Simone Bennett

ID: UD70511BHU79664

Introductions to Theories of Leadership

AIU Exam - Atlantic International University (A. I. U)

School: Social and Human Studies

Major: Social Development

{July 14 2021}

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Table contents

1.0 What is Leadership

2.0 The History of Leadership theory: past, present, and

3.0 Leadership Theories &

4.0 What are leadership theories and leadership styles…………………………………..5-

4.1 Situational
Theory…………………………………………………………………………...6

4.2 Contingency Theory………………………………………………………………………6-

4.3 Relationship Theory…………………………………………………………………………

4.4 Participative Theory………………………………………………………………………7-8

4.5 Autocratic Theory…………………………………………………………………..............8

5.0 General Discussion……………………………………………………………………..8-12

5.1 Analysis on Situational Theory…………………………………………………………9-

5.2 Analysis on Contingency Theory……………………………………………………..10-

5.3 Analysis on Relationship Theory…………………………………………………………

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5.4 Analysis on Participative Theory…………………………………………………………
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5.5 Analysis on Autocratic Theory………………………………………………………..11-

6.0 Contribution to this Essay……………………………………………………………..12-

7.0 Conclusion on this Essay……………………………………………………………...13-

8.0 Book, Articles, Blogs, Bibliographies, Websites, and Page………………………..18-

Introductions to Theories of Leadership

1.0 What is Leadership Theories?

Leadership theories are the explanations of how and why certain people become

leaders. They focus on the traits and behaviors that people can adopt to increase their

leadership capabilities. Leadership theories are also school of thought brought forward

to explain how and why certain individuals become leaders. The theories emphasize the

traits. Leadership refers to ability of an individual or an organization to guide individuals,

teams, or organizations toward the fulfilment of goals and objections. Here are some of

the top traits that leaders say are vital to good leaders which includes the following:

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  Strong ethics and high moral standards

 Great self-organizational skills

 Efficient leaner

 Nurtures growth in employees

 Fosters connection and belonging

This essay will introduce leadership theories in a way that is easily digestible and

ultimately useful to its reader. I will also use my place of employment to explain one out

of the five theories in leadership that the bank is currently using presently.

In conclusion part of this essay, I will also make a suggestion on what is considered an

appropriate leadership theory that my organization can be used which will enhance the

managerial effectiveness and organizational performance in the Bank of Guyana.

2.0The History of Leadership theory: past, present and future

History of leadership theory and research. In a comprehensive review of leadership

theories (Stogdill, 1974), several different categories were identified that capture the

essence of the study of leadership in the twentieth century. The first trend dealt with the

attributes of great leaders. Leadership was explained by the internal qualities with which

a person is born (Bernard, 1926). The thought was that if the traits that differentiated

leaders from followers could be identified, successful leaders could be quickly assessed

and put into positions of leadership. Personality, physical, and mental characteristics

were examined. This research was based on the idea that leaders were born, not made,

and the key to success was simply in identifying those people who were born to be

great leaders. Though much research was done to identify the traits, no clear answer

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was found with regard to what traits consistently were associated with great leadership.

One flaw with this line of thought was in ignoring the situational and environmental

factors that play a role in a leader’s level of effectiveness.

3.0 Leadership Theories and Styles

The development of leadership theories over the past century has brought us a greater

understanding of what makes a good leader. It has also given people the tools they

need to develop their leadership abilities. Just as importantly, the study of leadership

has led researchers to discover distinct of leadership. Research stemming from

Situational and Behavioral Leadership theories has especially helped to identify specific

types of leadership styles. Rather than believing that leadership is something inherent,

managers can adopt different styles as needed in different situations.

4.0 What are leadership theory and leadership style?

Leadership theory studies the qualities of good leaders. Psychologists analyze and

developed leadership theory, and researchers try to discover the common qualities or

behavioral pattern of excellent leaders. Some of the leadership aspects they consider

include:

 Personality traits

 Actions

 Environment

 Situation

 Decision-making process

 How input is received

 How relationships are maintained

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Leadership style is the way a leader approaches managing team members. Leadership

styles were formally developed as a result of studies on leadership theory, and each

styles includes distinct qualities. Common leadership styles includes:

 Coach: Recognizes strength and weakness, helps people set goals and provides

a lot of feedback.

