UNIT-4: GROUP BEHAVIOUR AND LEADERSHIP

Group dynamics- concepts, types- group norms, group roles, and group cohesiveness; Leadership-
concept and theories; Power, Influence, followership & Leadership; Styles of leadership; Leadership
continuum; Trait, Behavioural and Situational approach; Leadership effectiveness.

Group: Two or more individuals, interacting and Interdependent, who have come together to achieve
particular objectives

Group Behaviour: A group behavior can be stated as a course of action a group takes as a family. For
example: Strike. Group behaviour originates from the causes that contribute to the group’s effectiveness

➢ Groupthink is defined as “the deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral
judgment in the interest of group solidarity.”

As groups function and interact with other groups, they develop their own unique set of
characteristics including structure, cohesiveness, roles, norms and processes. As a result, groups may
cooperate or compete with other groups, and intergroup competition can lead to conflict.

Types of Groups

There are two types of groups an individual form. They are formal groups and informal groups.

Formal Groups : These are the type of work groups created by the organization and have designated work
assignments and rooted tasks. The behavior of such groups is directed toward achieving organizational
goals. These can be further classified into two sub-groups −

▪ Command group − It is a group consisting of individuals who report directly to the manager. [A
manager and his/her immediate subordinate]. Example – A group of workers working on a project
and reporting to the same manager is considered as a command group.
▪ Task group − Those working together to finish a job or task is known as task group. A task group
can cross hierarchical command relationships. Eg.: If a college student is accused of a campus
crime, dealing with the problem might require coordination among the dean of academic affairs,
the dean of students, the registrar, the director of security and the student’s advisor. Such a
formation constitutes a task group.

Informal Groups: A group that is neither formally structured nor organizationally determined; created in
response to the need for social contact. These can be further classified into two sub-groups −

▪ Interest group − It is a group formed by individuals working together to achieve a specific objective
with which each is concerned. Example – employees who group together to support the peer who
is fired, to seek improved working conditions, etc.
Friendship group − Those brought together because of their shared interests or common characteristics
is known as friendship group. Eg: Support for regional cricket teams during IPL matches

Stages of Group Development

Groups go through five distinct stages of development.

1. Forming stage: The first stage in group development, characterized by much uncertainty about
the group’s purpose, structure and leadership. The stage gets complete when the members begin
to think of themselves as part of a group.
2. Storming: The second stage in group development, characterized by Intragroup conflict.
Members accept the existence of the group but resist the constraints it imposes on individuality.
There is conflict over who will control the group. The stage gets complete when hierarchy of
leadership becomes clear.
3. Norming : The third stage in group development, characterized by close relationships and group
cohesiveness. Strong sense of group identity and solidarity. • Group structure solidifies. •
Common set of expectations that define correct member behaviour.
4. Performing: Structure at this point is fully functional and accepted. Group is more focused
towards performing the task in hand. This is the last stage for permanent work groups.
5. Adjourning: The final stage in group development for temporary groups, characterized by
wrapping up activities rather than task performance. Some group members are cheerful, others
may be depressed.

ROLES IN GROUPS

Task-oriented roles: Roles performed by group members to ensure that the tasks of the
group are accomplished

• Initiator − The one who proposes, suggests, defines.

• Informer − The one who offers facts, expresses feelings, gives opinions.
• Clarifier − The one who interprets, defines, clarifies everything.
• Summarizer − The one who links, restates, concludes, summarizes.
• Reality Tester − The one who provides critical analysis.
• Information seekers or providers − The one who gives information and data.

Maintenance roles: Roles performed by group members to maintain good relations within
the group

• Harmonizers − The one who limits tension and reconciles disagreements.

• Gatekeeper − The one who ensures participation by all.
• Consensus Tester − The one who analyzes the decision-making process.
• Encourager − The one who is warm, responsive, active, shows acceptance.
 • Compromiser − The one who admits error, limits conflict.

Individual roles: Roles performed by group members that are not productive for keeping the
group on task

• Aggressor − The one who devalues others, attacks ideas.

• Blocker − The one who disagrees and rebels beyond reason.
• Dominator − The one who insists superiority to manipulate.
• Cavalier − The one who takes part in a group non-productively.
• Avoidance − The one who shows special interest to avoid task.

