Term Paper on "Transformational Leadership Theory"

Term Paper 4 pages (1273 words) Sources: 8 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Transformational leadership theory, according to one of the founding theorists Bernard Bass, occurs when a leader "transforms, or changes, his or her followers in three important ways that together result in followers trusting the leader, performing behaviors that contribute to the achievement of the organizational goals, and being motivated to perform at a high level." (NOTATION). The three primary ways that a transformational leader accomplishes these performance enhancements are through the following three mechanisms. First, increasing subordinate awareness of the importance of their tasks and the importance of performing. Second, make subordinates aware of their needs for personal growth, development and accomplishment. Finally, motivate subordinates to work for the good of the organization rather than exclusively for their own personal gain and benefit. The transformational leader can leverage their existing staff to create value growth internally. The specific application of the transformational leader perspective to the described situation yields interesting results.

Mr. Manager is evidently a very kind-hearted and fun individual who believes in a management style that is very relaxed and focused on maintaining status quo relationships among employees. From the transformational leadership perspective, his specific purpose is to leverage strong relationships with his employees in order to promote a constant sphere of discourse. The positive of his laid-back technique is that employees are willing to approach him about problems. When the professional staff could not manage the para-professionals, he/she naturally turned to Mr. Manager to resolve the conflict. This implicitly shows that as a re
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sult of his relaxed and friendly leadership style, he is approachable to his staff. Although he is very strong in building initial relationships with his staff, from a transformational leadership perspective he fails to accomplish the three methods to enrich the organization. First, his relationship-based leader style ignores the fact that he must educate his employees on the importance of their specific function and the importance of their jobs. The consequences of having a MR/DD patient injured is subsequent suspensions as well as firing and other severe punishments. Despite these severe consequences the para-professional staff were still not attentive to detail, this suggests that Mr. Manager does not clearly emphasize the importance of their position. Secondly, Mr. Manager has relied on his relationships to create an air of openness but avoids confrontation. As a result, he never actively directs his staff on how to improve themselves and their level of service. This means that at best, his staff remains at the status quo level and never fully grows beyond their current capacities. From the transformational leadership perspective this is a stringent violation because it destroys the fundamental principle of elevating staff beyond their current level. Finally, Mr. Manager also fails to utilize his leverage as a manager to instill the concept of "organization first" within his employees. However, the fact that the professional staff are willing to confide in him when there are serious breaches within conduct suggest that he has instilled some loyalty within his staff. Overall, Mr. Manager fails as a transformational leader within the hierarchy described above.

In order to improve his leadership, Mr. Manager needs to take on several different agendas. First, he must approach all of his staff on the basis of his strong relationship with them to attempt to understand their specific on-the-job concerns. He must then follow this process by proactively encouraging and identifying the areas of improvement that each staff member has, and explain to them the implications of their actions so that they realize the seriousness and importance of their work. Finally, he needs to utilize his repoir with these individuals to fully exploit an organization first perspective from all of his employees.

The transactional leader differs from the transformational leader in that they are based in contingency. In that reward or punishment is contingent upon performance. Transactional leaders work through… READ MORE

Quoted Instructions for "Transformational Leadership Theory" Assignment:

Instructions:

Write a paper that applies the leadership theories

1) Apply the transformational leadership theory to the following situation

and

2) Apply the transactional leadership theory to the same situation.

THE SITUATION:

Topic and Rationale Situation: 56-year-old manager of approximately 25 staff in a facility that provides day treatment to adults with mental retardation/developmental disabilities(MR/DD). Approximately 5 of the subordinates are professionals with at least a bachelor's degree. The other 20 staff are para-professionals with at least a high-school diploma. Mr. Manager is personable and light-hearted with his subordinates. He does appear to be somewhat high in the relation-orientation department but lacks skills and insight in the task-orientation sphere. Problems arise when the professional staff attempts to discuss concerns regarding performance of the para-professional staff members. Since Mr. Manager is the direct supervisor of all 25 staff the professional staff have no voice in addressing issues of performance regarding para-professionals and their only recourse is to speak with the manager to attempt to resolve the situation. Mr. Manager, being high in consideration will listen to concerns but avoids any and all potential conflict with his staff. Unfortunately, Mr. Manager neglects to acknowledge the "bigger picture". The primary role of both the professional staff and the para-professional staff is to care for the MR/DD client. The staff are held accountable for the health and safety of the individuals assigned to their areas. If situations are not dealt with proactively to prevent a negative event then it is only a matter of time before a negative event will occur. When a negative event occurs it is followed up with an investigation. If neglect or abuse is substantiated the staff involve will be disciplined and could lose there jobs and criminal charges could be filed. Usually the situations are such that proactive intervention could resolve the issue and prevent a negative event. For instance, a consumer named Jack needs assistance in the restroom due to the potential for falls. Jack's team all agree that "Jack should always be accompanied to the restroom by a staff person who can "spot" Jack when he transfers from his wheelchair to the toilet. The professional staff person puts this directive in writing and trains all the para-professionals on this need. Later, the professional-staff person finds that Jack has not been accompanied to the restroom on several occasions. The professional staff person re-trains the para-professionals but finds that the same situation is occurring. Since the professional is not a "supervisor" he/she is left to report the situation to a manager. The manager listens to the concerns and maybe suggests that more training be done but does not actively intervene to mediate the problem. Two-weeks later, Jack falls while unaccompanied in the restroom. His injuries were minimal (minor bruising) but as per protocol an investigation followed. Three staff people were given 2-day suspensions and one person was fired. While no criminal charges will be filed in this case the person fired will be prevented from ever working with the MR/DD population, as his name will be on an abuser registry. It is likely that this situation could have been prevented had the manager taken the initiative to counsel the para-professional staff person.

The paper should use each theory to explain the leader's behavior in the situation you have chosen, and to suggest points for improving the leadership. Synthesize your analysis by:

1) propose ways to improve the leadership in the selected situation under the umbrella of both theories, and

2) propose ways to improve leadership in any areas that either theory does not cover.

3) Evaluate the applicability and viability of the theories when applied to a real situation.

You do not need to rewrite the situation as it will be attached to the paper.

*****

How to Reference "Transformational Leadership Theory" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Transformational Leadership Theory.” A1-TermPaper.com, 2007, https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/transformational-leadership-theory/841913. Accessed 4 Oct 2024.

Transformational Leadership Theory (2007). Retrieved from https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/transformational-leadership-theory/841913
A1-TermPaper.com. (2007). Transformational Leadership Theory. [online] Available at: https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/transformational-leadership-theory/841913 [Accessed 4 Oct, 2024].
”Transformational Leadership Theory” 2007. A1-TermPaper.com. https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/transformational-leadership-theory/841913.
”Transformational Leadership Theory” A1-TermPaper.com, Last modified 2024. https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/transformational-leadership-theory/841913.
[1] ”Transformational Leadership Theory”, A1-TermPaper.com, 2007. [Online]. Available: https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/transformational-leadership-theory/841913. [Accessed: 4-Oct-2024].
1. Transformational Leadership Theory [Internet]. A1-TermPaper.com. 2007 [cited 4 October 2024]. Available from: https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/transformational-leadership-theory/841913
1. Transformational Leadership Theory. A1-TermPaper.com. https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/transformational-leadership-theory/841913. Published 2007. Accessed October 4, 2024.

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