UNIT 5LEADERSHIP

J. Braham & H. WilliamsNorthern Caribbean University

NCU

OBJECTIVES

At the end of interactive session, students will be able to:

• Define leadership as cited by Yoder Wise (2014)

• Discuss the dimensions of leadership as explicated by Judge, Piccolo and Ilies, (2004)

• Explicate situational leadership according to Mind Tools (2014)

Definition of Leadership

• Leadership can be defined as a process by which one individual influences others toward the attainment of group or organizational goals.

• Three points about the definition of leadership should be emphasized.

• First, leadership is a social influence process.

• Leadership cannot exist without a leader and one or more followers.

• Second, leadership elicits voluntary action on the part of followers.

• The voluntary nature of compliance separates leadership from other types of influence based on formal authority.

• Finally, leadership results in followers' behavior that is purposeful and goal-directed in some sort of organized setting.

(Yoder-Wise, 2014)

Dimensions

The Ohio State Studies

• These studies, which began in the late 1940s, attempted to find what behaviors substantially accounted for most of the leadership behavior described by employees.

• Beginning with over thousand dimensions, researchers narrowed the list to two:

• Initiating Structure. • This dimension refers to the extent to which

a leader is likely to define and structure his or her role and those of employees in the search for goal attainment.

• It includes behavior that attempts to organize work, work relationships, and goals.

(Judge, Piccolo & Ilies, 2004)

• Consideration. This dimension is the extent to which a person is likely to have job relationships that are characterized by mutual trust, respect for employees’ ideas, and regard for their feelings.

• People who are high in consideration show concern for followers’ comfort, well-being, status, and satisfaction.

Ohio State Summary• Both factors were found to be associated

with effective leadership.

• Followers of leaders who are high in consideration were more satisfied with their jobs; more motivated, and had more respect for their leader.

Leaders who were high in initiating structure typically had higher levels of group and organization productivity along with more positive performance evaluations(Judge, Piccolo & Ilies, 2004)

The University Of Michigan Studies

Roughly contemporary to the Ohio State studies, had similar research objectives: to locate behavioral characteristics of leaders that appeared to be related to measures of performance effectiveness.

They also came up with two dimensions of leadership behavior that were critical:

• Employee-Oriented. Leaders who were employee oriented were described as emphasizing interpersonal relations

• They took a personal interest in the needs of their employees and accepted individual differences among members.

Production-Oriented. These leaders tended to emphasize the technical or task aspects of the job. Their main concern was in accomplishing their group’s tasks and the group members were seen as a means to that end. (Judge, Piccolo & Ilies, 2004)

• University of Michigan Summary. The results of these studies were closely related to those from Ohio State.

• Employee-oriented leadership is similar to consideration while production-oriented leadership is similar to initiating structure.

• The Michigan researchers strongly favored leaders who were employee-oriented in their behavior.

Such leaders were associated with higher group productivity and higher job satisfaction. Blake and Mouton's Managerial/Leadership Grid (Situational)• Building from the results of both the Ohio

State and Michigan studies, Blake and Mouton created a leadership assessment instrument that was based on the styles of “concern for people” and “concern for production.”

(Mind tools, 2014)

Situational Leadership

• This tool is very popular today and is used in both leadership selection and training programs.

Understanding the Model (Blake & Mouton)• The Managerial Grid is based on two

behavioral dimensions:

• Concern for People – This is the degree to which a leader considers the needs of team members, their interests, and areas of personal development when deciding how best to accomplish a task (Mind tools, 2014).

• Concern for Results – This is the degree to which a leader emphasizes concrete objectives, organizational efficiency and high productivity when deciding how best to accomplish a task.

(Mind tools, 2014).

Courtesy of Microsoft

Impoverished Management – Low Results/Low People

• This leader is mostly ineffective, since He/she has neither a high regard for creating systems for getting the job done, nor for creating a work environment that is satisfying and motivating.

• The result is disorganization, dissatisfaction and disharmony.

Country Club Management – High People/Low Results• This style of leader is most concerned

about the needs and feelings of members of his/her team.

• These people operate under the assumption that as long as team members are happy and secure then they will work hard.

• What tends to result is a work environment that is very relaxed and fun but where production suffers due to lack of direction and control.

(Mind Tools, 2014)

Authority-Compliance Management – High Results/Low People• Also known as Authoritarian or "Produce or

Perish" Leaders, people in this category believe that employees are simply a means to an end.

• Employee needs are always secondary to the need for efficient and productive workplaces.

• This type of leader is very autocratic, has strict work rules, policies, and procedures, and views punishment as the most effective means to motivate employees.

Middle-of-the-Road Management – Medium Results/Medium People• This style seems to be a balance of the two

competing concerns, and it may at first appear to be an ideal compromise.

