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Supervisor Collin wanted his part-time crew to work harder, so he transferred his hardest working night shift worker, Dawn, to the day shift, which she had been wanting for a long time. Collin was using which type of power to reinforce hard work?

User Gday
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Final answer:

Supervisor Collin used reward power to motivate Dawn by transferring her to the desired day shift, which exemplifies transactional leadership focusing on achieving goals through a system of rewards and punishments and also aligns with the motivating principles of the Hawthorne effect.

Step-by-step explanation:

Supervisor Collin was using reward power, one of the five bases of social power, to reinforce hard work among his part-time crew. Reward power is the ability of a person to confer valued rewards to others. In the scenario provided, Collin granted Dawn a desirable day shift, a shift she had been coveting, as a recognition of her hard work on the night shift. This aligns with the principles of transactional leadership, where leaders focus on supervision and the achievement of organizational goals through a system of rewards and punishments.

According to the Hawthorne effect, the act of acknowledging an employee's performance and giving attention can also lead to improved work effort and productivity. By transferring Dawn to the day shift, Collin not only rewarded her but also set an example for the rest of the team, showing that hard work is noticed and rewarded within the company. Furthermore, this approach supports Theory Y, which assumes that employees are naturally motivated and seeks to work hard, offering a stark contrast to Theory X which suggests that workers are inherently lazy and require control and punishment.

Collin's actions are indicative of a leadership style that enhances motivation and encourages a positive working environment by recognizing and rewarding hard work, suggesting a move towards transformational leadership that not only maintains the status quo but also seeks to inspire and stimulate change within individuals and the organization as a whole.

User Cusman
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