these factors was subsequently thought to be the reason for the
researchers’ inability to identify leader behaviors that had universal or
near universal effectiveness.
(House and Aditya 1997: 421)Elsewhere, Yukl (1989: 258-259) has noted the importance of situational
considerations: he describes how Misumi (1985) and Misumi and Peterson (1985)
in their studies of leadership behaviours in Japan found (using concepts of
leadership behaviour similar to the Ohio initiating structure and consideration)
that significant amounts of both task- and relationship-orientated behaviour are
required for leadership effectiveness. Yulk stressed (p. 259) the significance of
the fact that Misumi and Misumi and Peterson’s research emphasised the
contextual (situational) relevance of the observed behaviours.
Late behaviour period and humanistic theories
Located within in the Late Behaviour Period of Van Seters and Field’s (1990: 31-
32) ‘Leadership Eras’ framework is the work of McGregor (1960, 1966) and Blake
and Mouton (1964). Bass (1981: 33) described McGregor’s Theory X / Theory Y,
Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Grid work and Likert’s (1961, 1967) management
systems theory as belonging to the humanistic tradition of organisational studies.
These theories propose that by ‘humanising’ the work environment, individuals
can meet organisational and personal objectives at the same time. In this way, it
is hoped that individual and organisational needs can be balanced. Although
Anderson (1997: 273) believes that while this approach can contribute much to
our understanding of human needs in the workplace and can help valorise the
importance of “...personal meaning and purpose at work”, he also notes that such
approaches have been criticised for promoting human, rather than organisational,
values to the detriment of the ‘bottom line’.
Prominent examples of humanistic theories include Blake and Mouton (1964) who
found that leaders who scored well on both people (consideration) and production
(initiating structure) dimensions were most effective. Blake and Mouton also
developed one of the first leadership-style assessment instruments: their
Managerial Grid (1964) uses a 9 x 9 grid with degrees of initiating structure along
one axis and degrees of consideration marked along the other. The model
presents leaders who are rated 9 on both axes to be the most effective.