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This study is part of our course on Group Behavior in Organization where I have chosen two leadership models and conducted field research in an organization. The objective of the field research is to find correlation between the leadership perceptions in the organization measured through these two models. I have chosen LMX Model & Style approach and conducted he field research in one of the KPO named PIPAL Research. My finding includes the leadership perception through LMX questionnaire and Style questionnaire that includes two dimensions viz. Task (Production) Orientation & People Orientation. On the basis of the research, I tried to find out the correlation between LMX with Style model. This brings in the following hypothesis. Ho1There is a positive correlation between leadership perception as measured by LMX Questionnaire and People Orientation as measured by Style Questionnaire.
Ho2There is a positive correlation between leadership perception as measured by LMX Questionnaire and Task Orientation as measured by Style Questionnaire. Ho3There is a positive correlation between leadership perception as measured by LMX Questionnaire and leadership style as measured by Style Questionnaire. My research suggests that the correlation between leadership perception as measured by LMX Questionnaire and People Orientation as measured by Style Questionnaire is 0. 72, which is positive and moderately high in strength.
The correlation between leadership perception as measured by LMX Questionnaire and Task Orientation as measured by Style Questionnaire is coming out to be 0. 35 and weak in strength. Further, it is found that the correlation between leadership perception as measured by LMX Questionnaire and leadership style as measured by Style Questionnaire is 0. 59, which is positive and moderate in strength. So, I can infer that all hypothesis made at the beginning of the study is true. Model Description Model 1 (Leader – Member Exchange Theory)
The Leader-member exchange (LMX) theory conceptualizes leadership as a process that is centered in the interaction between leaders and followers. According to Yukl (1998), LMX describes how a leader and an individual subordinate develop a relationship as they influence each other and negotiate the subordinate’s role in the organization. As the relationship develops, the latitude given to the subordinate by the supervisor can increase. This latitude, which makes the exchange greater, is linked to empowerment. Sparrowe (1994) found a significant association between LMX and member perceptions of the degree of empowerment.
As a consequence, LMX is positively associated with favorable attitudes such as job satisfaction. Leader-member exchange (LMX) theory, describes the role making process between a leader and an individual subordinate. In addition, the theory describes how leaders develop different exchange relationships over time with various subordinates. LMX theory was formerly called the vertical dyad linkage theory because of its focus on reciprocal influence processes within vertical dyads composed of one person who has direct authority over another person. What does LMX theory say about leadership? Conceptualizes leadership as a process that is centered on the interactions between leaders and followers, different from other leadership theories – The dyadic relationship between leader and follower is the focal point of the leadership process – The theory makes every subordinate (follower) feel part of the in-group, in turn avoids the inequities and negative implications of being in an out-group – Leadership making promotes building partnerships and can benefit goals and process Early Studies: Vertical dyads 1) informal/negotiated = in group ) formal/defined = out group In groups, subordinates are either in the in or out-group based on their interactions. If you agree to negotiate with the leader you can be part of the in-group. Later Studies: – Focused on the quality of leader-member exchange theory and how it was related to positive outputs of group, group members, etc. – High quality leader-member exchange theory increased effectiveness of the organization Leadership Making- promotes building partnerships and can benefit goals and progress – The leader should develop quality relationships with all members.
Make everyone feel like they’re in the in-group – Phases of social growth: 1) Stranger phase- rule bound, low quality exchanges. 2) Acquaintance phase- testing, sharing more resources and personal/work related information. 3) Mature relationship phase- mutual trust, respect toward each other. Strengths 1) It’s a descriptive theory; it suggests that it is important to recognize the existence of in-groups and out-groups within a group or organization. 2) The LMX theory is unique because it’s the only leadership approach that makes the concept of the dyadic relationship the centerpiece of the leadership process. ) The LMX theory is noteworthy, because it directs my attention to the importance of communication in leadership. 4) There is a large body of research that substantiates how the practice of the LMX theory is related to positive organizational outcomes. Weaknesses/Criticisms 1) The LMX theory runs counter to basic human values of fairness – It gives appearance and discrimination against groups that don’t receive the special attention. – It’s very unfair. 2) The basic ideas and theory are not fully developed Formal because a leader found certain subordinates more compatible in regard to personality, interpersonal skills, but never stated how these were important. 3) Questions regarding the measurement of leadership member exchanges in LMX theory – No empirical studies have used dyadic measures to analyze the LMX process – The measurement scales lack content validity, which means the scales, may not actually be measuring what they were intended to measure. – Questions regarding whether the standard scale used to measure exchanges are uni-dimensional or multidimensional. Model 2 (Leadership Style Theory – Managerial Grid)
The managerial grid was an output from Blake & Mouton’s (1985) research. Their work revealed that; managerial competence in leadership could be learned, thus helping to dispel earlier trait theories which stressed inherent characteristics. Managers have a dominant orientation (task or people) but they frequently alternate their style according to the situation. This is the “back-up” style and becomes apparent when the dominant style cannot be applied. [pic] Blake & Mouton’s grid is a two-dimensional continuum which has five extremes; A (9,1) Authority-Obedience Management – focuses overwhelmingly on production.
