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Running head: UNIT 3 - RESEARCH TOPIC STATEMENT

Unit 3 - Research Topic Statement and Relevance and Significance of Research

Winston Havenstrite

LSTD 3953 – SID Prospectus

Professor Dikeman

University of Oklahoma – College of Professional and Continuing Studies

Running head: UNIT 3 - RESEARCH TOPIC STATEMENT

I certify that I have read a student’s Guide to Academic Integrity at the University of Oklahoma,

and this paper is an original paper composed by me for this course. Except where properly cited

and attributed, it has not been copied or closely reworded from any other source and has not been

submitted as a whole, or in part, for credit in any other course at OU or any other educational

institution. It has not been created or submitted for any other purpose such as a job assignment

at my workplace or any other agency.

UNIT 3 - RESEARCH TOPIC STATEMENT

Research Topic Statement

The need for leadership and how it changes the world. In this paper, Yukl's (2013)

definition is used, who states that leadership is "the process of influencing others to understand

and agree about what needs to be done and how to do it, and the process of facilitating individual

and collective efforts to accomplish shared objectives" (p. 2). Many individuals have the

ambition to change the world and in this time and age, there are a lot of resources to facilitate

change such as technology. Many people in this present times feel they can make a drastic

change in the world and on a massive scale, but very few actually do so. The truth, however,

remains that very few people have. The world is not at the state everyone would like it to be,

there are gaps in equality that calls for quality leadership, leadership that was portrayed by

certain brave men and women. It is important to explore how these brave men and women

managed to master the art of leadership, how spectacular their achievements were that they

managed to not only change their lives but the entire world.

Throughout history, times of crisis or urgent need, leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr.

summoned the courage to stand against what was popular during their time for the sake of what

was right. Leaders are very crucial to determine the growth of economies. This is because leaders

influence policy outcomes, thus play a great role in shaping the growth of a nation, the

collaboration of nations within a region and peace (Jones, & Olken, 2005). Leaders that

influenced change in the world had an obsession for a cause, case in point Jean Monnet who was

careful about creating relations between nations in Europe. His efforts led to the creation of the

European Coal and Steel Community in 1951 which gave birth to the European Union. Cyrus

Field was another exceptional leader that shared the same agitation as Jean Monnet and ended up

creating the most important communication project in the history of the globe, the transatlantic

UNIT 3 - RESEARCH TOPIC STATEMENT

telegraph. A leader is a person that has the skill to make clear a case like Margret Thatcher as she

captained radical change that replaced socialism. Through the championing of Laissez-faire

policies she pulled the economy of Britain from a near collapse and a failure in effective

governance. Gandhi fought for the poor people in India and liberated the nation from British rule

through a system of non-violent protest that still revered across the globe today. If the likes of

Dr. King, Gandhi and Chesley ‘Sully' Sullenberger III did not stand for what was right the

society today would be lesser. America would probably be less integrated if it were not for the

efforts of Dr. King. Martin Luther King Jr. who sought equality for African Americans, anybody

else in the American society that was disadvantaged economically and all that were victims of

the injustice that witnessed in the mid-20

century (King Jr., 2010). He did this through peaceful

protest such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott which was the genesis of landmark legislations like

the civil rights act and Voting Rights Act alongside efforts like the 1963 March on Washington.

Leaders are at the center of developing effective work cultures (Ardichvili, och Dag, &

Manderscheid, 2016). "Culture is ultimately created, embedded, evolved, and ultimately

manipulated by leaders" (Schein, 2010 p. 3). Organizations, as well as nations, need not just any

kind of leadership, but leadership that promotes effective and competitive strategies that respond

to change (Crevani, Lindgren, & Packendorff, 2010).

Studies conducted on the topic of leadership have focused on various effective leadership

qualities and none has properly clarified the need for leadership and provided a proper

understanding of the same. There is no literature covering how the need for leadership has

directly affected change in the world. The connection between the need for leadership and its

effect on the world still remains vague. In this paper, I will discuss the need for leadership and

how leadership has affected change in the world.

UNIT 3 - RESEARCH TOPIC STATEMENT

Relevance and Significance of Research

Relevance to Field of Study

In administrative leadership, this paper creates an understanding that when leadership at a

societal level is effective, it impacts the lives of professionals and consequently the corporate

context. A positive and forward thinking leader works towards developing people professionally.

This paper creates an understanding that effective leaders with effective leadership qualities are

aware of the fact that professionals need to achieve something in their capacities if they are to

contribute to leadership. A forward-thinking leader will thus focus on performance, on the

importance of education and emphasize on hard work. This paper supports the topics under

administrative leadership by providing additional information on what leadership is all about

since students are prepared to be leaders of the future. It discusses how administrative leaders

can create systems that support operational settings in whatever setting. It makes clear leadership

functions of administrative leaders such as teaching, mobilization and establishing systems that

protect and sustain an organization. Although in other fields these functions may be

characterized as management functions, this paper clarifies why they are important leadership

roles.

