BMGT 365 University of Maryland Global Campus Week 1 Leadership Discussion
Week 1: What is Meant by Leadership and Who are Leaders?
Theme 1: Understanding the nature of leadership helps to frame the views of a leader.
Although many scholars have defined leadership, the definition of leadership is dynamic. This week, we will discuss the definitions of leadership to understand the field of study upon which we are about to embark. The definition of leadership has significantly changed over the past generation to meet the needs of a contemporary business environment. In fact, many scholars have disagreed on the nature or essential characteristics of leadership but instead have offered a variety of perspectives as to what leadership is not. As we discuss the contemporary definitions of leadership, please pay close attention to various definitions and compare them to prominent leaders today. Are they similar? If so, how? If not, why not?
Read:
Pages 18-22 (this week's portion of the article) Gandolfi, F., & Stone, S. (2017). The Emergence of Leadership Styles: A Clarified Categorization. Review Of International Comparative Management / Revista De Management Comparat International, 18(1),
Differences Between Management and Leadership (Additional Resources at the bottom of the content page for this link are not required reading.)
Simon Sinek: Leadership Ted Talk
Aldrin, A., and Gayatri, R. (2014, August). Leadership Not a Title Nor a Position. International Journal of Current Research and Academic Review, 2(8), 356 – 366. Retrieved from http://www.ijcrar.c
Theme 2: The evolution of leadership theory can help to explain what makes a good leader today.
The second theme for Week 1 details how the definition of leadership has adapted to fit the changing business environment. Changes in the definition of leadership are reflected in how scholars have viewed leadership. Leadership theory took root in the social science fields of sociology and psychology. People wanted to know what made a good leader and whether they could become a good leader by adapting the “good” traits. Debate still rages on in leadership research as to whether leadership is inborn or learned. By examining leadership theory this week, we will begin to define leadership in answering the question of what should Biotech's leaders look like for success today. The evolution of leadership theory illustrates how leaders have perceived the act of leading and how the psychology of leading people interfaces with the real job of leading others. How one views and defines leadership influences the beliefs, values, and behaviors maintained while leading and relating to others.
As mentioned earlier, leadership experts have perspectives/ theories about leadership. It is important to understand the history of leadership theories because it will help define how leadership is today. The business environment controls the leader's view as it controls the actions needed for a company to survive. By reviewing the chart below and the leadership theories from the attached readings, it should become clear how leadership has evolved. Understanding how leadership theory has evolved to meet the organization's needs over time will help define us as leaders today.
Decade(s)
1950-60
1960-80
1980-2000
2000-Now
Theories
Great Man/Trait
Behavior/
Contingency
Influence
Relational
Organizational Structure
Vertical/
Pre-bureaucratic
Vertical Hierarchy/
Bureaucratic
Horizontal/Cross-Teams
Flat/
Functional
Leader View
Single Hero
Command and Control
Team/Change Leader
Shared Vision/ Alignment/
Change Agent
Environment
Post-War Stable
American Business Growth/ Stable
MNC Dominance/Japanese Model/ Chaotic
Technology Revolution/
Disrupted/
Chaotic
Source: Adapted from Daft, R. L. (2010). The leadership experience (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning
TAKE AWAY POINT FROM LEADERSHIP THEORY EVOLUTION
The flow from “Great Man” views of leadership to “Learning Leader” illustrates that the view of good leadership is colored by the demands of the business landscape of its time. Leadership and its definition are dynamic and complex—leadership changes in response to the organization's needs.
Presently, many business leaders continue to transition from the “Calm Chaos” of the latter half of the 20th century to the “Turbulent Chaos” of the 21st. Leaders are focusing on change management, facilitating vision and values to encourage high performance and continuous adaptation. New theorists, such as Jacob Morgan, are modeling today's organizations, blending the vertical structures of the ’80s and ’90s with the flat structure of the 21st century. Morgan (2015b) maintains that it is costly and inefficient to dismantle the vertical structures that currently house many viable business organizations. Instead, Morgan (2015a) proposed a new structure known as a “flatarchy,” that can be relatively flat yet can create an ad hoc hierarchy to work on a project or function and then disband when finished. The organization can also have a loose hierarchy that can flatten when required and then return to a loose hierarchy when the need is over. The leader of today must find ways to transition quickly from the old to the new. Implementing fast change and getting people to accept and implement the change is the greatest task facing leaders.
