UNIT 5

LEADERSHIP
J. Braham & H. Williams
Northern Caribbean University
NCU

OBJECTIVES

At the end of interactive session, students

will be able to:
Define leadership as cited by Yoder Wise
(2014)
Discuss the dimensions of leadership as
explicated by Judge, Piccolo and Ilies,
(2004)
Explicate situational leadership according
to Mind Tools (2014)

Definition of
Leadership

 Leadership can be defined as a process by

which one individual influences others
toward the attainment of group or
organizational goals.
Three points about the definition of
leadership should be emphasized.
First, leadership is a social influence
process.
Leadership cannot exist without a leader
and one or more followers.

 Second, leadership elicits voluntary action

on the part of followers.
The voluntary nature of compliance
separates leadership from other types of
influence based on formal authority.
Finally, leadership results in followers'
behavior that is purposeful and goaldirected in some sort of organized setting.
(Yoder-Wise, 2014)

Dimensions

The Ohio State Studies

These studies, which began in the late
1940s, attempted to find what behaviors
substantially accounted for most of the
leadership
behavior
described
by
employees.
Beginning with over thousand dimensions,
researchers narrowed the list to two:

 Initiating Structure.
This dimension refers to the extent to which
a leader is likely to define and structure his
or her role and those of employees in the
search for goal attainment.
It includes behavior that attempts to
organize work, work relationships, and goals.

(Judge, Piccolo & Ilies, 2004)

 Consideration. This dimension is the

extent to which a person is likely to have
job relationships that are characterized by
mutual trust, respect for employees ideas,
and regard for their feelings.
People who are high in consideration show
concern for followers comfort, well-being,
status, and satisfaction.

Ohio State Summary

Both factors were found to be associated with
effective leadership.
Followers of leaders who are high in
consideration were more satisfied with their
jobs; more motivated, and had more respect
for their leader.
Leaders who were high in initiating structure
typically had higher levels of group and
organization productivity along with more
positive performance evaluations
(Judge, Piccolo & Ilies, 2004)

The
University
Studies

Of

Michigan

Roughly contemporary to the Ohio State

studies, had similar research objectives: to
locate behavioral characteristics of leaders
that appeared to be related to measures of
performance effectiveness.
They also came up with two dimensions of
leadership behavior that were critical:

 Employee-Oriented. Leaders who were

employee
oriented
were
described
as
emphasizing interpersonal relations
They took a personal interest in the needs of
their employees and accepted individual
differences among members.
Production-Oriented. These leaders tended to
emphasize the technical or task aspects of the
job. Their main concern was in accomplishing
their groups tasks and the group members were
seen as a means to that end. (Judge, Piccolo & Ilies, 2004)

 University of Michigan Summary. The

results of these studies were closely related
to those from Ohio State.
Employee-oriented leadership is similar to
consideration
while
production-oriented
leadership is similar to initiating structure.
The Michigan researchers strongly favored
leaders who were employee-oriented in their
behavior.

Such leaders were associated with higher group

productivity and higher job satisfaction.
Blake and Mouton's Managerial/Leadership
Grid (Situational)
Building from the results of both the Ohio
State and Michigan studies, Blake and Mouton
created a leadership assessment instrument
that was based on the styles of concern for
people and concern for production.
(Mind tools, 2014)

Situational
Leadership

 This tool is very popular today and is used in

both leadership selection and training
programs.

Understanding the Model (Blake &

Mouton)
The Managerial Grid is based on two
behavioral dimensions:
Concern for People This is the degree to
which a leader considers the needs of team
members, their interests, and areas of
personal development when deciding how
best to accomplish a task (Mind tools, 2014).

 Concern for Results This is the degree to

which a leader emphasizes concrete
objectives, organizational efficiency and high
productivity when deciding how best to
accomplish a task.

(Mind tools, 2014).

Courtesy of Microsoft

Impoverished Management Low

Results/Low People
This leader is mostly ineffective, since
He/she has neither a high regard for
creating systems for getting the job done,
nor for creating a work environment that is
satisfying and motivating.
The result is disorganization,
dissatisfaction and disharmony.

Country Club Management High

People/Low Results
This style of leader is most concerned
about the needs and feelings of members
of his/her team.
These people operate under the
assumption that as long as team members
are happy and secure then they will work
hard.
What tends to result is a work environment
that is very relaxed and fun but where
production suffers due to lack of direction

Authority-Compliance Management High

Results/Low People
Also known as Authoritarian or "Produce or
Perish" Leaders, people in this category believe
that employees are simply a means to an end.
Employee needs are always secondary to the
need for efficient and productive workplaces.
This type of leader is very autocratic, has strict
work rules, policies, and procedures, and views
punishment as the most effective means to
motivate employees.

