Psychodynamic Approach To Leadership
HRT6570.E1
ASSIGNMENT 4
Chapter 12
Explain how the Psychodynamic Approach differs from other leadership theories.
What is Freud’s contribution to the Psychodynamic Approach? What is the main function of leaders under the Psychodynamic Approach? What are the differences of this approach from those we have studied in previous chapters?
The psychodynamic approach places emphasis on leaders obtaining insight into their personality characteristics and understanding the responses of subordinates, based on their personalities (Psychodynamic approach to leadership, 2013). Most theories address observable, conscious, and rational phenomena and not the emotional and psychological realm of organizational life. Leadership …show more content…
theories are based on behaviors or ethical and moral psychology. The psychodynamic approach to leadership focuses on the dynamic forces of a person’s behavior. The leadership to psychodynamic approach has its roots in Sigmund Freud’s development of psychoanalysis. Freud believed that what really drives a person comes from within which also includes a person’s emotions. Freud also believed that neurotic or dysfunctional behavior were also symptoms and drivers of what a person was feeling from within (Northouse, 2014, p. 297). These drivers according to Freud are the origin of what causes a person to act out or behave the way they do. The key concepts and ideas behind the psychodynamic theory provide us with a better understanding of the hidden dynamics of organizational behavior and helps us figure out the motives to why people behave the way they do (Northouse, 2014, p. 301). The key concepts are; focus on the inner theatre, focus on leader-follower relationships, and focus on the shadow side of leadership. The inner theatre is based on those people who have influenced our experiences in life in one way or another. These influences become part of our core and are what contribute to our inner self and help mold our needs, desires, goals, and wishes. The focus on leader-follower pertains to three different groups; dependency, fight-flight, and pairing. Dependency groups are needy, fearful, and have a tendency to feel helpless (Northouse, 2014, p. 302). The leader is perceived by this group as the all empowering and as so they are willing to give up their own independence. The fight-flight individuals who perceive the organization as having two sides, the in-group and the out-group. Fight-flight is used as a tool for individuals to protect themselves from the so called enemies within the organization. The third assumption is called pairing. Pairing occurs when people believe that strength is in pairs. The truth is pairing causes more friction and actually causes splitting among pears resulting in inter and intragroup conflict (Northouse, 2014, p. 303). A leader’s main function under the psychodynamic approach is to obtain insight into their own personality make-up and figure out what it is that motivates and inspires them as a leader. By doing this a leader with have a better insight and understanding into what drives and motivates his/her subordinates. The same is true with subordinates; a leader can help facilitate them so that they too can gain insight and see their own needs and patterns of how they react to others. The key is not only to understand your own inner self and what motivates you but to also accept that we are all different with different motivations and we must be willing to accept those differences among our peers.
Chapter 13
Complete the Journal Article review. Locate an article about a current ethical issue within a business setting. Behaving ethically is doing the right thing and doing it the right way. It is about being honest, fair, and holding strong with regards to ethical standards. Ethics is about values and moral conduct as an individual and as a society as a whole. While ethics is about doing what is right or wrong, it is also about making sound decisions and asking ourselves if what we are about to do is good or bad. If you have to question your actions then most likely there is some bad or wrong involved. Donald Trump, as many of us know is running for president of the United States. Recently he made headlines when he stated on national television that Mexican immigrants were “rapists and killers” (John, 2015). Trump then took his position on the matter even further by announcing during an interview with the Golf Channel that the golfing world was in agreement with him on his immigration stand. The Golf Channel, the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, USGA and PGA of America immediately issued a joint statement to counter Trumps remarks and stated that Mr. Trump’s comments about the golf industry agreeing with him do not reflect the views of their organization (John, 2015). Many of his followers have begun to distance themselves from Trump since his comments and Trump has lost his business with many organizations. Macy’s, Univision, and Comcast NBC’s Universal have since severed ties with Trump since his accusations (John, 2015). The question arises was Donald Trump behaving like a sound and ethical leader? Ethical leadership is concentrated on respect, values, dignity, and for the rights of others. The concepts surrounding ethical leadership include trust, honesty, consideration, charisma, and fairness. Was Trump’s words fair when he stated that Mexican immigrants are “rapists and killers”? Was his words spoken honest and truthful? Did he take into consideration anyone’s feelings the day he announced to the whole world that Mexican immigrants are “rapists and killers”? Of course there are Mexican immigrants that are currently incarcerated in American prisons for rape or murder. There are also immigrants from other countries incarcerated in American prisons for the same crimes but Trump did not point out those immigrants. He specifically stated it was Mexican immigrants that were “rapists and killers”. According to the constitution of the United States every man is innocent until proven guilty. If this is the American way Trump was falsely accusing the entire Mexican immigration group of “rape and murder”. Was Trump’s statement about Mexican immigrants discriminatory? If so, was his words ethically wrong? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary discrimination is defined as the practice of unfairly treating a person or group of people differently from the way in which you treat others. Taking this definition into account this writer believes that Trump was indeed discriminating about the Mexican immigrants. Is his actions unethical? Since it is against the law to discriminate in the workplace, should Trump have to abide by this Federal law as well. He is running for President of the United States and the American people are looking to this leader for guidance and truth. Is leadership under this example has grossly failed the American people. America has always been considered the land of the free and as such our laws have allowed immigrants into our country. It is not fair nor ethically moral for one immigration group to be pointed out against in such a vial manner with no support or facts to back up such harsh statements. All leaders should have to adhere to a standard of excellence where what they say and how they behave is in a manner of clear and proper conduct (Northouse, 2014, p. 370).. Unfortunately, clear and proper conduct can mean many things to many people. What this writer considers as proper conduct means that we do not discriminate against any group and we follow the guidelines of the law as they are written. For some of us we find it necessary to go against the grain. It is what motivates us and gives us our purpose. Sometimes we say things we should not. How many times have you said something and as soon as the words rolled off your tongue you wish you could retract what you had just said? It has probably happened to most of us as none of us are perfect. But for this writer it is unfathomable to believe that Mr. Trump can honestly say such discriminating words and rather than issue a statement of apology he continues to defend his racially and unethical remarks. This writer cannot understand why he would be allowed to utter any more ugly untrue words on television. Clearly he is not an effective leader nor a sociable leader. Sociability is a leader’s inclination to seek out and possess a friendly, outgoing, courteous, tactful, and diplomatic approach in his leadership skills (Northouse, 2014, p. 26). America should not tolerate this type of behavior unless we are willing to go back in time. We have progressed so far and have learned so much about ethics and its importance in our lives. Clearly Mr. Trump does not consider ethical leadership of great importance. If he did he would have immediately retracted his false statement and issued a verbal apology to the Mexican immigrants that are currently in our country.
