...Leadership Under Severe Stress in Fire Services Contents Introduction 1 Leadership 1 What is Leadership? 1 Theories of Leadership 2 1. Great Man Theory 2 2. Behavioral Theory 2 3. Participative Theory 2 4. Situational Leadership 2 5. Contingency Theory 2 6. Transactional Leadership 2 7. Transformational Leadership 2 Directive Leadership Theory 3 Supportive Leadership Theory 3 Situational Leadership Theory 3 Transformational Leadership Theory 3 Leadership in Fire Service 4 Who is an effective Leader? 5 Situational Leadership 6 Leadership under severe stress 6 What is Stress? 6 Acute stress 6 Episodic acute stress 6 Chronic stress 6 Kinds of situations in a fire service 6 Leadership under severe situations 7 Leadership Failure 7 Conclusion 7 Introduction Fire service is an organized body of people developed to rescue and help people in case of fire emergencies. A fire service, also known as fire brigade, acts as a savior of people’s lives and property. It includes fire fighters and volunteers as staff. Fire service department works both on public and private grounds. Saving lives is the main objective of this department. Firefighter also help people in situations other than emergency by giving them precautionary advice, setting fire alarms and adequate training in severe situation. All the work done by fire department runs on specific decision guidelines. In a decision guideline a firefighter is taught...
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...Leaders and Leadership in Organizations: Understanding the Dynamics Leaders and Leadership in Organizations: Understanding the Dynamics The subject of leaders has been greatly researched through out history. In this time of economic turmoil, it is vital for an organization to evaluate their leaders and leadership styles in order to be successful. Leadership styles vary, as well as what kind of leaders exist and the behaviors they participate in. It is necessary to examine each theory to conclude what is the most effective in an organizational structure. Exerting an incorrect Leadership Development Plan that does not correlate with the organizational culture will result in failure. In order to assist in evaluating an organizations leaders and leadership we will address the following concepts: 1. What is leadership and who are the leaders of an organization? 2. What are the types of leadership theories, styles and behaviors? 3. What elements affect leaderships? 4. How do leaders and leadership impact organizations? In reviewing these four focuses, it will become clear in understanding the dynamics of leaders and leadership in organizations. What is Leadership and Who Are the Leaders of an Organization? Although there are different styles of leaders, the concept of leadership is fundamentally the same. The leadership notion is best described by Etzioni (1965, p. 690-691) in Organizations -Structures, Processes, and Outcomes as: “the ability, based on...
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...Leadership Theories There are successful leaders and then there are leaders who fail. Some people think of it as luck, but the truth is that there is no out of the world combination of characteristics that make some leaders successful. Often different characteristics matter at different situations. So what makes a great leader? Is it the personality traits of people or characteristics of the situation that makes people better than others? Studies conducted to find out how exactly certain people excel in their positions have given birth to a number of formal leadership theories. In this paper I will discuss about three different leadership theories; behavioral theories, contingency theories, and power & influence theories. Behavioral Theories As the name suggests behavioral theories emphasis on how leaders behave. For example; some leaders get involved with their team and some dictate terms in decision making. According to Kendra Cherry “Behavioral theories of leadership are based upon the belief that great leaders are made, not born” (para 9). This particular theory mainly focuses on the actions of leaders. An assumption of this theory is that people can learn to become leaders through teaching and observation. Three types of leaders can be identified under the behavioral theory; I. Autocratic leaders II. Democratic leaders III. Laissez-faire leaders A study conducted by the Ohio State University, have found two groups...
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...Code 5741/41 LEADERSHIP –THEORY AND PRACTICE This essay will review the theory of leadership from early in the last century and critically assess the most relevant areas under debate. Theory What is leadership? Leadership is of itself constantly in debate, what is it, do we need it and how does it work are just some of the questions in what remains a live and ongoing debate. Whilst there are many definitions available in the wide array of literature the one selected here is that of Rost[1] who said” leadership is an influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend real changes that reflect their mutual purposes” having analysed the definitions of leadership used in the literature from 1900-1979 . At its most fundamental level there is a great deal of discussions about what is leadership and what is management with authors such as Kotter[2] who describes a leader as someone who creates an agenda through the establishment of a vision and gives direction to help align the followers to achieve a successful outcome , compared to his arguably less positive description of a manager as someone who prepares plans and budgets, organizes and staffs the team and monitors the results against a plan, hence the manager is seen to provide order, consistency and predictability. Rost on the other hand argues against this[3] “up with leaders and down with management” approach which he suggests Kotter’s approach describes and concludes this obsession with leadership is not perhaps...
