Reference no: EM132244163

1. Smircich and Morgan wrote that “leadership is realized in the process whereby one or more individuals succeed in attempting to frame and define the reality of others.” What did they mean by this?

2. A meta-analysis of research relating leadership emergence and effectiveness to personality factors reported by Judge, Illies, Bono, & Gerhardt, indicated that these factors had a greater impact in research settings involving student groups than in settings in business or government organizations. Explain this finding.

3. Hollander introduced the notion of idiosyncrasy credit. Explain what this means and give an example from one of the movies or your personal experience of this principle in operation.

4. Both Fiedler’s contingency theory and Hersey’s situational theory are concerned with leader behaviors and situational contingencies. However, they diverge on their assumptions about the about the behavioral flexibility of leaders. Do you believe, like Fiedler, that people in general are best suited to lead with a particular style and effectiveness depends on the match between their preferred style and the situation, or, like Hersey, that people can effectively adapt their leadership style to fit the demands of different situations? Discuss.

5. Explain the nature of the interrelationship among self-sacrificing behavior, trust, and leadership outcomes using an example from the class movies, your own experience, or history/current events.

6. Bass’s model of transformational leadership incorporated charisma (or idealized influence) as a major component, along with inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration. Intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration seem to be the aspects of transformational leadership that distinguish it from charismatic leadership or make it a special category of charismatic leadership. The term “pseudo-transformational” has also been used to describe a certain type of leader. Give an example of a well-known leader who is generally seen as charismatic, but would not be considered transformational according to Bass’s definition. Explain why this is so. Give an example of a well-known leader who would be considered transformational. Explain why this is so.

7. Discuss the nature of attraction to charismatic leaders and why some people would be more attracted to such leaders than others. Use theories and research covered in class to support your answer.

8. When modern bureaucratic systems emerged in the 19th century, they were seen as rational, technocratic, rule-governed, merit-based, and efficient replacements for the feudal hierarchies of the past. Yet, as described by Jackall and as illustrated in the movie Paths of Glory, bureaucracy as found in both corporate and governmental organizations suffers from its own corruptions. How can ethical leadership survive in these systems?