Phong cách lãnh đạo của nhà quản lý các trường Đại học hướng tới việc thỏa mãn yêu cầu công việc, cam kết làm việc và hành vi ứng xử

i



SOUTHERN LUZON STATE UNIVERSITY THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines Socialist Republic of Vietnam


LEADERSHIP STYLES OF UNIVERSITY MANAGERS TOWARD JOB
SATISFACTION, WORK COMMITMENT AND
BEHAVIORAL OUTCOME



A Dissertation Presented
to the Faculty of the Graduate School,
Southern Luzon State University, Republic of the Philippines and
Thai Nguyen University, Socialist Republic of Vietnam




In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Management




by

PHI DINH KHUONG (NADAL)

April 2014


ii
APPROVAL SHEET

This dissertation entitled “Leadership Styles of University Managers Toward
Job Satisfaction, Work Commitment and Behavioral Outcome” submitted by PHI
DINH KHUONG, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of
Education Management been examined and is recommended for acceptance and approval.
DR. BELLA MUELLO
Adviser
Approved by the Oral Examination Committee, in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education Management by Southern Luzon State
University, Republic of the Philippines in collaboration with Thai Nguyen University,
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
DR.

DR. DR.

Critic Reader

Chairman
Accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of
Education Management by Southern Luzon State University, Republic of the Philippines
in collaboration with Thai Nguyen University, Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Dean, Graduate School

Date _________________



iii
ACKNOWLEGDEMENT
The researcher wishes to express his heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to:
Dr. Cecilia N. Gascon, President of the Southern Luzon State University,
Republic of the Philippines for permission of training for Doctor of Philosophy in
Educatinal Managenent in International training center, Thai Nguyen University;
Dr. Dang Kim Vui, President of Thai Nguyen University for allowance the
training for Doctor of Philosophy in Educatinal Managenent in International training
center, Thai Nguyen University;
Dr. Bella R Muello, his research adviser, who from the very preparation of the
study had always been there to give valuable suggestions and ideas for the completion of
this study;
Dr. Apolonia A. Espinosa, for sharing her statistical skills in evaluating this
study and suggestions;
Dr. Tran Thanh Van, head of postgraduate, Thai Nguyen University and Dr.
Dang Xuan Binh, director of International training center for their kind support
throughout the course of this study;
Leaders of universities and colleges in Thai Nguyen for providing respondents
and for their untiring support to pursue this study;
Dr ,
Prof , members of the panel, for their
precious suggestions and supports for the completion of this study;
Dr , who served as critic reader during
the oral defense, for his comments and suggestions;
Mr for his proficient insights

and valuable suggestions in the finalization of this study;


iv
ITC staff, for providing the necessary research materials;
His beloved mother and wife for the encouragement, help and moral support as
his sources of strength and inspiration;
The teacher – respondents of the study, for their active involvement and
cooperation; and
To all who have contributed to make this study a success.
LXT



v
TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE
APPROVAL SHEET
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF FIGURES
ABSTRACT
Chapter I. INTRODUCTIOIN
Background of the Study
Objectives of the Study
Hypothesis
Significance of the Study
Scope and Limitation of the Study

Definition of Terms
Chapter II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE AND STUDIES
Conceptual/ Theoretical Framework
Research Paradigm
Chapter III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Locale of the Study
Research Design
Population and Sampling
Instrumentation
Data Gathering Procedures
Statistical Treatment
Chapter IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Chapter V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
Findings
Conclusions
Recommendations
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDICES
RESEARCHER’S PROFILE
page
i
ii
iii
v
vi
vii
viii

2

4
5
5
6
6

23
44

45
46
47
49
49
50
54

60
61
61
62
64
67
73


vi
LIST OF TABLES

1. Frequency, Percentage and Distribution of the Respondents

2. Mean Distribution of Responses as to Ethical Leadership
3. Mean Distribution of the Responses as to Job Satisfaction …………
4. Mean Distribution of Responses Commitment to work
5. Mean Distribution of Responses Behavioral Outcomes