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...A Definition of Leadership A traditional definition of leadership: Leadership is an interpersonal influence directed toward the achievement of a goal or goals. Three important parts of this definition are the terms interpersonal, influence, and goal. · Interpersonal means between persons. Thus, a leader has more than one person (group) to lead. · Influence is the power to affect others. · Goal is the end one strives to attain. Basically, this traditional definition of leadership says that a leader influences more than one person toward a goal. The definition of leadership used in this course follows. LEADERSHIP is a dynamic relationship based on mutual influence and common purpose between leaders and collaborators in which both are moved to higher levels of motivation and moral development as they affect real, intended change. (Kevin Freiberg and Jackie Freiberg, NUTS! Southwest Airlines' Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success, Bard Press, 1996, p. 298) Three important parts of this definition are the terms relationship, mutual, and collaborators. Relationship is the connection between people. Mutual means shared in common. Collaborators cooperate or work together. This definition of leadership says that the leader is influenced by the collaborators while they work together to achieve an important goal. Leadership versus Management A leader can be a manager, but a manager is not necessarily a leader. The leader of the work group may emerge informally as the...
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...Running head: Applying Leadership Theories Applying Leadership Theories in the School Setting Teresa E. McNair Grand Canyon University: EDA-574 September 28, 2011 Applying Leadership Theories in the School Setting As many of us already know, there are several variables in creating a successful school. A successful organization has one major attribute that sets it apart from unsuccessful organizations dynamic and effective leadership (Hersey, Blanchard, & Johnson, 2008). Leadership is defined as the process of influencing the activities of an individual or a group toward reaching goal achievement in a given situation (Hersey, Blanchard, & Johnson, 2008). For the past three decades, education has been going through a sustained period of reform and restructuring (Razik & Swanson, 2010). With these changes, leadership styles must undergo changes to keep up with the needs of the global society (Razik & Swanson, 2010). Experts do not agree on one leadership style or theory that should be implemented to achieve success. Many have decided that a combination of different theories based on needs will yield the best result. This essay will depict how different leadership theories apply to my school (Forest High School) setting as reflected from the leader’s behavior and actions. Applying Leadership Theories Individuals’ interest in leadership increased during the early part of the twentieth century. Early leadership theories focused on what qualities...
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...exception Correct • 2 A contingency theory that contains mediating variables is o leadership substitutes theory o situational leadership theory o cognitive resource theory XXX multiple-linkage model Correct • 3 Which of the following is a characteristic of a positive charismatic? o Dependency on the leader o Centralized decision making by the leader XXX Devotion to ideology not personal identification o Information is restricted Correct • 4 One unique characteristic of followers in leadership theory is o skills and expertise o traits XXX task commitment and effort o confidence and optimism Correct • 5 Ideological leaders will develop when the leader o makes a rational appeal to followers XXX appeals to shared values o appeals to emotion o has particular expertise Correct • 6 Effective transformational leaders o select subordinates who will be loyal and uncritical o delegate most decisions to individuals or self-managed teams XXX use a combination of transformational and transactional behaviors o challenge strongly held values of followers to get their attention Correct • 7 Which statement about transformational and charismatic leadership is most accurate? o Charismatic leaders are more effective in business organizations o Both types of leadership are effective in any situation XXX Charisma is a necessary ingredient in transformational leadership o Both types of leadership involve the same underlying processes ...
