Ineffective Leadership Research Articles

Jimmy Carter, Public Policy, and the Public Interest

By most assessments, Jimmy Carter's presidency was a failure. The popular image of Carter is that of a president who was politically naive, an inept manager, a well-meaning but nettlesome scold, and an unsuccessful leader. According to two recent scholarly evaluations, Carter was an ineffective leader who ranks in the bottom quintile of the thirty-nine presidents who have preceded George Bush.

Continuous quality improvement: Why some organisations lack commitment

This paper makes the claim that not all companies are willing to embrace the fundamentals of Total Quality Management (TQM) and goes on to outline six levels of adoption. It is argued that there are a considerable number of companies who are using all the popular quality management tools and techniques and have met second and third party assessments of their quality system. However, these techniques, procedures and systems are being used in a superficial manner. The main cause of this situation is a lack of management commitment to the principles of TQM and quality improvement and ineffective leadership of the improvement process. Drawing on research work carried out in the areas of initial sample inspection reporting, statistical process control and mistake proofing in an automotive component supplier operating at this level of TQM adoption, evidence is provided on the problems caused by a lack of dedication to continuous companywide quality improvement.

The impact of foundation-funded commissions on health policy.

National task forces, commissions, and other ad hoc advisory bodies-both public and pr ivate-have been a prominent feature of the American political landscape since the turn of the century. However, studies of their impact on public policy are relatively recent and have focused primarily on presidential commissions. Privately sponsored bodies have received considerably less attention. This essay reports on a study we conducted with the support of The Commonwealth Fund to learn more about the impact of foundation-funded commissions on national health policy decisions. The study had two main objectives: (1) to assess the policy impact of one of Commonwealth’s own recent commissions (the Task Force on Academic Health Centers), and (2) to extrapolate from the specific experiences of the task force and a small comparison group of commissions some practical lessons about the composition, conduct, and impact of such bodies. Because the sponsorship and funding of commissions is but one way foundations seek to influence public policy, our study cannot settle broader arguments about the policy role of foundations. It can, however, provide useful information for foundations and other sponsors about the design and management of ad hoc advisory bodies. Study methods. We defined foundation-funded commission as (1) an ad hoc, task-oriented advisory body, (2) sponsored (that is, established) by a foundation or other private institution or organization, and (3) funded by one or more foundations to deliberate and formulate recommendations on an issue of public policy. We excluded from this definition all governmental commissions (for example, all ad hoc advisory bodies established by executive or legislative mandate or regulation), even

Substitutes for leadership: Effective alternatives to ineffective leadership

Substitutes for leadership: Effective alternatives to ineffective leadership

The Presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes.

This new interpretation of the Hayes administration contradicts the widely held view that Hayes was an inept politician and an ineffective leader. Hoogenboom argues that it was Hayes's character and personality that set his presidency apart in the Gilded Age. This volume covers all issues, decisions, and developments during the Hayes presidency from the withdrawal of troops from Louisiana and South Carolina that signalled the end of Reconstruction, through the Great Strike of 1877 the most violent general strike in American history and the Nez Perce War, to the struggle for civil service reform and the fight to preserve voting rights. Hoogenboom credits Hayes with being a patient reformer, principled but practical, cautious yet courageous. His honesty and decency echoed the pristine values of the early American Republic, while his attempts to rally support by emphasizing issues and policies rather than by relying on political organization anticipated the style of twentieth-century presidents."

The Presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes (review)

BOOK REVIEWS353 Here Bowen modifies the views of historians who see Johnson's break with his moderate "associates"as the result ofpolitical and personal ineptitude . Johnson, he argues, was a masterful politician who could not have survived so long or succeeded so well if he had been the outsider described by historian Eric McKitrick. Rather, moderates and Johnson failed to understand the different meanings attached to the common lexicon they both used. When Johnson acted on the ideology behind his words, he disappointed moderates who felt deceived and betrayed. Interestingly, Bowen reminds us that a commonly shared belief in black inferiority could elicit a diverse number ofresponses to the problems of Reconstruction. That point alone should help us come to a better understanding ofhow men like Johnson , Trumbull and others met the challenges of black freedom. Paul A. Cimbala Fordham University The Presidency ofRutherford B. Hayes. By Ari Hoogenboom. American Presidency Series. (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1988. Pp. x, 278. $25.00.) American historians continually reevaluate presidents as individuals and chief executives, as well as reappraise the eras in which they lived. In this study of Rutherford B. Hayes and his administration, 1877-81, Ari Hoogenboom concludes that the Ohioan was "both a reformer and a practical politician" (139) and emphasizes the theme that Hayes was a moderate president. Hoogenboom refines the generally favorable perception of Hayes which he presented in Outlawing the Spoils: A History ofthe Civil Service Reform Movement, 1865-1883. Indeed, Hoogenboom asserts that "Hayes was both a good man and an able president . . . [whose] administration contradicts the widely held view that he was an inept politican and an ineffective leader" (223). Hoogenboom reaches well beyond Kenneth Davison's research for his own overly laudatory narrative ofthis presidency published in 1972 to mark the sesquicentennial of Hayes's birth. Davison confined his efforts to honoring Hayes's performance on a limited number of issues. Particularly engaging is the author's pursuit of Hayes's thoughts about the formidable issues which he confronted. Although he follows the biographical outline set out in Davison's study, Hoogenboom makes more extensive use of Hayes's diaries and letters. He covers the familiar ground of Hayes's youth and earlyadulthood and then unravels the complex story of the dispute over the outcome of the 1876 presidential election. Of the campaign itself, Hoogenboom writes that "Governors Hayes and Tilden played the role that tradition assigned them . . . [pjretending to be above the sordid business ofelectioneering . . . steadfastly administering] their 354CIVIL WAR HISTORY state governments, while awaiting the call of the people" ( 1 7). It becomes readily apparent how much Hayes wanted to win. After the governor from Ohio triumphs, Hoogenboom illuminates Hayes's presidential performance and personality. In his inaugural address , Hayes advocated reconciliation in the South, and later on he exacted promises from Dixie governors regarding the rights of black Americans. While taking pains to show what the chiefexecutive wanted, Hoogenboom insists that "Hayes was wrong" (70) about Southern sentiments and that he soon "knew that his southern policy had failed" (78). Throughout the remainder of his administration, Hayes faced other thorny problems. Whetherattempting to scour the process ofappointments to the New York Customhouse, to control striking railroad workers, or to contain defiant Nez Perces in the Pacific Northwest, Hayes, in formulating policies, "searche[d] for the middle ground" (130). Given the impressive monographs which have recently appeared on various aspects ofAmerican life in the late 1870s, Hoogenboom might have sketched an even richer background to show what Americans experienced in this era, and lent additional balance to his scrutiny of Hayes's actions. In the end, this portrait of Hayes shows him leading alongside his nation, rather than moving too far out in front. Hayes made mistakes, and sometimes he misunderstood the nature of the problems he faced. Although Hoogenboom occasionally overstates his case fora cautious president with sweeping objectives, Hayes emerges as a living, breathing human being who compromised when practical politics dictated such a course. Sarah L. Sharp Bowling Green State University Abraham Lincoln, Public Speaker. By Waldo W. Braden (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1988. Pp. 119. $19.95.) If Abraham Lincoln was not in the class...

Signaling Participation Through Relational Communication

This study tests four hypotheses derived from the Leader Interpersonal Influence Model, which examines leaders' ability to adapt communicator styles that enhance problem-solv ing effectiveness in small groups. University students participated as leaders in problem- solving groups made up of confederates. The findings indicate that the two primary dimensions of leaders' communicator style are dominance and supportiveness. Addition ally, the results show that effective leaders displayed a wider repertoire of communicator styles than ineffective leaders. Also, within an experimental situation that demands strong direction, dominance was highly correlated with effectiveness for directive leaders, and both dominance and supportiveness were highly correlated with effective ness for participative leaders. Lastly, the findings reveal that leaders' relational com munication must exceed a minimal threshold before obtaining desired responses from group members. Implications for management are outlined and suggestions are made that future research should examine leaders' communicator styles in other decision-making contexts.

