Leadership

Leadership

Introduction

Leadership is the act of leading and influencing other people or an organization in order to achieve certain common goals. The effectiveness of leadership differs in different management levels. Different levels of management have varied leadership styles that affect how they operate. The sources of power in leaders depend on their level of leadership in organizations. Top, middle and lower level management leaders have different powers. Ethics is crucial in leadership, and it influences several leadership aspects. Organization social responsibility dictates the success or failure of the business, and it has positive impacts on leaders. Businesses cannot operate without stakeholders and the goals of the stakeholders influence how leadership operates. There exists a relationship between society and leadership.

Question two

The lower level management is made up of supervisors. The supervisors are appointed by the middle management level. The lower level provides the connection between the employees and the middle level management through facilitating communication. Supervisors address the grievances of employees to the middle level management and vice versa. Management in this level displays leadership qualities by motivating employees. Motivation can be done through compensation, bonuses and promotions.

Middle level management consists of heads of departments and branch managers. They include financial managers, human resources managers, public relation managers, etc. Selection of these leaders is done by the top-level management. Leadership effectiveness in this level includes the ability to implement policies that are formulated by the top-level management. For example, Jim Stengel, P&G’s chief marketing officer has improved consumer research under the direction of the CEO A.G. Lafley. Marketers have been directed to spend time with consumers and learn about their needs (Sellers, 2004). Effectiveness also involves coordination of departmental activities; maintain communication between the top level and lower level managements.

Top-level management consists of the managing director sometimes called the chief executive officer and the board of directors. Board of directors is selected by shareholders to represent them, and the CEO is selected by the board of directors. This management level determines the policies that govern the organization. They also create long-term plans on which the organization’s success or failure depends. When Lafley took over leadership from Dirk Jagger, he started “a restructuring that involved $1.7 billion in cost cuts and trimmed prices on many P&G products” (Sellers, 2004). This move has brought remarkable profits to the organization and earned it a lace among the most competitive markets in the world.

Question three.

There are different leadership styles that are used in various management levels. They include autocratic, democratic, laissez-fair, transactional and transformational. Lower level management team uses transformational and transactional leadership styles where employee productivity is enhanced through effective communication and motivation. These styles can be disadvantageous when not properly implemented. Middle and top management is sometimes not involved in this leadership style, which can have grave impacts on the organization’s productivity. For example before Lafley took over from Jager, P&G ran nothing but losses on its largest brands and this was mainly because of the lack of communication in the chain of command (Sellers, 2004).

Middle level management applies democratic leadership style. This is because leaders here value the input of other team members before making decisions. This leadership style is challenged when the organization requires speedy decisions. In addition, when employees are not skilled enough to make decisions there can be dire repercussions to the company. For example, when Lafley says, “Some companies reflexively offer fat bonuses for innovation or hire stars from outside” (Sellers, 2004). Sometimes the ideas brought in are not well developed and their implementation costs the organization without promising results.

Top-level management sometimes uses autocratic leadership style where they will make all necessary decisions without consulting. This leadership style is only efficient when decisions have to be made quickly. This style has its downside where the employees do not like being sidelined by the management team. This creates a negative attitude and resentment demotivates employees towards productivity. For example, the previous owner of Clairol, Bristol-Myers Squibb, “did not spend enough on marketing and failed to innovate” (Sellers, 2004). This was probably because he was practicing autocratic leadership style.

Question four.

Legitimate power comes from holding a position of power in a company like the CEO or managing director where one expects compliance from the other employees. This power is most applicable in top-level management because only members of senior management team have the right to it. For example, Lafley has legitimate power over the employees at P&G because he is the CEO (Sellers, 2004). Coercive power entails threatening and sometimes punishing others for lack of compliance in the workplace. This power often leads to disgruntlement in the workplace because of its technocratic methods. Lower level management team has this power since it is granted to those holding supervisory positions. Supervisors can demote employees and withdraw salary increment (Draft & Lane, 2008). For example if a salesperson does not perform as is expected the sales manager has the coercive power to disparage him.