Middle-of-the-Road Management Medium

Results/Medium People
This style seems to be a balance of the two
competing concerns, and it may at first appear
to be an ideal compromise.
Therein lies the problem, though: When you
compromise, you necessarily give away a bit of
each concern, so that neither production nor
people needs are fully met.
Leaders who use this style settle for average
performance and often believe that this is the
most anyone can expect (Mind tools, 2014).

Team Leadership High

Production/High People
According to the Blake Mouton model, this
is the best managerial style.
These leaders stress production needs and
the needs of the people equally highly.
The premise here is that employees
understand the organization's purpose and
are involved in determining production
needs.

 When employees are committed to, and have a

stake in the organizations success, their needs
and production needs coincide.

This creates a team environment based on trust

and respect, which leads to high satisfaction
and motivation and, as consequently, high
results.

(Mind tools, 2014).

Applying the Blake Mouton Managerial

Grid
Being aware of the various approaches is
the first step in understanding and
improving how well you perform as a
manager.
It is important to understand how you
currently operate, so that you can then
identify ways of becoming effective in both
areas.

Identify your leadership style

Think of some recent situations where you
were the leader.
For each of these situations, place yourself
on the grid according to where you believe
you fit.
Identify areas of improvement and
develop your leadership skills
Look at your current leadership approach,
and think about whether it suits the
context.

 Look at ways that you could improve.

Are you settling for middle of the road
because it is easier than reaching for more?
Identify ways to get the skills you need to
reach the Team Leadership position.
These may include involving others in
problem solving or improving how you
communicate with them, if you feel you are
too task-oriented.

 Or it may mean becoming clearer about

scheduling or monitoring project progress
if you tend to focus too much on people.
Continually monitor your performance and
watch for situations where you slip back into
bad old habits
Put the Grid in Context
It is important to recognize that the Team
Management style isnt always the most
effective approach in every situation..

 While the benefits of democratic and

participative leadership are widely accepted,
there are times that call for more attention in
one area than another.
If your company is in the midst of a merger or
some other significant change, it can be
acceptable to place a higher emphasis on
people than on production.
Likewise, when faced with an economic
hardship or physical risk, people concerns may
be placed on the back burner, for the short-term
at least, to achieve good resultsand efficiency

Review leadership styles

Democratic/Participative
Creative
Autocratic/Directive
Laissez Faire/Permissive
Bureaucratic

DECISION MAKING

Objectives

At the end of interactive session, students will

be able to:
Define the decision making process according
to Guo (2008).
Outline the steps in the decision making
process as cited by Guo (2008)
Discuss the steps in the decision making
process as explained by Guo (2008); Dunn,
2002); Longest, Rakich & Darr, (2000);m
Stephanovich, (1999); Vahabi, (20070; Arnold
(1978)

Definition

 A decision-making process consists of a series of

steps that managers take to arrive at a decision.
The purpose is to create a systematic model for
decision making.
That is, if managers use an organized and precise
process, then the chances of more successful and
effective decisions will result compared to that of
disorganized and unsystematic processes

(Guo, 2008)

 Health care managers operate in an

increasingly complex system.
With numerous economic, legal, ethical,
organizational, and technical changes taking
place, managerial decision making has a
direct impact on individuals in the workplace
and on the performance of the organization
It is influenced by a multitude of other
factors that could result in financial success,
customer satisfaction, and long-term viability
for the organization.

 Decision making is inherent in all managerial

functions and is closely related to the
planning function.
Regardless of level, all managers make
decisions, although the decisions made by
senior managers have a broader scope, affect
more individuals, and have a greater impact
than those made by first-line supervisors.
Decision making is a process of choosing the
best alternative to achieve individual and
organizational objectives

The Decision making process, (Guo, 2008)

Steps in the decision making

process

D = define the problem.

E = establish the criteria.
C = consider all the alternatives.
I = identify the best alternative.
D = develop and implement a plan of action.
E = evaluate and monitor the solution and
feedback when necessary.

(Guo, 2008)

An application of the decision making model (Guo, 2008)

Define the problem

Decision making is a problem-solving
process that aims to eliminate barriers to
achieving individual or organizational
goals.
By defining problems or determining what
the barriers are, then managers can take
steps to remove these barriers.
However, defining the problem is not an
easy task.
It can be a time-consuming process (Guo,
2008).

 A manager must question the staff and

monitor daily activities and tasks to fully
investigate the extent of the problem as
often what appears as a problem may only
be a symptom and digging deeper can
lead to the real problem (Dunn, 2002).
For example, senior management noted
that many employees were late for work
and showed negative attitudes toward
each other and the patients.

 There was increased disagreement among

staff, which caused many to feel unhappy in
the workplace, and ultimately, they chose
to voluntarily terminate their employment
at the hospital.
The symptoms showed dissatisfied and
unmotivated workers.
However, on further investigation, senior
management found that the real problem
was a lack of communication, supervision,
and direction by department level
managers.

 As a result, the staff were disgruntled,

which led to high turnover.
To clearly define the real problem, an
individual manager should be concerned
with 3 basic questions:
What is the problem?
Why should anything be done at all?
What should or could be happening?

