MGMT 3000 1st Edition Lecture 26 Outline of Last Lecture I Manager vs Leader II Traits Theory III Leadership Behavior IV Fiedler s Theory Current Lecture I II III IV Path and Goals Theory Situational Leadership Normative Decision Theory Strategic leadership Current Leader Path and Goals Theory A leadership theory that states that leaders can increase subordinate satisfaction and performance by clarifying and clearing paths to goals by increasing the number and kinds of rewards available for goal attainment Clarify paths to goals Clear paths to goals by solving problems and removing roadblocks Increase the number and kinds of rewards available for goal attainment Do things that satisfy followers today or will lead to future rewards or satisfaction Offer followers something unique and valuable beyond what they re experiencing Leadership Styles 1 Directive leadership involves letting employees know precisely what is expected of them giving them specific guidelines for performing tasks scheduling work setting standards of performance and making sure that people follow standard rules and regulations Clarifying expectations and guidelines 2 Supportive leadership involves being approachable and friendly to employees showing concern for them and their welfare treating them as equals and creating a friendly climate Being friendly and approachable These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute 3 Participative leadership involves consulting employees for their suggestions and input before making decisions Participation in decision making should help followers understand which goals are most important and clarify the paths to accomplish them Allowing input on decisions 4 Achievement oriented leadership means setting challenging goals having high expectations of employees and displaying confidence that employees will assume responsibility and put forth extraordinary effort Setting challenging goals Subordinate Contingencies Path goal theory identifies three kinds of subordinate contingencies 1 Perceived ability is simply how much ability subordinates believe they have for doing their jobs well Subordinates who perceive that they have a great deal of ability will be dissatisfied with directive leader behaviors 2 Experienced employees are likely to react in a similar way By contrast subordinates with little experience or little perceived ability would welcome directive leadership 3 Locus of control is a personality measure that indicates the extent to which people believe that they have control over what happens to them in life Internals believe that what happens to them good or bad is largely a result of their choices and actions Externals on the other hand believe that what happens to them is caused by external forces beyond their control Accordingly externals are much more comfortable with a directive leadership style whereas internals greatly prefer a participative leadership style because they like to have a say in what goes on at work Environmental contingencies 3 kinds of environmental contingencies 1 Task structure degree to which the requirements of a subordinate s tasks are clearly specified a When task structure is low and tasks are unclear directive leadership should be used because it complements the work environment When task structure is high and tasks are clear however directive leadership is not needed because it duplicates what task structure provides 2 Formal Authority System an organization s set of procedures rules and policies When the formal authority system is unclear directive leadership complements the situation by reducing uncertainty and increasing clarity But when the formal authority system is clear directive leadership is redundant and should not be used 3 Primary work group refers to the amount of work oriented participation or emotional support that is provided by an employee s immediate work group a Participative leadership should be used when tasks are complex and there is little existing work oriented participation in the primary work group When tasks are stressful frustrating or repetitive supportive leadership is called for Outcomes People who work for supportive and directive leaders are more satisfied with jobs and their bosses Hersey and Blanchard s Situational Leadership theory Based on the idea of follower readiness Employees have different levels of readiness for handling different jobs responsibilities and work assignments Hersey and Blanchard s situational theory states that leaders need to adjust their leadership styles to match followers readiness Worker s Readiness The ability and willingness to take responsibility for directing one s behavior at work Worker readiness is composed of two components Job readiness Amount of knowledge skill ability and experience that people have to perform their jobs Psychological readiness Feeling of self confidence or self respect Confident people are better at guiding their own work Leadership Styles Situational theory defines leadership style in terms of task behavior and relationship behavior These combine to form four leadership styles Telling based on one way communication in which followers are told what how when and where to do particular tasks Telling is used when people are at High task behavior low relationship behavior Selling involves two way communication and psychological support to encourage followers to own or buy into particular ways of doing things Selling is used most appropriately at the R2 stage High task behavior low relationship behavior Participating the based on two way communication and shared decision making Participating is used with employees at R3 Low task High relationship Delegating used when leaders basically let workers run their own show and make their own decisions Delegating is used for people at R4 Low task Low relationship Levels of Readiness 1 The lowest level R1 represents insecure people who are neither willing nor able to take responsibility for guiding their own work 2 R2 represents people who are confident and are willing but not able to take responsibility for guiding their own work 3 R3 represents people who are insecure and are able but not willing to take responsibility 4 R4 represents people who are confident and willing and able to take responsibility Decision Styles and Levels of Employee Participation Autocratic decisions in which leaders make the