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INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS
JANURAY 2011
VOL 2, NO 9
Bass and Avolio (1994) suggest that, when facing significant change, ‗Leadership is the art of
mobilizing others to want to struggle for shared aspirations‘. Leaders therefore must be skilled
in change management processes if they are to act successfully as agents of change and
motivate others to follow (Van Knippenberg and Hogg, 2003).
Stogdill (2000) said that although leadership is an age-old concept, it remains a complex term
that researchers and scholars grapple with continuously. One of the main reasons is the
extensive number of definitions for this term. It is commonly quipped that there are nearly as
many definitions of leadership as there are researchers and commentators.
Blake and Mouton (2000) some researchers and commentators rely on narrow definitions for
ease of communication (e.g., leadership is the act of getting other people to do what they
would not otherwise willingly do) especially common in the 1960s was the idea that
leadership is some combination of task- and people-oriented behaviors). However, the
definitions of most researchers have become somewhat more sophisticated and have expanded
over time.
Nadler and Thies (2001) suggested that change management strategies and the effects of
shifts in organizational culture are examined as moderating variables, suggest that changing an
organization boils down to directing energy and effort towards four identifiable aspects of
organizational life that are (1) the behavior of institutional leaders; (2) the selection and
execution of appropriate management strategies (particularly change management strategies)
(3) an understanding of the organization's basic structure, systems, and formal processes
(culture); and (4) actions taken by leaders affecting acceptance of change by individuals who
play key roles in both formal and informal systems.
Kotter (2001) suggests that leadership sets a direction and develops a vision for the future.
However, management is more concerned with planning which is deductive and orderly, not a
process of producing change. Planning should complement direction setting. One of the most
frequent mistakes that overmanaged and underled corporations make is to embrace long-term
planning as a panacea for their lack of direction and inability to adapt to an increasingly
competitive and dynamic business environment. He proposes that organizations cannot wait
for leaders to emerge, but must seek them out and develop their potential. Therefore, formal
leadership education and training should be of great importance to organizations. Leadership
education and training Just as we need more people to provide leadership in the complex
organizations that dominate our world today, we also need more people to develop the culture
that will create that leadership.
Berquist (2002) contemporary researchers interested in the broad view of leadership and who
develop operational definitions. Acquisitions, mergers and change have been an ongoing part
of the operational strategy of many organizations for years, and have proven to be a
significant and popular means for achieving corporate diversity, growth and rationalization. In
this post-modern era, organizations have to deal with as much chaos as order and change is a
constant dynamic.
Yukl (2002) The organizational culture literature reminds us that a wide range of factors affect
organizational change, and that those leaders hoping to initiate organizational change and
generate follower acceptance face a daunting task. The challenge is to select a set of actions
that are achievable within the capacity of the organization to absorb change and resource
constraints. Early research building upon the ‗great man‘ theory of leadership Judge found
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