Leadership Theory Vs. Transactional Leadership

Compare and contrast two theories of leadership. Do these theories offer practical guidance for managers?

Transactional leadership on the other hand was first described in 1947 by Max Weber; he first coined "rational-legal leadership — the style that would come to be known as transactional leadership — as the exercise of control on the basis of knowledge” (Spahr, 2014). According to Spahr (2014), characteristics of transactional leaders include: focus on short-term goals, favor structured policies and procedures, thrive on rule following and doing things correctly, revel in efficiency, left-brained, inflexible, and opposed to change.

Six styles of leadership are going to be examined in this paper; transactional, transformational, servant, charismatic, contingency, and strategic.

Since the beginning of recorded history, leadership has been one of, if not the most important elements in the success or failure of an endeavor. This is whether it involved a prehistoric hunting party or ruling the Roman Empire. Today, leadership is recognized as a vital factor in an organization’s quest to be productive and profitable. For an organization to be competitive and achieve optimum success in the 21st century, it is vital that they employ effective leaders that will be able to communicate their vision and goals, motivate their employees and develop trusting and loyal relationships with its stakeholders. There is no one or best way to accomplish this mission. There have been numerous leadership theories and styles which have been developed over time which can enable leaders to choose which method would be most effective for them in establishing collaborative working relationships and a respectful team environment in a group setting (Landis, Eric A; Hill, Deborah; Harvey, Maurice R, 2014).

According to Sullivan and Decker (1997) transactional leadership is a traditional, goal oriented type of leadership based on the social exchange theory. Work is exchanged for rewards in

Transactional Leadership was first described by Max Weber in 1947 and re-described by Bernard Bass in 1981. Recognized a traditional leadership, it focuses on the role of supervision, organization and group performance. Transactional leaders use an exchange model; they promote compliance of followers through both rewards and punishments. Not looking to change the future, transactional leaders are trying to keep everything the same (Odumeru & Ogbonna, 2013).

Effectiveness is essential with leadership styles and theories, so knowing the strengths and weaknesses is of vital importance, this is why they have been thoroughly studied and tested by scientists and academics alike due to its importance in the success of the organisation. Bass and colleagues of his, have disputed that transactional leadership is a vital precondition if transformational leadership is to be effective (Avolio, 1999). By providing direction and focus, transactional leadership makes the use of transformational behaviors less confusing and ambiguous. From a somewhat abstract perspective, Podsakoff, Bommer and

Leadership development is a multi-billion-dollar industry in the United States and Europe. This essay discusses the difference in transformational and transactional leadership styles and provide examples. Transformational leadership is developmental and usually begins with a transactional approach. First, transactional leader's behavior approach is management- by-exception. This leader puts out fires by taking corrective actions to solve the problem. Additionally, he/she uses contingent reward behavior: rewards an employee for doing a good job. Both concepts have proven to be effective. Something as simple as a pat on the back brings about a greater

Over the past twenty years, an abundant body of researches have been done to review transformational leadership and transactional leadership. Burn (1978) was the first person to introduce and conceptualize the concept of transformational leadership and transactional leadership. Bass (1985) based on Burn’s concept and deepened his notion with modifications, which stated that one of the best frameworks of leadership is transformational or transactional. Following Bass and Avolio (1994, p. 4) provided the idea of these two leaderships and generalized them into the development of global economic world. Bass and Avolio (1997) also suggested that there was no need to view transformational and transactional leadership as

Task no.1.1:-Sum up the Leadership Theories:- Definition of leadership & leader , shows great influence and bonding with its theories. It is an ability of leader how he influence a group towards the achievement of a vision or set of goals. Leadership is also about coping with change. Leaders set a direction for future by making a vision of the future. Then guide people by easy mode of communication with this vision & inspire them to rule out the problems.

There are a few leadership theories, but for this research I will only on four of these. The theories that will be discussed are Situational leadership theory, Contingency theory, Transformational, and Transactional theory. The theory Transformational is pondered by several to be the theory improvement for transactional leadership theory, and it appears to have a cumulative number of research studies that are supporting the benefits of this theory. So, I will also compare and discuss the contrast of the four different theories, and like a few examples. In an ever changing organization, there are many who suggest that maybe transactional and transformational theories are the optimal theory for the public service field. It will

According to Daft (2008, p.20) leadership typically reflects the larger society, and theories have evolved as norms, attitudes, and understandings in the larger world of change. Throughout the centuries leaders have adapted in response to these changes. Northouse (2007, p3) defines leadership as a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal. A person’s ability to

Definition Transactional Leadership is a type of leadership style in which the person of authority uses rewards and punishments as a way to motivate their followers. (“Transactional Leadership”, 2015)These types of leaders tend to lead less by example or more by giving direct orders to their subordinates on what needs to be done. There are two types of transactional leaders. The first being the active leader, they are involved in their subordinates work and make corrections two it along the way. The second is a passive leader, they are less involved and only make corrections if a situation arises.

Over the past twenty years, an abundant body of researches have been done to review transformational leadership and transactional leadership. Burn (1978) was the first person to introduce and conceptualize the concept of transformational leadership and transactional leadership. Bass (1985) based on Burn’s concept and deepen his notion with modifications, which stated that one of the best frameworks of leadership is transformational or transactional, but not opposing to each other. Followed by Bass and Avolio (1994), they provide the idea of these two leaderships and generalize them into the development of global economic world. Bass and Avolio (1997) also suggested that there was no need to view transformational and

According to Patiar and Mia, 2009 (as cited in Dai, Dai, Chen & Wu, 2013), there are a few disadvantages of having transactional leadership as a leader because the leader only offers a limited or none involvement in any decisions making in any tasks given. Therefore, there is not much exposure given to the followers in how to manage and overcome such situations. However, the voluntary actions made by the employees are highly encouraged as the actions may turn into rewards. Effective leaders built the interest of the employees by providing contingent incentives, promises and trusts that had succeed in achieving the goals of the organization (Bass, 2000). Many researchers have been studied the way of transactional leadership for many years and different ways with different variable. However, there are none of the researchers knows exactly and how to define the term transactional leadership style. There is a study made by Howell & Merenda (1999) stated that the researchers have been studied the relationship of leader-member exchange between transformational and transactional leadership style in workers‟ performances and found that compared to