What is the University of Michigan model of leadership?

Michigan Model of Leadership

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What is the University of Michigan model of leadership?

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What is the University of Michigan model of leadership?

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The Michigan Leadership Studies were the well-known series of leadership studies that commenced at the University of Michigan in the 1950s by Rensis Likert, with the objective of identifying the principles and types of leadership styles that led to greater productivity and enhanced job satisfaction among workers.[1] The studies identified two broad leadership styles – an employee orientation and a production orientation. They also identified three critical characteristics of effective leaders – task-oriented behavior, relationship-oriented behavior and participative leadership.[2] The studies concluded that an employee orientation rather than a production orientation, coupled with general instead of close supervision, led to better results. The Michigan leadership studies, along with the Ohio State University studies that took place in the 1940s, are two of the best-known behavioral leadership studies and continue to be cited to this day.

See also[edit]

  • Industrial and organizational psychology
  • Organizational studies
  • Leadership
  • Charisma
  • Trait Theory
  • Management Systems

References[edit]

  1. ^ Boje, D. (2000). "The Isles Leadership: The Voyage of the Behaviorists". The Leadership Box. Northern Michigan State University.
  2. ^ "Michigan Leadership Studies". Investopedia. Retrieved August 12, 2016.

  • http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/actions/michigan.htm

Highlights of the University of Michigan Studies

The Michigan Studies, conducted by Rensis LikertOpens in new window and his colleagues at the University of Michigan, is a survey on leadership behaviors that measures higher-performance and group satisfaction based on two dimensions of leader behavior, namely, the job centered and employee centered styles of leadership.

The Michigan Studies builds on the work of the Ohio StateOpens in new window, but it took a different approach by directly comparing the behavior of effective and ineffective supervisors. The effectiveness of leaders was determined by productivity of the followers.

Initial field studies and interviews at various job sites gave way to a questionnaire quite like the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ)Opens in new window, called the Survey of Organizations.

During the course of the survey, Rensis Likert and his colleagues established two types of leadership behavior:

  • Employee centered style, and
  • Job centered style.

They specified that employee centered and job centered, each were identified similarly to consideration and initiating structure respectively in the Ohio State studies; and that each consists of two dimensions.

1.  Employee-centered Style

Employee-centered leaders display a focus on the human needs of their followers. Leader support and interaction facilitation are the two underlying dimensions of employee-centered behavior. This means that in addition to demonstrating support for their followers, employee-centered leaders facilitate positive interaction among followers and seeks to minimize conflict.

The employee-centered style of leadership roughly corresponds to the Ohio State concept of considerationOpens in new window. Because relationships are so important in today’s work environment, many organizations are looking for leaders who can facilitate positive interaction among others.

2.  Job-centered Style

In contrast to the employee-centered leader, the job-centered leader directs activities toward scheduling, accomplishing tasks, and achieving efficiency. Goal emphasis and work facilitation are dimensions of this leadership behavior. By focusing on reaching task goals and facilitating the structure of tasks, job-centered behavior approximates that of initiating structureOpens in new window.

Investigations conducted in a wide variety of industries found that effective supervisors were employee centered. They focused on needs of the group and also established high-performance goals that were determined jointly with their followers.

However, unlike the consideration and initiating structure styles defined by the Ohio State studies, Rensis Likert and the other Michigan researchers considered employee-centered leadership and job-centered leadership to the distinct styles in opposition to one another. A leader is identifiable by behavior characteristic of one or the other style, but not both.

Another hallmark of later Michigan studies is the acknowledgment that often the behaviors of goal emphasis, work facilitation, support, and interaction facilitation can be meaningfully performed by a follower’s peers, rather than only by the designated leader. Other people in the group could supply those behaviors, which enhanced performance.

In addition, while leadership behavior was demonstrated to affect the performance and satisfaction of followers, performance was also influenced by other factors related to the situation within which leaders and followers worked.

What is Michigan theory of leadership?

The Michigan Leadership Studies identified the leadership styles that produced the highest employee satisfaction and productivity. The studies categorized leadership styles as either employee orientation, which emphasizes human relations, or production orientation, which focuses on task-oriented activities.

What are the University of Michigan leadership styles?

Michigan Leadership Studies led to behavioral Leadership Theory as a result of a leadership study conducted at the University of Michigan. Michigan studies identified three important behaviors of leadership called task-oriented behavior, relationship-oriented behavior, and participative leadership.

What are the two main dimensions of Michigan studies into leadership?

The studies identified two broad leadership styles – an employee orientation and a production orientation.

What are the 4 leadership models?

Types of Leadership Styles.
Autocratic..
Democratic..
Laissez-faire..
Transformational..