A (9,1) manager is an exacting taskmaster who expects schedules to be met and people to do as they are told, no more and no less. Anything that goes wrong will be viewed as someone’s mistake, and the someone must be found and the blame squarely placed. Managers make decisions – subordinates carry them out. The manager should run the show, and disagreement is likely to be seen as the next thing to insubordination. Positives:can achieve high production – at least in the short run. Negatives:subordinates’ creative energies go into defeating the system rather than improving it. • Disagreements are ruled out and suppressed rather than settled. Subordinates do what is required, but no more. • Subordinates seem “obviously” indifferent and apathetic win-lose thinking results in a struggle between managers and subordinates. (9,1) management is prevalent in a competitive industrial society because inadequate education leaves many people unable to use more than limited skills and compelled to endure this kind of supervision. B. (1,9) Country Club Management – emphasizes sole concern for people. It does not push people for production. People are encouraged and supported; their mistakes are overlooked because they are doing the best they can.
The key word is togetherness and informal conversation -“no work discussions during breaks”. Negatives:People avoid disagreements/criticisms and production problems are glossed over. New ideas/initiatives that would cause trouble or strain are let slide. (1,9) style grows up easily in quasi-monopoly situations or when operating on a cost-plus basis. Ultimate end will be the closing of an uncompetitive unit. C. (1,1) Impoverished Management – whole organizations don’t last long with this kind of management but it is frequent enough in individual managers and supervisors.
It is characterized by the avoidance of responsibility or personal commitment, and by leaving people to work as they see fit. (1,1) managers do just enough so that if things go wrong they can say “I told them what to do – it’s not my fault. ” They minimize contacts with everyone and are non-committal on any problems. The (1,1) approach typically reveals the frustrations of someone who has been passed over for promotion, shunted sideways, or has been in a routine job for years. D. (5,5) Organization Man Management – managers frequently alternate between (1,9) Country Club Management and (9,1) Authority-Obedience Management styles.
They tighten up to increase output but when human relations begin to suffer they swing back to (1,9) • The middle of the management grid shows the (5,5) Organization Man Management style, typified by marginal shifts around the happy medium. • This middle of the road style pushes enough to get acceptable production but yields enough to maintain acceptable morale – to aim for both is too idealistic. • Such managers aim at a moderate “carrot and stick” standard, fair but firm, and have confidence in their subordinates’ ability to meet targets. (5,5) management is not effective, it is a management “cop-out” which gives rise to compromise rather than versatility – it gives rise to “splitting the difference” on problems, to attempting balanced solutions rather than appropriate ones. E. (9,9) Team Management – is highly participative and considered the most effective because; • It shows high concern for both production and for people and does not accept that these concerns are incompatible the team manager seeks to integrate people around production morale and managerial inspiration is task related. • It tries to discover the most appropriate and most effective solutions. It aims at the highest attainable production to which all involved contribute and find their own sense of accomplishment people satisfy their own needs through the job and working with others, not through incidental sociability in the Country Club style. • The (9,9) manager assumes that employees who know what the stakes are for them and for others in what they are doing will not need boss direction and control. This needs much participation to be achievable – see next bullet point. • The manager’s responsibility is to see that work is planned and organized by those with a stake in it, not necessarily to do the task personally. Objectives should be clear to all. They should be demanding but realistic even when conflict occurs, problems are confronted directly and openly and not as personal disputes. This encourages creativity. • It builds long term development and trust. Organizational performance improvement and the personal growth of those in it are both aims and outcomes of the (9,9) style. The value in Blake & Mouton’s leadership theory is that managers can match their style to the hard demands of production and softer people needs.
