Josh Martin Case Study
MGT101 Case Study: Josh Martin
Question 2
Leadership is defined as “the ability to influence people towards the attainment of organisational goals” (Samson & Daft, 2008). However, among all the ideas and writings about leadership, there are three different aspects that influence effective leadership; people, influences and goals. In other words, leadership is ‘self-motivated’ as it involves the use of power to influence people to achieve goals and outcomes (Samson & Daft, 2008). Effective leaders are essentially a fine balance between characteristics/traits, behaviors, sources of power, the use of power and aspects of the situation (Vojya, 2010). However, in saying that, there are many factors that contribute in attaining effective leadership (Ahmad, 2011). Some of these characteristics include; empathy, communication, respect, accountability, listening, attitude, integrity, and many more.
Empathy is the understanding and identification of another’s feelings, situation and goals. An effective leader should be able to empathize with their team members in order to achieve a positive environment. Saunders lacks empathy and in turn respect for his fellow team members, in that he doesn’t appreciate the work that is being done around him, including that of Martin. When Martin proposes the issue of raises to Saunders, Saunders rejects the idea ranting, “Everybody wants a raise here. It’s about time people started doing more work and stopped whining about money.” This is also conveys negative communication skills, as Saunders doesn’t even attempt to resolve or explain his decision to Martin. In contrast, Martin often gets his work done through his “participative” leadership style, as well as earning the respect and appraisal from his fellow team members, by listening and implementing the many ideas that they offer, “Josh listens to us and tries to implement some of our ideas to make life simple around here”. Therefore, as seen from the different characteristics
Question 2
Leadership is defined as “the ability to influence people towards the attainment of organisational goals” (Samson & Daft, 2008). However, among all the ideas and writings about leadership, there are three different aspects that influence effective leadership; people, influences and goals. In other words, leadership is ‘self-motivated’ as it involves the use of power to influence people to achieve goals and outcomes (Samson & Daft, 2008). Effective leaders are essentially a fine balance between characteristics/traits, behaviors, sources of power, the use of power and aspects of the situation (Vojya, 2010). However, in saying that, there are many factors that contribute in attaining effective leadership (Ahmad, 2011). Some of these characteristics include; empathy, communication, respect, accountability, listening, attitude, integrity, and many more.
Empathy is the understanding and identification of another’s feelings, situation and goals. An effective leader should be able to empathize with their team members in order to achieve a positive environment. Saunders lacks empathy and in turn respect for his fellow team members, in that he doesn’t appreciate the work that is being done around him, including that of Martin. When Martin proposes the issue of raises to Saunders, Saunders rejects the idea ranting, “Everybody wants a raise here. It’s about time people started doing more work and stopped whining about money.” This is also conveys negative communication skills, as Saunders doesn’t even attempt to resolve or explain his decision to Martin. In contrast, Martin often gets his work done through his “participative” leadership style, as well as earning the respect and appraisal from his fellow team members, by listening and implementing the many ideas that they offer, “Josh listens to us and tries to implement some of our ideas to make life simple around here”. Therefore, as seen from the different characteristics
References: Samson, D. & Daft, L. R. 2008. Management. 3rd Asia Pacific ed Edition. Cengage Learning Australia Vojya, M. (2010). Characteristics of the Effective Leader. Available at: http://www.targetyou.com/Articles/LeadershipCharacteristics.pdf. Accessed: 12 May 2011. Ahmad, S. (2011). 5 Characteristics of Effective Leadership. Available at: http://ezinearticles.com/?5-Characteristics-of-Effective-Leadership&id=295616. Accessed: 12 May 2011. Horton, H. W. (2009). Thirteen Traits of Effective Leaders. Available at: http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/au-24/horton.pdf. Accessed: 12 May 2011