MANA 3318 EXAM 3 Questions and Answers

MANA 3318 EXAM 3 Questions and Answers Topic 12: Leadership 1. What is leadership? The True Measure of Leadership is Influence- Nothing More, Nothing Less The process of guiding and directing the behavior of people in the work environment. 0:13 / 1:27 5 Sanity-Saving Tips for Arguing on the Internet 2. What is the behavior approach to leadership effectiveness? What are the two major categories of leadership behaviors? Initiating Structure (task-oriented behaviors) Initiating structure is leader behavior aimed at defining and organizing work relationships and roles, as well as establishing clear patterns of organization, communication, and ways of getting things done Consideration (relationship-oriented behaviors) Consideration is leader behavior aimed at nurturing friendly, warm working relationships, as well as encouraging mutual trust and interpersonal respect within the work unit. 3. What is the common limitation of the trait AND behavior approaches to leadership? 4. What is the contingency approach to leadership? It emphasizes the importance of contextual factors such as the leader's authority and discretion, the nature of the work performed by the leader's unit, the attributes of subordinates and the nature of the external environment. Shows why a particular leader may be effective in one situation but not in another. 1) Fiedler's LPC contingency theory of leadership: What is this theory about and how to use it to predict leadership effectiveness? Understand the leadership styles, situational characteristics discussed in this theory as well as the contingency model. Be prepared to apply this knowledge to analyze real cases and situations. Fiedler's contingency theory of leadership proposes that the fit between the leader's need structure and the favorableness of the leader's situation determines the team's effectiveness in work accomplishment. Task-oriented leaders are primarily gratified by accomplishing tasks and getting work done. Relationship-oriented leaders are primarily gratified by developing good, comfortable interpersonal relationships. Accordingly, the effectiveness of both types of leaders depends on the favorableness of their situation. The theory classifies the favorableness of the leader's situation according to the leader's position power, the structure of the team's task, and the quality of the leader-follower relationships. 2) Path-goal theory of leadership: What is this theory about? What are the four types of leader behaviors discussed in this theory and what does each of them mean? Which leader behavior(s) is most effective under what situations? From the perspective of path-goal theory, the basic role of the leader is to clear the follower's path to the goal. The leader uses the most appropriate of four leader behavior styles to help followers clarify the paths that lead them to work and personal goals. The directive style is used when the leader must give specific guidance about work tasks, schedule work, and let followers know what is expected. The supportive style is used when the leader needs to express concern for followers' well-being and social status. The participative style is used when the leader must engage in joint decision-making activities with followers. The achievement-oriented style is used when the leader must set challenging goals for followers and show strong confidence in those followers. 5. Contemporary leadership approaches: 1) What is transformational leadership? (text p. 197) use rewards and punishment to strike deals w/ followers and shape their behavior is focused on individuals increases task performance and initiative 2) What do transformational leaders do to influence their followers? inspire and excite followers to high levels of performance encourage followers to set goals congruent with the followers see their work as important and their goals as aligned with who they are. 6. Understand the different types of followers Alienated followers - think independently and critically, yet they are passive in behavior Sheep - do not think independently or critically and are passive in their behavior Effective followers - are the most valuable to a leader and organization because of their active contributions. Yes people - are followers who do not think independently or critically, yet are very active in their behavior Survivors - are the least disruptive and the lowest-risk followers in an organization Topic 13: Power and conflict 1. Understand the formal sources and informal sources of individual power -Formal individual power is the power that stems from a person's position in an organization's hierarchy. Legitimate power Reward power Coercive power Information power -Informal individual power is the power that stems from personal characteristics. Expert power Referent power Social network 2. What is conflict? Is conflict a good or bad thing for the organization? The struggle that arises when the goal-directed behavior of one person or group blocks the goal-directed behavior of another person or group. Types of conflict: Person-focused conflict is dysfunctional. Problem-focused conflict can be functional. Levels of conflict: Too high levels of conflict is dysfunctional. 3. What are the major causes of conflict in organizations? Differences in functional orientation Overlapping authority Scarcity of resources Etc. 4. What are the five major conflict management styles? What are the situations when it is appropriate to use each of them? Avoidance - Unassertive & uncooperative: Stay away from conflict, ignore disagreements, or remain neutral When to use: The issue is of minor or passing importance Insufficient information to effectively deal with the conflict at that time Low power relative to the other party Others can more effectively resolve the conflict Collaboration - Strongly cooperative and assertive: try to maximize joint results and look for win-win solutions Most practical when High level of cooperation is needed Sufficient parity in power exists among parties Potential for mutual benefits, especially at the long run Sufficient organization support for taking the time and energy to collaborate Compromise - Intermediate level of cooperation and assertiveness: settle on some middle ground Appropriate when Agreeing enables each person to be better off, or at least not worse off than if no agreement were reached Achieving a total win-win agreement is not possible Accommodation - Unassertive & Cooperative: comply with the wishes of the other party May be effective in the short run when need to defuse a potentially explosive emotional conflict situation short-run need to keep harmony and avoid disruption conflict is primarily based on personality and cannot be easily resolved Competition - Assertive & uncooperative: Try to achieve own goals without concern for the other party When to use Emergencies requiring quick actions Unpopular courses of action must be taken for long-term organizational effectiveness and survival (e.g. cost-cutting, downsizing) Self-protective action is needed Topic 14: Communication The sharing of information between two or more individuals or groups to reach a common understanding (but not necessarily agreement). 1. Understand major communication problems we discussed in class and the meaning for each of them. For example, what is filtering? What is information distortion? What are the common poor listening habits (see handouts)? What is the cultural difference in high vs. low context orientation and how does that cultural difference affect the communication process? What is the credibility issue? Information distortion occurs when a message changes as it travels through a series of different senders to the receivers. Filtering occurs when senders withhold part of a message because they think the receiver does not need the information or will not want to receive it. 2. What are the verbal responses and nonverbal behaviors associated with reflective listening? Each of these responses can be illustrated through an example: the interaction between a software engineer, who has just discovered a major problem in a large information system she is building for a difficult customer, and her supervisor. 3. Understand the major disadvantages of using electronic groups Groups that communicate