They can also learn through critique (from colleagues) and feedback (from control outputs) in order to change/improve their management style. [pic] Component 1 (Organization Overview) PIPAL Research provides financial and business research to organizations worldwide. PIPAL is committed to the highest levels of professional standards and services, and offers a distinctive value proposition by helping clients increase the bottom line value of their businesses. PIPAL’s global delivery model helps it deliver timely, high quality, objective research, with immense cost savings compared with in-house and other outsourced research services.
Capabilities In its quest to provide the highest quality custom business research, PIPAL Research has developed strong research, analysis and analytics capabilities. Almost all projects undertaken by PIPAL require a combination of secondary and primary research in addition to an in-depth analysis and presentation skills. Secondary research PIPAL’s experienced researchers possess strong secondary research capabilities built on a deep understanding of information sources and data availability combined with a robust resource and database infrastructure.
PIPAL has developed proprietary frameworks for assessing data availability and evaluating the quality of information sources. Our analysts combine their secondary research skills with highly-refined analysis, and synthesize information to deliver high quality reports. Financial research PIPAL delivers in-depth financial research and analysis to a large number of buy-side firms and investment banks along with a host of corporate houses. With a team of highly qualified and experienced analysts, PIPAL has built substantial capability in equity and fixed income research, financial valuation and modeling, and forensic accounting.
PIPAL has a proven track record of the successful execution and scaling-up of large equity research, investment banking and buy side support assignments. Direct intelligence While primary research is not necessary for every research project, most research cannot be completed without some primary research. PIPAL analysts are well trained in conducting interviews to validate hypotheses and findings as well as to address information gaps. PIPAL has a dedicated team of primary research specialists to handle “pure” primary research projects such as “channel checks” and “win-loss assessment”.
PIPAL, via its relationship with Firstsource, has access to larger teams of dedicated call center specialists for large-scale interviewing projects and data collection efforts. Quantitative analytics PIPAL has a dedicated team of quantitative specialists with deep expertise in data modeling including data set analysis. The QA team’s core competency lies in converting data to information and information into knowledge that is actionable. The focus is on generating insights that impacts bottom line. PIPAL team comprises accomplished, experienced professionals drawn from well-known organizations across a wide spectrum of industries.
They have advanced degrees from top academic institutions and share a common pedigree and vision. PIPAL undertakes continuous skills assessment and enhancement programs to ensure that all employees are well versed with latest developments in their respective field of industry or functional expertise. By imbibing high professional values in its team members, PIPAL management has ensured that PIPAL team is well equipped to work with the top global companies. Clients of the PIPAL PIPAL Research serves global clients of all sizes in knowledge intensive industries, including finance and banking, professional services and corporate sectors.
Clients employ our services to take objective business decisions and to handle complex negotiations. PIPAL has successfully completed assignments in the areas of competitive intelligence gathering, strategic planning and due diligence, equity/fixed income research, risk assessment and solutions, market and company valuations, industry and sector analysis, company financial analysis and reporting, and knowledge library services. PIPAL’s client roster comprises top ranking global firms including: • Leading global commercial banks • Fortune 500 consumer finance company • Leading strategy and management consulting firms Top investment banks • Top ten law firm • Private equity firms • Top software and IT firms Infrastructure PIPAL has invested heavily in building a world class infrastructure for its knowledge centers and delivery offices. PIPAL’s infrastructure is continuously upgraded to match high expectations of their clients, ensuring 100% reliability and dependability. • Redundant and secure data links • Daily data back-up, stored off-site • Disabled external devices and ports on workstations • Limited Internet connectivity without any access to public mail/IM • Mesh architecture Automatic topology detection • Automatic routing on “best path” • Provisioning extra bandwidth on links • Ensuring no drops even in case of link failures • PRI links for voice communication Services Corporate Intelligence Corporate Intelligence service from PIPAL Research is focused on delivering to managers rare insights for critical decision making process. PIPAL Research believes that “better informed” means “better decisions”. PIPAL’s Corporate Intelligence team provides services that include: • Strategic planning, sales and marketing support • Customer trends, dashboards and scorecards Competitive trends, dashboards and scorecards • Market opportunity, sizing and requirements • Scenario, proposition and innovation analysis • Financial analysis including deal analysis, segment revenues, market share, profitability • Benchmarking and performance measurement • Negotiations support • Knowledge building support • Innovation management and intelligence PIPAL’s distinctive offering for corporations is broadly divided into four areas namely: strategic intelligence, competitive intelligence, innovation intelligence and knowledge support.
