Leader-member exchange (LMX) theory posits that in organisations, managers and leaders develop distinct relationships with their employees at the dyadic level. For example, with some subordinates, supervisors have so-called ‘high quality’ working relationships.
In your essay, answer the following question: "To what extent is LMX theory still relevant in contemporary organisations?"
In writing your answer, you should be using academic references on the LMX theory and provide one or two practical examples from the real world. For instance, you can focus on identifying the ‘ingredients’ of ‘high quality’ relationships, the factors that contribute to forming and maintaining effective leader-follower working interactions, and on addressing the wider implications of the LMX theory for workplace outcomes and organisational performance.
……………relevant in contemporary organisations using scholarly sources. The report is organised into various sections; an overview of the LMX theory, and the next section, a justification of why the model is relevant to a greater extent in contemporary organisation using various themes; measurements of the leadership quality exchange, establishing a mechanism for improving leader-subordinate relationships, reinforcing employee performance, and guides during the establishment of the various organisation policies. The third section discusses the criticisms of LMX theory, followed by the final section of conclusion and recommendations.
Overview of the LMX theory
LMX theory focuses on the relationship between the leaders and the followers; instead of the relationship between the leader and group. The theory argues that the leaders influence the followers’ behaviour through the quality relationship they develop (Aggarwal et al., 2020). This assumption is in contrast to the behavioural leadership theories such as transformational and servant leadership that primarily focus on the actions taken by the leaders. A high-quality relationship is characterised by loyalty, respect, and trust (Martin et al., 2017).
There are three processes in initiating the relationship between the leaders and the followers. The first step is role-taking. The role taking involves the assessment of the skills and competencies of the follower by the leader. The leader forms the image of the expectation of the members and offers them opportunities to demonstrate their competencies. During the role taking, the leader and the follower develop the relationship etiquette. The second step is role making, carrying out the assigned task and unstructured and information negotiations. The informal and unstructured negotiations during this phase enable building the relationship, which is the most crucial for maintaining effective relationships. Personal and cultural differences may undermine role-making. The…………………..