College of Business Administration
Organizational Behavior
BUSI 3323
Case Study (20%)
Names & IDs:
Marwa Al-Enizi
200801575
Mada Al-Enizi
200801576
Zahra Tannab
200700204
Sukainah Al-Khamis
200700527
Razan Al-Baz
200800934
Sarah Shehadeh
200800163
Zainab AL-Mubarak
200800810
Instructor Name: Kumarashvari Subramaniam
Summer Semester 2011- 2012
Executive Summary
Devon and Isabella work for a large software corporation and they are competing to
receive one of the biggest promotion opportunity. Devon's leading style can be described
as traditional straight forward style based on a simple strategy of rewarding and
punishing. Based on this leading type, roles are assigned and clear guides are always
provided. On the other hand, Isabelle’s leading style can be described as the charismatic
visionary style. It is based on spreading motivation between employees and designing a
long term vision. It also encourages creativity and innovation solution to problems.
Isabelle’s employees are considered to be motivated based on the followed leading style.
Charismatic visionary leaders are known for their value to motivation. The motivation
increases work performance which will in turn increases job satisfaction, decreases
absenteeism and turnover, and increase their organizational commitment. Those factors
work in combination with each other to build a leadership trust toward the leader. Both
styles have some drawbacks. Some drawbacks of the traditional style include increasing
anxiety and stress, decreasing motivation and therefore decreasing job satisfaction and
organizational commitment. The charismatic visionary leaders also have some drawbacks
including egotism personality that creates a feeling of insecurity Confucianism. Another
is due the too much confidence that can make the leaders blinded form seeing the
sequences of high risk decisions. The leadership styles used by Devon and Isabella are
affected by some organizational structure. Devon's style will be more effective in
Mechanistic Structure that consists of three main dimensions; formalization,
centralization and complexity are three major characteristics that match the strategy used
by traditional leaders. Isabelle’s style will be more effective in the structure that is
characterized by lack of clear vision, lack of motivation, facing many troubles and unable
to reach the deigned goals where they can practice and advance their skills. Isabelle’s
leadership style is considered to be more effective because the characteristics' style that
makes it suitable for the nature of the software organization, that changes frequently due
to the rapid change of technological advancements. For all the characteristics possess by
the charismatic visionary style, Isabella will win the promotion competition.
2. Table of Content
1.Executive Summary ........................................................................................................ i
2.Table of Content............................................................................................................. ii
3.Introduction .....................................................................................................................1
4.Using terms from the text, how would you describe Devon's leadership style? How
would you describe Isabella’s leadership style? .............................................................2
5. Whose employees are likely to be more motivated, Devon's or Isabelle’s? Whose
employees are likely to have higher job satisfaction, trust in leadership and
organizational commitment? ...........................................................................................3
6.What are some potential downsides to each candidate's leadership style? ..............8
7. Based on their leadership styles, in what type of organizational structure would
Devon be more effective? What about Isabella? Why? ...............................................11
8. If you were Paul, who would you hire and why? ......................................................14
9. Whose leadership style do you believe will be more effective Isabella's or Devon's?
Why? What, if any, situational factors might their effectiveness depend on? ..........14
10.Conclusion ...................................................................................................................16
11.Bibliography ................................................................................................................17
Introduction:
Leadership is the art of inspiring, motivating, directing and influencing
employees to achieve a particular objective or a goal. Leadership is an integral part of
the success of any organization. The absence of it can lead to major effects. Without
leadership, organizations will move in a very slow manner toward developments.
They will struggle and may lode the right path. The leadership skills are needed in
every aspect of the organization for example the process of making decisions cannot
be done in a complete, timely and accurate manner without the help of leadership.
