(TIỂU LUẬN) leadership and decision making individual assignment as maxwell (n d) once said “a leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way

Leadership and Decision Making Individual Assignment RMIT International University Vietnam Individual Assignment Subject Code: BUSM4188 Subject Name: Leadership and Decision Making Location where you study: RMIT Vietnam – SGS Title of Assignment: Individual Assgnment Lecturer’s Name Mr Adrian Wee Student name & ID number Assignment due date: Sunday WK 9, 5PM Date of Submission: Friday of Week 9, 18 August 2017 Number of pages including this one: Word Count: (Main Content) 2250 As Maxwell (n.d) once said “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” There is no doubt that a good leader will lead their entire company successfully and a bad leader will destroy it (Anderson, 2013) Therefore, a leader is the one who converts the visual perception into reality Also a good leader is defined as the person who empowers and motivates others to achieve common goals (Kruse, 2013) According to Kraut et al (1989), an organization without leader will be the same with an army without generals Thus a leader plays an extremely important role in contributing to the success of an organization This essay will analyse how a successful leader operate company based on leadership theories, then reflect on how to improve the leadership qualities To perceive profoundly the knowledge of these theories, Mrs Tran Nhu Thien My is considered as a typical example of a great leader She is the Ceo of Danang sea products Import - Export Corporation She is known as a successful leader in Danang city at this time (2017) She works with many employees, partners and other leaders who are not only in Vietnam, but also in abroad To begin with, the first theory to analyze is Trait theory Zaccaro et al (2003) stated that the term “Trait” can be understood as the personality, ability, temperaments and other demographic attributes A great leader is not only a person who has skill and working ability, but he or she also has some special characteristics (Prive 2012) According to Trait theory of Kirkpatrick and Locke (1991), a good leader should include seven key traits: Drive, Desire to lead, Honesty and Integrity, Self-confidence, Cognitive ability, Knowledge of the business Back to Mrs Tran, she is considered to be an integrative leader which means words always go with action In accordance with Kirkpatrick and Locke (1991), an integrative leader is the one who can control, balance and unity between words and actions which means doing things exactly what he or she had said Mrs Tran stated “I just say what I will definitely Otherwise my subordinates will be distracted and ruin the work” From her point of view, a leader first need to unify the ideas between words and deeds, especially avoid presenting unnecessary views Thanks to doing this, she is respected and admired by her staffs During the interview, Mrs Tran admits that she desires to contribute to the success of the company In the conversation, she said “The next 20 years plan for the corporation is to reach the international arena” From her opinion, having a great ambition to lead the company is one of the most essential elements of a great leader She explained “My big ambitions does not mean forcing people to fulfil it or putting them under work pressure I keep the ambitions for myself and try to lead the corporation get ahead and achieve some challenge goals.” Especially, she emphasizes that she always thinks of long-term decision and relationship as well as the benefit Therefore, the ambition she is aiming for is the desire to achieve higher performance at work rather than desire for power or money It was these ambitions that can increase her motivation and energy at work Thereby, this characteristic belongs to the first key trait concept of Kirkpatrick and Locke which is called Drive The second theory to be determined is Contingency Theory In general, Contingency is the term that there is no certain way can fit into every situation (Miner 2005) To specific, it can be understood as the form of work that one best way cannot completely organize, make important decisions, and contribute to develop the company Therefore, according to Norhouse (2012), there is no leader that has the same way of doing things A good leader is a person who uses different methods for different situations (Mulder, 2013) In fact, there are a number of theories that analyse the contingency concept However, one of the best theories that clearly points out the contingency concept is Path Goal theory of House (1971) According to House (1971), Path Goal explains for the leader behaviour towards subordinate satisfaction, performance as well as the motivation at work There are four different leadership behaviours including directive leadership, supportive leadership, achievementoriented leadership and participative leadership (House, 1971) To specific, Al-Gattan (1984) claims that directive leadership means a leader directly tells their subordinates what they are expected to and how to perform the tasks As reported by Al-Gattan (1984), supportive leadership is defined to be the approach of creating open working environment