➢ Norms : Acceptable standards of behaviour within a group that are shared by the group’s
members.

Common classes of norms:

1. Performance norms : How hard members should work, what the level of output should
be, how to get the job done, what level of tardiness is appropriate.
2. Appearance norms : Dress codes, when to look busy.
3. Social arrangement norms : Whom to have lunch with, whether to form friendships
with co-workers.
4. Resource allocation norms : Assignment of difficult jobs, distribution of resources like
pay or equipment.

Conformity : The adjustment of one’s behaviour to align with the norms of the group. People conform to
the important groups to which they belong or hope to belong. These important groups are called
Reference groups.

Group Cohesiveness
The degree to which group members are attracted to one another and are motivated to stay in the
group.

Group cohesiveness can be defined as a bond that pulls people toward membership in a particular group
and resists separation from that group. In addition, group cohesion generally has three characteristics.
They include the following:
• Interpersonal Attraction
This means group members have a preference or want to interact with each other. Group
members enjoy this interaction and seek it out.
• Group Pride
This involves group members viewing their membership to a specific group with fondness. They
feel proud of their group membership, and staying in the group feels valuable.
• Commitment to the Work of the Group
Group members value the work of the group and believe in its goals. They are willing to work
together to complete tasks which are aligned with these group goals, even through adversity.
Attributes of a cohesive group:
• The members share the group goals and have common interests.
• The number of members is relatively small.
• The members are in constant touch with each other and have very effective interpersonal
communication.
• High group loyalty.
• Members interact among themselves quite frequently.
• Members keep themselves attached to the group as they feel that their needs would be satisfied
by the group.

Types of Cohesion
• Task Cohesion – the degree to which members of a group work together to achieve common goals
• Social Cohesion – reflects the degree to which members of a team like each other and enjoy each
other’s company

Determinants of Cohesiveness [ factors determining cohesiveness]

Cohesiveness can be affected by such factors as time spent together, the severity of initiation, group
size, the gender makeup of the group, external threats, and previous successes.
• TIME SPENT TOGETHER: The amount of time people spend together, therefore, influences
cohesiveness. As people spend more time together, they become more friendly and engage in
other interactions. These interactions typically lead to the discovery of common interests
and increased attraction.
• SEVERITY OF INITIATION: The more difficult it is to get into a group, the more cohesive that group
becomes.
• GROUP SIZE: As a group’s size expands, interaction with all members becomes more difficult, as
does the ability to maintain a common goal. As the group’s size increases, the likelihood of cliques
forming also increases. The creation of groups within groups tends to decrease overall
cohesiveness.
• GENDER OF MEMBERS: A consistent finding in recent studies states that women report greater
cohesion than men. A reasonable hypothesis to this finding is that women are less competitive
and/or more cooperative with people they see as friends, colleagues, or teammates than men
are, and this results in greater group bonding.
• EXTERNAL THREATS: Most of the research supports the proposition that a group’s cohesiveness
will increase if the group comes under attack from external sources.
• PREVIOUS SUCCESSES: If a group has a history of successes, it builds an esprit de corps
that attracts and unites members.

Factors which affect Cohesiveness

Increase Decrease
◼ Intergroup competition ◼ Large group size
◼ Personal attraction ◼ Disagreement on goals
◼ Favorable evaluation ◼ Intragroup competition
◼ Agreement on Goals ◼ Domination
◼ Interaction ◼ Unpleasant experiences
Increasing group cohesiveness:
• Make the group smaller.
• Encourage agreement with group goals.
• Increase time members spend together.
• Increase group status and admission difficultly.
• Stimulate competition with other groups.
• Give rewards to the group, not individuals.
• Physically isolate the group.

The more cohesive a group is, the greater an influence it will have on individual members to conform to
the group’s norms, thus lessening the possibility of having ‘loafers’. Loafing is the tendency for individuals
to lessen their effort when they are part of a group – also known as the Ringelmann effect.

WHAT IS LEADERSHIP

Leadership is the potential to influence behaviour of others. It is also defined as the capacity to influence
a group towards the realization of a goal. Leaders are required to develop future visions, and to motivate
the organizational members to want to achieve the visions.