Each offering is delivered by my high powered team of analysts and is supported by our unique research and analysis methodology and our vast database of subscription databases. Investment Research PIPAL Research offers a full suite of investment research services. I have built a large pool of talented and experienced financial researchers and analysts and have successfully delivered many projects that have helped clients take critical decisions. • Equity research • Financial valuation and modeling • M support • Fixed income analysis • Risk management • Geographic/industry analysis (macro and micro) Company/business unit analysis • Forensic accounting • FX research Investment research projects can be broadly classified under three groups : Modeling, Qualitative and Integrated. Quantitative Analytics PIPAL Research has an enviable team of experienced quantitative analytics analysts possessing deep knowledge of the domain. PIPAL’s hand-picked team of QA analysts uses the latest statistical tools to derive highly useful metrics for client companies. Activities straddle data to decisions and range from the simple descriptive analysis to the more complex optimization studies.
PIPAL team is competent in a whole range of applications and platforms including SAS, SPSS, Sawtooth, Matlab, JMP, BO, and Siebel Analytics. I have a perfect balance of domain expertise and knowledge of an array of statistical tools and techniques for practical business application. A key differentiator for PIPAL is its ability to develop be-spoke applications, dashboards and decision tools that drive business intelligence. Both stand alone and web based applications that simplify modeling and reporting are developed using . NET, Java platforms with databases like XL, Access, and SQL. A simple yet efficient GUI is provided to enhance UI.
Knowledge Support PIPAL Research leads the way in knowledge support services through its award winning, innovative platform, PIPALAnswers. PIPALAnswers is a revolutionary on-demand research and analysis service for busy professionals. It acts as an in-house online research resource available 24/7 to support all your research needs cost-effectively without any fixed overhead. Component 2 (Application of LMX Model in context to PIPAL Research) PIPAL Research started operation in India about four years back and has been able to grow in a phenomenon manner. The team is led by CEO with 4 Directors.
Under these directors, there are Associate Directors who are responsible for research in their following respective business verticals:- • Financial Research. • Technology, media and Telecommunications. • Professional Services. • FMCG sector. Associate Directors are supported by Research Managers and Team Leaders who head the individual project teams. To keep pace with the increasing demand in the market place, the company is in heavy recruitment drive of Management Trainees primarily from ‘B’ Schools. Company has trebled their revenue in last 2 years. However, the major concern area of the management is to control the attrition Rate.
After recent job evaluation exercise, management has decided to restructure the organization and abolish certain positions at the Senior/ Middle Level management. It is quite evident from the research conducted by us that overall assessment of the Leadership effectiveness is quite high (LMX scores is 57% for respondents assessing the leadership in the range of Very High or High). Since the distribution is skewed (negatively) I choose the Median as Measure of Central Tendency and that is coming out to be 26 (in the High range). Both indices indicate a higher rating of the Leadership by the respondents.
The higher LMX score suggests higher number of In – Group members in the team and that is quite evident from the business result of the company. According to the model, in-group members do extra things for the leader and the leader does the same for them. However, out of remaining 43%, 20% have assessed leadership as moderate and remaining 23% as Very Low or Low. That suggests the existence of Out – Group members in the organization who also consists of a quite large population of the respondents. Subordinates in the out-group are less compatible with the leader and usually just come to work, do their job, and go home.
The above findings suggests that although the majority of respondents are quite satisfied with the leadership dynamics of the organization but still a section of respondents are not happy with the same. It is also possible that a section of leaders have failed to establish the kind of rapport with their followers as other leaders of the organization may have developed. The findings of Job Evaluation also suggest that certain positions lack adequate work load and the same needs to be combined together. The hidden reason of high attrition may also be due to leadership. Component 2 (Application of Style Model in context to PIPAL Research)
The findings of style questionnaire further strengthen the reflections made through LMX Model about the leadership dynamics in the PIPAL. I have plotted the Managerial Grid based on the research findings. The findings suggest a positive correlation between both the variable of the style approach with the findings of LMX model. However, the correlation between LMX and People Orientation (Correlation: 0. 72) is much stronger than between the LMX and Task Orientation (Correlation: 0. 35). Although, there is a positive correlation between LMX Score & People Orientation, it can not be inferred as very strong correlation.