 Visionary: Manages through inspiration and confidence.

 Servant: Focuses on helping team members feel fulfilled.

 Autocratic or authoritarian: Makes decisions with little or no input from others.

 Laissez-faire or hands –off: Delegates tasks and provides little supervision.

 Pacesetter: Sets high standards and focuses on performance.

In essence both of the leadership theory and the leadership styles are intertwined with

each other, one provides the qualities of good leaders and leaderships and the other

provides the appropriate approach in managing their team , so without out leadership

theory , there will be no leadership styles , because one cannot work without the other.

In the leadership theories I will briefly expound on the four major theories within an

organization starting with the following:

4.1 Situational Theory: the “term situational theory” means, why it’s important, and

how it applies in the workplace? In today’s fast-changing business environment requires

managers to take a nimble and responsive approve to whatever is arising in their team,

work environment, competitive market, and organization. Hence Situational leadership

can help managers better adapt to their work environments, and to the people they

lead. I will give two examples of situational leaders who were highly flexible and

responsive in leadership that adapts to the needs of employees and situations, let us

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look at the late Steve Jobs, as it is known that he was ousted from the company

because of poor sales and among other things. In 1997 he was brought back into the

company to revive it, which he did with the help of Bill gates. Because he was known

for his charisma, his ability to passionately articulate his visions made people aspire to

follow his lead. The next example is Queen Hatshepsut, her leadership ushered in a

new era for Ancient Kemet as a gifted, wise, and cunning leader made her reign over

Ancient Kemet for twenty years. Her leadership established trade relationships with

many foreign countries which made ancient Kemet a rich nation.

4.2 Contingency Theory: In contingency theory there are dozens of factors that can

affect a leader’s effectiveness. This includes things like the size of the team, the scope

of a project, and the expected delivery date for a result. Different leaders, each with

unique leadership styles, will respond to these variables in different ways.

Therefore, leaders must be willing to acknowledge the fact that their success depends

partially on their circumstances in addition to their personal skills. For example Steve

Jobs leadership style had to be an autocratic leadership style that was the contingency

model Apple Company needed at the time. As it is known that contingency theory

focuses on the situation at hand, and the situation at that time was to save Apple from

bankruptcy, so in understanding what this theory is about, it serves its purpose by

ensuring that the right type of leadership is befitting for an organization in its time of

need.

4.3 Relationship Theory: the relationship theory of leadership focuses on leaders who

are mainly concerned about their interactions with others. They are often mentors for

employees, scheduling time to talk to them and working to meet their needs. These

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kinds of leaders are focused on making work enjoyable for as many people as possible,

and they want to foster a positive work environment. Studies show that this kind of

leadership behavior can be the most effective for many employees. Relationship-

oriented managers often get better results from their employees.

An example of relationship theory would be a manager who takes a newer employee

under his or her wing and work to help that employee understand how they fit within the

organization, encourages the individual to be open about questions and problems, and

create a positive working environment.

4.4 Participative Theory: participative leadership isn’t as common in the corporate

world. Sometimes called democratic leadership, this leadership theory suggests that

employees be directly involved in decision - making in their organization. The leader

simply facilitates the conversation and then takes all the suggestions, and comes up

with the best possible action. In this theory, everyone is very involved with decisions for

the team and organization, with the leader simply helping direct the charge. An example

of participative theory in leadership style is Bill Gates, he encourages employees to be

open and honest about their thoughts which usually helps in solving problems.

4.5 Autocratic Theory: this style of theory or leadership is also known as authoritarian

leadership is a leadership style characterized by individual control over all decisions and

little input from group members. Autocratic leaders typically make all the choices based

upon their own ideas and judgments and rarely accept advice from the group or

followers, autocratic leadership involves absolute, authoritarian control over a group.

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An example of an autocratic leader is, at my place of employment, his name is Dr.

Gobind Ganga. I will expound on his leadership in the conclusion part of this essay.

In essence it, is my belief that these leadership theories would be essential to various

organizations depending on the factors of the situation of the organizations at the time.

Hence leadership theories will work depending on what is best for the organization’s

success.

