The Functionalist Perspective

Question 1

Summarize the overview of the functionalist perspective

Answer 1

Based on an objectivist view and sociology of regulation.

Purpose of theories/models is to help people predict and control future situations (social order). Simplify reality with models that capture objective variables that explain effective leadership in each situation. Historically = on best way the ultimate goal. More modern = contingency theories, depend on context

Experiments and quantitative methods are preferred.

Question 2

Give an overview of what theories of leader traits and attributes imply

Answer 2

• Focus solely on the leader and their characteristics, seldom any reference to how followers are (or are not) connected to successful leadership.
• Objective, stable and measurable characteristics can help predict behaviors and leadership ability.
• Some individuals have certain patterns of traits that make them more probable to become leaders.

Question 3

Give an overview of what theories of leadership behaviours and styles imply

Answer 3

• Behavioral patterns are a determinant of effective leadership and it is generally possible for leaders to learn those patterns.
• Focus mainly on the leader, while followers are passively influenced by the leader.
• The leader acts in a certain way, causing followers to act in a certain way; a strong correlation between leadership behavior and leadership outcome.

Question 4

Give an overview of what contingency theories imply

Answer 4

• Followers and their motivation and/or competence are taken into account.
• Since still objectivist, theories assume that all parties involved in a social situation would understand and interpret it in a similar way, and surmise that the leader can assess the followers in the correct way in order to choose the most effective behavior.

Question 5

What do charismatic and transformational leadership have in common?

Answer 5

Leaders are individuals who inspire others to change, and the skills are possible to learn and develop

More space for followers and intersubjectivity, partly moving towards the interpretative perspective

Question 6

What is charisma?

Answer 6

It lies in the relationship between the leader and the follower; not necessarily something the leader possesses, but rather something that others perceive in the leader

Question 7

Is LMX theory moving towards the interpretative perspective?

Answer 7

Yes, since there may be many different understandings of the social reality between leaders, followers, and different groups of followers, and these change due to interactions. Still within the functionalist however, since research focuses on finding stable causal/correlational connections between different concepts

Question 8

What are the four core competences of human traits?

Answer 8

1. They are measurable
2. They vary across individuals
3. They exhibit time and situational stability
4. They help predict attitudes and behaviors

Question 9

What is emotional intelligence?

Answer 9

An individual’s inherent ability to recognize their own and other’s emotions, together with the ability to use emotions to enhance thoughts and actions

Question 10

What do trait theories of leadership focus on?

Answer 10

Personal characteristics or intellectual attributes that differentiate leaders from non-leaders (exclusive focus on the leader)

Question 11

What are some attributes that illustrate the trait approach?

Answer 11

Cognitive ability, and

The Big Five:
- Extraversion: assertiveness, dominance, being positive.
- Conscientiousness: determination, being goal directed, self-discipline.
- Openness: curiosity, creativity.
- Agreeableness: sociability, being trustful of others, empathy.
- Neuroticism: emotions such as anxiety, anger and depression.

Question 12

What did Stogdill and Judge et al. observe regarding traits?

Answer 12

Considered singularly, traits have little diagnostic/predictive significance. When taken as a whole, specific patterns of traits predicts who becomes a leader, and their effectiveness

Question 13

What are critiques on the trait approach?

Answer 13

• Neglects context within which leaders are. Patterns of traits should likely vary with the leadership requirements of different situations.
• Underplays followership in the leadership process.
• The heterogeneity of followers implied disregard class, gender and race, and how it affects the situation.
• Traditional trait leadership theorizing is culturally determined. Traits regarded as desirable in “leader-like” individuals will differ radically in “masculine” versus “feminine” countries, and across cultures and time.
• Do quantitative results actually establish a causal connection between traits and leadership effectiveness?

Question 14

What do behavioural theories of leadership focus on?

Answer 14

The behaviour of the leader and infer that people can be trained to be leaders.

Question 15

What two main types of behaviour did the neo-human relations movement focus on?