Above finding clearly indicates the inclination of leaders towards the people issues in comparison to production or task issues. The median score of People Orientation (42. 5) coming out to be High as compared to Task Orientation (38. 5) that is Moderately High also suggest the same postulate. % of People who responded People Orientation from Moderately high to Very high be around 80% compared to 70% for Task Orientation. If I further look into the grid formed with the findings, majority of respondents categorized the leadership in the “Team Leadership” quadrant and very few responded for other four quadrants i. . Impoverished, Organization Man, County Club or Authority Obedience. However, representation is there in each quadrant. The perception of most of the respondents that the leadership style is “Team Leadership” may be manifested by the business results of the company. The concern area that is evident from the study is the perception of low concern for production or task orientation of the management. The perceptions of 30% respondents are in the range of Moderately low to Very Low towards the Task or Production Orientation.
It also substantiates the fact that absence of focus for production or task orientation may lead to greater dissatisfaction of the employees. The reason may be lack of achievement motivation of executives of present generation. The above postulate also might lead to the restructuring of the company. The presence of concern for people is good for the organization future since it will definitely help in building a culture of trust amongst the employees and they may perform at their best. Present market pull may also be the reason for the high attrition but presence of culture of trust may prove to be distinctive advantage in future.
Component 3 (Alternative Leadership Strategy for PIPAL based on the LMX Model) The findings of LMX study can be made applicable to all levels of management and directs managers to assess their leadership from a relationship perspective, sensitizes managers to how in-groups and out-groups develop within their work unit. The findings can also be used to explain how individuals create leadership networks throughout the PIPAL. It is essential on parts of the management to recognize existence of in-groups & out-groups. Leader-member exchange (LMX) theory, describes the role making process between a leader and an individual subordinate.
In addition, the theory describes how leaders develop different exchange relationships over time with various subordinates. LMX theory was formerly called the vertical dyad linkage theory because of its focus on reciprocal influence processes within vertical dyads composed of one person who has direct authority over another person. The mutual affection members of the dyad have for each other based primarily on interpersonal attraction, rather than work or professional values. Such affection may be manifested in the desire for and/or occurrence of a relationship which has personally rewarding components and outcomes (e. . , a friendship). According to LMX theory, significant differences in how goals are accomplished using in-groups vs. out-groups. Authority granted to a member implies control of the latitude for its use. Superiors must decide on the amount of latitude to grant to various members on specific tasks. Some members may be required to gain approval at short intervals whereas others may be allowed to proceed for long periods without reporting. Furthermore, even complex tasks can be rendered trivial by overly specific instructions and short reporting periods with low latitude.
Latitude represents a potentially rich area of the discovery of position resources. Perception of the current level of work-oriented activity each member puts forth toward the mutual goals (explicit or implicit) of the dyad. Important in the evaluation of work-oriented activity is the extent to which the subordinate member of the dyad handles responsibility and completes tasks that extend beyond the job description and/or employment contract: and likewise, the extent to which the supervisor provides resources and opportunities for such activity. Leaders must form special relationship with each subordinate.
Perception of the degree to which each member of the dyad has built a reputation, within and/or outside the organization, of excelling at his or her line of work. This perception may be based on historical data concerning the person, such as: personal experience with the individual: comments made about the person from individual within or outside the organization; and awards or other professional recognition achieved by the person. Thus it is possible, though not required, to have developed a perception of professional respect before working with or even meeting the person.