5.0 General Discussion

Well as one can see that leadership theory, is a discipline that focuses on finding out

what makes successful leaders excel in what they do. For instance, if an organization

want to excel in its business, the leaders must begin with a leadership theory, the

leadership theory is not only for focusing on finding out what makes successful leaders

excel, it is also used as a guide, as to what leadership will be used and how it will be

used in the organization. Every organization has a leadership theory that is tailored

made for that organization to function efficiently and effectively. In this discussion I will

give my analysis on five leadership theories that I have listed, there are as follow:

Situational Theory, Contingency Theory, Relationship Theory, Participative

Theory, and Autocratic Theory. The reason why I have chosen these five leadership

theories are, that organizations benefits from them and of course there are many more

leadership theories than just these five that are highlighted but it depends on the

structure and size of the organization. I will use my place of employment Bank of

Guyana to highlight one of the five leadership theories that the Bank has been using for

the past fifty-six years.

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I will show the relevance of how important this essay is towards my studies in Human

Resource Management which I am presently working towards. I will also make a

suggestion that if the bank can revisit its policies and have a look at relationship theory

in leadership which I believe would be the best fit for the bank of Guyana it will also

develop a much stronger working relationship between management and employees.

Here are my analysis of the five leadership theories.

5.1 Analysis on Situational Theory: situational theory means that as a manager for an

organization, one must always be prepared to work outside of one’s comfort zone.

Some leaders work well under pressure, they would usually come up with solutions that

may avert crisis in an organization. Hence situational theory in my view is a theory that

every organization should always implement within their policies guidelines. In essence

it, is my belief that this theory is very important because it helps to show how well

managers can work or even lead under stress, this theory also shows the character of

how managers will handle any given situation. Anyone can function within their comfort

zone, but when situations arise and those individuals may have to set up a tent

somewhere to administer their duties under stress, there is where one will see if the

managers have what it take to lead or if they will fold upon the situation that they have

encountered.

5.2 Analysis on Contingency Theory: contingency theory in my view is a backup plan. A

plan to try and avert any disasters that may arise at an organization, what will we be the

contingency plan? How will the organization continue its business? This is where

managers/ leaders are tested in times like these. So in other words to ensure that you

are an effective manager / leader, one must maximize their chances of being an

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efficient leader by examining each situation and decide which leadership theory or style

is the best fit for the organization, managers / leaders must be objective and adaptable.

This theory is very important because it testes the managers / leaders ability to be

cognizant of the fact that none thing in life or in business is utopian, if a situation arise

the managers of the organization must already have a backup plan to offset any

anomalies that may or may not affect the business or the organization, an example of

an anomaly is the COVID-19 Virus , which the bank did not adequately prepared for,

however, when the virus reach Guyana’s shore ,the bank’s manager and management

created plans to try and offset the virus from affecting its employees, most of those

plans failed . But management continues to persevere and eventually, the bank finds a

breakthrough to deal with the virus, persons who are infected or expose to virus - like

myself had to be quarantine for a period of time, as a result of this, some of us had to

work long hours and also fill in for those employees who are in quarantine. Regardless

of the situation, even in a pandemic the bank’s business at the end of the day must

always be fully operational and in service to the Guyanese public.

5.3 Analysis on Relationship Theory: relationship theory is all about interaction with

each other which I think in my view is a great attribute for an organization. When

employees are employed into an organization, training, guidance, and mentoring are

needed to achieve the goal in the organization. Relationship theory in my view is a very

important theory within all organizations, this theory helps employees to grow

professionally within the organization. In essence, I think that this theory is a good fit for

all organizations, because when employees are employed within the organizations,

even though the training which is required by the organizations to get them started

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within their jobs, I also believed that mentoring is also needed for the employees

because it fosters a positive working environment within the organization.

5.4 Analysis on Participative Theory: in my view I would like to think that a theory such

as this would not be popular in organizations, especially the one in which I am working

at. I like this theory because it allows employees to be more engaged and motivated of

being a part of the decisions making within an organization. Of course, the ultimate

decision will come from the leader of the team, and what is best for the organization,

however, employees having a say in those decisions is a plus for the organization and

the employees as well.

