PART B

For Part B, you are required to write an essay on a specific leadership topic indicated below.

Background: 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.

Essay Topic

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.