The leader must combine the “soft” leadership skills with the “hard” skills of management to effectively guide an organization.
Understanding the evolution of leadership theory helps a leader define the contemporary concept of successful leadership by identifying strengths and weaknesses of scholarly perspectives from the past to the current time and exploring the relationship of leaders to the business environment.
References:
Morgan, J. (2015a, July 20). The 5 Types of Organizational Structures: Part 2, 'Flatter' Organizations. Retrieved October 24, 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobmorgan/2015/07/0...
Morgan, J. (2015b, July 20). The 5 Types of Organizational Structures: Part 4, Flatarchies. Retrieved October 24, 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobmorgan/2015/07/1...
Read:
The Most Important Leadership Theories
The Relational Model (Pages 74 -80)
What's New? Contemporary Approaches to Rational Leadership
Situational Leadership Theory
How to Analyze a Case Study (in the attachments)
Life Science Nutraceuticals, Inc. (LSN) Company Profile_rev_20211 (in the attachments)
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Discussion #1
You will read the discussion below and follow the instructions provided. You will create the memorandum and submit it.
Read the Following Case Scenario:
A recent survey was taken among employees at Life Science Nutraceuticals, Inc. (LSN). The results were alarming, as it appeared the leadership has been less effective than in the past. Some common complaints seemed to focus on the lack of vision, a breakdown in communication, and a lack of connection with staff.
You have read the results, and as a senior leadership Consultant to LSN's CEO, you completely agree with employees. Leadership is the cornerstone to success in any organization, and to permit poor leadership can only spell trouble. It occurred to you that the place to start change was staring you in the face - the new management hires planned for Warehouse Operations in Las Vegas and Miami. Mumbling to yourself, “but what do I want them to look like?” you decide that you must write a memo to CEO Alexandria Marvel to make sure the “right” characteristics of a leader are asked for in the soon-to-be-released job description. Scrambling around on the desk, you find the old job announcement so that you can make some changes. It reads, “LSN is looking for experienced warehouse managers who have a high task focus to keep the distribution speed high and shipping costs low. Managers must instruct employees to keep distribution, packing, and shipping moving smoothly and efficiently. Managers must be someone who can handle a fast-paced environment, able to meet deadlines, task-focused, personally driven, and results-oriented. The manager must be goal-oriented and adhere strictly to policy to succeed in the department.”
Instructions
You will act as a senior-level leadership Consultant to the CEO of LSN. You will write a memorandum to CEO Alexandria Marvel. In writing the memorandum, use only the course material from Week 1, and as necessary or desired, you may also use course material from Week 2. Reading the Company Profile provided will explain why contemporary leadership skills are so important to LSN.
Your memo will address the following specific issues to CEO Marvel.
Explain how the existing job announcement for new hires was effective in the past based on the theories and view of leadership through the 1990s. Be specific using examples from course materials and the existing job announcement.
Explain why the existing job announcement is no longer able to meet the needs of today's leaders. Support your explanation with examples of the language changes you recommend updating the job announcement to be consistent with today's desired leadership characteristics.
Explain the differences between management and leadership and why LSN needs to understand the distinction.
Memorandum Set Up
Create a Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) document (no pdf files allowed) using 12-point font. A memo is left justified with no indentations of paragraphs. A memo is single-spaced with a double space between paragraphs to make the memo easy to read. 500 to 700 words.
In business, writing must be concise, easy to read, and free of writing and grammatical errors.
You are required to use in-text citations with an associated reference list.
Use headings for each element. It is suggested that you set up the memo with all of the required headings and then fill in each memo section.
Use a memo format:
To:
From:
Date:
Subject:
Remember, you are sending this memo to the CEO, so this is a formal memo. Proof the memo carefully for typos, grammatical errors and ensure the memo conveys the points you are to address. Why? Because your work products are a reflection of who you are – it is your brand! A good brand can lead to future opportunities in an organization, such as a promotion.
Ensure the memo is audience-appropriate, concise, coherent, readable, uses appropriate terminology, is professional, provides a factual tone (no opinion and no recommendations), and is visually appealing.
The memo should comply with the following guidelines, which can be used as a checklist.
Use the grading rubric while completing the project to ensure all requirements are met to lead to the highest possible grade.
Third-person writing is required. Third-person means that there are no words such as “I, me, my, we, or us” (first-person writing), nor is there use of “you or your” (the second person writing).
Contractions are not used in business writing, so do not use them.