Leadership and Change Management for Regulatory Environment

Question: Discuss about theLeadership and Change Management for Regulatory Environment. Answer: Introduction The current business scenario is much more challenging than it looks like. This is due to the reason that, there are various factors to be considered for the contemporary business organizations. One of the key challenging factors for the business organizations is the intense competition in the market. In addition, there are various and different environmental factors such as global regulatory environment and economic environment are also to be considered by the business organizations in determining their effectiveness in the market (Habib, 2013). Majority of the contemporary business organizations concentrates more on their human resources in order to gain competitive advantages from them (Lin Wu, 2014). This is due to the reason that the more skilled will be the employees, the more will be their effectiveness in dealing with the organizational challenges. In this case, one of the factors that should be maintained in maintaining the effectiveness of the employees is the leadership styles and approaches. Leaders are one who is responsible to enhance the effectiveness and engagement of the employees in the workplace. However, there are various types and approaches of leadership styles being followed. Each one of them is applicable for different circumstances and situations. This essay will discuss about the different principles and approaches of leadership stated by different authors. Literature review will be done in order to critically evaluate the opinions of different scholars. Relation between motivation and leadership Before starting of the discussion regarding the different approaches of the leadership styles, it is important to determine the relationship between the motivation and leadership (Felfe Schyns, 2014). This is important due to the reason that, motivating the employees in their workplace is one of the core objectives of leaders. Maslows hierarchy theory will be used in order to determine the importance of motivation for the effectiveness of the employees and the roles played by the leadership in it. Figure: 1 Maslows theory of motivation According to the need theory of Maslow, there are few steps to be maintained by the organizations in order to fulfill the need of their employees and motivate them in their workplace (Taormina Gao, 2013). Safety need in the given model refers to the financial stability of the employees along with having the job security. Thus, in this case, it is the responsibility of the leaders to make the employees skilled enough to survive in the organizations. Moreover, the leaders should also consider of financial benefit for the employees in order make them financially stable (Jerome, 2013). On the other hand, lack of effective leadership approach will not meet these needs and it will cause reduction in the morale and motivation of the employees (Yidong Xinxin, 2013). According to Taormina and Gao (2013), the need for recognition, promotion and self confidence of the employees are also to be met by the leaders. This is due to the reason that, employees will feel motivated in their workplace only when they will be given proper facilities of promotion and when their good performance will be recognized. Thus, according to the authors, leaders should be effective enough to be ethical in recognizing the contribution of the employees along with providing and equipping them with all the facilities in order to enhance their self confidence. Therefore it can be concluded that the approach of the organization towards meeting the needs of the employees is depended on the approach or principles of leadership being initiated. It can also be concluded that the more effective will be the approach of the leadership, the more will be the effectiveness of the organization in motivating and engaging the employees (Concchie, 2013). Theories of leadership There are various theories of leadership being discussed by different authors. Each one of these theories is having different approaches and is applicable for different situations. Moreover, authors have given more importance on some particular theories over others. The following sections will discuss about the different theories of leadership as stated by various authors. Transactional leadership theory Transactional style of leadership refers to the mixture of positive and negative motivation initiated for the employees by the leaders. For instance, employees will be able to earn reward for the good performance and will also face punishment in case of negative practices. Thus, the employees will avoid doing any negative practices and they will be more aligned towards performing better. According to Hamstra, Van Yperen, Wisse and Sassenberg (2014), initiation of the transactional leadership in the organization helps in effectively achieving the objectives and goals. They have also stated that initiation of the transactional leadership will help the leaders to have followers rather than just having subordinates. However, there are some other authors also who have given opinion against the concept of the transactional leadership. According to Tyssen, Wald and Spieth (2014), organization will face various challenges in implementing the transactional leadership in the organizations. This is due to the reason that, employees are belonging from different social and cultural backgrounds and thus they are having different requirements and expectations. Thus, if one particular employee can be motivated by providing financial reward then the other employees may not get attracted by financial benefits. Therefore according to the authors, leaders with having the approach of transactional leadership will face the difficulty in dealing with the different and diverse requirements of the employees. Transformational leadership theory This theory or style of leadership is being considered as one of the most effective leadership approaches for the contemporary business organizations. Leaders with having this approach concentrates more on the effective communication with the employees and make them involved in the decision making process. Moreover, these leaders are having the power of future predictions and they are being able to drive the organizations in accordance to that. Former CEO of Apple Inc. Steve Jobs is being considered as one of the most notable transformational leaders. Due to his style of leadership, Apple is being able to introduce one of a kind product in the market and is known for their innovative