47
53
54
56
58

vii
LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE

1 Research Paradigm ……… ……………………………… ………

2
Location of Respondent Colleges and University in Thai Nguyen Province







49

51

viii
AB STRACT

Title of Dissertation : Leadership Styles Towards Job Satisfaction, Work
Commitment and Behavioral Outcome
Researcher : Complete Name (NADAL)
Adviser : Dr. Bella R. Muello
Academic Year : April 2014


This research determined to find out the most dominant leadership style and to
correlate it with job satisfaction, work commitment and behavioral outcome. It answered
the following objectives: 1. Determine the most dominant leadership style; 2. Ascertain the
level of job satisfaction of the respondents; 3. Find out the degree of work commitment; 4.
Find out the behavioral outcome of the subjects; and 5. Correlate the most dominant
leadership styles with the three variables. It used the descriptive correlation type of
research where 300 respondents from Thai Nguyen University were utilized. Random
sampling was used. The gathered data were computed using weighted mean, rank, and chi-
square. Based from the interpreted data the following findings were drawn: 1.
Transformational leadership style is the most dominant with an AWM of 3.36 (SA). 2. The

level of job satisfaction is very satisfied with an AWM of 3.27. 3. AWM of 3.34 was
obtained in level of commitment to work (Vc) 4. On behavioral outcomes, it got an AWM
of 3:30 (strongly agree) 5. With a chi-square of 3.65, 1.23 and 4.26 consecutively on the
three variables, it revealed that the computed value is higher than the critical value at .01
level of significance, thus the null hypothesis is rejected. From the findings, the following
conclusions were made: 1. the most dominant leadership style is transformational
leadership 2. The respondents are highly satisfied on the level of job satisfaction 3. The
degree of work commitment is very evident. 4. The respondents practice good behavior in


ix
their work. 5. The correlation between transformational leadership and the three variables
are positively related. In view of the results of the study, the researcher recommends to use
different samples coming from another institution to prove the reliability of the findings.

1

Chapter I
INTRODUCTION

In recent years, the leaders in Thai Nguyen University have paid considerable
attention to education and university performance as key to sustainable development and
stability. Such recognition makes education an indispensable means for effective
participation not only in the socio-economic development of the country but also in the on-
going rapid globalization. Throughout the years, it has been the goal of the educational
system in Thai Nguyen to regard education as instrument for excellence for national
development. It follows therefore that the realization of the country’s educational policies
and the performance of the administrators, lecturers and students at all levels of the system
are intertwined.
The kind of education can be reflected on the leadership style of managers. In

any organization the leader behavior is partly reflected on how their constituents perform.
Their roles and expectations can induce change in the behavior of the members. Their
commitment to do their job can also be ascertained on how they accomplished their duties.
More so, their job satisfaction can also be observed.
As such the success of any work group or organization depends on leadership. A
major factor in an effective university is a strong leader who steers the organization toward
the achievement of the mission.
Background of the study
Thai Nguyen University (TNU) established by Decree No. 31 dated on April 4
th

1994 of the Government on the basis of the arrangement, reorganization of the university
and vocational training under the Ministry of Education and Training in Thai Nguyen.
Currently TNU consists of seven universities, one college and two faculties, a defense
2

education center, a learning resource center, publisher, hospital and high university for
practicing, the functional and scientific units for training and research.
The establishment of TNU is implementing the guiding ideology of the party
expressed through resolutions of the eighth National Party Congress, which is to build
training centers for research education and high-quality technology transferring in the
region. For over 10 years, the consistent policy of the Party and the State is to build and
develop TNU and in fact, TNU has demonstrated the role, his position in the Vietnamese
higher education system, particularly with the midlands and mountainous areas of northern
Vietnam.
Currently, at TNU there are 2587 teaching staff, including 230 doctors, 2
professors, 65 associate professors, over 780 masters and 200 PhD students, percentage of
lecturers on the payroll process postgraduate degree from universities accounted for
66%. Facilities, equipment and service of scientific and technological research of TNU are
now considered fairly uniform and modern with 03 research institutes, 01 research centers