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...Leadership Models Leadership is the use of non-coercive influence to direct and coordinate the activities of a group toward accomplishing a goal. This is done through direction, encouragement, sensitivity, consideration, and support. Leadership styles will vary from individual to individual. They may also vary throughout the course of one’s career/life. There has been much debate about leadership and the definition of many leadership theories. Early theories of leadership focused on behaviors and qualities of successful leaders. Leaders must take into account the type of employees they are working with and use this to successfully engage the employees. No single motivator applies to all employees. People are complex and attempts that are made to explain their behavior is also complex. There are many approaches to develop theories of employees’ motivation. One of the first approaches to explain motivation was developed by Abraham Maslow and his hierarchy- of-needs. According to Maslow’s theory within every human being exists a hierarchy of five needs: physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization. Times have changed and so has the research that originally supported this belief. Researchers have now found that Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is not the way to motivate employees (Robbins & Decenzo, 2004). Employee that are actively engaged by their leader, are willing to go that extra step to get the job done. Various leaders are successful at leading...
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...Running head: THE PATH- GOAL LEADERSHIP THEORY The Path Goal Leadership Theory Calvin D. Forehand MAN5355 Managerial Assessment & Development Everest University The Path-Goal Leadership Theory was developed by Robert House and contends that that a leader's behavior is contingent to the satisfaction, motivation and performance of her or his followers. The theory is called path-goal because its major concern is how the leader influences the subordinates’ perceptions of their work goals, personal goals and paths to goal attainment (Pierce and Newstrom, 2011). The path-goal theory also proposes that a leader’s actions and behavior is motivating to the degree that the behavior increases follower’s goal attainment and clarifies the paths to these goals. In this paper, I will discuss the four key leader behaviors associated with the path-goal theory of leadership. I will then show how the leader behavior relates to the University of Michigan and The Ohio State University leadership studies. Finally, I will discuss the conditions under which each leader behavior might be effective and the reason for this relationship. Robert House’s path-goal theory is based on the studies of Martin Evans in which state the leadership behaviors and the follower perceptions of the degree to which following a particular path will lead to a particular goal. House’s path-goal theory makes two propositions. The first is the leader behavior is acceptable and satisfying...
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...Fiedler's Contingency Theory of Leadership is regarded by many as the first situational theory of leadership. He broke with the behavioral theorists of leadership and hypothesized that their is no one right way for a leaders to behave in all situations. He went on to state that situations could be classified as most, moderately and least favorable to leadership based on three dimensions -- leader-member relations, task structure and position power. Fiedler's Theory of Leadership is more complex than the behavioral theories of leadership. He said in took a pretzel shaped hypothesis to explain a pretzel shaped world. One of the contributions of his theory of leadership was the idea that not one form of leadership is appropriate for all situations. He continued to view most people as having a predisposition to be either task or relationship-oriented as a primary style of leadership. In addition, he recognized that people had a secondary style of leadership which they could use in low stress situations. For task-oriented leaders, their secondary style was relationship-oriented. For relationship-oriented, the secondary style is to look for new challenges. To understand the situation, Fiedler said that the following three factors had to be considered: Leader-member relations - Degree to which a leader is accepted and supported by the group members. Task structure - Extent to which the task is structured and defined, with clear goals and procedures. Position power - The ability...
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...RELEVANCE OF LEADERSHIP THEORIES BY APPLYING BILL GATES LEADERSHIP STYLE TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1. Introduction 5 2. Bill Gates Leadership and practical relevance to Leadership Theories 5 3. Trait Theory 5 4. Charismatic Leadership Theory 7 5. Transformational Leadership Theory 7 6. Bill Gate’s Leadership Styles 9 7. Conclusion 10 8. List of References 11 Bill Gates leadership is being analyzed by applying various leadership theories and practical relevance are discussed in this report. 1. Bill Gates Leadership and practical relevance to Leadership Theories Leadership is shared interests that influence the relationship between leaders and followers which results changes and effects. (Daft, 2008) The leadership theories evolution started from Great Man & Trait theories to the present "Transformational" leadership. Kippenberger highlights the time-line of the evolution which starts from mid-1900 to present days. The time-line contains Great Man Theory , Traits Theory, Lewis Research in autocratic, democratic & laissez-faire styles , Behavioral Theory, Situational Theory , Contingency Theory, Charismatic Leadership, Team Leadership, Servant Leadership and Transformational Leadership Theories (Kippenberger , 2002) We are applying Trait Theory, Charismatic Leadership and Transformation Leadership Theories to the leadership...