To summarize, while the findings rate the leadership effectiveness to be high, the organization must adopt the following measures to offset the moderate/low assessment of leadership by a section of employees:- • Leader should offer each subordinate an opportunity for new roles/responsibilities. • Leader should nurture high-quality exchanges with all subordinates. • Rather than concentrating on differences, leader should focus on ways to build trust. • Consolidate on the positive payoffs of effective leader-member exchange relationship. Collaborative approach between the leader and member for effective task accomplishment. • Recognize the subordinate potential and commit their involvement towards constructive conclusion of projects. • Promote unconventional thinking amongst subordinates. • Constant efforts by the leader to enhance compatibility and develop a rapport with subordinates. [pic] Component 3 (Alternative Leadership Strategy for PIPAL based on the Style Model) In his book Good to Great, author Jim Collins identifies one of the characteristics of great companies:
All good to great companies began the process of finding a path to greatness by confronting the brutal facts of their current reality…A primary task in taking a company from good to great is to create a culture wherein people have a tremendous opportunity to be heard and ,ultimately for the trust to be heard. The above concept is true in the context of PIPAL as well. Although most of the respondent puts the company leadership in the Team Leadership quadrant, still lot of opportunity is there to improve on leadership front and successfully implement the organization strategies of restructuring, reducing the attrition, etc.
Blake and Mouton’s Managerial “Grid” shows the source of the principles for what they consider major leadership styles as determined by the degree of concern for both people and results. The 9,9 style, located in the upper right corner of the Grid represents the highest concern for results as well as the highest concern for people. The values of a 9, 9 leader are rooted in respect for the individual, a passion for maximizing results, and the knowledge that these concerns are complimentary, not contradictory. This blend of respect and passion is evident in 9, 9 leadership behaviors: Developing a shared vision • Seeking input on critical decisions • Trusting employees to do their jobs • Encouraging risk-taking in the pursuit of better ways • Confronting unsatisfactory performance • Recognizing outstanding performance • Utilizing conflict to make better decisions • Using critique • Using candor to help people and the organization succeed When Blake and Mouton first developed the Grid Approach, they based it on a model they called the “Three Rs of Teamwork. ” The model is presented in the figures next page. [pic]
The basic assumption is that the process of converting available team resources (natural abilities, skills, experience, enthusiasm, education, and training) into maximum results (new products and services, process improvement, savings, and profit) relies totally on the quality of relationships. With the focus on the incredible values of human relationships to organizational effectiveness, Blake and Mouton identified seven critical relationship skills: • Critique • Initiative • Inquiry • Advocacy • Decision Making • Conflict Resolution • Resilience
They believed that whenever an organization ignores the application of the seven R2 skills, they would not achieve maximum results. Many organizations ignore the development of the R2 skills in favor of concentrating attention on improving resources. This typically doesn’t get the results that improved R2 skills can attain. Others focus on process improvement, yet without R2 skills, their efforts seldom yield desired results. Many companies have begun Six Sigma efforts only to later contract consulting firms to conduct seminars based on Grid principles in order to maximize process improvement.
Blake and Mouton believed that open, honest communication is essential in successfully applying R2 skills. And further, they believed that without candor there could be no openness and honesty. The findings of style approach as applied to PIPAL Research have been corroborated by the People orientation of its leaders as reflected in the findings of Style leadership. To enhance the task orientation, this organization must adopt following measures:- • Make ‘Customer Satisfaction’ a basic value of the organization. Sharing performance measures of the organization with the employees and provide them a framework to contribute in positive manner. • Constant feedback to be encouraged from the client to bring about service gaps which needs to be urgently addressed. The same needs to be displayed throughout the organization so that every member of the organization understand and relate his contribution with Voice of the Customer. • Managing low performance is always difficult. Resolving the issues causing low performance should be addressed at the earliest.
Focus on continuous improvement of the processes and competencies of the people needs to be taken on priority. • Regular training should be imparted on all level of organization team members to improve upon their natural abilities and relationship skills and the improvement results may be made published. • TQM to be emphasized for every single business activity. • Brainstorming sessions or ‘quality Circle’ approach within teams to pinpoint aspects requiring improvement/modifications. • Due emphasis be placed on task completion while addressing personal requirements/problems of the employees.
Another important aspect is the constructive criticism. Critique represents the single most valuable relationship skill for increasing effectiveness in the workplace. Critique gets information out into the open and creates opportunities for synergy. The key to delivering effective personal critique is to focus on actions and their impact without evaluating the person as “good or bad. ” The following list describes characteristics of sound critique that make it more effective to give and receive. • Evaluate actions, not people. • Predict consequences. • Focus on the here-and-now. • Use specific examples. Establish criteria based upon enquiry, listening and authority. Component 4 (Improvement scope in LMX Model) LMX fails to explain fully the way high-quality leader-member exchanges are created. In the early studies it was implied that they were formed because a leader found certain subordinates more compatible in regard to personality, interpersonal skills, or job competencies, but these studies never described the relative. LMX has been measured with 2-item, 4-item, 5-item, 7-item, 10-item, and 12-item scales. None of these scales is based on either systematic psychometric study or explicit construct validation.
