MGMT3021 Leadership For the Working Environment Assignment

1. When might the concepts of transformational leadership be beneficial to an organisation, and when might they be counterproductive? How can managers apply transformational leadership throughout an international organisation?

2. Why might it be important to know the values and principles of leaders within your organisation? If you had to prioritise your values to create a list of five, how would you determine them? What advice would you give someone who feels that his or her values conflict with a direct supervisor or an employee?

Answers:

1. The concepts of transformational leadership is beneficial to an organization when the organization comprises of people belonging to different cultures and nations or when an organization is attempting to implement certain changes within the organization. Multinational or international organizations comprise of people belonging to different nations and cultures, which makes it difficult for the employees to adjust with the working environment and perform efficiently. Transformational leaders are those leaders, who have a charismatic appeal and inspire others to work efficiently. These leaders work in close coordination with the individuals in order to identify the changes required and motivates them to bring the necessary changes. They boost the morale and performance of the subordinates by acting as a role model for them (Avolio, and Yammarino 2013).

On the contrary, transformational leadership can be counterproductive when the employees within the organization view their leader as someone like them and when the employees give more importance to their own perception and thinking. Since transformational leadership involves influencing the subordinates to achieve the organizational objectives, implementing transformational leadership is possible only when the subordinates are ready to accept the thoughts and beliefs of the leaders (Dumdum, Lowe and Avolio 2013). Implementing transformational leadership within an organization is possible only when the subordinates completely trust their leaders and there is proper communication within the organization.

Managers can apply transformational leadership throughout an international organization by personalizing his or her management style in accordance with the personalities, requirements and skills of his or her team and encouraging creativity within the organization. Managers can act as a guide, motivator, inspiration and a role model for his or her team members.   

2. It is essential to know the values and principles of the leaders within an organization so as to analyze whether the values and principles match with those of the organization and the organizational employees (Kark and Shamir 2013). Similar values and principles help in reducing the conflicts between the leaders and the subordinates. The following is the list of five values, which must be present in a good leader:

Respect: A leader must not only have sense of self- respect but must also respect others regardless of the position and power of the others in an organization. The leaders must treat every organizational member with dignity and empathy. The leaders must have the ability to earn respect instead of forcing others to respect him or her.

Integrity: The leaders must have strong moral and ethical values and principles and must encourage others to work with integrity.

Wisdom: The leaders must be wise enough to understand the problems of his or her subordinates and provide appropriate solutions to them.

Courage: The leaders must have the courage to face challenges and must also encourage his or her subordinates to face challenges with courage.

Openness to experience: The leaders must be open minded and must not just emphasize upon directing the subordinates but must also learn from them. The leaders must be flexible in their operations and learn from their experiences (Roueche, Baker III and Rose 2014).

If the values of an employee conflicts with another employee or his or her supervisor then he or she must consult his or her direct supervisor or leader and ask him or her to look into the matter before approaching any higher authority.     

References:

Avolio, B.J. and Yammarino, F.J. eds., 2013. Introduction to, and overview of, transformational and charismatic leadership. In Transformational and Charismatic Leadership: The Road Ahead 10th Anniversary Edition (pp. xxvii-xxxiii). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Dumdum, U.R., Lowe, K.B. and Avolio, B.J., 2013. A meta-analysis of transformational and transactional leadership correlates of effectiveness and satisfaction: An update and extension. In Transformational and Charismatic Leadership: The Road Ahead 10th Anniversary Edition (pp. 39-70). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Kark, R. and Shamir, B., 2013. The dual effect of transformational leadership: Priming relational and collective selves and further effects on followers. In Transformational and Charismatic Leadership: The Road Ahead 10th Anniversary Edition (pp. 77-101). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Roueche, P.E., Baker III, G.A. and Rose, R.R., 2014. Shared vision: Transformational leadership in American community colleges. Rowman & Littlefield.