• Therein lies the problem, though: When you compromise, you necessarily give away a bit of each concern, so that neither production nor people needs are fully met.

• Leaders who use this style settle for average performance and often believe that this is the most anyone can expect (Mind tools, 2014).

Team Leadership – High Production/High People• According to the Blake Mouton model, this

is the best managerial style.

• These leaders stress production needs and the needs of the people equally highly.

• The premise here is that employees understand the organization's purpose and are involved in determining production needs.

• When employees are committed to, and have a stake in the organization’s success, their needs and production needs coincide.

• This creates a team environment based on trust and respect, which leads to high satisfaction and motivation and, as consequently, high results.

(Mind tools, 2014).

Applying the Blake Mouton Managerial Grid

• Being aware of the various approaches is the first step in understanding and improving how well you perform as a manager.

• It is important to understand how you currently operate, so that you can then identify ways of becoming effective in both areas.

Identify your leadership style• Think of some recent situations where you

were the leader.• For each of these situations, place yourself

on the grid according to where you believe you fit.

Identify areas of improvement and develop your leadership skills• Look at your current leadership approach,

and think about whether it suits the context.

• Look at ways that you could improve.

• Are you settling for ‘middle of the road’ because it is easier than reaching for more?

• Identify ways to get the skills you need to reach the Team Leadership position.

• These may include involving others in problem solving or improving how you communicate with them, if you feel you are too task-oriented.

• Or it may mean becoming clearer about scheduling   or monitoring project progress if you tend to focus too much on people.

• Continually monitor your performance and watch for situations where you slip back into bad old habits

Put the Grid in Context• It is important to recognize that the Team

Management style isn’t always the most effective approach in every situation..

• While the benefits of democratic and participative leadership are widely accepted, there are times that call for more attention in one area than another.

• If your company is in the midst of a merger or some other significant change, it can be acceptable to place a higher emphasis on people than on production.

• Likewise, when faced with an economic hardship or physical risk, people concerns may be placed on the back burner, for the short-term at least, to achieve good results and efficiency

Review leadership styles

• Democratic/Participative• Creative• Autocratic/Directive• Laissez Faire/Permissive• Bureaucratic

DECISION MAKING

Objectives

At the end of interactive session, students will be able to:

• Define the decision making process according to Guo (2008).

• Outline the steps in the decision making process as cited by Guo (2008)

• Discuss the steps in the decision making process as explained by Guo (2008); Dunn, 2002); Longest, Rakich & Darr, (2000);m Stephanovich, (1999); Vahabi, (20070; Arnold (1978)

Definition

• A decision-making process consists of a series of steps that managers take to arrive at a decision.

• The purpose is to create a systematic model for decision making.

• That is, if managers use an organized and precise process, then the chances of more successful and effective decisions will result compared to that of disorganized and unsystematic processes

(Guo, 2008)

• Health care managers operate in an increasingly complex system.

• With numerous economic, legal, ethical, organizational, and technical changes taking place, managerial decision making has a direct impact on individuals in the workplace and on the performance of the organization

• It is influenced by a multitude of other factors that could result in financial success, customer satisfaction, and long-term viability for the organization.

• Decision making is inherent in all managerial functions and is closely related to the planning function.

• Regardless of level, all managers make decisions, although the decisions made by senior managers have a broader scope, affect more individuals, and have a greater impact than those made by first-line supervisors.

• Decision making is a process of choosing the best alternative to achieve individual and organizational objectives

The Decision making process, (Guo, 2008)

Steps in the decision making process

• D = define the problem.• E = establish the criteria.• C = consider all the alternatives.• I = identify the best alternative.• D = develop and implement a plan of action.• E = evaluate and monitor the solution and

feedback when necessary.

(Guo, 2008)

An application of the decision making model (Guo, 2008)

Define the problem• Decision making is a problem-solving

process that aims to eliminate barriers to achieving individual or organizational goals.

• By defining problems or determining what the barriers are, then managers can take steps to remove these barriers.

• However, defining the problem is not an easy task.

• It can be a time-consuming process (Guo, 2008).

• A manager must question the staff and monitor daily activities and tasks to fully investigate the extent of the problem as often what appears as a problem may only be a symptom and digging deeper can lead to the real problem (Dunn, 2002).

• For example, senior management noted that many employees were late for work and showed negative attitudes toward each other and the patients.

• There was increased disagreement among staff, which caused many to feel unhappy in the workplace, and ultimately, they chose to voluntarily terminate their employment at the hospital.

• The symptoms showed dissatisfied and unmotivated workers.

• However, on further investigation, senior management found that the real problem was a lack of communication, supervision, and direction by department level managers.

• As a result, the staff were disgruntled, which led to high turnover.