Given these problems, there is clearly a need to develop and validate a standardized, psychometrically sound measure of LMX. Another important gap in LMX research is the lack of understanding of the LMX developmental process. Only a few studies have focused on the LMX developmental process. In essence, the leader and subordinate behaviors involved in the development of LMXs have not been empirically delineated. Leader-member exchange theory suggests that leaders do not use the same style in dealing with all subordinates, but rather develop a different type of relationship or exchange with each subordinate.
Much research suggests that LMX is unidimensional. However, Role theory, which has provided the theoretical foundation for LMX research stresses that roles are multidimensional. For example, some subordinates may focus on their tasks, while neglecting social interaction, some may stress social interaction and not tasks, and others may be weak or strong on both dimensions. Leaders’ roles are also comprised of multiple factors, including such activities as supervision, allocating resources, and serving as a liaison Liden & Maslyn (1998) developed a new scale for measuring leader-member exchange. The scale is called LMX-MDM.
It has twelve questions to be answered on a Likert like scale. There are four categories comprising each three questions. These categories are: Affect, Loyalty, Contribution and Professional Respect. Component 4 (Improvement scope in GRID Model) The Grid approach is used more often as an analysis tool to identify the leadership style of certain individual. It does not tell about how different style works in different situations. Situational dimension is one aspect that may be included in the approach. However, this approach may be applied to all level of management and appropriate training programs may be planned.
It also fails to predict the performance outcome of different style. The theory suggests the 9, 9 type of leadership is the best behavior expected out of a leader but that may or may not be true in real life situation. Leaders may take the opinion of others and develop their own leadership style to be more effective. They can prepare action plans for their subordinates to improve upon their effectiveness as well. The approach also gives an insight to the leaders about whatever actions a leader takes. For more effective leadership, Grid approach must also address how to: • Manage conflict • Improve decision making and problem solving Manage meetings effectively • Manage time more effectively • Build a better team • Get the best answer instead of simply an adequate one • Be a more effective team member • Communicate effectively • Manage change effectively In Winning, Jack Welch relates that he has come to the conclusion that there are four principles that underlie his approach to business. In brief, the four principles are: the importance of a strong mission and concrete values; the absolute necessity of candor in every aspect of management; the power of differentiation (meaning a system based on meritocracy); and the value of ach individual receiving voice and dignity. These four principles needed to be focused in the Leadership Grid approach for better effectiveness. RESEARCH STUDY Subjects & Procedures 30 employees from PIPAL research were participated in the collection of data for the study. All members filled out two different kinds of questionnaires. The first is the LMX which concerns their relationship with their leader and a second questionnaire is in regards to Management Style questionnaire that believe Managers have a dominant orientation (task or people) but they frequently alternate their style according to the situation.
Instruments used Both the questionnaire given in the Leadership text book by Northouse are used to measure subordinate-perceived leadership dynamics in this investigation. This instrument is based upon the multidimensional approach to measuring leadership dynamics. The LMX questionnaire is designed to measure three dimensions of leader – member relationships: respect, trust and obligation. It assesses the degree to which leaders and followers have mutual respect for each other’s capabilities, feel a deepening sense of reciprocal trust, and have a strong sense of obligation to one another.
Taken together, these dimensions are the ingredients of strong partnerships. Scoring Leader – Member Exchange Theory The LMX questionnaire directly gives the result. Scores in the upper ranges indicate stronger, higher quality leader – member exchanges (e. g. in – group members), whereas scores in the lower ranges indicate exchanges of lesser quality (e. g. out – group members). Leadership Style Approach The style questionnaire is designed to measure two major types of leadership behaviors: Production & People.
