BM - Chapter 2

• Organisational Leadership

  Organisational leadership is an interpersonal process whereby the organisation attempts to influence employees in accomplishing an objective. It can be demonstrated by any employee at any level of an organisation.
• Trait Approach

  The trait approach argues that leaders are born, not made. In other words, people are born with certain attributes or traits that make them leaders. The simple conclusion reached was that leadership is an inherited skill. This approach became known as the "great man theory". This was because great leaders were usually men with particular qualities such as physical size, intelligence and assertiveness.
• Behavioural Approach

  This approach instead looks at the behaviour of leaders. Part of the reason for this move was, what made leaders good in one situation, was not necessarily true for other situations, in other words, context had a bearing. For example, Winston Churchill, despite being widely acknowledged as a war-time leader, he was rejected by the British electorate shortly after the war. The central assumption of this approach is that specific behaviours differentiate leaders from non-leaders.
• Managing Change

  Change is an alteration of an organisations environment, structure, technology or people. If it weren't for change, the managers job would be easy and planning would be simplified, the issue of organisational design would be solved and decision making would be much easier. Change is an organisational reality and handling change is an integral part of every managers job.
• Changes in Structure

  Changing structure includes any alteration in authority relationships, co-ordination mechanisms, degree of centralisation, job design or similar organisational structure variables. These structural components give employees the authority and means to implement process improvements.
• Changes in People

  Changes in people refers to changes in employee attitudes, expectations, perceptions or behaviours. This requires a workforce committed to the organisation's objectives of quality and continuous improvement. Again, this necessitates proper education and training. It also demands a performance evaluation and reward system that supports continuous improvement.
• Change Agents

  Changes within an organisation need a catalyst. People who act as catalysts and assume the responsibility for managing the change process are called change agents. Any manager can be a change agent. A non-manager can also be a change agent. Internal managers who act as change agents may be more thoughtful and possibly more cautious.