Question no.

Leadership plays a central part in understanding group behavior, because it’s

the leader who usually directs us toward our goals. Knowing what makes a good
leader should, thus, be valuable in improving group performance. Identify one
contingency theory of leadership that you feel has greatest practical significance,
and comment on its features.

Answer:

Knowing what makes a good leader is the most valuable factor in improving group
performance. Hence, many leadership theories have been developed to answer this
question. Contingency theories are the ones related to the situational factors. The
Contingency Theory takes the context in which the leader is operating into
consideration and tries to isolate the conditions that allow for effective leadership. I
think one contingency theory of leadership that has greatest practical significance is
‘Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory’.

This theory suggests that leaders should vary their approach based on the people they
are leading, and the circumstances that surround the task at hand. This theory doesn’t
consider only one leadership behavior but it suggests the leaders to change their
behaviors as per the needs of their followers. The focus of this theory is on the
readiness of the follower to follow. Each follower can decide for themselves whether
they will accept or reject the leader. If the leader is to be effective, the followers must
choose to accomplish the task the leader has given them. This situational leadership
theory looks at readiness and defines it as the extent to which people have the ability
and willingness to accomplish a specific task.

Hence, this theory seems to be more practical and applicable in real life scenarios.
This leadership theory considers four potential leadership behaviors depending on
followers’ readiness.

1. Telling: This leadership behavior suggest that the leader of the group simply
tells each member what to do, and how they would like them to do it. This is
the most direct form of leadership differentiated as less collaborative, and
more directive in nature. It can also be taken as a high-task, low-relationship
style wherein the leader gives explicit directions and supervises work closely.

This leadership behavior should be used when followers are unable and
unwilling to do a task because in such a situation the leader needs to give clear
and specific directions. Employees at this level of maturity will require
complete direction for almost every task and need to be monitored every now
and then as they are less experienced and less responsible.

2. Selling: This leadership behavior is the one with a little more room for
collaboration. This leadership behavior suggests the leader to sell their ideas to
 the group by explaining task directions in a persuasive manner. It can also be
defined as a high-task, high-relationship style where the leader may need to
convince some of the team members to follow his or her lead.

This leadership behavior should be used when the followers are unable and
willing. At this level of maturity team members are those who are more eager
to work on a job, even if they aren't yet ready to do it correctly without the
help of the leader of the group. Thus, such followers require a leader who
shows high-task orientation to compensate for followers’ lack of ability and
high relationship orientation to get them to buy into the leader’s desires.

3. Participating: This leadership behavior requires the leaders to try to build

relationships with those on the team and blend in more fully with those who
are working as part of the team. Such leadership behavior represents a low-
task, high-relationship style that emphasizes shared ideas and decisions.
Decision making is done by sharing ideas and experiences and the followers
also get to participate in the process.

This leadership behavior should be used when the followers are able and
unwilling. This group would include employees who have most of the skill
they need to get the job done right while they might still require some help
from their subordinates because of lack of confidence and willingness. The
Participating style is the one that matches with such followers, because they
don't need full direction but require some participation to get going.

4. Delegating: This leadership behavior requires the leaders to pass on most of

the responsibilities for a given project or task to various members of the team.
It can also be taken as a low-task, low-relationship style wherein the leader
allows the group to take responsibility for task decisions.

Such leadership behavior is applicable with high maturity followers i.e. if they
are both able and willing. These kinds of followers are completely capable of
handling a task and they know that they can get the job done without the help
of the leader. Delegating is the leadership style of choice at this point simply
because there is no need to be more involved than that.

We can take few examples of leaders like John Wooden, the former men’s basketball
coach, Colin Powell, a former general in the U.S. Army, who exercised situation
leadership style and their ability and willingness to adjust their leadership styles to the
changing team dynamics and needs of their followers contributed to their success.
Therefore, this leadership method lets executives and managers take charge of their
followers based on the awareness, understanding and context of the group. Leaders
can apply an appropriate structure and degree of control to achieve the desired result
by taking into consideration how the strengths, weaknesses and awareness of the
followers can affect performance and outcomes of a project.

Question No. 7

No individual, group or organization can exist without sharing meaning among its
members. But the fact is a perfect communication is unattainable. Yet, a positive
relationship exists between effective communication and worker productivity. How
important are the following for better interpersonal relationship between individuals
and groups?

a. The grapevine

b. Non-verbal communication

c. The role of new technology in communication.

Answer:

A positive relationship exists between effective communication and worker

productivity because the flow of effective communication in organizations develop
strong bonding between staff and management, then employees get trusted which
makes them more productive. Effective communication also leads to better
interpersonal relationship between individuals and groups. The importance of the
following for better interpersonal relationship between individuals and groups is
explained below:

a. The grapevine: Grapevine is a type of informal communication held without

following a recommended structure in an organization. It can be described as casual
and unofficial communication or rumors and gossips that might take place among
people during the lunch hours, breaks or any leisure time of employees. Such type of
communication is unavoidable in the organization. Therefore, managers should try to
use grapevine in a way that the organization can take the highest benefits from it.

