Organizational management and leadership satterlee 2nd edition

Discussion Board Forum Replies:

In Modules/Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8 you will be required to post a substantive reply of at least 250 words each to a minimum of 3 classmates’ threads. Expect to enter on-going dialogues with your classmates and be prepared to answer questions about your own selected topics. Student interaction on the Discussion Board is the key to success in this course.

1. You must use at least 1 peer-reviewed reference (not used in the original posting) in your response.

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1. Do not simply revisit what was discussed in the thread.

1. Only the substantive part of the response will be counted toward the word count.

Discussion Post 1 Please reply with 250 or more for each reply please read instructions above.

Discussion Board Thread

Re: Transactional Leadership

Definition:

According to Organizational Management & Leadership: A Christian Perspective the definition of transactional leaders is “Transactional leaders lead by understanding the underlying principles of management and then applying those principles in the workplace; a transactional leader will guide followers to achieve organizational goals. Transactional leaders guide and motivate their followers in the direction of establish goals by clarifying roles and task requirements.”

Satterlee, A. (2013). Organizational Management & Leadership: A Christian Perspective. Raleigh, NC: Synergistics International.

Summary:

Dr. Rabindra Kanungo is currently part of the Faculty of Management at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. He has been published numerous times and is involved with many research projects concerning work attitudes, work motivation and alienation, and leadership. Dr. Kanungo’s article Ethical Values of Transactional and Transformational Leader’s explores the ethics base for both types of leadership. According to Dr. Kanungo, there is already research that suggests that transformational leadership is based on moral foundation, but he suggests that transactional leadership is based on its own moral foundation from a different perspective. He explains that transactional and transformational leadership can be divided into two different types of moral perspectives: teleological and deontological. The teleological perspective of transactional leadership is more idiocentric or self-centric. It is based more on situational ethics and the ends justifying the means. Transformational leadership has a more deontological perspective which is allocentric or socio-centric. This type of leadership cares about the people involved and is based more on principle based ethics. Dr. Kanungo details how each type of leadership can be viewed as moral from the different perspectives. Transactional leadership act can be viewed as moral if both parties in a contract benefit or a majority benefits. Transformational leadership act would be considered moral if the intentions are altruistic.

Discussion:

No one can deny that ethics in business practices and leadership is an important part of running a successful company. Dr. Kanungo brings out that authentic transformational leadership is thought to be based on a moral code and therefore ethical. Most workplaces have transactional leadership instead of transformational leadership. So the question is, can a business with transactional leadership still be ethical. According to Dr. Kanungo the answer is yes. But the ethics of the transactional leader are based on a different perspective than the ethics of a transformational leader. The transactional leader bases his ethics on utilitarianism, or the best course of action for the most people. In dealing with employees, customers, and suppliers the transactional leader is going to try for the best deal he can get for himself while still benefitting the other party. In contrast a transformational leader will make decisions based on a sense of duty to others.

While transactional leadership and transformational leadership can be ethical from two different perspectives, I don’t think that they are mutually exclusive of each other. These two different styles of leadership are not opposite ends of a spectrum (Mahdinezhad, Suandi, Silong, & Omar, 2013). Transactional leadership and transformational leadership can complement each other. I work at a college where I see both of these leadership styles in action.