To what extent is leadership a socially constructed phenomena

This essay hasn't yet been marked by one of our teachers

You can view 1 essay on Management Studies that have been Marked by Teachers

The first 200 words of this essay...

To what extent is leadership a socially constructed phenomena?

'We cannot always attain the position to which we believe we are called: our relations in society have to some extent already begun to be established before we are in a position to determine them.' (Marx, 1835. cited in Reiss, E.1997, pp44)

At the turn of the 19th Century Machiavelli, in his works entitled 'The Prince' (1515), wrote what was to be the first significant literature on leadership. His study isolated leadership as a subject to be studied and a phenomena that can be manipulated. His work was unique as it placed leadership away from the realm of god and the anointed one, and into the hands of man (Barker, R. 2001). Within his writings, Machiavelli drew upon power through feudal law, and seemed to outline the basic ideas behind social hierarchy and the feudal paradigm. It has been suggested by Barker, R. (1997) that this feudal paradigm has emerged as the fundamental backbone of the modern industrial system, and thus the modern industrial paradigm is based upon 'an obsession with the persona of kings and conquerors traced back to the age of enlightenment' (Barker, R. 1997 pp346). Hence,