and transferring technology, 07 key laboratories equipped with fairly uniform and modern.
In addition, There are Learning Resource Center, Publisher, Hospital Center for practicing
and 05 centers, 01 Co., Ltd. belongs to the members.
TNU not only contributes positively to the training of highly qualified human
resources for the country, but also has an important role in scientific research, technology
transferring for training and socio-economic development of the country. At TNU,
teaching staff is common to share, teaches at the university and teaching units according to
the needs of each unit.
Despite this truth, records have shown that students performance in Thai Nguyen
among other students in other regions, for example, Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh City is quite
below average. Hence, principals and teachers of the university as a whole are held
3

accountable for such malady. The government’s inability to effectively sponsor education
and motivate teachers to enhance their productivity is another factor viewed. Additionally,
principals’ leadership style might tremendously influence how scholastic performance
progresses. Manner and approach of providing values, vision, voice and virtue define what
ethical leadership is. With varying extent from authoritarian, participative to delegative
(Lewin, 2000), one is not said to be effective over the others. Nevertheless, it depends
upon what is more acceptable and workable in the university system.
Likewise, leadership, being a factor to the upliftment of university performance, has
been at the care of much research and controversy for so many years.
Taking leadership and all the variables as a whole, the university performance can
be best viewed in a clearer and more thorough perspective. In effect, monitoring of the
university’s performance in the locality makes this research even more imperative.
Objectives of Study
The main purpose of this was to find out the dominant leadership style of the principal
which influence the level of job satisfaction, commitment and behavioral outcomes of the
respondents at Thai Nguyen University year 2012 – 2013.
Specifically, it was conducted to:

1. Determine the dominant leadership style of principals as perceived by the
respondents.
2. Find out the level of job satisfaction of the respondents
3. Ascertain the commitment to work of the respondents
4. Find out the behavioral outcomes of the respondents
5. Correlate the dominant leadership style with these three mentioned variables.
Null Hypothesis
4

None of the above mentioned variables predict ethical leadership style of school
manager.
Significance of the Study
This study attempts to know the influence of the dominant leadership style toward
the level of job satisfaction, work commitment and behavioral outcome. With this is mind,
this study will be beneficial to the following:
Leaders. It is hoped that the study may contribute in giving a new dimension in the
administration and supervision of Thai Nguyen University. The study would provide
leaders with a clear idea on how effective and successful the principals are in the work as
university administrators. In the same manner, their ethical leadership could give a fresh
perspective in terms of its influence to the overall university standing in the academic
aspect.
Teachers. The outcome of the study is of great help to teachers because they will
be made aware of the different leadership styles that would affect changes and
improvements of the university. The researcher may contribute to a new avenue in her
search for better ways to improve oneself and her work environment. In this way, it would
ultimately lead to a better quality performance in the teaching force.
Students. They will be benefited by this study since they are the main concerns of
educators and any wholesome environment and relationship could create positive effect on
the teaching and learning process. The researcher hopes that the results and findings of the
study will bring understanding and harmonious relationship among members of Thai

Nguyen University .
Future Researchers. This study could provide references for future proponents
who wish to venture a study similar to the nature of this ongoing research. Thus, basic
tenets on ethical leadership and its variables could serve as resources for other studies.
5

Scope and Limitation of the Study
This study was concerned on the dominant leadership traits of university managers
towards job satisfaction, work commitment and behavioral outcomes of the respondents of
Thai Nguyen University.
There were 255 teachers used as respondents with questionnaire and interview as
the main instruments in gathering the data.
Definition of Terms
For a better understanding of this study, the following terms are defined
conceptually and operationally:
Behavioral outcomes refer to the attitudinal manifestation of the respondents on
any decision or activation of their leaders.
Commitment to works refers to the dedication of the respondents to fulfill his/her
duties.
Charismatic leadership refers to the exceptional sanctity, heroism or exemplary
character of an individual person.
Ethical leadership refers to the proactive efforts to influence followers’ ethical and
unethical behavior.
Job satisfaction refers to the feeling of fulfillment in the workplace such as security,
good working condition and relationship of the leader to his constituents.
Leadership is responsible for influencing followers to perform an action, complete
a task or behave in a specific manner.
Leadership style focuses on identifying personality traits associated with effective
leadership and understanding the impact of situational factors on the leadership process
(Chemers & Ayman, 1993).

