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Gary Yukl is Professor of Management and Leadership at the State University of New York in

Albany, and a board member of the Leadership Quarterly journal. He is a well-known scholar
and author on leadership. Leadership in Organizations was first published in 1981. This fifth
edition was published in 2002, and the formerly 19 chapters have been consolidated into 15
(which includes a new chapter on ethical leadership and diversity). Each chapter covers a
particular aspect of leadership research study, with a concluding summary and questions for
further discussion. Key terms are highlighted, and there is at least one case study at the end of
each chapter. The book is accompanied by an instructors manual which is used in
conjunction with the case studies and also contains exercises and role-playing activities. The
508 pages of Leadership in Organizations include an extensive references section. However,
as each chapter begins with a list of learning objectives, the bias appears to tend towards a
more academic audience (particularly students of the subject), rather than towards practising
managers. The author covers a broad survey of theory and research of leadership in formal
organisations of the last 50 years, and though Yukl states that the book focuses on the 20
percent of literature that appeared to be the most relevant and informative, he has provided
an in-depth and comprehensive analysis and appraisal of that literature in a clear and
moderately accessible language. From the first, introductory, chapter about the nature of
leadership, Yukl writes what is essentially an academic text, but with a clarity accessible to a
practising manager with a serious interest in the subject area. The research approaches are
broadly outlined in terms of the characteristics of a leader, a follower, and the situation. The
research theories have been classified into the five approaches of trait, behaviour, powerinfluence, situational and integrative, which are further conceptualised as intra-individual,
dyadic, group and organisational processes. Yukl looks at each of the research theories on the
basis of a continuum covering the following distinctions: leader- versus follower-centred,
descriptive versus prescriptive, and universal versus contingency (situational). The focus
through out is on leadership in large organisations, which means that many of the research
areas studied include the leadership roles undertaken by those in managerial positions in all
levels of an organisation and not just those at the top of the organisation.
Identifying themes and question that motivated Gary Yukl to write this
book: Leadership in Organizations has a specific focus on managerial leadership in large
organisations and is an attempt at bridging the gulf between academics and management
practitioners. This book is about leadership in organizations. Its primary focus is on
managerial leadership as opposed to parliamentary leadership, leadership of social
movements, or emergent leadership in informal groups. The book presents a broad survey of
theory and research on leadership in formal organizations. The topic of leadership
effectiveness is of special interest, and the discussion keeps returning to the question of what
makes a person an effective leader. In the seventh edition, the basic structure of most chapters
remains the same, but the order of some chapters was changed and one chapter was divided
into two sepa- rate chapters that include new material. Chapter 12 was extended and
reorganized to provide a better description of the growing literature in strategic leadership.
Chapter 13 now describes ethical, servant, spiritual, and authentic leadership, and Chapter 14
now describes cross-cultural leadership and diversity issues such as leader gender. The
growing interest in emerging theories of distributed, relational, and complexity leader- ship is
described in a new section added to Chapter 16. Finally, the literature reviews found in the
other chapters were updated, and a few new cases were added. The content of the book still
reflects a dual concern for theory and practice. I have attempted to satisfy two different
audiences with somewhat different prefer- ences. Most academics prefer a book that
provides a detailed explanation and criti- cal evaluation of major theories, and a

