Leadership

Leadership has different meanings for everyone. It's generally defined as one who exerts themselves with more influence within a group than anyone else at a particular time. There is no one individual who operates best within all situations or all groups. There are some leaders who are successful and others who fail. There are different kinds of leaders because there are different demands for leadership. This paper will look at a huge company scandal and explain what's needed for effective leadership in a business. It will also discuss a few different types of leadership such as; transactional, transformational, servant, and laissez faire. The paper will conclude with describing the relationship between leadership effectiveness, job satisfaction, job performance and customer satisfaction.

Enron Energy Co.

The infamous Enron scandal is used in many colleges today as a way to illustrate improper work ethics in a business. The Enron Company was one the seventh largest companies in more than 40 countries. However, the firm's success turned out to have involved an elaborate scam. Enron lied about its profits and was accused of a range of shady dealings, including concealing debts so they didn't show up in the company's accounts. As the degree of the deception unfolded, investors and creditors retreated, forcing to firm into chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Researchers proved that leaders can lead by misinforming their followers, making false claims to justify their actions and can base their actions on the convenient point of view that the ends justify the means. Lying, which one can reasonably assert is unethical is the standard operating procedure often practiced by many sales leaders, political leaders and business leaders. Unethical behavior is today but one tool in the arsenal of many that leaders use in the world to accomplish goals. Since, there is no general theory of ethical leadership, there isn't much research or solid evidence that shows that ethical behavior produces superior "leadership results" in the long term or the short term. And as long as we define "leadership results" as success and do not monitor or analyze the underlying leadership behavior in terms of whether it was ethical or not, we can never show statistically that ethical behavior is a superior result producer than unethical behavior.

A significant part of the world is destroyed every day by unethical behavior. Until we develop a solid theory of ethical leadership, begin to monitor leadership from an ethical perspective, and begin to define ethical leadership in positive terms as opposed to today's set of "don't do's", we can not generate the consensus and political will to demand that all leadership consist of ethical leadership. I'm sure the leaders at Enron exercised various styles of leadership but after during research for this paper I'm sure they used the Transactional style was used on a regular basis.

Transactional Leadership

Transactional leadership seeks to motivate followers by appealing to their own self interest. Its principles are to motivate by the exchange process. For example, business owners exchange status and wages for the work effort of the employee. In the political environment, politicians may exchange favors or government jobs for votes. Transactional behavior focuses on the accomplishment of tasks and good worker relationships in exchange for desirable rewards. Transactional leadership may encourage the leader to adapt their style and behavior to meet the perceived expectations of the followers. The transactional leader works through creating clear structures whereby it is clear what is required of their subordinates. Punishments are not always mentioned, but they are also well-understood and formal systems of discipline are usually in place. Transactional leadership can encompass four types of behavior:

1. Contingent Reward - is to influence behavior, the leader clarifies the work needed to be accomplished. The leader uses rewards or incentives to achieve results when expectations are me.

2. Passive Management by Exception - is to influence behavior, the leader uses correction or punishment as a response to unacceptable performance or deviation from the accepted standards.

3. Active Management by Exception - is to influence behavior, the leader actively monitors the work performed and uses corrective methods to ensure the work is completed to meet accepted standards.

4. Laissez-Faire Leadership - is the leader that's indifferent and has a "hands-off approach toward the workers and their performance. This leader ignores the needs of others, does not respond to problems or does not monitor performance.

Transactional leadership behavior is used to one degree or another by most leaders. A leader should not exclusively or primarily practice transactional leadership behavior to influence others. However you have some that use it as a tool to manipulate others for personal gain. This type of leadership seeks to influence others by exchanging work for wages, but it does not build on the worker's need for meaningful work or tap into their creativity. The most effective and beneficial leadership behavior to achieve long-term success and improved performance is transformational leadership.

Whereas transformational leadership has more of a selling style, transactional leadership, once the contract is in place, takes a telling style.

Transformational Leadership

To use this approach in the workforce, one must first understand exactly what transformational leadership transformational leadership is. Transformational leadership is a process that changes and transforms individuals. It's the ability to get people to want to change, to improve, and to be led. It involves assessing workers motives, satisfying their needs, and values them. A transformational leader could make the company more successful by valuing its associates.

There are four factors to transformational leadership, commonly known as the "four I's". They are as follows: Idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration.

* Idealized influence describes managers who are exemplary role models for associates. Managers with idealized influence can be trusted and respected by associates to make good decisions for the organization.

* Inspirational motivation describes manager who motivates associates to commit to the vision of the organization. Managers with inspirational motivation encourage team spirit to reach goals of increased