According to Keith Davis, “Leadership is the ability to persuade others to seek defined objectives
enthusiastically. It is the human factor which binds a group together and motivates it towards goals.”

Characteristics of Leadership

1. It is an inter-personal process in which a manager is into influencing and guiding workers towards
attainment of goals.
2. It denotes a few qualities to be present in a person, which includes intelligence, maturity and
personality.
3. It is a group process. It involves two or more people interacting with each other.
4. A leader is involved in shaping and moulding the behaviour of the group towards accomplishment
of organizational goals.
5. Leadership is situation bound. There is no best style of leadership. It all depends upon tackling
with the situations.

Importance of Leadership

Leadership is an important function of management which helps to maximize efficiency and to achieve
organizational goals. The following points justify the importance of leadership in a concern.

1. Initiates action- Leader is a person who starts the work by communicating the policies and plans
to the subordinates.
2. Motivation- A leader motivates the employees with economic and non-economic rewards and
thereby gets the work from the subordinates.
 3. Providing guidance- A leader has to not only supervise but also play a guiding role for the
subordinates. Guidance here means instructing the subordinates the way they have to perform
their work effectively and efficiently.
4. Creating confidence- Confidence is an important factor which can be achieved through expressing
the work efforts to the subordinates, explaining them clearly their role and giving them guidelines
to achieve the goals effectively. It is also important to hear the employees with regards to their
complaints and problems.
5. Building morale- Morale denotes willing co-operation of the employees towards their work and
getting them into confidence and winning their trust. A leader can be a morale booster by
achieving full co-operation so that they perform with best of their abilities as they work to achieve
goals.
6. Builds work environment- Management is getting things done from people. An efficient work
environment helps in sound and stable growth. Therefore, human relations should be kept into
mind by a leader. He should have personal contacts with employees and should listen to their
problems and solve them. He should treat employees on humanitarian terms.
7. Co-ordination- Co-ordination can be achieved through reconciling personal interests with
organizational goals. This synchronization can be achieved through proper and effective co-
ordination which should be primary motive of a leader.

Functions of Leadership

1. To develop team work : One of the primary functions of the leader is to develop his work-group
as a team. It is his responsibility to create a congenial work-environment keeping in view the
subordinates competence, needs and potential abilities.
2. To act as a representative of the work-group : The leader of a work-group is expected to act as a
link between the group and top management. When necessary, the leader has to communicate
the problems and grievances of his subordinates to the top management.
3. To act as a counsellor of the people at work : Where the subordinates face problems in
connection with their performance at work, the leader has to guide and advise the subordinates
concerned. The problems may be technical or emotional in nature.
4. Time management : The leaders’ functions include not only ensuring the quality and efficiency of
work performed by the group, but also checking on the timeliness completion at different stages
of work.
5. Proper use of power : While exercising power or authority in relation to his subordinates, the
leader must be careful about using his power in different ways according to the situation. It may
be necessary to use reward power, coercive power, or expert power, formal or informal power,
depending on what will stimulate positive response from the subordinates.
6. Secure effectiveness of group-effort : To get the maximum contribution towards the achievement
of objectives the leader must provide for a reward system to improve the efficiency of capable
workmen, delegate authority, and invite participation of employees in decision-making, ensure
the availability of adequate resources, and communicate necessary information to the
employees.
Traits and Qualities of a Leader

The following are the requisites to be present in a good leader:

