Evaluation of the role of ethical leadership development on organisational performance: the case of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe
- Authors: Chakonza, Hawkins
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Econet Wireless Zimbabwe , Leadership , Leadership -- Case studies , Business ethics
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/146723 , vital:38551
- Description: The study evaluated the role of ethical leadership development on the performance of the organisation. Econet Wireless Zimbabwe was employed as a case study. The objectives of the study were to: understand the role of ethical leadership development at Econet Wireless Zimbabwe on the day to day running of the business, understand the nature of the ethical leadership development at Econet Wireless, examine the factors influencing ethical leadership development at Econet Wireless, ascertain the role of ethical leadership development in enhancing organisational perfomance and efficiency and to investigate leaders’ perceptions on ethical leadership development on the organisation’s effectiveness. Social learning and social exchange theory informed the study. The research employed a qualitatve approache to improve the validity,reliability and credibility of the research findings. key informnat intervews and focus group of discussion and in-depth interviews were used as data collection instruments. The study found that ethical leadership development programmes improve the perfomance of orgnisations. That is, ethical leadeship development enbaled Econet Wireless Zimbabwe to achive disticinive competence, increase profit, have a large number of subscribers and also expanded among others. Furthermore, the study shows that an ethical leadership development approach brings significant value to the organisation and, suggests that ethical leaders are more influential in organizations than currently understood. The study found that leaders could influence ethics related outcomes in the organisation by engaging in behaviours that makes them perceived as credible, attractive and legitimate by their followers.
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An investigation of the leadership practices and organizational culture at a private Christian school
- Authors: Babu, Bithun
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Church schools -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Leadership , Corporate culture
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62155 , vital:28133
- Description: The purpose of this study is to investigate the leadership practices and organizational culture at a private Christian school in the Eastern Cape. A preliminary review of leadership literature suggested that traces of servant leadership may be apparent at the organization. Thus servant leadership will form a key focus area for exploration in this study. An analysis of this nature can make one aware of the influence leadership has in shaping the organizational culture of an institution. This in turn can be used to inform the future thinking around leadership efforts with respect to culture formation within an organization. The issue was addressed by consulting various articles to view the issue from different perspectives. The school served as a vehicle to explore the tenets of leadership and organizational culture. The study will take the form of a descriptive quantitative study. It was concluded that leadership plays a significant role in establishing the culture at an organization. However, leadership is not the only factor that shapes the organizational culture of an institution. The beliefs and values of the organization also has a role in shaping the overall culture and identity of an organization.
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The impact of leadership on job satisfaction at a specific bank in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Wyngaard, Shaun Peter
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Leadership , Bank employees Job satisfaction , Labor turnover , Transformational leadership , Bank management South Africa Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62050 , vital:28099
- Description: This study aimed at investigating the relationship between leadership and employee job satisfaction in the banking sector of South Africa. The study drew from the fact that there is a growing emphasis in organisations to reduce employee turnover by keeping their employees satisfied. The ultimate performance, effectiveness and competitiveness of an organisation are directly related to an organisation’s ability to keep its employees optimally productive and satisfied. Numerous research studies have been conducted on transformational, transactional and passive-avoidant leadership to determine the significance of their respective relationship with the job satisfaction of employees in different scenarios. Results show that the transformational leadership style has a significant relationship with job satisfaction; while the transactional leadership style or the passive-avoidant style are applied according to changing circumstances. The study adopted a quantitative approach, using online questionnaires as an instrument for collecting primary data. The target population of the study was 380 bank employees, and the target sample was 218; 121 questionnaires were completed and used as the actual final sample. Questionnaires were completed from managers and employees of the selected bank, with the two population groups being investigated using different scales. SPSS was used in analysing the collected data. The findings of this research showed that the leadership styles under investigation have a direct impact on the job satisfaction of employees. Transformational leadership was found to have a significant positive relationship with job satisfaction, while the relationship between transactional leadership and job satisfaction was positive but moderate. A significant negative relationship was found between passive-avoidant leadership and job satisfaction. It is thus the responsibility of the financial institution under investigation to highlight the significant links and benefits of this leadership style to its management to ensure increased job satisfaction and lower turnover of employees in the institution. Literature explored in this study supported the close link between the different leadership styles and job satisfaction.