An Analysis of Effective and Ineffective Leader Conversation

Current trends in leadership study recognize the importance of symbol use in the everyday talk of leaders. An examination of the conversational forms constituting effective and ineffective talk by leaders revealed two findings: (1) Effective conversations by leaders were viewed as positively valenced, coherent, and as facilitating the accomplishment of work-related and personal goals, and (2) effective conversations produced higher levels of identification and decreased organizational members' need for legitimation processes. These findings suggest several research areas regarding the relationship between leadership and communication competence.

DIMENSIONS OF INEFFECTIVE SCHOOL LEADERSHIP: THE TEACHERS' PERSPECTIVE

The study reported in this paper examines teachers' perspectives on ineffective school leadership. Unstructured and structured interviews, open‐ended questionnaires, and observations were used to collect data from teachers in one urban high school in the southeastern United States. Data were collected and analyzed according to guidelines for grounded theory research. This paper describes factors teachers identified with ineffective school principals and the impact of these factors on the teachers and their relationships with other faculty, students, and parents. Theoretical ideas derived from the data are discussed. These ideas focus on relationships between school principal factors and the sociocultural context of the school.

The Role of Personal Risk-Taking in Effective Leadership

Three studies address the role of personal risk-taking in effective leadership. The first study analyzed questionnaire data which detailed behavior of both effective and ineffective military combat leaders. This study indicates that effective combat leaders were judged to demonstrate more personally endangering acts than were ineffective combat leaders. The second study investigated personal risk-taking in leadership within a large urban fire department. Using interview techniques similar to those used in the first study, results obtained indicate that-effective leaders in fire combat were judged to show more personal bravery (i.e., physical risk-taking) than ineffective leaders. Thus, results for fire combat leaders were nearly identical to the results for military combat leaders. The third study included a separate set of data for current fire service leaders' judged fire combat leadership performance and their rated personal risk-taking. Results obtained in this study indicate that leaders judged by their superiors as personally accepting physical risks were also judged as more effective combat leaders. The personal risk-taking factor made a significant contribution towards explaining the variance in leadership effectiveness even when other leadership factors were controlled for statistically. A second analysis, using data collected from the leaders themselves, indicates that time in the role and job satisfaction are significant predictors of personal risk-taking behavior in fire service leaders. It was concluded that the willingness to expose onself to danger is associated with effective leadership in potentially life-threatening situations and that factors found in studies of motivation in organizations may account for such acts of personal bravery by leaders.

Male versus female leaders: A comparison of empirical studies

One of the popular reasons given for differential treatment of women in management stems from stereotyping females as ineffective leaders. Thirty-two female leadership studies were reviewed. Trait, style, and contingency leadership theories were used as a framework to analyze the studies. The trait studies consistently supported the traditional attitude that women lack adequate leadership characteristics. Both style and contingency studies were split as to whether women were effective or ineffective leaders. Most student studies supported the commonly held beliefs about women's leadership style and effectiveness. On the other hand, managerial studies did not support the typical female stereotyping; this suggests the possibility of a socializing process modifying practicing managers' attitudes towards women, and it also raises a question about the validity of stereotyping as a discriminatory causal factor in managerial environments. Before more conclusive statements can be made, further sex-related leadership research controlling for subjects and methodology is suggested.

Group Representation in Local Bureaucracies

This paper examines a variety of explanations for why some active groups are better represented in local bureaucracies than other active groups. An examination of 1397 group-agency relationships in 55 cities resulted in some tentative evidence supporting the following propositions: (1) The organizational structures of groups-their permanency, their cohesion, and their size—do not explain the level of group representa tion in local bureaucracies. (2) The behavioral characteristics of groups—"the public-regardingness" of their demands, the "effectiveness" of their leadership, and the "conventionality" of their style-partially explain variations in group representation. (3) Organizations composed primarily of blacks and especially of low-status citizens tend to adopt some ineffective behaviors—making private-regarding demands, using ineffective leadership, and adopting unconventional styles-which result in reduced representation. (4) The extent to which blacks are underrepresented in local bureaucracies is not fully accounted for by behavioral variables. Part of the underrepresentation of black groups may be due to continuing overt discrimination.

