LEADERSHIP STYLES EXPLORED THEIR RELATION TO THE ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE AND EMPLOYEES’ JOB TYPE Master thesis, MscBA, specialization Human Resource Management University of Groningen, Faculty of Economics and Business July 14, 2010 GEESJE VAN DEN AKKER Student number: 1752839 Alsemveld 15 7006 TC Doetinchem Tel: +31(0)628407999 e-mail: [email protected]Supervisor – university: dr. P.H (Peter) van der Meer Co-assessor – university: drs. J. (Hans) van Polen Supervisor – field of study This information is not provided. The real name of the organization is replaced by an imaginary name: Fresh
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LEADERSHIP STYLES EXPLORED
THEIR RELATION TO THE ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE AND EMPLOYEES’ JOB TYPE
Master thesis, MscBA, specialization Human Resource Management
University of Groningen, Faculty of Economics and Business
These transformational leadership styles build on the transactional base in contributing to the extra effort
and performance of followers (Bass, 1985). In this way, the application of transactional leadership must
take individual needs into account. When these needs are evaluated, the leadership begins its shift from
12 Leadership Styles Explored: their relation to the organizational climate and employees’ job type
transactional to a mix of both transformational and transactional leadership styles. Thus, the full range of
potential is achieved through both, not either one versus the other leadership style (Bass & Avolio, 2004).
Also Howell & Avolio (1993) and Judge & Piccolo (2004) pointed out that transformational leadership
does not replace transactional leadership, but augments transactional leadership in achieving the goals of
the leader, associate, group, and organization.
In figure 1, the newer paradigm, transformational leadership is added to previous transactional
leadership models.
FIGURE 1
The Augmentation model of Transactional and Transformational Leadership
Source: Bass & Avolio (2004)
Conger and Kanungo (1998) noted the difference between these two leadership styles in terms of
what leaders and followers offer one another. Transformational leaders offer a purpose that exceeds short-
term goals and focuses on intrinsic needs. In contrast, transactional leaders focus on the proper exchange
of resources (Judge & Piccolo, 2004). The models differ with regard to the process by which the leader
motivates subordinates as well as the types of goals set. A transactional leader may initiate structure and
display consideration to increase the subordinates’ expectancies that if their efforts succeed, they will be
rewarded with a merit increase. On the other hand, a transformational leader may display transactional
leadership at times but may also use symbolism or imaging to elevate the importance of increased effort
13 Leadership Styles Explored: their relation to the organizational climate and employees’ job type
for an organizational mission, which serves as a motivator itself (cited Hater & Bass, 1988 p. 695). More
than three decades of research in performance-oriented and maintenance-oriented behaviour by leaders
has provided consistent evidence that both types of behaviour, thus combined leadership styles, lead to
success within the team (Hater & Bass, 1988).
Also Bass & Avolio (2003) state that the best leaders use a full range of transformational and
transactional leadership styles, both styles are related to the success of the department. They assume that
the success of departments is measured by the level of extra effort accomplished by executives, their
effectiveness, and the satisfaction of the executives about their own leadership style. In this way,
executives try to increase the willingness of employees to work effectively and to achieve successful team
performances. Besides, an executive satisfied about his/her leadership style may positively affect the
success of the department (Bass & Avolio, 2003). In addition, Bass & Avolio (2003) state that
transformational and transactional leadership are both related to the satisfaction of the employees about
their leader. They suppose that employees are more satisfied when executives make use of both leadership
styles. Based on the literature of Hater & Bass (1988) and Bass & Avolio (2003, 2004), I expect positive
results concerning the success of the departments, when executives use a combination of both
transformational and transactional leadership styles. I expect that the extra effort of the executive, his or
her effectiveness and satisfaction about leadership may influence this success. Therefore, another question
is added below the research questions:
“Does a mix of both transactional and transformational leadership behaviours positively influence the
perceived success of executives in the department and employees’ satisfaction about their leader?”
However, before this additional question can be answered it would be wise to know more about
the leadership strategy of Fresh. What kind of leadership strategy does Fresh prescribe, and does this
organization stimulate the use of both transformational and transactional leadership styles?
