Question

The internal as well as external environment of organisations, including public sector organisations, have become very dynamic. Over the last decades many unpredictable events happened which had dramatic impacts on many countries. The public sector needs a new breed of leaders who can address the new challenges in this ever changing world. Lately, the Covid-19, the corona virus disease, is having a devastating effect in many countries, including Mauritius. At the beginning of March 2020, the Prime Minister announced a series of measures to reduce the socio-economic impact of Covid-19 for Mauritius (GIS, 2020). He announced that overall Government spending will be reduced by 10%. In this volatile and unpredictable environment, public administrators have a critical role to play to save a country in the medium to long term. Strong and effective leadership have become imperative in the public sector in Mauritius.

Carry out the following tasks:

Research academic and Journal articles on Leadership in the public sector. Prepare a brief literature review of the topic. This should include some relevant theories on Leadership. Your research should mainly be based on recent articles from peerreviewed journals. [12 Marks]

Answer 1

We can define Leader a person you choose to follow to go to a place where you wouldn't go by yourself. And the leadership style is referred by the style a leader perform his duties i.e. Providing direction, Executing Plans and Motivating people for greater good. Any organization be it Public or Private it depends fully upon its leaders. The organizations however select their own strategy to form their future leaders through different means but ultimately its the organization culture that makes the final outcome i.e. leadership. There are several forms of leadership styles generally one can discuss based on the current topic however following are the major ones

• Autocratic Leadership
• Bureaucratic Leadership
• Democratic Leadership
• Strategic Leadership
• Transformational Leadership
• Cross Cultural Leadership
• Laissez-faire Leadership
• Transactional Leadership
• Coaching Leadership
• Charismatic Leadership
• Visionary Leadership

Though most of the Public Sector leaders follows the Burecratic Style of leadership due to the official powers given to them, but there are deep roots towards any form of Leadership. There are Three major Leadership Theories that describe the leadership styles. these are as follows

1. Trait Theories- It says leaders are born and focus on personal qualities and characteristics.
2. Behavioral Theories- It says leaders are developed.
3. Contingency Theories- It says leaders should approach different leadership style based on the situation as there is no best way to manage any organization.

The resources are limited and there is no end of Demand thus as per the changing environment and recent crysis the following points any Public Organization should develop to fight towards future Problems of sustainability through effective & strong leadership. These ara as follows

• Acquiring ICT (Information and Communication tools) proactively
• Developing a influential and delivery network
• Re thinking of one's visibility
• Investing energy in their own support
• Promoting good workplace with a sense of purpose and inclusion.