Distinguish between Kohlberg’s six stages of moral development. Moral development starts at infancy and progresses through adulthood.
It is the process through which children develop proper attitudes and behaviors toward other people in society, based on social and cultural norms, rules, and laws (Moral Development, 2015). It is the principles for how individuals should treat each other in regards to welfare, rights and respect for one another. Moral development is related to ethical leadership in that moral development is the foundation for ethical behavior. Ethics pertains to who a leader is and what they do and how they respond to situations. The ethical choices they make are influenced by their moral development (Northouse, 2014, p. …show more content…
330). According to Kohlberg there are six stages of moral development; obedience and punishment, individualism and exchange, interpersonal accord, maintaining the social order, social contract and individual rights, and universal principles. A person moves from one stage of moral development to another via cognitive development. The progression is consecutive and Kohlberg theorized that the six progression steps are developed in order and that one does not go back to any of the previous steps once he/she has progressed to the next level. Stage one, obedience and punishment is the stage where rules are important as they are handed down from authority and are tied to punishment. Stage two is individualism and exchange. At this stage one is about self-interest. In other words if it serves your interest it is right. This stage is not about the values from the community. Stage three, interpersonal accord and conformity involves moral choices. At this stage one is learning to conform to the beliefs of others and be nice as it is an important thing to be in society. Stage four is all about maintaining social order. Moral decisions are made based on society as a whole including obeying laws, rules, and having respect for authority. Stage five is social contract and individual rights. During this stage a person makes moral decisions based on what they feel is right. This is the stage for example, where a person contends that laws are important but the person also recognizes that individuals have their own opinions about what should and should not be law. Stage six, the final stage is universal principles. This stage is about individual moral reasoning and based around universal principles for justice and should apply to all individuals (Northouse, 2014, p. 333).
Explain Burns’ perspective on ethical leadership. Burns’ perspective of ethical leadership emphasizes the importance of how vital it is for leaders to attend to the personal motivations and moral development of his/her followers. Burns viewpoint was that transforming leadership ultimately becomes moral in that it raises the level of human conduct and ethical aspiration of both leader and the follower led, and therefore it has a altering effect on both parties (Monahan, 2012, p. 58). Burns’ belief is that is it important for a leader to help his/her followers better understand their own individual needs and values (Northouse, 2014, p. 338). He states that if a follower is going to grow and develop into a higher level of functioning it must begin with the leader. Burns’ belief would not be effective if the situation involved a corrupt leader and therefore his perspective is centered on ethical and moral characteristics that the leader must possess in order to successfully have their followers develop into a higher level of effective functioning.
Chapter 14
Define/describe Hill’s team leadership model. What is a leader’s mental model?
What behaviors by leaders are most effective for teams and what responsibilities does the leader have to meet team needs? Give a personal example that you observed or personally performed in a group setting that provided to meet team members’ needs. Hill’s team leadership model is based on the belief that the leader should monitor the team and then take any necessary action to ensure the success of the team’s effectiveness. Hill 's Team model is perhaps one of the superior models used as it provides the leader or a designated team member with a mental road map to help diagnose team problems, and then take appropriate action to correct those problems (Northouse, 2014, p. 366). The leader’s mental model is his/her reflection of what the problem or issue is that the team is currently being confronted with as well as the environmental and organizational issues that may be affected by the problem. The leader develops a mental picture of what solutions may be used to correct the problem. In order for this to be successful the leader will need a vast and effective repertoire of behavioral needs, actions, and/or skills to meet the team’s diverse needs. Team based problem solving is used by leaders as a means of attempts to help teams achieve their goals with the help of evaluating the internal and external situations and then implementing the proper behaviors to ensure the team’s success (Northouse, 2014, p. 366). This writer works for a non-profit organization. We are a group home that works to help at risk teens that have been severely neglected and abused to get the help they need through therapy, education, and love so that they may overcome their obstacles and grow into secure, healthy and happy individuals. Not all at risk teens can flourish in a group home setting. About three years ago the organization experienced a situation where this was the case. The teens lashed out by becoming angry and trying to hurt staff. There was a large amount of property damage and the campus was in an uproar. The supervisor reacted by giving the staff lectures and telling them they were not handling the situation with the teens properly. The CEO however saw the bigger picture of what was happening and came up with a plan of action. The goal for the CEO was to initiate a plan that would better insure that the teens the organization took in were in fact fit for a group home setting. He worked with the supervisors and staff to figure out a screening process for new admissions. The plan while not perfect was greatly successful. Thanks to the CEO he was able to see the bigger picture of the issue the staff members were facing and understood that the situation could get out of control quickly if the organization did not get a handle on the situation as soon as possible. The screening process it still in use and the organization as a whole has benefited from it.
What are the two critical functions of team effectiveness? Define and then describe the components (Hackman, 2012) and the characteristics (Larson &
LaFasto, 1989) provided to support group effectiveness. Give a personal example of three to four of these components/characteristics in groups/teams you worked with. Team effectiveness focuses on the desired outcome of team work. There are two critical functions of team effectiveness which include performance and development. Team performance is the task accomplishment or the quality of the teams work. Did the team meet their goals and objectives as well as they could have? Team development or team maintenance is the ability for teams to work together cohesively while fulfilling their personal needs as well as those needs of the team members. Not only is it important for teams to be able to function with each other they must do so in a way that is the most effective, efficient, and that enables team excellence.
