Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T06:46:50.544Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Leadership Activities of Australian Executives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 September 2015

James C. Sarros ,
George A. Tanewski  and
Joseph C. Santora
James C. Sarros
Affiliation:
Department of Business Management, Monash University, PO Box 527 FRANKSTON Vic, Australia, 3199, Tel (03) 9904 4278 fax (03) 9904 4145, email: [email protected]
George A. Tanewski
Affiliation:
Department of Business Management, Monash University
Joseph C. Santora
Affiliation:
Business Administration, Essex County College, Newark NEW JERSEY
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Our study examines the nature of Australian business leadership. Various extant concepts of leadership are reviewed in terms of current trends in Australian business leadership. Some of these concepts are used in the development of the Corporate Leadership Descriptor (CLD), and its sub-scales, namely the Leadership Operations Scale (LOS), Leadership Attributes Scale (LAS), and Job Outcomes Scale (JOS). Data were collected over a three year period from a variety of executive samples. Major findings indicate that key leadership functions focus on direction setting, team building, problem solving, and change agent responsibilities. Recommendations for further research and application of the CLD are provided.

Keywords

• Leadership• Management• Business leadership• Australian business leadership• Corporate leadership descriptor• Mentoring• Team building• Establishing direction• Problem solving• Vision
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 1 , Issue 2 , March 1995 , pp. 33 - 43
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barham, K, Fraser, J and Heath, L (1988) Management for the Future Berkhamsted, Hampshire: Ashridge Management Research GroupGoogle Scholar
Barnard, CI (1938) The Functions of the Executive Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University PressGoogle Scholar
Bass, BM, Burger, PC, Doktor, R and Barrett, GV (1979) Assessment of Managers: An International Comparison New York: Free PressGoogle Scholar
Bass, BM (1985a) Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations New York: Free PressGoogle Scholar
Bass, BM (1985b) ‘Leadership: Good, Better, Best’ Organizational Dynamics 13 (3) pp 26–40CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bass, BM (1990a) Bass and Stogdill's Handbook of Leadership 3rd Ed New York: Free PressGoogle Scholar
Bass, BM (1990b) ‘From Transactional to Transformational Leadership’ Organizational Dynamics 18 (3) pp 19–31CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bennis, W and Nanus, B (1985) Leaders: The Strategies for Taking Charge New York: Harper and RowGoogle Scholar
Bentier, PM (1983) ‘Some Contributions to Efficient Statistics in Structural Models: Specifications and Estimation of Moment Structures’ Psychometrika Vol 48 pp 493–517CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bentler, PM and Bonnett, DG (1980) ‘Significance Tests and Goodness of Fit in the Analysis of Covariance Structures’ Psychological Bulletin Vol 88 pp 588–606CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bentler, PM and Chou, CP (1987) ‘Practical Issues in Structural Modeling’ Sociological Methods and Research 16 (1) pp 78–117CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blanchard, K, Zigarmi, P and Zigarmi, D (1987) Leadership and the One Minute Manager Glasgow, UK: FontanaGoogle Scholar
Boyatzis, R (1982) The Competent Manager New York: WileyGoogle Scholar
Chemers, MM and Ayman, R (1993) Leadership Theory and Research: Perspectives and Direction San Diego, California: Academic PressGoogle Scholar
Clark, AW and McCabe, S (1970) ‘Leadership Beliefs of Australian Managers’ Journal of Applied Psychology 54 (1, 1) pp 1–6CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Conger, JA and Kanungo, RN (1987) ‘Towards a Behavioural Theory of Charismatic Leadership in Organizational Settings’ Academy of Management Review Vol 12 pp 637–647CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conger, JA and Kanungo, RN (1992) ‘Perceived Behavioural Attributes of Charismatic Leadership’ Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science Vol 24 pp 86–102CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conger, JA and Kanungo, RN (1993) ‘A Behavioural Attribute Measure of Charismatic Leadership in Organizations’ Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Atlanta, GeorgiaGoogle Scholar
