Chapter 12: Leadership

Question 1

Leadership

Answer 1

ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals

Question 2

trait theories of leadership

Answer 2

focus on personal qualities and characteristics, some of which have been shown to be particularly predictive of leadership ability.

Question 3

Behavioural theories of leadership

Answer 3

imply that we can determine leadership effectiveness by leader behaviour, and perhaps train people to be leaders.

Question 4

Initiating structure

Answer 4

the extent to which a leader is likely to define and construct her role and those of employees in the search for goal attainment

Question 5

Consideration

Answer 5

extent to which a person’s job relationships are characterized by mutual trust, respect for employees’ ideas, and regard for their feelings.

Question 6

A leader high in initiating structure

Answer 6

someone task-oriented who “assigns group members to particular tasks,” “expects workers to maintain definite standards of performance,” and “emphasizes the meeting of deadlines.”

Question 7

A leader high in consideration

Answer 7

helps employees with personal problems, is friendly and approachable, treats all employees as equals, and expresses appreciation and support (people-oriented)

Question 8

Employee-oriented leader

Answer 8

emphasized interpersonal relationships by taking a personal interest in employees’ needs and accepting individual differences

Question 9

production-oriented leader

Answer 9

emphasized technical or task aspects of jobs, focusing on accomplishing the group’s tasks

Question 10

Fiedler contingency model

Answer 10

proposes that effective group performance depends on the proper match between the leader’s style and the degree to which the situation gives the leader control.

Question 11

least preferred co-worker (LPC) questionnaire

Answer 11

identifies leadership style by measuring whether a person is task-oriented or relationship-oriented.

The LPC questionnaire asks respondents to think of all the coworkers they have ever had and describe the one they least enjoyed working with, on a scale of 1 to 8, for 16 sets of contrasting adjectives (such as pleasant–unpleasant, efficient–inefficient, open–guarded, supportive–hostile).

Question 12

Leader–member relations

Answer 12

is the degree of confidence, trust, and respect members have in their leader.

Question 13

Task structure

Answer 13

is the degree to which the job assignments are procedurized (that is, structured or unstructured).

Question 14

Position power

Answer 14

is the degree of influence a leader has over power variables such as hiring, firing, discipline, promotions, and salary increases.

Question 15

Situational leadership theory (SLT)

Answer 15

Focusses on the followers

successful leadership depends on selecting the right leadership style contingent on the followers’ readiness, the extent to which followers are willing and able to accomplish a specific task

Question 16

Path–goal theory

Answer 16

Effective leaders clarify followers’ paths to their work goals and reduce work blocks

Question 17

charisma

Answer 17

a 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.

Question 18

charismatic leadership theory

Answer 18

followers attribute heroic or extraordinary leadership abilities when they observe certain behaviours and tend to give these leaders power.

Question 19

Vision and articulation

Answer 19

Has a vision—expressed as an idealized goal—that proposes a future better than the status quo and is able to clarify the importance of the vision in terms that are understandable to others.

Question 20

Personal risk

Answer 20

Willing to take on high personal risk, incur high costs, and engage in self-sacrifice to achieve the vision.

Question 21

Willing to take on high personal risk, incur high costs, and engage in self-sacrifice to achieve the vision.

Answer 21

Perceptive of others’ abilities and responsive to their needs and feelings

Question 22

Unconventional behaviour

Answer 22

Engages in behaviours that are perceived as novel and counter to norms.

Question 23

vision

Answer 23

long-term strategy for attaining a goal by linking the present with a better future for the organization.

Question 24

vision statement

Answer 24

a formal articulation of an organization’s vision or mission

Question 25

Transactional leaders

Answer 25

by contrast, guide their followers toward established goals by clarifying role and task requirements.

Question 26

transformational leaders

Answer 26

who focus more on emotion than structure and inspire followers to transcend their self-interests for the good of the organization.

Question 27

Authentic leaders

Answer 27

know who they are, know what they believe in, and act on those values and beliefs openly and candidly.

Question 28

Servant leadership

Answer 28

go beyond their self-interest and focus on opportunities to help followers grow and develop.

Question 29

Trust

Answer 29

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

Question 30

Mentor

Answer 30

a senior employee who sponsors and supports a less experienced employee, a protégé

Question 31

Attribution theory of leadership

Answer 31

says leadership is merely an attribution people make about other individuals.

Question 32

substitutes

Answer 32

that can replace the need for a leader’s support or ability to create structure