According to Hackman, for this to occur teams must be energized, motivated and the goals and objectives for the team must be clearly stated so that the team understands the objective. Hackman’s theory is that teams should be enabled under certain conditions for the team to be effective. The components under Hackman’s theory include; compelling purpose, right people, real team, clear norms of conduct, supportive organizational context, and team focused coaching. Hackman believed that teams often failed due to an unclear goal. By having a compelling purpose teams become more engaged and motivated to meet their goals. Hackman’s theory states that teams should be constructed with the right mix and numbers of members and they should have the proper education, training, and information to be able to successfully do the job as a team. The same is true for real teams. They don’t just happen. Teams are developed and designed over time and must be united in their actions. Clear norms of conduct in this situation refers to how a team should act based on standards of excellence. Hackman felts that with a clear excellence standard put in place a team member will feel pressure to perform to the best of his/her ability. Supportive organizational context refers to external support and recognition. Teams should not only
be given challenging assignments but they should also be given organizational support to help accomplish the assignment (Northouse, 2014, p. 371). It is the job of the leader to determine what type of organizational support will be necessary. Team focused coaching is vital toward team effectiveness. Leadership should monitor teams performance in an effort to help the team learn and grow stronger and be more successful in their attempts to meet their goals for the organization. There are eight characteristics that Larson and LaFasto provided to help support team effectiveness. They include; clear evaluating goals, results-driven structure, competent team members, unified commitment, collaborative climate, standards of excellence, external support and recognition, and principled leadership. Larson and LaFasto believed that teams often fail because they lose sight of the goal and that leadership must effectively keep the teams clearly focused on the goal. Results-driven structure is the clarity surrounding who is responsible for what and when they will be responsible for completing their role. Not everyone can excel at everything, which is why each team should have competent team members. A team should be chosen based on their core competencies including the ability to do the job assigned and the ability to solve problems; if a team is lacking either of these they will most likely be unsuccessful at their assignment. Unified commitment according to Larson and LaFasto is simply team spirit. This occurs when a team becomes united as one. A collaborative climate is the ability for a team leader to enable a collaborative climate for team member by managing their own needs to control, having safe communication among the team members, demanding and rewarding collaboration, and guiding the team in their problem solving efforts (Northouse, 2014, p.370). Leaders should demand standards of excellence which can happen when leaders require results, provide feedback to team members, and have clear cut expectations and rewarding superior performance. External support and recognition can be achieved when they have the resources necessary to successfully complete their job, are recognized for their team accomplishments and rewarded for their team performance. Finally, principled leadership is essential to the health and well-being of the team. This can be managed when a leader helps keep the team focused on the goal, maintain a healthy collaborative climate, build a team with confident members, set priorities, demonstrate technical competence, and manage priorities. When this writer was in her early twenties she was assigned a team project at work. The team included three people. This writer was new to the organization and still in the probation stage and the other two team members had been there for several years and were also close friend outside of work. The group planned to meet over the weekend to assign each member the duties that they would be responsible for. This writer arrived at the meeting place on time and waited for the other two members. They never showed. After several failed attempts to contact both members this writer went home and began the task of the assignment. Since this writer was new she wanted to make a good impression so this writer ended up doing 90% of the job myself. This was clearly as case of non-unified commitment, a lack of collaboration and a lack of competent team members. Every three years our organization goes through a reaccreditation with the State of Florida. Since this writer is the Facilities and Business Supervisor it is her responsibility to see that the facility is up and running efficiently and according to the state standards. To prepare for this process each member of my team is assigned detailed tasks and daily follow-up is expected. We have become quite good at this process. We all understand what it at stake, what needs to be accomplished, what our goals are, and the strengths and weaknesses of each member. There are times when emergency situations arise and when that happens we all jump in to pick up the slack so that we can maintain our schedule. Each time we prepare for the reaccreditation we become a stronger team and we become more efficient. This writer believes that we have covered all the bases and that is why we are successful as a team. We have collaboration, a clear goal, we are certainly driven to succeed, we have a competent team that works well together, we maintain a standard of excellence, have the support and leadership we need to succeed.
Chapter 15
Several metaphors are used in the text to describe women’s experience in leadership: glass ceiling, labyrinth, glass escalator, glass cliff, and jungle gym.
Which of these is most fitting in your view?
The glass cliff is a term defined as the occurrence of women executives in the corporate world being likelier than men to be put in leadership roles during periods of crisis or downturn, when the chance of failure is highest. In this writer’s opinion, the glass cliff seems to be most fitting as this writer has actually seen another woman experience the glass cliff situation firsthand and therefore find it to be the metaphor that this writer can best relate too. A few years ago my boss Michelle was promoted to the Director of the children’s center. She felt ecstatic about her promotion and could not wait to take the bull by the horns. Her second month in the position she was called to the corporate office for a budget meeting. She was given a copy of the budget for our office and given strict orders that she must follow and not go over her budget. She had no input in the process of the budget at all. Several weeks went by and she came to me to discuss her uneasiness about the budget. She asked me to review it and see what this writer thought about the numbers. It was immediately clear to this writer that there was no way Michelle would be able to meet this budget. The numbers were way off and what they were asking of her was quite ridicules. For example the amount budgeted for office supplies for the year was $300 and utilities were way off as well as many other line items. The organization had based the income off of x amount of dollars received for donations and x amount of dollars received for each child housed at the center. The problem was the donation amount that the company expected was up more than $100,000 from the previous year and the number of children housed was 40 children on average. The normal average in the past had been based on 34 children. What came out in the end was management had fudged on their numbers to the board members and someone had to be the fall guy for that, so they chose Michelle for that role. She was placed in an impossible situation and in the end she left the company just six months into her new position. It was obvious that she was on a glass cliff and she had nowhere to go but down.
Chapter 16
Explain the focus of culture and leadership. How has globalization influenced what leadership researchers have studied and learned? Describe and define Adler & Bartholemew’s five cross-cultural competencies for leaders. What competencies do you think leaders need? Give examples that demonstrate and support your views.
Culture and leadership focuses on a assortment of related ideas rather than a single unified theory. Culture has been the focus of many studies especially the many dimensions of culture. As discussed earlier, House’s research on cultural leadership he identified nine different dimensions of cultural leadership. Adler and Bartholomew believed that globalization had created the need for leaders to become competent in their cross cultural awareness and leadership skills (Northouse, 2014, p. 427). They further suggested that leaders develop five cross-cultural competencies; first is the need to understand business and political and cultural environments. Second a leader must understand the perspectives, tastes, trends and technologies of other cultures. Leaders must be able to work simultaneously with their peers from other cultures. Fourth leaders must communicate and adapt to the living style of the others cultures. Finally a leader should not feel superior but equal to other cultures. This writer feels that a good global leader should possess all five of the competencies mentioned above. It is hard to take any of the five competencies out of the equation as is could make or break a business that is trying to go Global. While we are all living, breathing, and working people spread out on this vast earth we possess many differences due to our cultural upbringing. If a company wants to expand into other countries they must understand the ways of that country and how they operate as a culture. The last thing a business wants to do is offend another country. This may likely happen if they do not know or understand the cultural ways of the people within that country. For example the Muslim community prays five times a day as part of their cultural upbringing. If an American company expanded their business into Turkey and did not take the five daily prayers into account it would cause a huge disturbance between the two cultures. By understanding Turkey’s culture prior to the expansion this would be taken into consideration.
