Page 292 - Introduction to Business

266 PART 2 Managing Business Behavior

that affect their jobs provides great job satisfaction and flexible schedules? Some of the most common types of
motivates employees. Participative management work-life programs practiced globally include flextime
cannot be applied to all situations. programs, part-time work, work-share programs, self-
managed work teams, telecommuting, and alternative
LEARNING OBJECTIVE 7 work styles.
Explain why job enrichment and redesign are
important and describe how they can be done to LEARNING OBJECTIVE 9
achieve corporate goals.
Discuss what leadership is, and summarize the major
Management’s primary objective in job enrichment and leadership theories.
job redesign programs is to make existing jobs more
Leadership is the art of motivating employees to
satisfying for employees by incorporating motivating
enhance their performance in order to achieve
factors like job rotation into them. This is done to break
corporate goals ethically. Four timeless and culture-
the monotony in certain jobs, especially those requiring
independent elements of successful leadership are
repetitive action. Job rotation also provides employees
adaptive capacity, the ability to adapt to circumstances;
the opportunity to learn different skills and to obtain a
creation of shared meaning, the ability to motivate
feel for all the operations of the company. In addition,
people behind a common goal even in the face of
job rotation provides both employees and management
adversity; personal voice, authenticity, and character
greater flexibility in operation, especially during periods
founded on a strong set of principles about how people
when there is less demand for certain type of skilled
should be treated; and integrity, the delicate balance of
workers.
ambition, competence, and morality. All these factors
In job enlargement, employees are assigned to
play a crucial role for successful leaders.
manage and run related tasks. To help keep employees
Leadership styles are described in leadership
satisfied and also to enhance their creativity and
theories that have evolved over time. In servant
performance, managers often try to redesign existing
leadership theory, the leader is obligated to enhance the
jobs. Job redesign can be accomplished through three
material wealth and reputation of the organization and
major avenues: combining tasks, forming compatible
leave behind a legacy. An effective servant leader’s role
work groups, and establishing customer relationships.
is to create an environment that will motivate people to
perform better all the time and provide them with
LEARNING OBJECTIVE 8
appropriate tools for achieving the corporate vision in
Define the objective of work-life programs, and an ethical manner. In transactional leadership, a leader
summarize the pros and cons of the various provides followers rewards for good performance or
approaches.
reprimands followers for unacceptable performance.
Companies all over the world have tried to address the The leader-follower relationship in transactional
personal and family needs of their employees by leadership is strictly “arms-length,” and there is no
implementing various forms of work-life programs. mutual binding between the two to pursue and attain
Companies in the United States have moved from higher corporate goals. Transformational leadership
purely performance-based objectives and policies to a occurs when a leader inspires followers to work jointly
more strategic approach, which is particularly aimed at to achieve the leader’s vision for the organization and to
meeting the needs of employees with young children. benefit the individual members of the organization.
Many such initiatives are based on giving autonomy to Charismatic leadership consists of energetic
employees about where, when, and how they work. transformational leaders who are highly capable people
Companies give several reasons for supporting workers who can convert relatively weak organizations into
in their family or personal roles. First is increasing powerful and successful enterprises. There are several
competition for talented employees. Second is different contingency theories of leadership. However,
globalization; outsourcing has made it easy and cost all of them assert that leadership effectiveness is
effective for firms to get certain jobs done overseas, maximized when leaders make their behavior
enabling domestic employees to retain the jobs that add dependent on the characteristics of their followers and
more value at home. Third is technology. Internet and the situation they are in.
information technology have made alternative work It is a well-known fact that leaders do not interact
styles possible. Training is often needed to ensure that with all followers in the same way. Leaders try to
employees are aware of their responsibilities and that interact with different followers or groups of followers
supervisors fully support program implementation. in unique ways so as to optimize the interaction process
Two questions troubling to employers are how will the and achieve organizational goals. The aim is to bring
implementation of flexible schedules affect workflow, out the behavioral response of all followers that will
customer service, and corporate performance, and maximize leadership success. Chaos theory is based on
what is the work ethic of the employees who request the assumption that organizations are multifaceted and

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