1. Physical appearance- A leader must have a pleasing appearance. Physique and health are very
important for a good leader.
2. Vision and foresight- A leader cannot maintain influence unless he exhibits that he is forward
looking. He has to visualize situations and thereby has to frame logical programmes.
3. Intelligence- A leader should be intelligent enough to examine problems and difficult situations.
He should be analytical who weighs pros and cons and then summarizes the situation. Therefore,
a positive bent of mind and mature outlook is very important.
4. Communicative skills- A leader must be able to communicate the policies and procedures clearly,
precisely and effectively. This can be helpful in persuasion and stimulation.
5. Objective- A leader has to be having a fair outlook which is free from bias and which does not
reflects his willingness towards a particular individual. He should develop his own opinion and
should base his judgement on facts and logic.
6. Knowledge of work- A leader should be very precisely knowing the nature of work of his
subordinates because it is then he can win the trust and confidence of his subordinates.
7. Sense of responsibility- Responsibility and accountability towards an individual’s work is very
important to bring a sense of influence. A leader must have a sense of responsibility towards
organizational goals because only then he can get maximum of capabilities exploited in a real
sense.
8. Self-confidence and will-power- Confidence in himself is important to earn the confidence of the
subordinates. He should be trustworthy and should handle the situations with full will power.
9. Humanist-This trait to be present in a leader is essential because he deals with human beings and
is in personal contact with them. He has to handle the personal problems of his subordinates with
great care and attention. Therefore, treating the human beings on humanitarian grounds is
essential for building a congenial environment.
10. Empathy- It is an old adage “Stepping into the shoes of others”. This is very important because
fair judgement and objectivity comes only then. A leader should understand the problems and
complaints of employees and should also have a complete view of the needs and aspirations of
the employees. This helps in improving human relations and personal contacts with the
employees.

Leadership Styles
All leaders do not possess same attitude or same perspective. The leadership style varies with the kind
of people the leader interacts and deals with. A perfect/standard leadership style is one which assists a
leader in getting the best out of the people who follow him.

Some of the important leadership styles are as follows:

Formal & informal leadership

Formal leadership: Occurs when a manager leads by exercising formal authority. The exercise of formal
authority through assigning duties derives, from the manager’s official position within the organization’s
hierarchy of authority. Any employee who is assigned a managerial position has the opportunity and
responsibility to exercise formal leadership
Informal leadership: Arises when a person without formal authority is influential in directing the behaviors
of others. Although not formally appointed or elected he becomes a leader through his actions or personal
attractions.

Autocratic or authoritarian style: In this style of leadership, a leader has complete command and
hold over their employees/team. The team cannot put forward their views even if they are best for
the team’s or organizational interests. They cannot criticize or question the leader’s way of getting
things done. The leader himself gets the things done. The advantage of this style is that it leads to
speedy decision-making and greater productivity under leader’s supervision. Drawbacks of this
leadership style are that it leads to greater employee absenteeism and turnover. This leadership
style works only when the leader is the best in performing or when the job is monotonous, unskilled
and routine in nature or where the project is short-term and risky.

Summary:
• Under the autocratic leadership style, all decision-making powers are centralized in the
leader
• They do not entertain any suggestions or initiatives from subordinates.
• It permits quick decision-making, as only one person decides for the whole group and
keeps each decision to himself until he feels it is needed to be shared with the rest of the
group.
• High degree of dependency on the leader
• May be valuable in some types of business where decisions need to be made quickly and
decisively

Laissez –Faire or free rein style: Here, the leader totally trusts their employees/team to perform
the job themselves. He just concentrates on the intellectual/rational aspect of his work and does
not focus on the management aspect of his work. The team/employees are welcomed to share
their views and provide suggestions which are best for organizational interests. This leadership
style works only when the employees are skilled, loyal, experienced and intellectual.

Summary:
• A free rein leader does not lead, but leaves the group entirely to itself such a leader allows
maximum freedom to subordinates , i.e. they are given a free hand in deciding their own
policies and methods. Can be very useful in businesses where creative ideas are important
− Can be highly motivational, as people have control over their working life
− Can make coordination and decision making time-consuming and lacking in overall
direction
− Relies on good team work.
− Relies on good interpersonal relations.
 Democrative/Participative leadership style: The leaders invite and encourage the team members to
play an important role in decision-making process, though the ultimate decision-making power rests
with the leader. The leader guides the employees on what to perform and how to perform, while the
employees communicate to the leader their experience and the suggestions if any. The advantages
of this leadership style are that it leads to satisfied, motivated and more skilled employees. It leads
to an optimistic work environment and also encourages creativity. This leadership style has the only
drawback that it is time-consuming.

Summary:
• The democratic leadership style favours decision-making by the group.
• They can win the cooperation of their group and can motivate them effectively and
positively.
• The decisions of the democratic leader are not unilateral as with the autocrat because they
arise from consultation with the group members and participation by them.
− Consultative: process of consultation before decisions are taken
− Persuasive: Leader takes decision and seeks to persuade others that the decision is
correct.

