| Course | ORG-5020 Leadership and Management in the Twenty-First Century |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 4 |
| Paper type | Written assignment 4: followership, gender, ethics and team leadership |
| Length | About 902 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | Master of Science in Management |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for ORG 5020 Module 4
Ship It or Fix It? Followers, Gender, Ethics and Team Leadership on a Product Team
Student Name
Master of Science in Management, Thomas Edison State University
ORG-5020: Leadership and Management in the Twenty-First Century
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
Ship It or Fix It? Followers, Gender, Ethics and Team Leadership on a Product Team
Introduction
The fourth module widens the view of leadership beyond the leader: to followers, to how gender shapes perceptions of leaders, to ethics and to teams. Northouse (2022) treats each as a lens on the leadership process. This assignment applies all four to a composite case. A 12-person cross-functional team at an appliance maker is three weeks from launching a countertop oven. Two field testers have reported surface temperatures above the company's own limit after long use. The team's new leader, an electrical engineer recently promoted from within, wants to delay launch until the cause is found; the marketing lead and the vice president who sponsors the product want to launch on schedule because retailers have committed shelf space.
Question 1: Followership
Uhl-Bien et al. (2014) describe followership research as examining how followers influence leaders and outcomes, through roles followers adopt and through the way leadership is co-created in interaction. On this team, followers are shaping the outcome as much as the leader. The two test engineers who documented the overheating are acting as courageous followers, raising an uncomfortable fact; the marketing lead is following the sponsor's preference; and several members are passive, waiting to see who prevails. Northouse (2022) describes typologies of followers from passive to active and engaged. The leader's task is to draw passive members into the discussion so that the decision rests on the whole team's knowledge rather than on the loudest voices.
Question 2: Gender and Leadership
Eagly and Karau (2002) proposed role congruity theory: because leadership roles are often associated with agentic traits seen as masculine, women leaders can be judged less favorably, either as less suited to leadership or, when they act assertively, as violating expectations of how women should behave. The team leader's position is exposed to this double bind. If she insists firmly on a delay, some may see her as difficult; if she defers, some may see her as weak. Several team members' comments, such as calling her request emotional, fit the pattern the theory predicts. Northouse (2022) notes that such barriers are structural, not personal failings, which suggests the organization, not only the leader, has a role in addressing them, for example by having the decision judged against explicit safety criteria rather than impressions of resolve.
Question 3: Ethical Leadership
Brown et al. (2005) describe an ethical leader as someone who behaves well personally and makes good conduct part of how they talk, reward and decide, and their studies tied such leaders to employees who were more willing to bring problems forward. The overheating reports present a clear ethical question: launching with a known, unexplained safety risk puts customers at risk and the company at legal and reputational risk. The leader's insistence on finding the cause is ethical leadership in Brown and colleagues' sense, and how she handles it will teach the team whether raising problems is welcome.
Question 4: Team Leadership
The team leadership model in Northouse (2022) asks the leader to monitor the team's situation and decide whether to act internally, on the team's task and relationships, or externally, on its environment. Internally, the team needs a structured way to resolve the disagreement: a short root-cause investigation with clear criteria for launch, such as surface temperature below the limit after a specified test. Externally, the leader must manage the sponsor and retailers, which requires presenting the risk and a revised schedule to the vice president with data rather than asking for patience.
| Lens | What it shows | Leader action |
|---|---|---|
| Followership | Followers shape the outcome; some are passive | Invite every member's view; credit the testers |
| Gender | Role congruity bias may color judgments | Anchor the decision in explicit criteria |
| Ethics | A known safety risk is an ethical issue | Insist on root cause before launch |
| Team leadership | Internal conflict and external pressure | Structured investigation; brief the sponsor with data |
Recommendations
The leader should call a two-hour team session to review the test data, agree on launch criteria and assign a five-day root-cause investigation; present the vice president with the data, the criteria and two options, a two-week delay or a launch with a design fix if found quickly; and credit the testers publicly for raising the issue. The company should review its launch process so that safety criteria are fixed before schedules are set, removing the need for any leader to win an argument about them.
