LDR 201 - Midterm Test Questions with Correct Answers Latest 2025
Leadership - Answers A process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve
common goals
Assigned Leadership - Answers -Defacto leadership that comes with the job title
-Leadership based on occupying a position within an organization
-Team leaders, plant managers, departments heads, directors
Emergent Leadership - Answers -A leadership role that emerges organically based on how others see
you
-An individual perceived by others as the most influential member of a group or organization regardless
of the individual's title
1. Emerges over time through communication behaviors
2. Affected by personality and gender
3. Social identity
Great Man Theory (pre-1900 to 1929) - Answers 1. Leaders are exceptional men with innate qualities
that make them destined to lead
2. Leaders are born to lead (not made)
3. Leadership is "the ability to impress the will of the leader on those led, and induce obedience,
respect, loyalty, and cooperation
4. Leadership = control, domination, and concentration of power
Trait Theory (1930s) - Answers 1. Domination out, influence in
2. Certain gifted people are born with the right traits that make others want to follow them. Those
people become leaders
Group Theory (1940-1950) - Answers 1. Coercion out, persuasion in
,2. Leadership is an act or behavior undertaken by a leader while directing group activities
a. These behaviors persuade followers to comply without the need for manipulation and threat
3. Shared goals becomes a popular theme with group effectiveness becoming a benchmark for judging
leader success
Behavioral Theory (1960s) - Answers 1. Leadership is "acts by persons which influence other persons in a
shared direction"
2. The general consensus is that leadership is a behavior that influences people toward shared goals
3. Focus is on what leaders do (I.e., their leadership style), not the qualities (or traits) they naturally
possess
4. To wit: now, we believe that leaders are made, not born
Contingency Theory/Situational Theory (1970s) - Answers 1. Scholars try to reconcile different parts of
earlier theories as they look at how organizations manage employees and accomplish goals
2. Leadership is "the reciprocal process of mobilizing by persons with certain motives and values, various
economic, political, and other resources, in a context of competition and conflict, in order to realize
goals independently or mutually held by both leaders and followers
3. One of the earliest situational theories to view leadership as contextual and specific to the work
situation at hand. It focuses on how environmental variables affect leadership and which styles best fit
specific circumstances
a. Not every person is a leader in every situation
4. Situational leadership is later refined
a. A leader must be able to adapt his or her specific style to different situations
, Transactional Theory/Transformational Theory (1980s) - Answers 1. Leadership studies take off - many
new definitions emerge
a. Some hypothesize that leadership is about getting followers to do what the leader wants - rewards
play a big part in this
2. Some think it is important to study the traits that great leaders have in common to find out what
makes them excellent or superior
3. Some argue that leadership is all about non coercive influence - building shared goals where they may
not have previously existed
4. Still others believe that leadership is all about encouraging greater change
5. Transformation becomes a part of the conversation: "leadership occurs when one or more persons
engage with others in such a way that leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of
motivation and morality
1990s to Today - Answers 1. There is still much to debate over the process of leadership
2. This include debate over the differences between leadership and management
3. Emergent theories include: Authentic Leadership, Spiritual Leadership, Servant Leadership, Adaptive
Leadership, Discursive Leadership, Followership
Theories - Answers Never wrong; they're meant to be deconstructed, examined, and reconstructed with
our own lived experiences and insights
What is the concept of critical social theory? - Answers Focus on the flow of power in society and how it
affects social stratification; they get at how we can create a more democratic and just social
arrangements
The 5 Tenents of Critical Social Theory - Answers 1. Direct Rejection of Positivism
Leadership - Answers A process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve
common goals
Assigned Leadership - Answers -Defacto leadership that comes with the job title
-Leadership based on occupying a position within an organization
-Team leaders, plant managers, departments heads, directors
Emergent Leadership - Answers -A leadership role that emerges organically based on how others see
you
-An individual perceived by others as the most influential member of a group or organization regardless
of the individual's title
1. Emerges over time through communication behaviors
2. Affected by personality and gender
3. Social identity
Great Man Theory (pre-1900 to 1929) - Answers 1. Leaders are exceptional men with innate qualities
that make them destined to lead
2. Leaders are born to lead (not made)
3. Leadership is "the ability to impress the will of the leader on those led, and induce obedience,
respect, loyalty, and cooperation
4. Leadership = control, domination, and concentration of power
Trait Theory (1930s) - Answers 1. Domination out, influence in
2. Certain gifted people are born with the right traits that make others want to follow them. Those
people become leaders
Group Theory (1940-1950) - Answers 1. Coercion out, persuasion in
,2. Leadership is an act or behavior undertaken by a leader while directing group activities
a. These behaviors persuade followers to comply without the need for manipulation and threat
3. Shared goals becomes a popular theme with group effectiveness becoming a benchmark for judging
leader success
Behavioral Theory (1960s) - Answers 1. Leadership is "acts by persons which influence other persons in a
shared direction"
2. The general consensus is that leadership is a behavior that influences people toward shared goals
3. Focus is on what leaders do (I.e., their leadership style), not the qualities (or traits) they naturally
possess
4. To wit: now, we believe that leaders are made, not born
Contingency Theory/Situational Theory (1970s) - Answers 1. Scholars try to reconcile different parts of
earlier theories as they look at how organizations manage employees and accomplish goals
2. Leadership is "the reciprocal process of mobilizing by persons with certain motives and values, various
economic, political, and other resources, in a context of competition and conflict, in order to realize
goals independently or mutually held by both leaders and followers
3. One of the earliest situational theories to view leadership as contextual and specific to the work
situation at hand. It focuses on how environmental variables affect leadership and which styles best fit
specific circumstances
a. Not every person is a leader in every situation
4. Situational leadership is later refined
a. A leader must be able to adapt his or her specific style to different situations
, Transactional Theory/Transformational Theory (1980s) - Answers 1. Leadership studies take off - many
new definitions emerge
a. Some hypothesize that leadership is about getting followers to do what the leader wants - rewards
play a big part in this
2. Some think it is important to study the traits that great leaders have in common to find out what
makes them excellent or superior
3. Some argue that leadership is all about non coercive influence - building shared goals where they may
not have previously existed
4. Still others believe that leadership is all about encouraging greater change
5. Transformation becomes a part of the conversation: "leadership occurs when one or more persons
engage with others in such a way that leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of
motivation and morality
1990s to Today - Answers 1. There is still much to debate over the process of leadership
2. This include debate over the differences between leadership and management
3. Emergent theories include: Authentic Leadership, Spiritual Leadership, Servant Leadership, Adaptive
Leadership, Discursive Leadership, Followership
Theories - Answers Never wrong; they're meant to be deconstructed, examined, and reconstructed with
our own lived experiences and insights
What is the concept of critical social theory? - Answers Focus on the flow of power in society and how it
affects social stratification; they get at how we can create a more democratic and just social
arrangements
The 5 Tenents of Critical Social Theory - Answers 1. Direct Rejection of Positivism