In an excellent climate, Fresh expects their employees to stay, to perform better, enhance quality
of products and pass on their enthusiasm to the customers. In order to reach this climate, leaders play an
important role in providing clarity on expectations and fit in their objectives into the bigger picture. Then,
employees are held accountable for delivering results and constructive feedback should be provided.
Successes are celebrated and excellent performance is recognised and rewarded, but also
underperformance is addressed. This part of the strategy shows a transactional leadership style.
Employees are also stimulated to share ideas and to find new and creative solutions, which indicates a
transformational leadership style (Van den Brink & Van der Veer, 2008). Thus, based on the leadership
strategy of Fresh, both transformational and transactional aspects are described. Therefore, it can be
concluded that executives of Fresh may display either a transformational or transactional leadership style
or a combination of both. I anticipate the following sub-question and expectations:
14 Leadership Styles Explored: their relation to the organizational climate and employees’ job type
Sub-question 2) Do executives of Fresh make use of a combination of both the transformational and
transactional leadership styles, or do they principally apply one specific leadership style?
Expectation 2a) Based on the literature, I expect that executives who display both the transformational
and transactional leadership style perceive more success within their department than executives who
display either the transformational or transactional leadership style.
Expectation 2b) Based on the literature, I expect that executives who display both the transformational
and transactional leadership style have more employees that are satisfied about their leadership style
than executives who display either the transformational or transactional leadership style.
2.3 The Organizational Climate influencing Leadership Styles
2.3.1 Business Strategy
Considering the theory of Bax (2003), the success of an organization is largely dependent upon
the balance between the human resources and business strategy. ‘Leadership style’ is one of the
distinctive competencies with a direct link to the HR policy in an organization. Examples of other
distinctive competencies are: shared values, culture, commitment, and identification. Bax (2003) defined
the business idea as “the coherent selection that an organization makes from the whole of its distinctive
competencies with the goal of gaining competitive advantage on the market.” The business idea of Fresh
is to be an innovative, trustworthy and service oriented organization. The choice for a certain business
idea also presupposes an idea about how the labour allocation process can best be designed. Therefore,
Fresh developed core competencies that fit with the individual competencies of the employees who are
working for Fresh. These core competencies are: creativity, adaptability and a result-driven mentality. In
the process of selection and recruitment, only people who match with these core competences are
selected. In this way, Fresh adapts to their business idea and keeps up with their competitors. According
to the theory of Henry Mintzberg (1983) Fresh can be considered as an organization with a dynamic
environment. The unpredictable environment results in an internal coordination which can be described as
less formal. Fresh exists predominantly of teamwork and the in-house expertise is optimally utilized. This
soft drink organization tries to adapt itself to the variety of the market and can only maintain by remaining
flexible (Bax, 2003). Linking these environmental characteristics to the supply side of the labour
allocation process it becomes clear that the environment has influenced the way the work is organized at
Fresh. Caused by the dynamic, unpredictable environment, there is a high division of labour to keep up
with the competitors of the soft drink market. Employees are dependent upon one another and hierarchy is
less important.
15 Leadership Styles Explored: their relation to the organizational climate and employees’ job type
Burns & Stalker (1961) introduced the mechanistic and organic regimes. In the mechanical
regime the task (or department) that the employee is responsible for is not brought into relation with the
organization’s overall production process. The coordination of independent tasks takes place at a higher
level of the hierarchy (cited Bax, 2003 p. 66). Fresh can be characterized as an organization with an
organic regime. Here it is all about the communal achievement of the goals. The process of dividing
labour within the organization ensures a mutual dependency that creates bonds and cohesion. As also
confirmed by Bax (2003), a dynamic, complex environment with a normal level of competition requires
an organic regime because of its flexibility and quick adjustments.
Furthermore, Bax (2003) describes the relationship between characteristics of the production
technology, the environment, the culture and structure of an organization. He developed the TECS
(technology, environment, culture and structure) model, an analytical instrument with which you can
systematically put the organization into perspective from the demand side of the labour allocation
process. This model shows whether or not the demand side of the labour allocation process is internally
consistent and if it is in alignment with environmental requirements. Applying this model, Fresh must pay
attention to ensure that each of their choices remain consistent with other elements of their business
policy. Figure 2 shows an example of the TECS model in balance applied to Fresh.
