BMA 547 AT3 Capstone Report PDF

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Capstone Report

Table of Contents 1.

Question 1: How do Leaders influence Culture within an organisation? And how does culture influence performance? ................................................................................................................ 2

2.

Question 2: How do leaders achieve job satisfaction for employees in the Workplace? ........ 4

3.

Question 6: Why is Motivation one of the most important part of a leader's job? ................ 6

4.

Question 10: How is leadership different to power?.................................................................. 8

5.

References:................................................................................................................................... 10

1. Question 1: How do Leaders influence Culture within an organisation? And how does culture influence performance? I believe that organizational culture is one of the foundations of a productive and motivated workplace, and this culture is not just written in the handbook or the organizational code of conduct, but is spread by the leaders who head the organization. According to Tsai (2011, p. 98), organizational culture refers to the values and beliefs that an organization has had for a very long time. It also refers to the beliefs of the employees within the organization, and the foreseen value of their contribution that influences their behaviours and attitudes. However, the impact of leadership on the organizational culture can be different. As mentioned by Bass & Avolio (1993, p. 112), the development of an organizational culture largely develops from the leadership it has, however it also affects the development of the leadership. Leaders influence culture by meticulously observing the tiniest of details about the work environment, and balance the subculture through promotion of team building activities, while also encouraging inter-team co-operation (Craig 2018). However, Javidan et al. (2006, p. 75-76) does explain that to influence culture, a leader needs to be effective, highlighting universal facilitators of leadership effectiveness as trustworthiness, integrity, being visionary and charismatic, dynamic, motivating , encouraging, inspirational, informed, communicative, integrator and coordinator. Considering the Leader-Member Exchange Theory (LMX) here, it is defined by Van Breukelen, Schyns & Le Blanc (2006, p. 296) as a process approach that stresses the importance of interaction between the leader and the subordinates. It may be classified as a transactional approach because of the active participation of both parties and because of the quality of relationship that helps predict the organizational outcomes as opposed to leadership behaviour or traits. It is the transformational leaders that have the behaviour of transforming the norms and values of the employees, motivating them to perform in a way that exceeds their expectations (Yukl 1989). This style of leadership helps influence a culture that enhances the involvement of the followers with the goals of the organization (Bass, cited in Tims, Bakker & Xanthopoulpu 2011, p. 122). As per Boerner, Eisenbeiss & Griesser (2007, p. 16), transformational leaders Page 2 of 13

inspire their followers to achieve extraordinary outcomes by helping them connote and understand. Leaders help align the goals and objectives of the individual followers and the organization. This culture of inspiring and actively participating with the followers helps influence the performance of the organization. Ogbonna & Harris (2000, p. 769) share the views of many researchers that argue that organizational performance is largely dependent on the values of the culture, and the degree to which they are shared. Shahzad et al. (2012, p. 975) mentions that organizational culture has a deep impact on the organizational processes, the employees and overall performance, therefore if employees have the same norms and values as the organization, and are committed, they contribute to the organizational performance. In fact, Fiedler (1996) states that the effectiveness of leader determines the failure or success of a group as well as an organization. Bryant (2011) wrote in the famous article, ‘Google’s Quest to Build a Better Boss’ that Google embarked on a mission in early 2009 to build better bosses, a quest named Project Oxygen. The data-mining giant analysed nominations for the top-manager awards, performance reviews and feedback surveys and produced the document titled ‘Eight Habits of Highly Effective Google Managers’. The eight habits included having a clear vision and a team strategy, helping employees with their career development, be result-oriented and productive, amongst others. However, when the team, along with the Head of People Operations, Laszlo Bock started ranking these directives, what valued most was that bosses should be even-keeled, and make time with employees for one-on-one meeting, and not dictate answers. Being a technical expert and writing code in your sleep was previously considered the most important, however this analysis highlighted it is more important to establish connections and be accessible. Therefore, it can be deduced that leaders do influence culture, and culture does influence performance. Tran (2017) writes that Google’s culture now depends heavily on the environment created by leaders, their management style, the organization’s objectives, and the beliefs system of employees.

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2. Question 2: How do leaders achieve job satisfaction for employees in the Workplace? According to Burke (2016), increasing job satisfaction improves business. The employees are better engaged and this helps develop a better business. I strongly believe that leaders play a key role in achieving job satisfaction for employees at the workplace, because they have the skillset and are in a position that helps them navigate through their day-to-day work to achieve organizational goals. Jamaludin (2011) states that effective leaders use their power for the betterment of their employees. Obeng (2000, p. 253-254) uses several researchers ’ work to define job satisfaction as a pleasurable emotional state or a favourable attitude that is a result of the experience from the person’s job and the organization. Attitudes of people help understand a lot of what they do, but this is dependent on a number of factors. According to Breckler (1984, p. 1191), there are three components of attitude: Cognitive, Affective and Behavioural that form the tripartite model. He further states that these components are interconnected and help evaluate and feel, and therefore push an individual towards acting in a certain way, which is the behaviour. This means that if an employee is not satisfied with his/her job, he/she will portray a negative attitude towards the job, as well as the organization. Therefore, to achieve job satisfaction, the leader needs to make sure that he creates an environment that is favourable for the employees. Singh (2013, p. 1289-1290) states that emotional intelligence of leaders cannot be separated from the goals of the organization as well as the job satisfaction needs of its employees. Manser (2005) writes that productivity can be doubled if the needs of employees are recognized and met because it creates the willingness in them to perform better. In words of Dr. Edwards Deming as quoted by Chart Your Course International (2020), leaders should work to improve the performance of machine and man, increase output and improve quality which will bring about workmanship in people. A motivating environment at work can help workers feel satisfied, and motivation can be improved if the leaders provide a safe and positive working environment, promote employee engagement, offer rewards and recognition, and develop the skills of the workforce. But most importantly, they should attempt to continuously evaluate