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...Leadership Theories and HCAHPS Score Leadership Theories and HCAHPS Scores Which leadership theory is the best to implement the much needed goal of increasing HCAHPS scores? This paper seeks to identify two different leadership theories to see which is better in leading the nursing duties and tasks to improve quality of care for the patients which in turns result in higher HCAHPS scores. This paper will also seek to discuss strengths and weaknesses of the two different leadership styles so to have a better understanding of how each works and see which one would be better suited to help increase HCAHPS scores. First we need to know what HCAHPS are and why they are so important to the healthcare industry. HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) has been around since 2005 and is going to effect payment from CMS for the hospitals. This payment affects the reimbursement of patients discharged from October 1, 2012 and forward. By holding health care providers accountable for both the cost and quality of care will hopefully reduce poor care and reward high performing providers. This survey that the patients participate in gives a report card on how a hospital is doing per the patient’s perspective. It also is an incentive program for the hospitals to improve their quality of care. (HCAHPS, 2013) There were three goals that shaped HCAHPS survey. First, it was designed to compare date on patients’ perception...
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...1.2. LEADERSHIP THEORIES – FROM GREAT MAN THEORY TO TRANSACTIONAL THEORY A review of the leadership literature reveals an evolving series of 'schools of thought' from “Great Man” and “Trait” theories to “Transformational” leadership (see table). Whilst early theories tend to focus upon the characteristics and behaviours of successful leaders, later theories begin to consider the role of followers and the contextual nature of leadership. * Great man theories. This theory is based on the belief that leaders are extraordinary people, born with innate qualities, destined to lead by nature. The utilization of the term 'man' was made by purpose since until the latter part of the twentieth century leadership was thought of as a concept which is primarily male, military and Western. This first approach led to the next school of Trait Theories. * Trait theories - The lists of traits or qualities associated with leadership exist in abundance and continue to be produced. They draw on virtually all the adjectives in the dictionary which describe some positive or virtuous human attribute, from ambition to zest for life. * Behaviourist Theories - These concentrate on what leaders actually do rather than on their qualities. Different patterns of behaviour are observed and categorised as 'styles of leadership'. This area has probably attracted most attention from practising managers * Situational Leadership - This approach sees leadership as specific to the situation in which...
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...Organizational Leadership Name Institutional Affiliation Introduction The term paper will cover the summative learning about the broad topic of organizational leadership. The paper will tackle the real organizational leadership aspects and state how important concepts, rules, and rules can be applied when correcting the problems of a given organization selected by the student. This paper will also give a case study on decision making in a specific organization selected by the student and give the solutions that can be set by the given company selected by the student. The paper will also illustrate a theoretical framework for organizational decision making. The selected topic for this term paper is organizational leadership. This topic is significant as it addresses organizational problems and challenges that the firms face and tries to give alternative remedies for those challenges. This topic is broad and helps managers in achieving the required level of production that is set for them by the board of directors and the top most managers. Although the majority of the organizations enjoy huge and healthy profits in their investments, optimal profits cannot be attained if they don't invest in organizational leadership (Zaccaro and Klimoski, 2001). This implies that the organizational decisions made by both the middle level and the top managers influence the productivity of the organization to a larger extent. The topic was also selected to give the student...
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...The Best Leader The Best Leader In my lifetime, I have come a crossed many leaders. Some of them who were in management and some who were not. Picking the best leader that I have been exposed to was not an easy task, as each one of them has been instrumental in shaping me into the leader that I have become today. They all possessed individual traits, skills, and tactics that were necessary as an effective leader. Each one also had specific theories of effective leadership that explained why I believe that they were the “best leader” that I have been exposed to. They all had leadership behaviors that could be described by certain theories of leadership that provided me with guidelines for effective leadership. The one leader that stands out the most for me is my English and Drama teacher in high school. He had been teaching for nearly 30 years when I had the pleasure to take his classes. He was the leader that brought me out of my shell and showed me that I could do anything that I set my mind to. It was his traits, skills, and tactics as a leader that helped me secure my first management job. I obtained this position when I was a senior in high school and still attending his class. Let us take a look at the specific traits, skills and tactics present in him as a leader and why they are necessary for me as a leader. We will then take a look at the leadership theories that explains why I saw him as the “best leader” that I have been exposed to. Lastly, we will take a look at...
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