Being an effective leader requires being associated with many factors. The leader must
have the ability to express his/ her vision in a simple manner so followers are
encouraged to follow it. The leader must also have a commitment to the organization,
subordinates and the vision. Leaders may not always know the right way; however,
they are always ready to take risks in order to reach to the right path. The discovering
and learning appetite is what truly makes leader unique. While other individuals turn
to be comfortable with being average, talented leaders are always searching for
creativity and innovative solutions to the issues. They have no fair of failing, they
always try and try. If one idea fails, they always search for better. They are able to let
things go and move forward to a better future. The obstacles they overcome and
people they influenced are the basic reasons behind the talented leaders who they are
today. This research paper will focus on discussing a case that is related to a
promotion opportunity. Some leadership styles will be also discussed in order to reach
a conclusion of who deserves the chance of the promotion.
Q 1. Using terms from the text, how would you describe Devon's leadership style?
How would you describe Isabella’s leadership style?
Talented leaders are considered as the valuable assets of any organization. They
develop creative strategies to influence the behavior of employees and to add
unforgettable footprints to the organization's success. The process of influencing people
starts by critically following a type or a combination of readership styles. Each style has a
unique touch in impacting the performance of employees and the organization. There are
various leadership styles that are used by leaders in the workplace. However, this section
will be limited on discussing two leadership styles, which are related to the case of Devon
and Isabella.
According to the case, the leading style of Devon is basically based on the
strategy of fairness rewarding and punishing. In this style, the leader guides the
subordinates to the direction of a particular set of established goals. Roles are always
assigned, job requirement are always clarified in a simple and direct way, and the leader
always ensure the availability of the resources needed by employees to perform the task.
This style of leadership can be described as the traditional (transactional) style. It is
established based on the agreement of employees to follow strictly the leader in
performing tasks. When tasks are not performed with the required level, the leader has
the right of punishment. Under such as style, increasing job satisfaction is hard. It is
considered as a type of management rather than leading because leaders usually have a
farsightedness for the future. However, the focus of traditional leaders is usually based on
short-term predictions.
On the other hand, the leading style of Isabella is based on motivating employees
and sharing a long term vision. In this style, the leader spends much effort in influencing
employees to see the organization as their own rather than a mean by which they receive
money. Valuing employee’s effort, appreciating ideas and encouraging innovation are
major focus for the leader. Employees will be also encouraged to take high risks and to
develop creative solutions to the problems they face. This style of leadership can be
described as the charismatic visionary style. In this style, the leader also focus on inspire
the subordinates to dedicate their self-interest for the organization. Followers usually
perceive such leaders as the power of success. Wherever they exist, the success is
present. Based on the above description, in few words, the leadership style that is used by
Devon can be described as the traditional (transactional) while Isabella leadership style
can be described as the charismatic visionary.
Q 2.Whose employees are likely to be more motivated, Devon's or Isabelle’s? Whose
employees are likely to have higher job satisfaction, trust in leadership and
organizational commitment?
Employee motivation is considered as an essential factor for the success of any
organization. Individuals have different views regarding the term “Motivation.” Some
consider it as a method that is used to make people perform a required job or attain a
specific goal. Others believe it is a representation for rewards, benefits and salaries. There
are two main forms of motivation; the intrinsic and extrinsic. The intrinsic motivation can
be defined as the internal or inside the individual. It arises as a result of the satisfaction or
the pleasure the individual get form the performed activity. For example: a goal of losing
5 pounds in a weak. The second type is the extrinsic which is formed as a result of a
tangible reward or intangible such as a positive feedback and recognition.
There are various factors that can positively or negatively impact employee motivation
and the performance of the organization. One critical factor is the leadership style that is
followed by the management, directors and supervisors. Leading is an art and it is
possible to lose a self-motivated employee by using inappropriate leading style. There are
various leadership styles that are used in the workplace and each style has a different
effect on employee motivation. For the case of Devon and Isabella, this section will be
limited on discussing the effect of the traditional and charismatic visionary style and
through which a conclusion will be reached regarding whose employees will be more
motivated.
The traditional leader usually follows the rewarding and punishing strategy in
dealing with his/her subordinates. Although the rewarding strategy appears always as a
successful method in controlling the behavior of students, children and also adults in
numerous fields including sports and athletes, studies have shown that rewarding and
punishing is a controlling technique that undermine the motivation and the performance.
