Table of Contents
Directing Important Questions for CBSE Class 12 Business Studies Concept, Importance and Style of Leadership
1.Leadership It is the process of influencing the behaviour of other people so that they work willingly for the attainment of goals in a given situation.
2. Definition of Leadership According to George Terry, ‘Leadership is the activity of influencing people to strive willingly for group objectives’.
3. Features of Leadership
(i)Process of influencing people
(ii) Brings behavioural change
(iii) Excercised to achieve common goals
(iv)Relationship between leader and followers
(v) Continuous process
4. Importance of Leadership
(i) Effective direction
(ii) Provides confidence
(iii) Development of team spirit
5.Qualities of a Good Leader
(i) Sound physique
(ii) Integrity and honesty
(iii) Decisiveness
(iv) Social skills
(v) Communication skills
6. Leadership Styles
(i) Authoritarian or autocratic leadership An autocratic leader exercises complete control over the subordinates. He centralises power in himself and takes all decisions without consulting the subordinates.
(ii) Democratic or participative leadership A democratic leader takes decisions after consultation and encourages the participation of subordinates. He decentralises authority and allows the subordinates to share his power
(iii) Free-rein or laissez-faire leadership It involves complete delegation of authority so that subordinates themselves take decisions. The free-rein leader avoids holding power and surrenders the authority to subordinates.
Previous Years Examination Questions
1 Mark Questions
1. What is meant by ‘democratic style’ of leadership? (All India 2013)
Ans. A democratic leader provides freedom of thinking. He listens to the suggestions, grievances and opinions of the subordinates.
2. Name the term used in management for influencing people to strive willingly for group objectives.(HOTS; All India 2012)
Ans. Leadership influencing people to strive willingly for group objectives.
3 Marks Questions
3. Explain any three qualities of a good (Delhi 2012,2008; All India 2011)
Ans. Qualities of a good leader are as follows: (Any three)
(i) Knowledge A good leader should have required knowledge and competence. Only such person can instruct subordinates correctly and influence them.
(ii) Initiative A leader should have courage and ability to take initiative. He should not wait for opportunities to come to his way, rather he should grab the opportunities and use it to the advantage of organisation. .
(iii) Integrity A leader should possess high level of integrity and honesty. He should be a role model to others regarding the ethics and values.
(iv) Sound physique A good leader must have good health and physical fitness. He requires tremendous stamina and urge for hard work.
4. Explain the concept of motivation and leadership. (Delhi 2011)
Ans. Motivation It is the process of stimulating people to act or to accomplish desired goals. It is an internal feeling. According to Berelson and Steiner, ‘Motivation is an inner state that energises, activates and that directs or channels behaviour towards goals’.
Motivation is something that motivates a person into action and continues him in the course of action enthusiastically. It determines the behaviour of a person to a great extent.
Leadership It is the process of influencing the behaviour of other people so that they work willingly for the attainment of goals in a given situation. According to Koontz and O’Donnell, ‘Leadership is an art or process of influencing people so that they will strive willingly and enthusiastically towards the achievement of group goals’.
Leadership is a psychological process of influencing followers or subordinates and providing guidance to them.
5.Leadership is an essential element of directing. State any three reasons, why it is essential? (Delhi 2008)
Ans. Leadership is considered as the most important element of directing function because of the following reasons: (Any three)
(i) Effective direction An organisation comes into existence with certain objectives. To attain the objectives, the activities of the Organisation must be directed. Direction of the activities is effected through leadership. In short, effective leadership directs the activities of an organisation towards the attainment of the specified organisational goals.
(ii) Source of motivation Effective leadership motivates the subordinates to contribute their energies for the benefit of the organisation.
(iii) Provide confidence Leadership creates confidence in the subordinates by giving them proper guidance and advice.
(iv) High morale Good leadership increases the morale of the employees which in turn, contributes to higher productivity.
(v) Development of team spirit Effective leadership promotes team spirit and team work which is quite essential for the success of an organisation.
4 / 5 Marks Question
6. ‘All managers are leaders but all leaders are not managers’. In the light of this statement, differentiate between leadership and management. (HOTS; Delhi 2009)
Ans. A manager is a leader of his unit because he performs leadership function for his unit. But this does not mean that leadership and managership are synonymous. A person who is a leader may not be a manager, e.g. a trade union leader is not a manager. Similarly, leaders in political and social fields are not managers.
Difference between management and leadership
6 Marks Questions
7.What is meant by leadership? Describes any four qualities of a good leader. (All India 2012)
Ans. Leadership is an attempt aimed at influencing people directly towards the attainment of given goals. Leadership may also be defined as an art or process of influencing people so that they will strive willingly and enthusiastically towards the achievement of group goals.
In the words of Louis A Allen, ‘A leader is one who guides and directs other people. A leader gives the efforts of his followers a direction and purpose by influencing their behaviour’.
Qualities of a good leader
Qualities of a good leader are as follows:
(i) Knowledge A good leader should have required knowledge and competence. Only such person can instruct subordinates correctly and influence them.
(ii) Initiative A leader should have courage and ability to take initiative. He should not wait for opportunities to come to his way, rather he should grab the opportunities and use it to the advantage of organisation. .