Bureaucratic leadership: Here the leaders strictly adhere to the organizational rules and policies.
Also, they make sure that the employees/team also strictly follows the rules and procedures.
Promotions take place on the basis of employees’ ability to adhere to organizational rules. This
leadership style gradually develops over time. This leadership style is more suitable when safe work
conditions and quality are required. But this leadership style discourages creativity and does not
make employees self-contented.

Entrepreneurship leadership style

• A heavy task orientation combined with a very direct-approach to giving instructions to
employees.
• A charismatic personality that inspires others to do business with him.
• A much stronger interest in dealing with customers than employees.
• A strong dislike for bureaucratic rules and regulations.
• Anxiety to consolidate business gains as quickly as possible.

THEORIES OF LEADERSHIP
TRAIT THEORY OF LEADERSHIP

The trait theory of leadership focuses on identifying different personality traits and characteristics that
are linked to successful leadership across a variety of situations.

The Trait Approach arose from the “Great Man” theory as a way of identifying the key characteristics of
successful leaders. It was believed that through this approach critical leadership traits could be isolated
and that people with such traits could then be recruited, selected, and installed into leadership positions.
This theory attempts to answer why some people are good leaders and some are not. This approach was
common in the military and is still used as a set of criteria to select candidates for commissions.
According to this theory, there are five human traits. They are −

• Physical trait − it includes energy, activity, appearance, and height.

• Ability trait − it includes judgement, knowledge, and fluency in speech.
• Personal trait − it includes self-confidence, creativity, and enthusiasm.
• Work trait − it includes organization and achievement.
• Social trait − it includes interpersonal skill, cooperativeness, popularity and prestige.

Some of the implications of the trait theory of leadership are that:

• Certain traits produce certain patterns of behavior

• These patterns are consistent across different situations
• People are born with these leadership traits

GREAT MAN THEORY OF LEADERSHIP:

Great Man Theory of leadership asserts that leaders in general and great leaders in particular are born
and not made. According to the theory, leadership calls for certain qualities like charm, persuasiveness,
commanding personality, high degree of intuition, judgment, courage, intelligence, aggressiveness and
action orientation which are of such a nature that they cannot be taught or learnt in a formal sense.

One either has them or does not have them. Leadership qualities are carried in the genes. In other words,
they are inborn, or- something inherited in family from generation-to-generation. Examples are drawn
from such great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, and others. They were born natural
leaders with built-in qualities of leadership and attained greatness by divine design.

The further implications of the theory that leaders are born and not made, are as follows:

(i) Leaders are gifts of God to mankind. A measure of divinity is attributed to leaders and their
actions.
(ii) Everyone cannot aspire to become a leader and to attain greatness.
(iii) The inborn leadership qualities alone are necessary and sufficient for a leader to exercise
influence over his followers and to become successful.
(iv) Leadership qualities and effectiveness are independent variables. Situational factors like the
nature and needs of followers, the demands of task and the general socioeconomic
environment have little or no influence on a leader’s emergence or effectiveness.
(v) The theory discounts the belief that individuals can be trained for assuming leadership
positions and roles. Leadership qualities cannot be transmitted through education and
exposure.

BEHAVIORAL THEORY

Behavioral Theory of leadership is a big leap from Trait Theory, in that it assumes that leadership capability
can be learned, rather than being inherent. This theory is based on the principle that behaviors can be
conditioned in a manner that one can have a specific response to specific stimuli. Rather
than seeking inborn traits this theory looks at what leaders actually do by studying their behaviors in
response to different situations, assessing leadership success by studying their actions and then
correlating significant behaviors with success. The practical application of the theory is that leader’s
behavior affects their performance and different leadership behaviors could be appropriate at different
times. The best leaders are those have the adaptability to flex their behavioral style, and choose the right
style suitable for each situation.

According to this theory, people can learn to become leaders through teaching and observation and
certain behavioral patterns may be identified as leadership styles.

Assumptions
Behavioral Theory of Leadership is a leadership theory that considers the observable actions and
reactions of leaders and followers in a given situation. Behavioral theories focus on how leaders behave
and assume that leaders can be made, rather than born and successful leadership is based on definable,
learnable behavior. Behavioral theories of leadership are classified as such because they focus on the
study of specific behaviors of a leader. For behavioral theorists, a leader behavior is the best predictor of
his leadership influences and as a result, is the best determinant of his or her leadership success.

