Trait Approach to Leadership

Leadership is the ability to socially relate and positively influence others in order to accomplish a specified task. Traits are said to be innate qualities and inborn characteristics which helps to define a person. Therefore, trait approach to leadership assumes that good leaders have common characteristics and innate qualities which are inborn and makes them stand out in terms of leading and influencing others. This makes them political, military and social leaders as well as business managers.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Trait Approach to Leadership specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to this theory, leadership is not learned; rather, it is to be found inside the individual. In this paper the author is going to look at Northouse Case Study 2.1. The case study will be looked into from the perspective of trait leadership model. In the paper, the author is going to select the theoretical model to be used in the case study, provide a description of the model selected and finally develop their own analysis or insights on the case. Various researchers have come to contradict this universality of leadership trait that distinguishes leaders from non-leaders (Northouse, 2010). Other scholars argue that personality traits greatly influence leadership and thus separate leaders from non-leaders. Charismatic and visionary leaders have a pattern of traits that makes them actively engage in management. They are motivated to attain self actualization and social power. They are able to exercise self monitoring. These traits make them effective leaders compared to average individuals in a leadership position. In an attempt to understand the relationship between leadership and personal characteristics, Stogdill (a scholar) carried out two surveys. The findings of these surveys are reported in Northouse (2010). The first survey done between 1904 and 1947 identified eight major characteristic s found in an outstanding leader. The survey concluded that a leader is a non-passive person who makes use of his traits to help him lead others and solve problems. In his second survey in 1974 Stogdill shows that there is a balance between trait and leadership meaning that a leader emerges as a result of both personal characteristics and the situational factors. These traits include taking responsibility for his decisions and actions, task completion, urge to pursue goals and remain on track. Others are self confidence, tolerance, ability to change others behavior and sociability. A similar study was carried out by Mann (as cited in Northouse, 2010) which came up with a tentative conclusion that traits can be used to differentiate leaders from non-leaders. On reassessing the findings by Mann using a sophisticated procedure (meta-analysis), Lord and his colleagues found that intelligence, dominance and masculinity are very significant to a leader and can be used as a basis of differ entiating leaders from non-leaders.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Appreciating this, scholars such as Kirkpatrick and Locke (as cited in Northouse, 2010) stated that â€Å"†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦it is equivocally clear that leaders are not like other people† (Northouse, 2010: p. 23). A qualitative synthesis from their work postulates that confidence, task knowledge, integrity, cognitive ability and motivation are the six traits that make up the â€Å"right stuff† for leaders. From the works of other researchers like Marlow and Zaccaro, it is noted that an aspect of social intelligence is associated with leadership traits. Intelligence is the ability of the leader to positively relate to others. These are verbal, perpetual and reasoning abilities, ability to solve problems and social-judgment skills. This means that the intelligence quotient of leaders should diff er widely from that of their subordinates for leadership to be effective. Another trait present in leaders is self-confidence. Such leaders have a high self-esteem, self-assurance and the belief that they can make a difference. Most of the leaders show determination. It is easier to get a job done by showing characteristics such as initiative, optimism, persistence and drive. Integrity is another common trait in leaders according to the trait approach to leadership. Leaders are trustworthy and honest. Such leaders are also principled and at the same time appear responsible as opposed to their non-leader counterparts. As a result of this, those who are led are confident of their leader’s capabilities. At the end of the day, those being led become loyal and trustworthy towards the leader. Lastly, the ability to associate with people from different social backgrounds and create a pleasant relationship is the last major trait of a leader. This trait is characterized by interperso nal skills such as tactfulness, friendliness, courteousness and use of diplomacy to solve issues. To summarize, trait approach to leadership lays emphasis on the crucial traits that a leader should have so as to realize effective leadership. Therefore, the leader and his personality are central to this model. If the assumptions of this model hold, the profile of leaders in an organization will be known ensuring that they are the right persons for managerial positions. There are several merits associated with trait approach to leadership. One of the merits of using this model is made evident considering the fact that since traits of an individual surface naturally, those who are bold enough take the managerial positions. In spite of leaders being different, they have traits which are viewed as gifts that enable them to carry out extra-ordinary actions. The organization can make use of this to achieve its objectives. This model benefits from the various studies that it has been subjec ted to for the past one century. As such it can be said to be credible as compared to other models. Also this model has set standards that leaders are judged against. It also provides invaluable information to managers, supervisors and subordinates which enable them understand their leaders in a deep and intricate fashion and be on the lookout for future leaders.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Trait Approach to Leadership specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More On the other hand, the lack of a definitive list of traits that can be used to gauge leaders is a great challenge. This has brought about ambiguity and uncertainty at times. Some leaders (as earlier mentioned) emerged due to situations. These situations do rapidly change and this model has not factored in the effects of such changes. Critics of this approach argue that it cannot be used to train and develop leaders since training cannot raise their IQ. The approach emphasizes on the importance of physical and physiological traits which limits its usefulness in teaching and training leaders. Lastly, this approach has subjectively determined the major traits in a leader. It has as a result conferred meaning on these traits making them lose their original meaning. The author appreciates these shortcomings but taking into consideration the usefulness of other approaches, trait approach to leadership appears more credible. This is because these traits cannot be forged and history has shown that most leaders are bold and outspoken. They show integrity, self-confidence, determination and sociability. The frequent interaction with the management in an organization is very useful since it shows that the leader understands and respects the formal hierarchy. In order to fully exploit this approach, a personality test should be administered on all candidates so as to come up with the best overall leader. Reference Northouse, P. (2010). Leadershi p: Theory and practice. 5th ed. London: Sage Publications. 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Definition and Examples of Ethnic Dialects

