MODEL ANSWER

UNDERSTANDING LEADERSHIP AND MOTIVATION IN ORGANIZATION

(HR312)

SEC A

Ans.1 Improving your organization’s effectiveness typically involves analyzing operations

and looking for ways to reduce errors, eliminate waste, improve customer satisfaction and
continuously develop your workforce potential. A successful leader inspires and motivates
her subordinates to make the transition to a new way of working. She communicates a clear
shared vision, sets attainable goals, manages objections and inspires the workforce. A
leader leads with courage and confidence.
Charisma
An effective leader recognizes unique opportunities and creates a clear vision for his
organization’s future. Using his natural charisma, energy and conviction, he takes the lead.
This causes subordinates to follow him, because he consistently acts as a role model and
builds trust based on his solid moral and ethical behavior. Employees don’t get distracted by
disputes. They seek to improve organizational effectiveness, because they believe in their
leader’s message. Morale and productivity typically increase in this type of environment.
Motivation
Leaders articulate a vision that appeals to followers. To improve organizational effectiveness,
they present optimism about the future as a result of the impending changes. They accept
feedback from subordinates and recognize that change, particularly disruptive change, may
threaten employees. To persuade employees to act, an effective transformational leader cites
success stories about other companies and challenges employees to achieve improved results.
Stimulation
By encouraging followers to take some risks and challenge assumptions, a leader stimulates
intellectual curiosity and promotes creativity and innovation instead focusing on doing work
the same way day after day. By constantly seeking to improve processes and overcome
obstacles, this type of leadership allows for some experimentation in order to arrive at new
techniques.
Leadership is an important function of management which helps to maximize efficiency and to
achieve organizational goals. The following points justify the importance of leadership in a
concern.

1. Initiates action- Leader is a person who starts the work by communicating the policies
and plans to the subordinates from where the work actually starts.
2. Motivation- A leader proves to be playing an incentive role in the concern’s working. He
motivates the employees with economic and non-economic rewards and thereby gets the
work from the subordinates.
 3. Providing guidance- A leader has to not only supervise but also play a guiding role for
the subordinates. Guidance here means instructing the subordinates the way they have to
perform their work effectively and efficiently.
4. Creating confidence- Confidence is an important factor which can be achieved through
expressing the work efforts to the subordinates, explaining them clearly their role and
giving them guidelines to achieve the goals effectively. It is also important to hear the
employees with regards to their complaints and problems.
5. Building morale- Morale denotes willing co-operation of the employees towards their
work and getting them into confidence and winning their trust. A leader can be a morale
booster by achieving full co-operation so that they perform with best of their abilities as
they work to achieve goals.
6. Builds work environment- Management is getting things done from people. An efficient
work environment helps in sound and stable growth. Therefore, human relations should
be kept into mind by a leader. He should have personal contacts with employees and
should listen to their problems and solve them. He should treat employees on
humanitarian terms.
7. Co-ordination- Co-ordination can be achieved through reconciling personal interests
with organizational goals. This synchronization can be achieved through proper and
effective co-ordination which should be primary motive of a leader.

Ans 2. In 1959, Frederick Herzberg, a behavioural scientist proposed a two-factor theory or

the motivator-hygiene theory. According to Herzberg, there are some job factors that result in
satisfaction While there are other job factors that prevent dissatisfaction. According to
Herzberg, the opposite of “Satisfaction” is “No satisfaction” and the opposite of
“Dissatisfaction” is “No Dissatisfaction”.