Describe House’s research on the relationship between culture and leadership.
What is GLOBE and what are its nine cultural dimensions? Describe the nine cultural dimensions and provide different examples from those in the chapter to illustrate your understanding.
House headed up a research on the relationship between culture and leadership. House believed that increased globalization created many new challenges for multinational organizations including culturally diverse employees and the appropriate leadership to head up these conglomerate organizations. Globalization created cultural differences and House felt it was important to understand the affect this difference had on leadership. This research resulted in the GLOBE research program in 1991 which studied 62 societies, and more than 160 investigators. GLOBE researchers used quantitative methods to study 17,000 managers in over 950 organizations. The researchers of GLOBE developed their own classification of cultural dimensions known as the nine cultural dimensions. One dimension is uncertainty avoidance (UA) which refers to the extent to which a society, organization, or group relies on established social norms, rituals, and procedures to try and avoid uncertainty (Northouse, 2014, p. 431). There are two types of uncertainty avoidance high UA and low UA. A person who possesses high UA may follow a strict structure and could possess signs of emotional stress. A person with low UA is more informal in their actions with others. An example, a body builder would be a person who would be considered a high US. Body builders follow a daily structured schedule and diet. Swaying from their daily workout and eating routine will likely result in emotional stress. On the other hand a person that would be considered a low UA does not workout daily or follow a strict diet and will likely be more carefree about their schedule and diet and not feel so much pressure or stress. Power distance is the unequal sharing of power among group members. Power distance creates levels between peers based on power, prestige, authority, wealth, status, and material possessions (Northouse, 2014, p. 432). There are high and low levels of power distance. An example of high power distance would be working in an office where you are expected to do your job and not allowed to converse with your coworkers, if you do you will be reprimanded by your boss. Low levels of power distance would be a work place that is open to suggestions, where it is encouraged to interact with your work peers, where it is accepted to have your own thoughts and ideas and speak freely to your boss about your thoughts regarding an upcoming project. Working at an office with this type of environment is an example of low power distance. Institutional collectivism (IC) describes the degree to which an organization or society encourages institutional or societal collective action. IC deals with whether cultures identify with broader societal interests rather than individual goals and accomplishments. Hitler’s Nazi Germany is a prime example of high IC. During his rule in Germany the society he ruled were not allowed to have their own thoughts. Hitler ruled with an iron fist and high collectivism with all his rules and laws. An example of low IC would be the United States as we are more drawn to individual rather than societal collectivism. We unlike Nazi Germany are allowed to have our own thoughts and goals, it is an acceptable action. In-group collectivism is the degree to which people possess pride, loyalty and cohesiveness within an organization or family. In group collectivism shows to what extent a person is devoted to the organization or family. During the time of the thirteen colonies there was a much higher level of in-group collectivism between work and family. During that time without work and family you could not survive. In today’s American society there is not such an emphasis on family and your family name as it used to be, making modern day America a low level of collectivism. Gender Egalitarianism (GE) is the degree to which an organization or society minimized gender role difference and promotes gender equality (Northouse, 2014, p. 433). An example of high GE would be the acceptance of gay marriage in the United States. Gays are accepted and allowed to be a normal part of American society. An example of low GE would be Indonesia. In this country not only to they not recognize gay marriage it is against the law to engage homosexual acts making this country in this instance a low GE. Assertiveness is the degree to which people in a culture ae determined, assertive, confrontational, and aggressive in their social relationships (Northouse, 2014, p. 433). An example of high assertiveness could be the deaf and hard of hearing community. This community is very emotional when they sign and do so with a high extreme of aggressiveness. A low assertiveness example could be a doctor that teaches or specializes in anger management. Someone in this field would tend to have a low assertive behavior. Future orientation (FO) is the extent to which people engage in future-oriented behaviors such as planning, investing in the future, and delaying gratification (Northouse, 2014, p. 433). An example of this could be a small mom and pop’s business. A small company tends to stay somewhat set in their ways. They live day to day with no thought or expansion for the future. Whereas a large organization tends to plan and invest in their future goals and visions. A company that plans for the future would be considered a high FO. Performance orientation (PO) is the extent to which an organization or society encourages and rewards group members for improved performance and excellence. A culture of PO’s are concerned with rewards for meeting goals. An example of high PO would be a family who ties allowances to a child’s grades or weekly chores. Whereas a low PO family may have no emphasis or reward placed on their children for doing well in school or fulling their obligations to the family. Humane orientation (HO) is the degree to which a culture encourages and rewards people for being fair, altruistic, generous, caring, and kind to others (Northouse, 2014, p. 434). Growing up in Charleston this writer was blessed with an incredible Great Grandmother that placed a high emphasis on love, care and kindness. One day when this writer was six years old she helped an older man pick up the groceries he had dropped in the store parking lot. My Great Grandmother made a special cake that evening for me as a reward for being so kind to the man. She possessed a high HO.
References
John, T. (2015). Donald Trump Deserted By Partners as Immigrant Furor Grows. Time.Com, N.PAG.
Monahan, K. (2012). A Review of the Literature Concerning Ethical Leadership in Organizations. Emerging Leadership Journeys, 5(1), 58-58. Retrieved July 29, 2015, from http://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/elj/vol5iss1/ELJ_Vol5No1_Monah an_pp56-66.pdf
Moral development. (2015). Retrieved July 28, 2015, from http://www.healthofchildren.com/M/Moral-Development.html
Northouse, P. (2014). Leadership: Theory and Practice (7th ed.). Sage.
Psychodynamic approach to leadership. (2013, November 23). Retrieved July 28, 2015, from http://sites.psu.edu/leadership/2013/11/23/psychodynamic-approach-to- leadership/
ASSIGNMENT 4
Chapter 12
Explain how the Psychodynamic Approach differs from other leadership theories.
