|
Theory
» The Great Man Theory The Great Man Theory proposes that "personal characteristics of great leaders determined the course of history." (Denmark 1993, p. 344) "TOP Down Leadership is based on the myth of the triumphant individual. Therefore, the distinction between "leader" and "hero" (or "celebrity", for that matter) often becomes blurred, reducing leadership to an inherently individual phenomenon." (Warren 1999, p. 6) Leadership Trait Paradigm studies "individual dispositions as predictors and explanations for leadership behavior." (House & Aditya 1997, p. 410) Achievement Motivation Theory studies the individual's achievement motivation which "is defined as a non-conscious concern for achieving excellence in accomplishments through one's individual efforts. Achievement motivated individuals set challenging goals for themselves, assume personal responsibility for goal accomplishment, are highly persistent in the pursuit of goals, take calculated risks to achieve goals, actively collect and use information for feedback purposes. . .[and] engage spontaneously in a high degree of self-regulatory behavior . . . without training or directions from others." (House & Aditya 1997, p.413) Social Influence Motivation Theory suggests that, "since the practice of management relies heavily in on social influence processes, social influence motivation as measured by power motivation, measure of desire for influence, or measures of prosocial influence motivation (often inappropriately labeled dominance), will be predictive of managerial success and leader effectiveness." (House & Aditya 1997, p. 414) Leader Motive Profile Theory (LMP)"argues that the following combination of nonconscious motives are generic to, and predictive of, leader effectiveness: high power motivation, high concern for the moral exercise of power, and power motivation greater than affiliative motivation." (House & Aditya 1997, p. 414) Charismatic Leadership Theory speculates "that charismatic leaders are exceptionally self-confident, are strongly motivated to attain and assert influence, and have strong convictions on the moral correctness of their beliefs." The following are characteristics of charismatic leaders:
Situational Theory "holds that different types of leader behavior; for example, supportive, directive, or participative, are causal variables whose effect in terms of subordinate effort and satisfaction is moderated by the type of task to be performed and the capability level (e.g. fully trained or not trained workers) of subordinates." (Frank 1993, p. 384) According to Situational Theory, "the "Great Men" [do] nothing more than act according to the needs of their times. If one of these Great Men [were] not able to perform the function of leading others, another [would] take his place." (Denmark 1993, p.344) Behavioral Paradigm assumes "that there are some universally effective leader behaviors, and these [can] be discovered by either observing leaders in action, usually in a laboratory setting, or by asking subordinates about the behavior of their immediate superiors." (House & Aditya 1997, p. 421) Fiedler's Contingency Theory specifies "how situational variables interact with leader personality and behavior. The theory [posits] a two-way interaction between a measure of leader task-motivation versus relationship motivation, and a measure of what was initially referred to as "situational favorableness" and later relabeled "situational control." Situational control is the degree to which the leader can control and influence the group process." (House & Aditya 1997, p. 421) Path-Goal Theory specifies "a number of situational moderators of relationships between task-and person-oriented leadership and their effects. A boundary condition of this theory is that followers must be able to make relatively confident and accurate estimates of probabilities of goal accomplishment (performance) and receipt of extrinsic outcomes contingent on such accomplishments." (House & Aditya 1997, p. 422) Life Cycle Theory postulates "four leadership styles: telling, selling, participating and delegating, each appropriate for certain kinds of situations defined by subordinates' "maturity level." That is, the prescribed leadership style is contingent on follower maturity, defined as the 'degree to which followers are ready and willing to tackle the task facing the group.'" (House & Aditya 1997, p. 423) Cognitive Resource Theory "is a person-by-situation interaction theory in which the person variables are leader intelligence and experience, and the situational variable is stress experienced by leaders and followers." (House & Aditya 1997, p. 423) Decision Process Theory was designed to "help managers make decisions that ensure high technical and economic quality solutions to problems and obtain solutions that are acceptable to subordinates. The theory was originally composed of five decision processes, seven problem attributes, and seven rules." (House & Aditya 1997, p. 425) Leader Member Exchange Theory (LMX) "is a theory about the development and effects of separate dyadic relationships between superiors and subordinates . . .The theory prescribes a high degree of mutual influence and obligation between superiors and subordinates, and asserts that such a relationship will result in several positive outcomes such as lower turnover, and higher subordinate performance, citizenship behavior, satisfaction and commitment . . . Graen and Uhl Bien (1995) state that the critical question about the theory is: What is the proper mix of relational characteristics to promote desired outcomes?" (House & Aditya 1997, p. 430-431) Implicit Leadership Theory "addresses the evaluations the people make about leaders, and the cognitive processes underlying evaluations and perceptions of leadership... According to the theory, all specified leader behaviors would still not make an individual a leader unless that person is also perceived as a leader . . .This theoretical perspective also raises the possibility that there are some universally endorsed leader attributes and behaviors that comprise implicit leadership theories." (House & Aditya 1997, p. 437-438) Cross Cultural Theory asserts "that expected, accepted, and effective leader behavior varies by cultures." (House & Aditya 1997, p. 454) |
|