FIGURE 2
An example of the TECS model in balance applied to Fresh
Mechanical Organic
T ■
E ■
C ■
S ■
In 1983, Williamson & Ouchi made the distinction between hard and soft contracts. Fresh can be
characterized as an organization with soft contracts that focus on the vision and values of the
organization. This is denoted by a long term socialization process and reward experience while employing
people in careers rather than jobs. Fresh has a conscientious career policy, and career planning promotes
commitment to the organization and culture. In contrast, hard contracts can be associated by high levels of
standardization. Employees are rewarded according to such criteria as hours worked or units produced. In
16 Leadership Styles Explored: their relation to the organizational climate and employees’ job type
hard contracting people have jobs rather than careers (Bax, 2003). In sum, Fresh can be characterized as
an organic organization with soft contracts. Based on the strategy of Fresh, Miles and Snow (1987) would
classify Fresh principally as a prospector. These organizations follow a strategy of innovation and try to
bring new products and services to the market (Bax, 2003). The prospector tries to create a distinctive
product. This fits to the business strategy of Fresh. In figure 3 an overall picture of Fresh’s strategy and
traits is outlined. In addition the theory of Bax (2003) is added to the figure.
FIGURE 3
A summary of Fresh’s Strategic Orientation Category (Miles & Snow, 1987)
and the Classification Scheme (Bax, 2003)
Strategic Orientation
Main focus Traits Classification scheme
Contract type
Prospector Entrepreneurial, innovative and new opportunity orientated
External orientation, environment scanning, maximizing new opportunities. Innovative to meet marked needs. Flexibility and freedom from constraining company rules and regulations. Welcomes changes and sees the environment as 'uncertain'
Organic Soft
2.3.2 Organizational Climate and Leadership
The organic character of the organization Fresh with soft contracts and an organizational culture
that has an accent on their vision and values most probably influences the characteristics of the
organizational climate, too. As the organization develops and time passes, the created culture of the
organization, which affects the organizational climate, exerts an influence on the leader and shapes the
actions and style of the leader (Ogbonna et al. 2000). Bass (1985) adopted the mechanistic/organic
classification scheme of Burns and Stalker (1961) and argued that transformational leadership is more
likely to emerge in organizations with less constrictive, organic environments. Similarly, he contended
that transformational leadership is less likely to emerge in more constrictive, mechanistic organizations.
In contrast to mechanistic organizations, private organizations, with their market focus, may have less
institutionalized substitutes for leadership, and managers may engage in transformational leadership
behaviours to motivate their employees to achieve ‘performance beyond expectations’ (Lowe et al.,
1996). Based on this notion, the organic organizational style of Fresh should have a greater opportunity
for realizing performance beyond expectations by employees resulting from the transformational activity
of leaders. This only occurs when leadership styles of Fresh’s executives are based on their organizational
culture or climate. Considering the literature of Lowe et al. (1996), a transformational leadership style is
17 Leadership Styles Explored: their relation to the organizational climate and employees’ job type
expected in an organic environment as Fresh. However, the leadership strategy of Fresh strives for a
combination of both transformational and transactional leadership. The results of this research show if
executives are following the leadership style prescribed by Fresh or whether they are following a
transformational leadership style which fits the organic character of the organization.
Overall, the literature on culture and leadership clearly indicates that organizational culture and
leadership are linked. Schein (1992) suggests that the relationship between culture and leadership
represents an ongoing interplay in which the leader shapes the culture and in turn is shaped by the
resulting culture (cited Ogbonna et al., 2000 p. 770). Similarly, Brown (1992) observes that good leaders
need to develop the skills that enable them to alter aspects of their culture in order to improve their
organizational performance (cited, Ogbonna et al., 2000 p. 770). Thus, as far as leadership is concerned,
leadership not only affects the organizational culture, but is also affected by culture itself (Mamatoglu,
2008). Because organizational climate is part of the organizational culture I expect the same relationship
between climate and leadership. The following sub-question and expectation are developed:
Sub-question 3) Does the organizational climate affect the leadership styles of executives?