 Another way to help define a problem is to

develop a statement of the problem.
There are 4 parts to the statement:
in what ways (can the problem be
addressed),
we (i.e, managers, patients, staff) are those
who take ownership of the problem,
action (implement or make an improvement),
response time (goal attainment).
(Longest, Rakich & Darr, 2000)

An example of a problem statement:

'In what ways can we (managers) motivate
staff to make them more satisfied at
work?'
Included in the problem definition is an
examination of the purpose or central
focus of the decision.
In other words, the purpose is the mission
or needs that must be determined.

 It should be stated more broadly to find a

wider range of solutions and especially
one that is more tailored to meet one's
needs.
Establish the criteria
After having defined the problem, the
second step is to establish the criteria.
Criteria are the measures used to arrive at
a solution that best fulfills the purpose.

 Criteria should not be confused with purpose.

The purpose is 'what needs to be determined
and why?'
Decision criteria are used to achieve the
purpose.
Three questions to help establish the criteria:
What do you want to achieve in your
decision?
What do you want to preserve?
What do you want to avoid as problems?

Consider all the alternatives

Considering all alternatives is a search for
various alternative courses of actions and
solutions.
Many alternatives, and not just the traditional
2 or 3, need to be considered (Stephanovich, 1999)
To derive all the alternatives, a manager
must engage in brainstorming to develop and
consider as many alternatives as possible.

 This method leads to more choices and

increases communication and team
building (Guo, 2008).
Develop and implement a plan of action
Developing and implementing a plan of
action are as important as making the
decision.
Planning is the most fundamental function
of managers.

 It provides direction, establishes control,

anticipates change, and develops
responses to uncertainty.
This step involves 2 essential processes:
communication and coordination (Vahabi, 2007)

 Communication entails the exchange of

information among various individuals in
the organization.
If the decision is not clearly communicated
to the staff who must perform the decision
and unless it is coordinated with other
departments in the organization, the plan
and the decision are worthless.

(Guo, 2008)

In this step, 2 questions must be answered.

How is the action plan going to be
implemented?
What are the resources used in the actual
implementation?
Evaluate and monitor the solution
The final step in the DECIDE model is to
evaluate and monitor the solution.
It is not enough to just make a decision.

 For instance, once the decision is made, it

may not work, and then a manager must
start over to redefine the problem.
Feedback is important because it provides
information related to the decision.
It is crucial to evaluate the decision made
and to investigate 'what could go wrong.'
This step helps to prevent, minimize, and
overcome all possible adverse consequences.

 Asking questions from superiors, staff,

patients, and other customers are parts of
the feedback process.
Through feedback, a manager finds out
whether the decision led to the intended
results.
Even if the action has the intended effects,
unintended consequences may also have
occurred

 Sometimes, although a decision was

correctly implemented, it does not last
forever, and changes are needed over time,
as problems recur and new problems arise.
Part of the evaluation process also involves
troubleshooting.

(Guo, 2008)

This consists of 3 basic steps.

First, list all the possible problems that
could occur.
Second, determine the likelihood of each
problem occurring and the impact if it
does occur, using low, medium, or high
possibilities.
Finally, take preventive action to keep the
potential problem from occurring.

 In this way, all possible precautions are taken

into consideration to assure the success of
the decision.

(Arnold, 1978)

 Dunn R. Haimann's Healthcare

Management . 7th ed. Chicago, IL: Health
Administration Press; 2002 - See more at:
http://www.nursingcenter.com/lnc/static?
pageid=800371#15
Longest BB, Rakich JS, Darr K. Managing
Health Services Organizations and
Systems . 4th ed. Baltimore, MD: Health
Professions Press; 2000. -

 DECIDE: A Decision-Making Model for

More Effective Decision Making by Health
Care Managers
Kristina L. Guo PhD, MPH

The Health Care Manager

April/June 2008
Volume 27 Number 2
Pages 118 - 127

 Stepanovich PL, Uhrig JD. Decision

making in high-velocity
environments: implications for
healthcare. J Healthc Manage .
1999;44(3):197-205 - See more at:
http://www.nursingcenter.com/lnc/sta
tic?pageid=800371#15

 . Vahabi M. The impact of health

communication on health-related
decision making: a review of the
evidence. Health Edu .
2007;107(1):27-41 - See more at:
http://www.nursingcenter.com/lnc/sta
tic?pageid=800371#15

 Arnold JD. Make Up Your Mind: The 7

Building Blocks to Better Decisions .
New York, NY: Amacon; 1978. - See
more at:
http://www.nursingcenter.com/lnc/sta
tic?pageid=800371#15

 Judge, T.A., Piccolo, R.F. and Ilies, R. (2004).

"The Forgotten Ones? The Validity of
Consideration and Initiating Structure in
Leadership Research" Journal of Applied
Psychology. 89(1) 36-51.