SITUATIONAL OR CONTINGENCY THEORY

Contingency theory is a behavioral theory based on the views that there is no “one best way” to lead an
organization, organize cooperation or to make a decision. Contingency theory states that these actions
are dependent (contingent) on the internal and external factors. Thus, it states that there is no single
theory of contingency management.

Some important contingencies for organizations are:

• Technology
• Suppliers and Distributers
• Customers and Competitors
• Consumer Interest Groups
• Government
• Unions

Researchers of contingency theory states that the decision-making process depends on a number of
variables. These variables are:

• The importance of the decision – is the decision a strategic or difficult decisions to reverse.
• The amount of information available to the leaders and subordinates- has a similar decision been
made before and is there available information on the results.
• The relationship between leaders and subordinates more leaders are likely the greater support
they will have from subordinates.
• The likelihood of subordinates accepting an autocratic decision or cooperate with it.

The amount of disagreement among subordinates with respect to the preferred alternative- the greater
need for an autocratic approach, perhaps.
LEADERSHIP CONTINUUM

The leadership continuum was originally written in 1958 by Tannenbaum and Schmidt and was later
updated in the year 1973. The continuum presents a range of action related to the degree of authority
used by the manager and to the area of freedom available to non-managers in arriving at decisions.

A broad range of leadership styles have been depicted on the continuum between two extremes of
autocratic and free rein (See figure 1). The left side shows a style where control is maintained by a
manager and the right side shows the release of control. However, neither extreme is absolute and
authority and freedom are never without their limitations.

The Tannenbaum and Schmidt continuum can be related to McGregor’s supposition of Theory X and
Theory Y. Boss-centered leadership is towards theory X and subordinate-centered leadership is towards
theory Y.

Figure 1: Continuum Leadership Behaviuor

A manager is characterized according to degree of control that is maintained by him. According to this
approach, four main styles of leadership have been identified:

• Tells: The manager identifies a problem, chooses a decision, and announces this to subordinates.
The subordinates are not a party to the decision-making process and the manager expects them
to implement his decisions as soon as possible.
 • Sells: The decision is chosen by the manager only but he understands that there will be some
amount of resistance from those faced with the decision and therefore makes efforts to persuade
them to accept it.
• Consults: Though the problem is identified by the manager, he does not take a final decision. The
problem is presented to the subordinates and the solutions are suggested by the subordinates.
• Joins: The manager defines the limits within which the decision can be taken by the subordinates
and then makes the final decision along with the subordinates.

According to Tannenbaum and Schmidt, if one has to make a choice of the leadership style which is
practicable and desirable, then his answer will depend upon the following three factors:

• Forces in the Manager: The behavior of the leader is influenced by his personality, background,
knowledge, and experience. These forces include:
i. Value systems
ii. Confidence in subordinates
iii. Leadership inclinations
iv. Feelings of security in an uncertain situation

• Forces in the subordinate: The personality of the subordinates and their expectations from the
leader influences their behavior. The factors include:
i. Readiness to assume responsibility in decision-making
ii. Degree of tolerance for ambiguity
iii. Interest in the problem and feelings as to its importance
iv. Strength of the needs for independence
v. Knowledge and experience to deal with the problem
vi. Understanding and identification with the goals of the organization

If these factors are on a positive side, then more freedom can be allowed to the subordinate by
the leader.

• Forces in the situation: The environmental and general situations also affect the leader’s
behavior. These include factors like:
i. Type of organization
ii. Group effectiveness
iii. Nature of the problem
iv. Time pressure

Conclusion

According to Tannenbaum and Schmidt, successful leaders know which behavior is the most appropriate
at a particular time. They shape their behavior after a careful analysis of self, their subordinates,
organization, and environmental factors.
LEADERSHIP EFFECTIVENESS.