Herzberg classified these job factors into two categories-

a. Hygiene factors- Hygiene factors are those job factors which are essential for
existence of motivation at workplace. These do not lead to positive satisfaction for
long-term. But if these factors are absent / if these factors are non-existant at
workplace, then they lead to dissatisfaction. In other words, hygiene factors are those
factors which when adequate/reasonable in a job, pacify the employees and do not
make them dissatisfied. These factors are extrinsic to work. Hygiene factors are also
called as dissatisfiers or maintenance factors as they are required to avoid
dissatisfaction. These factors describe the job environment/scenario. The hygiene
factors symbolized the physiological needs which the individuals wanted and
expected to be fulfilled. Hygiene factors include:
 Pay - The pay or salary structure should be appropriate and reasonable. It must
be equal and competitive to those in the same industry in the same domain.
 Company Policies and administrative policies - The company policies should
not be too rigid. They should be fair and clear. It should include flexible
working hours, dress code, breaks, vacation, etc.
 Fringe benefits - The employees should be offered health care plans
(mediclaim), benefits for the family members, employee help programmes,
etc.
 Physical Working conditions - The working conditions should be safe, clean
and hygienic. The work equipments should be updated and well-maintained.
  Status - The employees’ status within the organization should be familiar and
retained.
 Interpersonal relations - The relationship of the employees with his peers,
superiors and subordinates should be appropriate and acceptable. There should
be no conflict or humiliation element present.
 Job Security - The organization must provide job security to the employees.
b. Motivational factors- According to Herzberg, the hygiene factors cannot be regarded
as motivators. The motivational factors yield positive satisfaction. These factors are
inherent to work. These factors motivate the employees for a superior performance.
These factors are called satisfiers. These are factors involved in performing the job.
Employees find these factors intrinsically rewarding. The motivators symbolized the
psychological needs that were perceived as an additional benefit. Motivational factors
include:
 Recognition - The employees should be praised and recognized for their
accomplishments by the managers.
 Sense of achievement - The employees must have a sense of achievement.
This depends on the job. There must be a fruit of some sort in the job.
 Growth and promotional opportunities - There must be growth and
advancement opportunities in an organization to motivate the employees to
perform well.
 Responsibility - The employees must hold themselves responsible for the
work. The managers should give them ownership of the work. They should
minimize control but retain accountability.
 Meaningfulness of the work - The work itself should be meaningful,
interesting and challenging for the employee to perform and to get motivated.

The Two-Factor theory implies that the managers must stress upon guaranteeing the
adequacy of the hygiene factors to avoid employee dissatisfaction. Also, the managers must
make sure that the work is stimulating and rewarding so that the employees are motivated to
work and perform harder and better. This theory emphasize upon job-enrichment so as to
motivate the employees. The job must utilize the employee’s skills and competencies to the
maximum. Focusing on the motivational factors can improve work-quality.
Ans 3.

Ans 4. Fairness is one of the strongest dynamics in an effective workplace. It promotes

harmony, good will and a sense of equity among colleagues. A leader who practices fairness
learns about the strengths and talents of the team members and works to engage them. They
seek to gain perspective from as many others as they can.Fairness does not mean that everyone
is given the same recognition (job functions, promotion, pay increase, etc.), but it does reaffirm
that all will receive equal opportunity for recognition. Fair leaders hold themselves accountable
to be unbiased when handling issues that impact many.

A leader displays fairness by holding to acceptable standards and being reasonable in their
responses. They look for alignment among people and teams, trying to create the most mutually
effective outcomes. They engage others without judgment or prejudice. They practice what
they preach. Leaders who score high on the Fairness dimension might:

 Avoid the command and control ways of management that are ingrained in an
organization
 Seek alignment among teams
 Be effective at treating others with equitably
 Be unbiased
 Withhold judgment based on prejudices

Recent studies confirm that building and maintaining working relationships in a high-trust
organization benefits all parties –– employees, leadership, and the business. people
employed by high-trust companies report the following:

 A 60% increase in career satisfaction

 A 50% increase in productivity
 A 66% increase in team unity
When trust is questionable or missing, however, these areas all suffer. Job performance
slows down, employee engagement is low, and turnover is high.

Therefore, trust in leadership is crucial to a healthy workplace and sustainable shared

success.

A leader should keep his followers informed, be fair and objective, share his feelings, be honest,
allow the followers to constantly direct their decisions, maintain their promises, and earn
respect of the followers. All this will contribute in building trust upon the leaders.

A trust-centred leadership will offset worries, apprehensions, and low-morale by developing a

trustworthy environment where employees feel secure, confident and keyed up. The employees
will be ready to take initiative, give suggestions, share their views, feel unhesitant to take risk
and will contribute completely in such an atmosphere of trust.Due to instability and
unpredictability of organizations today, building of trust between managers as leaders and their
employees is essentially required.

Ans 5.Situational leadership means adapting your management style to each unique
situation or task to meet the needs of the team or team members. Ken Blanchard and Paul
Hersey developed the Situational Leadership Theory in 1969. They believe that there is no
“one size fits all” leadership style. Instead, the model provides a framework for leaders to
diagnose the development level of an employee or team. Once this is determined, they can
adapt their leadership approach accordingly.Situational leadership can help
managers better adapt to their work environments and to the people they lead. The ability
to adapt your leadership style is a vital skill every aspiring leader should master on
their development journey. The situational leadership model considers employee
competence and commitment levels. These can vary across different challenges and
performance areas. It also considers the complexity of the task and the level of direction
and support required from the leader.

