A Literature Review On Leadership Styles And Conflict
1. A Literature Review On Leadership Styles and Conflict
Part one: On leadership
ďˇ Abstract
ďˇ Introduction
ďˇ Literature review of leadership styles
ďˇ Basic Leadership Styles
ďˇ Conclusion
Part two: On conflict
ďˇ Abstract
ďˇ Introduction
ďˇ Literature review
ďˇ Styles of conflict management
ďˇ Leadership styles in conflict management
Part one: on leadership
1. Abstract
An effective leader influences his or her followers in a desired manner to achieve goals and
objectives. It is evident from the literature that different leadership styles may affect an
organization's effectiveness and performance. The objective of this paper is to analyze the review
of literature on various leadership styles over the past years.
How different leadership styles have emerged over a period of time. Information was obtained
after reviewing many articles, research papers on leadership styles from different journals,
magazines and books. Moreover, the study recommends that transformational and transactional
leadership styles are more important as more work has been done in the field of these leadership
styles and conflict
Keywords: Leadership styles, Transactional leadership, Transformational leadership.
2.. Introduction
In order to run the organizations effortlessly, effectively and efficiently, the most important and
valued factor organizations need are Human resources. The success of an organization depends
on the diligent, loyal and concerned managers and employees. Leadership is required in every
organization at every level, the success or failure of an organization depends on the quality of
leadership particularly on the part of top management.
In this competitive era where world has become a global village, firms are considered to be
competitive on the basis of competence of their human resources. Management of employees
mostly depends on the quality of leadership organizations have (Albioon & Gagliardi, 2007).
Concept of leadership is not a new concept in the field of social science studies. In the recent
years, the area of leadership has been widely studied more than any other aspect of human
resource management.
We are now in a era of great leadership. The 20th century was a era of great influential leaders.
No doubt ,we want effective leaders in huge numbers at all strata in all organizations, rather than
only a small number of great leaders. This change from great leaders into great leadership is in
2. reaction to the rapid changing environment. These changes in the organization needs high quality
and quicker decision making which is possible only when there are proficient, effective and
competent people, who are able of taking such decisions at all levels.
Faster and worth decision making will direct to dehierarchization, decentralization and
debureaucratization, which will result in empowerment at all levels. There are countless
definitions of leadership and there are a number of researchers who have made an attempt to
explore this concept. Although numerous specific definitions may well be cited, most of them
would depend on the theoretical orientation taken. Besides influence, leadership has been defined
in terms of group processes, personality, compliance, persuasion, power, goal achievement, role
differentiation, interaction and combination of two or more of these.
3. Literature Review
Different scholars in social sciences have highlighted a variety of leadership styles.
Elance & Aggarwal (1975), investigated the leadership behavior taking different variables
affecting the leadership style along with delegation of authority of 123 executives from public
and private sector. They found that 67% executives in private sector and 57% in public sector
units have employed democratic decision style or leadership.
Norman (1970), the women in leadership position were found by Norman to be women of high
intelligence, confidence, composed, preserving, experimenting, liberal, socially precise, self
motivated and calculating, with an intellectual approach to situations. They could maintain
cordial relations with their superiors. He conducted a study of women in leadership position in
north California.
Singh (1978), in a study of leadership behavior found that total leadership was significantly
related to the four personality factors: outgoingness, intelligence, emotional stability and
assertiveness. He conducted a study of leadership behavior of head of secondary school in the
state of Haryana.
Noel. M Tichy,David.O. Ulrich (1984), authors purport that a new brand of leadership-
transformational leadership is the key to revitalizing large U.S corporations such as general
motors, AT&T, general electric etc. Based on the premise that the pressure for basic
organizational change will intensify, mnot diminish, over the years, they argue that
transformational leaders must develop a new vision for the organization. Mobilize employees to
accept and work towards achieving the new vision and institutionalize the needed changes.
Unless the creation of this breed of leaders becomes a national agenda, the authors are not very
optimistic about the revitalization of the U.S economy. Based on the premise that the pressure
for basic organizational change will intensify, the authors concluded that transformational
leadership is required for revitalizing our organizations. Ultimately, it is upto our leaders to
choose the right kind of leadership and corporate lifestyle.
