Leadership and Ohio State University free essay sample

Behavior approaches and identification of leader relationships and group processes were researched and tested in the Michigan Leadership Studies of the 1950s and 1960s. The Michigan Leadership Studies which began in the 1950s and indicated that leaders could be classified as either employee centered or job centered. The Michigan Leadership Studies identified three critical characteristics of effective leaders: task-oriented behavior, relationship-oriented behavior, and participative leadership. A coherent statement or set of ideas that explains observed facts or phenomena, or which sets out the laws and principles of something known or observed; a hypothesis confirmed by observation, experiment. taxonomies The science or the technique used to make a classification. A different perspective to trait theory for leadership is to consider what leaders actually do as opposed to their underlying characteristics. By the late 1940s researchers became less concerned with identifying individual traits of leadership and started to be more interested in leadership behaviours. We will write a custom essay sample on Leadership and Ohio State University or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page A number of models and theories have been developed to explore this. One approach focusing on the behavior of the leader is the style approach. This approach focuses on what leaders do and how they act (Northouse, 2007, p. 69). This approach indicates that leadership is composed of two general kinds of behaviors: task-oriented behaviour and relationship-oriented behaviours (McCaffery, 2004, p. 64). Task-oriented behaviours facilitate goal accomplishment and help group members to achieve their objectives. Relationships-oriented behaviours help subordinates feel comfortable with themselves, with each other, and with the situation in which they find themselves. The central purpose of the style approach is to explain how leaders combine these two kinds of behaviors to influence subordinates in their efforts to reach a goal (Northouse, 2007, p. 69). Many studies have been conducted to investigate the style approach: for example, The Ohio State University Study, The University of Michigan Study and Blake and Moutons Leadership Grid. Adair (1983), Likert (1967) and Mintzberg (1973) have advocated this approach. A series of studies on leadership were done in Michigan University, starting in the 1950s. Under the general direction of Rensis Likert, the focus of the Michigan studies was to determine the principles and methods of leadership that led to productivity and job satisfaction. Two types of leadership behaviours were identified: employee orientation (stress the human-relations aspect, employees are viewed as human beings with personal needs) production orientation (stress on the technical and production aspects of the job, employees viewed as the means of getting the work done). Leaders with an employee orientation showed genuine concern for interpersonal relations. Those with a production orientation focused on the task or technical aspects of the job. The conclusion of the Michigan studies was that an employee orientation and general instead of close supervision yielded better results. Likert eventually developed four systems of management based on these studies; he advocated System 4 (the participative-group system, which was the most participatory set of leader behaviors) as resulting in the most positive outcomes (Encyclopedia of Management, 2009). Some of the first studies were conducted at Ohio State University in the late 1940s, based on the findings of Stogdills (1948) work. A series of studies at the University indicated that two clusters of behaviours had an important role in successful leadership. Those dimensions are: Initiating Structure (organizing work, organizing and defining relationships or roles, establishing well-defined patterns of organisation, channels of communication, and ways of getting jobs done. ) Consideration (building friendship, mutual trust, respect and camaraderie) (Northouse, 2007, p. 70-71). Initiating structure behaviours were essentially task behaviours and consideration behaviours were relationship behaviours. The Ohio State University studies viewed these two behaviours as distinct and independent. Many studies have been done to determine which style of leadership is most effective in a particular context. However, the results have indicated that it depends on the context. Some research has shown that being high on both behaviours is the best form of leadership (Northouse, 2007, p. 71). Leadership research was conducted at Ohio State and the University of Michigan at about the same time during the mid-1940s to mid-1950s. These studies were not based on prior autocratic and democratic leadership styles, but rather sought to determine the behavior of effective leaders. LO 2. Describe similarities and differences between the University of Michigan and Ohio State University leadership models. The University of Michigan and Ohio State University leadership models are similar because they are both based on the same two distinct leadership behaviors, although the models use different names for the two behaviors. The models are different because the University of Michigan model identifies two leadership styles based on either job- or employee-centered behavior. The Ohio State University model states that a leader uses high or low structure and consideration, resulting in four leadership style combinations of these two behaviors. A. University of Michigan: Job-Centered and Employee-Centered Behavior The University of Michigan Leadership Model identifies two leadership styles: job-centered and employee centered. 1. Job-Centered Leadership Style The job-centered style has scales measuring two job-oriented behaviors of goal emphasis and work facilitation. Job-centered behavior refers to the extent to which the leader takes charge to get the job done. 2. Employee-Centered Leadership Style The employee-centered style has scales measuring two employee-oriented behaviors of supportive leadership and interaction facilitation. Employee-centered behavior refers to the extent to which the leader focuses on meeting the human needs of employees while developing relationships. B. Ohio State University: Initiating Structure and Consideration Behavior In the attempt to measure leadership styles, researchers at Ohio State University developed an instrument known as the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ). Respondents to the questionnaire perceived their leader’s behavior toward them on two distinct dimensions or leadership types, which they eventually called initiating structure and consideration. ? Initiating structure behavior. The initiating structure leadership style is essentially the same as the job-centered leadership style; it focuses on getting the task done. Consideration behavior. The consideration leadership style is essentially the same as the employee-centered leadership style; it focuses on meeting people’s needs and developing relationships. Because a leader can be high or low on initiating structure and/or consideration, four leadership styles are developed. The Ohio State University Leadership Model identifies four leadership styles: low structure and high consideration, high structure and high consideration, low structure and low consideration, and high structure and low consideration. C. Difference Between Leadership Models—and Their Contributions The Ohio State and University of Michigan leadership models are different in that the University of Michigan places the two leadership behaviors at opposite ends of the same continuum, making it one-dimensional. The Ohio State University model considers the two behaviors independent of one another, making it two-dimensional; thus this model has four leadership styles. Research efforts to determine the one best leadership style have been weak and inconsistent for most criteria of leadership effectiveness. In other words, there is no one best leadership style in all situations; this is the first contribution, because it has helped lead researchers to the next paradigm—that of contingency leadership theory. Thus, the contribution of the behavioral leadership paradigm was to identify two generic dimensions of leadership behavior that continue to have importance in accounting for leader effectiveness today. Although there is no one best leadership style in all situations, there has been a consistent finding that employees are more satisfied with a leader who is high in consideration. Prior to the two university leadership studies, many organizations had focused on getting the job done with little, if any, concern for meeting employee needs. So, along with other behavioral theory research, there was a shift to place more emphasis on the human side of the organization to increase productivity; this is a second contribution. Another important research finding was that most leadership functions can be carried out by someone besides the designated leader of a group. Thus, due to behavioral leadership research, more organizations began training managers to use participative leadership styles. In fact, Rensis Likert proposed three types of leadership behavior: job-centered behavior, employee-centered behavior, and participative leadership. Thus, as a third contribution of these leadership models, Likert can be credited as being the first to identify the participative leadership style that is commonly used today.