorists also often disagree on the definition of leadership. For example, Bergmann (1999) defined leadership as “challenging accepted wisdom, making independent decisions on individual assessments, taking risks, and being vigilant in helping an organization reach its goals” (¶9). Harrison (1999), however, defined leadership as “the reciprocal process of mobilizing, by persons with certain motives and values, various economic, political, and other resources, in a context of competition and conflict, in order to realize goals independently or mutually held by both leaders and followers” (¶1). Kouzes and Posner offered yet another definition of leadership—namely, as “a reciprocal relationship between those who choose to lead and those who decide to follow” (as cited in Harrison, 1999, ¶1). Drath and Paulus, on the other hand, argued that leadership “is not the behavior of a person at all, but rather a property of a social system or a community of practice” (as cited in Vail, 1996, p. 121).
Leadership among humans has existed since the beginning of time. Men have led each other through war, development, and world discovery. Management and leadership are different but complementary concepts. Changes in technology and industry made the formal study of management necessary. Through the last one hundred years, formal management and leadership theories have evolved from the basis of Hebrew biblical theory and Greek philosophy to the works of Taylor, Fayol, Drucker, and many others (Wren, 2005). The traits and skills of both leadership and management are critical to the success of a detachment commander. It is for that reason that the literature reviewed traces the history and evolution of leadership and management theories.
As the study of leadership and management evolved, we began to learn more about human behavior. One very crucial study is the Hawthorne Studies. Hawthorne taught us that people are motivated by more than money. We are motivated by social interactions, peer loyalty, and job satisfaction (Baack, 2012).
Hawthorne’s study was the first big study that opened the door to the humanism study of management. In that era we find people like Maslow and others that looked beyond the actions of the workers but what motivates them to improve their productivity and creativity.
I find this early time in our field as fascinating. I hope you do as well!
References
Baack, D. (2012). Organizational behavior. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
Bergmann, H. (1999). Introducing a grass-roots model of leadership. Strategy & Leadership, 27(6), 15. Document ID: 176521041
Desanto, B., & Moss, D. (2004). Rediscovering what PR Managers do: Rethinking the measurement of managerial behavior in the public relations context. Journal of Communication Management, 9(2), 179-196. Document ID: 774562431
Harrison, B. (1999). The nature of leadership: Historical perspectives & the future. Journal of California Law Enforcement, 33(1), 24-30. Document ID: 5416564
Wren, D. (2005). The Evolution of Management Thought. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Vaill, P. (1996). Learning as a way of being: Strategies for survival in a world of permanent white water. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
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