Revision question

Identify the following words as terminal and

instrumental values
Well mannered
Forgiving
Hardworking
Protection from attack
Independence
1
09/27/2024 HRM CH 1@Bekele Shibru (PhD)
Organizational Behavior Ch. III part II

Group property
Most group activities requires a variety of skills and
knowledge
Heterogeneous groups more likely to have divers
abilities and information and should be more
effective.
Diverse in terms of personality, gender, age,
education, functional specialization, and
experience , there is an increased probability to
Team Effectiveness Model

Context
 Adequate resource
 Leadership & structure
 Climate of trust
 Performance
evaluation
Composition Team
 Personality
 Ability of members
Effectiveness
 Diversity
 Size of teams

Process
 Common purpose
 Specific goals
 Team efficacy
 Social loafing
Organizational Behavior Ch. III part II

Communication:
Communication is vital to organizations—it’s how we
coordinate actions and achieve goals.
It is defined as a process by which information is exchanged
between individuals through a common system of symbols,
signs, or behavior.
The social process in which two or more parties exchange
information and share meaning
In business, poor communication costs money and
wastes time.
Organizational Behavior Ch. III part II

Communication
Fulfills three main functions within an organization:
coordination, transmission of information, and sharing
emotions and feelings.
All these functions are vital to a successful organization.
The coordination of effort within an organization helps
people work toward the same goals.
Transmitting information is a vital part of this process.
Sharing emotions and feelings bonds teams and unites
people in times.
 Organizational Behavior Ch. III part II
Communication:
Purpose
• Achieve coordinated action
• Information sharing
• Express feelings and emotions
Functions of communication
Communication serves: control,
motivation, emotional expression,
and information
The Communication Process Model
Importance of Communication
1. The Basis of Co-ordination
2. Fluent Working
3. The Basis of Decision Making
4. Increases Managerial
Efficiency
5. Increases Cooperation and
Organizational Peace
6. Boosts Morale of the
Employees
Organizational Behavior Ch. III part II

Direction of Communication
Downward communication
Flow from group or/organization to lower level
Reason for the decision made
Upward communication
Information flows to higher level
keep managers aware employees feeling about their job, coworkers
and the organization
Horizontal communication
Conducted among members of the same position
Managers at same level or horizontally equivalent employees
Organizational Behavior Ch. III part II

Barriers to effective communication

Filtering… subordinate telling what managers need
Selective perception…receiver hears selectively
Information overload..more information to sort
Emotions…the same message interpreted differently
Language…use of language is not uniform
Silence…employee silence brings operational problem
Lying…deliberately withholding information
 Organizational Behavior Ch. III part II

Communication strategy
Employers should begin by linking communication to the strategic plan,
organization's mission, vision and values; its strategic goals and objectives;
and its employment brand.
Effective communication strategies:
Safeguard credibility to establish loyalty and build trust.
Maintain consistency to establish a strong employment brand.
Listen to employees and to members of the leadership team.
Seek input from all constituencies.
Provide feedback.
Prepare managers in their roles as organizational leaders.
Organizational Behavior Ch. III part II

Effective communication is a building block of

successful organizations. Communication acts as
organizational blood.
All managers and employees need to be aware of how
people behave in order to provide the best working
environment.
Organizational behavior is about how people may be
motivated to work together in more effective ways.
Experience based question

1. Have you seen the communication process

break down at work? Share your experience to
the class
2. Explain the purpose of these three types of
communication
Downward
Upward
Horizontal
Organizational Behavior Ch. III part II

Leadership in organizations
What is the source of influence?
There are many sources of power in leadership such as position,
personal attributes, knowledge, and expertise
The ability to influence that arise outside of the informal
structure of the organization-is often as important or more
important than formal influence.
Thus, leader can emerge from within a group as well as by
formal appointment
Organizational Behavior Ch. III part II

Theory of leadership
Trait Theory
Theories that consider personal qualities and
characteristics that differentiate leaders from non leaders
The trait theory of leadership suggests that certain
inborn or innate qualities and characteristics make
someone a leader.
These qualities might be personality factors, physical
factors, intelligence factors, and so on.
 Organizational Behavior Ch. III part II

Theory of leadership
Trait Theory
In essence, trait theory proposes that the leader and leaders’ traits are
central to an organisation’s success.
The assumption here is that finding people with the right traits will increase
organisational performance.
Trait theory focuses exclusively on the leader and neglects the follower.
The cumulative findings from more than half a century of research lead to
conclude that some traits increase the likelihood of success, but none of the
traits guarantee success
There are no universal traits that predict leadership in all situations
Organizational Behavior Ch. III part II

Behavioral theories
Behavioural theory is a leadership theory that is a big jump
from Trait Theory & argues that the basis of a successful
leader is his/her behaviour & not his or her natural attributes.
Behavioral leadership theory is a management philosophy that
evaluates leaders according to the actions they display in the
workplace.
Supporters of this theory believe that all you need to do to be an
effective leader is to learn a certain set of behaviors.
Behavioral leadership theory argues that the success of a leader is
based on their behavior rather than their natural attributes.
Organizational Behavior Ch. III part II

