Professional Documents
Culture Documents
3 (a) There are several classifications of the theories or ‘schools’ of leadership, including:
(a) Trait theories – these are based on analysing the personality characteristics or preferences of successful leaders and
assume that leaders are born, not made. Lists of traits included physical traits, personality traits and social traits.
(b) Style theories – these are based on the view that leadership is an interpersonal process whereby different leadership
behaviours influence people in different ways. More or less effective patterns of behaviour (or styles) can therefore be
adopted.
(c) Contingency theories – these are based on the belief that there is no ‘one best way’ of leading, but that effective leaders
adapt their behaviour to the specific and changing variables in the leadership context: the nature of the task, the
personalities of team members, the organisation culture etc.
(b) Hersey and Blanchard’s model of situational leadership is based on the amount of direction (task behaviour) and the
amount
of support (relationship behaviour) a leader must provide given the situation and the ‘level of maturity’ of the followers.
Task
behaviour is the extent to which the leader provides directions for the actions of followers, sets goals for them, and defines
their roles and how to undertake them. Relationship behaviour is the extent to which the leader engages in two way
communication with followers, listens to them and provides support and encouragement. The Hersey and Blanchard model
also considers the ‘readiness’ level of people the leader is seeking to influence. Readiness is the extent to which followers
have the ability and willingness to accomplish a specific task. This notion of ‘readiness’ is divided into a continuum of four
stages from low to high. The four stages are described as R1 (low), R2 and R3 (moderate) and R4 (high). The ‘level of
maturity’ is the extent to which the people are willing and able to take responsibility for directing their own behaviour.
People
tend to have varying degrees of maturity depending on the specific task, function or objective that a leader is attempting to
accomplish. To determine the appropriate leadership style to use in a given situation, leaders must first determine the
maturity
level of their followers in relation to the specific task that they want to accomplish through the effort of the followers. As the
level of maturity increases leaders should begin to reduce their task behaviour and increase their relationship behaviour. As
the followers begin to move into an above average level of maturity, leaders should decrease not only task behaviour but
also
relationship behaviour. From the combination of task behaviour and relationship behaviour, four leadership styles (S)
emerge:
telling (S1), selling (S2), participating (S3) and delegating (S4).
S1 – telling – emphasises high amounts of guidance (task behaviour) but limited supportive (relationship) behaviour. This
leader provides clear instructions and specific direction. This style is most appropriate for low follower readiness (R1).
S2 – selling – emphasises high amounts of both directive (task) and relationship behaviours. The leader encourages two-way
communication and helps build confidence and motivation in followers. The leader retains responsibility and controls
decision-making. This style is most appropriate for low to moderate follower readiness (R2).
S3 – participating – emphasises a high amount of two-way communication and supportive (relationship) behaviour but low
amounts of guidance (task behaviour). The leader and the followers share decision making and no longer need or expect
the
relationship to be directive. This style is most appropriate for moderate to high follower readiness (R3).
S4 – delegating – emphasises little direction or support with low levels of both task and relationship behaviours. This style
is appropriate for leaders whose followers are ready to accomplish a particular task and are both competent and motivated
to
take full responsibility. This style is most appropriate for high follower readiness.
Hersey and Blanchard suggest that the key to using situational leadership is that any leader behaviour may be more or less
effective according to the readiness of the person the leader is attempting to influence. The model draws attention to the
9
importance of developing the ability, confidence and commitment of subordinates. The leader should help followers to
develop
in readiness to the extent that they are able and willing to successfully accomplish the task. This development should take
place by adjusting leadership behaviour through the four styles of telling, selling, participating and delegating.
This can be summed up as follows:
4 (a) A job description specifies and describes the role and responsibilities of a particular job. It is a statement of the tasks,
responsibilities and relationships involved in a given job. All employees should have a job description that specifies tasks,
details responsibilities, sets authority limits, distinguishes accountability and outlines the organisational relationships that
the
job entails. The following sections should be included in a job description (four only required):
(i) The identification of the job, including the job title, the department structure and the number of people doing the job.
(ii) The purpose of the job – identifying its objectives in relationship to the overall objectives, e.g. to manage the purchasing
section responsible for buying raw materials.
(iii) The position in the organisation – indicating the relationships with other jobs and the lines of responsibility. Often an
organisation chart is included here.