What is Freud’s contribution to the Psychodynamic Approach? What is the main function of leaders under the Psychodynamic Approach? What are the differences of this approach from those we have studied in previous chapters?
The psychodynamic approach places emphasis on leaders obtaining insight into their personality characteristics and understanding the responses of subordinates, based on their personalities (Psychodynamic approach to leadership, 2013). Most theories address observable, conscious, and rational phenomena and not the emotional and psychological realm of organizational life. Leadership …show more content…
theories are based on behaviors or ethical and moral psychology. The psychodynamic approach to leadership focuses on the dynamic forces of a person’s behavior. The leadership to psychodynamic approach has its roots in Sigmund Freud’s development of psychoanalysis. Freud believed that what really drives a person comes from within which also includes a person’s emotions. Freud also believed that neurotic or dysfunctional behavior were also symptoms and drivers of what a person was feeling from within (Northouse, 2014, p. 297). These drivers according to Freud are the origin of what causes a person to act out or behave the way they do. The key concepts and ideas behind the psychodynamic theory provide us with a better understanding of the hidden dynamics of organizational behavior and helps us figure out the motives to why people behave the way they do (Northouse, 2014, p. 301). The key concepts are; focus on the inner theatre, focus on leader-follower relationships, and focus on the shadow side of leadership. The inner theatre is based on those people who have influenced our experiences in life in one way or another. These influences become part of our core and are what contribute to our inner self and help mold our needs, desires, goals, and wishes. The focus on leader-follower pertains to three different groups; dependency, fight-flight, and pairing. Dependency groups are needy, fearful, and have a tendency to feel helpless (Northouse, 2014, p. 302). The leader is perceived by this group as the all empowering and as so they are willing to give up their own independence. The fight-flight individuals who perceive the organization as having two sides, the in-group and the out-group. Fight-flight is used as a tool for individuals to protect themselves from the so called enemies within the organization. The third assumption is called pairing. Pairing occurs when people believe that strength is in pairs. The truth is pairing causes more friction and actually causes splitting among pears resulting in inter and intragroup conflict (Northouse, 2014, p. 303). A leader’s main function under the psychodynamic approach is to obtain insight into their own personality make-up and figure out what it is that motivates and inspires them as a leader. By doing this a leader with have a better insight and understanding into what drives and motivates his/her subordinates. The same is true with subordinates; a leader can help facilitate them so that they too can gain insight and see their own needs and patterns of how they react to others. The key is not only to understand your own inner self and what motivates you but to also accept that we are all different with different motivations and we must be willing to accept those differences among our peers.
Chapter 13
Complete the Journal Article review. Locate an article about a current ethical issue within a business setting. Behaving ethically is doing the right thing and doing it the right way. It is about being honest, fair, and holding strong with regards to ethical standards. Ethics is about values and moral conduct as an individual and as a society as a whole. While ethics is about doing what is right or wrong, it is also about making sound decisions and asking ourselves if what we are about to do is good or bad. If you have to question your actions then most likely there is some bad or wrong involved. Donald Trump, as many of us know is running for president of the United States. Recently he made headlines when he stated on national television that Mexican immigrants were “rapists and killers” (John, 2015). Trump then took his position on the matter even further by announcing during an interview with the Golf Channel that the golfing world was in agreement with him on his immigration stand. The Golf Channel, the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, USGA and PGA of America immediately issued a joint statement to counter Trumps remarks and stated that Mr. Trump’s comments about the golf industry agreeing with him do not reflect the views of their organization (John, 2015). Many of his followers have begun to distance themselves from Trump since his comments and Trump has lost his business with many organizations. Macy’s, Univision, and Comcast NBC’s Universal have since severed ties with Trump since his accusations (John, 2015). The question arises was Donald Trump behaving like a sound and ethical leader? Ethical leadership is concentrated on respect, values, dignity, and for the rights of others. The concepts surrounding ethical leadership include trust, honesty, consideration, charisma, and fairness. Was Trump’s words fair when he stated that Mexican immigrants are “rapists and killers”? Was his words spoken honest and truthful? Did he take into consideration anyone’s feelings the day he announced to the whole world that Mexican immigrants are “rapists and killers”? Of course there are Mexican immigrants that are currently incarcerated in American prisons for rape or murder. There are also immigrants from other countries incarcerated in American prisons for the same crimes but Trump did not point out those immigrants. He specifically stated it was Mexican immigrants that were “rapists and killers”. According to the constitution of the United States every man is innocent until proven guilty. If this is the American way Trump was falsely accusing the entire Mexican immigration group of “rape and murder”. Was Trump’s statement about Mexican immigrants discriminatory? If so, was his words ethically wrong? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary discrimination is defined as the practice of unfairly treating a person or group of people differently from the way in which you treat others. Taking this definition into account this writer believes that Trump was indeed discriminating about the Mexican immigrants. Is his actions unethical? Since it is against the law to discriminate in the workplace, should Trump have to abide by this Federal law as well. He is running for President of the United States and the American people are looking to this leader for guidance and truth. Is leadership under this example has grossly failed the American people. America has always been considered the land of the free and as such our laws have allowed immigrants into our country. It is not fair nor ethically moral for one immigration group to be pointed out against in such a vial manner with no support or facts to back up such harsh statements. All leaders should have to adhere to a standard of excellence where what they say and how they behave is in a manner of clear and proper conduct (Northouse, 2014, p. 370).. Unfortunately, clear and proper conduct can mean many things to many people. What this writer considers as proper conduct means that we do not discriminate against any group and we follow the guidelines of the law as they are written. For some of us we find it necessary to go against the grain. It is what motivates us and gives us our purpose. Sometimes we say things we should not. How many times have you said something and as soon as the words rolled off your tongue you wish you could retract what you had just said? It has probably happened to most of us as none of us are perfect. But for this writer it is unfathomable to believe that Mr. Trump can honestly say such discriminating words and rather than issue a statement of apology he continues to defend his racially and unethical remarks. This writer cannot understand why he would be allowed to utter any more ugly untrue words on television. Clearly he is not an effective leader nor a sociable leader. Sociability is a leader’s inclination to seek out and possess a friendly, outgoing, courteous, tactful, and diplomatic approach in his leadership skills (Northouse, 2014, p. 26). America should not tolerate this type of behavior unless we are willing to go back in time. We have progressed so far and have learned so much about ethics and its importance in our lives. Clearly Mr. Trump does not consider ethical leadership of great importance. If he did he would have immediately retracted his false statement and issued a verbal apology to the Mexican immigrants that are currently in our country.