comprehensive review and evaluation of em- pirical research. They are more interested in
how well the research was done, what was found, and what additional research is needed than
in the practical applications. Many academics are skeptical about the value of prescriptions
and guidelines for practitioners and consider them premature in the absence of further
research. In con- trast, most practitioners want some immediate answers about what to do
and how to do it in order to be more effective as leaders. They need to deal with the current
challenges of their job and cannot wait for decades until the academics resolve their
theoretical disputes and obtain definitive answers. Most practitioners are more inter- ested in
finding helpful remedies and prescriptions than in finding out how this knowledge was
discovered. These different preferences are a major reason for the much-lamented gulf between scientists and practitioners in management and industrial-organizational psy- chology.
I believe it is important for managers and administrators to understand the complexity of
effective leadership, the source of our knowledge about leadership in organizations, and the
limitations of this knowledge. Likewise, I believe it is impor- tant for academics to think
more about how their theories and research can be used to improve the practice of
management. Too much of our leadership research is de- signed only to examine narrow,
esoteric questions that only interest a few other scholars who publish in the same journals.
Academics will be pleased to find that major theories are explained and cri- tiqued, empirical
research on leadership is reviewed and summarized, and many refer- ences are provided to
enable them to follow up with additional reading on topics of special interest. The field of
leadership is still in a state of ferment, with many contin- uing controversies about conceptual
and methodological issues
Theoretical perspective of the Author undelying assumptions: The book addresses
these issues whenever feasible rather than merely presenting theories and summarizing
findings without concern for the quality of research that lies behind the theories. However,
the literature review was intended to be incisive, not comprehensive. Rather than detailing an
endless series of theories and studies, the book focuses on the ones that are most relevant and
informative. The book reviews what we know about leadership effectiveness, and the current
edition reflects significant progress in our understanding of leadership since the first edition
was published in 1981. For practitioners, I attempted to convey a better appreciation of the
complexity of managerial leadership, the importance of having theoretical knowledge about
leadership, and the need to be flexible and pragmatic in applying this knowledge. The current
edition provides many guidelines and recommendations for improving managerial
effectiveness, but it is not a practitioners manual of simple techniques and secret recipes
that guarantee instant success. The purpose of the guidelines is to help the reader understand
the practical implications of leadership theory and research, not to prescribe exactly how
things must be done by a leader. Most of the guidelines are based on a limited amount of
research and are not infallible. Being a flexible, adaptive leader includes determining which
guidelines are relevant for each unique situation. Most chapters have one or two short cases
designed to help the reader gain a better understanding of the theories, concepts, and
guidelines presented in the chap- ter. The cases describe events that occurred in real
organizations, but some of the cases were modified to make them more useful for learning
basic concepts and effec- tive practices. The names of the organizations and individuals are
usually changed to keep the analysis focused on the events that occurred in a defined time
period, not on recent events that may involve different leaders and a new context. The cases
ask a reader to analyze behavioral processes, identify examples of effective and ineffective
behavior, and suggest effective ways to handle the situation that is depicted. An instructors
manual is available with detailed analyses of the cases and sug- gestions on how to use them.
The instructors manual also includes a multiple-choice exam for each chapter with items on

the major points in the chapter. The manual includes exercises for use in class (e.g., role
plays) and some out-of-class activities that help students to understand how they can apply
the theory and guidelines. The book is widely used in many different countries, and some
editions have been translated into other languages, including Chinese, Korean, Indonesian,
Spanish, and Greek. With its focus on effective leadership in organizations, the book is
especially relevant for people who expect to become a manager or administrator in the near
future, for people who will be responsible for training or coaching leaders, and for people
who will be teaching courses or workshops that include leadership as one of the key topics.
The book is appropriate for use as the primary text in an undergraduate or graduate course in
leadership. Such courses are found in many different schools or departments, including
business, psychology, sociology, educational administration, public administration, and health
care administration. The book is on the list of required or recommended readings for students
in many doctoral programs in leadership, management, and industrial-organizational
psychology. Finally, the book is also useful for practicing managers and consultants who are
looking for something more than superficial answers to difficult questions about leadership.
Book content - Methods of gathering data: The book in it content covers most of the
relevant topics in ledership literature that can be found in most of the books been written
about leadersship in the past fifty years. From basic leadership theory, understanding and
defination of leadrshhip, leadership effective, nature of managerial work etc. The continuum
of topic cover by this text make it a book to reckon with. The below mentioned topics
highligh in bold bullet point are relevant areas covered by this text. The following are thus.