where a leader can be friendly and empathetic to their employees He pointed out that an achievement-oriented leader often sets challenging goals for employee, desire them to achieve good achievements as well as showing attitude of confidence in their working ability The last leadership is participation which means a leader consult with the staff before making decisions (Trungpa 2011) Back to the interview of Mrs Tran, she is considered to be an achievement-oriented leader She wants the perfection and innovation at work as she believes “Maintaining stability is important But the breakthrough at work is even more necessary” Moreover, this working style can improve work efficiency, qualifications of staff and increase competition among staff members In terms of employee perception and evaluation, Mrs Tran always sets challenging goals, show the importance of those tasks and also create the motivation for their staffs by telling them the rewards they will gain after completing the mission From her point of view, a leader is the one who tells their subordinate staff what they need to and what brings to both company and staff when they complete the missions Nevertheless, setting challenging goals may lead to invisible pressure for employees She said “To be honest, giving them difficult tasks is very easy to turn them into pressure So I set challenging goals but my staff members will be free whether they will or not Simple, If they do, they will get reward” It seems like her leadership style is both serious and comfortable as she creates an open working environment for employees However, using this concept to operate company may lead to some failure since the employees have chance to challenge themselves as well as fulfil difficult goals As John Wooden once said “If you're not making mistakes, you won’t improve” Therefore, a leader need to accept and forgive the mistakes and failure of employees because making mistakes is a good way to improve themselves and perceive new experiments The last theory to analyze is Power theory Stapleton (2014) claims that the most important things as a leader is distinguish when to use power and when not to use power According to Maxwell (2001), power of leadership means the ability to influence others In other words, power of a leader can be understood to be the ability to make others listen to you and the ability to reward or punish (Lunenburg 2012) However, the term “power of leadership” can be understood in both negative and positive sides In negative side, a leader may use their power to some unethical or abusive power to accomplish their own purposes (Brown 2005) Brown (2005) also stated that they even can use power as a tool to force employees to follow them unconditionally In positive side, power of a leader means they use their power to achieve great goals and accomplishments for the organization (Hersey et al 1993) In agreement with Hersey et al (1993), a great leader will use power as a method to improve and contribute to a company as well as devote their best to the company The fact is that there a number of theory that explains for the term power of leadership but one of the most common concept is the French and Raven (1959) power types Base on this concept, they pointed out how a leader’s power can influence others and how effectively their employees perform In general, French and Raven divided power into two main types which are position power (including legitimate, reward and coercive power) and personal power (in terms of referent and expert power) (Fairholm 2009) In a short conversation with an ordinary staff before meeting with Mrs Tran, he said “Mrs Tran is actually an integrative leader as she does not abuse power to impose employees” Through the interview of Mrs Tran, she used both position and personal power to lead the corporation successfully First, about the position power, she is considered to use the reward as a tool to increases productivity at work According to Fiore (2004), reward power can be understood to be the ability to reward employees for having good performance such as donating bonuses, giving some promotional support when they buy products from their company A leader who has reward power can motivate their employees, make them feel comfortable, satisfied and work more effectively (Reid and Bojanic 2009) Also using reward power is similar to the theory of transactional leader which means motivate employees by reward or punish (Burns, 1978) For Danang sea products import-export corporation, every employee who has the higher performance and productivity compared to last month all has the reward She said “Whether small or big rewards also contribute to motivate and boost morale of staff” Second, about the personal power, she uses referent power as a method to help employees imitate and follow her Using this power is considered to be like the transformational leader (Bass, 1996) According to Daft (2007), referent power can be seen to be the concept that a leader will become a pioneer for their employees to imitate A strong referent power of a leader can be admired and attracted by employees that will encourage them to everything which can satisfy that person (Harris and Hartman 2001) Back to Mrs Tran, she