The Presidency of Warren G. Harding

In this volume, Eugene P. Trani and David L. Wilson evaluate the presidency of Warren G. Harding by surveying scholarship on the Harding years. Harding generally considered one of the weakest American presidents was elected chief executive in 1920, during a time of uncertainty and frustration for many of the American people. The authors assess the critics and defenders of Harding in light of the administration's accomplishments and failures. Both the strengths and weaknesses of the Harding administration came from the people President Harding selected for high office. Charles G. Dawes accomplished much by implementing sound budgetary practices in the federal government for the first time in history. Herbert Hoover became the dominant figure in the Harding administration, using his influence to advance both domestic and foreign policies. And Charles Evans Hughes proved to be an able, if conservative, secretary of state. Yet the accomplishments of these and other capable men tended to be short-term in nature. Trani and Wilson describe the widespread corruption and malfeasance in the Harding administration, pointing out the Harding's erratic judgment of character caused many of his problems as president. His personal habits philandering, playing poker, and drinking liquor during national prohibition tainted his reputation and appeared to connect him to the activities of his associates. Tragically, Harding sought to avoid controversy, even if it meant ignoring real problems or evading justice, and thus failed to provide moral leadership for the nation. Harding and his advisers demonstrated little understanding of the social and economic forces at work in the country and abroad. In the early 1920s, the United States continued the transition from a rural society to an urbanized and industrialized society. Rather than adjusting the government to meet the needs of all segments of an industrialized society, Harding instituted normalcy, an attempt to maintain the values of a rural society rapidly disintegrating under the impact of social and economic change. The few real accomplishments of the Harding administration were buried under scandal. and in the end, Harding must be rated as an ineffective leader at a time when the nation would have been better served by a different, more imaginative approach to government.

An Analysis of Conflicting Social Norms

T HIS PAPER illustrates an empirical procedure for studying role obligations, with particular reference to simultaneous role obligations which conflict. The writer became especially interested in the problem when considering the strains to which the non-commissioned officer in the Army was subjected. On the one hand, the non-com had the role of agent of the command and in case the orders from above conflicted with what his men thought were right and necessary he was expected by his superiors to carry out the orders. But he also was an enlisted sharing enlisted men's attitudes, often hostile attitudes, toward the commissioned ranks. Consequently, the system of informal controls was such as to reward him for siding with the men in a conflict situation and punish him if he did not. There was some evidence that unless his men had confidence that he could see their point of view, he was an ineffective leader; on the other hand, open and flagrant disobedience by him of an order from above could not be tolerated by the command.' The general theoretical viewpoint behind this paper involves several propositions: i. In any social group there exist norms and a strain for conformity to these norms. 2. Ordinarily, if the norms are clear and unambiguous the individual has no choice but to conform or take the consequences in group resentment. 3. If a person has simultaneous roles in two or more groups such that simultaneous conformity to the norms of each of the groups is incompatible, he can take one of only a limited number of actions, for example: (i) He can conform to one set of role expectations and take the consequences of non-conformity to other sets. (2) He can seek a compromise position by which he attempts to conform in part, though not wholly, to one or more sets of role expectations, in the hope that the sanctions applied will be minimal. It need hardly be pointed out that conflicts of role obligations are a common experience of all people, especially in our complex Western society. The foreman in industry, like the non-com in the Army, is an obvious example; the marginal man, *Manuscript received September 30, 1949. t This study was made at the Harvard Laboratory of Social Relations, in connection with research sponsored by the RAND Corporation under AirForce Project RAND. 'Stouffer, Suchman, DeVinney, Star, Williams, The American Soldier, Vol. I, Chapter 8.