领导与实践 Leadership And Ob In Practice

一个组织总是依靠员工表现得更好。这一事实进行了不同的研究人员，，员工被视为一个组织，它对员工的行为不能被竞争对手复制的战略优势。进一步的研究，如在英国，工作基金会的报告，发现健全的人力资源实践和积极的财务状况之间存在的联系。麦还探讨了人力资源实践和积极的财务绩效之间存在正相关关系。这支持人力资源和健全的政策，以确保更好的组织行为的重要性。然而，组织必须遵守一定的变量，如工作设计，工作场所，员工之间的沟通和管理，绩效考核等，这会影响组织行为。

Introduction: 简介
An organization is always relying on its employees for performing better. This fact is studied by various researchers and according to (Rayner and Smith, 2009), employees are regarded as a strategic advantage for an organization as it the behaviour of the employees cannot be replicated by the competitors. Further researches such as in UK, Work Foundation's Report (2003), found links between the presence of sound human resource practices and positive financial positions. MacDuffie (1995) also explored a positive relationship between the presence of HR practices and positive financial performance. This underpins the importance of HR and sound policies for ensuring a better organizational behaviour. However, organizations have to observe certain variables such as job design, workplace, communications between the employees and management, performance appraisal etc, which affects the organizational behaviour (Nelson, Quick, 1994).

Whilst there are many common factors influencing the direction of HR, there is no "one-size fits all" solution to HR issues; that is, each organization will need to develop its own unique vision for handling HR issues (Reddington et al., 2005). The handling of HR issues is also dependent on the style of leadership practiced by the leaders in an organization. Different organizations practice different types of leadership and management styles depending upon what their objectives are. Because of the fast-changing, business environments, organizations today are very flexible in terms of setting their objectives. This resulted in change of leadership and management styles from a traditional approach to new forms of leadership in organizations. According to Foster (2005), the organizations now are experiencing more interdependence amongst the employees and the leaders which creates a strong need of feeling the problems as their shared problems by the employees and their leaders. This puts the role and style of leadership in a role of vital importance for an organization to achieve success. In the given case, Richer Sounds is an organization where not only unconventional HR practices are followed but also a very unique role of leadership can be observed. The case study enlightens various variations in the leadership style where different methods are used to motivate the employees for achieving the desired outcomes.

This paper analyses the theory and apply it to the main issues related to the leadership and organizational behaviour in the given case. The paper analyses the areas of Leadership and leadership theories, Motivation theories and Transformational, Transactional & New forms of Leadership.

Leadership & Leadership Theories: 领导与领导理论：
Rost (1993) defines "Leadership" as an "influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend real changes that reflect their mutual purposes". Whereas Batten (1989) declares it as "development of a clear and complete system of expectations in order to identify, evoke and use the strengths of all the resources in the organization, the most important of which is people". These definitions and explanations are in pointing towards the vital role of leaders and managers in today's organizations where change is constant. There is a variation in the roles of managers and the leaders as discussed by Tichy & Devanna (1986) who argue that the focus of the management is on accomplishing the needs of the organization by controlling and problem solving; whereas when it comes to motivating and inspiring the people, leaders come nto the picture. Despite this variation in the roles of leadership and management, they are related to each other (Cunnigham, 1986). Following is application of the theories related to the leadership on the given case study.

Trait Theories: 特质理论：
The given case study explains the leadership style of Julian Richer who is the founder of Richer Sounds. He is a strong believer of investment into the strengths of his employees, and the reason for that is his continuous strove for excellence. Julian Richer, according to the case study was having traits such as being adaptable and flexible to situation, ambitious, tolerant, cooperative and self confidence which are traits of a leader. In addition to these traits, Julian Richer was also having skills such as conceptual skills, intelligence and creativity. A leader is capable of these skills and traits, which differentiates him from non-leaders as discussed by Stogdill (1974). However, this must also be considered that it is not necessary for a person to become a leader after having these traits. In fact importance of any of these traits is always dependant on the situation.

Julian Richer, because of his steps, can be assumed to have strong intelligence, masculinity and dominance which are suggested by Mann (1959) as personality traits of leaders. To sum up all these traits; Julian Richer, as a leader have all those six traits, stated by KirkPatrik & Locke (1991) differentiating him from non-leaders. He is a confident leader and having a drive and desire to lead. Northhouse (1997) also discussed these traits.

