LEADERSHIP ASSIGNMENT

This
assignment is divided into three parts

· 
Part one requires you to
compare and contrast Trait Leadership Theory with Situational Leadership,
highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of both perspectives. A
discussion on the evolution of leadership theory over the last 60 years would
be useful.

· 
Part two requires you to
devise a short questionnaire for use in interviewing three different department
heads on the subject of leadership in your own organization. You will then
interview these heads of department. The purpose is to determine which
leadership framework is used more in your organization.

· 
Part three requires you to
analyse the responses to your questionnaire and produce a high quality, concise
report on your findings that will be presented in a 1-1 discussion.

Resources:

· 
Leadership
articles provided, plus any other relevant academic articles you find on Google
Scholar or the KAAU databases

· 
Dr Ayman
will deliver a briefing on questionnaire design and interview approach

Part
One (500 words) (30 points)

Compare and contrast Trait theory and
Situational Leadership (Blanchard and Hersey). How are they alike / different?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of each perspective? Can they be
integrated or are they completely independent of each other?

Part
Two (30 points)

Devise a short questionnaire for use in
interviews with three department heads in your organization. The key question
you are aiming to answer is: How is
leadership practiced in this organization and why? (what are its key features
and how have they developed?)

Part
Three (40 points)

Carry out the interviews with department
heads, analyse the responses and produce a high quality, concise report for
presentation.

Evaluation:You will be evaluated on…

· 
Breadth of
reading

· 
Clarity of
your communication (writing and verbal communication in 1-1 with Dr Ayman)

· 
Critical
thinking / analysis

· 
Quality of
the report

Possible Evaluation Criteria
Part One	How much research did you use for the report	To what extent do you understand the theory behind the frameworks	Did you do a +/- for each framework?	Did you answer the integration question?
Part Two	Is the questionnaire well structured	Do questions address the objective	Is introduction well designed	Is analysis method clear?
Part Three	Is analysis logical	Are all comments considered	Are common threads identified	Are transcripts included

Interview Protocol

It is important that you prepare and
execute the three interviews as professionally as possible. Here are some guidelines:

· 
Request
the interview formally by email at least five working days in advance. Ensure
the email explains exactly why you want to talk to the individuals, that you
view their input as important and that all information will be confidential

· 
Ensure you
have booked a meeting room

· 
Dress
smartly for the interviews

· 
Clearly
structure the interviews as follows

o 
Welcome
the individual and thank them for their time (5 minutes)

o 
Explain
the purpose of the interview and how you will use the information collected.
Assure them of confidentiality (5
minutes)

o 
Ask them
to complete the questionnaire you have developed – this is the quantitative element (10 minutes)

o 
Go through
the questions with the individual, asking them to give you detailed answers and
examples – this is the qualitative element (35 minutes). You must make detailed
notes, as you will depend on these to produce your report

o 
Close the interview by
thanking the individual for their time

Questions

It is important to allow the individual
interviewee to talk (they should be talking at least 70% of the time. You need
to avoid the following types of question:

· 
Leading
(leading the interviewee to a particular answer)

· 
Closed questions
(leaves only a “yes” or “no” answer)

· 
Hypothetical
questions (what would you do if)

blanchard__26_hersey___situational_leadership.pdf
ms_leadership_assignment.docx
situational_leadership___conversations_with_paul_hersey___pages_5_11.pdf
traits_based_approach_zaccaro_article.pdf