Reichmann (1991), examined the characteristics of team leaders in higher education. Team
leaders exhibited certain characteristics including conceptual leadership and attributes such as
honesty, integrity and a sense of fairness. He conducted a study on team leader effectiveness,
high performance teams in higher education and mainly observed the characteristics of team
leaders.
3. Northouse (2001), leadership is described as the selection of bases of influence. The
transformational approach views leadership as a shared process. The outcome of this process is
the ability to transform oneself, others, and the organization to new, unimagined heights of
motivation and performance.
Alpana Priyabhashini, Venkat R. Krishnan (2005), studied the relationship between
transformational leadership, leaderâs expectation from follower(pygmalion effect) and
4. Theoretical Framework
The study of leadership has been an important and central part of the literature on management
and organization behavior for several decades. Indeed, no other role in organizations has
received more interest than that of the leader (Schwandt & Marquardt, 2000). The concept of
leadership has been studied since ages dating back to the times of Plato, Caesar (Bass, 1981).
Over the years, researchers have generated a surplus of work and data that adds value in the field
of leadership research. Although leadership is just an expression that is often used in
conversation and is frequently described by various adjectives such as good leadership,
influential leadership, effective leadership, poor leadership and bad leadership. Most scholars
have come to the conclusion that the concept of leadership does not attribute to one specific
definition.
Although a lack of harmony continues to exist about an exact meaning for leadership, most of
the researchers agree that leadership is an influence relationship between the leaders and the
follower who have their shared purposes and the leader achieves goals through continuous
inspiration and motivation of their followers.
It is very important to have a better understanding of the historical evolvement of the concept of
a leader and the leadership. For the purposes of this study, a discussion of these concepts will be
provided as they originate from traditional leadership theories of the mid 1900s to the more
modern theories of leadership.
4.1 Historical Evolvement Of Concept Of Leadership
The earlier concept of leadership focused on âgreat menâ born with qualities of leadership. The
Great Man Theory of leadership attempted to explain leadership on the basis of heredity. The
fundamental concept of the theory is that the leader is genetically gifted with superior qualities
that differentiate him from his followers. In the early years of the twentieth century, several
leadership theorists were motivated by Galtonâs (1870) study of the hereditary background of
great men.
He projected that great leaders take over their ability to lead to their descendants through their
genes. In 1900s, the concept of leadership was studied in terms of qualities or traits which
distinguished leaders from the rest of the people(followers). The trait theory was based on the
assumptions that generally people are born with certain special characteristics or traits like
intelligence, alertness, scholastic achievement, dependability, persistence, adaptability, relational
competence and higher socio- economic status.
The presence of above mentioned traits, or specific characteristics apparently enable people to
attain such leadership positions. The search for such universal traits or qualities was eventually
seen as pointless, because the general approach to leadership seemed to be more important.
After the trait approach the behavioural approach came into existence. Researchers began to
focus on the apparent leadership behaviors. It was known as behavioral leadership theory. The
4. development of behavior theories was strongly based on leaderâs behavior. At that time, two
major research studies were conducted byresearchers from the University of Michigan and
Ohio State which paid attention on apparent leadership behaviors. Both studies yielded similar
results. The researchers at Ohio State sought to identify independent dimensions of leader
behavior.
Beginning with over 1000 dimensions, they eventually narrowed the list to two categories that
accounted for most of the leadership behavior described by employees. They called these two
dimensions initiating structure and consideration. Initiating structure refers to the extent to
which a leader is likely to define and structure his or her role and those of employees in the
search for goal attainment. It includes the behavior that attempts to organize work, work
relationships and goals. Consideration is described as the extent to which a person is likely to
have job relationships that are characterized by mutual trust, respect for employeeâs idea and
respect for their feelings.
Similar research results were obtained at the University of Michigan Study. They also came up
with two dimensions of leadership behaviors that they named:
(1) production oriented (2) employee oriented. Production oriented leaders were who tend to
emphasize on technical or task aspects of job. Their main concern was in accomplishing their
tasks and the group members were just a means to accomplish that goal. The second leaders,
employee oriented, were describes as those who emphasized on interpersonal relationships.
Leaders who showed the employee oriented behavior also showed human-relation oriented skills.