• To clearly define the real problem, an individual manager should be concerned with 3 basic questions:

• What is the problem? • Why should anything be done at all? • What should or could be happening?

• Another way to help define a problem is to develop a statement of the problem.

There are 4 parts to the statement:

• in what ways (can the problem be addressed),

• we (i.e, managers, patients, staff) are those who take ownership of the problem,

• action (implement or make an improvement), • response time (goal attainment).

(Longest, Rakich & Darr, 2000)

An example of a problem statement:• 'In what ways can we (managers) motivate

staff to make them more satisfied at work?'

• Included in the problem definition is an examination of the purpose or central focus of the decision.

• In other words, the purpose is the mission or needs that must be determined.

• It should be stated more broadly to find a wider range of solutions and especially one that is more tailored to meet one's needs.

Establish the criteria• After having defined the problem, the

second step is to establish the criteria. • Criteria are the measures used to arrive at

a solution that best fulfills the purpose.

• Criteria should not be confused with purpose.• The purpose is 'what needs to be determined

and why?'

• Decision criteria are used to achieve the purpose.

Three questions to help establish the criteria:• What do you want to achieve in your

decision?• What do you want to preserve?• What do you want to avoid as problems?

Consider all the alternatives• Considering all alternatives is a search for

various alternative courses of actions and solutions.

• Many alternatives, and not just the traditional 2 or 3, need to be considered (Stephanovich, 1999)

• To derive all the alternatives, a manager must engage in brainstorming to develop and consider as many alternatives as possible.

• This method leads to more choices and increases communication and team building (Guo, 2008).

Develop and implement a plan of action

• Developing and implementing a plan of action are as important as making the decision.

• Planning is the most fundamental function of managers.

• It provides direction, establishes control, anticipates change, and develops responses to uncertainty.

• This step involves 2 essential processes: communication and coordination (Vahabi, 2007)

• Communication entails the exchange of information among various individuals in the organization.

• If the decision is not clearly communicated to the staff who must perform the decision and unless it is coordinated with other departments in the organization, the plan and the decision are worthless.

(Guo, 2008)

In this step, 2 questions must be answered.• How is the action plan going to be

implemented?• What are the resources used in the actual

implementation?

Evaluate and monitor the solution

• The final step in the DECIDE model is to evaluate and monitor the solution.

• It is not enough to just make a decision.

• For instance, once the decision is made, it may not work, and then a manager must start over to redefine the problem.

• Feedback is important because it provides information related to the decision.

• It is crucial to evaluate the decision made

and to investigate 'what could go wrong.'

• This step helps to prevent, minimize, and overcome all possible adverse consequences.

• Asking questions from superiors, staff, patients, and other customers are parts of the feedback process.

• Through feedback, a manager finds out whether the decision led to the intended results.

• Even if the action has the intended effects, unintended consequences may also have occurred

• Sometimes, although a decision was correctly implemented, it does not last forever, and changes are needed over time, as problems recur and new problems arise.

• Part of the evaluation process also involves troubleshooting.

(Guo, 2008)

This consists of 3 basic steps.• First, list all the possible problems that

could occur.

• Second, determine the likelihood of each problem occurring and the impact if it does occur, using low, medium, or high possibilities.

• Finally, take preventive action to keep the potential problem from occurring.

• In this way, all possible precautions are taken into consideration to assure the success of the decision.

(Arnold, 1978)

• Dunn R. Haimann's Healthcare Management . 7th ed. Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press; 2002 - See more at: http://www.nursingcenter.com/lnc/static?pageid=800371#15

• Longest BB, Rakich JS, Darr K. Managing Health Services Organizations and Systems . 4th ed. Baltimore, MD: Health Professions Press; 2000. -

• DECIDE: A Decision-Making Model for More Effective Decision Making by Health Care Managers

• Kristina L. Guo PhD, MPH

• The Health Care Manager• April/June 2008 • Volume 27 Number 2• Pages 118 - 127

• Stepanovich PL, Uhrig JD. Decision making in high-velocity environments: implications for healthcare. J Healthc Manage . 1999;44(3):197-205 - See more at: http://www.nursingcenter.com/lnc/static?pageid=800371#15

• . Vahabi M. The impact of health communication on health-related decision making: a review of the evidence. Health Edu . 2007;107(1):27-41 - See more at: http://www.nursingcenter.com/lnc/static?pageid=800371#15

• Arnold JD. Make Up Your Mind: The 7 Building Blocks to Better Decisions . New York, NY: Amacon; 1978. - See more at: http://www.nursingcenter.com/lnc/static?pageid=800371#15

• Judge, T.A., Piccolo, R.F. and Ilies, R. (2004). "The Forgotten Ones? The Validity of Consideration and Initiating Structure in Leadership Research" Journal of Applied Psychology. 89(1) 36-51.