Relevance to Professions

This paper will be of relevance to administrative leadership academics, Human resource

development academics and students studying administrative leadership, human resource

development, and scholar-practitioners as well. The discussions in this paper will contribute

greatly to the benefit of professionals considering leadership is a central part of an effective

professional arrangement. This paper will develop founding assumptions for the need for

leadership and its effect to a corporate context as it is practiced today. The suggested perspective

UNIT 3 - RESEARCH TOPIC STATEMENT

that borrows but goes beyond heroic outsets of leadership as defined by individuals will enable

us to advance our understanding of how existing notions of leadership are incorporated into-and

re-constructed to fit the need for administrative leadership. From this reasoning, these paper

focuses on leadership activities as created in interactions and the importance of societal concepts

of leadership and their reconstruction for professional leadership needs of today. This is aided by

looking at leadership as a societal issue because the society was its genesis before it evolved into

a professional phenomenon. This paper will shed light on present-day leadership qualities

borrowed by corporate and professional leaders which are actually established on social and

political leaders of yesteryears.

Social Significance

Understanding the need for leadership and the impact of good leadership in bringing

change to the world is an interesting study topic. This is because it helps break down the

complexity that is the effect of leadership on societal and global issues into small relatable

structures because discussing how effective leadership affects the globe is somewhat

multifaceted. The recommended approach to leadership in this paper will help avoid discontent

at a small scale and avoid chaos and mobocracy at a larger scale. Leadership is instrumental in

realizing social change. This paper highlights that without the right form of leadership, it is not

possible to abolish existing ineffective social norms, realizing social change or updating history.

It discusses the role of good leadership in mobilizing the masses and flaring up passion in people

for the achievement of a common goal. Inspiring action and uniting people is not possible

without quality leadership. The role of a leader in a society is clearly defined in this paper. In the

context of social change, a leader forms the face of the crusade and creates support as its

backbone without which the masses cannot fulfill theirs as the heart and soul of the same. The

UNIT 3 - RESEARCH TOPIC STATEMENT

discussion in this paper also makes clear a society is represented in history by a remarkable

leader but not the people.

UNIT 3 - RESEARCH TOPIC STATEMENT

Annotated Bibliography

Ardichvili, A., och Dag, K. N., & Manderscheid, S. (2016). Leadership Development: Current

and Emerging Models and Practices. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 18(3),

275–285. https://doi.org/10.1177/1523422316645506

The literature contained in this article discusses leadership development. The literature

acknowledges that leadership development is important as indicated by the expenditure recorded

by business organizations on the issue. In response to the lack of academic literature on

leadership development that is up to date with emerging new trends and the rapid changes in

existing practices, this paper discusses new trends in leadership development theory and practice.

The article creates a very concise definition of leadership that is important and relevant to this

paper. It also contains significant evidence suggesting the importance of building leadership

qualities as indicated by the huge investment in leadership development by business

organizations. Evidence which this paper builds upon to support its position.

Crevani, L., Lindgren, M., & Packendorff, J. (2010). Leadership, not leaders: On the study of

leadership as practices and interactions. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 26(1), 77-

86.

Crevani, Monica, and Packendorff tries to separate leaders from leadership. In contrast to

other studies that are leader-centered, these article goes beyond dominating heroic notions of

leadership. It focuses on leadership activities as witnessed in social interactions. Also, the focus

continues to institutionalized conceptions of leadership and how they are rebuilt and incorporated

into the same activities. The paper challenges leadership studies that have been always focused

UNIT 3 - RESEARCH TOPIC STATEMENT

on the leader placing the intellectual phenomenon of leadership into separate individuals

disconnected from their cultural contexts. It does this by discussing the topic of leadership as

interactions and practices as opposed to competences and actions of distinct individuals. My

paper appreciates this line of thought making this article a rich source of ideas and points of

reference.

Jones, B. F., & Olken, B. A. (2005). Do leaders matter? National leadership and growth since

World War II. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 120(3), 835-864.

This article examines the effect of leadership on a large scale. After recognizing the huge

economic growth differences in nations across decades, the paper examines one important

explanation for these shifts – changes in the national leader. The paper uses the death of these

leaders while in office as a source for external cause of variation in leadership. In the results of

the study, there is evidence that leaders matter when it comes to economic growth. These effects

are more prevalent in autocratic settings where the powers of the leaders are less constrained.

The paper also suggests that leaders affect policy outcomes, monetary policies in particular. The

conclusion is different leaders play critical roles in shaping the growth of economies.

King Jr, M. L. (2010). Stride toward freedom: The Montgomery story (Vol. 1). Beacon Press.

This book reviews the leadership skills of Dr. Martin Lurther King Jr. It addresses the

issue of how the tactics applied by Dr. King worked for the societal need at the time. It also

explains briefly why the practices applied by doctor king during his crusades are still relevant to

this day. From it, one can draw important lessons on quality leadership as portrayed by Dr. King.

This supports the connection between leadership qualities of yesteryears and those of modern

UNIT 3 - RESEARCH TOPIC STATEMENT

times. From it, one can reconstruct leadership attributes that can be used for the leadership needs

of today.

Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Edgar Schein’s work in this piece is regarded as very influential especially in the field of

management. The book draws from an extensive assortment of contemporary research to

establish the crucial role of leaders in applying cultural models to realize the goals of their

organizations. The author examines the fundamental connection between leadership and culture

before revealing important findings on the two topics. The notable findings are that leaders being

entrepreneurs are the main architects of culture. Once they have formed these cultures, they

(cultures) determine the kind of leadership that is possible. It is also the responsibility of a leader

to instigate and speed up culture change in the event of a dysfunctional one.

Yukl, G. A. (2013). Leadership in organizations (8th ed.). New Jersey, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Yukl provides a detailed definition of leadership that is relevant to the issues in this

paper. The author explores the recipe to a complete and effective leader. The book provides a

balance of theory and practice through the study of key theories and research on leadership and

administrative efficacy in formal organizations.

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