Transformational style encourages subordinates to put in extra effort to go beyond
what his subordinates expected from him (Burne, 1978).
6

Transactional style focuses mainly on the physical and the security needs of his
subordinates. The relation that evolves between the leaders and the follower is based on
bargaining exchange or reward system (Bass, 1985; Bass & Avolio, 1993).
7

Chapter II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE AND STUDIES
This chapter presents the relevant readings and related literature which bear
significance and similarities in this study. This also includes the discussion of variables,
theoretical framework, research paradigm that could help the readers to fully understand
the context of this study.
Leadership
Leadership has deep roots in virtue, and leaders are key organizational members
who have extensive influence and power (Barling et al., 2010). Leaders have the
“potential…to exert moral authority that contributes…to the flourishing of organizational
members,”and they “can be purveyors of virtue or vice” (Neubert et al., 2009, p. 157).
Bass and Steidlmeier (1999) asserted that leadership is a “moral compass”(p. 193) and that
a leader’s moral character, ethical values, choices, and actions are the “pillars” of
leadership (p. 181). We assert that character strengths provide a comprehensive
framework, systematic approach, and a common language (Park & Peterson, 2008) to
further assess this potential. Our research uses this scaffolding to test character strengths’
semantic and practical contributions to our existing nomological network regarding
leadership.Through their focus on the virtuous, moral, ethical, and relational aspects of
leadership, three well - studied models of leadership theory share the greatest conceptual
similarities with our proposed construct of leader character: transformational leadership
(Bass, 1985), ethical leadership (Brown,Trevino, & Harrison, 2005), and leader - member

exchange (Graen & Uhl - Bien, 1995). Ethical leadership is defined by social learning
theory and represents “the demonstration of normatively appropriate conduct through
personal actions and interpersonal relationships, and the promotion of such
conduct”(Brown et al., 2005, p. 120). As such, ethical leaders exert a positive, “virtuous
8

influence” on followers through role modeling and relationship - building (Neubert et al.,
2009, p. 165) and contribute to a “win - win” environment for both businesses and
employees (Ruiz - Palomino, Ruiz - Amaya, & Knörr, 2011).
Charismatic Leadership
Charismatic Leadership is a leadership style that is recognizable but may be
perceived with less tangibility than other leadership styles. This reality is likely due
to the difficulty associated with directly defining charisma in an individual when
only examining the individual. Max Weber’s work in defining charisma led to his
categorizing charisma as an untraditional form of influence where the leader possesses
exceptional qualities as perceived by his or her followers (Yukl, 2010). Charisma is often a
trait that one perceives in another, but difficulty describing that perception without directly
referencing particular behaviors, traits, or individual characteristics is common (Conger &
Kanungo, 1987). Yukl (2010) notes, “Follower attribution of charismatic qualities to
a leader is jointly determined by the leader’s behavior, expertise, and aspects of the
situation” (Kindle Location 6939). Exceptional behaviors and expertise aside,
contextual factors such as a crisis play a significant role in the attribution of
charisma (Conger & Kanungo, 1987). Therefore, the basic premise of this study is that
followers will attribute charisma to a leader when that leader possesses exceptional
behavior and expertise and when the situational context is conducive. Ronald Reagan is
used as an exemplar of charismatic leadership. Reagan’s communication skills,
visionary attributes, integrity, humor, expertise, and the situational context of his
presidency willbe examined, pertaining to how followers attributed charisma to him.
Effective communication is an essential quality in any leadership style. In that regard,
charismatic leadership is no different, but charismatic leaders act differently than