What the Sponsor Should Do
Leadership in this case does not rest only with the team leader. The vice president who sponsors the product holds the authority to delay the launch and sets the tone for how the team will treat safety in the future. By asking for the data, endorsing the launch criteria and thanking the testers, the sponsor would model the ethical leadership the research describes at a higher level, and would make it easier for the team leader to act without appearing to challenge authority. If the sponsor instead overrides the team, the lesson every member will learn is that schedules outrank safety, which is the opposite of the climate the company needs.
Conclusion
The four lenses converge. Engaged followers surfaced the problem, ethical leadership requires acting on it, team leadership provides a process for doing so, and attention to gender bias explains why anchoring the decision in criteria rather than impressions protects both the leader and the customers.
References
Brown, M. E., Trevino, L. K., & Harrison, D. A. (2005). Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 97(2), 117-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2005.03.002
Eagly, A. H., & Karau, S. J. (2002). Role congruity theory of prejudice toward female leaders. Psychological Review, 109(3), 573-598. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.109.3.573
Northouse, P. G. (2022). Leadership: Theory and practice (9th ed.). SAGE.
Uhl-Bien, M., Riggio, R. E., Lowe, K. B., & Carsten, M. K. (2014). Followership theory: A review and research agenda. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(1), 83-104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2013.11.007
Reading the ORG 5020 Module 4 assignment instructions
The fourth ORG-5020 written assignment covers followership, gender, ethics and team leadership from Northouse's later chapters. Expect questions that ask you to explain each concept and apply it to a situation. Pick one situation where followers, gender, ethics and team process all matter at once, give its facts precisely, and put each question under a heading with at least one study. Where gender is involved, rely on theory and evidence rather than assumptions about individuals. End with recommendations for the leader and the organization, and write in your own words with APA citations. Keep each answer tied to the same case so that the lenses can be compared on the same facts and the differences between them stand out.
How this ORG 5020 Module 4 example is built
The paper builds one case that engages all four topics, then answers a question for each, so the lenses can be compared on the same facts. Followership is applied to specific team members' roles, role congruity theory explains a pattern in how the leader is perceived, ethical leadership is grounded in a study linking it to problem reporting, and the team leadership model separates internal from external actions. A table compares the lenses, and the recommendations address both the immediate decision and the organizational process behind it. Notice how each lens leads to a concrete action rather than a general observation. The table compares the four lenses side by side.
Reading the ORG 5020 Module 4 grading rubric
Assignment four is graded on the 0 to 100 scale the course uses. They look for accurate explanations of each concept, application to specific people and events, and research support. Treatment of gender should be grounded in theory and evidence and avoid stereotyping. Strong papers show how the lenses interact and recommend actions for both the leader and the organization. Original phrasing, one section per question and APA citations finish the evaluation. Papers that discuss each topic in isolation from the case tend to earn less. Recommendations addressed to the organization as well as the leader show the systemic thinking this module rewards most. Evidence-based treatment of gender matters. Clarity helps.
Common ORG 5020 Module 4 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Students often treat this module as four separate essays. We can draft an ORG 5020 fourth assignment that runs all four lenses over a single case, either one from your workplace or a composite built to your prompt. Pick a situation with a real decision and several people involved. Map each person's follower role, consider whether expectations about gender shape how anyone is judged, identify the ethical stakes and decide what the leader should do inside the team and outside it. Then write recommendations for both the leader and the organization. Finally, check that each recommendation follows from one of the four lenses and could be carried out within the case timeline. Then proofread.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Thomas Edison State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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ORG 5020 Module 4 questions, answered
Where can I find a free ORG 5020 Module 4 sample paper?
The fourth Leadership and Management in the Twenty-First Century written assignment is shown above, applying followership, gender, ethics and team leadership to a composite product team.
What is role congruity theory?
Eagly and Karau's theory that perceived mismatch between leadership roles and gender expectations leads women leaders to be judged less favorably.
What is ethical leadership?
Brown, Trevino and Harrison's term for leaders who act with integrity themselves and make it part of how they talk to, reward and decide for their people.
How do followers shape leadership?
Followership research shows followers influence leaders and outcomes through the roles they take and through how leadership is co-created in interaction.
What does the team leadership model ask a leader to decide?
Whether to act internally on the team's task and relationships or externally on its environment, based on monitoring the team's situation.