5.5 Analysis on Autocratic Theory; autocratic leadership as it is known by all is that an

individual makes all of the decision within an organization, and without little or no input

from the group. This type of leadership may be necessary when an organization is in

dire straits and an individual who may have the vision to steer the organization from its

demise will have to use that method of leadership theory for the survival of the

organization. However, in my view, it can also suppress new ideas that may add value

in an organization. This theory will work best if an organization is in dire straits, and it is

imperative for one leadership or leader to steer the organization away from the brink of

its demise, yes autocratic leadership would be the best alternative, however when all is

well with the organization, I believe that other leadership theories should be considered

and implemented into policies that can also serve the interests of the organization.

6.0 Contribution to this Essay.

In my discussion above where I have expounded and analyzed these five leadership

theories that are used within organizations which include; Situational Theory,

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Contingency Theory, Relationship Theory, and Autocratic Theory, from 5.1 to 5.5 is

new information that I am now, learning, processing and understanding as I continue

to read and research on this topic. I am currently pursuing my Ph.D. in Human

Resource Management, these five leadership theories are educating me in how an

organization truly functions from a theoretical standpoint. I will continue as I usually do

on every essay to thank AIU for the opportunities that the institution has given me so

that I can continue to pursue these studies, which will help and guide me in my future

place of employment. In terms of leadership theories within the organization, I am

learning how these theories are being used to facilitate the organizational

performance. For example, I will use one out of the five leadership theories which fuel

the bank’s capitalistic system, that leadership theory is autocratic leadership.

I will use my place of employment in the conclusion section of the essay to expound

on this theory that I have listed and analyzed in the discussion part of the essay.

In conclusion, every organization needs to have leadership theories that are

applicable for the survival of the organization, when leadership is lacking, the

organization will suffer eventually.

7.0 Conclusion on this Essay

I am now beginning to understand why leadership theory is very essential to both the

organization and society as a whole. Organizations are the heart and soul of all

societies, it can transcend or it suppresses societies depending on the kind of

leadership that the organization is embracing. Society associates itself with

organizations whether directly or indirectly, but there is always a correlation between the

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two. Now I will expound on the autocratic leadership that has been used at the Bank of

Guyana since it becomes operational on October 16, 1965. Dr. Gobind Ganga, who is

the current CEO/ Governor of the bank followed in the line of his successors in

autocratic leadership in the institution. His leadership has caused the bank to stay in

business financially, but is hemorrhaging where the bank’s important asset (employees)

is concern. Based upon my newfound knowledge in reading and researching, I am now

learning that managers must have a contingency plan/ model whereby if a disaster arise

in an organization, that plan or model must be flexible and adaptable when it is in use.

However a leader also must be cognizant to know that not all leadership theories might

be the best fit for the organization, the reason being is that a theory maybe good for the

financial side of the organization, but not for the most important asset, which is the

human resource’s side, and that is why a leader should examining each situation and

decide if a particular leadership theory is going to be effective or not, in most cases this

requires a leader to be self –aware, objective, and adaptable. This is not what is

happening in the Bank of Guyana, the leadership that the governor provides is not

flexible, it is either his way or the highway (resignation), in fact, he is very rigid in his

thinking, when he gives out his directives, the manager will adhere to and disseminate it

down to the middle-management who will circulate it through a circular, that the bank

uses to communicate to the various departments which is spearheaded by the

supervisors, and those supervisors will sub-silently execute their orders. Because of

the lack of leadership from the top management down to the supervisors, employees

are resigning from the institution during a pandemic period, and apparently the manager

is not aware, or cognizant of what his roles are as the bank’s manager. An example of