Expectation 3a) Based on the organic character of Fresh, I expect that executives generally display the
transformational leadership style .
2.4 Leadership Style influenced by Job Type
As mentioned in the introduction, traits of a leader, attributes of employees and situational factors
(e.g. nature of task) are also important aspects related to leadership (Suar et al, 2006). A leader needs to
work depending on the maturity of subordinates and situations. The maturity of subordinates can be
defined in terms of the capacity to set high but attainable goals or achievement of motivation, willingness
to take responsibility and education or experience (cited Suar et al. 2006 p. 97). According to Suar et al.
(2006), the preferred leadership style for less mature subordinates with simple tasks is a transactional
leadership or telling style. This style is high task oriented and there is lower attention for the relationship
between leader and employee. As the degree of maturity increases, the leader is expected to shift first to a
selling, and then to a participating or transformational style. Considering both styles there is more focus
on the relationship between leader and subordinate at the transformational style. However, a
transformational style is only conductive when employees understand and accept the organization’s
normative structure and goals and when they develop a commitment to the organization (Suar et al. 2006).
Commitment increases only if the leader realizes the values and goals of the organization and behaves in
a supporting, participative manner. Research indicates that a leader supporting participation,
administering rewards fairly, creating a good organizational climate and improving human relations
18 Leadership Styles Explored: their relation to the organizational climate and employees’ job type
increases the organizational performance and satisfaction of the subordinates in higher levels of the
organization (Suar et al., 2006). Applying this literature to the organization Fresh, the nature of the job
and education level of the employee may also affect the leadership style of executives. Although, the
leadership style is expected to be mainly transformational, it may occur that executives who manage
lower levels of the organization apply a more transactional leadership style based on the degree of
maturity of the employees. For instance, employees with a lower level of education in the production area
of Fresh, who accomplish simple tasks, may not understand, accept or are just not interested in the
organization’s normative structure and vision of the organization. In this case a transactional, telling
leadership style could work best for the team. Therefore it is expected that the concepts leadership and job
type are linked (Suar et al., 2006). As mentioned before, the job type is described as the nature of task in
combination with the educational level of the employee. For this research employees with a lower level of
education are certified at a Secondary Vocational Education level (MBO), and employees with a higher
level of education are at least certified at a Higher Vocational Education level (HBO).
I suppose that the job type of employees has an influence on the leadership styles of executives,
too. According to this expectation the following sub-question and expectations are proposed:
Sub-question 4) Do executives of Fresh display different leadership styles depending on the job type of
employees?
Expectation 4a) Based on the literature, I expect that executives display relatively more transactional
leadership styles in departments where employees work who are certified at a lower level of education
and accomplish simple tasks.
Expectation 4b) Based on the literature, I expect that executives display relatively more transformational
leadership styles in departments where employees work who are certified at a higher level of education
and accomplish more complex tasks.
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This section elaborates on the participants and procedure of the research and the measures and
data analysis used to investigate the proposed sub-questions and expectations. The research is conducted
by interviewing executives about their leadership styles and perceived success in the department.
Moreover, results of Fresh’s Climate Survey 2009 are used to analyse the sub-questions and expectations
concerning dimensions of the organizational climate. Then, job descriptions helped in exploring the role
of job type on leadership styles of executives.
19 Leadership Styles Explored: their relation to the organizational climate and employees’ job type
3.1 Participants
Data for the present study were gathered from 21 executives in the upper level of the organization
in order to explore their leadership styles and perceived success within the department. These data were
acquired from executives of the main departments of Fresh, which are the Food, Marketing, Out of Home
& Export, Supply Chain, Security and the Human Resources department. Most executives participating in
this research were male (95%) and the age of the executives ranged from 32 to 56 years. The educational
level of executives ranged from Higher Vocational Education to University level. Employees participated
in this study too, in order to examine their perceptions about dimensions of the organizational climate of
Fresh. Concerning the employees, mainly males participated in this research (84%). The age of the
employees ranged from 23 to 63 years. The employees were educated from Secondary Vocational
Education level to University level. The teams of the departments involved were ranging in size from 5 to
20 members. The participants seem to be representative because all prominent leaders participated in this
study and only departments of at least 6 employees were used for a comparison between leadership styles
and organizational climate dimensions.
