2 discussions posts: Discussion: Measuring Transformational Leadership and Discussion: Freewill and Determinism

Overview

ETH401 Discussion: Freewill and Determinism

After reviewing the background page of this module, respond to the following:

Viktor Frankl (1905–1995) once said: "Everything can be taken from a man but one thing; the last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." Dr. Viktor Frankl was a Jewish Austrian neurologist and psychologist who survived the concentration camps during World War II. Frankl had his opinion on human freedom. Respond to the following questions:

Explain whether you agree with Frankl's opinion that it is important for a person to have the freedom to choose one's attitude in a given set of circumstances and to choose one's own way.

Describe a personal example in a business setting that supports your explanation. For instance, you might want to discuss how people deal with edicts from "on high" in a given organization vs. situations where employees have a voice in the decision making process.

To what extent you believe that freedom or the right to choose is important from an ethical perspective and how does this choice impact business success?

How might one's culture influence his/her attitude toward a decision?

In each discussion forum, students are expected to respond to the prompt by providing an informed, rigorous, and professional post. The initial post should be 150 or more words. In addition, students are required to respond at least 2 times to their classmates' posts in a similarly informed, rigorous, and professional manner. Peer replies should be 100 or more words in order to qualify as substantive. Refer to the discussion rubric for more details.

MGT301 Discussion: Measuring Transformational Leadership

There has been a lot of research conducted surrounding the efficacy and use of the multifactor leadership questionnaire to measure the success of transformational leaders. Over time, the effectiveness and validity of the MLQ has been confirmed through several meta-analyses. According to Batista-Foguet, Esteve, and Wittelloostuijn (2021), the MLQ has been found to be "a prominent example of clear academic (and commercial) success)" (p. 1). That being said, the MLQ has also been identified as not being the full-range theory it was purported to be upon its inception. For example, Yukl discussed that the MLQ only covers certain leader behaviors, omitting "inspiring, empowering, and developing" (Yukl, as cited in Batista-Foguet et al., 2021, p. 2).

Today, many leaders believe that their personal goal is to be known as a transformational leader. The reason for this goal is different for everyone, however. For example, perhaps a transformational leader likes being the person followers go to when they have personal problems. Or perhaps it gives a leader a good feeling to be valued for being knowledgeable, helpful, and seen as a strong and dependable leader. What do you think? Is this a case of "you know it when you see it?"

Watch the following video (about 35 minutes) and then complete the discussion question assignment.

MacMillan, P. (2020). Modern paradigms of leadership [Video]. Alexander Street. Available in the Trident Online Library.

You may also find the following optional article of use for this discussion question, too.

Batista-Foguet, J. M., Esteve, M., & van Witteloostuijn, A. (2021, July 7).Measuring leadership an assessment of the multifactor leadership questionnaire. PloS One. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254329. Available in the Trident Online Library.

Your First Post:

In an original post of 200 words to include at least one scholarly and peer-reviewed source (cited and referenced per APA, 7th ed.), address the following:

1. Is transformational leadership something that can easily be measured, or is it something that you describe as "you know it when you see it"? Explain your answer.
2. What kind of relationship do you have with your leader at this moment? How well does your leader recognize your efforts? Is it not recognized at all, mostly recognized, or is it well recognized?
3. How would you define the working relationship you currently have with your leader? Is it ineffective, average, or effective?
4. How can you ensure that the relationship between you and your leaders evolve over time? When can you say that your relationship is working and one of trust?