BUAD 309 Chapter 12
Leadership is best defined as ________.
A) the ability to merely project one's abilities in the lack of actual accomplishments
B) the ability to reduce the dependence of team members on each other
C) the ability to induce the team members to focus on individual goals rather than
collective goals
D) the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals
E) the ability to use factors like training and experience to reduce dependence on formal
leadership
Leadership can be defined as the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of
a vision or set of goals. Leaders can emerge from within a group as well as by formal
appointment.
Which of the following statements regarding leadership is true?
A) All managers are leaders.
B) Formal rights ensure good leadership.
C) Formal appointment is essential in creating leaders.
D) All leaders are hierarchically superior to followers.
E) Nonsanctioned leadership is as important as formal influence.
The source of a leader's influence may be formal, such as that provided by managerial
rank in an organization. But not all leaders are managers, nor, for that matter, are all
managers leaders. Just because an organization provides its managers with certain
formal rights is no assurance they will lead effectively. Nonsanctioned leadership — the
ability to influence that arises outside the formal structure of the organization — is often
as important or more important than formal influence.
Which of the following is a desirable feature of leadership?
A) one-directional influence from the leader to the follower
B) coercive power and authority
C) lack of freedom
D) passivity of followers
E) coexistence of leaders and managers
Organizations need strong leadership and strong management for optimal
effectiveness. We need leaders today to challenge the status quo, create visions of the
future, and inspire organizational members to want to achieve the visions. We also need
managers to formulate detailed plans, create efficient organizational structures, and
oversee day-to-day operations.
,Trait theories of leadership focus on ________.
A) the special relationship that leaders establish with a small group of their followers
B) the personal qualities and characteristics that differentiate leaders from nonleaders
C) the way the leader makes decisions
D) the extent to which followers are willing and able to accomplish a specific task
E) the match between the leader's style and the degree to which the situation gives the
leader control
Trait theories of leadership focus on personal qualities and characteristics. The search
for personality, social, physical, or intellectual attributes that differentiate leaders from
nonleaders goes back to the earliest stages of leadership research.
Which of the following Big Five personality traits has been identified as the most
important trait in effective leaders?
A) conscientiousness
B) openness
C) extraversion
D) agreeableness
E) emotional stability
A comprehensive review of leadership literature, when organized around the Big Five,
has found extraversion to be the most important trait of effective leaders but more
strongly related to leader emergence than to leader effectiveness. Conscientiousness
and openness to experience also showed strong relationships to leadership, though not
quite as strong as extraversion.
Emotional intelligence (EI) is critical to effective leadership because one of its core
components is ________ which reflects the consideration that leaders must be able to
express.
A) conscientiousness
B) empathy
C) optimism
D) introversion
E) perfectionism
A core component of EI is empathy. Empathetic leaders can sense others' needs, listen
to what followers say (and don't say), and read the reactions of others. The caring part
of empathy, especially for the people with whom you work, is what inspires people to
stay with a leader when the going gets rough.
Trait theories most accurately predict ________.
,A) distinguishing features of an effective leader
B) differences between an effective and an ineffective leader
C) success of a leader
D) roles to be played by the leader
E) emergence of a leader
Traits are more accurate in predicting the emergence of leaders and the appearance of
leadership than actually distinguishing between effective and ineffective leaders.
Tim Wrench was leading the client services division of AmWeb for seven years when he
was asked to move to another region where the company was setting up its office.
Before moving, Tim was asked to help in finding a successor for him from his team.
Tim's most obvious choice was Judy Judge and the management accepted his choice
as Judy was a popular person across the company. Judy was known for her vivacious
nature, she was often seen speaking to employees from various divisions, and was
always excited to take up a new opportunity. Once she became a leader, she continued
to give employees freedom and flexibility even if it resulted in deficiencies on the work
front like missed deadlines or low quality. Judy's initial weeks as a leader were full of
confusion among her team members, but many felt that the situation would come under
control. When things did not improve in the next two months and many complaints
poured in from clients, the management realized that Judy was not the best candidate
to lead the team. Which of the following, if true, would best explain this outcome?
A) Judy was a high-performing employee and enjoyed good relationships with everyone
on the team.
B) Everyone felt Judy was given insufficient time to prove her worth as a leader.
C) Research has shown that traits can predict the emergence of a leader, but not
his/her efficiency as a leader.
D) The client complaints were a common thing encountered by the company.
E) Judy demonstrated low levels of consideration and high levels of task-orientation.
The fact that Judy was a high-performing employee and enjoyed good relationships with
everyone on the team does not explain this outcome. The fact that everyone felt that
Judy was given insufficient time to prove her worth as a leader does not explain this
outcome. The fact that research has shown that traits can predict the emergence of a
leader, but not his/her efficiency as a leader does explain this outcome. Traits are more
accurate in predicting the emergence of leaders and the appearance of leadership than
actually distinguishing between effective and ineffective leaders. The fact that client
complaints were a common thing encountered by the company does not explain Judy's
failure as a leader. The fact that Judy demonstrated low levels of consideration and high
levels of task-orientation as a leader does not explain her failure in leading the team.
The Ohio State Studies narrowed the independent dimensions of leader behavior to two
that substantially accounted for most of the leadership behavior described by
employees: consideration and ________.
, A) employee-orientation
B) empathy
C) constructing vision
D) initiating structure
E) charisma
Seeking to identify independent dimensions of leader behavior, the Ohio State Studies
determined that two dimensions accounted for most effective leadership behavior:
initiating structure and consideration. Initiating structure is the extent to which leaders
are likely to define and structure their roles and those of their employees in the search
for goal attainment. Consideration is the extent to which a leader's job relationships are
characterized by mutual trust, respect for employees' ideas, and regard for their
feelings.
In the context of behavioral dimensions of leadership identified in the Ohio State
Studies, initiating structure refers to the extent to which ________.
A) a person's job relationships are characterized by mutual trust, respect for employees'
ideas, and regard for their feelings
B) a leader engages in participative management
C) a leader is accepting of and respects individual differences among various team
members
D) a leader is likely to define and organize his or her role and those of employees in the
search for goal attainment
E) a leader initiates efforts to communicate personally with employees
As a behavioral dimension of leaders, initiating structure is the extent to which a leader
is likely to define and structure his or her role and those of employees in the search for
goal attainment. It includes behavior that attempts to organize work, work relationships,
and goals.
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 ________.
A) low in task orientation
B) high in consideration
C) relationship oriented
D) employee oriented
E) high in initiating structure
Initiating structure is the extent to which a leader is likely to define and structure his or
her role and those of employees in the search for goal attainment. It includes behavior
that attempts to organize work, work relationships, and goals. A leader high in initiating
