Learning Activity 4.2
For this activity, I chose to focus on Sendjaya and Sarros’ (2002) article Servant leadership: Its origin, development, and application in organizations.
- Is this topic interesting?
Rating: 3
Yes, the topic is interesting and written in a way that is easy to understand. Even without prior knowledge of the subject, readers can quickly engage and understand the material. - Is there a meaningful problem?
Rating: 2
This article is a more of a theoretical discussion rather than a research paper. As such, there is no identified problem. However, the authors note that the purpose of this article is to present a “philosophical basis of servant leadership as conceptualized by Robert Greenleaf and represented by historical figures such as Jesus Christ” (Sendjaya & Sarros, 2002, p. 57). I think that this is is meaningful because understanding the origin of servant leadership helps researchers be able to better comprehend the topic and to be able to narrow down themes for further research. - Is the importance of the problem justified?
Rating: 2
Yes, in the introduction, the authors state that there is a lack of empirical research studies (Sendjaya & Sarros, 2002, p. 57). In order to move ahead with further research, “an accurate understanding of the conceptual roots of servant leadership is essential” (Sendjaya & Sarros, 2002, p. 57). The authors try to fill this gap by presenting an article that thoroughly discusses the origins of servant leadership and examples of it throughout history (Sendjaya & Sarros, 2002). Sendjaya and Sarros (2002) also discuss current applications of servant leadership in organizations and suggest potential areas of study for future research (p. 62). - Are there deficiencies in the knowledge about the problem?
Rating: 1
Since there is not a clear problem in this article, the authors do not clearly state deficiencies in the knowledge about servant leadership. Sendjaya and Sarros (2002) do briefly mention that there is a lack of empirical studies on this topic and that scarcity of research can be attributed to the oxymoron that is servant leadership (p. 58). - Is an audience identified and are there specific examples of how the audience can use the missing knowledge?
Rating: 2
Yes, the authors state that being able to fully understand the concepts and background of servant leadership will make this topic more approachable for researchers (Sendjaya & Sarros, 2002, p. 57). Being able to see how servant leadership has been walked out by historical figures such as Jesus will allow researchers to understand what this form of leadership looks like in practice (Sendjaya & Sarros, 2002, p. 57). - Does the passage clearly argue that the study is warranted?
Rating: 1
The authors briefly mention that a better understanding of servant leadership would open the door for more researchers to research servant leadership (Sendjaya & Sarros, 2002, p. 57). However, beyond one sentence, there is no strong argument for the importance of this article. - Is the passage well written?
Rating: 3
Yes, this article is well-written as it is engaging and easy to read. There is enough background information that even readers who are unfamiliar with the topic are able to follow along and learn.
References
Sendjaya, S., & Sarros, J. C. (2002). Servant leadership: Its origin, development, and application in organizations. Journal of Leadership and Organization Studies, 9(2), 57-64.
Original assignment post found here.
January 28, 2018 @ 10:54 am
Hi Ruth,
Thank you for your comments and evaluation of the article. The article by Sendjaya and Sarros (2002) is a literature review that is intended to examine the philosophical foundation of servant leadership rather than an empirical investigation. This is why there is not much discussion about different research articles. If you are interested you can take a look at the Parris and Peachy (2013) article you will see a very different type of literature review on the same topic. The goal of the Parris and Peachy (2013) article was to “provide an evidence-informed answer to how does servant leadership work, and how we can apply it” (p. 377).
Dr. Strong
Parris, D. L., & Peachey, J. W. (2013). A systematic literature review of servant leadership theory. Journal of Business Ethics, 113 (3), 377-393.
Sendjaya, S., & Sarros, J. C. (2002). Servant leadership: Its origin, development, and application in organizations. Journal of Leadership and Organization Studies, 9(2), 57-64.