Leadership style and employee commitment: a case study of the KZN Office of the Premier.
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Date
2020
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Abstract
The researcher examined the relationship between the three leadership styles,
namely, the transformational, transactional and laissez-faire styles as well as employee
commitment and the perceived leadership style displayed by managers in the Office of the
Premier in Kwa-Zulu Natal. Radical social and economic transformation is a topical issue on the
political agenda of the South African political leaders. The South African political leaders are
slowly transforming the government sector and this can be linked to leadership styles and employee
commitment.
A quantitative methodology was used for this study and self-administered questionnaires, consisting
of a Multi-Factor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) and an Organizational Commitment
Questionnaire (OCG) were used to gather data from 150 respondents, 87 of whom responded. The
Statistical Package of the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 24.0 was used for the statistical
analysis. A convenient sampling method was used because the researcher only focused on employees
based in Pietermaritzburg. The reliability of the overall questionnaire was tested using
Cronbach's Alpha method. The Cronbach's Alpha test showed a strong internal consistency amongst
the questionnaire items. This shows that the questionnaire's leadership and organisational skills
items were indeed a measure of the same constructs as would be expected from a well-designed
questionnaire.
It was found that the transformational and transactional leadership styles are the most adopted
styles while the laissez-faire style, although it is adopted, is not as preferred as the other two
leadership styles. The leadership style and employee commitment were found to be positively
related. This implies that leadership styles play a vital role in employee commitment at the Office
of the Premier. It is important for the leadership of the departments at the Office of the
Premier to consider the findings to meet the organisational goals. It is further recommended that
leadership in the Office of the Premier should embrace the transformational leadership style to
transform the organisation and the workers, as well as to motivate the employees to work together
to change the organisation and create sustainable productivity.
Description
Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.