cultures. According to Avolio and Yammarino (2013), transformational leadership or charismatic leadership is one of the most effective ways to motivate and engage the employees in their workplace. According to them, initiation of the transformational leadership style helps the employees to stay in connection with the upper level management. Thus, effective communication process in the organization helps to properly communicate their issues and challenges to the top level management. Moreover, the involvement of the employees in the decision making process, further helps to engage them in their workplace. Employees feel more motivated and engaged when they are being leaded by the personal charisma of the leaders. However, in terms of the transformational leadership also, there are number of views against it being presented. As stated by Tourish (2013), initiation of the transformational leadership may also have negative impact on the effectiveness of the organization. According to them, transformational leadership may lead to the employees taking the upper level management for granted. Moreover, the author has also stated that option for the employees to provide their opinion in the decision making process may increase the complexities. This is due to the reason that, opinion from different employees will be diverse in nature and it will be difficult to create consensus in the decision making process. Autocratic leadership theory Autocratic leadership can be termed as the most extreme types of leadership for the business organizations. This is due to the reason that autocratic style of leadership refers to the directive style where upper level management will have the final call in the organizational affairs and the employees will not have their own opinion. They just have the follow the direction of the top level management. Though, majority of the authors are against this style, but there are some sort of advantages also being gained by the organization from the initiation of the autocratic style of leadership. According to De Hoogh, Greer and Den Hartog (2015), initiation of the autocratic leadership will help in enhancing the team performance. This is due to the reason that, autocratic and directive style of leadership will help to manage the employees according to the vision of the upper level management. Moreover, another quality of autocratic leaders is that they face fewer challenges in creating consensus in the decision making process. Therefore, according to the authors, autocratic types of leadership will be more beneficial and applicable in the case where employees are having lower skills and they are in the need direction. Regardless of these disadvantages of the autocratic style of leadership, according to the Rast, Hogg and Giessner (2013), autocratic leadership will have negative impact on the organization in terms of employee turnover and motivation. This is due to the reason that, initiation of the autocratic leadership will create barrier for the employees to have their opinion in the organizational affairs. Thus, if the issues and challenges being faced by the employees are not being solved, then it will be difficult to maintain their effectiveness in the workplace. In addition, the authors have also stated that if the opinions and feedback of the employee are not being considered then the rate of employees turnover will get increased, which will lead to the loss of competitive advantages. Leadership theories and principles Different approaches of the leadership are being discussed in the above sections. Hence, this essay will now discuss about the principles and theories of leadership being stated by different authors. This will help to determine the ideal qualities of the leaders. Path goal theory Alanazi, Alharthey and Rasli (2013), stated that initiation of the path goal theory will help the leaders in the organization to guide their employees in achieving the core goals or objectives. Path goal theory of leadership stated that it is the responsibility of the leaders to guide the employees and equip them with all the required amenities in helping them to achieve the objectives. Thus, according to the authors, providing the guidance to the employees is one of key qualities of an ideal leader. However, in this article, it is also being discussed that initiation of the path goal theory is also having disadvantages for the organization. One of the key disadvantages is the requirement for diverse and varied guidance for the employees. Thus, it may get difficult for the leaders to provide different guidance to different set of employees. This will ultimately affect the process of achieving goals and objectives. Contingency theory There are various theories in relation to the contingency given by different authors. One of the most effective contingency theories is given by Fred Fiedler (2015). According to him, leadership style will not be effective only with the chosen particular style but also it depends on surrounding situation of the organization. The author has also stated that it is important for the leaders to be flexible enough in order to align their leadership approach with that of the practical situation. Thus, it is the quality of an ideal leader to have this flexibility. They should have the capability to promote autocratic or transformational style of leadership based on the situation. This quality is considered as one of the most effective qualities for an ideal leader due to the reason that an ideal leader should have the ability to lead the employees in every situation. Behavioral theories According to Popper (2013), behavior of the leaders also determines their effectiveness. According to the author, leaders can be further classified in to two groups. One type of leaders are more concerned and oriented towards the job and another one is more concerned and oriented towards employees. Thus, according to the author, leaders who are more concern with the job are more likely opt for autocratic leadership. This is due to the reason that, these leaders are not concerned with the welfare of the employees. On the other hand, the author also stated that leaders who are more concerned with the welfare of the employees are more likely opt for the transformational style of leadership. This is due to the reason that, according to these leaders, if the welfare of the employees can be considered then the employees will be motivated and engaged enough to deliver good performance. Thus, from this theory, it can be concluded that behavior of the leaders is one of the key qualities of th em. Principles of leaders Apart from the theories