Faculty of Business, M. Tech: Organizational Dynamics (5)

Subject: Organizational Behaviour

Title of assignment : Which leadership approaches can be used to develop South African leaders.Describe the merits of your choice.

Surname and initials of student: Evans , I

Student number: 210108029

Date of submission: Monday, 14 March 2016

Lecturer: Dr. L. Greybe

2

Plagiarism Declaration

I hereby declare that the attached scientific academic report is my own work. I did not copy the whole or any part of from any source whatsoever, and where I copied, verbatim or otherwise, I acknowledged the source so utilized. I further understand that if we are suspected of plagiarism or any other form of cheating, disciplinary proceedings will be instituted against us. This in turn may result in me being expelled from the institution.

Signature : Date: 14/03/2016

3

Problem statement & Objectives

South African leaders have limited leadership approaches,to what extent can a diverse set of leadership theories enhance leadership capabilities for South African leaders.

The mentioned study is conducted to determine which leadership approaches will be utilized to develop South African leaders skills.

Factual theories will be discussed to support the ideal leadership approach for South African leaders.

To identify what is the most suitable combination to bring out the best in South African leaders.

4

Literature Review

In this literature study one will be able to define leadership approaches and how it can be instilled in South African leaders to develop their leadership capabilities.

What will be discussed is also how it is why certain approaches would be feasible for South African leaders.

The theories we are going to look are as follows trait theories, theory X and theory Y, behavioural theories and situational leadership.

In this study we are also going to look at a charismatic , transformational , transactional and visionary leaders.

5

Group Leadership Definitions

Leadership is basically the initiation and maintenance of structure in expectation and interaction.

Leadership can be defined as the ability to influence a group toward the successful achievement of a vision or set of goals.

Leaders take some personal ownership of their leadership development and create systems that support this.

(Allen,2009:43)

6

Leadership Theories

Trait theory

Is a transactional paradigm as it evidently differentiates leaders and followers.

The above theory about leadership is based on coercive or legitimate power.

The four most successful traits namely intelligence,maturity,achievement drive and integrity which are at a higher level than a co-worker.

McGregor's Theory X & Theory Y

McGregor named two anthropologies Theory X and Theory Y.

Leaders who regard people as lazy Theory X will attempt to motivate people by extrinsic factors.However Theory Y assumes that human beings have intrinsic motives to work

(Dambe & Moorad, 2008:577;Clough,2004:14)

7

Leadership Theories Behavioural theories

Behavioural theories explains the effective leadership styles based on different behaviours that leaders are accustomed to.

This theory mainly focus on the conflict between task-orientation and people-orientation.Leaders clarify the scope of co-workers, initiate structures, and supply appropriate incentives.

Frederick Fiedler Model Frederick Fiedler states that the effectiveness of a

leadership style is influenced by three factors .

These factors are leader-member relations where co-workers have confidence in their leader.

Task structure which is more routined than ambiguity.

Position power which is a leader who has the authority to reward or punish.

(Mfene ,2008:207 ;Daniels, Spiker & Papa ,1997:154)

(

8

Contingency Leadership Theories

Charismatic leader Certain quality of an individual personality, by virtue of

which he or she is set apart from ordinary people and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities.

Transformational leader Inspire followers to transcend their self-interests for the

good of the organization and can have an extraordinary effect on their followers.

Transactional leader Basically has team members who totally agree to obey

the leaders instructions.

Visionary leader Visionary leadership is basically a leader who has a

vision of the future and drives its co-workers towards this ideal future.

(Robbins&Judge, 2013: 379)

9

Situational leadership & characteristics in leadership

Leaders must take some personal ownership of their leadership development and create systems that support this.

Developing leaders are encouraged to ensure they achieve their desired capabilities and intrinsic motivation in an organisation.

Situational leadership is basically the style of leadership which should be aligned to the level of readiness of the followers.

Situational leadership is segmented into :

task behaviour (one way communication spelling out duties instructing co-workers to follow).

relationship behaviour (two way communication like listening , encouraging and also having input in decision making)

(Allen,2009:43; Slocum, & Hellriegel, 2008:306)

10

Trust in leadership & Summary Trust

Trust is a psychological state that exists when you agree to make yourself vulnerable to another because you have positive expectations about how things are going to turn out.

Leadership radiates energy in a widely diverse country in South Africa .

However it assists people to visualise and discover previously unseen obstacles.

Leadership enables people to rise above their circumstances, frequently during the darkest of times, and it models the desired way of behaviour that must be adopted.

Summary

In summary leadership plays a central part in understanding group behavior, because it is the leader who in most instances directs one towards the organizations goals. However based on the theories above a leader should adopt a mixture of leadership based on the the environment of the organization and factors for success.Leadership in South Africa is very diverse and assists leaders to discover unseen obstacles.

(Dormehl, 2011: 54)

11

Practical implementation

Leadership theories should be implemented based on the environment and to enhance the performance of an organization.

A practical example would be when the trait theory of leadership is applied where it focus on personal qualities and characteristics.

One can relate this type of leadership to the CEO of Pepsico Indra Nooyi.

She can be described as loving, sociable, agreeable, conscientious, emotionally stable, and open to experiences which are aligned to the companies values.

12

Solution for South African Leaders

The leadership theories which can develop South African leaders are as follows charismatic and transformational leadership. These two approaches will inspire South African leaders by contributing to ones understanding of leadership effectiveness.

Organizations in South Africa wants leaders who can exhibit transformational leadership qualities , incorporate a vision and have that charisma to carry it out.

However leaders should also instill confidence by developing of trust among fellow employees,consumers and investors are key as the public view some bureaucratic organizations as unethical and dishonest when delivering a service.

Tests and interviews help identify people with leadership qualities. Managers should also consider investing in leadership training such as formal courses, workshops, rotating job responsibilities, coaching, and mentoring.

13

Questionnaire of leadership development done to evaluate the leadership GAP.

14

Conclusion

In conclusion the theoretical contribution of this study signifies that leadership is basically the initiation and maintenance of structure in expectation and interaction.The theories of leadership explained differs from the type of organization the leader is in , and the structure of the organization.Based on the study above the merit of my choice for South African leaders are charismatic and transformational leadership.Trust and confidence in a leader is key for South Africans who follow their leaders as one is often observing leaders with incompetance and corruption in South Africa.

15

Bibliography

Daniels ,T.D., Spiker ,B.K., & Papa ,M.J. 1997. Perspective on organizational communication.4th ed. United States of America:Times Mirror Company.

Robbins , S.P & Judge , T.A . 2013. Organizational Behavior.15th ed. United States of America:Prentice Hall.

Slocum , J.W & Hellriegel , D . 2011. Principles of Organizational Behavior.13th ed. China:Cengage Learning.

Allen ,S. 2009 . Leadership development a process not to be rushed:Management today:42 , May 2009.

Clough ,C.M.I. 2004 . Implicit Anthropology in theories of mangement and of Leadership:Unpublished PhD thesis, Leeds University, London.

Dambe ,M. 2008 . From power to empowerment: A paradigm shift in leadership:South African Journal of higher education ,22(3):575, March 22.

Dormehl ,A. 2011 .Responsible and ethical leadership in emerging countries:Management today:54 , October 2011.

Mfene ,P.N. 2008 . Administrative leadership and public policy implementation in the public service:Journal of public administration,43(3.1):209, October 2008.