All leaders should be in tune with four key factors of leadership: the led, the leader, the situation
and the communication. All four factors must always be considerations when exercising
leadership, but at different moments, they affect each other differently

SEC B

Ans 6. Roles that a leader has to play

Coach. As a leader you have a responsibility and need to develop others to succeed in
their roles and prepare for future roles.

Facilitator. You need to make things easier for others. Help processes flow better and
boost productivity.

Strategist. Need to keep the big picture in mind, and plot what directions and approaches
the team should use to reach the desired results.

Visionary. Related to strategy, leaders must have a picture of where they are heading and
why that destination matters to the organization, their team and themselves.
Change agent. As a leader, you must guide and champion the changes that you envision

Decision-maker. As a leader, you will need to be decisive and make the hard choices.
You can’t be afraid to make a decision which will make you unpopular or when you have
limited info.

Influencer. As a leader, you must constantly be influencing others in a positive way.

Team player. step out of your leadership role and let others take the lead.

Delegator. The best leaders delegate both willingly and strategically to ensure
everything is done and to train their employees to take on bigger roles in the
organization.

Listener. The best leaders talk less, and ask, listen, and observe more. Make sure you
really listen to the people you lead.

Ans 7

7 a) Gender and Leadership

Traditionally women had hardly been in senior positions within organizations to exercise
power and authority. This meant that when they actually got a chance to do so, they had to
live up to the expectations of a male leader, which involved being authoritarian, directive and
masculine at times. However, researches conducted show that women in leadership positions
believe in more participative and collaborative approach which involves, working with
people rather than making people work. Women are also good transformational leaders than
men and use the nurturing, caring and engaging approach towards subordinates.

However, it is never easy for a women leader to get accepted by male subordinates, in the
bargain they end up compromising on their leadership behaviors to make them more
acceptable and less intimidating for the male subordinates. This leaves a very narrow scope
of what is acceptable and what is not from a female leader. For example, an aggressive and
direct behavior from a male leader is appreciated but a similar approach from a woman leader
is termed as unnecessarily dominating. Similarly, if the woman leader displays the feminine
behavior of nurturing and care, they are looked upon as lacking firmness and assertiveness.

However there are certain clear benefits of a women leader as well, what a male leader needs
to learn through deliberate efforts comes naturally to woman leaders like Emotional
Intelligence, coaching and mentoring instincts, collaboration and participation etc. since,
women leaders can collaborate effectively, they face relatively lesser challenges in managing
teams separated by function and location. With their high emotional intelligence, they also
understand the motivational factors of subordinates better and can also manage appropriately
their diverse culture and backgrounds.

The women leaders face greater and bigger challenges than male leaders as they also
have to battle against perceptions. With more women taking up leadership roles, the
hitherto unknown issues and challenges of a leadership position are now beginning to surface.
The increasing stress level and dual responsibility of work and home with the constant
pressure of proving herself, makes life difficult for them. leaders are as good as a male leader.
The evaluation of leadership effectiveness is only fare when it is based on leadership style
and results achieved rather than on gender.

7 b)Transformational leadership goes beyond normal leadership and as the name

implies, it results in a complete rejuvenation of the company and a transformation of its
place in the corporate world. For instance, the late Steve Jobs succeeded in altering
consumer perceptions of computing, mobile technology, and the way in which media is
consumed in the digital age. Similarly, Bill Gates can be credited with pioneering the
personal computing revolution that has benefited Billions of people around the world and has
transformed the landscape of the business world. Further, NR Narayana Murthy can be said
to have incubated a whole industry with his stewardship of Infosys that resulted in the IT
sector in India taking off in a big way and emerging as a force to reckon with in the world.
Finally, Ratan Tata and Aditya Birla can be credited with transforming what were essentially
family owned businesses into a new look professionally managed conglomerates that
redefined the map of the corporate world in the county and abroad.

Ans 8.

8 a) Reduce barriers and create level playing for women

At any given point in a woman’s career, she is likely to experience one or more of these barriers.
Sometimes the barrier is overt, and other times the barrier will be concealed behind another
agenda. For example, a mother with a young child at home applies for a leadership assignment
that requires more travel. She doesn’t receive the assignment and is told that another candidate is
more qualified, which is false. The real reason is that the boss assumed that because she has a
young child, she won’t want to travel or commit to the assignment. She is passed over as a result
of gender stereotypes.