and approaches of leadership, there are various principles of leadership, which also should be considered in determining the effectiveness of the leadership. Few of the principles to be considered by the leaders are being discussed by Burian, Burian, Francis and Pieffer (2014). According to them, it is important for the leaders to first determine their effectiveness along with their key strengths and weaknesses. This is due to the reason that, if the leaders are having the knowledge about their attributes, then it will be easy for them to design their approaches accordingly. These authors have also stated that an ideal leader should have the proper knowledge about the job they are going to lead. This is important due to the reason that, if the leaders are not having the knowledge about the particular job, then they will not being able to determine the effectiveness of the employees along with guiding them to achieve the goal (Donate de Pablo, 2015). Another principle that should be considered by the leaders is the importance of effective communication. This is also important due to the reason that effective communication will only help the leaders to have connection with the employees (Johansson, Miller Hamrin, 2014). Thus, it will be beneficial for them to determine the issues and challenges being faced by the employees. The authors have also stated that an ideal leader should have the capability of setting examples. Leading by examples is one of the key characteristics of the leadership roles. This will have positive implications on the employees and they will have the idea about what will be going to happen if they perform better. The last principle stated by the authors for the leaders is the capability to take sound decisions. This is important due to the reason that if the leaders do not have the ability to take effective decisions, then they will not be able to guide the employees. Moreover, in that case they will also face difficultly in creating consensus in the decision making process (Ford Richardson, 2013). Conclusion Thus, from the above discussion and critical analysis, it can be concluded that there are various factors that should be considered by the leaders. In addition, it is also being concluded that there are various approaches or styles of leadership, which all are having both advantages and disadvantages. Thus, it is based on the situation and other factors to determine the effectiveness of the particular style of leadership. This essay also discussed about the various theories of leadership relevant in the current business scenario along with the principles to be considered by the leaders. It is discussed in this essay that there is direct relationship between motivation of the employees and the leadership roles. Thus, this essay concludes that leadership roles in the organizations should be effective and flexible in nature in order to suit with different situations and drive the organizational success. Reference Alanazi, T. R., Alharthey, B. K., Rasli, A. (2013). Overview of path-goal leadership theory.Sains Humanika,64(2). Avolio, B. J., Yammarino, F. J. (Eds.). (2013). Introduction to, and overview of, transformational and charismatic leadership. InTransformational and Charismatic Leadership: The Road Ahead 10th Anniversary Edition(pp. xxvii-xxxiii). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Burian, P. E., Burian, P. S., Francis, R., Pieffer, M. A. (2014). Principles driven leadership: Thoughts, observations and conceptual model.International Journal of Management Information Systems (Online),18(1), 1. Conchie, S. M. (2013). Transformational leadership, intrinsic motivation, and trust: A moderated-mediated model of workplace safety. Journal of occupational health psychology, 18(2), 198. De Hoogh, A. H., Greer, L. L., Den Hartog, D. N. (2015). Diabolical dictators or capable commanders? An investigation of the differential effects of autocratic leadership on team performance.The Leadership Quarterly,26(5), 687-701. Donate, M. J., de Pablo, J. D. S. (2015). The role of knowledge-oriented leadership in knowledge management practices and innovation.Journal of Business Research,68(2), 360-370. Felfe, J., Schyns, B. (2014). Romance of leadership and motivation to lead. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 29(7), 850-865. Fiedler, F. R. E. D. (2015). Contingency theory of leadership.Organizational Behavior 1: Essential Theories of Motivation and Leadership,232, 01-2015. Ford, R. C., Richardson, W. D. (2013). Ethical decision making: A review of the empirical literature. InCitation classics from the Journal of Business Ethics(pp. 19-44). Springer, Dordrecht. Habib, M. N. (2013). Understanding critical success and failure factors of business process reengineering.International Review of Management and Business Research,2(1), 1. Hamstra, M.R., Van Yperen, N.W., Wisse, B. Sassenberg, K., (2014). Transformational and transactional leadership and followers achievement goals.Journal of Business and Psychology,29(3), pp.413-425. Jerome, N. (2013). Application of the Maslows hierarchy of need theory; impacts and implications on organizational culture, human resource and employees performance. International Journal of Business and Management Invention, 2(3), 39-45. Johansson, C., D. Miller, V., Hamrin, S. (2014). Conceptualizing communicative leadership: A framework for analysing and developing leaders communication competence. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 19(2), 147-165. Lin, Y., Wu, L. Y. (2014). Exploring the role of dynamic capabilities in firm performance under the resource-based view framework.Journal of business research,67(3), 407-413. Popper, M. (2013). Leaders perceived as distant and close. Some implications for psychological theory on leadership.The Leadership Quarterly,24(1), 1-8. Rast III, D. E., Hogg, M. A., Giessner, S. R. (2013). Self-uncertainty and support for autocratic leadership.Self and Identity,12(6), 635-649. Taormina, R. J., Gao, J. H. (2013). Maslow and the motivation hierarchy: Measuring satisfaction of the needs. The American journal of psychology, 126(2), 155-177. Tourish, D. (2013). The dark side of transformational leadership: A critical perspective.Development and Learning in Organizations,28(1). Tyssen, A. K., Wald, A., Spieth, P. (2014). The challenge of transactional and transformational leadership in projects.International Journal of Project Management,32(3), 365-375. Yidong, T., Xinxin, L. (2013). How ethical leadership influence employees innovative work behavior: A perspective of intrinsic motivation. Journal of Business Ethics, 116(2), 441-455.