Style Approaches:
According to the lecture notes (Green & Young, 2009), Leadership style is the relatively consistent pattern of behaviour that characterizes a leader. It can classify leadership by how much involvement leaders have with people.

The given case study highlights on various occasions when employees were given a chance to provide their suggestions and feedback and to encourage it, they are offered cash awards for each suggestion they make. But the decision making concerning these presented ideas is worked out by a committee known as "Cut- the - crap". This puts the leadership/management style not on both the extremes i.e., autocratic or democratic; but somewhere in between them and more towards democratic style, known as "Consensus" as discussed by Tannebaum & Scmidt (1973). This attitude of management keeps the orientation of the leadership more towards the employees (Stogdill, 1948).

The case study states that employees were offered various incentives on the top of good pay rate including performance bonuses, healthcare plan and personal development plans (monetary gifts for quitting smoking etc). This proves the management/leadership to be "Employee - oriented". However, the management off-course showcased their concern for the production. They invested at events where employees were encouraged to present new ideas for improving the company and its processes, in addition to their concern for their employees as well. And to encourage the employees to come up with new ideas, they were offered cash awards. Because of having consideration for both their production and their employees, the management style at Richer Sounds can be called as "Team Management" on Blake & Mouton's Managerial (Leadership) Grid (Blake, Mouton, 1985).

Likert (1961), discusses "Participative group Management" as an ideal management style where excellent productivity is observed and participation, good communication, growth needs are catered for (Likert, 1961). So it can be interpreted that Richard Sounds was also practicing "Participative group Management" because the company is having excellent productivity, as proved by their achievements i.e., Having a record for highest sales in Guiness Book of Records and UK's most profitable hi-fi retailer. Management made sure the participation in suggestions from all the employees and growth needs of the employees were catered by practicing a policy of promoting only from within (Likert, 1961).

Contingency/Situational Leadership:
Because of change being an active factor in shaping the objectives of organizations today, being an effective leader depends on how a leader leads in different situations. According to the lecture notes (Green & Young, 2009), the style of leadership has to change with changing situations because particular contexts will demand particular forms of leadership. (Fiedler, 1997) argues that the leadership style itself and the situation in which it is applied can determine the effectiveness of that particular leadership.

In the given case, it can be observed that to ensure the achievement of the support from the employees, various steps are taken by the management such as providing incentives and involving the employees in improving the systems and processes. This is an important factor in situational leadership as discussed by Fielder & Garcia (1987).

At a situation, within the given case study, the leadership style appears to become Autocratic or "Telling", (Hersey & Blanchard) where the employees were asked to sign contracts agreeing not to eat smelly foods for 12 hours before they turn up for work in a store. But on the other hand, the same leadership in another situation turns to transform into "Consensus style" as discussed by Tannebaum & Scmidt (1973) or "Participating style" discussed by (Hersey & Blanchard) where they are observed to be very frank with the new employees and ask them for new ideas or feedback.

Motivation:
"If you want people to be motivated to do a good job, give them a good job to do" (Herzberg, 1968).
Introduction:
According to (Mullins, 2005), Motivation is basically concerned with why people behave in a certain way. Definition of motivation by (Mullins, 2005) is as "a direction and persistence of action". Because of a well studied topic in literature, motivation has a variety of definitions. And their details discusses the interaction of factors such as needs, drives and motives (Costley & Todd, 1991). Motivation as a concept is very hard to explain one factor can be motivating for an individual whereas the same will be demotivating another individual. The measurement of the motivation can be done by using human behaviour such as productivity, absenteeism, turnover and work quality etc. (Timm, Pearson, 1982).

Applying theories on the given case study:
Costley and Todd (1991) state that the most productive organizations are those in which people can satisfy personal needs while contributing to the achievement of organizational objectives. And to get enhanced productivity and quality supplemented with efficiency, Management and Leadership considers the role of motivation as of extreme importance (BTEC - HNC/HND Business, 1995). Two types of factors can influence motivation of an individual which are as follows;

Intrinsic factors (Motivates internally).
Extrinsic factors (Motivates externally).

The case study highlights the factors that influenced motivation of the employees working there but most of them are extrinsic factors. Following is a brief explanation of these factors with regard to motivation theories and literature.