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and measure job satisfaction that will increase the overall job satisfaction level of employees in an organization. In addition, Kim (2002) explains that individual perceptions of fair treatment and empowerment intensify actions at the workplace, and contribute to reduced absenteeism and rates of turnover. Therefore, she suggests that to avoid these significant costs, variables such as participative management, empowerment, the quality of work life and the role managers play should be considered that will improve job satisfaction. This idea has also been emphasized by Cotton et al. (1988). Riaz & Haider (2010, p. 31) agree with Berson & Avolio (2004) and state that leaders that have effective communication skills show higher agreement with the organization’s strategic goals, and hence voluntarily help their employees to prevent work-related problems and ultimately enhance job satisfaction amongst employees. Researching, Google’s work culture, it was found that they look at everything from the perspective of data, which is why they have defined it as “People Operations” (Cukier & Mayer-Schoenberger 2013, p. 30). This means that the head of People Operations at Google, Mr. Laszlo Bock (considered a leader) constantly works towards making the lives of his employees easier, so they are satisfied and give their 100%. Tran (2017) mentions, Google constantly experiments and innovates to find ways to satisfy its employees and help them work more effectively. They use the data to understand and evaluate staff needs so that they can better improve their work efficiency.

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3. Question 6: Why is Motivation one of the most important part of a leader's job? Heckhausen & Heckhausen (2008, p. 2) describe human behaviour as being characterized by the need for efficacy, and is organized into phases of goal disengagement and engagement. They further state that the motivation to pursue a particular goal depends on personal preferences, situational incentives as well as the interaction between both of these factors. I believe that motivation is an important aspect of a leader’s job for two reasons. Firstly, if the leader is not motivated towards his/her vision, the followers will turn a blind eye to organizational gaols and work for their own interests, i.e. they will be ready to the bare minimum required and head off to their homes. Secondly, a leader’s motivation and enthusiasm towards the organizational goals affects the work culture and defines an organization’s competitive advantage. This is validated by Baldoni (2019, p. xvi) who writes that while the perception behind leaders that motivate is that they are cheer leaders, but it is more appropriate to say that they lead by example instead of words. They are committed and hardworking because they have pledged to create an organizational culture where people matter. These efforts that require will and discipline are physically emotionally and mentally taxing. In addition, Baldoni (2019, p. 4) writes leaders actually do not motivate directly, since motivation is an intrinsic response and cannot be imposed from the outside. This is why I am of the opinion that leaders themselves need to be motivated individuals to lead. Baldoni adds that leaders have a job to set example, and energize their followers through clear communication, and motivation starts with an example. Therefore a leader should not try to motivate, but try to conduct him/herself in a way that reflects and induces motivation. There are two categories of leadership theories discussed by Fisher (2009, p. 348), and these include process theories and content theories. While content theories relate to needs or motivating factors, process theories focus on the interaction between, behaviours, needs and rewards. Content theories include the more popular Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Herzberg’s Two-Factor theory, McClellands’s Trichotomy of Needs and Self-determination theory. Process theories include Locke’s Goal Setting theory, Vroom’s Expectancy theory and Adam’s

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Equity theory. All these theories contribute to the understanding of the questions, however due to word limitation, only a few are discussed. Gagne & Deci (2005, p. 334) suggest that people engage in an activity when they find it interesting, and they do it volitionally, known as autonomous motivation. On the other hand, a sense of pressure and having to engage in specific actions is often accomplished through intrinsic rewards, which is known as controlled motivation. Self-determination theory focuses on the relative strength of controlled versus autonomous motivation, which can help a leader influence. Luthans, Rubach & Marsnik (1995) state that motivating is the management process of influencing behaviour. It helps the leader to develop a sense of direction towards his behaviour and performance. It also gives the leader a source of determination and creates a desire to shape his attitude towards the success of any task. For the leader, it is essential for him to engage with his team which is a way to stimulate their willingness to work. McClelland’s needs theory, reinforcement theory and expectancy theory, amongst other, can also be used to explain that motivation is what drives a leader to act in way that will influence the masses. Following from the example in the above question, Google is one of those giants that heavily emphasizes on employee motivation, which is why it is a part of their corporate culture. Luenendonk (2019) mentioned that Google was named by Fortune Magazine as the “Best Company to Work For” in 2014. He mentions that the reason behind this is that Google pampers its employees heavily. Their philosophy as mentioned by Luenendonk (2019) is “To create the happiest, most productive workplace in the world”. He further quotes the Vice President of People Development that their aspiration is not to be number one in the world but want their current and prospective employees to love Google. Google offers extrinsic benefits like no-cost health, insurance, dental benefits, vacation packages, tuition reimbursements and more. Moreover Google hears its employees, gives them a voice, provides transparency, freedom in work design and flexibility. They inspire their employees. In my opinion, this is what a leader does to stay motivated and also motivates others.