Summing the responses of odd numbered items gives the Production score and summing the responses of even numbered items gives the People score. Scoring Interpretation 45 – 50Very High range30 – 34Moderately Low Range 40 – 44High Range25 – 29Low Range 35 – 39Moderately High Range10 – 24Very Low Range Variables At its simplest form, there are three variables that will be used to test the hypotheses. The first, the leadership perception, is the LMX which will establish the degree of latitude the subordinate gets from the supervisor. The second variable, the People Orientation, will be measured by the Leadership Style Questionnaire.
The higher the degree of LMX, the higher will be the degree of satisfaction of subordinates. This brings in the following hypothesis. Ho1There is a positive correlation between leadership perception as measured by LMX Questionnaire and People Orientation as measured by Style Questionnaire. Ho2There is a positive correlation between leadership perception as measured by LMX Questionnaire and Task Orientation as measured by Style Questionnaire. Ho3There is a positive correlation between leadership perception as measured by LMX Questionnaire and leadership style as measured by Style Questionnaire.
In order to better explain what a positive correlation is, the following figure explains not only what a positive correlation is but how to interpret between a low, a moderate and a high correlation. Relationship of strength and direction of correlations ____________________________________________________________ _____ -. 5 +. 5 Coefficient of correlation -1 __________________ 0 ______________ +1 Strength of relationship: high moderate low moderate high
Direction: negative positive ____________________________________________________________ _____ Source: McMillan, J. H. , Schumacher, S. (1997) p. 226 According to McMillan & Schumacher (1997), the typical convention is to calculate a number to represent the relationship, called a correlation coefficient. The interpretation of the number used is basically the same. The number that represents the correlation can range from -1. 00 to +1. 00. A high positive value (for example, . 85, . 90, . 6) represents a high positive relationship; a low positive value (for example, . 15, . 20, . 08) a low positive relationship; a moderate negative value (for example, -. 40, -. 37, -. 52) a moderate negative relationship, a value of 0 no relationship, and so on. Thus, the strength of the relationship becomes higher as the correlation approaches either +1 or -1 from zero. Limitation of the study The number of participants is very limited (30). The research is done only in PIPAL Research. This study will not be expected to be representative of all representative of the organization.
It is however a start, a sample of what could be a better understanding of how organizations work and how to improve them. Research Findings The findings of this research will help the participating organization in focusing future training for its managers. I hope that the findings help outline the factors that influence the best relationships and those who provide effective leadership among members. Ethical Assurance The approach used to gather the data considered confidentiality of the subjects by using the following procedure. Each of the respondents was given two sets of questionnaire and asked to fill the same in isolation.
All return questionnaires were the same. There were no numbers on the questionnaires to identify the participants. As the responses entered, questionnaires were identified with a number from 1 to 30, which is the total number of questionnaires returned. At the end, a copy of the overall results was returned so that the participants could see the results and know that they had participated in a study that was compiled. Findings Overview The proposed study was to find any correlation between the leadership effectiveness as measured by the LMX Questionnaire and Leadership Style as measured by the Style questionnaire.
I also tried to find out any correlation between the two dimensions of the Leadership style i. e. People & Task Orientation with the leadership effectiveness as assessed by the LMX. To better understand the how to approach this questioning, two questionnaires were given to 50 PIPAL employees. There were 31 questionnaires returned with one invalid. It took three weeks for all questionnaires to come back. The findings in this section come from these 30 returned questionnaires. [pic] [pic] Conclusion It is interesting to see positive correlations between the variables I are studying.
This means that there are relations between the variable but not necessarily that one is the cause of the other. For instance, there is a correlation coefficient of . 72 between LMX and People Orientation and a correlation coefficient of . 35 between LMX and Task Orientation. Based on these findings, I can assume that there is a higher relationship between LMX and People Orientation than there is between LMX and Task Orientation. One conclusion I can assert from these findings is that, taken together, meaning two dimensions of the style approach, People Orientation has a higher relation with LMX than Task Orientation.
Meaning that the manager who wants to influence satisfaction of the employees could put more emphasis on People Orientation instead of Task Orientation. Reference 1. Essentials of Organisational Behavior, Pearson Education – Stephen P. Robbins 2. Organisation Behavior, Pearson Education – Stephen P. Robions, Timothy A. Judge and Seema Sanghai 3. Leadership Theory & Practice, Saga South Asia Edition Saga Publication – Peter G. Northhouse ———————– Leader Follower Dyadic Relationship