A study that was done by comparing the performance of two groups of athletes where
one was attached to external rewards and the other one was not. The result indicated that
the group with the intrinsic motivation was more involved in the sport participation and
had a greater level of satisfaction compared with the group that was attached to the
external rewards, which has shown a percentage of anxiety and low self-esteem
(Frederick and Ryan, 1993). Similarly Hodgins (2002) stated that the performance of
individuals who are attached to external motivation sources such as rewards is usually
low due to the stress and anxiety.
The strategy used by the traditional leaders is based on controlling the behavior
by rewarding and punishing employees. This controlling method is considered as an
extrinsic motivation source and based on the studied discussed above; the external
motivation sources can limit employee performance as their thoughts will be always
attached to the reward or punishment. For example, imagine a group of employees who
were asked to come up with some creative ideas regarding a particular subject matter and
this assignment was attached to a reward such as having a week off if the ideas were
creative, and a punishment by performing more tasks if the ideas did not match the
required level. When performing the task employee’s thoughts will be attached to the
reward and punishment. This may lead some employees to think hundreds of times about
single idea and whether it will fit the required level. They may even avoid to submit some
creative ideas due to the concern that the might be perceived as funny and deserve
punishment. So, the strategy followed by the traditional leader will limit employee
creativity and it may produce stress and anxiety, which will have a negative impact on
motivation, self e-steam and the overall performance.
Another strategy that traditional leaders follow is the informational strategy,
where the leader provides a clear guideline, assign task and set the goals for the
employees in order to start performing the tasks. Some argue that having clear rules is
enough to perform the job. However, the authors believe that having clear policies and
goals are not a guarantee that employees will have the motivation to perform the job.
Even with clear guidelines and simple plan, employees can get blinded by the negative
thoughts such as the task is not easy, it requires much time, I do not possess the required
skills to do such a job based on programming knowledge and I do not feel like doing it
today and so on. In addition, the restrictive policies of the traditional leader do not allow
employees to participate by telling opinions or adding some touches of creativity. This
cans a quick harm to the motivation of naturally creative employees who like their ideas
to be heard.
On the other hand, the charismatic visionary leaders follow a especial strategy
that allow employees to see the organization they work for as their own. They value the
creativity and innovation of employees, encourage them to think outside of the box and
design unique solutions to problems. This strategy can bring a magical motivation to
employees. If employees are persuaded to see the organization as their own and not as
source of a need or rewards as salaries, their vision to the work will completely change.
They will no longer see the work as an activity that they have to perform to get wages or
salaries, but rather as a choice that they like to do through which a return will be
received. Also, they will no longer feel like they are controlled by the need of the money,
which will result in increasing their intrinsic motivation and deceasing stress and anxiety.
By valuation creativity and encouraging innovation, the charismatic visionary leader can
advance the motivation of employees. In the process of performing tasks, the leader
usually reviews the procedure with his/ her employee, explain and demonstrate each step
in a logical and simple way. Then the employee can start preforming the job. If an error
or confusion happens, the leader does not stop to correct the error but rather gives the
employee that chance to witness the sequences of the made error. This strategy allows the
employee to think for a solution and logically understand that their way of doing things
are not always the right way. Sometimes they need to listen to others and follow the
provided strategies and plans to reach the right path. The goal of the strategy used by the
charismatic visionary leaders helps in encouraging and motivating employees to follow
the policies and rules by a choice rather than a control, which is used by traditional
leaders. Charismatic visionary leaders are also considered to be the power of motivation
to their employees based on the appreciation, valuation and openness they provide. They
always follow the strategy that there is no invaluable idea, opinion or suggestion. Each
employee will be encouraged to share whatever he/ she has and no one will be ever
offended. Based on the above explanation, it can be concluded that Isabelle’s employees
will be more motivated comparing to Devon's employees.