(iii) Integrity A leader should possess high level of integrity and honesty. He should be a role model to others regarding the ethics and values.
(iv) Sound physique A good leader must have good health and physical fitness. He requires tremendous stamina and urge for hard work.
8. A leader who has only good physical features and required knowledge and competence cannot inspire others to work. Then what else is required by a leader to be successful? Explain by giving any six points. (All India 2010; Delhi 2010c)
Ans. Other qualities of a leader are as follows:
(i) Integrity and honesty A leader must possess high level of integrity and honesty. He must follow ethics and values then only he can expect his subordinates to be ethical and honest.
(ii) Initiative A leader must take initiative to grab the opportunities. He must have courage and initiative to take bold decisions. He must take risk for the advantage of organisation.
(iii) Decisiveness Leader should be quick in managing the work. Once he is convinced about a fact, he should be firm and should not change his opinions frequently.
(iv) Self-confidence and sense of responsibility A leader must be confident then only he will be able to tackle any situation successfully. Only a confident leader can create confidence in his subordinates. A leader must have the sense of responsibility for achievement of goals or target of his group members.
(v) Social skills A leader must be friendly with his subordinates. He must provide supportive environment to subordinates so that they do not hesitate to discuss their problems. He must understand people and try to maintain good relations with them.
(vi) Motivational skills Leader should be an effective motivator. He should understand the needs of people and motivate them by satisfying their needs.
9. Leadership is a key factor in making any organisation successful. Do you agree with this statement? Give any four reasons in support of your answer. (All India 2010)
or
‘Leadership is considered as the most important element of the directing function of management’. In the light of this statement, explain the importance of leadership. (All India 2008)
Ans. Yes, I agree with this statement. Leadership is a key factor in making an organisation successful because:
(i) Leadership influences the behaviour of the people and make them to channelise their energies for the benefit of the organisation. Good leaders always produce good results through their followers.
- A leader maintains personal relations and helps followers in fulfilling their needs. He provides needed confidence, support and encouragement.
- Leader plays a key role in introducing required changes in the organisation. He persuades, clarifies and inspires people to accept changes whole heartidly. Thus, he overcomes the problem of resistance to change and introduces it with minimum discontentment.
- Leader provides training to their subordinates. A good leader always build-up his successor and helps in smooth succession process.
10. What is leadership? Explain the importance of leadership in the management of a business organisation. (Delhi 2008C)
Ans. It is the process of influencing the behaviour of other people so that they work willingly for the attainment of goals in a given situation. It is regarded as the most important element of directing function. According to Theo Haimann, ‘Leadership is the process by which an executive imaginatively directs, guides and influences the work of others in choosing and attaining specified goals by mediating between the individuals and the organisation in such a manner that both will obtain maximum satisfaction.
Importance of leadership
Leadership is considered as the most important element of directing function because of the following reasons:
(i) Effective direction An organisation comes into existence with certain objectives. To attain the objectives, the activities of the Organisation must be directed. Direction of the activities is effected through leadership. In short, effective leadership directs the activities of an organisation towards the attainment of the specified organisational goals.
(ii) Source of motivation Effective leadership motivates the subordinates to contribute their energies for the benefit of the organisation.
(iii) Provide confidence Leadership creates confidence in the subordinates by giving them proper guidance and advice.
(iv) High morale Good leadership increases the morale of the employees which in turn, contributes to higher productivity.
(v) Development of team spirit Effective leadership promotes team spirit and team work which is quite essential for the success of an organisation.
11. Leadership style refers to behaviour pattern, which leader reflects in his role as a leader. On the basis of this statement discuss the different types of leadership styles, giving suitable examples. (All india2008)
Ans. Following are the types of leadership styles:
(i) Autocratic/Authoritative leadership Under this style, all decision-making power is vested in the leader and he exercises complete control over his subordinates.
The leader determines the policies without consulting them and assign task to them without giving them any freedom. It is like ‘bossing people around’. It is a boss centered leadership, and is also called directive style of leadership.
e.g. Mr Ratan, the GM of Addi Industries delegates the work to his staff Ms Ritu, Mr Saurabh, Mr Manan, according to his discretion. Here Mr Ratan is behaving as an autocratic leader.
(ii) Democratic/Participative leadership Under this style, leader consults his subordinates in decision-making process and works out policies with the acceptance of the group. He encourages them to give suggestions in setting goals and implementing decisions. It is group centered leadership.
e.g. Mr Ratan realised that due to the absence of Mr Manan, the targets will not be met, so he discusses with his staff about meeting the deadline. Every body decided to do overtime and complete the task. Here Mr Ratan is behaving as a democratic leader
(iii) Laissez-faire/Free-rein leadership Under this style, the leader gives full freedom to the subordinates in setting goals. Such a leader avoids use of power. The leader does not interfere in the activities of the subordinates. Group members work themselves as per their own choice and competence. It is called subordinate centered leadership, e.g. The staff plans to organise a party in the honour of Mr Manan as he got promoted. Mr Ratan asks the other members of the staff to fix the venue and menu for the occasion. Here, Mr Ratan is behaving as a free-rein leader.
NOTE A leader may use all the styles over a period of time. However, one style tends to predominate the normal way of using power.