3.2 Procedure
Interviews. Interviews were developed by translating the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire
(MLQ 5X short) of Bernard Bass and Bruce Avolio (2003) to Dutch. In appendix B, a sample of the
Multifactor Leadership Interview is presented. This instrument was chosen for the research because it is
the most commonly employed measure of leadership. It shows strong validity, reliability, and evidence of
prediction of organizational effectiveness (Bass & Avolio, 2005). Additionally, interviews were utilized
to: inform the executive personally about the research, assure their confidentiality, have the opportunity to
give additional explanation about the statements, and to make sure that highly qualitative information is
collected at the end of the interview. In order to increase the participation rate of executives, all of them
were invited by email and informed about the purpose of the research beforehand. The time the interview
would take and their confidentiality during and after the interviews were mentioned to make them
enthusiastic to participate in the research. Subsequently, all executives were contacted individually by
telephone in order to make an appointment for the interview, however participation was voluntary.
Eventually, all interviews were planned in one-and-a-half week and the executives attended a 30 minutes
interview session to complete the interview. Each interview started with an introduction in which once
more the purpose of the research was explained. As well as, a succinct description of the sub-questions
and expectations and the time the interview would take. The processing of their answers in a confidential
and anonymous way was stressed. During each interview, I read the descriptive statements aloud in the
same order and noted down the answers on the interview form.
20 Leadership Styles Explored: their relation to the organizational climate and employees’ job type
Climate Survey. Employees’ answers on statements of the Climate Survey were used to analyse
the sub-questions and expectations in which the climate dimensions Innovation, Rewards & Recognition
and My Manager were involved. In appendix A, these climate dimensions are presented, as they are part
of the Climate Survey. The data with answers of all participating employees in the Climate Survey were
gathered in an Excel file from the Organizational Climate department. In order to acquire reliable results,
departments with at least 6 employees completed the survey and a reliability analysis was made for the
Innovation, Rewards & Recognition and My Manager dimensions to measure the internal consistency
between the statements belonging to each climate dimension. Therefore, the Climate Survey output was
converted from Excel to the SPSS program so that the Cronbach’s Alpha for each climate dimension
could be analysed. Unfortunately, it was not possible to use SPSS for the comparison between the
organizational climate dimensions and the different leadership styles. This was due to the fact that the
acquired Climate Survey answers of employees were recorded in the Excel file according to the five main
departments of Fresh in its entirety. For instance, one of the main departments ‘Out of Home’ exists of 5
executives who were interviewed. All answers of the Climate Survey concerning the employees working
in the Out of Home department were recorded together, hence it was not possible to filter these answers
separately according to the different executives of the department. Therefore, the online ‘Climate Survey
Tool’ was utilized in this research to see the results of employees concerning their favourableness about
the climate dimensions Innovation, Rewards & Recognition, and My Manager for each department. From
2 out of 21 departments it was not possible to analyse the answers of employees considering all climate
dimensions. The first department consisted mainly of temporary workers and for this reason their answers
were not taken into account. For the other department, I was not able to obtain reliable results because of
a low response rate. In another department the executive started working at Fresh after the
implementation of the Climate Survey in 2009, therefore it was not possible to compare the results of this
department, concerning the climate dimension My Manager, to the leadership style of the executive.
Job descriptions. The information about the job type of employees was gathered by making use
of job descriptions of all jobs within Fresh. With the help of these job descriptions it was possible to
differentiate jobs with employees certified at a lower level of education who are accomplishing simple
tasks and jobs with higher educated employees who are accomplishing more complex tasks.