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The exploration of influence as a leadership competency amongst emerging adult males
- Authors: Munyai, Pfarelo Pardon
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Leadership , Leadership -- Psychological aspects , Influence (Psychology) , Control (Psychology) , Social media , Executives -- Training of , Executive ability , College students , Young adults , Educational leadership , Executive coaching , Male college students , Leadership -- Study and teaching (Higher) , College student government
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:852 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017520
- Description: The association between leadership, influence and power is well developed in the literature. However, there is a notable lack of research on youth leadership development, especially as it pertains to their exercise of influence. This paper was borne out of the need to explore how youth - emerging adults’ males in particular - exercise influence as a leadership competency within their voluntary leadership positions. Using semi-structured face-to-face interviews and the Critical Incident Technique (CIT), the research primarily focused on influence tactics and how they were employed. This included assessing the related power bases and principles of influence that were manifest, as well as the learning and development that occurred when reflecting on the outcome of the influence process. Data was analysed using an open coding procedure. Incidents explored in the study were primarily interpersonal in nature. This was reminiscent of lateral influence that characterised the peer to peer contextual environment of the study. The study found that in their influence pursuits, emerging adults followed a rational approach to influence. The distinguishable power bases and their relative importance in application were context dependent (Krause and Kearney, 2006:59-86). In addition, various proactive influence tactics were employed with a leaning towards those perceived as positive, honest and non-manipulative in application, which was congruent with Head Student role expectations and the culture of the organization. The utilization of social media as a communication platform from which various tactics could be launched was a novel and notable finding. Consequently, the results were presented primarily under two themes, exploring how tactics of influence are used face to face and via the social media platform. In addition, the study emphasised the ethical implications of the exercise of influence in both of these platforms and related to this, the challenge of influencing friends or close associates, without undermining leadership integrity. Overall, the various influence incidents presented and their outcomes, evidently shaped leadership development by reinforcing tactics which worked and stimulating continuous reflection and learning, adaptive strategies and the development of new means to deal with resistance and non-compliance. All of these are critical to shaping future influence behaviour. Primary recommendations include the need for a proactive approach to educating youth on leadership and influence through formal programmes, if they were to be empowered with tools to develop and maximize their leadership potential. Equally, practitioners need to be sensitized to the significance of their role as catalysts in nurturing youth leadership development. In addition, the novel use of social media as a leadership influence platform was recognised as significant and as such, a candidate for further research. Beyond the limited scope of this study, other angles worthy of further research include, factoring in elements such as gender, cross-cultural differences and the aspect of voluntary versus incentivised (or paid) leadership positions. The research is presented in an academic paper format, and is structured in three sections. These sections are written up as relatively independent sections, but are complementary in covering the full scope of the research. Section One, which is essentially a paper in a format of an academic journal article, represent the primary section and covers the results of the study, together with discussions and recommendations. This is followed by a literature review (i.e. Section Two), which delves into all the relevant literature explored. Section Three covers the methodology, research design and research procedure pursued. As part of the addendum, a comprehensive summary of the incidents explored is presented. This gives insight into the nature of the various incidents, the influence tactics preferred, power bases and influence principles manifested, together with the outcomes of the incidents. Furthermore, lessons drawn in reflection are noted, which participants viewed as critical, in that they shaped the way they now intend to exercise influence and thereby reflects their personal leadership development.