noncharismatic leaders (Fiol, 1999). For the charismatic leader, effective
9

communication requires more than merely the dissemination of information. To be
effective, charismatics often include emotional appeals within their rhetoric (Yukl,
2010). This includes the use of dramatic, symbolic, and metaphoric language that lends
credibility to the communication (Conger & Kanungo, 1987). Ideas, thoughts, and
concepts must be articulated in an inspirational and motivating manner (Conger, Kanungo,
& Menon, 2000). When charismatics communicate with passion, emotion, inspiration,
and motivation, followers are likely to attribute charisma. Additionally, charismatics must
appear confident and communicate that self-confidence in their rhetorical efforts. This is
especially true for distant charismatic leaders who only communicate with followers
through media such as television, radio, or Internet (Yukl, 2010). Therefore, it is
expected that a charismatic leader would be recognized for exciting and passionate
public oratory. The methods of this communication are integral to the attribution of
charisma. The message is obviously important, but the importance of the delivery of the
message supersedes that of the message itself. Charismatic leaders may be best known
and/or remembered for rousing public speeches where the crowd became frenzied
with excitement. Charismatic leaders must also bridge the distance gap and effectively
communicate through a variety of media in order to be considered charismatic by larger
groups of people.
The first scholar to discuss charismatic leadership was Max Weber. In particular, he
discussed three types of authority as forms of control that people will accept: traditional,
legal/rational, and charismatic. Weber (1947, pp. 358 ± 359) defined charisma as being set
apart from ordinary people and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at
least specifically exceptional powers or qualities ¼ regarded as of divine origin or as
exemplary, and on the basis of them the individual con- cerned is treated as a leader.
Despite the important influence of Webers work on researchers thinking about
10

organizations, his work on charisma lay dormant until the mid 1970s. Robert House
(1977) further developed Weber concept in articulating a theory of charismatic leadership
that, at its core, argued that followers use an attributional process regarding their leaders.
Based on certain behaviors displayed by leaders, followers attribute extraordinary or heroic
leadership abilities to those leaders. Based on Houses theory, researchers then began to
uncover and identify key characteristics of charismatic leadership. A widely accepted
framework is that of Conger and Kanun go (1998), who explain that charismatic leadership
is typified by four key characteristics: possessing and articulating a vision, willing to take
risks to achieve the vision, exhibiting sensitivity to follower needs, and demonstrating
novel behavior.
Three interesting conceptual issues are worthy of discussion here. First, much of
the work on charismatic leadership has eschewed the Weberian perspective that
charismatic leaders are rare or extraordinary. Conger (1989, p. 161), for example, opined
that charisma ªis not some magical ability limited to a handful.º As Trice and Beyer (1986)
and Beyer (1999) noted, charismatic leadership has been tamed in that it is assumed that
charisma is a property possessed by all individuals, to a greater or lesser degree. On the
one hand, if we are to empirically study charismatic leadership, we cannot do so based on
the assumption that it is a quality held by a handful of individuals (there are not enough
such leaders to study). On the other hand, if charisma is seen as relatively prosaic, have we
damaged the concept? Clearly, the charismatic qualities of political leaders from Lincoln to
Hitler, religious leaders from Martin Luther to Pope John Paul II, and business leaders
from Estle Lauder to Jack Welch, do not seem to be a general commodity.
Second, some researchers would distinguish charisma as a trait or personal quality
from the charismatic leader- ship process. House, for example, argues in favor of the latter
(House, 1977). Locke and colleagues, conversely, clearly distinguish a charismatic
11

communication style from other leadership qualities (e.g., see Kirkpatrick & Locke, 1996).
This is a topic to which we return later.
Finally, though Conger (1990) has often described the dark side of charismatic

leadership, judging from the research literature, he seems like a lone voice. As the afore
mentioned examples of charismatic leaders suggest, however, charismatic leadership
seemingly can be used for either good or bad ends, depending on ones perspective and the
hindsight of history. It seems obvious that charismatic leadership is neither inherently good
nor evil, but the implicit assumption in the literature has been that it is a positive force in
organizations.
Transactional style
Transactional Leadership, also known as managerial lea dership, focuses on
the role of supervision, organisation, and group performance; transactional leadership is a
style of leadership in which the leader promotes compliance of his followers through
both rewards and punishments. Unlike transformational leadership, leaders using the
transactional approach are not looking to change the future, they are looking to merely
keep things the same. These leaders pay attention to followers' work in order to
find faults and deviations. This type of leadership is effective in crisis and emergency
situations, as well as when projects need to be carried out in a specific fashion.
Within the context of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, transactional leadership
works at the basic levels of need satisfaction, where transactional leaders focus on
the lower levels of the hierarchy. Transactional leaders use an exchange model, with
rewards being given for good work or positive outcomes. Conversely, people with this
leadership style also can punish poor work or negative outcomes, until the problem
is corrected. One way that transactional leadership focuses on lower level needs is by
stressing specific task performance (Hargis et al, 2001). Transactional leaders are effective
12