3.3 Measures and Data Analysis
Leadership styles of executives
In this study the Self Rating Leader Form of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) is
used in its most recent version (Form 5X short), where supervisors rate themselves as leaders (ratees)
during the interview. This validated form of the MLQ is available for organizational survey and research
21 Leadership Styles Explored: their relation to the organizational climate and employees’ job type
purposes. Thirty-two descriptive statements are mentioned during this interview, each of them is related
to the transformational, transactional or passive/avoidant leadership style. Appendix C demonstrates the
statements that belong to each leadership style. In this self rating, leaders evaluate how frequently, or to
what degree, they believe they engage in a certain leadership behaviour toward their associates. However,
a combined style of the two leadership styles, transformational and transactional leadership, is also a
possibility. For rating the frequency of leadership behaviours a five point scale is used, according to a
tested list of anchors provided by Bass, Cascio, and O’Connor (1974). The anchors used to evaluate the
MLQ factors are presented as follows:
Rating Scale for Leadership Items
0 = Not at all
1 = Once in a while
2 = Sometimes
3 = Fairly often
4 = Frequently, if not always
All 21 most prominent executives were invited for this investigation and 21 interviews were
accomplished, giving a participation rate of 100%. In view of the high participation rate and the
willingness of executives to react to the statements during the interview, the interview seems
representative enough to use as a source for the evaluation of the sub-questions and expectations.
Success factors
Furthermore, at the end of the interview, statements about the level of extra effort accomplished
by executives, their effectiveness, and the satisfaction about their own leadership behaviour are used in
this interview to measure the perceived success of executives in their department. At the bottom of
appendix C the statements related to success are described. In this study, the Multifactor Leadership
Interview was only useful to measure the perceptions of executives about the statements related to
success. In order to measure the satisfaction of employees about the leadership style of their executives,
answers of the climate survey were used concerning the organizational climate dimension ‘My Manager’.
Leadership styles and organizational climate dimensions
In order to make a comparison between the different leadership styles of executives and the
organizational climate dimensions Innovation, Rewards & Recognition and My Manager, the Climate
Survey was used to find out the answers of employees for each climate dimension. For rating the answers
22 Leadership Styles Explored: their relation to the organizational climate and employees’ job type
of employees on the climate dimensions of the Climate Survey, a six point scale is used. The anchors
used to evaluate the Climate Survey are presented as follows:
Rating Scales for Climate Survey
1= Strongly Agree 1= Very Good
2= Agree 2= Good
3= Neither Agree Nor Disagree 3= Average
4 =Disagree 4= Poor
5= Strongly Disagree 5= Very Poor
6= Not Applicable 6= Not Applicable
In total, 357 Climate Surveys were distributed and 307 surveys completed giving a response rate
of 86%. Thus, 307 employees of Fresh were involved in this investigation. With the help of the online
‘Climate Survey Tool’, the results of employees concerning their favourableness about the climate
dimensions Innovation, Rewards & Recognition, and My Manager were presented in percentages. The
expected relationship between leadership styles and organizational climate dimensions was investigated
by making use of these outcomes in percentages. The percentages of all departments, with executives who
display a common leadership style, were added up and a mean was calculated for each leadership style.
The mean of these percentages was utilized to calculate the number of employees who were favourable
about a certain climate dimension and in command of the same leadership style. This information
clarified whether differences in the leadership styles of executives affect the organizational climate
dimensions.
As mentioned in the procedure (3.2), the reliability analysis evaluated the internal consistency
between the statements belonging to Innovation, Rewards & Recognition and My Manager, in order to
make a reliable conclusion about leadership styles affecting these climate dimensions. The reliability
statistics presented the following outcomes:
- Innovation was measured by 3 items. The response rate for the dimension innovation was 99.4%. The
Cronbach’s Alpha for these questions was .69.
- Rewards & Recognition was measured by 3 items. The response rate for this dimension was 99.0%.
The Cronbach’s Alpha for these questions was .62.
- My Manager was measured by 8 items. The response rate for this dimension was 99.4%. The
Cronbach’s Alpha was .93.
