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Running head: LEADERSHIP THEORY FOR AMERICAN MEDICAL RESPONSE 0

Leadership Theory for American Medical Response

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Leadership Theory for American Medical Response

Introduction

Before choosing any leadership theory for the leaders, it is important to understand the organization in which they operate so as to come up with a theory that is effective in reference to the structure, mission, and goals of the entity. American Medical Response is an organization that is known for its transport services that caters for the people in need. The organization has a single mission of making a difference by caring for the people in need. The leaders of the organization are trained business men who as well as medical practitioners. The organization has a duty to make profit but also maintain its values to the people (Mumford, Zaccaro, Connelly, & Marks, 2000). Leadership is distributed from the president and chief executive officer, to the chief medical officer, to vice president, to operations manager, human resource manager, chief financial officer, and regional officers. With this structure, it is possible to come up with a leadership theory that best suits the organization.

Leadership Theory

Leadership theories define a leader and also dictate how the organization will be run. All leadership theories are important to an organization but there is one which American Medical Response should employ when designing the training for all managers at all levels. The recommended one is trait theory. Trait theory is the backbone of all other theories as it dictates what virtues a leader should have to bring a positive transformation to the organization. The theory assumes that people are born as good leaders. Being born a goo leader means that one has inherited the best traits to lead and take an organization to another level. The theory brings up also the question as to what makes a good leader (Mumford, Zaccaro, Connelly, & Marks, 2000). Traits are the external behaviors that a leader or individual may exhibit from their mind activities. However, not all mind activities can make a leader successful and therefore trait theory focuses on the positive aspect that allows a leader to achieve their goals. Traits also go hand in hand with skills. Some of the traits that are discussed in the theory include knowledge of business, confidence, creativity, flexibility, honesty and integrity, emotional intelligence, energy, and decision making skills among other key characteristics.

How Trait Theory will positively Impact the Following Variables

Manager’s Behavior towards subordinates and its effect on subordinates

Subordinates are important to the organization and therefore the managers are required to learn the best way to treat them. According to the trait theory of leadership, a manager is supposed to act in a manner that motivates the subordinates to work towards achieving the goals of the organization. The theory dictates that the behavior of a manager can affect the behavior of the subordinates either positively or negatively. To develop a positive impact, managers are required to have a positive morale towards their junior. It is a trait that all leaders of all levels in the organization should adopt so as to ensure that the juniors are properly motivated to accomplish their tasks and goals of the organization (Ciulla, 1999). It means that leaders should be friendly and also cultivate a healthy working environment with the junior. Leaders should also strive to adopt ways of motivating employees with rewards and incentives. It means that the right behavior to be developed also calls for creativity of a leader. Attitude of a manager towards the junior employees dictates the type of working environment that will be created. A positive attitude means a positive working environment. Attitude is part of behavior and trait theory calls for development of positive thinking towards the subordinates as a way of developing the right attitude at work. With the positive attitude, the manager will be able to cultivate a working culture that will encourage constant improvement and positive thinking. The manager’s behavior also incorporates communication. Trait theory calls foe effective communication that does not necessarily involve scolding the juniors at all times.

Communication

Trait theory assumes that leaders are born with the right skills to handle business operations successfully. However, it is true that not all leaders are born with the traits and the skills thus prompting the need to have training like in American Medical Response. When training the leaders focusing on the trait theory, the main aim is to allow them develop or learn the best characteristic to deal with business operations and subordinates at their level. Communication is important for the organization to achieve its mission and goal. Trait theory will allow manager to learn the best way to communicate within an organization. Trait theory will elaborate on the communication skills that a leader must have. It will also allow leader to learn the best communication channels that will help in improving effectiveness and efficiency in the organization. Confidence when communicating ideas and making the right decision will also is impacted by the theory (Ciulla, 1999). In this variable of communication, the trait theory will ensure that leaders are trained on how to minimize confusion when communicating to subordinates and also give the subordinates the right channel to communicate ideas and issues in the organization for better and improved services.

