Effective human-resource management still largely depends on leadership. This highly intangible but extremely important factor can spell the difference between success and failure in any enterprise. Despite its unquestioned importance, very little is known about leadership. This is not from lack of attention-more has probably been written either directly or indirectly about leadership than any other single management topic. Through the years the behavioral sciences have also devoted a considerable amount of research effort to leadership traits and dynamics. However, only recently have any real advances been made in understanding, predicting, and controlling the impact of leadership in organizational settings.

System 1 – the exploitative authoritative leader who has no confidence or trust in subordinates. Subordinates do not feel free to discuss things with the leader, and the leader seldom gets ideas of subordinates in solving job problems.

System 2 – the benevolent authoritative leader who has condescending confidence and trust in subordinates. Subordinates do not feel very free to discuss things about the job, but the leader sometimes gets subordinate ideas.

System 3 – the consultative leader who puts substantial but not complete trust in subordinates. Subordinates feel rather free to discuss things, and the leader usually gets their ideas and opinions.

System 4 – the participative group leader who has complete confidence in subordinates. Subordinates feel completely free to discuss the job, and the leader always gets and uses subordinates’ ideas and opinions. Through extensive survey research over the years has been found that organizations led by systems 3 and 4 management are more effective (i.e., are more productive, have lower costs, and have better morale) than organizations led by systems I and 2 management.

Some recent developments on situational and path goal theories of leadership are also making significant contributions to organizational behavior and human-resource management. It became evident a number of years ago that the Great Man explanation-that leaders were born was totally inadequate. The Zeitgeist explanation – spirit of the times or situational explanation – was much more plausible.

After years of leadership research, was developed a contingency model of leadership effectiveness. In other words, certain leadership styles were contingent upon certain situational variables. The three critical situational determinants identified:

(1) Leader-member relations;

(2) Task structure;

(3) Position power of the leader.

If these situational variables are very favorable or very unfavorable to the leader, then a task-directed style of leadership would be most effective. On the other hand, if these situational variables were only moderately favorable or unfavorable, then a human relations style of leadership would be most effective.

The contingency perspective represented by this model is needed in organizational behavior as well as for management as a whole. application. The model emphasizes that a given style does not have universal applicability.

Just as content theories of motivation proved to be too simplistic and process theories evolved to better explain the complex nature of motivation, so path-goal theories of leadership evolved to explain the complexities of leadership style. Not only do such theories explain what type of style may be most effective in a given situation but also why it is most effective. The path-goal theory is largely derived from expectancy motivation concepts and is based on the premise that the leader is the major influence on followers / sub ordinates work goals, personal goals, and, especially, the paths to goal attainment. The effective leader is one who clarifies and helps expedite the path to subordinates’ goals. The theory is closely tied to motivation in that the leader who facilitates goal attainment will be increasing the expectancies and thus motivation of subordinates.

Author Bio: http://sites.google.com/site/cliptheschoolbeginning/ http://sites.google.com/site/arturvictoriasite

Category: Business Management
Keywords: Business,investing,company,organizing,organization,administrator,manager,leader,Motivation,Attitude