Discussion topics include:
           1.   Leadership Power
           2.   Leadership values
           3.   Leadership across cultures
4.   Leadership ethics

Assignments for Session 3 include:
1.     Text: Chapters 4-5

This week you will be reading Chapters 4 and 5 in the textbook. Underlying all leadership influence are one or more power bases.  The French and Raven model of power is perhaps the best known management model. According to these researchers, there are several possible power bases.

1.    Legitimate power emanates from your position in the organization.
2.    Reward power correlates with your ability to provide the rewards that followers want.
3.    Coercive power refers to your ability to force people to do your will. “Do it my way or you’re fired.”  This type of power is certainly out of step with today’s emphasis on empowerment and democratic workplace behavior.
4.    Expert power arises from the perception that you have expertise in a given area and that you will help people out.’
5.    Referent power is an emotional, personal power base where people seek your approval.

Leaders may have more than one type of power base or different power bases with different constituencies.  Think of the many situations where you are a leader in terms of your ability to influence others. What type of power bases do you have in these situations?

Chapter 5 looks at leadership and values, especially ethical values. Values are simply gut-level belief systems that help us distinguish what is good vs. bad, normal vs. abnormal.  Ones values start forming at an early age when family is the single most important programmer of values.  Schools, churches, media, television, music, and peers quickly become other important value programmers. By the time we are 20, our values have pretty much formed our filter for how we see the world.  

What about ethics?  Ethical values have to do with a concept of morality, of good versus evil. Ethics is a big question in Corporate America today where scandal after scandal have left many believing that ‘business ethics” is an oxymoron.  Leaders often represent to the outside world the key values of the organization.  

Culture begins, obviously, with the founders of the organization. The founder's vision
of what the organization should be like is very important.  Later, as employees are added, 
the founders hire people who reflect the same vision and carry it forward.  Likewise, these 
early employees hire others of similar vision.  As new employees arrive, they are socialized 
into the organization.  Once inside an organization, employees learn culture especially 
through the rites, rituals, stories, and reward systems that they observe.

***Here is another article that will be beneficial towards your learning on this topic.

Age Range by Generation – Beresford ResearchLinks to an external site.

Module Three Discussion Questions 

Note: Please type the question and then the answer which should be about 250 words for each question.

1.    There have been some interesting studies on the effect of gender on leadership style. Respond to the following statement with your opinions and experiences:  “Successful male and female leaders tend to have many similarities; yet, women as a group tend to be more democratic in style than men. The modern concept of managerial coaching may thus be more natural for women than men.”  Incorporate at least one outside reference into your answer. 

2.    What value differences might you as a leader expect to find among your Baby Boomer, Gen Xers and Millennial employees?  Discuss.  Use at least one outside reference in your answer.