Effective leadership, participation and empowerment

Extensive research has been undertaken on leadership behaviour since the 1950s. This has
divided into three areas: task-oriented, relation-oriented and participative leadership. The
thousands of studies undertaken over this 50-year period, mostly through questionnaires, has
given rise to a number of taxonomies which Yukl proposes might be refined into the three
jointly inter-reacting categories of task-, relations- and change-oriented behaviours. On
looking at the fields of study covering participative leadership, delegation and empowerment,
the author again examines the research and looks closely at the Vroom-Yetton model of
participative leadership developed in the 1970s. This helps managers identify decision
procedures in different situations. Throughout the book, Yukl evaluates this research and
provides examples, tables, models and case studies. From this, a series of guidelines are
formulated, to which the practising manager can refer for practical advice. Yukl observes that
much of the research over the last 50 years has involved dyadic (one individual to another
specific individual) relationships between a leader and a follower. Within this context, he
goes on to look at a number of follower-based theories including: leader-member exchange
(LMX), leader attributions about subordinates, follower attributes and implicit theories,
follower contributions to effective leadership, and social learning theory (self-management).
All of this emphasises the importance of the follower role to a leader. Within the 10
guidelines the author proposes for becoming an effective follower, he suggests specific
phrases which might be used in a given situation; for example, in a situation where a follower
might disagree with a proposed action by a leader: You know I respect what you are trying
to accomplish, and I hope you wont mind if I express some honest concerns about this
proposal. Yukl states at three points within the text that influence is the essence of
leadership. This is covered in Chapter 6, which concerns power and influence. Here
different types of power are studied, though the focus is on the French and Raven taxonomy
of five types of power: reward, coercive, legitimate, expert and referent. Guidelines are

proposed for using legitimate authority, reward authority and coercive power. Yukl even
describes the tone of voice a leader might use, which (along with his suggested phrases)
could be perceived by the reader as prescriptive.

Power, influence, contingency theories, traits and skills

How power is won or lost, and how much power a leader should have, are also discussed, as
are the traits and skills approach to leadership in Chapter 7. Possibly the most researched area
of leadership is the traits approach, and here the findings of the most relevant aspects of
personality for effective leadership are summarised and integrated, including the big five
personality traits (surgency, conscientiousness, agreeableness, adjustment and intelligence).
Personality traits are considered especially relevant to successful leadership, and those
highlighted as the most pertinent include energy levels and stress tolerance, self-confidence,
internal control orientation, emotional maturity and integrity. The study of a number of
theories is also applied in Chapter 8, which considers how leader traits or behaviours are
related to indicators of leadership effectiveness in different situations. Five principal
contingency theories are summarised and reviewed. The research findings and methodologies
are examined, and models, tables and guidelines for their application enhance the chapter.
There is much use of psychology and sociology in many of the research studies.
The five contingency theories are: Fiedlers least-preferred co-worker (LPC) theory, Evanss
path-goal theory, Kerr and Jermiers leadership substitutes theory, multiple-linkage models
(leadership and group effectiveness), and Fiedler et als cognitive resources theory. In his
general evaluation of the theories, Yukl criticises the research for being lacking in measures
and weak on research design. He also comments that most managers are too busy in any
situation to stop and analyse it with a model. However, they do provide sufficient guidance
to help a manager identify leadership requirements. Along with the study of traits, behaviours
and contingency approaches, much of the research of the last 50 years has focussed on the
study of heroic leaders. Chapter 9 covers this when considering charismatic and
transformational leadership. Researchers have used the terms charismatic and
transformational interchangeably. However, Yukl describes them as distinct but overlapping
terms. Again, the major theories are evaluated and guidelines proposed. In summary,
charismatic leaders are deemed to have a tremendous influence on organisations, but they
may be negative as well as positive. Transformational leaders make followers aware of the
importance and value of the work as well as encouraging them to think beyond self-interest.
These theories are, however, largely based on a dyadic level of analysis.

Change

One of the most important and difficult leadership responsibilities is leading change. Chapter
10 discusses the change processes, and places an emphasis on cultural change. The creation
and establishment of a clear and compelling vision is useful to guide the organisation through
change, and the pre-requisite set of guidelines is included for formulating a vision. Guidelines
are also proffered for implementing change for political or organisational or people-oriented
actions. Throughout the change process, the role of the leader is key.