Reward power is conveyed through bestowing rewards on other employees. These motivating rewards range from bonuses to promotions (Draft & Lane, 2008). All management levels possess reward power over the other subordinates. This power does not always grant the needed authority to those in command. For example, supervisors do not have complete control over salary increment and CEOs do not always control promotions. Expert power comes from the special experiences and skills of a leader. Supervisors have immense knowledge about production processes, which grants them expert power amongst their subordinates. Expert power is practiced by those in middle and lower level management teams. For example, Deb Henretta is the President of P&G baby-care division and she is an expert in her line of work. As a result, she established “a diaper-testing center” for young mothers in order to solve the problem of toilet-training children (Sellers, 2004). Referent power is that which comes from a leader’s charisma and admiration from other employees. However, it can be abused by leaders who lack integrity. Leaders in all management levels have this power. For example, human resource managers who fight for the rights of employees have referent power because they are trusted to handle employee problems (Draft & Lane, 2008).

Question five

According to Ciulla, ethics is defined as the principles that guide the morality of human behavior (2004, 26). Leaders use ethics as a management function of influencing subordinates to act in certain ways. Leaders who employ ethical measures ensure that they take responsibility and delegate responsibilities in the organization. For example, when something goes wrong, they are always ready to take the fall for the employees as their leaders. Ethical leaders follow and work towards the goals and objectives of the organization. Ethics influences leadership in terms of making just decisions and business solutions. For example, the human resources manager who listens to his subordinates whenever they have grievances. Though leaders are expected to have ethical characteristics, they are not supposed to rely fully on ethics in making decisions. For example, in matters regarding new business ventures, ethical values do not necessarily apply.

Question six

Social responsibility is the notion that businesses and organizations should contribute positively to the well-being of the communities in which they operate (Doh & Stumpf, 2005). Social responsibility promotes good relations with local authorities, which eases the act of doing business in the community. Social responsibility activities within the community create positive media coverage for the leaders and the organization. Socially responsible leaders recruit employees easier than socially irresponsible leaders. Employees develop positive relationships with socially responsible leaders and tend to retain their jobs. For example, leaders who cater for the education of their employees within the community are respected and admired by their employees.

Question seven

A stakeholder is a person or group of people who are affected directly or indirectly by an organization’s success or failure. Stakeholders include customers, suppliers, employees and the community in which the organization operates. Different stakeholders have different goals, for example, customers want to find products at affordable prices, suppliers want to receive payment for their deliveries on time, and employees want favorable working conditions. The community in which the organization operates expects to benefit from the business through corporate social responsibility (Weiss & Molinaro, 2005). The goals of stakeholders affect leadership in that leaders are constantly meeting with their stakeholders to learn about their preferences and complaints. For example, before introducing a new product in the market, leaders ensure that they have interacted with customers to find out if they are ready for the product.

Question eight.

Leadership roles are heavily influenced by the values in society. For example, some societies in the world only offer leadership positions to men and some consider leaders according to kinship ties. Leaders in societies develop personality traits according to the expectations of the society. For example, in certain societies, the relationship is similar to that of parents and children where the subordinate is fully dependent on the leader and the leader is expected to address the needs of the subordinates. However, some societies do not value the role of leaders as they consider equity amongst all employees.

Conclusion

Leadership depends on factors like ethics, society, stakeholders and leadership styles. Leaders have to consider all these factors before, during and after making vital decisions affecting the organization and the community. Management levels operate differently because they have different roles and goals. Since organizations cannot run without leaders, leaders should practice their roles and responsibilities according to their stakeholders and the society. Good leadership skills enhance the success of organizations and develop a fruitful relationship between the leaders and their subordinates.

Reference

Ciulla, J. B. (2004). Ethics, the heart of leadership. Westport (Connecticut: Praeger. Print.

Daft, R. L., & Lane, P. G. (2008). The leadership experience. Mason, OH: Thomson/South-Western. Print.

Doh, J. P., & Stumpf, S. A. (2005). Handbook on responsible leadership and governance in global business. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. Print.

Sellers, P. (2004, May 31). P&G: Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks. Fortune, 2-7.

Weiss, D. S., & Molinaro, V. (2005). The leadership gap: Building leadership capacity for competitive advantage. Mississauga, ON: J. Wiley & Sons Canada. Print.