Definition and Examples of Ethnic Dialects An ethnic dialect is the distinct form of a language spoken by members of a particular ethnic group. Also called socioethnic dialect. Ronald Wardhaugh and Janet Fuller point out that ethnic dialects are not simply foreign accents of the majority language, as many of their speakers may well be monolingual speakers of the majority language. . . . Ethnic dialects are ingroup ways of speaking the majority language (An Introduction to Sociolinguistics, 2015). In the United States, the two most widely studied ethnic dialects are  African-American Vernacular English (AAVE)  and Chicano English  (also known as Hispanic Vernacular English).   Commentary People who live in one place talk differently from people in another place due largely to the settlement patterns of that areathe linguistic characteristics of the people who settled there are the primary influence on that dialect, and the speech of most people in that area shares similar dialect features. However, . . . African American English is spoken primarily by Americans of African descent; its unique characteristics were due initially to settlement patterns as well but now persist due to the social isolation of African Americans and the historical discrimination against them. African American English is therefore more accurately defined as an ethnic dialect than as a regional one. (Kristin Denham and Anne Lobeck, Linguistics for Everyone: An Introduction. Wadsworth, 2010) Ethnic Dialects in the U.S. The desegregation of ethnic communities is an ongoing process in American society that continually brings speakers of different groups into closer contact. However, the result of contact is not always the erosion of ethnic dialect boundaries. Ethnolinguistic distinctiveness can be remarkably persistent, even in face of sustained, daily inter-ethnic contact. Ethnic dialect varieties are a product of cultural and individual identity as well as a matter of simple contact. One of the dialect lessons of the twentieth century is that speakers of ethnic varieties like Ebonics not only have maintained but have even enhanced their linguistic distinctiveness over the past half century. (Walt Wolfram, American Voices: How Dialects Differ From Coast to Coast. Blackwell, 2006) Although no other ethnic dialect has been studied to the extent that AAVE has, we know that there are other ethnic groups in the United States with distinctive linguistic characteristics: Jews, Italians, Germans, Latinos, Vietnamese, Native Americans, and Arabs are some examples. In these cases the distinctive characteristics of English are traceable to another language, such as Jewish English oy vay from Yiddish or the southeastern Pennsylvania Dutch (actually German) Make the window shut. In some cases, the immigrant populations are too new to determine what lasting effects the first language will have on English. And, of course, we must always keep in mind that language differences never fall into discrete compartments even though it may seem that way when we try to describe them. Rather, such factors as region, social class, and ethnic identity will interact in complicated ways. (Anita K. Berry, Linguistic Perspectives on Language and Education. Greenwood, 2002)

Self-Reflective Paper on Negotiations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Self-Reflective Paper on Negotiations - Essay Example These are just a few examples of different types of negotiation. However, negotiating skills are not unique to lawyers and limited to the legal fraternity only. At one particular moment, all of us regularly need to negotiate with colleagues, friends and in a wide range of business transactions (Stone, 26). As such, this reflective essay seeks to critically evaluate my strengths as a negotiator as well as weaknesses. These evaluative points are going to be supported by concrete evidence from various negotiations and exercises that have been covered during my learning experience. The paper starts by explaining the meaning of negotiation in order to grasp the meaning of the whole concept. This is followed by a detailed analysis of different subjects involved in the negotiation process. The negotiation process Negotiation characterises the relations between individuals and is closely connected with speech as well as nonverbal communication (Kennedy, 47). Essentially, negotiation is mainl y concerned with reaching an agreement based on mutual understanding between the parties involved in the process. It can bring different parties with completely different views together and these can reach an agreement. Therefore, negotiation is described as a process in which two or more parties exchange goods or services and attempt to agree upon the exchange rate for them (Robbins, 459). The monitory value in this case is seen as very important when people engage in negotiation since it is binding. In most cases, people involved in a negotiation seek to bargain from the process since they often prefer a win-win situation towards reaching an acceptable agreement. For the sake of clarity, this paper will discuss in detail the different processes and stages involved in a negotiation and it will also outline my weaknesses and strengths in each section based on the experience gained from different negotiations encountered during my academic career. In this case, I will limit my discus sion to the experience gained in a role played negotiation involving a case of sexual harassment between Ms Jane Doe and Professor Palsgraf. I represented Ms. Doe where she is negotiating for an out of court settlement involving a case of sexual harassment by the professor. The professor made sexually suggestive statements to Jane outside class but she revoked them and this contributed to her failing the subject taught by the professor. As such, this has necessitated a negotiation in a bid to find an amicable settlement to this particular issue. Non verbal negotiation It can be observed that the advent of the internet has revolutionised the communication landscape during the contemporary period. As such, online negotiation is quickly becoming more common during these days where it can be seen that efforts are being made to create new solutions to the problems that already exist using this technique (Kennedy, 132). People can still negotiate without using verbal communication in a fa ce to face situation. Such kind of communication is very effective in that it removes barriers to communication such as male dominance in a face to face situation. Through the use of online communication, a mutual agreement can be easily reached given that there is no party which is under pressure from the other. From the experience I have gained as a negotiator, I find this method quite manageable given that non verbal communication strategy is hassle free since it can be carried out from any position. It can also be noted that agreements reached are binding and they are usually based on mutual understanding. Factors taken into consideration when preparing a negotiation Craver (209) posits to the effect that there are different