Grapevine communication is important for an organization because it conveniently

transmits certain messages that can’t be passed through formal channels. Employees
see it as a very believable and reliable form of communication and can be a way to
receive information about the situation, reduce anxiety as well as fill a social need to
connect. Some of the benefits of the grapevine for better interpersonal relationship
between individuals and groups are explained below:

i. Improves Relationships: The grapevine creates a sense of unity among the

employees who share and discuss their views with each other. Such
communication effectively solves most of the problems or clashes between
employees and the organization’s management. The employees can also
disclose their needs, sentiment and their emotions to the authority without
 feeling any hesitation. Thus, grapevine helps in developing group
cohesiveness and improves interpersonal relationships among employees.

ii. Increases efficiency: Once the employees open up to each other and to the
management, they can clearly discuss their problems and solve it.
Consequently, it develops and improves the efficiency of the employees as
happy and satisfied employees work more efficiently.

iii. Improves feedback and recommendations: This type of communication

can provide valuable feedback to the subordinates and managers as the
employees can share their feelings openly without any fear. It creates an
opportunity to send the recommendation to their management. Valuable
feedbacks can also be obtained with this type of communication.

b. Non-verbal communication: Nonverbal communication is a process of generating

meaning using behavior other than words. In such type of communication body
movement, intonations and voice emphasis, facial expressions and physical distance is
used to understand and interpret messages. In the workplace, people interact with each
other throughout the workday using verbal and nonverbal communication. In essence,
the way individuals deliver nonverbal messages can be just as important as verbal
dialogue. Non verbal cues are very important for better interpersonal relationship
between individuals and groups.

i. Nonverbal communication conveys important interpersonal and emotional

messages: Having a conscious awareness of nonverbal communication
when we are communicating verbal messages allows others to receive the
message the way we intend to deliver our message. It helps in
understanding the intend and emotion behind the verbal messages. For
example if someone is avoiding eye contact while talking we can
understand that they are lying or trying to hide something. Similarly, if
somebody’s voice trembles or legs shake while talking, we can understand
that they are nervous and hence, we can try to make them feel more
comfortable. We may also rely more on nonverbal signals in situations
where verbal and nonverbal messages conflict and in situations where
emotional or relational communication is taking place. We also put more
weight on nonverbal communication when determining a person’s
credibility. Hence, nonverbal communication is the key to build better
interpersonal and emotional relationships.

ii. Nonverbal communication is more credible: People often put more trust
into what others do over what they say because they believe expressions
and body language don’t lie. This helps in understanding how genuine a
person is. Sometimes involuntary and often subconscious nature of
nonverbal communication makes it less easy to fake. Hence, more trust
 and credibility is developed in interpersonal relationships among people
because of nonverbal cues.

iii. Nonverbal Communication helps in increasing employee morale in the

organizations: Effective nonverbal communication helps in increasing
employee morale which in turn improves the productivity of employees in
organizations. The manager’s attitude, which is mostly communicated by
nonverbal messages, can produce either positive or negative attitudes in
the employees; this can affect their attitude and emotions when performing
job duties and either raise or lower employee morale. Hence,
communicating positive nonverbal cues when speaking with employees
can increase employee morale and job performances.

c. The role of new technology in communication: New technology has a significant

impact on communications and interpersonal relationships. It has changed the way
that people communicate with each other. Technology has created different online
communication tools which have helped the world become a more connected place.
Technology has facilitated communication through Emails, chats, videoconferencing,
instant messaging, blogging etc. Communication and technological development
have gone hand-in-hand in the entire history, and the emergence of mobile and
internet services have propelled communication to exceptionally high levels.

The introduction of internet and the option of chatting and sending emails has
significantly reduced the time and cost in communicating. The internet has made
communication easier and faster, it has allowed us to stay in contact with people
regardless of time and location. It has also allowed people to find their voice and
express themselves through social media, YouTube and memes.

Communication quality has also significantly improved due to availability and

accessibility of helpful knowledge in various websites. Additionally, it is currently
possible and easy to get the meaning of unfamiliar terminologies or obtain a
translation from unknown to known language using computer applications and the
internet. Further, technology has enhanced storage and recovery of communication
when the need arises which has made it quite easy to clear doubts or misconceptions
by contacting all parties who are involved in a communication.

Hence, technology is an efficient tool in improving communication and interpersonal

relationships. Technology facilitates communication in diverse geographic locations
as well as communication between people with different languages. It has helped in
overcoming the limitations of previous means of communication and made it more
efficient.