Cronshaw, SF and Lord, RG (1987) ‘Effects of Categorization, Attribution, and Encoding Processes on Leadership Perceptions’ Journal of Applied Psychology Vol 72 pp 97–106CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dulewicz, V (1989) ‘Assessment Centres as the Route to Competence’ Personnel Management 21(11) pp 56–59Google Scholar
Ehrlich, SB, Meindl, JR and Viellieu, B (1990) ‘The Charismatic Appeal of a Transformational Leader: An Empirical Case Study of a Small, High Technology Contractor’ Leadership Quarterly 1 (4) pp 229–248CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foti, RJ, Fraser, SL and Lord, RG (1982) ‘Effects of Leadership Labels and Prototypes on Perceptions of Political Leaders’ Journal of Applied Psychology Vol 67 pp 326–333CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gardner, JW (1986) The Tasks of Leadership Leadership Paper No 2 Washington, DC: Independent SectorGoogle Scholar
Gorsuch, RL (1983) Factor Analysis 2nd Ed Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence ErlbaumGoogle Scholar
Grove, AS (1986) ‘Tapping into the Leader Who Lies Within Us’ Wall Street Journal 04 7 p 22Google Scholar
Hunt, JG (1991) Leadership: A New Synthesis Beverly Hills, California; SageGoogle Scholar
Immegart, GL (1988) ‘Leadership and Leader Behaviour’ in Boyan, NJ (ed) Handbook of Research on Educational Administration New York: LongmanGoogle Scholar
Jöreskog, KG and Sörbom, D (1989) LISREL 7: A Guide to the Program and Applications Chicago, Illinios: SPPS IncGoogle Scholar
Kirkpatrick, SA and Locke, EA (1991) ‘Leadership: Do Traits Matter?’ Academy of Management Executive 5 (2) pp 48–60Google Scholar
Kotter, JP (1982) The General Managers New York: Free PressGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kotter, JP (1988) The Leadership Factor New York: Free PressGoogle Scholar
Kotter, JP (1990a) ‘What Leaders Really do’ Harvard Business Review 05–June pp 103–111Google Scholar
Kotter, JP (1990b) A Force for Change: How Leadership Differs From Management New York: Free PressGoogle Scholar
Kotter, JP (1992) ‘The Leadership Factor: Leaders are Made, Not Born’ Conference Presentation Darling Harbour Convention Centre, Sydney, Australia, 25 02Google Scholar
Kouzes, JM and Posner, BZ (1987) The Leadership Challenge San Francico: Jossey-BassGoogle Scholar
Kouzes, JM and Posner, BZ (1990) ‘The Credibility Factor: What Followers Expect from Their Leaders’ Management Review 01 pp 29–33Google Scholar
Kouzes, JM and Posner, BZ (1993) Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It San Francisco, California: Jossey-BassGoogle Scholar
Kuhnert, KW (1993) ‘Leadership Theory in Postmodernist Organizations’ in Golembiewski, RT (ed) Handbook of Organizational Behaviour New York: BaselGoogle Scholar
Lambert, Z, Wildt, A and Durand, R (1991) ‘Approximating Confidence Intervals for Factor Loadings’ Multivariate Behavioural Research 26 (3) pp 421–434CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lord, RG and Maher, KJ (1991) Leadership and Information Processing: Linking Perceptions and Performance Boston: Unwin HymanGoogle Scholar
Lord, RG, Foti, RJ and deVader, CL (1984) ‘A Test of Leadership Categorization Theory: Internal Structure, Information Processing, and Leadership Perceptions’ Organizational Behaviour and Human Performance Vol 34 pp 343–378CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luthans, F and Lockwood, DL (1984) ‘Toward an Observation System for Measuring Leader Behaviour in Natural Settings’ in Hunt, JG, Hosking, D, Schriesheim, CA and Stewart, R (eds) Leaders and Managers: International Perspectives on Managerial Behaviour and Leadership New York: Pergamon PressGoogle Scholar
Manz, CC and Sims, HP (1989) Superleadership: Leading Others to Lead Themselves New York: Prentice-HallGoogle Scholar
Manz, CC and Sims, HP (1991) ‘Superleadership: Beyond the Myth of Heroic Leadership’ Organizational Dynamics Spring pp 18–35Google Scholar
McDonald, RP (1985) Factor Analysis and Related Method Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence ErlbaumGoogle Scholar
Mintzberg, H (1973) The Nature of Managerial Work New York: Harper and RowGoogle Scholar