Distinguish between Kohlberg’s six stages of moral development. Moral development starts at infancy and progresses through adulthood.
It is the process through which children develop proper attitudes and behaviors toward other people in society, based on social and cultural norms, rules, and laws (Moral Development, 2015). It is the principles for how individuals should treat each other in regards to welfare, rights and respect for one another. Moral development is related to ethical leadership in that moral development is the foundation for ethical behavior. Ethics pertains to who a leader is and what they do and how they respond to situations. The ethical choices they make are influenced by their moral development (Northouse, 2014, p. …show more content…
330). According to Kohlberg there are six stages of moral development; obedience and punishment, individualism and exchange, interpersonal accord, maintaining the social order, social contract and individual rights, and universal principles. A person moves from one stage of moral development to another via cognitive development. The progression is consecutive and Kohlberg theorized that the six progression steps are developed in order and that one does not go back to any of the previous steps once he/she has progressed to the next level. Stage one, obedience and punishment is the stage where rules are important as they are handed down from authority and are tied to punishment. Stage two is individualism and exchange. At this stage one is about self-interest. In other words if it serves your interest it is right. This stage is not about the values from the community. Stage three, interpersonal accord and conformity involves moral choices. At this stage one is learning to conform to the beliefs of others and be nice as it is an important thing to be in society. Stage four is all about maintaining social order. Moral decisions are made based on society as a whole including obeying laws, rules, and having respect for authority. Stage five is social contract and individual rights. During this stage a person makes moral decisions based on what they feel is right. This is the stage for example, where a person contends that laws are important but the person also recognizes that individuals have their own opinions about what should and should not be law. Stage six, the final stage is universal principles. This stage is about individual moral reasoning and based around universal principles for justice and should apply to all individuals (Northouse, 2014, p. 333).
Explain Burns’ perspective on ethical leadership. Burns’ perspective of ethical leadership emphasizes the importance of how vital it is for leaders to attend to the personal motivations and moral development of his/her followers. Burns viewpoint was that transforming leadership ultimately becomes moral in that it raises the level of human conduct and ethical aspiration of both leader and the follower led, and therefore it has a altering effect on both parties (Monahan, 2012, p. 58). Burns’ belief is that is it important for a leader to help his/her followers better understand their own individual needs and values (Northouse, 2014, p. 338). He states that if a follower is going to grow and develop into a higher level of functioning it must begin with the leader. Burns’ belief would not be effective if the situation involved a corrupt leader and therefore his perspective is centered on ethical and moral characteristics that the leader must possess in order to successfully have their followers develop into a higher level of effective functioning.
Chapter 14
Define/describe Hill’s team leadership model. What is a leader’s mental model?
What behaviors by leaders are most effective for teams and what responsibilities does the leader have to meet team needs? Give a personal example that you observed or personally performed in a group setting that provided to meet team members’ needs. Hill’s team leadership model is based on the belief that the leader should monitor the team and then take any necessary action to ensure the success of the team’s effectiveness. Hill 's Team model is perhaps one of the superior models used as it provides the leader or a designated team member with a mental road map to help diagnose team problems, and then take appropriate action to correct those problems (Northouse, 2014, p. 366). The leader’s mental model is his/her reflection of what the problem or issue is that the team is currently being confronted with as well as the environmental and organizational issues that may be affected by the problem. The leader develops a mental picture of what solutions may be used to correct the problem. In order for this to be successful the leader will need a vast and effective repertoire of behavioral needs, actions, and/or skills to meet the team’s diverse needs. Team based problem solving is used by leaders as a means of attempts to help teams achieve their goals with the help of evaluating the internal and external situations and then implementing the proper behaviors to ensure the team’s success (Northouse, 2014, p. 366). This writer works for a non-profit organization. We are a group home that works to help at risk teens that have been severely neglected and abused to get the help they need through therapy, education, and love so that they may overcome their obstacles and grow into secure, healthy and happy individuals. Not all at risk teens can flourish in a group home setting. About three years ago the organization experienced a situation where this was the case. The teens lashed out by becoming angry and trying to hurt staff. There was a large amount of property damage and the campus was in an uproar. The supervisor reacted by giving the staff lectures and telling them they were not handling the situation with the teens properly. The CEO however saw the bigger picture of what was happening and came up with a plan of action. The goal for the CEO was to initiate a plan that would better insure that the teens the organization took in were in fact fit for a group home setting. He worked with the supervisors and staff to figure out a screening process for new admissions. The plan while not perfect was greatly successful. Thanks to the CEO he was able to see the bigger picture of the issue the staff members were facing and understood that the situation could get out of control quickly if the organization did not get a handle on the situation as soon as possible. The screening process it still in use and the organization as a whole has benefited from it.
What are the two critical functions of team effectiveness? Define and then describe the components (Hackman, 2012) and the characteristics (Larson &
LaFasto, 1989) provided to support group effectiveness. Give a personal example of three to four of these components/characteristics in groups/teams you worked with. Team effectiveness focuses on the desired outcome of team work. There are two critical functions of team effectiveness which include performance and development. Team performance is the task accomplishment or the quality of the teams work. Did the team meet their goals and objectives as well as they could have? Team development or team maintenance is the ability for teams to work together cohesively while fulfilling their personal needs as well as those needs of the team members. Not only is it important for teams to be able to function with each other they must do so in a way that is the most effective, efficient, and that enables team excellence.
