Agency Theory Essay

759 Words2 Pages

Agency Theory is the supposition that explains the relationship between principals and agents in business. The theory dates back to the early 1960s and 1970s when economist began exploring risk sharing among individuals (Eisenhardt p 58). The theory is commonly discussed in the context of the Principal/Agent Model. A key concept behind the Principal/Agent Model is that people need to delegate some of their work to others. Agency theory suggests that there is a conflict between the two parties, the principal and the agent, due to a misalignment of goals as well as different aversions to levels of risk. Agency Theory breaks down the problems that occur due to differences between goals and or desires between the principal and the agent. These …show more content…

The article also discussed the two positions on agency theory one that argued that agency theory is revolutionary and a strong foundation, while the other position argued that the theory doesn’t address a clear problem. The key idea of agency theory is that principal and agent relationships should reflect efficient organization of information and risk bearing cost. Agency theory analysis is conducted by the contract between the principal and the agent. The principal is the individual who typically the person who delegates the task and the agent is the individual who is given the task by the principal. Agency theory assumes that the humans involved in the contract have a self-interest, bounded rationality and different levels of risk aversion. The theory also assumes that there is a goal conflict among participants in agency theory, where the principal and the agent aren’t on the same page which effects efficiency and effectiveness. The article also highlights five recommendations for using agency theory in organizational …show more content…

The article summarizes and gives an overview of servant leadership, a synopsis of motivating language theory, a model and proposition, and implications and future directions for research and practice. Robert K. Greenleaf stated “The Servant-Leader is servant first. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. The best test, and difficult to administer is this: Do those served grow as persons? Do they while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, and more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect of the least privileged in society? Will they benefit, or at least not further be harmed.” Greenleaf (1977, p.13). There isn’t a specific or precise definition of servant leadership. However, based off what Greenleaf stated, one can assume that servant leadership is about serving and being a good leader not just delegating task and having a sense of power over someone else. In my opinion a servant leader should be inspiring and motivate their employees to want to do work even if no direct incentive is involved. Employees should feel that when things are tough or work is challenging that their leadership would be willing to do whatever to make them and the team

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