Mumford, MD, Fleishman, EA, Levin, KY, Korotkin, AL and Hein, MB (1988) Taxonomic Efforts in the Description of Leadership Behaviour: A Synthesis and Cognitive Interpretation Fairfax, Virginia: George Mason University Center for Behavioural and Cognitive StudiesGoogle Scholar
Nadler, DA and Tushman, ML (1990) ‘Beyond the Charismatic Leader: Leadership and Organizational Change’ California Management Review 32 (2) pp 77–97CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niehoff, BP, Enz, CA and Grover, RA (1990) ‘The Impact of Top-Management Actions on Employee Attitudes and Perceptions’ Group and Organization Studies 15 (3) pp 337–352CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Palich, LE and Hom, PW (1992) ‘The Impact of Leader Power and Behaviour on Leadership Perceptions’ Group and Organization Management 17 (3) pp 279–296CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pedhazur, E and Pedhazur Schmelkin, L (1991) Measurement, Design, and Analysis: An Integrated Approach Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence ErlbaumGoogle Scholar
Robbins, SR and Duncan, RB (1988) ‘The Role of the CEO and Top Management in the Creation and Implementation of Strategic Vision’ in Hambrick, DC (ed) The Executive Effect: Concepts and Methods for Studying Top Management Greenwich, Connecticut: JAI PressGoogle Scholar
Sarros, JC, Jones, R and Miller, JO (1993) Leadership Report 1992: Australian Leadership in a Competitive World Research Monograph, Syme Management, Monash UniversityGoogle Scholar
Schein, EH (1989) Organizational Culture and Leadership San Francisco: Jossey-BassGoogle Scholar
Schein, EH (1992) Organizational Culture and Leadership 2nd Ed San Francisco, California: Jossey-BassGoogle Scholar
Senge, P (1984) Systems Thinking and the New Management Style MIT: Sloan School of ManagementGoogle Scholar
Senge, P (1990) ‘The Leader's New Work: Building Learning Organizations’ Sloan Management Review Fall pp 7–24Google Scholar
Senge, P (1991) ‘The Learning Organization Made Plain’ Training and Development 10 pp 37–44Google Scholar
Stevens, J (1986) Applied Multivariate Statistics for the Social Sciences Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence ErlbaumGoogle Scholar
Tabachnik, BG and Fidell, LS (1989) Using Multivariate Statistics 2nd Ed New York: Harper and RowGoogle Scholar
Tichy, NM and Ulrich, DO (1984) ‘The Leadership Challenge — A Call for the Transformational Leader’ Sloan Management Review 26 (1) pp 59–68Google Scholar
Vaill, PB (1993) ‘Visionary Leadership’ in Cohen, AR (ed) The Portable MBA in Management New York: WileyGoogle Scholar
Van Seters, DA and Field, RHG (1990) ‘The Evolution of Leadership Theory’ Journal of Organizational Change Management 3 (3) pp 29–45CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wheaton, B (1987) ‘Assessment of Fit in Over Identified Models with Latent Variables’ Sociological Methods and Research Vol 6 pp 118–154CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, PL and Taylor, DS (1981a) ‘The Interpersonal Skills of Leadership: Their Analysis and Training, Part 1’ Leadership and Organization Development Journal 2 (2) pp 6–12CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, PL and Taylor, DS (1981b) ‘The Interpersonal Skills of Leadership: Their Analysis and Training, Part 2’ Leadership and Organization Development Journal 2 (3) pp 2–6CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, PL and Taylor, DS (1985) ‘The Implications of a Skills Approach to Leadership’ Journal of Management Development 4(3) pp 15–28CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yukl, GA (1971) ‘Toward A Behavioural Theory of Leadership’ Organizational Behaviour and Human Performance Vol 6 pp 414–440CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yukl, GA (1989a) Leadership in Organizations Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice HallGoogle Scholar
Yukl, G (1989b) ‘Managerial Leadership: A Review of Theory and Research’ Journal of Management 15 (2) pp 251–289CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yukl, GA and Lepsinger, R (1989) ‘An Integrating Taxonomy of Managerial Behaviour: Implications for Improving Managerial Effectiveness’ in Jones, JW, Steffy, BD and Bray, DW (eds) Applying Psychology in Business: The Manager's Handbook Lexington, Massachusetts: Lexington PressGoogle Scholar
Zaleznik, A (1977) ‘Managers and Leaders: Are They Different?’ Harvard Business Review 55 (5) pp 67–80Google Scholar