According to Levinson and Moser (1997), the existence of motivation is usually
attached with job satisfaction and organizational commitment. The lack of job
satisfaction is considered as a major factor in the prediction of quitting the job. This view
of point was supported a study that was done by Nwagwu (1997). He stated that there is a
relationship between motivation, organizational commitment and job satisfaction. High
levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment were observed in employees
who have high levels of motivation toward their work. Moreover, St.lifer (1994) has
reported the result of a survey which was done to predict the relationship between the
leading styles used by management and, employees' job satisfaction and organizational
commitment. The findings indicated that job satisfaction and organizational commitment
are highly related to leaders who share a clear vision, appreciate the work of employees
and belief in motivation.
Based on the above studies, it is clear that there is a strong relationship between the
charismatic visionary leadership style under which employees have a high sense of
motivation, and employees' satisfaction and commitment. Employees who are led by
charismatic visionary leaders have higher level of motivation compering to those who
work under transnational leaders. Having a higher the level of motivation will be
reflected positively on the performance the employees and their commitment to achieve a
particular objective. When goals and objectives of the job are met, employees will have a
higher level of job satisfaction. When the level of job satisfaction is higher, the
percentage of absenteeism and turnover will decline and employees' organizational
commitment will therefore increase. Under such circumstances employees will feel more
secured in the job and the organization and this will be reflected in a powerful trust to the
leader and the followed leadership skills. Based on these analyses, it can be concluded
that Isabelle’s employees are more likely to have higher job satisfaction, organizational
commitment and trust in leadership. By stating this conclusion, this does not mean that
traditional leadership style that is used by Devon is ineffective. Each style has some
downsides that make it less effective in some areas comparing to others.
Q3. What are some potential downsides to each candidate's leadership style?
Although leadership styles are considered to be powerful tools that drive
organization to the path of success, they possess some potential drawbacks that can
somehow undermine their benefits. This section will discuss the main downsides to the
traditional and charismatic visionary styles of Devon and Isabella. Although the
traditional leadership style is a common technique that is used by many recognized and
successful organizations, there are some potential downsides that can limit the
performance of the employees and negatively impact the image of the organization. The
strategy of punishment and rewards that is used by traditional leaders is considered as a
controlling behavior that can badly affect the motivation of employees, their
performance, the job satisfaction, the organizational commitment and the trust to the
leadership, as discussed in (question 2). Also, the strategies used by this style of
leadership have some limitations regarding sharing opinions, suggestions and feedbacks.
The leader usually assigns tasks and the subordinates’ job is to follow the directions.
There is no opportunity for employees to share any suggestions regarding the procedure.
If one simple error happens, the overall organization can be affected. According to
Slancik (1995), studies have shown that many organizations collapsed because of the
leadership skills used by management. People have different perspectives and views of
point and what cannot be seen by one individual may be seen by others. The limitations
that some managers have regarding listening to perspectives and opinions of others can
be harmful to the organization. Moreover, traditional leaders usually have short-term
focus. The plans, schedules and strategies are always designed are short-term. This is
considered to be a serious drawback because today decisions cannot be decided correctly
without analyzing the short and long-term sequences of the actions that will be taken
today. The long-term analyses are important to make an appropriate decision for the
organization's future. Another drawback is related to the controlling strategy used by
traditional leader. The control is considered to be a limit for the creative and quick
solutions. Organizational environment is full of issues that require creativity and speed in
solving. If employees are limited by the control of their leaders, issues will not be solved
in an effective manner which will negatively affect the organization.
The Charismatic visionary style which is used by Isabella also has some
drawbacks. The charismatic leaders are usually believe in themselves more than believing
in their subordinates which makes them viewed by followers as power of success. Based
on this, if the charismatic leader leaves the organization, the tasks that are being
performed by the employees can be affected and sometimes the entire organization. Also,
charismatic leaders usually have an egoism personality. People who have this type of
personality, in some situations, they refuse to consider the perspectives of others when
they are attached to a personal idea that is perceived by them as extraordinary. When
introducing their strategy, charismatic leaders focus on the strategy of accepting and
appreciating any idea without a sense of offending. However, having a somewhat of
egoism personality can interfere with the appreciation strategy, which makes the
subordinates have a sense of confusion and insecurity. This can also affect the level of the
trust the followers have towered the leader. Furthermore, charismatic leaders are usually
having a high level of self-confidence. The too much confidence they have can make
them believe that occurrence of mistakes is impossible. The can get blinded and take a
very risky decisions that affect the overall success of the organization. Another drawback
of the charismatic style is related to the desire to hold control all the time. Leaders always
have the authority to control all the aspects of the job. Followers will not be given the
freedom to gain any knowledge of the authority through practicing. This can harm the
future vision of the organization if the leader for any reason leaves the company.