Answer 15

• task behaviors. The extent to which the leader emphasizes productivity targets or goal accomplishment. Production centered/task oriented leadership styles.
• relationship behaviors. The extent to which the leader is concerned about their followers as people; needs, development and problems. Employee-centered/person-oriented leadership styles.

Question 16

What are two well-known studies that provided the foundation for behavioural theories of leadership?

Answer 16

• University of Michigan studies
• Ohio State studies

Question 17

What did the University of Michigan studies show?

Answer 17

The effect of leader’s behaviour on work performance. Based on questionnaire responses, they identified two types of behaviour:
- Production orientation. Followers were a factor of production; a means for getting the work done.
- Employee orientation. Gives special attention to subordinates’ personal needs, values individuality, and approaches followers with human relations emphasis.

First they were considered discrete, but later data showed that a leaders can be both simultaneously

Question 18

What did the Ohio State studies show?

Answer 18

Initially studied aircrews and pilots.

Two underlying dimensions of leader behaviour:
- Initiating structure. Leader behavior aimed at defining and organizing work relationships and roles, establishing clear patterns of communication, and ways of completing tasks.
- Consideration. Leader behavior aimed at nurturing warm working relationships, encouraging mutual trust and respect among leaders and followers.

Considered flexible and capable of changing with different situations

Question 19

What were Likert’s four systems that describe leadership styles?

Answer 19

• exploitative-authoritative
• benevolent-authoritative
• consultative
• participative

Difference is amount of participation/empowerment the leader allows followers

Question 20

What are the two main activities of leaders in Blake & Mouton’s managerial grid?

Answer 20

• Concern for results.
• Concern for people.

Independent of each other

Question 21

What are Blake & Mouton’s five major leadership styles?

Answer 21

• Authority-compliance style: great concern for results and little concern for people. Leader desires tight control to get tasks done efficiently and gives little consideration to human relations.
• Team style: great concern for both people and results. The leader works to motivate followers to reach their highest level of accomplishment, is flexible, responsive to change and understands the need for change (ideal)
• Country club: The leader’s goal is to keep followers happy through good interpersonal relations (limit conflict), which are more important to him than the task.
• Impoverished style: often referred to as laissez-faire leading. Leader has little concern for people or results, avoids taking sides and stays out of conflict; doing just enough to get by.
• Middle-of-the-road style: attempts to balance a concern for both followers and results without a commitment to either.

Question 22

What is opportunism in the Leadership grid?

Answer 22

People adapt and shift grid style needed to gain maximum advantage. Leaders have a dominant style used in most situations, and a backup they revert to when under pressure

Question 23

What are strengths of the behaviour approach?

Answer 23

• A major shift in leadership research by including behaviours and actions of leaders
• Broad range of studies validates and gives credibility to the basic points
• Practical for leadership training and development

Question 24

What are some critiques of the behavior approach?

Answer 24

• No universal style of leadership that could be effective in every situation
• Implies that the most effective leadership style is High:High, but limited research support
• Research has not adequately demonstrated how leaders’ behaviour is associated with performance outcomes

Question 25

Why did contingency theories start forming?

Answer 25

Because of criticisms of trait and behavioural theories.

Question 26

What does contingency theories propose?

Answer 26

That the is no one best way, appropriate leader behaviour depends on factors such as the task and the followers.

Question 27

What is Fiedler’s contingency theory?

Answer 27

• Assumes leaders cannot change their behaviour
• Organizations need to match leaders’ leadership style to specific situations and contexts.

Leaders are classified by the LPC scale, and are either task or relationship oriented.

Leader’s situation has three dimensions:
- Task structure: rules/procedures for getting work done
- Position power: leader’s legitimate authority
- Leader-member relations: positive group atmosphere and confidence/trust/loyalty in leader

Low LPC is favourable in some situations, while high is in others.

Question 28

What are some limitations of Fiedler’s contingency theory?

Answer 28

• Conceptual weakness and lack of empirical evidence
• Need to evaluate least preferred coworker to established preferred leadership behavior

Question 29

What is the main task of the leader in House’s path-goal theory?