Motivation Theories:
There are two categories of the theories presented on motivation (Froster, 2005);

Content theories.
Process theories.

Content Theories:
Content theories seek to identify people's needs at work and how they seek to achieve them (Rayner and Smith, 2009). Human needs are putted into a hierarchy by Maslow (1943) in his Hierarchy of needs. The given case study, the leader Julian Richer takes steps which fulfil different needs of his employees and this depicts deep understanding of motivation theories by him. Employees are paid at a good pay rate and their jobs are secure which give secures their Physiological and safety needs (Maslow, 1943). These needs are also discussed by Aldfer (1972) in his ERG Theory as Existence Needs.

Maslow (1943) also discusses "social needs" which include affection, affiliation, companionship and belonging (Costley and Todd, 1991). The case discusses different steps by Julian Richers which satisfy these needs of the employees. These steps include the following;

To promote their health, employees were provided with monetary rewards.
Employees were entitled to hardship funds.
Regardless of their seniority, employees were given short paid holidays and visits around the world.
Asking them to visit Julian Richer's doctor.
Calling them as a "colleague" rather than employee.

Aldfer (1972) also discusses these needs as "Relatedness needs". Employees were constantly approached for their ideas and feedbacks for improving processes and organization created a sense of affiliation in them which can increase their motivation as explained by McClellands Acquired Needs Theory.

Employees at Richer Sounds had to attend a meeting called as "virgin - seminar" at the house of Julian Richer. The boss talked to each employee individually and tried to be informal with them by playing badminton or swimming with them. This also fulfils their self-esteem needs as discussed in Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and also enhances the sense of affiliation; (McClelland's acquired needs Theory). The Growth needs of employees at Richer Sounds were also met by providing the, attractive pay rates, bonuses and a policy to promote from within only at Richer Sounds. (Aldfer, 1972).

Process Theories:
Processes theories on the other hand, seek to understand the complex relationships between many variables that go up to make motivation, so there is a need for the managers to understand what initiates the behaviour and how it is directed and sustained (Rayner and Smith, 2009).

Employees at Richer Sounds were asked to present new ideas and give their feedback for the improvement of the organization which involved them into "Goal-Setting" according to Locke's Goal Theory and Process theory of Motivation. Basically, the case study proves that the leadership at the organization was keen to develop potential in their employees and then help them to use that potential for achieving the common goals and objectives. McGregor (1960) explains these phenomena in as Theory Y. The steps taken by Julian Richer shows that he was paying attention to his employees and the reason for that according to Quebein (Green & Young, 2009) is that he wanted the employees to pay attention to him and the organization. Employees at Richer Sounds were given chance to express themselves and develop their career, which are new motivation concepts as explained by Maccoby's Social Theory.

Transactional /Transformational Leadership:
It is obvious that the leadership and management practices practiced at Richer Sounds are not the traditional ones but quite different. According to Burns (1978), "transactional leadership can be observed in an organization where exchange or transaction is there between the leaders & followers". The case study shows that the management invests in people to get the best from them. One of the director said their investment in people is to get better performance from them, which shows the presence of the transactions between the employees and their leadership. Thats why this leadership can be called as transactional leadership.

A single continuum of three leadership styles was presented by Bass and Avolio's Full Range Leadership Model which included Transactional leadership, Transformational leadership and Laisezz-Faire leadership. Employees at the organization got Inspirational motivation (Factor 2) because of getting individualized consideration (Factor 4). And this point out that leadership at Richer Sounds was on the continuum between transactional and transformational leadership explained by Bass and Avolio.

Julian Richer used to believe in his employees, which is one of the characteristics of Transformational leadership as explained by Tichy and Devanna. Julian Richers was also involved in increasing the morality of his employees by promoting health in his employees, which as explained by Burns is a trait of transformational leader. The results expected from transformational leadership are beyond expectations as discussed by Bass and Avolio. And these types of results can be seen in the case study such as being a record holder in Guinness Book of world records and the UK's most profitable hi-fi retailer etc.

Conclusion: 结论
There are different types of leaderships and management styles adopted by organizations in order to make their organizations profitable and keep their employees satisfied. There is no one option for organizations to adopt, because every management style is having its own pros and cons and as the success of its adoption is dependent on the situation. The given case depicts the fact that a blend of these management styles can be adopted by the management to motivate and satisfy their employees in order to achieve the objectives.