in getting specific tasks completed by managing each portion individually. Transactional
leaders are concerned with processes rather than forward-thinking ideas. These types
of leaders focus on contingent reward (also known as contingent positive
reinforcement) or contingent penalization (also known as contingent negative
reinforcement). Contingent rewards (such as praise) are given when the set goals are
accomplished on-time, ahead of time, or to keep subordinates working at a good pace at

different times throughout completion. Contingent punishments (such as suspensions)
are given when performance quality or quantity falls below production standards or goals
and tasks are not met at all. Often, contingent punishments are handed down on a
management-by-exception basis, in which the exception is something going wrong. Within
management-by-exception, there are active and passive routes. Active management-by-
exception means that the leader continually looks at each subordinate's performance
and makes changes to the subordinate's work to make corrections throughout the
process. Passive management-by-exception leaders wait for issues to come up before
fixing the problems. With transactional leadership being applied to the lower -level
needs and being more managerial in style, it is a foundation for transformational leadership
which applies to higher-level needs.
In contrast with a transformational leader which will be discussed later, a
transactional leader accomplishes goals by rewarding employees who meet expectations
(Bass, 1990). These rewards come in the form of recognition, pay increases, and
advancement. Employees who fail to perform per expectations, however, are penalized.
Such transactions or exchanges the promise of reward for good performance, and
discipline for poor performance characterizes effective transactional leadership (Bass,
Avolio, Jung and Berson, 2003). Hence, transactional leadership becomes less appealing
and appears mediocre when the leader relies heavily on passive management by exception.
13

Management by exception is, "when leaders transact with followers by focusing on
mistakes, delaying decisions, or avoiding intervening until something has gone wrong, or
rewards focused on recognizing the work accomplished" (Howell & Avolio, p. 892). This
implies that the leader only interacts with his followers when expectations are not met and
standards and procedures not followed (Bass, 1990).
Since transactional leadership is based on a system of rewards and penalties, it does
not offer much in terms of inspiration, to motivate people to go beyond the basics. Given
this fact, the followers of transactional leaders might get complacent and develop a
tendency to achieve minimal expectations only that would help them avoid penalties (Bass,

1990). Thus, the leader and the follower are in an agreement on what the follower would
receive upon achieving the negotiated level of performance (Bass, 1990). The success of
such leadership depends on the level of satisfaction the leader and followers have in
following this system of performance based appraisals (Bass, 1990).
A study conducted by Howell and Avolio (1993) confirms that contingent reward
leadership has a negative impact on the followers' performance. Contingent reward is
viewed as "an active and positive exchange between leaders and followers whereby
followers are awarded for accomplishing agreed upon objective" (p. 892). If managers do
not effectively follow-up on the contingent reward promises, thereby displaying
behavioural inconsistency, they are viewed as ineffective leaders. Furthermore, research
(Howell and Avolio, 1993). suggests that the level of contingent reward leadership is
dependent on organizational context and settings. For example, an organization undergoing
change might suffer from a transactional leadership style (Howell and Avolio, 1993). The
penalties, awarded in such a system of managing by exception, have a negative impact on
performance and satisfaction (Bass, no date). This stems from the fact the leader passively
awaits problems before taking any action. By following this strategy, the leader ensures
14

that corrective action is taken when required and in doing so he reinforces the roles and
expectations for the followers. Hence, this behaviour represents an important aspect of
transactional leadership (Bass, 1990) As can be seen, a transactional leader relies heavily
on power and authority to lead his members. Power play and the use of a "reward and
penalty" system thus play an integral role in such a leadership style. As discussed through
various researches, transactional leadership measures are not so effective and in most cases
can de motivate employees.
A number of researchers have investigated the leadership styles and behavior of
managers across hierarchical levels in organisations. Stordeuret al. (2000) examined the
cascading effect of leadership styles across hierarchical levels in a sample of nursing
departments in Belgium, with eight hospitals including 41wards. The authors also
investigated the effect of hierarchical level on the relationships between leadership styles