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The leadership competencies subordinates value : an exploratory study across gender and national culture
- Authors: Gondongwe, Sharon
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Leadership , Organizational behavior , Organizational behavior -- Cross-cultural studies , Organizational behavior -- Sex differences
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:1203 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015673
- Description: The effectiveness of leadership is largely dependent on whether the leadership competencies exhibited by leaders are congruent with the value system endorsed by subordinates. One of the ways in which leaders can influence subordinates is by understanding the leadership competencies valued by subordinates. Gender and national culture are two of the many factors that have an influence on the leadership competencies valued by subordinates. A large amount of research has been conducted to determine if, indeed, gender and national culture influence the leadership competencies subordinates' value. However, most of this research has been conducted in Europe and North America, places in which national cultures differ significantly from those prevailing in African countries. This study, from a South African and Zimbabwean perspective, attempted to ascertain if gender and national culture influence the leadership competencies they value in their leaders. Existing studies have indicated that gender and national culture do not influence the leadership competencies valued in a leader. The findings of this study are in accordance with previous research and agree that gender and national culture do not influence the leadership competencies valued in a leader. The results of this study indicated that male and female subordinates value similar leadership competencies. With respect to national culture, both South African and Zimbabwean subordinates value similar leadership competencies. Based on the findings of this study, regardless of gender and national culture, all subordinates value a leader who is loyal, visionary, openly embodies integrity, and is a leader who empowers subordinates.
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Relationship between employee performance, leadership and emotional intelligence in a South African parastatal organisation
- Authors: Hayward, Brett Anthony
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Employees -- Rating of , Leadership , Leadership -- Psychological aspects , Emotional intelligence , Government business enterprises -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:1206 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1019740
- Description: This research investigates the relationship between employee performance, leadership and emotional intelligence in a South African parastatal. The literature provided discusses the three variables of performance, leadership and emotional intelligence. Information was gathered, using three instruments, from a sample of 160 leaders and 800 raters. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire was used to determine leadership style within the parastatal, while the Emotional Competency Profiler was used to determine the emotional intelligence of the leaders within the parastatal. Employee performance was captured and recorded using the parastatal’s performance appraisal process. Leadership and emotional intelligence were identified as the independent variables and employee performance as the dependent variable. Data obtained from each of the research instruments was then statistically analysed. Through linear regression analysis it was concluded that there is a significant relationship between employee performance and an emotionally intelligent, transactional leader. However, no significant linear relationship was found between employee performance and an emotionally intelligent, transformational leader. Simple correlation analysis showed that there is a relatively weak significant linear relationship between emotional intelligence and transactional leadership. Moreover, it was found that there is a very strong significant linear relationship between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership. This research therefore adds a new dimension to employee performance, leadership and emotional intelligence, since no similar study has been conducted. As this research takes place in the South African context, it contributes to the bank of findings relating to the concepts.
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Organisational leaders' perceptions of the challenges and constraints of the leadership development of Blacks in South African private organisations
- Authors: Nyamuda, Paul Andrew
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Leadership , Black people -- South Africa , Black people -- Employment -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:3033 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002542 , Leadership , Black people -- South Africa , Black people -- Employment -- South Africa
- Description: In recent years, it has become clear that a lot of corporate collapse can be traced down to poor leadership. As more and more black executives are climbing the corporate ladder, it is becoming all the more necessary to explore how their effective leadership development can occur with private organisations in South Africa. There are many challenges and constraints associated with the leadership development of these executives. This can be expected as they are entering an environment which has been largely white-dominated. As a result they find themselves facing the challenges of succeeding amidst negative perceptions they have experienced from their superiors and subtle pressures from subordinates. Therefore, it can only be expected that if organisations are to maintain a competitive advantage they need to understand how to effectively develop this new breed of leaders. Hence, the researcher has used a qualitative approach to investigate the complexities of the experiences of black executives in private organisations. In terms of the theoretical framework, the research focuses on some of the new approaches to leadership. It was discovered that leadership development is essentially a process that goes beyond mere training sessions, and largely involves the relationships one has within the organisation. This involves relationships with superiors, peers, and subordinates. The research indicates that if these relationships are managed effectively, leadership development is enhanced. Whilst the role of formal training programs appeared somewhat downplayed, it was clear that these programs had a strong role in terms of their psychological impact on participants. They certainly affected their perception of the organisation and their own self-efficacy. The research, therefore illustrates how there are a variety of individual and organisational attributes that form a basis for effective leadership development of blacks in private organisations. The researcher argues that if these are implemented, organisational well-being is enhanced.
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