The manager / leader may be effective or ineffective depending upon the leadership style adopted by
him. He may be employee-centered (i.e., relations-oriented) or production centered (i.e., task oriented).
In other words, the style may reflect leaders concern for people or concern for production. But in reality,
the manager/ leader may combine his concern for people and concern for production with different
degrees of emphasis on each. This idea was developed in the form of what is known as ‘Managerial Grid’,
which is briefly outlined below.

Managerial Grid : The managerial grid refers to a diagrammatic representation of the possible
combinations of concern for people and concern for production which may be reflected in the style of
leadership. The concept of managerial grid was developed by Blake and Mounton in 1964. According to
this theory leaders are most effective when they achieve a high and balanced concern for people and for
tasks.

Understanding the Framework:

The Managerial Grid is based on two behavioral dimensions:

1. Concern for People: This is the degree to which a leader considers the needs of team members, their
interests, and areas of personal development when deciding how best to accomplish a task. In this style,
leaders look upon their followers as people - their needs, interests, problems, development and so on.
They are not simply units of production or means to an end.

2. Concern for Production: This is the degree to which a leader emphasizes organizational efficiency and
high productivity when deciding how best to accomplish a task. Here leaders emphasize the achievement
of concrete objectives. They look for high levels of productivity, and ways to organize people and activities
in order to meet those objectives.

The five resulting leadership styles are as follows:

1. The Indifferent or Impoverished (1,1)

Managers with this approach are low on both the dimensions and exercise minimum effort to get the
work done from subordinates. The leader has low concern for employee satisfaction and work deadlines
and as a result disharmony and disorganization prevail within the organization. Preserving their
employment, position as well as their seniority is what drives their elusive and evading behaviors. The
leaders are termed ineffective wherein their action is merely aimed at preserving job and seniority.

Impact on employees:
• Employees have a high degree of dissatisfaction
• No harmony within the group
• High turn over

Impact on organization:
• Inefficient operation
2. The Country Club or Accommodating (1, 9)

This is a collegial style characterized by low task and high people orientation where the leader gives
thoughtful attention to the needs of people thus providing them with a friendly and comfortable
environment. The leader feels that such a treatment with employees will lead to self-motivation and will
find people working hard on their own. However, a low focus on tasks can hamper production and lead
to questionable results.

Impact on employees:
• Employees are Happy
• Good team harmony

Impact on organization:
• Low productivity
3. The Status Quo or Middle-of-the-Road (5, 5)

This is basically a compromising style wherein the leader tries to maintain a balance between goals of
company and the needs of people. The leader does not push the boundaries of achievement resulting in
average performance for organization. Here neither employee nor production needs are fully met.

Impact on employees:
• Employees are not really discontent nor are they happy
• Good harmony within the group

Impact on organization:
• Average performance

4. The Dictatorial or Produce, Perish or Control, Task management (9, 1) Similar to autocratic leader

Also called dictatorial or perish style. Here leaders are more concerned about production and have less
concern for people. The style is based on theory X of McGregor. The employees’ needs are not taken care
of and they are simply a means to an end. The leader believes that efficiency can result only through
proper organization of work systems and through elimination of people wherever possible. Such a style
can definitely increase the output of organization in short run but due to the strict policies and procedures,
high labour turnover is inevitable.

Impact on employees:
• Employees experience a high level of dissatisfaction
• High level of conflict within the group

Impact on organization:
• High employee turnover
• Peak performance is short lived

5. The Sound or Team Management (9, 9)

Characterized by high people and task focus, the style is based on the theory Y of McGregor and has been
termed as most effective style according to Blake and Mouton. The leader feels that empowerment,
commitment, trust, and respect are the key elements in creating a team atmosphere which will
automatically result in high employee satisfaction and production.

Impact on employees:
• Employees are forming a highly cohesive team
• Employees are satisfied
• Employees are motivated and work as a team

Impact on organization:
• Low employee turnover
• Attracts highly skills employees
• Efficient organization
Advantages of Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Grid

The Managerial or Leadership Grid is used to help managers analyze their own leadership styles through
a technique known as grid training. This is done by administering a questionnaire that helps managers
identify how they stand with respect to their concern for production and people. The training is aimed at
basically helping leaders reach to the ideal state of 9, 9.

Limitations of Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Grid

The model ignores the importance of internal and external limits, matter and scenario. Also, there are
some more aspects of leadership that can be covered but are not.