According to Hackman, for this to occur teams must be energized, motivated and the goals and objectives for the team must be clearly stated so that the team understands the objective. Hackman’s theory is that teams should be enabled under certain conditions for the team to be effective. The components under Hackman’s theory include; compelling purpose, right people, real team, clear norms of conduct, supportive organizational context, and team focused coaching. Hackman believed that teams often failed due to an unclear goal. By having a compelling purpose teams become more engaged and motivated to meet their goals. Hackman’s theory states that teams should be constructed with the right mix and numbers of members and they should have the proper education, training, and information to be able to successfully do the job as a team. The same is true for real teams. They don’t just happen. Teams are developed and designed over time and must be united in their actions. Clear norms of conduct in this situation refers to how a team should act based on standards of excellence. Hackman felts that with a clear excellence standard put in place a team member will feel pressure to perform to the best of his/her ability. Supportive organizational context refers to external support and recognition. Teams should not only
be given challenging assignments but they should also be given organizational support to help accomplish the assignment (Northouse, 2014, p. 371). It is the job of the leader to determine what type of organizational support will be necessary. Team focused coaching is vital toward team effectiveness. Leadership should monitor teams performance in an effort to help the team learn and grow stronger and be more successful in their attempts to meet their goals for the organization. There are eight characteristics that Larson and LaFasto provided to help support team effectiveness. They include; clear evaluating goals, results-driven structure, competent team members, unified commitment, collaborative climate, standards of excellence, external support and recognition, and principled leadership. Larson and LaFasto believed that teams often fail because they lose sight of the goal and that leadership must effectively keep the teams clearly focused on the goal. Results-driven structure is the clarity surrounding who is responsible for what and when they will be responsible for completing their role. Not everyone can excel at everything, which is why each team should have competent team members. A team should be chosen based on their core competencies including the ability to do the job assigned and the ability to solve problems; if a team is lacking either of these they will most likely be unsuccessful at their assignment. Unified commitment according to Larson and LaFasto is simply team spirit. This occurs when a team becomes united as one. A collaborative climate is the ability for a team leader to enable a collaborative climate for team member by managing their own needs to control, having safe communication among the team members, demanding and rewarding collaboration, and guiding the team in their problem solving efforts (Northouse, 2014, p.370). Leaders should demand standards of excellence which can happen when leaders require results, provide feedback to team members, and have clear cut expectations and rewarding superior performance. External support and recognition can be achieved when they have the resources necessary to successfully complete their job, are recognized for their team accomplishments and rewarded for their team performance. Finally, principled leadership is essential to the health and well-being of the team. This can be managed when a leader helps keep the team focused on the goal, maintain a healthy collaborative climate, build a team with confident members, set priorities, demonstrate technical competence, and manage priorities. When this writer was in her early twenties she was assigned a team project at work. The team included three people. This writer was new to the organization and still in the probation stage and the other two team members had been there for several years and were also close friend outside of work. The group planned to meet over the weekend to assign each member the duties that they would be responsible for. This writer arrived at the meeting place on time and waited for the other two members. They never showed. After several failed attempts to contact both members this writer went home and began the task of the assignment. Since this writer was new she wanted to make a good impression so this writer ended up doing 90% of the job myself. This was clearly as case of non-unified commitment, a lack of collaboration and a lack of competent team members. Every three years our organization goes through a reaccreditation with the State of Florida. Since this writer is the Facilities and Business Supervisor it is her responsibility to see that the facility is up and running efficiently and according to the state standards. To prepare for this process each member of my team is assigned detailed tasks and daily follow-up is expected. We have become quite good at this process. We all understand what it at stake, what needs to be accomplished, what our goals are, and the strengths and weaknesses of each member. There are times when emergency situations arise and when that happens we all jump in to pick up the slack so that we can maintain our schedule. Each time we prepare for the reaccreditation we become a stronger team and we become more efficient. This writer believes that we have covered all the bases and that is why we are successful as a team. We have collaboration, a clear goal, we are certainly driven to succeed, we have a competent team that works well together, we maintain a standard of excellence, have the support and leadership we need to succeed.
Chapter 15
Several metaphors are used in the text to describe women’s experience in leadership: glass ceiling, labyrinth, glass escalator, glass cliff, and jungle gym.
Which of these is most fitting in your view?
The glass cliff is a term defined as the occurrence of women executives in the corporate world being likelier than men to be put in leadership roles during periods of crisis or downturn, when the chance of failure is highest. In this writer’s opinion, the glass cliff seems to be most fitting as this writer has actually seen another woman experience the glass cliff situation firsthand and therefore find it to be the metaphor that this writer can best relate too. A few years ago my boss Michelle was promoted to the Director of the children’s center. She felt ecstatic about her promotion and could not wait to take the bull by the horns. Her second month in the position she was called to the corporate office for a budget meeting. She was given a copy of the budget for our office and given strict orders that she must follow and not go over her budget. She had no input in the process of the budget at all. Several weeks went by and she came to me to discuss her uneasiness about the budget. She asked me to review it and see what this writer thought about the numbers. It was immediately clear to this writer that there was no way Michelle would be able to meet this budget. The numbers were way off and what they were asking of her was quite ridicules. For example the amount budgeted for office supplies for the year was $300 and utilities were way off as well as many other line items. The organization had based the income off of x amount of dollars received for donations and x amount of dollars received for each child housed at the center. The problem was the donation amount that the company expected was up more than $100,000 from the previous year and the number of children housed was 40 children on average. The normal average in the past had been based on 34 children. What came out in the end was management had fudged on their numbers to the board members and someone had to be the fall guy for that, so they chose Michelle for that role. She was placed in an impossible situation and in the end she left the company just six months into her new position. It was obvious that she was on a glass cliff and she had nowhere to go but down.
Chapter 16
Explain the focus of culture and leadership. How has globalization influenced what leadership researchers have studied and learned? Describe and define Adler & Bartholemew’s five cross-cultural competencies for leaders. What competencies do you think leaders need? Give examples that demonstrate and support your views.
Culture and leadership focuses on a assortment of related ideas rather than a single unified theory. Culture has been the focus of many studies especially the many dimensions of culture. As discussed earlier, House’s research on cultural leadership he identified nine different dimensions of cultural leadership. Adler and Bartholomew believed that globalization had created the need for leaders to become competent in their cross cultural awareness and leadership skills (Northouse, 2014, p. 427). They further suggested that leaders develop five cross-cultural competencies; first is the need to understand business and political and cultural environments. Second a leader must understand the perspectives, tastes, trends and technologies of other cultures. Leaders must be able to work simultaneously with their peers from other cultures. Fourth leaders must communicate and adapt to the living style of the others cultures. Finally a leader should not feel superior but equal to other cultures. This writer feels that a good global leader should possess all five of the competencies mentioned above. It is hard to take any of the five competencies out of the equation as is could make or break a business that is trying to go Global. While we are all living, breathing, and working people spread out on this vast earth we possess many differences due to our cultural upbringing. If a company wants to expand into other countries they must understand the ways of that country and how they operate as a culture. The last thing a business wants to do is offend another country. This may likely happen if they do not know or understand the cultural ways of the people within that country. For example the Muslim community prays five times a day as part of their cultural upbringing. If an American company expanded their business into Turkey and did not take the five daily prayers into account it would cause a huge disturbance between the two cultures. By understanding Turkey’s culture prior to the expansion this would be taken into consideration.