and various work outcomes. The results of their work provided no support for a cascading
effect of leadership across hierarchical levels. The variation of leadership scores in their
study was explained primarily by the organisational context. They concluded that the
hospital’s structure and culture were major determinants of leadership styles. McDaniel
and Wolf (1992) conducted an empirical study that examined transformational leadership
across hierarchical levels in nursing departments and found evidence for a cascading effect
of leadership style. The results of their research suggested that leadership patterns tend to
replicate from upper to lower organisational levels.
However, only a single institution was investigated by the authors. Bass et al.
(1987) used samples of 11 middle level administrators of nursing and 56 first-level
supervisors from a government agency in their investigation, which also found evidence
for a cascading effect of leadership styles. Hence, the results of the research by Stordeuret
al. (2000) contradict the earlier findings by Basset al. (1987) and McDaniel and Wolf
15

(1992). Although it is likely to be practised at all organisational levels, Tichy and Ulrich
(1984) and Avolio and Bass (1988) found transformational leadership to be particularly
evident and stronger at the top level. It is suggested that high-level leaders have the
opportunity to change organisations through strategic decision-making. In contrast, middle
and especially first-level leaders are likely to be more transactional in their leadership
activities. Transactional leaders are concerned with changes through day-to-day activities
(Graen and Cashman, 1975) and not with strategic transactions. In contrast,
transformational leaders are change agents who motivate followers to do more than they
initially thought possible. Dunham and Klafehn (1990) suggest that transformational
leaders transmit a sense of mission and are concerned with long-term objectives. These
leaders are usually associated with the four “I”s, a description of their activities and roles
in the organisation. They treat each worker as an individual (individual consideration),
transmit their values and ethical principles (idealised influence), provide challenging goals
and communicate a vision of the future (inspirational motivation) and encourage
innovative ways of problem solving (intellectual stimulation). Basset al. (1987) suggested

that more transformational leadership was evident among second-level managers than
among first-level managers in the New Zealand organisations they surveyed. The authors
also showed that individualised consideration and intellectual stimulation correlate across
hierarchical levels in their sample. It is suggested that whether or not a supervisory
leadership style is effective depends on the supervisor’s influence in the hierarchical
system. Wagner (1965) investigated this claim and the results of his study show that
hierarchical influence is a less powerful variable compared with the supportive style of
leadership in contributing to the fulfilment of supervisory role obligations. However, the
author argues that hierarchical influence facilitates the relationship of the style of
leadership in several areas of role obligations. Writing almost 30 years later, Wang and
16

Satow (1994) in their study of the leadership styles and behaviour of managers in Chinese-
Japanese joint ventures, found no significant differences between senior and middle-level
management. They found that while senior level managers scored higher than the middle-
level managers in all the functional leadership dimensions examined, the differences
recorded were not statistically significant. Edwards (2000) summarises in a monograph,
the views of several authors on differences in leadership styles and behaviour across
hierarchical levels in organisations. He reviews the contentions of Peters (1992) and
Zuboff (1995) that organisational hierarchies are outdated vis-a `-vis the views of Jacques
(1990) who believes otherwise. Writing in praise of hierarchy, Jacques (1990, p. 127)
argues that “properly structured, hierarchy can release energy and creativity, rationalise
productivity, and actually improve morale”. Edwards (2000) also indicates the belief of
Brosnahan (1999) that “hierarchy smothers leadership” versus the views of other
contemporary scholars who suggest that hierarchy can be used as a framework for effective
organisational leadership (Tichy, 1997). On hierarchy and success, Khaleelee and Woolf
(1996) and Nicholls (1994) recommend that leadership should be demonstrated at all levels
of an organisational hierarchy, as they believe that effective leadership is a prerequisite for
organisational success. Khaleelee and Woolf (1996) presented two case studies in their
paper to buttress their convictions of the benefits of hierarchical structure in organisations.

Basset al. (1987) reported an interesting relationship within the theory of transactional and
transformational leadership, which they call the “falling dominoes effect”. It refers to the
extent to which transformational leadership behaviour observed at one level of
management tends to be seen also at the next level of management. Bass et al. (1987) gave
some reasons for the occurrence of this relationship. They suggested that followers may
model the behaviour of their superiors or the superiors may select lower-level supervisors
who tend to have similar styles of behaviour with themselves. It is also possible that certain