These studies supported the fact that effective leaders had to be a mix of both production and
employee oriented behavior.
After concentrating just on leaders themselves proved to fall short of being an adequate overall
theory of leadership, attention was paid not only to the group being led and the exchange
relationship, but also to the situational aspct of leadership. Researchers began the search for
situational variables that affect leadership roles, skills and followers performance. So at that time
Situational or Contingency theory came into existence. The contingency approach suggested
that a single leadership style was not appropriate under all the situations.
The contingency theories represented a shift in leadership studies from focusing on the leader to
looking at the leader in combination with the situation in which the leader works (Fiedler, 1978).
The main contingency theories are the Fiedlers Contingency Model, Hersey and Blanchardâs
Situational Leadership Model, Houseâs Path-Goal Model and the Leader-Member Exchange
theory. Fiedler demonstrated that the effectiveness of production orientation and employee
orientation depends on the situation. Simple and clear tasks but situations with very high or very
low leader acceptance requires production oriented leadership and complex tasks requires
employee oriented leadership.
4.2 New Approaches To Leadership
Besides these traditional theories of leadership, a number of other theories have emerged in the
recent years. These include the charismatic, transactional, transformational and authentic theories
of leadership.
5. Charismatic leadership theory
Max weber was the first scholar to discuss charismatic leadership. The first researcher to
consider charismatic leadership in terms of organizational behavior was Robert house. According
to him, followers make attributions of heroic or extraordinary leadership abilities when they
observe certain behaviors. Charismatic leaders have these four key characteristics- they have a
vision, they are willing to take personal risks, they are sensitive to followerâs needs and they
exhibit behaviors that are out of the ordinary.
Transactional leadership theory
According to this theory there is an exchange of rewards between the leaders and the
subordinates for services rendered. Transactional leaders try to motivate their followers through
extrinsic rewards. The roots of Transactional leadership theory is grounded in the social learning
and social exchange theories, which recognize the equal nature of leadership. In
Transformational leadership however, the leader fails to understand followersâ motives and
needs. The focus shifts from the need of the leader to the followersâ needs.
By gaining an understanding of their followersâ needs, the transformational leader can
potentially convert followers into leaders. Bass and Avolio described transactional leadership in
terms of two characteristics: the use of contingent rewards and management by exception. They
described contingent reward as the reward that the leader will give to the subordinate once the
latter has achieved goals that were agreed to.
Contingent reward is therefore the exchange of rewards for meeting agreed-on objectives.
Transactional leaders can also act by relying on active management by exception which occurs
when the leader monitors followers to ensure mistakes are not made. In passive management by
exception, the leader intervene only when things go wrong.
Transformational Leadership theory
Transformational leadership theory focuses more on change, and inspires followers to have a
shared vision and goals of an organization, challenges them to be innovative, problem solvers,
and also helps to develop followersâ leadership capabilities through coaching, mentoring, and by
providing both challenge and support to the followers. In a transformational theory, the purposes
and goals of leaders and followers become related that might have begun as separate.
A transformational leader influences his or her followers to look beyond their self-interest for
the good of the group. From a transformational leadership perspective, leadership is considered
to be about doing what has never being done, and it includes visionary and charismatic
leadership.
The transformational approach views leadership as a shared process. For many researchers
charismatic leadership and transformational leadership are similar, but the charismatic leadership
is just an important component of transformational leadership. The scope of transformational
leadership is wide enough.
Bass and colleagues have identified five components of transformational leadership: 1) idealized
influence (attributes); 2) idealized influence (behaviour); 3) inspirational motivation; 4)
intellectual stimulation and 5) individualized consideration.
1) Idealized influence attributes- when followers identify with and follow those leaders who are
trusted and seem to have an achievable mission and vision. The leaders have specific attributes
which are adorable to their followers.
6. 2) Idealized influence behavior refers to the leader behavior which results in followers
identifying with such leaders and wanting to follow them. Leaders representing idealized
influence behavior have certain charisma which inculcates pride in their subordinates and
command respect.
3) Inspirational motivation- leaders behave in such a way that motivates and inspires those
around them by providing meaning and challenge to their followersâ tasks. The leaders
constantly motivate their followers to attain their goals.