Q 4. Based on their leadership styles, in what type of organizational structure would
Devon be more effective? What about Isabella? Why?
Organizational structure is considered as an integral element that helps in
influencing the behavior of employees in any organization. Nowadays, mangers are
surrounded with a huge of structural possibilities. Through the design of structures,
mangers establish some expectations regarding what employees will do to achieve the
purpose of the organization. The term “ structure “refers to the strategies, processes and
relationships of the organization. Designing an organizational structure is a not any easy
task. Mangers have to choose the suitable structure among various departments, jobs and
assignments. The process by which the choice is made is called organization design. It
refers to the different decisions and actions that form the organizational structure
(Matteson, 2008).
There are various organizational structures and each structure have different
features that makes it suitable for particular types of companies and leaders. Through
understanding the characteristics and the drawbacks of both traditional and charismatic
visionary leadership styles, the suitable organizational structure for each style can be
described. For, the traditional leader, the Mechanistic Structure can be considered as
suitable structure. This structure focuses on the importance of production and efficiency.
Formalization, centralization and complexity are three major characteristics that match
the strategy used by traditional leaders. The formalization refers to the how rules,
procedures and guides are clearly described indicating what each employees should
follow. This dimension matches the way traditional use in assigning tasks with clear
guidelines and how they expect employees to strictly follow the rules. The second
dimension which is centralization refers to the extent of how decisions are always made
by top management. This characteristic also matches the strategy used by traditional
leaders. Traditional leaders give the subordinates no authority to participate in making
decisions or suggestions. They also have the control authority that is based on rewards
and punishments. Their leading strategy matches those two main elements of
centralization which are the authority to make decisions and having control. The third
dimension is complexity refer to the idea of having different departments, jobs and units
that need to be managed. This dimension may not fit the strategy used by traditional
leaders. However, it will be a great opportunity that will help in advancing one drawback
of the traditional style. Traditional leaders do not encourage creative and innovative
ideas, but such a complex model that have different kinds of departments will experience
more organizational problems. Some issues cannot be solved using traditional strategies
and require creative solutions. This model will influence traditional leaders to change the
traditional style of solving problems in order to overcome obstacles. Some may argue that
putting traditional leaders in a complex structure will only result in bringing issues to the
organization; however, the authors believe that individuals learn by making mistakes.
Making mistakes will be the road to a better future for the organization the traditional
leaders and to the organization.
Charismatic leaders usually focus on intangible aims such as building strong
relationships, forming clear vision and sharing values and ideas. They may also engage in
some qualities that are used by the traditional (transactional) leaders such as the
rewarding techniques, but they are also specialized by the desire to encourage motivation
and innovation. They have the ability to apply effective changes in the mission of the
organization. Thus, the best organizational structure for individuals who are following
this style is the structure that is characterized by t lack of clear vision , lack of motivation,
facing many troubles and unable to reach the deigned goals. Moreover, the Matrix
structure can be considered as a suitable structure for charismatic leaders. The objective
of this structure is maximizing strengths and minimizing weakness. It combines products
and functional bases. There are various characteristics of this structure that makes it
suitable for this style of leadership. One factor is the flexibility in condition of change an
uncertainty. Response to changes require quick response by providing having information
and communication. The charismatic leaders usually encourage sharing opinions, ideas
and information which make the process of collecting information to adapt to a particular
change an easy process. Their focus of long term vision can easily help them to adapt
with the uncertainty of the change. Another critical dimension of Matrix Structure is
technical excellence. The charismatic leaders’ believe of the technical advancements in
helping the company to sustain a competitive advantage. Based on this, the technical
methods used in interacting and assigning tasks will not be an issue. Other dimensions
include improving motivation and commitment, and providing opportunities for personal
developments. Charismatic leaders are known for their abilities in enhancing motivation
and commitments. The opportunities of personal developments will be helpful in
assessing one of the drawbacks of the charismatic leaders which is the egoism
personality. Such opportunities will help them in valuing the views of others and turning
the egoism they have to a positive attitudes that will increase their power.