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the governor’s lack of leadership, during the surge in the pandemic, he requested that

all of the staff would have access to transportation for them to get home as safely and

quickly as possible, and also for them to be at work on time. A few months after, the

request was made, he ruthlessly terminate the transportation from the employees,

because of this act, and lack of reasoning has place the bank’s employees at risk in

contracting the virus, now I know that access to transportation is not the only way of

protecting an individual from the virus, there are other measures that the individual must

adhere to, however by doing his part in providing transportation for the employees to get

home safely would be a virtuous act on his part. This means that the employees would

not have to worry about the hassle, fatigue, stress, and mainly about being expose to

anyone on the public transportation who may be affected by the virus, the bank

providing the transportation for its employees was one of the ways in helping to mitigate

the spread of the virus and also protecting the employees. This draconian act by the

governor was not met with any retaliation of any kind, he says what he wants or do not

want, and every head in the various department goes along with it, the reason why they

go along with whatever directives he gives is because they are afraid that their jobs will

be in jeopardy so, the best thing to do is to go along to get along or resign. This type of

leadership is what the employees are exposed on a daily basis, in Guyana, we have a

saying “you either put up or shut up”. My suggestion is that if the bank could have a look

at the relationship theory and maybe consider it, because as one can see that the

autocratic leadership is not working in totality, it is effective for the capitalistic part of the

organization but in regards to the management theory which focuses on the most

important asset (human resources), autocratic theory in leadership is not effective, in

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fact, it is doing the opposite which is forcing employees to resign. In my view, I think that

the CEO/ Governor and the HRM director should consider ways in trying to encourage

employees to stay on the job, instead of not doing anything, about why the bank is

hemorrhaging in terms of losing its most important asset to the competition.

In terms of the relevance of HRM and leadership theory and how does my Master

Degree in Human Development ties into this particular subject, as an aspiring Manager,

who is looking forward to work in the HR department at my future place of employment,

studying leadership theory will help and guide me to enhance my leadership style.

Reading, researching, and learning as much as I can theoretically give me the

knowledge needed to function in the future position that I now seek. The Master degree

in human development which I have earned will also give me the psychological and

socio –psychological advantage in knowing the right contingency model to implement

when situations arises.

Every theory starts from within the mind before it could be used or implement into

policies within an organization. In my view, I have made the best decision to study

Human Development for my second degree, to be a successful HRM manager one

must also understand that when working with employees, there are sociological,

psychological and socio-psychological aspects to understand before implement policies

within an organization, why is that? Well one has to consider a theory called

organizational behavior, this theory affects how the employees will adhered and behave

to any leadership theory implemented into policies that would affect their lives one way

or the other. Human development studies is a part of HRM because this subject is about

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the people and HRM is responsible for the most important asset within all organizations

and HRM managers should be knowledgeable in areas that could have an effect on the

human resources, any policies which are implemented will have either a positive or a

negative effect on employees so , there must be a balance in how to implement the

right theory or theories into the organization’s policies which will ensure smooth

execution of the organization’s business.

Lastly, how does leadership theory correlates with HRM, in terms of when various

outcomes may arise. Leadership theories in my view strengthens the influence of HRM

practices, so it is important that anyone who aspires to be HRM manager within an

organization, should develop this range of skills through training that ascertains

personal qualities which will hone the leadership qualities and skills. In other words,

leadership theory practices give HRM managers the analytical abilities in selecting and

developing employees within the organization and it also is a guide when met with all

kinds’ workplace challenges.

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8.0 Book, Articles, Blogs, Bibliographies, Websites, and Pages

Book, Articles& Blogs used from Internet

Leadership Theories and Styles – (wgu.edu)

Leadership theory: past, present and future

Definition of Leadership Theories

Leadership Styles and Theories | Indeed.com

Situational leadership examples and how to develop this……. [Steve Jobs and Apple

Story –Investopedia][ Hatshepsut ]

Understanding the Contingency Theory of Leadership…

Leadership Theories and Styles – [Relationship Theories & Participation Theories]

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Autocratic Leadership

Bibliographies

Leadership Theories and Styles – Western Governors University Author Unknown

Horner Melissa Leadership theory: past, present. and future University of North Texas,

Denton, USA, Team Performance Management ISSN: 1352-759

Definition of Leadership Theories –Bizflue Author Unknown

Leadership Styles and Theories | Indeed.com Author Unknown

Situational leadership examples and how to develop this………. [Steve Jobs and Apple

Story –Investopedia] Hatshepsut - Authors Unknown

Understanding the Contingency Theory of Leadership… Indeed.com Authors Unknown

Leadership Theories and Styles – [Relationship Theories & Participation Theories]