4) Intellectual stimulation occurs when the leader motivates their followers to provide alternative
solutions to the problems and challenges. Intellectual stimulation also occurs when leaders
encourage their followers to be innovative and creative by questioning, reframing problems and
approaching to the old situations in newer ways.
5) Individual consideration occurs when leaders relate to their followers on one-on-one basis.
The aim of the leader is to elevate goals and develop skills. Leaders who display individual
consideration treat each employee as an individual and are attentive to the unique needs,
capabilities and concerns of each individual. They treat their employees as an individual.
Authentic Leadership style
Although charismatic, transactional and transformational leadership theories have added greatly
to our understanding of effective leadership, they do not explicitly deal with the role of ethics
and trust. Some scholars have argued that a consideration of ethics and trust is essential to
complete the picture of effective leadership. Authentic leaders are those who know who they are,
who know what they believe in, who act on the values and beliefs openly and candidly. Their
followers consider them to be ethical people. Concept of authentic leadership is recent, there has
not been a lot of research on authentic leadership. However its very promising to think about the
ethics and trust in leadership because it focuses on moral aspects of being a leader.
cont... Autocratic Leadership Style
⢠The classical approach
⢠Manager retains as much power and decisionmaking authority as possible
⢠Does not consult staff, nor allowed to give any input
⢠Staff expected to obey orders without receiving any explanations
⢠Structured set of rewards and punishments
Greatly criticized during the past 30 years
⢠Gen X staff highly resistant
⢠Autocratic leaders:
⢠Rely on threats and punishment to influence staff
⢠Do not trust staff
⢠Do not allow for employee input
Not all bad
⢠Sometimes the most effective style to use
⢠When:
ภNew, untrained staff do not know which tasks to
perform or which procedures to follow
ภEffective supervision provided only through detailed orders and instructions
ภStaff do not respond to any other leadership style
ภLimited time in which to make a decision
7. ภA managerâs power challenged by staff
ภWork needs to be coordinated with another
department or organization
Should not be used
⢠When:
ภStaff become tense, fearful, or resentful
ภStaff expect their opinions heard
ภStaff depend on their manager to make all their decisions
ภLow staff morale, high turnover
and absenteeism and work stoppage
Bureaucratic Leadership Style
⢠Manages âby the book¨
⢠Everything done according to procedure or policy
⢠If not covered by the book, referred to the next level above
⢠A police officer not a leader
⢠Enforces the rules
Most effective
⢠When:
ภStaff performing routine tasks over and over
ภStaff need to understand certain standards or procedures.
ภSafety or security training conducted
ภStaff performing tasks that require handling cash
Ineffective
⢠When:
ภWork habits form that are hard to break, especially if they are no longer useful
ภStaff lose their interest in their jobs and in their co-workers
ภStaff do only what is expected of them and no more
Democratic Leadership Style
⢠Also known as participative style
⢠Encourages staff to be a part of the decision making
⢠Keeps staff informed about everything that affects their work and shares decision making and
problem solving responsibilities
The leader
A coach who has the final say, but gathers information from staff before making a decision
⢠Produce high quality and high quantity work for long periods of time
⢠Staff like the trust they receive and respond with cooperation, team spirit, and high morale
The democratic leader
Develops plans to help staff evaluate their own performance
⢠Allows staff to establish goals
⢠Encourages staff to grow on the job and be promoted
⢠Recognizes and encourages achievement
8. Not always appropriate
⢠Most successful when used with highly skilled or experienced staff or when
implementing operational changes or resolving individual or group problems
Most effective
⢠When:
ภWants to keep staff informed about matters that affect them.
ภWants staff to share in decision-making and problem-solving duties.
ภWants to provide opportunities for staff to develop a high sense of personal growth and job
satisfaction.