Answer 29

To facilitate the followers’ path to the goal. They use the most appropriate of four behaviour styles to help clarify the path that leads followers to work/personal goals, adapted to match the employee’s needs and motivations

Question 30

What are the four behaviour styles in House’s path-goal theory?

Answer 30

• Directive style. Best suited when task is complex, structures are unclear, and followers are inexperienced or unwilling.
• Supportive style. Most effective when task is routine or stressful and followers are unsatisfied/frustrated.
• Participative style. Best suited when task is ambiguous and unstructured, and followers want to be empowered.
• Achievement-oriented style. Welcomed by subordinates with high expectations, motivated to learn while facing multi-faceted and challenging tasks.

Question 31

What are the contingency variables in House’s path-goal theory?

Answer 31

• Task characteristics (environment)
• Follower characteristics

Question 32

What are some limitations of House’s path-goal theory?

Answer 32

• Ambiguous research findings and lack of empirical support
• Complicated relationships among the variables and complex prescriptions limit the practical application
• Neglects to adequately explain the leader-behaviour-follower motivational relationship
• The leader-coaching-follower relationship is one-way

Question 33

What is the main point of Hersey & Blanchard’s situational leadership model?

Answer 33

The leader’s behaviour must be flexible to reflect the situation. Effective leadership depends on choosing the right leadership style that is contingent on the followers’ ability and motivation to perform a given task

Question 34

What are the two dimensions of of leader behaviour in Hersey & Blanchard’s SLT?

Answer 34

• Directive behavior. Focuses on the task in hand, e.g. routine or non-routine.
• Supportive behavior. Focuses on followers’ job-related development, e.g. ability, training, experience. How able and willing they are to accomplish a given task or goal.

Question 35

What are the followers’ development categories is Hersey & Blanchard’s SLT, and which leader behaviour are they associated with?

Answer 35

• Low. Unable and unwilling. Directing style.
• Moderate I. Unable but committed. Coaching style.
• Moderate II. Able but variably willing. Supporting style.
• High. Able and willing. Delegating style.

Question 36

What are the leader behaviours of Hersey & Blanchard’s SLT?

Answer 36

• Directing. High directive, low supportive behaviour. Give instructions and control.
• Coaching. High directive, high supportive behaviour.
• Supporting. Low directive, high supportive behaviour.
• Delegating. Low directive, low supportive behaviour.

Question 37

What are some limitations of Hersey and Blanchard’s SLT?

Answer 37

• Lack of robust empirical evidence for validity (applicability in different contexts? Differences in age, gender, etc may affect subordinates developmental level)
• Concept of followers’ developmental level remains poorly developed

Question 38

What are limitations of the contingency approaches?

Answer 38

• All theories incorporate multiple factors simultaneously into recommending a preferred leadership style, which is open to wide interpretation.
• Do not adequately explain the causal effects underpinning the relationships they draw.
• Weak and inconsistent support.

Question 39

In what writings can the theoretical foundation for the charismatic effect on followers be found?

Answer 39

Weber

Aristotle’s rhetorical means:
- Ethos, personal character of speaker
- Logos, using reasoned arguments
- Pathos, stirring the hearer’s emotion

Question 40

What is charisma?

Answer 40

Something others perceive, not something a person has. Shared ground and values needed for it to occur. Ability to use language to stir emotions, to persuade and to move people. What is charismatic depends on situation, person and place. A person can lose their charisma, or only have it in certain situation

Question 41

What is the dark side of charismatics?

Answer 41

It can be exploited for evil purposes (Hitler). Do not always act in the best interest of their followers

Question 42

What are Weber’s three types of legitimate authority?

Answer 42

• Traditional authority. Compliance is due to the sacred nature of the office. One of the most important domination forms historically, but has declined along with monarchies.
• Rational-legal authority. Compliance is derived from the rationality of the authority. People generally obey traffic laws because they make sense, not because police officers are charismatic or have inherited their authority.
• Charismatic authority. Obedience is attributed fundamentally to the exceptional sanctity, heroism or exemplary character of an individual.

