Exploring Leadership Styles, Sensemaking, and Organizational Rituals

This essay examines the decisive role of leadership in organizations, focusing on sensemaking, symbolic power, and deference. It analyzes how leaders like Mr. Carrol and Mrs. Kox utilize these elements to implement organizational changes, referencing Coburn's work on policy implementation and Weick, Sutcliffe, and Obstfeld's insights on sensemaking. The essay also discusses the role of public service workers in policy formulation, as identified by Lipsky. Furthermore, it explores successful and failed organizational rituals, using examples from Amazon to illustrate the importance of emotional entrainment, stakeholder interests, and situational analysis in change management. The essay references Goffman's concepts of front and back stages and situational stratification to further explain organizational dynamics. Desklib offers a variety of resources, including solved assignments and past papers, to aid students in their studies.

Running head: LEADERSHIP
LEADERSHIP
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Answer to question 1
1A.
The decisive role of leadership is based on the identification of the priorities through
which the sustainable decision making attributes are supported. The decisive nature of the
leadership is based on the sense making that affects the proper functioning of businesses. As per
the case, Mr. Carrol (the new assistant principal) utilized his symbolic power, sense making and
deference, which helped him in undertaking better decisions for enforcing organizational
changes. On the other hand, the initiatives that were undertaken by Mrs. Kox lacked in the
portrayal of her symbolic power and authority, which resulted to the teachers of her school Mrs.
Kox's cultural capital. The authoritative nature of the leader is an important aspect in this regards
which will be helping the person in undertaking the decisions more proficiently. On the other
hand, the application of symbolic authority in the processes of logical sense making will helping
the leaders in gaining deference to their decisions (Hallett, 2007).
1B.
Coburn focused on understanding the different aspects of policies that might be
implemented in the schools and the manner in which the teachers adapts themselves to the varied
changes understanding he needs of the classroom. The knowledge of the content and the manner
in which they might be approached helps the leaders at school in maintaining the decorum and
inducing positive habits in the students. Coburn (2005) stated that the evolution of the policy
making in schools is based on the priorities of the same to bring forth modifications in the
processes which is enhanced through the sense making of the policy to the context. As per the
case, Mrs. Kox lacked in the ability of sense making and the manner in which the policies are to

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be implemented in the organization through approval of the employees. Likely Weick, Sutcliffe
and Obstfeld (2005) stated that sense making is related to articulation and interpretation of
different ideas that will be helping organizations in enhancing he operations of the same while
operating as per the objectives. Policies that are formed by schools are largely dependent on the
sense making and interpretation of different situations that are faced by the same. The
articulation of different ideas in the organizational model helps in enhancing the operations of
the same.
Coburn (2005) referred to the idea of sense making as a planning stage that is required to
be undertaken by organizations in order to enhance the operations. Mrs. Kox failed to acquire
deference from the teachers as they rejected her cultural capital. Lack of logical sense making
over the position of the different circumstances affected the formal authority of Kox’s position.
On the other hand, the lack of symbolic power and deference affected her ability to bring in
changes in the school. However, implementation of symbolism and logical sense making
propositions in the functions would have helped Kox in undertaking changes in the school
(Hallett, 2007).
1C.
Lipsky (2010) identified the role that is played by the public service workers in
formulating different policies as per the needs of the community. The public service workers
utilize the discretionary decision-making in the creation of different policies for the benefits.
Therefore, the implementation of the authoritative and discretionary decision making helps
leaders in enhancing the policy formulation process.

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Answer to question 2
Successful Ritual
I have been working in Amazon for a long time. The successful rituals that were
undertaken by the organization referred to the efficacy of the interactions that helps in enhancing
the situations that are faced by organizations. The integrative functioning of the employees and
the stakeholders in an Amazon’s model helped in supporting to the success of rituals. The key
elements of change in the organizational performance are based on the consideration of the
emotional aspects of human nature referred as “Emotional Entrainment” (Hallett, 2010). The
emotional aspects depict the mindset and the perception of the people while undertaking
integrative functioning of organizations. The introduction of power rituals in the Amazon’s
models helped in reinventing the subordination models of the organization. On the other hand,
the deference and demeanor associated with the rituals play an important part in the sense
making and the suitable functioning of the systems of the organizations.
Failed Ritual
The organization aimed at implementing automated technologies in the processes in order
to avoid human related errors in the process. However, the organization failed to identify the
interests of the stakeholders, which affected the change implementation process. The lack of
understaning of the interests of the employees resulted to resistances that failed the ritual, which
was planned by the organization. Goffman refers the front and back stages as the elements that
aimed at maintaining the appearance through prescribed behavior and activities. The key
elements of change in the Amazon’s operations are permitted through the orders that are given or
taken by the people working in the same. Situational stratification is again an important concept,

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which has helped in enhancing the operations of the organizations through its continuous support
to strengthen decision making (Fox & Harding, 2005). Different changes in the operations of
the organization are based on management’s understanding of implementing different strategies
in order to enhance the different processes as per the situation. The key change in Amazon’s
functioning is supported through the management’s capabilities of understanding the different
risks that might be faced by the same while implementing certain processes. In this regards the
situational analysis that is conducted by the organizations helps in supporting the decision
making powers of the same to assist the organizations in coping up with the changes. The
identification of the emotional and the strategies that might be chosen by the management helps
in enhancing the operations of the systems.

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References
Coburn, C. E. (2005). Shaping teacher sensemaking: School leaders and the enactment of
reading policy. Educational policy, 19(3), 476-509.
Fox, C., & Harding, D. J. (2005). School shootings as organizational deviance. Sociology of
education, 78(1), 69-97.
Hallett, T. (2007). Between deference and distinction: Interaction ritual through symbolic power
in an educational institution. Social Psychology Quarterly, 70(2), 148-171.
Hallett, T. (2010). The myth incarnate: Recoupling processes, turmoil, and inhabited institutions
in an urban elementary school. American Sociological Review, 75(1), 52-74.
Lipsky, M. (2010). Street-level bureaucracy, 30th ann. Ed.: dilemmas of the individual in public
service. Russell Sage Foundation.
Weick, K. E., Sutcliffe, K. M., & Obstfeld, D. (2005). Organizing and the process of
sensemaking. Organization science, 16(4), 409-421.

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