ภA large or complex problem that requires lots of input to solve
ภChanges must be made or problems solved that affect staff
ภWant to encourage team building and participation
Democratic leadership
should not be used when âŚ
⢠Not enough time to get everyoneâs input
⢠Easier and more cost-effective for the manager to make the decision
⢠Canât afford mistakes
⢠Manager feels threatened by this type of leadership
⢠Staff safety is a critical concern
Laissez-Faire Leadership Style
⢠Also known as the âhands-off¨ style
⢠The manager provides little or no direction and gives staff as much freedom as possible
⢠All authority or power given to the staff and they determine goals, make decisions, and resolve
problems on their own
An effective style to use âŚ
⢠Staff highly skilled, experienced, and educated
⢠Staff have pride in their work and the drive to do it successfully on their own
⢠Outside experts, such as staff specialists or consultants used
⢠Staff trustworthy and experienced
Should not be used âŚ
⢠Staff feel insecure at the unavailability of a manager
⢠The manager cannot provide regular feedback to staff on how well they are doing
⢠Managers unable to thank staff for their good work
⢠The manager doesnât understand his or her responsibilities and hoping the staff cover for him
or her
9. 5. Conclusion
After reviewing the literature on leadership, it is clear that accountable and suitable leadership is
essential for the success of any organization. Every organization needs effective leaders who
fulfil organizational productivity by increasing follower's job satisfaction, performance and
commitment. Although there is a plethora of research on the topic of effective leadership styles,
there are some researchers that claim a cross between transformational and transactional
leadership to be the best leadership for today's world. Some researchers claim that for effective
leadership there should have a balance between transformational and transactional leadership. It
is widely understood that the face of leadership is changing and in order to be an effective leader
one must embrace the changes that are before them.
There is not just one ideal leadership style to use for every issue, because one may have more
knowledge and experience in one situation, but may not be in another. An effective leader must
be open ended and able to accept feedback and adjust their style of leadership, if necessary. In
conclusion, change is necessary if an organization wishes to keep up with the times. The old
styles of leadership must be broken and the organizations should encourage and train their
leaders to be more transformational.
5. References
Alpana Priyabhashini, Venkat R. Krishnan (2005), âTransformational leadership and followerâs
career advancement: role of pygmalion effectâ Indian journal of industrial relations, vol.40,
no.4, p.p 482-499.
Bass, B.M and Avolio, B.J (1990): â Transformational Leadership development: manual for the
multifactor leadership questionnaireâ Palo alto: C.A consulting psychologist press.
Bass, B.M &Riggio (2006), â Transformational leadership (2nd edition)â NJ Lawrence Erlbaum
associates.
David. M Harold, Donald Fedor (2008), âthe effects of transformational and change leadership
on employeeâs commitment to a changeâ Journal of applied psychology, vol 93, no. 2 p. 346-
357.
10. Part two: on conflict
The Modes of Conflicts and Managerial Leadership Styles of Managers
Abstract
The study was conducted to examine leadership styles used by managers in different sectors
when they face interpersonal conflicts within the organizational context. Leadership styles and
induced conflicts are essential to an enterprise and its performance. Therefore, it is of paramount
significance to study the impacting mechanism of leadership and conflicts on organizational
sector.
The purpose of this study is to examine the choice of strategy in conflict management with
relation to their leadership styles among managers in organization. Questionnaire was used to
collect the data from the managers of the various organization. The result of this study finds out
the positive correlation between leadership/managerial styles and modes of conflict management.
It is also revealed that most of the managers belong to team manager category and most of the
managers used the accommodating and collaborating conflict management modes to handle any
issue in the organization. The team leader managerial style has positive effect on employee
behavior and performance.
Keywords: Conflicts, Conflicts Management, Managerial Leadership styles, organizations
INTRODUCTION
The conflict varies, sometimes it is minimal, immense, hidden or open or sometimes it is
destructive or constructive. Mostly individual or groups are so bound together that their actions
affect one another and conflict is natural and inevitable. Conflicts happen between individuals,
between groups and between nations.
An organization without conflict is probably apathetic. Conflict signifies involvement,
commitment and caring. An organization without conflict is probably apathetic. Conflict
signifies involvement, commitment and caring. If understood, recognized, it can stimulate
renewed and improved human relations.
Without conflict, people seldom face and resolve their problems. To understand the word
âconflictâ requires a clear definition âConflict is inherent to all social life, it happen when peoples
come with different ideas, attitudes and behaviorâ. Conflict is also Global Business and
Management Research.
defined as it is the internal uncertainty that result from different opinion. Organizational conflict
occurs between individuals, peoples, organizations, within small groups and work teams, or
between groups (Amason & Schweiger, 1997). Who has been studying conflict for over 20
years, defined it as âthe process that begins when one party perceives that the other party has
negatively affected, or is about to negatively affects something that he or she cares about
(Thomas, 1992; Valentine, 2001).