Teamwork

Teamwork, group decisions and leadership by executives are considered in Chapters 11 and
12. The use of teams and decision groups in organisations is a growing phenomenon. The

leadership required for building and facilitating team learning and decision-making are
considered. Yukl describes and discusses the merits of functional teams, cross-functional
teams, self-managed work teams (semi-autonomous work groups), self-defining teams and
virtual teams. Guidelines propose effective team building to increase cohesiveness, mutual
cooperation, and identification with the group. They also put forward leader-centred and
group- centred approaches for leading meetings. Research into leadership from the 1950s
until the 1980s was mostly concerned with middle managers. Theorists turned their attention
to top managers from the 1980s, but there is controversy in leadership literature regarding
whether executives have much impact on the effectiveness of an organisation. Chapter 12
looks at strategic leadership and top management, and considers external and internal
constraints, the degree of discretion a leader has, the bias of attributions and the effectiveness
of executive teams. Research shows that chief executives have most impact in a crisis, and
the monitoring of the environment by executives is considered essential in the formulation of
organisational strategy.

Leadership development

Chapter 13 reviews leadership development and the key facilitating conditions for it. Three
forms of leadership development are identified: formal training, developmental activities and
self-help activities. Leadership training programmes are discussed, as are the design of the
courses, many of which concentrate on a particular theory, for example leader-member
exchange (LMX). The author points out the much-vaunted statement that effective skills for
leadership are mostly learned from experience and not from training programmes. With this
in mind, work-based developmental activities are considered, and the presence of a strong
learning culture in an organisation goes a long way to supporting leadership development.

Ethical leadership and diversity

The penultimate chapter covers ethical leadership and diversity. Again, influence as the
essence of leadership is quoted, as is Gini: The issue is not whether leaders will use power,
but will they use it wisely and well. Thus, ethical leadership encourages ethical behaviour as
well as initiating efforts to stop unethical practices. Sex-based discrimination in the selection
and promotion of leaders continues to be a problem in organisations. Research in this area is
limited, as it is in leadership in different cultures. The bulk of the research comes from the
United States, Canada and Western Europe. It is acknowledged here that, with the rapid pace
of globalisation, cross-cultural leadership is an important topic for research. We are
introduced to the GLOBE project, which is taking steps in this direction, studying leadership
in 62 countries representing all major regions of the world. The project is ongoing and
involves 170 social scientists and management scholars.
Evaluation:
Leadership in Organizations concerns itself with looking at the complex field of research in
the field of leadership in large organisations. This is a well researched and well thoughtout
text, and anyone with a serious interest in the subject would benefit from having read the
book. The format provides a clear understanding of the learning requirements, with the case
studies and questions at the end of every chapter stimulating the reader into asking yet more
questions, thus creating a greater awareness of leadership in a management context. Gary
Yukl provides a comprehensive review of techniques, citing examples and guidelines

throughout. Though some might find the style over-directive, others will benefit from the
clear path that Yukl points up.
Evidence used to support his argument: As part of his research qualities, Gary Yukl has
explored enough evidences to support his argument not only on theoretical claims, but also
on practical evidence based on research from practicing manager and organisation.
Happenings at many orgnaisational setting and research are what Gary has used in justifibale
terms to adequately support his hypothetical claims in this project. Leadership in organisation
as a text has been sandwiched with modern day cases, interviews with managers, descriptive
and qualitative research done primarily to provided enough evidences on this text.
Corrsponding to experience in Leadership: The text as a material for undergrduate,
gradute and in some cases a consulting material for those doing trainings and teachings on
leadership can be best decribe as a must read and consulted material when it comes to
leadership teachings in formal organisations.
Does this work change Opinon or confirm it, views ?: This work has been an eye opener
in areas that has to do with organisational leadership. Earlier notions and understandings of
leadership pereception has been vague and scanty. But with the review, reading and
understanding of major concept of leadership backed up with practical evidence in research
and theoretical foundation. To be honest, in earlier times prior to the reading of this text, there
was not really better undesrtanding of leadership as a subject of study and as a way of doing.
But with the review, reading and understanding of major topics in this text, ideas and
perception has been reoriented and now earlier perecption of leadership behaviour are now
been put into test as against modern notions and concept of leadrship. All in all, this work has
change opinion.
Would you recommend this book to someone? Why or why not?:
How did the book relates to one or more of the major topics discussed in the course:
Does this book introduced important concepts that our textbook overlook?, why are
these concept important?:

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