Question 43

What are Weber’s four related elements of charisma?

Answer 43

1. An individual of exceptional powers or qualities.
2. A social crisis.
3. A radical solution to the crisis offered by the individual.
4. Devoted followers.

Question 44

What is House’s theory of charisma?

Answer 44

A theoretical explanation regarding the process charismatic leaders use to influence followers.

Charismatic effect is the emotional interaction that occurs between leader and follower.

Charismatic leaders increase followers’ self-worth and general self-efficacy.

They accomplish significant achievements through efforts of followers who are exceptionally loyal to the leader, have a high degree of trust in them, and are willing to make personal sacrifices in the interests of the leader’s vision. Ties self-identity to organisational identity

Question 45

What is Conger and Kanungo’s theory of charisma?

Answer 45

Charisma is an attributional phenomenon, attributed to a leader through a three-stage behaviour process:
1. More likely to be attributed to a leader who articulates an attainable vision that will inspire follower collective action to achieve objectives necessary in fulfilling the vision.
2. A leader who creates an aura of confidence about the vision is more likely to be perceived as charismatic than a leader who demonstrates doubt and equivocation.
3. Charisma is more likely to be attributed to a leader who uses unconventional and novel strategies or practices to achieve the vision.

The two necessary attributes are:
1. The leader must be determined, self-confident and emotionally expressive.
2. Their followers must want to identify with the leader as a person, whether they are or are not experiencing a crisis.

Question 46

Why did transformational leadership grow?

Answer 46

Research showed that traditional transactional leadership only accounted for a small percentage in the variance of performance outcomes

Question 47

What is transactional leadership?

Answer 47

Rooted in the employment relationship/contract = exchange agreement.

Question 48

What is transformational leadership according to Burns?

Answer 48

Not an exchange process at all, leaders appeal to their followers’ sense of values beyond their own self-interests. Objective of transformation must benefit the organization

Question 49

When does transformational leadership occur according to Bass?

Answer 49

When leaders:
- broaden and elevate interests of employees
- generate awareness and acceptance of purposes and mission of the group
- stir their employees to look beyond their own self-interest for the good of the group.

–> Perform at levels that exceed expectations.

Question 50

What four essential behaviours does transformational leadership involve, according to Bass & Riggio?

Answer 50

1. Charisma or idealized effect. Leader share ethical values and behave in ways that allow him to serve as role model for followers (Walking the talk)
2. Inspirational motivation. Leader must have capacity to inspire and elevate employees’ motivation with challenging work and persuasion, to arouse team spirit, and achieve extraordinary outcomes at individual, group and organization level.
3. Intellectual stimulation. Leader encourage followers’ efforts to be creative thinkers and innovate by questioning assumptions, the status quo, reframing problems, and approaching old ways of doing in new ways.
4. Individualized consideration. Leader has emotional intelligence, to be able to handle human relationships.

Question 51

In addition to the four behavioural elements, which two others are included in Bass & Riggio’s model?

Answer 51

• Contingent reward. Rewards offered in exchange for satisfactory accomplishment of work → establishes transactional relationship.
• Management-by-exception (MBE). Active: Leaders carefully monitor followers’ actions. Passive: Leaders only involve themselves when things go wrong → their intervention is always associated with failure.

Question 52

What is the conclusion of Bass & Riggio’s model regarding transactional and transformational leadership?

Answer 52

Transactional leadership provides a broad basis for effective leadership, but extraordinary performance and commitment are possible if augmented by transformational leadership

Question 53

What is something that Bass & Riggio’s model on transformational leadership has been criticised for?

Answer 53

Being US-centric. In other countries, such as Finland where cooperation and relative equality are recurring themes, employees may be less prone to the appeals of charismatic leadership.

Question 54

What are the basic ideas of the Charismatic, Ideological and pragmatic (CIP) model of leadership?