believes that referent power can be a secret key to success in her job She said “If I want someone to devote their best to the corporation, then first I have to devote all my best The best way to motivate people is it's you who have to work all your best first Then you will be respected, admired and everyone will listen to you.” Mrs Tran claims that being a pioneer for employees to imitate does not only increase their motivation, but it can also increase their attitude and responsibility at work It can be seen that Mrs.Tran uses referent power as a tool to support her job On these days, an organization is strong and successful in which there is a wise, psychological and ambitious leader From the interview with Mrs Tran, we can draw that she is a leader of integrity and ambition In general, a person of integrity means the consistency of words and actions or we can define by the term “so said so done” In other words, we can understand that a person of integrity will not be distracted by some external factors such as emotions, interests, knowledge or prejudices Therefore, only when a leader has the unity of words and deeds, he or she will be respected and admired by subordinates as well as lead the company to outstanding success Mrs.Tran is not only an integrative leader, but she is also an ambitious person In addition to maintaining stability for the company, Mrs Tran also desires to reach the company on an international scale From Trait theory of Kirkpatrick and Locke (1991) and the meeting with Mrs Tran, we can draw that a leader who has great ambitions will require higher working ability among their subordinate staff members and always think of long-term plan Thus, having great ambition will help a leader obtain big motivation and energy at work Mrs Tran also applies achievement-oriented leadership of Path Goal theory to operate her corporation It can be seen that an achievement-oriented leader often set challenging goals, encourage employees to compete with each other and expect to achieve high level of performance By using this leadership style, a leader can motivate employees, achieve challenging goals and improve company performance Finally, a successful leader is a leader who knows the way of using power to control the company According to Mrs Tran, using reward power as a tool to motivate employees is one of the best way to improve their performance such as giving bonus, promotional support or extra holidays By doing this, employees can not only enhance their working ability and productivity, but they also feel satisfied and comfortable at work Besides that, using referent power is considered to be an effective way to encourage staff to work From Mrs Tran, we can understand that as a leader, the best way to motivate staff member is becoming the pioneers of working hard Then every subordinates will respect you, imitate and follow your working style From what I have learned, I want to become a leader of integrity since I think that being a integrative person will not be distracted by many external factors and will be respected by employees Furthermore, I want to use achievement-oriented leadership and reward power to operate the company The main reason is to motivate employees as motivation is the best way to improve productivity and creativity To conclude, every leader has different trait, uses different leadership style and power Nevertheless, to be a successful leader, people need to use these things in the right way and to the right person Reference list Algattan, A.A., 1984.The path-goal theory of leadership: an empirical and longitudinal analysis Anderson, A (2012), Good Leaders Are Invaluable To A Company Bad Leaders Will Destroy It, Forbes, views 12 August 2017, Bass, B.M., 1990 From transactional to transformational leadership: Learning to share the vision Organizational dynamics, 18(3), pp.19-31 Brown, M.T., 2005 Corporate integrity: Rethinking organizational ethics and leadership Cambridge University Press Burns, J.M., 2003 Transforming leadership: A new pursuit of happiness (Vol 213) Grove Press Daft, R (2007) The Leadership Experience, Cengage Learning Fairholm, G.W., 2009 Organizational power politics: tactics in organizational leadership ABC-CLIO Fiore, D.J., 2009 Introduction to educational administration: Standards, theories, and practice Eye On Education French, J.R., Raven, B and Cartwright, D., 1959 The bases of social power Classics of organization theory, Griffin, R.W., 2013 Fundamentals of management Cengage Learning Harris, O J and S J Hartman (2001) Organizational Behavior, Best Business Books Hersey, P., Blanchard, K.H and Johnson, D.E., 1969 Management of organizational behavior (p 65) Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall House, R.J., 1971 A path goal theory of leader effectiveness Administrative science quarterly, pp.321-339 House, R.J., 1996 Path-goal theory of leadership: Lessons, legacy, and a reformulated theory The Leadership Quarterly, 7(3), pp.323-352 Kirkpatick, S.A and Locke, E.A., 1991 Leadership: traits matter? The executive, 5(2), pp.48-60 Kraut, A.I., Pedigo, P.R., McKenna, D.D and Dunnette, M.D., 1989 The Role of the Manager: What's Really Important in Different Management Jobs Academy of