Q5. If you were Paul, who would you hire and why?
The hiring decision is not an easy task since it will result in adding value to the
organization or destroying its image. However, the authors believe that the individual
who possess the qualifications that will help in making deeper footprints to organization's
success should be selected. Based on the previous analysis and evaluations, the authors
believe that Isabella is more qualified for this opportunity comparing to Devon. The
company is a Software company; organizations that are attached to the rapid
technological advancements require flexibility to change and uncertainty. The leadership
style followed by Isabella is more applicable for dealing with such situations. As
discussed above, the change requires the speed of collecting information and a long term
vision that help in dealing with the uncertainty issues. The leading style followed by
Isabella meets these requirements. Also, change requires the ability to motivate
employees to accept the change and as discussed in Q2, charismatic leaders have better
abilities in motivation comparing to the traditional leaders. The change will be associated
with issues that require creative solutions and Isabelle’s leadership style encourages
innovative solutions. All these factors in addition to the other factors that were discussed
with details in the previous questions make Isabelle’s to win the hiring competition.
Q6. Whose leadership style do you believe will be more effective Isabella's or
Devon's? Why? What, if any, situational factors might their effectiveness depend
on?
The traditional and charismatic visionary styles are both have particular strengths
and drawbacks. It is hard to decide which style will be more effective. For the provided
case “The Pig promotion,” where Isabella and Devon are competing for a high position
for a software company, as stated in the previous question (Q5), Isabelle’s leadership
style is considered to be more effective. The Charismatic visionary leadership style
possess some characteristics that makes it suitable for the nature of the software
organization that changes frequently due to the rapid change of technological
advancements. The long term vision, the high motivation and the creativity makes the
charismatic visionary style more effective in dealing with changes and uncertainty. Also,
Isabella style encourages the technological creativity, which is required in the type of
software’s corporations. Based on these factors, it can be concluded that Isabella style is
more effective, regarding the case of the software corporation, comparing with leading
style followed by Devon. However, there are some situational factors that the
effectiveness of the two styles, used by Isabella and Devon, might depend on. One
critical factor is related to the structure of the organization. As discussed in (question 4),
based on the analyzing the characteristics of each style and whether it matches the
dimensions of a particular structure, leaders have to be chosen. The failure to match the
appropriate leader with the suitable culture can harm the employees and the organization.
Another factor that Isabella and Devon effectiveness might depend on is the type of the
organization. In small and young corporations, the effectiveness of Isabelle’s leading
style declines. Charismatic visionary leaders have are blinded by the high level of selfconfidence, which encourages them to take high risks with high motivation that makes
them believe that any decisions they make will be accurate and will have no bad
sequences. In the big and recognized organizations, the sequences of the taking high risks
can be handled. However, such decisions can result in collapsing for small organizations.
Conclusion
Leadership is an integral factor of the success of any organization. Individuals follow
different leading styles and each style has a unique effect on the performance of
employees as well as the success of the organizations. The job satisfaction, organizational
commitment and employee trust are three interrelated factors that can be influence by the
leading skills and styles. Analyzing the characteristics of the leadership styles is not
enough to conclude that a particular style is more effective comparing to others. It is
necessary to analyze the organizational structures and other situational factors in order to
draw a sound conclusion about the effectiveness.
.
Bibliography
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Book Company.
Nwagwu, R. (1997). The Relationship between Motivation and Job Satisfaction. In
Handbook of Sport Psychology, third edn, pp. 387- 426. New York: Wiley.
Slancik, T. (1995). Leadership Skills and the Performance of organizations. California
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