Exam 12: Leadership

Adrian Atwood, a senior manager at MNC, spends a lot of his time assigning group members to particular tasks and scheduling their work such that deadlines are achievable. Adrian also sets high expectations for standards of performance and holds regular meetings to ensure that productivity and quality are up to the mark. In the light of the Ohio State Studies, this indicates that Adrian, as a leader, is ________.

Which of the following Big Five personality traits has been identified as the most important trait in effective leaders?

Which of the following is true with regard to online leadership?

Charismatic leadership places somewhat more emphasis on the way leaders communicate (are they passionate and dynamic?), while transformational leadership focuses more on what they are communicating (is it a compelling vision?).

In the context of Fiedler's model, the situational dimension termed ________ relates to the degree of influence a leader has over important variables such as hiring, firing, discipline, promotions, and salary increases.

Explain mentoring with reference to the dimensions of initiating structure and consideration.

The CEO of Xenon Solutions recently cancelled numerous leave requests and asked several employees to put in extra days of work as the company was slated to meet several deadlines in the immediate future. In addition, he also assured that those who work this extra bit will be given their due leaves and additional incentives once the time crisis had passed. Following this announcement, Joan and Shane were overheard speaking in the cafeteria. Shane was resentful that his holiday plans were disrupted, and he was sure that the management would ultimately not provide any of the leaves and incentives it promised. Joan, however, said that she was sure that their CEO had a valid reason behind making such a request and that if they put in the extra effort, they would be rewarded suitably. From the information provided in the scenario, which of the following statements can be inferred?

The top management of Myers Corp are planning a reorganization of their company to cut costs and increase efficiency. The different department heads have been asked to present their departmental strengths, needs, and concerns at a meeting. The various division heads have come to an agreement that clarity of goals and tasks, detailed procedural guidelines like employee manuals, and a cooperative workforce are their main strengths. Additionally, they are of the opinion that cutting managerial positions to reduce costs and reorganizing Myers Corp as a relatively flat organization is a good approach. This scenario reflects the operation of ________ in replacing the support and ability offered by leaders.

The HR department at Basic Elements, a software development firm, has begun testing employee personality and preferences to reorganize their teams such that team members and leaders are matched. They believe that this will enable them to ensure smooth functioning and greater cohesion. As a part of this test, employees were given the least preferred co-worker questionnaire. The employees were asked to think of all the co-workers they had in the past and describe the one they least enjoyed working with by rating that person on a scale of 1 to 8 for each of 16 sets of contrasting adjectives. Rachel's LPC score was high, while Victor's was low. Many employees like Ashley had LPC scores that were moderate. Interpret and compare the results of Rachel, Victor, and Ashley.

In the context of behavioral dimensions of leadership identified in the Ohio State Studies, ________ is the extent to which a person's job relationships are characterized by mutual trust, respect for employees' ideas, and regard for their feelings.

Lionel Tucker has been asked to lead a virtual team on a project with a tight time schedule. While allocating the project to him, his manager impressed upon him the need to complete this project successfully and in time so that this client gains enough confidence to use their services in the future. Lionel and his team communicate via e-mail as the team members are located at geographically dispersed locations. They have not had even one face-to-face meeting as yet. In this case, Lionel must have an ability to ________ in addition to all the other desirable abilities of a leader to lead the team successfully.

Trevor Guerney is a manager who believes that those who are to be affected by a change must be involved in the change. Consequently, he always ensures that his subordinates have the knowledge of what is happening around them, and he often holds meetings to obtain employee opinion and suggestions before making any decision that would apply to them. Similarly, Trevor's team proactively approaches him with problems and potential solutions as they know he will not respond by criticizing them. From the information provided in the scenario, we can say that ________.

Charismatic leadership is a manifestation of innate traits, and it cannot be learned or enhanced.

Leslie is a middle-level production manager at the California branch of ALT Corp. ALT Corp. is an automobile manufacturing company that specializes in the manufacture of heavy motor vehicles. Leslie's job is to supervise his assembly line employees. Leslie has worked in this position for over four years, and he strongly believes that a supportive leadership style is most suitable in his context. -Which of the following, if true, would strengthen Leslie's approach to leadership in this case?

A transactional leader is likely to ________.

Transformational leaders enhance performance of employees by ________.

Which of the following theories of leadership is based on situational variables?

If a leader's main concern is accomplishing his or her group's tasks, the University of Michigan studies label this leader ________.

The ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals can arise outside the formal structure of the organization.

What is servant leadership?