Answer 54

• A leader’s sensemaking process is emphasized (reality is an ongoing achievement which develops from efforts to create order and make sense of events or conditions)
• Through sensemaking, leaders help followers see the past and to envision the future more clearly. Ideological leaders use past events to provide a common reference point that limits uncertainty.
• The CIP model postulates that an effective leader is a pragmatist, solving complex organizational problems.

Question 55

What are links between transformational leadership, innovation and change?

Answer 55

• Leaders can facilitate change by communicating a vision in a way that inspires employees, challenging them to look at old problems in new ways.
• Bass and Riggio’s model is essentially an emotional bonding between leader and followers, resulting in followers doing things they would probably not do under non-charismatic leadership.
• Employee voice: a culture where followers feel free to speak out and engage in decisions.

Question 56

What are some critiques of charismatic and transformational leadership?

Answer 56

• More similar than different?
• Lack of conceptual clarity; leadership treated as personality trait rather than behavior people can learn
• Reinforces heroic leader perspective, downplays followers’ skills
• Charismatic nature implies risks; blind obedience
• Downplay importance of power
• Ethical concerns. Followers must commit to leader while they accept increased insecurity in the employment relationship.

Question 57

What is the focal point of LMX theory?

Answer 57

The dyadic relationship between leaders and followers; leadership is a process centred in the interactions between them

Question 58

What was the first study on exchange theory?

Answer 58

Vertical Dyad Linkage (VDL) theory. Two general types of linkages/relationships:
- The in-group: based on expanded and negotiated role responsibilities (extra-roles).
- The out-group: based on the formal employment contract (defined roles).

Become part of groups depending on how well they work with leader and how they involve themselves in expanding their role responsibilities. In-group members get more compensation from the leader.

Question 59

What did subsequent LMX studies address (after VDL)?

Answer 59

How LMX theory was related to organisational effectiveness.

Results:
- High LMX produced less employee turnover, more positive performance evaluations, higher frequency of promotions, greater organizational commitment, better job attitudes, greater participation, etc.
- The importance of measuring LMX from both the leader and follower perspective was highlighted.
- A higher degree of electronic communication between leaders and followers resulted in more positive relationships.
- More recent research shows interest in contexts surrounding LMX relationships.
- LMX theory served as a mechanism to nurture people’s feelings, which then enhanced their creativity.
- There is a positive relationship between the quality of leader-member relationships and citizenship behavior (going beyond prescribed role).
- The quality of LMX matters most for employees who feel little empowerment.
- Greater autonomy increased the positive relationship between LMX and creativity at work.
- A negative relationship existed between LMX and counterproductive performance.

Question 60

How can LMX theory be used for leadership development?

Answer 60

Leaders should develop high quality exchanges with all of their followers rather than just a few. If all followers feel as if they are part of the in-group, it avoids inequalities and negative implications of being part of the out-group. Leaders can create networks of partnership throughout the organization, benefitting its goals and the leader’s own career progress.

Question 61

How do Graen & Uhl-Bien suggest that high-quality leader-member relations are developed?

Answer 61

Progressively over time in three phases.
1. The stranger phase. Relate to each other within prescribed organizational roles. One-way influence. Exchanges of lower quality. Self-interests rather than group.

2. The acquaintance phase. Begins with offer by leader or follower for improved career-oriented social exchanges. Testing period to assess whether the follower is willing to take on more roles/responsibilities and if the leader is willing to provide these new challenges. LMX quality medium. Self and other interests.
3. The mature partnership phase. High quality LMX. High degree of mutual trust, respect and obligation toward each other. Roles negotiated, two-way influence. High degree of reciprocity; each affects and is affected by the other.

Question 62

What is a key predictor of relationship quality and what do leaders and followers look for in each other?

Answer 62

Key predictor: performance

Leaders look for followers who: exhibit enthusiasm, participation, gregariousness and extraversion.

Followers look for leaders who are: pleasant, trusting, cooperative, and agreeable.

Question 63

How can LMX development be connected to emotional processes/stages?

Answer 63

Three stages:
1. Role taking. The leader initiates a relationship and cues are taken directly from the leader regarding the development of a higher-quality relationship based on interpersonal liking. The leader’s emotions are pivotal in the initiation and development of the LMX relationship.