(iv) The principal duties to be performed, with emphasis on key tasks and limits to the jobholder’s authority. A more detailed
breakdown might be included which identifies specific tasks in terms of precisely what is to be done, with some
explanation, both in terms of quantity and quality.
(v) Responsibilities – a statement outlining any responsibilities for the resources e.g. staff and budgets.
(vi) Job requirements and physical conditions – including details of noisy, dirty, dangerous conditions or pleasant office
conditions and also hours of work, overtime, unsocial hours.
(vii) Grade and salary range – details of the rate for the grade, incremental scales, piecework, bonuses and commissions.
Additional benefits such as pension schemes and the provision of a company car would also be included in this section.
(viii) Reporting structure – to whom the job holder reports and at what level, with possible indications about future
succession, prospects of promotion or transfer.
(b) The work methods and practices of your department and organisation arise from a number of factors (five only
required):
(i) The nature of the specific task: i.e. what needs to be done, in what order and in what manner, in order for the purpose
of the task to be fulfilled.
(ii) The requirements of the relevant laws (e.g. Data Protection Acts, Companies Acts), regulations and Codes of Practice
established to ensure that tasks are completed safely, fairly and in accordance with the rights of individuals and society.
(iii) The requirements of organisational policy, formulated to reflect the organisation’s values, culture and intentions.
(iv) The requirements of the organisation’s systems, procedures and rules developed so that standard, safe, predictable and
dependable methods are used to encourage everyone to work together towards achieving the objectives of the
organisation.
(v) Formal instructions from people in positions of authority. Where there is no set policy, procedure or legal constraint, a
manager can largely determine how things are done.
(vi) Informal ground rules or customs, developed over time by the work group or the organisational culture.
(vii) Methods of communication and coordination in place within the structure of the organisation – designed to ensure that
all sections of the organisation are pursuing common objectives and that duplication of effort is avoided.
10
Share ideas
and facilitate
in decisionmaking
Explain decisions
and provide
opportunity
for clarification
Turn over
responsibility
for decisions
and
implementation
Provide
specific
instructions
and closely
supervise
performance
S3 S2
S4 S1
TASK BEHAVIOUR
(Directive behaviour)
(Supportive behaviour)
RELATIONSHIP BEHAVIOUR
(low) (high)
(high)
DELEGATING PARTICIPATING
SELLING
TELLING
5 (a) Emergency procedures are particularly important to ensure that people are aware of the scope and limits of their
responsibility.
Health emergencies may include any form of workplace injury (e.g. fractures, burns, eye injuries etc), electric shock,
fainting
or collapse, allergic reactions to toxic substances or manifestations of illness such as heart attacks or epileptic fits.
Procedures
need to be in place so that these can be dealt with as quickly and effectively as possible. Employers also need to plan for
emergency situations such as fire and bomb alerts, chemical spillage etc. The plan should be written down and
communicated to all employees and others who may be affected by it. Specific employees with allocated duties within the
plan should be given appropriate, regular training in the correct procedures to follow. The purpose of emergency procedures
is to ensure that everyone is clear about what to do and where to go in the event of an emergency. The following areas
should
be included in an organisation’s emergency procedures (four only required):
(i) How to raise the alarm – this includes ensuring that employees are aware of the location of fire alarms and that the
alarms are regularly tested so that employees are able to recognise the sound.
(ii) What to do – i.e. how to call the emergency services and how to respond to a fire or evacuation alarm. This is achieved
by carrying out fire and evacuation drills throughout the year.
(iii) Where to go to reach safety – this includes ensuring that employees are aware of fire and emergency exits, that they
are
clearly marked and lead as quickly as possible to a designated safe area and are kept clear at all times. This may also
include evacuation procedures.
(iv) Names of nominated first aiders in each department or area – with full contact details.
(v) Essential actions such as emergency factory shutdown – locations of adequate protective equipment (such as sprinklers
and fire extinguishers) should be in hand and regularly maintained.
(b) Accident reporting procedures are important to ensure that the circumstances and facts are recorded accurately as
soon as
possible after an accident. It may be necessary to refer to accident reports at a later date if complications emerge some
time
later. An accident reporting procedure would require the person reporting the accident to do the following:
(i) Report the accident to someone in authority as soon as possible. This can be done informally, but in addition it is usual
practice to complete an accident report form.
(ii) Record the details of the accident in an accident book.
(iii) Get signed statements from any witnesses to the accident, including names and addresses.