Gary Yukl's Leadership in Organizations
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). This has been done in order
to accommodate a 15-week course.
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 instructor’s 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.
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. 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 per cent of literature
that appeared to be the most relevant and informative”, he has provided an in-depth and
comprehensive analysis and apprais...
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...important leadership functions for enhancing collective
work in teams and organisations.
Discussion
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 thought-out 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.
Pierce, Jon L. and John W. Newstrom (2011) 6th edition. Leaders and the Leadership Process.
The topic of leadership has been explored and written about by thousands of authors who are considerably more qualified than I am to write about the subject. However, I’ve always maintained that developing, evolving and articulating one’s own leadership philosophy is an essential part of a professional’s growth. Through academics and experience, I’ve concluded that leadership is a “soft” skill, more art than science, and that leadership principles can be universally applied. As a topic of discussion, leadership can be ambiguous and seldom does everyone agree on a single definition. Organizations and the people they consist of crave leadership, even if not overtly. Undeniably, strong leadership is essential to achieving
Yukl, G. (2002), Leadership in Organizations, 5th ed., Prentice-Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ, .
Clawson, J.G. (2009). Level Three Leadership: Getting Below the Surface, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. (p.85)
McLean, J. (2005). Management and leadership: Dispelling the myths. British Journal of Administrative Management, 9(1), 16-17. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=20&sid=5c780ccf-104d-49c6-9368-db4615f766bd%40sessionmgr113&hid=108
As stated earlier, leadership is an ever-evolving practice that one is subject to throughout the course of a lifetime. Leadership has countless working parts and theories that many human beings can only grasp through formal classroom training. There are leaders however, without formal education and training who are extremely successful in all aspects of their roles. These leaders focus and thrive on employee relations. These dynamic leaders utilize a plethora of styles and theories which helps to faci...
Yukl, G. (2002). Leadership in organizations. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. p. 1-19. Retrieved from http://www.blackdiamond.dk/HDO/Organisation_Gary_Yukl_Leadership_in_Organizations.pdf
Leadership at times can be a complex topic to delve into and may appear to be a simple and graspable concept for a certain few. Leadership skills are not simply acquired through position, seniority, pay scale, or the amount of titles an individual holds but is a characteristic acquired or is an innate trait for the fortunate few who possess it. Leadership can be misconstrued with management; a manager “manages” the daily operations of a company’s work while a leader envisions, influences, and empowers the individuals around them.
Yukl, G. (2010). Leadership in organizations. (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Willis, Gary. Certain Trumpets: The Nature Of Leadership. New York , New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994.
Leaders are those who have a great influence on the lives of many people. This is especially relevant in today’s organizations, which face extreme time changes and an increasingly growing complexity (Yukl, 1998).
Leadership has been defined in different ways, a definitaion of leadership that would be most commonly accepted would be “the ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organization…”(House et al., 1999, p. 184 as cited in Yukl, 2013, p. 19). After a comprehensive review of different leadership literature, Stogdill (1974, p. 259, as cited in Yukl, 2013, p. 18) concluded that “There are almost as many definitions of leadership as there are persons who have attempted to define the concept." Leadership can be viewed from two different angles one is shared influence process and other as a specialized role. Researcher who view leadership as a specialized role consider attributes as a factor in selecting a designated leader. On the contrast, theorist who emphasises on influence process considers “Leadership” as a social process or a pattern of relationship.
On leadership is a book which deserve to be read by us. Although this book use a precise formation to help us to examine a widely comprehensive aspects of the leadership, there are some drawbacks. Gardner cited different examples to talk about leadership, but just in a particular area, that is political area. So,
"Leadership in Organizational Settings." The Dynamics of Leading Organizations and People. N.p.: McGraw-Hill, 2013. 288-301. Print.
Leadership is not always in the hands of members and it continually meet with dilemmas and difficulties.