Leadership and Organized;

Focus on the question
Remember that there are two elements to this question.  You must therefore ensure you give sufficient attention to both elements of the question in order to pass.

“Since the early 20th century, there have been many strands of research that explore what effective leadership is. Compare and contrast the following three leadership

approaches/theories”
o    Trait approach
(Remember there are many people who have researched leadership     traits which you can draw on)
o    Situational leadership theory
(Remember the essay is asking you to concentrate on situational     leadership theory (Blanchard et al. 1985) specifically here and not     other

situational/contingency based models)
Blanchard, Kenneth H., Patricia Zigarmi, and Drea Zigarmi 1985. “Leadership and the one minute manager: Increasing effectiveness through situational leadership.” New

York: Morrow, Print
For example, when describing situational leadership theory, avoid describing D1, D2, D3, D4 and then S1, S2, S3, and S4 in detail. Instead, consider providing the

model detail in the appendix and provide a summary of what the model explores in the essay itself.

o    Transformational leadership theory
(Bass and Avolio’s (1990; 1994) transformational leadership theory is the main theory to explore although there are others you could also include in the discussion

e.g. Burns (1978))
Bass, B.M, 1990. From transactional to transformational leadership: Learning to share the vision, Organizational Dynamics, 19-31
Burns, J.M. 1978, Leadership. New York. Harper&Row, Onursal Arkan
You can also then provide some ‘depth’ in your discussion by providing examples which focus on particular aspects of the model – this is a good way to show

understanding and enables you to explore their usefulness and applicability in some depth. For example, you could explore one of the 4I’s in transformational

leadership and how this compares to ideas in other theories/approaches.

“… and critically discuss what they contribute to our understanding of leadership effectiveness”.

For this part of the question, engage in a critical discussion which might include an exploration of the following:
o    What aspects of leadership do the approaches/theories focus on?
o    The strengths and limitations of the approaches/theories
o    Any research to support or indeed critique the ideas proposed by the approaches/theories
o    Applicability, for example:
?    What organisations and situations would these approaches/theories work in/not work in and why?
?    To what extent are followers involved?
?    Are the theories/approaches used in organisations today? Can you give any examples?
?    Are there any examples of leaders that help demonstrate the ideas explored or support your discussion on their value?

For this part of the question it is important that you have not just discussed the above aspects but have considered, as a result, what can be taken from the ideas

within the approaches and theories to help us understand what is important for effective leadership. For example, situational leadership helps us understand the

importance of considering the needs of followers and how leaders can support followers through adapting their style.

Finally, some additional points to consider:
1) Include a definition of leadership. Keep any discussion on this brief however, as you need to focus on the two main aspects of the question.
2) Clearly cite in the main body the appropriate authors of the theories you are exploring.
3) Do not provide long descriptions of the models.  You need to provide a summary/ overview description of what the theories are about to show understanding but should

not waste your word count on long descriptions of each part of the models.

Structure
1.    Introduction
2.    Leadership theories
2.1 Trait approach
2.2 Situational Leadership theory (Blanchard et al, 1985)
2.3 Transformational leadership theory (Bass and Avolio’s 1990:1994), Burns (1978)
3. Compare and contrast three leadership approaches
4. Conclusion
5. References

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