Behavioral theories
Behavioral leadership theory involves observing and
evaluating a leader's actions and behaviors when they are
responding to a specific situation.
This theory believes that leaders are made, not born.
Proponents of this theory suggest that anyone can become
an effective leader if they can learn and implement certain
behaviors.
Organizational Behavior Ch. III part II

Behavioral theories
Behavioral theories of leadership propose specific
behaviors differentiating leaders from non leaders
If trait theories are valid, then leaders are born rather than
made
On the other hand, if there were specific behaviors that
identified leaders, then we could teach leadership
If training worked, we could have countless supply of
effective leaders
Organizational Behavior Ch. III part II

Contingency theory
Effective leadership is one of the most attractive qualities in
an employee.
There are dozens of theories that argue which leadership
style is best suited for improving team productivity and
maintaining employee morale.
The contingency theory of leadership focuses on how
specific situations affect a leader’s effectiveness and how a
leader’s ability to adapt can be their most important tool in
the workplace.
Organizational Behavior Ch. III part II

Contingency theory
The contingency theory of leadership supposes that a leader’s
effectiveness is contingent on whether or not their leadership style
suits a particular situation.
According to this theory, an individual can be an effective leader in one
circumstance and an ineffective leader in another one.
To maximize the likelihood of being a productive leader, this theory
posits that you should be able to examine each situation and decide if
your leadership style is going to be effective or not.
In most cases, this requires you to be self-aware, objective and
adaptable.
Organizational Behavior Ch. III part II

Contingency theory in the workplace

In the workplace, there are dozens of factors that can affect a leader’s
effectiveness.
These include things like the size of the team, the scope of a project
and the expected delivery date for a result.
Different leaders, each with unique leadership styles, will respond to these
variables in different ways.
Contingency theorists would say that no matter how successful a leader is,
there will always be a particular situation that will challenge them.
Therefore, leaders must be willing to acknowledge the fact that their
success depends partially on their circumstances in addition to their
personal skills.
Organizational Behavior Ch. III part II

Contingency theory
The failure by researchers to obtain consistent result lead
to a focus on situational influence
The relationship between leadership style and
effectiveness need to be based on conditions
Fiedler Model
Propose that effective group performance depends on the
proper match between the leaders style and the degree
to which the situation gives control to the leader
Organizational Behavior Ch. III part II

Leader-member exchange theory (LMX)

Have you noticed that leaders often act very differently
toward different people?
Did the leader tend to have favorites who made up “in
group”?
Leaders establish special relationship with small group of
their followers (in group) that get more trust than others
Other followers fall into out group (only formal relation)
In-group Followers will have higher performance ratings,
lower turnover, greater satisfaction.
Organizational Behavior Ch. III part II

Path-Goal theory
 The path goal theory of leadership states that a leader’s
traits and behaviors can directly affect the satisfaction,
motivation, and performance of their team members.
 How successful a leader is can be determined by their
ability to promote the contentment, goals, and skills of
their subordinates.
 Leaders should be flexible enough to complement their
team members and make up for their shortcomings with
certain leadership styles.
Organizational Behavior Ch. III part II

Ways to apply path goal theory

Directive
This leadership style identifies clear objectives for the
present and the future.
It’s mainly based on the workplace structure and is very
task-oriented.
Here, the leader takes a more active role and sets definite
expectations for goals and performance.
Organizational Behavior Ch. III part II

Ways to apply path goal theory

 Supportive
 In this and the following styles, things like respect, trust,
and association among team members are considered.
 Team leaders are approachable and should show sincere
concern for their team members’ problems.
 Providing training naturally falls into the scope of
supporting others
Organizational Behavior Ch. III part II

Ways to apply path goal theory

Participative
 When we use participative path goal theory in the training
sessions, we give our employees a way to engage with the
training program by involving them in goal setting.
 This leadership style relies heavily on input and feedback,
so encourage them to create notes, share courses, and
give opinions to each other.
Organizational Behavior Ch. III part II

Ways to apply path goal theory

Achievement-oriented
This achievement-oriented behavior is used by leaders
who demand a lot from their team members.
It’s often also referred as the theory of goal-setting.
For this strategy to be effective, leaders must project
confidence in their team’s ability to overcome
obstacles.
Organizational Behavior Ch. III part II

Environmental
Path-Goal theory contingency factor
Task structure
Formal authority system
Work group

Outcomes
Leader Performance
Behavior satisfaction
Directive
Participative
Achievement oriented Personal
Supportive characteristics
Locus of control
Experience
Perceived ability
Summary question

What do you think the weakness of the

following theories of leadership?
1. Trait theory
2. Behavioral theory
3. Contingency theory