Keeping people motivated in a tough economic environment
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You were recently appointed as a new manager. You face a number of issues in your new position. Please address each.
The previous manager used a transactional leadership approach, which has been relatively ineffective. Evaluate one leadership style and describe which you would take.
An experienced executive assistant discovered that she made the same amount of money as a newly hired janitor. Consider the role the human resources department plays in driving organization performance. What HR strategies would you employ to address this?
To keep people motivated in a tough economic environment, the company has shifted from annual to semiannual bonuses. Do you think offering semiannual bonuses is a good way to motivate the kind of behaviors organizations need to survive the economic downturn? What might be some potential problems associated with this approach? What other strategies would you use?
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Solution Summary
Leadership is a critical issue especially in economically depressed business environments. This solution examines various models of leadership and identifies which model has the ability to motivate employees to their full potential. This solution contains in text citations, and references.
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1. The previous manager used a transactional leadership approach, which has been relatively ineffective. Evaluate one leadership style and describe which you would take.
The transactional (management) theory leadership approach postulates that leadership is based on the carrot and the stick model i.e. punishment and reward (Yukl, 2010). The problem with transactional leadership is that it based on incentives which are cognitive rewards, and passive management by exception which is corrective action and punishment (Yukl, 2010).
The participative leadership approach is a much more positive and self-empowering leadership theory. The concept behind participative leadership is something that is shared rather than possessed by a dictatorial leader. Empowerment, cooperation, and collaboration are the maxims of this leadership theory (Nahavandi, 2009). Though, the participative leader elicits collaboration from subordinates he or she does not relinquish formal authority for the decision-making process (Nahavandi, 2009). Thus, creating an environment in which leadership power is diversified however, leadership authority for decision-making remains with the manager.
2. An experienced executive assistant discovered that she made the same amount of money as a newly hired janitor. Consider the role the human resources department plays in driving organization performance. What HR strategies would you employ to address this?
This is an unfortunate situation which occurs all too often. However, once the information has been distributed, it is a situation that must be addressed by HR. Compensation is a dynamic element within organizations. ...
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