BUSINESS
LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR
Unit Description
Content: This course is designed to familiarize the student with concepts in
business management.
Unit Requirements
Reading: The Search for Leadership Traits (from Organizational
Behavior: Understanding and Managing Life at Work, 6th Edition, G.
Johns & A.M. Saks, Pearson Prentice Hall)
Lecture: Behavioral Theories of Leadership
Listening: Three Contrasting Managerial Styles (a student presentation)
Integrated Speaking Task: Presenting an oral response to a case study
about a company that is having leadership problems
Assignments: www.MyAcademicConnectionsLab.com
Global Reading
Focused Reading
Global Listening
Focused Listening
Focused Speaking
Before students read and study about leadership behavior, you may want
to spend some time exploring the types of leadership roles students may
have had in various aspects of their lives.
Have they ever assumed a leadership role in a family, school,
sports, or business setting?
What can they say about the responsibilities associated with these
leadership roles?
You may also want to explore some of their assumptions and beliefs about
effective leadership.
Who are some well-known leaders in their cultures, and do people
see them as effective or ineffective? Why?
What are the students personal views about these well-known
leaders?
Before students read the paragraph about Linda Cook at the top of page
25, remind them that good readers do not usually stop when they come to
an unknown word. They often guess the meaning of the word from the
context.
Ask students to underline any unknown words as they read.
Have them compare their underlined words with a partner and
share their knowledge of and guesses about unknown words with
each other.
Examine the Key Words on page 25 and have students complete Exercise
3. This vocabulary will be helpful for comprehension of the text and useful
for the Integrated Speaking Task. How many of these words and
Point out that a comparison shows similarities between two or more items, while
a contrast shows how they are different. While some texts may focus on either
comparison or contrast, others will treat both.
Go over the directions for Exercise 1, page 26, and review the example. After
students have completed the exercise, you may want to have them check their
answers with another pair and resolve any differences as a class. The patterns
are: B, problem-solution; C, compare / contrast; D, definition; E, process; F,
advantages-disadvantages; G, cause-effect.
The Problem
1. Yellow Corporation, a trucking company, achieved great success by
focusing on efficiency. However, as the company became increasingly
efficient, the quality of customer service was drastically reduced, and the
company lost business to other companies more focused on customer
service.
Highlight the purpose of this section, stated on the left. Tell students that in this
section, they will learn more about identifying organizational patterns in longer
texts and recognizing the relationships among parts of a text.
Review the Key Words at the bottom of page 29 before students begin Exercise
1. This vocabulary will be useful for the Integrated Speaking Task.
After students have listed the traits for each boss and discussed the two
questions in Exercise 1, page 29, you may want to create a list of the traits they
identified and save it to compare to the various traits discussed in the reading.
After students have completed Exercise 2, pages 2930, have groups share their
answers in the third column of the chart as a class. This will help reinforce the
meanings of the vocabulary items and let you know how well students have
understood these words.
Point out that while the one paragraph about Linda Cook on page 25 is
descriptive, the four-paragraph text about Yellow Corporation (page 28) is a
typical problem-solution text in which each of the paragraphs describes or
explains one of the four aspects shown in pattern B on page 26. Using one
organizational pattern is typical in shorter texts. However, in longer texts, a writer
may use several types of organizational patterns because different sections of
the text may have different purposes. If necessary, review the chart at the top of
page 26.
As you examine the information in the skills focus on pages 3435, you
may want to pause after the bullet To show contrast and review the
distinction between independent / dependent clauses and coordinating /
subordinating conjunctions.
An independent clause is one that can stand alone as a sentence;
we use coordinating conjunctions to combine independent clauses.
Trait theory showed promise to explain leadership success.
(independent clause)
The theory also had weaknesses that could not be overcome.
(independent clause)
Trait theory showed promise to explain leadership success, but the
theory also had weaknesses that could not be overcome. (two
independent clauses joined by the coordinating conjunction but)
A dependent clause cannot stand alone because it does not
express a complete thought. It is linked to one or more independent
clauses by a subordinating conjunction.
After students have compared their answers for the Exercise on pages 3536
and checked them against the original text, you may want to have them discuss
as a class the answers that differed from the original text and why (or why not)
the connectors they chose were appropriate.
Highlight the purpose of this section, stated on the left. Tell students that they will
learn strategies and do activities that will help them recognize the way a lecture
is organized. They will also organize information they intend to share with an
audience.
After students have completed the Exercise, you may want to have them work in
pairs, small groups, or as a class, to make a list of other behaviors they have
noticed about leaders they know and categorize them as consideration or
initiation behaviors.
As you review the skills focus information on page 38, remind students
that their ultimate purpose is to be able to understand what they read and
hear more fully. The ability to organize large amounts of information is
also a skill that is essential for effective written and spoken
communication.
Point out to students that the structure of an academic lecture is not unlike
the structure of an academic essay or text: there is an introduction, body,
and conclusion. The patterns of organization a lecturer may use are the
same as those an effective writer uses and are clearly linked to the
speakers purpose.
After students have completed Exercise 2, page 40, you may want to discuss as
a class what clues they used to help them figure out how to order the information
in Exercise 1.