Motivation of Subordinates

American Medical Response has a large number of subordinates that help the organization to achieve its set goals. Trait theory calls for creativity in motivating the junior employees. Managers are required to know the various ways that employees should be motivated to ensure that there is increased return. Apart from being creative, the managers are also required to remain business oriented when coming up with the ways of motivating the subordinates. For example, the theory dictates that employees should be rewarded with incentives, compensation, and other rewards like off days. The rewards should be communicated to employees to ensure that they are all aware and working towards achieving them (Derue, Nahrgang, Wellman, & Humphrey, 2011). The motivation inform of rewards should have a positive impact on the lives of the people. The managers should also ensure that the rewards do not negatively affect their earnings. Employing the theory will let the manager develop the right reward system for the employees that will help in changing the organization for the better.

Group and Team Behavior

Organization cannot perform effectively without proper team work. The leaders of an organization are tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that proper teams are instituted to ensure effective work. As a leader, observation is one of the traits that the theory expounds on. A good and effective leader should be keen and observant of their employees and the processes being undertaken in the organization. Keen observation is important in this case as it allows the leaders to understand the capabilities of different employees within the organization (Derue, Nahrgang, Wellman, & Humphrey, 2011). Knowing the abilities of these employees allows them to understand how best they can perform. It is important to note that a team is composed of people with different abilities who will assist in different duties. Keen observation allows the manager to identify the right persons for different teams and this ensures that the teams perform effectively. It means that the trait of keen observation has to be present in the leadership. The groups and teams also need to be directed. The overall leader is the manager. The theory teaches on the management skills that that the leader must possess to ensure that the teams are effective and that there is substantial growth in the organization.

Decision Making

Decision making is an important part of the organization. American Medical Response holds its name in the society due to the decisions it has made in the past. A decision can ruin its reputation and that is the reason why the trait theory teaches the managers on the right ways to make decision. In making decision, a leader must first be vigilant. It is a characteristic that is important for all managers to have. A vigilant leader ensures that he/she is careful on the decisions they make. It means that the leader must be watchful of the possibilities or dangers that might arise in making a decision. It cautions a leader from making poor and unwise decisions that might affect the organization. In decision making, the theory trains managers to have good cognitive skills. Cognitive skills allow them to make informed judgment and also make decisions that are healthy to the entity (Ciulla, 1999). It therefore means that the leaders must have the right knowledge of the business environment before engaging in activities that could bring the organization down. Decision making is also not something that is ought to be done abruptly. Training considering the theory allows the managers to know the right steps to make when deciding to make a decision that might have significant influence in the future activities of the entity.

Culture

Culture refers to the way an organization or a department carries out its operations. It contains shared assumptions, values, and beliefs that govern the way employees and other management staff perform. Trait theory will allow the leaders to learn on the most important aspects of good corporate governance. For the organization to have the right culture that will bring better yields to the company, the leaders need to have a good vision for the department as well as the subordinates. The leader has to ensure that the mission of the organization is achieved in every operation that the junior employees are engaged in. The main aim of this is to ensure that every decision made by the employees meets the needs of all stakeholders and also considers the values of the organization (Ciulla, 1999). Being visionary is the major trait that is being expressed here. In creating a good organizational culture, the theory also requires the leaders to be good examples to the subordinate. The theory trains the leaders to show integrity and honesty as these are the traits that will also be inherited by the junior staff.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the leaders of American Medical Response should strive to ensure that they set a good example to the subordinates. The leaders need to ensure that they their traits match the mission and vision of the organization. Trait theory of leadership will ensure that communication; decision making, culture, and team work among other variables are properly managed by the leaders.

References

Ciulla, J. B. (1999). The importance of leadership in shaping business values. Long Range

Planning, 32(2), 166-172.

Derue, D. S., Nahrgang, J. D., Wellman, N. E. D., & Humphrey, S. E. (2011). Trait and

behavioral theories of leadership: An integration and meta‐analytic test of their relative validity. Personnel psychology, 64(1), 7-52.

Mumford, M. D., Zaccaro, S. J., Connelly, M. S., & Marks, M. A. (2000). Leadership skills:

Conclusions and future directions. The Leadership Quarterly, 11(1), 155-170.