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4. Question 10: How is leadership different to power? Leadership is the accomplishment of goals through direction from human assistants (Prentice 2004). He further defines successful leader as an individual who understands the motivation of people and enlists employee participation in a way that aligns the individual’s interests and needs to the purpose of the group. In contrast, Miller (2018) defines power, as many people assume, comes from ‘outside-in’, like through a position or title that provides control and authority. He also adds that it is a belief of supremacy over others. Leadership and power are two different things, in my opinion, since leadership is more about inspiring and integrating with others, while power is more about commanding from a place of authority, and these commands need to be followed. However, it is debatable! Peyton, Zigarmi & Fowler (2018, p. 2621) define power as a condition in which specific individuals have control over the resources. These powers are only in relation to other parties, where parties with lower power rely on others, i.e. on people with higher power, to obtain rewards but avoid punishments (Vince 2014). Leaders may reinforce power through their behaviour and demeanour but this power is ordained by the organizational structure (Anderson & Brion 2014). Therefore, it can be understood that while leadership and power are different in a social context, a structural perspective gives leaders the authority to make people work under them and control the resources. The Dependence Model of Power presented by McShane et al. (2015) defines that power is structural in enduring relationships. An individual’s reliance on other people for valued resources establishes the power in relationships, treating it as a characteristic of the relationship (Gerbasi 2010). Simon & Oakes (2006, pp. 108-109) mention that influence plays a key role in understanding power, and that out social and cognitive processes play a part in recognizing this power. There are different types of leadership power, and all involve authority. These include legitimate (traditional) power, expert (from experience) power, referent (from personal sources) power, reward (ability to reward) power and coercive (the power to punish) power (YScouts 2014). There are also the contingencies to power that include substitutability, discretion, visibility and centrality that help establish power over others (McShane et al. 2015). Page 8 of 13

The power depends on the strength of the influence tactics (Van Knippenberg & Steensma 2003, pp. 56-57), which is why leaders tend to use more soft-tactics that include persuasion, exchange and ingratiation. However, leaders tend to change their tactics according to the situation, which makes them an effective leader. When discussing the difference between power and leadership, the concept of toxic leadership is also relevant. Reed (2004, p. 67) states that toxic leaders are identified through an obvious lack of concern for subordinates’ wellbeing, an interpersonal technique that affects the organizational climate negatively and a conviction made by subordinates that the leader acts primarily in his own self-interests. It is the de-motivational behaviour and the negative climate that points out toxicity. Through a modernist view comes the concept of distributive leadership that is slowly dissipating the concept of power. Hatcher (2005, p. 257) provides two justifications for why this concept has become popular. The first reason is to achieve engagement in staff that will be more helpful in implementing change. The second reason is that skills and experience of a more diverse group are necessary for leadership today. From the above discussion, it is highly debatable that leadership is different from power. It can be established that leaders use power at different times, which may be a positive or a negative reinforcement to achieve goals. However, power is more associated in negative terms where there is force and pressure, whereas leaders inspire other people to do work. At Google, the founder, leaders and managers all work to create a place that is comfortable and everybody is given freedom so that they enjoy their work, and do not take it as a burden (Tran 2017). Google uses distributed leadership (Manimala, Wasdani & Wasdani 2013) which explains that the influence is less, and hence there is more collaboration than structural power. As mentioned in the previous examples, Google’s culture nurtures its employees and the leadership is cooperative, which provides evidence that they mostly use soft-influence tactics and positive reinforcement, which has helped the company reach where it is today.

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5. References: Anderson, C & Brion, S 2014, ‘Perspectives on power in organizations’, Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behaviour, vol. 1, pp. 67–97. Baldoni, J 2019, Great motivation secrets of great leaders, McGraw Hill. Bass, BM & Avolio, BJ 1993, ‘Transformational leadership and organizational culture’, Public Administration Quarterly, pp. 112-121. Boerner, S, Eisenbeiss, SA & Griesser, D 2007, ‘Follower behaviour and organizational performance: The impact of transformational leaders’, Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 15-26. Breckler, SJ 1984, ‘Empirical validation of affect, behaviour, and cognition as distinct components of attitude’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 47, no. 6, pp. 1191-1205. Bryant, A 2011, Google’s Quest to Build a Better Boss, The New York Times, viewed 18 October 2020, < https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/13/business/13hire.html>. Burke, M 2016, Six strategies for increased job satisfaction, Challenge Consulting, viewed 17 October 2020, < https://www.challengeconsulting.com.au/announcements/six-s...