Western Governors University. Authors Unknown

Autocratic Leadership: Author Unknown

Websites: for book, articles & blogs

Leadership Theories and Styles – Western Governors University

https://www.wgu.edu › blog › leadership-theories-styles20

Leadership theory: past, present and future leadership

https://www.open.edu/openlearn/money-business/collectiveleadership/content-section-

0?active-tab=description-tab

Definition of Leadership Theories - Bizfluent https://bizfluent.com › ... › Management

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Leadership Styles and Theories | Indeed.com https://www.indeed.com › ... › Career

Development

Situational leadership examples and how to develop this… [Steve Jobs and Apple Story

[Hatshepsut] –Investopedia] https://www.betterup.com › blog › situational-leadershi...

https://www.investopedia.com › Business Leaders › CEOs

https://www.google.com/search?

q=queen+hatshepsut+power+and+influence+leadership+style&biw=1600&bih=789&ei=

2KztYOX4DuSOwbkP7cOymAI&oq=queen+hatshepsut+p

Understanding the Contingency Theory of Leadership ... https://www.indeed.com › ... ›

Career Development

Leadership Theories and Styles – [Relationship Theories & Participation Theories]

https://www.wgu.edu › blog › leadership-theories-styles20

Autocratic Leadership: https://www.verywellmind.com › what-is-autocratic-leader

Book, Articles, Blogs, page, and number used from are as follows:

Leadership Theories and Styles – (wgu.edu) What is leadership Theories? Author

Unknown.

The History of Leadership theory: past, present and future/ The History of Leadership

theory: past, present and future (pg. 270) By Melissa Horner.

Definition of Leadership Theories- Bizfluent/ Leadership Theories and Styles Author

Unknown

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Leadership Styles and Theories | Indeed.com/ What are leadership theory and

leadership style? Author Unknown

Situational Leadership examples and how to develop this… / Situational Theory [Steve

Jobs and the Apple Story] (investopedia.com) [Hatshepsut] Authors Unknown.

Understanding the Contingency Theory of Leadership | Indeed.com/ Contingency

Theory Author Unknown

Leadership Theories and Styles (wgu.edu) Relationship Theory& Participative Theory

Authors Unknown.

Autocratic Leadership: Characteristics, Pros, Cons/ Autocratic Theory Author Unknown

The Discussion, Contribution and Conclusion: this essay is based on my new

founded knowledge and the ability to understand what the theories of leadership are.

After reading and researching on this particular subject area, I am now knowledgeable

of the theory that the bank is presently using and those that it is not using or placing an

emphasis on. This essay gives me the clearest understanding that if any organization

want to strive and thrive there is a lot of planning, organizing, controlling, and directing

in regards to managing in leadership theories.

Leadership theories must be studied and understood in order for an organization to

become successful. The five leadership theories that I have listed and highlighted, in

my view starting with the situational theory, this theory supports the contingency

theory, my reason for saying this is that an organization will sometime in the future

encountered a crisis that may need the managers and management to implement a

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contingency plan which may be needed for the survival of the organization, that

contingency plan/ or theory may well be an autocratic theory, and that theory maybe the

best fit for organization at the time, when the crisis passes, then other theories such

as relationship and participative theory should be considered and in my view

implemented, the reason for this is because an organization cannot exist without human

beings.

HRM is the root constitutes the entire organizational system within all entities, human

beings / employees need to be needed and it must be proven so. It is my belief that

both leadership theories such as; relationship and participative theory establish this fact,

because both leadership theories permits employees to be involved in within the

managerial process in the organization , which in my view can foster and develops a

healthy working relationships between managers and employees.

The articles , blogs, and the eBook text where I have gotten my information from has

given my essay foundation and also aid me with the initiative to analyze the discussion

with my own words in order for me to have a conclusive conclusion.

P.S. To my advisor, most of my research and reading came for articles, blogs, and one

eBook text. The reason for this is most of the books that I have done my research on is

mostly based upon leadership topics, and less on leadership theories. So in essence,

my contingency plan was to make the best usage on the articles, blogs, and the one

eBook text. All of these research materials facilitates this entire essay along with my

own words based upon my observation and along with my fourteen years of

experiences gained at my place employment.

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