Need management help with a leadership assignment

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LEADERSHIP ASSIGNMENT

This assignment is divided into three parts

·  Part one requires you to compare and contrast Trait Leadership Theory with Situational Leadership, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of both perspectives. A discussion on the evolution of leadership theory over the last 60 years would be useful.

·  Part two requires you to devise a short questionnaire for use in interviewing three different department heads on the subject of leadership in your own organization. You will then interview these heads of department. The purpose is to determine which leadership framework is used more in your organization.

·  Part three requires you to analyse the responses to your questionnaire and produce a high quality, concise report on your findings that will be presented in a 1-1 discussion.

Resources:

·  Leadership articles provided, plus any other relevant academic articles you find on Google Scholar or the KAAU databases

·  Dr Ayman will deliver a briefing on questionnaire design and interview approach

Part One (500 words) (30 points)

Compare and contrast Trait theory and Situational Leadership (Blanchard and Hersey). How are they alike / different? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each perspective? Can they be integrated or are they completely independent of each other?

Part Two (30 points)

Devise a short questionnaire for use in interviews with three department heads in your organization. The key question you are aiming to answer is: How is leadership practiced in this organization and why? (what are its key features and how have they developed?)

Part Three (40 points)

Carry out the interviews with department heads, analyse the responses and produce a high quality, concise report for presentation.

Evaluation:You will be evaluated on…

·  Breadth of reading

·  Clarity of your communication (writing and verbal communication in 1-1 with Dr Ayman)

·  Critical thinking / analysis

·  Quality of the report

Possible Evaluation Criteria

Part One

How much research did you use for the report

To what extent do you understand the theory behind the frameworks

Did you do a +/- for each framework?

Did you answer the integration question?

Part Two

Is the questionnaire well structured

Do questions address the objective

Is introduction well designed

Is analysis method clear?

Part Three

Is analysis logical

Are all comments considered

Are common threads identified

Are transcripts included

Interview Protocol

It is important that you prepare and execute the three interviews as professionally as possible. Here are some guidelines:

·  Request the interview formally by email at least five working days in advance. Ensure the email explains exactly why you want to talk to the individuals, that you view their input as important and that all information will be confidential

·  Ensure you have booked a meeting room

·  Dress smartly for the interviews

·  Clearly structure the interviews as follows

o  Welcome the individual and thank them for their time (5 minutes)

o  Explain the purpose of the interview and how you will use the information collected. Assure them of confidentiality (5 minutes)

o  Ask them to complete the questionnaire you have developed – this is the quantitative element (10 minutes)

o  Go through the questions with the individual, asking them to give you detailed answers and examples – this is the qualitative element (35 minutes). You must make detailed notes, as you will depend on these to produce your report

o  Close the interview by thanking the individual for their time

Questions

It is important to allow the individual interviewee to talk (they should be talking at least 70% of the time. You need to avoid the following types of question:

·  Leading (leading the interviewee to a particular answer)

·  Closed questions (leaves only a “yes” or “no” answer)

·  Hypothetical questions (what would you do if)

blanchard__26_hersey___situational_leadership.pdf

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