Management Executive (08963789), 3(4) Kruse, K (2013), What Is Leadership?, Forbes, views 12 August 2017, Lunenburg, F.C., 2012 Power and leadership: an influence process International journal of management, business, and administration, 15(1), pp.1-9 Maxwell, J (n.d), A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way, Brainyquote, views 12 August 2017, Maxwell, J.C., 2001 The power of leadership David C Cook Miner, J.B., 2015 Organizational behavior 1: Essential theories of motivation and leadership Routledge Mulder, P (2013), Fiedler Contingency Model, Toolshero, views 12 August 2017, Northouse, P.G., 2015 Leadership: Theory and practice Sage publications Prive, T (2012), Top 10 Qualities That Make A Great Leader, Forbes, views 12 August 2017, Reid, R.D and Bojanic, D.C., 2009 Hospitality marketing management John Wiley and Sons Stapleton, S (2014), The Five Sources of a Leader’s Power, and how (and how not) to use them, Linkedin, views 12 August 2017, Travis, E (n.d), Advantages & Drawbacks of the Autocratic Leadership Style, Small Business, views 12 August 2017, Trungpa, C., 2011 The path is the goal: A basic handbook of Buddhist meditation Shambhala Publications Zaccaro, S.J., Kemp, C and Bader, P., 2004 Leader traits and attributes The nature of leadership, 101, p.124 10 Appendix Transcript Me: As a leader, you need to become a perfect person who has right attitudes and behaviour at all time? Mrs Tran: Well Obviously not I cannot be a perfect person all the time I'm just a normal one Sometimes I feel tired and angry if things are not going well Me: So in your point of view, what are the most important leadership characteristics that a leader need to have in order to running a successful company? 11 Mrs Tran: I think no one is the same People have different ways of working as well as different personalities For me, to operate a successful company, a leader first needs to become a consistent person I just say what I will definitely Otherwise my subordinates will be distracted and ruin the work However, to be honest, I am also an ambitious person I always set goals for myself Me: May I ask you what are the goals that you set for yourself? Mrs Tran: Well The next 20 years plan for the corporation is to reach the international arena I know it is very difficult but I will try to achieve it Me: Do you think about employees’ working pressure when you set big ambition like that? Mrs Tran: In fact, my big ambitions not mean forcing people to fulfil it or putting them under work pressure I just keep the ambitions for myself and try to lead the corporation get ahead and achieve some challenge goals … Me: What you think about maintaining the work and develop the work? Mrs Tran: I think maintaining stability is important But the breakthrough at work is even more necessary Honestly, I always set challenging and difficult goals for my employees Me: But you think that setting challenging goals will lead to employees’ pressure or not? Mrs Tran: To be honest, giving them difficult tasks is very easy to turn them into pressure So I set challenging goals but my staff members will be free whether they will or not Simple, If they do, they will get reward … Me: From my research, I know Mrs Tran is the one who often set challenging goals to her subordinates So did she make her staff feel pressure and stress? Mr Hung (An ordinary staff): Mrs Tran is actually an integrative leader as she does not abuse power to impose employees … Me: As I can see from the working style of your employees, they are very active and hardworking As a leader, will you punish, rewarded or create the relationship with your employees to motivate them at work? Mrs Tran: Well I think whether small or big rewards also contribute to motivate and boost morale of staff Before becoming a leader, I was an ordinary member I have also been very interested in the job when I received rewards from the company after completing the tasks And I believe that reward is the best way to increase the motivation at work of employees … Me: As a leader, what you think about the term “respect” and “admiration”? Mrs Tran: Oh For me, it’s really important to get the respect and admiration from the subordinate staff members However, to get it, it’s not easy at all 12 Me: But looking at your employees, I see they really respect you as they follow what you say So can you tell me how to get the respect and admiration from your employees? Mrs Tran: Well It's a long process If I want someone to devote their best to the corporation, then first I have to devote all my best Because the best way to motivate people is it's you who have to work all your best first Then you will be respected, admired and everyone will listen to you 13 14 ... “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way. ” There is no doubt that a good leader will lead their entire company successfully and a bad leader will destroy it (Anderson,... A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way, Brainyquote, views 12 August 2017, Maxwell, J.C., 2001 The. .. leadership but one of the most common concept is the French and Raven (1959) power types Base on this concept, they pointed out how a leader? ??s power can influence others and how effectively their