Describe House’s research on the relationship between culture and leadership.
What is GLOBE and what are its nine cultural dimensions? Describe the nine cultural dimensions and provide different examples from those in the chapter to illustrate your understanding.
House headed up a research on the relationship between culture and leadership. House believed that increased globalization created many new challenges for multinational organizations including culturally diverse employees and the appropriate leadership to head up these conglomerate organizations. Globalization created cultural differences and House felt it was important to understand the affect this difference had on leadership. This research resulted in the GLOBE research program in 1991 which studied 62 societies, and more than 160 investigators. GLOBE researchers used quantitative methods to study 17,000 managers in over 950 organizations. The researchers of GLOBE developed their own classification of cultural dimensions known as the nine cultural dimensions. One dimension is uncertainty avoidance (UA) which refers to the extent to which a society, organization, or group relies on established social norms, rituals, and procedures to try and avoid uncertainty (Northouse, 2014, p. 431). There are two types of uncertainty avoidance high UA and low UA. A person who possesses high UA may follow a strict structure and could possess signs of emotional stress. A person with low UA is more informal in their actions with others. An example, a body builder would be a person who would be considered a high US. Body builders follow a daily structured schedule and diet. Swaying from their daily workout and eating routine will likely result in emotional stress. On the other hand a person that would be considered a low UA does not workout daily or follow a strict diet and will likely be more carefree about their schedule and diet and not feel so much pressure or stress. Power distance is the unequal sharing of power among group members. Power distance creates levels between peers based on power, prestige, authority, wealth, status, and material possessions (Northouse, 2014, p. 432). There are high and low levels of power distance. An example of high power distance would be working in an office where you are expected to do your job and not allowed to converse with your coworkers, if you do you will be reprimanded by your boss. Low levels of power distance would be a work place that is open to suggestions, where it is encouraged to interact with your work peers, where it is accepted to have your own thoughts and ideas and speak freely to your boss about your thoughts regarding an upcoming project. Working at an office with this type of environment is an example of low power distance. Institutional collectivism (IC) describes the degree to which an organization or society encourages institutional or societal collective action. IC deals with whether cultures identify with broader societal interests rather than individual goals and accomplishments. Hitler’s Nazi Germany is a prime example of high IC. During his rule in Germany the society he ruled were not allowed to have their own thoughts. Hitler ruled with an iron fist and high collectivism with all his rules and laws. An example of low IC would be the United States as we are more drawn to individual rather than societal collectivism. We unlike Nazi Germany are allowed to have our own thoughts and goals, it is an acceptable action. In-group collectivism is the degree to which people possess pride, loyalty and cohesiveness within an organization or family. In group collectivism shows to what extent a person is devoted to the organization or family. During the time of the thirteen colonies there was a much higher level of in-group collectivism between work and family. During that time without work and family you could not survive. In today’s American society there is not such an emphasis on family and your family name as it used to be, making modern day America a low level of collectivism. Gender Egalitarianism (GE) is the degree to which an organization or society minimized gender role difference and promotes gender equality (Northouse, 2014, p. 433). An example of high GE would be the acceptance of gay marriage in the United States. Gays are accepted and allowed to be a normal part of American society. An example of low GE would be Indonesia. In this country not only to they not recognize gay marriage it is against the law to engage homosexual acts making this country in this instance a low GE. Assertiveness is the degree to which people in a culture ae determined, assertive, confrontational, and aggressive in their social relationships (Northouse, 2014, p. 433). An example of high assertiveness could be the deaf and hard of hearing community. This community is very emotional when they sign and do so with a high extreme of aggressiveness. A low assertiveness example could be a doctor that teaches or specializes in anger management. Someone in this field would tend to have a low assertive behavior. Future orientation (FO) is the extent to which people engage in future-oriented behaviors such as planning, investing in the future, and delaying gratification (Northouse, 2014, p. 433). An example of this could be a small mom and pop’s business. A small company tends to stay somewhat set in their ways. They live day to day with no thought or expansion for the future. Whereas a large organization tends to plan and invest in their future goals and visions. A company that plans for the future would be considered a high FO. Performance orientation (PO) is the extent to which an organization or society encourages and rewards group members for improved performance and excellence. A culture of PO’s are concerned with rewards for meeting goals. An example of high PO would be a family who ties allowances to a child’s grades or weekly chores. Whereas a low PO family may have no emphasis or reward placed on their children for doing well in school or fulling their obligations to the family. Humane orientation (HO) is the degree to which a culture encourages and rewards people for being fair, altruistic, generous, caring, and kind to others (Northouse, 2014, p. 434). Growing up in Charleston this writer was blessed with an incredible Great Grandmother that placed a high emphasis on love, care and kindness. One day when this writer was six years old she helped an older man pick up the groceries he had dropped in the store parking lot. My Great Grandmother made a special cake that evening for me as a reward for being so kind to the man. She possessed a high HO.
References
John, T. (2015). Donald Trump Deserted By Partners as Immigrant Furor Grows. Time.Com, N.PAG.
Monahan, K. (2012). A Review of the Literature Concerning Ethical Leadership in Organizations. Emerging Leadership Journeys, 5(1), 58-58. Retrieved July 29, 2015, from http://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/elj/vol5iss1/ELJ_Vol5No1_Monah an_pp56-66.pdf
Moral development. (2015). Retrieved July 28, 2015, from http://www.healthofchildren.com/M/Moral-Development.html
Northouse, P. (2014). Leadership: Theory and Practice (7th ed.). Sage.
Psychodynamic approach to leadership. (2013, November 23). Retrieved July 28, 2015, from http://sites.psu.edu/leadership/2013/11/23/psychodynamic-approach-to- leadership/