Reasons of organizational conflicts are distribution of task, norm, values. A style is considered
appropriate for a conflict situation, if it is used then leads to effective formulation and/or solution
to a problem. The ability to manage conflict situations, towards constructive outcomes is
becoming a standard requirement with appropriate leadership styles. The process model is
focused on internal dynamics of specific conflict events and is useful for managing an ongoing
system and coping with crisis.
11. The objective of this paper is to identify conflict mode choices of head managers in organization
and examine the correlation between leadership styles, choice of strategy in handling conflicts
where managers deal with conflicts on daily basis. This paper is divided into five sections where
the first section include introduction second section explain the literature. The third section is
about methodology while fourth section is results and analysis. The final section of the paper is
conclusion.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Defining Conflicts
Whether two people, two groups or two nations interact, their perceived needs and goals may
conflict. It can involve incompatible differences between parties that result in interference or
opposition, and violation of rules and procedures. How people perceives conflict depends upon
their orientation. This is called the conflict frame, the lens through which the parties to a dispute,
view the conflict situation.
Conflict has been interpreted differently at different times. The current school of thoughts
encourages the adoption of a minimum level of conflict that is; enough conflict to make sure the
group is viable, self-critical, and creative. Conflict is as âthe internal discord that results from
differences in ideas, values, or feelings between two or more peopleâ. Although a generally
accepted definition of conflict does not exist (McKenna, 2000; Nadler & Tushman, 1999). who
has been studying conflict for over 20 years, defined it as âthe process that begins when one
party perceives that the other party has negatively affected, or is about to negatively affect,
something that he or she cares about (Hendel, Fish, & Galon, 2005).
Conflict is an infectious phenomenon that gets under the skin of those involved, with known
effects such as feelings of hostility, anxiety, and stress. Conflict between coworkers can of
course result in such issues, but more importantly conflict between employees and their
supervisors may result in employees looking elsewhere for employment. It covers personality
characteristics and value system in which people adhere, Individuals have within themselves the
capacity to generate conflict(Thomas, 1992; Valentine, 2001).
STYLES OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
A successful workplace conflict management strategy will reduce hostility and aggressiveness at
work. Conflict management and resolution must address everyone's needs and concerns,
including your own, so in turn you will be more effective and have greater job satisfaction.
Identify five major styles or modes of conflict management that managerâs use. Using the Conflict
Management Model, you can see how Global Business and Management Research: An International
Journal Vol. 7, No. 2
(2015)
The two
dimensional
model of
conflict
management by
Thomas 1992
12. behavior can be expressed in terms of co-operation and assertiveness, and how that approach
works OR not. The process model is focused on internal dynamics of specific conflict events and
is useful for managing an ongoing system and coping with crisis. (Barki & Hartwick, 2001;
Beyerlein, 2007; Hendel et al., 2005; Rahim, 2002; Thomas, 1992; Valentine, 2001). Thomas
places the five styles in a two dimensional framework comprising assertiveness the desire to
satisfy oneâs own concerns, and cooperativeness the desire to satisfy anotherâs concerns.
Two Dimensional Model of Conflict
Management by Thomas 1992
a) Competition
The use of this style in conflict resolution amounts to an attempt to overwhelm an opponent by
utilizing formal authority, threats or the use of power. It is a win-lose struggle and is reflected in
assertive and uncooperative behavior.
b) Collaboration
This style involves mutual problem solving, whereby all the parties to the conflict come face to
face with each other and discuss the issues. When the collaborative style is used, participants
attempt to clarify their differences and consider the full range of alternatives with a view to
solving the problem. Collaboration is frequently viewed, as a win-win approach because the
solution sought by the group is advantageous to all the participants. The collaborative style is
reflected in both assertive and cooperative behavior.