In appendix A, the statements that belong to the Innovation, Reward & Recognition and My Manager
dimensions are presented in the Climate Survey. In order to analyse the other side of the relationship
between leadership styles and the organizational climate dimensions, the effect of the organizational
23 Leadership Styles Explored: their relation to the organizational climate and employees’ job type
climate of Fresh on the different leadership styles of executives was also taken into consideration. These
outcomes were gathered by making use of the Multifactor Leadership Interview to see whether the
transformational leadership style was generally displayed, as expected, within the organic organization
Fresh.
Leadership styles influenced by job type
Job type was measured by making use of the company documentation of Fresh. The job
descriptions for each department indicated the job type of employees. This information supplies an
overview of the departments with employees educated below the Higher Vocational Education level who
are accomplishing simple tasks. It was expected that the job type of employees would influence the
leadership style of executives. The interview results, with information about the different leadership styles
of executives, were compared to the job types in Fresh to see whether a relatively more transactional
leadership style is displayed in departments where lower level educated employees accomplish simple
tasks. Whereas, a relatively more transformational leadership style is applied in departments where
employees certified at a higher level of education accomplish more complex tasks.
4. RESULTS
This section first gives a general description of the interview results, the Climate Survey results,
and the outcomes concerning the analysis of the job descriptions. Secondly, the sub-questions and
expectations are elaborated in order to provide information about the possible relationship between
leadership and the organizational climate, and also the effect of the job type on leadership styles of
executives. All results are visualized in table 1 till 4 and described extensively. The results of the
interview statements are described in table 1. Table 2 shows the outcomes regarding executives’
perceived success in relation to the different leadership styles. In table 3, the number of employees who
responded favourably to the climate dimensions Innovation, Rewards & Recognition and My Manager are
presented. These employees are arranged according to the leadership styles of their executives. The last
table pinpoints whether the job type of employees influence the leadership style of executives (table 4). In
their legend, all tables show a norm of ≥ 3.0. This means that only executives who scored at least an
average of ‘Fairly Often’ (3.0) on one specific leadership style on the interview statements are considered
to use that style, or when two styles are on average ≥ 3.0, then both styles are used by the executive.
However, in table 1, one executive scored below the 3.0 score for all leadership styles. For this executive
it was not possible to allocate him/her to a specific leadership style.
24 Leadership Styles Explored: their relation to the organizational climate and employees’ job type
4.1 Description of Results
The results of the interviews conducted explain to what degree executives believe they engage in
a certain leadership behaviour toward their associates. In view of table 1, most executives of Fresh
generally display a more transformational leadership style. Secondly, the combined style of both
transformational and transactional leadership is applied. None of the executives make use of the
transactional or passive/ avoidant leadership style.
TABLE 1 Interview Results of Leadership Styles related to the norm
Leadership Styles of
Executives
Number of Executives Mean Score on Leadership
Style
Transformational 13 3,4
Transformational &
Transactional
7 3,4
Transactional 0 0,0
Passive/ Avoidant 0 0,0
Below Norm 1 2,1
Total Executives 21
Note: Norm ≥ 3.0
The interview outcomes describe the perceived success of executives in their department. Table
2, on the next page, shows that executives who use a mix of both transformational and transactional
leadership perceive relatively more success in their department than executives who apply only the
transformational leadership style.
25 Leadership Styles Explored: their relation to the organizational climate and employees’ job type
TABLE 2 Interview results concerning perceived success of Executives
Leadership Styles of
Executives
Number of Executives Mean Score on
Success
Perceived Success in
%
Transformational 13 3,2 80%
Transformational &
Transactional 7 3,5 88%
Transactional 0 0,0 0%
Passive/ Avoidant 0 0,0 0%
Below Norm 1 2,6 0%
Total Executives 21
Note: Norm ≥ 3.0
The answers of employees according to the dimensions of Climate Survey were analysed in order
to make a comparison between the different leadership styles of executives and the organizational climate
dimensions Innovation, Rewards & Recognition and My Manager. Table 3 indicates that employees led
by a combined style of both transformational and transactional leadership are most favourable about all
climate dimensions compared to executives who utilize only the transformational leadership style.
However, there is only a small difference in percentage between the outcomes of employees arranged
according to the transformational or the combined leadership style.
TABLE 3 Employees’ Climate Survey Scores on the Climate Dimensions