gender differential paper IJCRB

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JUNE 2011
INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS VOL 3, NO 2
Leadership Style and The Managerial Grid Model
One of the very first questions which may be prevalence to the mind of any individual is
to ask what we mean by ‘style’? “Style is usually seen as the way we behave and behavior
reveals itself in many ways”. The manner we behave is a high-powered reflection of our
individuality and character, the product of the often incognizant and unaware processes that
are at work within us [7]. There are almost as several various definitions of “leadership style”
as there are persons who have trailed to define the concept. At one level the concept of
‘‘leadership style’’ is simple to define: “it is the style that a leader adopts in their dealings
with those who follow them. Clearly, underlying this is an assumption that there is a ‘‘right’’
and a ‘‘wrong’’ style” [7]. Because leadership cannot be accomplished without followers and
always has situational factors that have to be taken into consideration, Kippenberger defines
leadership style as the point of interaction between three things [7]:
1. The leader’s character type – their values, attitudes, and beliefs, their position and
experience;
2. The followers’ character types – their values, attitudes, and beliefs, their
cohesiveness as a group; and
3. The situation – the nature of the task, the life-stage of the organization, its structure
and culture, its industry, and the wider socio-economic and political environment.
Explicitly, appropriate leadership style can attract employees and stimulate them on to
novel, incentive, and challenging objectives [2]. Therefore, “there is a continuum of possible
leadership styles extending from complete autocracy at one extreme to total democracy at the
other”. Organizational leaders demonstrate broaden alterations in the styles and behaviors
which they represent and display at work. While some managers used a diversity of
leadership styles and behaviors in their day-to-day activities, others exerted more than one of
the leadership styles or behavior dimensions [12]. However, proper and effective leadership
style(s) depends on the context [2]. Market circumstances change, internal circumstances
change, external pressures change, or alternatively there may be a period of stability. These
factors mean that as a business adapt to these different circumstances, then the type of leader
that is best suited to the business will also alter. Thus, although, many different models are
available for studying leadership styles, but the one we are getting help from is called The
Leadership Grid or The Managerial Grid Model which has been developed by Blake and
Mouton. Regarding to Marturano and Gosling, this grid appears to be ‘the most well-known
model of managerial behavior’ and is still being used in leadership development and
consulting practices around the world [11]. We will discuss the different components of the
grid model more in detail.
The Leadership Grid (called the Managerial Grid in its earlier version; Blake and Mouton
1964, 1978, 1985) was another, more practical approach mirroring the findings of the
research done at the Universities of Michigan and Ohio State. This model and the respective
questionnaire identify and analyze manager behavior within two useful dimensions –
‘concern for people’ and ‘concern for production’ – on a scale from 1 (minimum concern) to
9 (maximum concern). The managerial grid has 81 possible combinations, but identifies
seven major styles [10]. Using the axis to plot leadership ‘concern for production’ versus
‘concern for people’, Blake and Mouton defined the following seventh dominant patterns of
behaviors:
1. ‘Impoverished management’ (1, 1 score): Managers in this position have little
concern for people or productivity, Mostly ineffective, avoid taking sides and stay out
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