2. Role making. Through interactions that occur, leaders’ and members’ emotional states become synchronized. They begin sharing emotional affect at similar times, and the emotions become contagious.
3. Role routinization. LMX relationships have been formed and maintained, but can change based on LMX differentiation; the emotional responses of other organizational members to the distribution of LMX relationships within the group.

Question 64

What are benefits for employees of high quality relationships (LMX)?

Answer 64

• preferential treatment
• increased job-related communication
• ample access to supervisors
• increased performance-related feedback

Question 65

What are disadvantages for employees of low quality relationships (LMX)?

Answer 65

• limited trust and support from supervisors
• few benefits outside the employment contract

Question 66

How are LMX typically evaluated?

Answer 66

Through a brief questionnaire that asks leaders and followers to report on the effectiveness of their working relationships (LMX-7 Questionnaire). It assesses the degree to which respondents express respect, trust, and obligation in their exchanges with others.

Question 67

How does LMX theory work descriptively?

Answer 67

• Suggests importance of recognising in/outgroups, for how to describe how work is conducted

Question 68

How does LMX theory work prescriptively?

Answer 68

Suggests that leaders should create a special relationship with all followers. Each follower should be offered the opportunity to take on new roles and responsibilities.

• When more is given than taken, the counterpart feels obliged to reciprocate

Question 69

What are strengths of the LMX theory?

Answer 69

• LMX is a strong descriptive theory. Intuitively it makes sense to describe work units in terms of those who contribute more and those who contribute less to the organization, and that those who contribute more get more in return.
• LMX theory is unique in that it is the only leadership approach that makes the concept of the dyadic relationship the centerpiece of the leadership process. Studies also confirm that LMX is a consistent explanation for why leadership behaviors affect follower performance.
• LMX theory is noteworthy because it directs our attention to the importance of communication in leadership. Communication is the vehicle through which leaders and followers create, nurture and sustain useful exchanges.
• LMX theory provides an important alert for leaders. It warns leaders to avoid letting conscious or unconscious biases influence who is invited into the in-group.
• LMX has proven to be a cross-cultural concept and has been studied in many cultures. LMX appears to be universal.
• A large body of research substantiates how the practice of LMX theory is related to positive organizational outcomes. By linking the use of LMX theory to real outcomes, researchers have been able to validate the theory and increase its practical value.

Question 70

What are some criticisms of LMX theory?

Answer 70

• LMX in its initial formulation (VDL theory) runs counter to the basic human value of fairness. It gives the appearance of discrimination of the out-group, and supports development of privileged groups. It also does not address other fairness issues.
• The basic ideas of the theory are not fully developed. For example, it does not fully explain how high quality LMXs are created.
• LMX may be grounded better in role theory than exchange theory, but this needs clarification.
• There is little agreement among researchers on how to define LMX.
• Researchers have not adequately explained the contextual factors that may have an impact in LMX relationships.
• Questions have been raised about the measurement of leader-member exchanges in LMX theory. Have been measured with different scales and with different levels of analysis, making the results not always comparable.
• Difficult to work with in practice
• Static theory

Question 71

How can leaders use LMX theory to improve their leadership behavior?

Answer 71

• LMX theory directs leaders to assess their leadership from a relationship perspective. They become aware of in- and out-groups, and can improve their organization by building strong LMXs with all their followers.
• Ideas in LMX theory can be used by leaders at all levels within an organization.
• On a lower level, LMX theory could be used to explain how line managers in a manufacturing plant develop high-quality relationships with workers to accomplish production quotas for their work unit.
• Ideas can be used to explain how individuals create leadership networks throughout an organization to help them accomplish work more effectively. When leaders are well connected in organizational networks, sharing ties in the LMX network is beneficial to members.
• LMX theory can be applied in different types of organizations.

Question 72

What is charisma according to Weber?

Answer 72

A quality, the person is treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at lest exceptional powers or qualities, not accessible to the ordinary person.