c) Avoidance
One way in which parties to a conflict can deal with the situation is by avoiding the other person
in order to prevent an overt demonstration of disagreement. Avoidance takes two forms-
withdrawal and suppression. In withdrawal we may encounter a situation where for example,
health and safety officials find it difficult to relate to key production executives. Global Business
and Management Research: An International Journal Vol. 7, No. 2 (2015)
The former withdraws from interaction with the latter by sending safety reports up the
hierarchical line for downward action. Where withdrawal is not acceptable the parties may
suppress their differences by withholding information or not airing their feelings so as not to
upset the other party. By removing the conditions for overt disagreement, a win-lose struggle is
avoided. Probably suppression is more widely practiced than appears to be. This style is reflected
in unassertive and uncooperative behavior.
d) Accommodation
This style is similar to appeasement, where one party in a conflict situation places his/her interest
below the opponentâs interest. It amounts to self-sacrificing behavior, and can be found in
personal relationships, where one party puts the other partyâs interest first. This style is reflected
in unassertive but at the same time cooperative behavior.
e) Compromise
A compromise situation is created when each party to the conflict gives up something, and there
is no winner or loser. In the field of industrial relations, compromise is evident in discussion
between management and trade unions. In order to arrive at a settlement to, for example, an
industrial dispute, compromise is required. This style is reflected in intermediate amounts of
assertiveness and cooperativeness (Thoms, 1992).
13. LEADERSHIP STYLES
Leadership processes did not reside solely in the person, but could be cultivated as distinctive
patterns of behavior. The behavioral style approaches become popular from the 1930s to now.
The Blake and Mouton developed a managerial grid in 1985 that depicted five leadership styles,
concern for people and concern for production/task.
The ideal of managerial grid is 9.9 style (team management) where there is an integrative
maximum concern for both production and people. The 9.1 style (task management) focuses
wholly on production/task and the managers in this category have problems in dealing with
people/subordinates. The superior males the decisions and subordinates carry it without question.
The 1.9 style (country club management) emphasizes people/employees. Direct disagreement or
criticism of one another avoided and as a consequences production problems are not followed
up. The Managerial Grid is based on two behavioral dimensions.
A. Concern for People
This is the degree to which a leader considers the needs of team members, their interests, and
areas of personal development when deciding how best to accomplish a task.
B. Concern for Production
This is the degree to which a leader emphasizes concrete objectives, organizational efficiency
and high productivity when deciding how best to accomplish a task. Using the axis to plot
leadership 'concerns for production' versus 'concerns for people', Blake and Mouton defined the
following five leadership styles: Global Business and Management Research: An International
Journal Vol. 7, No. 2 (2015)
C. Country Club Leadership
a) High People/Low Production
This style of leader is most concerned about the needs and feelings of members of his/her team.
These people operate under the assumption that as long as team members are happy and secure
then they will work hard. What tends to result is a work environment that is very relaxed and fun
but where production suffers due to lack of direction and control.
D) Produce or Perish Leadership
a) High Production/Low People
Also known as Authoritarian or Compliance Leaders, people in this category believe that
employees are simply a means to an end. Employee needs are always secondary to the need for
efficient and productive workplaces. This type of leader is very autocratic, has strict work rules,
policies, and procedures, and views punishment as the most effective means to motivate
employees.
E) Impoverished Leadership
a) Low Production/Low People
This leader is mostly ineffective. He/she has neither a high regard for creating systems for
getting the job done, nor for creating a work environment that is satisfying and motivating. The
result is a place of disorganization, dissatisfaction and disharmony.
14. F) Middle of the Road Leadership
a) Medium Production/Medium People
This style seems to be a balance of the two competing concerns. It may at first appear to be an
ideal compromise. Therein lies the problem, though: When you compromise, you necessarily
give away a bit of each concern so that neither production nor people needs are fully met.
Leaders who use this style settle for average performance and often believe that this is the most
anyone can expect. Global Business and Management Research: An International Journal Vol. 7,
No. 2 (2015)
G) Team Leadership
a) High Production/High People
According to the Blake Mouton model, this is the pinnacle of managerial style. These leaders
stress production needs and the needs of the people equally highly. The premise here is that
employees are involved in understanding organizational purpose and determining production
needs. When employees are committed to, and have a stake in the organization's success, their
needs and production needs coincide. This creates a team environment based on trust and
respect, which leads to high satisfaction and motivation and, as a result, high production.