Overcoming Structural Barriers

We can help overcome structural barriers with mentors and sponsors, but it’s important to
understand the difference between the two. A mentor is a person who helps guide and advise
someone to grow in her current position. A sponsor is a person who serves as someone’s advocate
to help her move toward her next position.For women, a good strategy is to have male sponsors
who are in decision-making positions of authority and can give them more credibility. These
sponsors can include their boss, leaders in their department or leaders in other departments.

Changing Institutional Mindsets

Institutional mindsets are the most significant barrier and are a major reason that we don’t see more
women at the top levels of leadership. People make assumptions about women at work and as
leaders based on their stereotypical roles in society. Often, women are limited in their advancement
or, worse, never even given an opportunity because of bias.Even more worrisome, much of the bias
that people have toward women is unconscious. Research has found that it’s not the conscious or
explicit bias that primarily causes barriers and misunderstandings and limits potential. Rather, it’s
the unconscious or hidden biases that are really problematic.
Changing Individual Mindsets

One example of individual mindsets or limitations is office housework: getting the coffee, taking
the notes, picking up the donuts, helping new hires, planning the holiday party and all the other
behind-the-scenes work that helps a company run smoothly. Women frequently volunteer for office
housework, which is time-consuming and often isn’t recognized. On the other hand, men tend to
volunteer for activities that are more visible.One solution is for women not to volunteer for these
types of activities every time. While they are supportive and helpful, let other employees contribute,
including men. If you are responsible for selecting people for these activities, assign tasks rather
than asking for volunteers, so you ensure an even gender distribution.

Accommodating Lifestyle Choices

Lifestyle choices and work-life balance priorities are more valued now than in previous
generations. The most recent data show that millennial men value work-life balance as much as
women have for the past several decades. However, there are many companies who still adhere to
rigid work hours, structure and policies.One solution is to seek employers that value (and promote)
work-life balance and offer flexible options. If no options are available, request that your company
create new programs or policies. Companies are now more responsive to employee and corporate
pressures, and chances are that your colleagues want the same things, too.

8 b) Answer will vary from person to person hence cannot have one standard answer.
However for reference we can use following options.
If we can recall Herzberg’s theory of motivation, money only may not be a hygiene factory.
Those who really feel motivated in doing something that can embellish their appetite for
satisfaction believe in themselves. Those factors are more in line with modern day work from
home, work place ambiance, providing food at work place, taking breaks to break the
monotony. Further, job security can be a an issue that has become a non-factor as many
employees have multiple opportunities with hiring agencies continuously go after qualified
candidates. Personally, interpersonal relationships that make one feel wanted at the workplace
is another critical factor that can bring satisfaction in addition to money
Both. If you are poor or middle class, It will motivates you to become rich. If you are rich,
money will be a hygienic factor.(Student need to have right rationale for it)

It will not remain same because motivation is dynamic it changes as our attitude, personality
and perception changes. .(Student need to have right rationale for it)

SEC C

Ans1) Taking vroom expectancy theory into consideration, an individual puts effort that results
in performance, if the performance yields no rewards that individual will get
demotivated. Similarly according to equity theory employees monitor continuously the degree
of equity or in equity that exists comparing their input and output with each other .When these
employees see that their more input results in no different output they get motiveless. Now, if
an individual works very hard and shows good performance, and still gets the same rewards as
income and recognition his morale will definitely recede which will definitely effect in his
output

Ans2) Taking Maslow’s model into consideration, in this case workers lower order needs are
met but their higher order needs are not identified .They are given all the perks and fringe
benefits which satisfy their lower order needs and thus don’t become any source of motivation
. The company lacks in identifying the needs like acceptance by the employer, prestige and
recognition. By identifying these needs the manager can be able to engross a desire in the
employees which would definitely motivate them. According to Alderfer’s model the growth
needs of the employees are not identified .If these needs are identified and manipulated
correctly the employees could be made to work for the betterment of the company. According
to Herzberg’s model the company is not providing motivators to the employees, as a result of
that the employees are feeling no satisfaction in the work and their performance level has
receded. Human resource manager is referring to higher order needs (according to Maslow’s
model), growth needs (according to Alderfer’s model) and motivators (according to Herzberg
model).All these include prestige, recognition for achievement, respect, acceptance, incentive
plans etc. in the organization.