Before students listen to the lecture a second time, take a tally of how many
students were able to completely answer the questions, using their notes and
their memories of the lecture. If necessary, play the lecture again, have students
complete any unanswered questions, and compare their answers.
This lecture reviews the weakness of the trait theory of leadership and contrasts
it to the behavioral theory, which is based on the idea that perhaps what makes a
leader great is his or her behavior rather than specific qualities or traits.
Review the information in the skills section and point out to students that they will
be listening primarily for the words in the box on page 41. Their focus on these
words and expressions will enable them to see the relationship among the
different parts of this lecture.
Have students complete Exercise 1, page 41, and discuss their answers as a
class. Point out that the lecture is an example of a problem-solution text and
review the four distinct parts of this type of text: situation, problem, solution, and
results. If students are unclear about any of these terms, you may want to refer
them to the text on page 28, The Turnaround at Yellow Corporation, and remind
them that they identified these four parts in that text when they answered
question 3 on page 29.
Highlight the purpose of this section, stated on the left. In this section, students
present a case study about a leadership problem a company is having and
respond orally to another students presentation of a case study.
In this oral report, the student identifies three styles of leadership. They are:
Autocratica style in which leaders give orders and expect them to be
obeyed without question. Good examples of autocratic leaders are military
commanders, who must often make fast decisions in combat. This style
also suits industry leaders who must make fast decisions in order to beat
competitors.
Democratica style in which leaders ask for input from those they lead
but make the final decisions alone. For example, a democratic leader
might ask other group members to interview a job applicant, but would
make the final hiring decision alone.
Free-reigna style in which the manager acts as an advisor to
subordinates, but the subordinates makes the decisions. A chairperson of
a volunteer committee might use this style of leadership.
The effectiveness of leadership style greatly depends on the willingness of
subordinates to provide input or be creative.
For Exercise 1, page 43, you may want pairs to change partners one or two more
times to share ideas and for further practice.
Noun Clauses
Noun clauses are dependent clauses that perform the same functions as regular
nouns. They can be subjects or objects.
Remember that a dependent clause (or subordinate clause) is not a complete
sentence and cannot stand by itself. A dependent clause must be connected to
an independent clausea complete sentence that contains the main subject and
verb of a sentence.
1. The word that can be used to
introduce a noun clause. In such
cases, that does not have meaning; it
only introduces a clause.
Exercise 3, page 25
1. c. faltering assets
2. f. sound business judgment
3. d. offloading
4. e. a rising star
5. a. delivery against targets
6. b. extracting value
Exercise 2, page 33
Paragraphs 1 and 2
What caused the interest in trait What was the effect of this interest?
theory? Militaries began searching for traits to
People have always been identify leaders
fascinated by leaders Researchers began searching for
World War I created a demand leadership traits in many diverse
for military leaders populations, e.g. schoolchildren, business
leaders, etc.
Paragraphs 4, 5, and 6
disadvantages conclusion
item advantages
transition: 1. Unclear which comes first: Traits alone
Study of 1. Research traits or opportunity for dont explain
however
leadership shows leadership leadership
traits traits are 2. Dont know how to train & success.
related to develop leaders
leadership 3. Doesnt take into account
the situation in which
leadership occurs
Exercise 3, page 34
1. Leaders have a distinct set of traits.
2. Researchers began to study leadership traits in order to identify potential
successful military leaders. It was important to be able to do this during World
War I.
3. A trait is a personal characteristic of an individual, including physical
characteristics, intellectual ability, and personality. Some traits are associated
with leadership, some are not.
4. Traits associated with successful leaders include: emotional intelligence, high
energy, stable personality, agreeableness, extroversion, openness to
experience, etc.
5. Students should check:
trait theory doesnt explain which comes first, the leadership traits, or the
leadership position
trait theory doesnt explain how leaders behave or what they do
trait theory doesnt explain how leaders behave in different situations
Global Listening
Exercise 1, page 39
Introduction:
1. Review of trait theory
2. Weakness of trait theory
Body:
3. Introduction to behavioral theory
4. Research on behavioral theory
5. Two main orientations of behavioral theory: consideration and initiation
behaviorsdefinitions
6. An example of consideration versus initiation behavior
7. Weakness of behavioral theory
8. Research on the influence of work situations
9. Work situations and their impact on leadership behavior
Conclusion:
10. Homework: to read about situational theories of leadership
Exercise 3, page 40
1. The two orientations of the behavioral theory of leadership are consideration
behaviors and initiation behaviors. An example of consideration behavior is
thanking an employee who has done good work. An example of initiation
behavior is assigning an employee work to be done.
2. It didnt take into account the influence of the situation on how effective a
leaders behavior might be.
3.
Characteristics of Work Situations Characteristics of Work Situations
that Create Stress that Dont Create Stress
Tight deadlines Long lead time
Inexperienced employees Experienced employees
Unclear task Clearly defined task
Most effective leader behavior for Most effective leader behavior for
these situations: these situations:
Focused Listening
Exercise 1, page 41
To To Add a To Show a To Show a To Show a To
Introduce Point Result Contrast Similarity Conclude
Points,
Examples,
Reasons
first in addition so while similarly in
second furthermore as a result although likewise conclusion
next moreover therefore even in summary
finally consequently though in closing
for thus whereas
example however
such as but
on the
other hand
in contrast