International Journal on Leadership

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access
Open Access Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Restricted Access Subscription Access

Exploring Soft Attributes of Leadership within the Market and Social Research Industries in Gauteng Province using Statistical Analysis


Affiliations
1 FinMark Trust, South Africa
     

   Subscribe/Renew Journal


The purpose of this paper is to identify the 'soft' attributes of leadership within the Market and Social Research Industries in Gauteng Province, South Africa. A two-stage sampling procedure comprising of stratified random sampling and systematic random sampling were used to select a sample of 261 full-time employees for the quantitative phase of the study.An overall Cronbach alpha of 0.982 showed that the results are statistically reliable. The general concept of soft leadership was coined by Prof M.S. Rao who considered the 11C's characteristics. There are number of other variances of the soft skills in leadership literature and the soft skills concepts fall under the umbrella of Emotional Intelligence (EI).

The data was analysed using different statistical tools in SPSS software. Stepwise regression analysis was used to identify the soft attributes of leadership that drive overall leadership style. The attributes retained in the model clearly show the importance of good leadership practices and also point to the fact that the manager related attributes directly or indirectly influence proper execution of the job by their subordinates. The researcher also used confirmatory factor analysis to test the model that was produced in the exploratory factor analysis. The combination of different statistical analyses produced rich, powerful and complementary set of results that help to understand the drivers of overall leadership. Although the attributes referred to as soft in this paper, they are the most important salient attributes that any leader should have. The paper also lists some qualitative attributes that a leader should have.

This is extracted from a DBL awarded paper from School of Business Leadership; University of South Africa entitled 'A Statistical Model for Employee Satisfaction in the Market and Social Research Industries in Gauteng Province.'


Keywords

Leadership, Regression Model, Goodness of Fit, Confirmatory, Soft Attribute.
Subscription Login to verify subscription
User
Notifications
Font Size


  • Abdullah, R. B., Musa, M., Zahari, H., Rahman, R., & Khalid, K. (2011). The study of employee satisfaction and its effects towards loyalty in hotel industry in Klang Valley, Malaysia. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 2(3), 147-155.

  • Bass, B. M., & Avolio, B. J. (1997). Full range leadership development: Manual for the multifactor leadership questionnaire. California: Mind Garden Inc.

  • Castro, M. L., & Martins, N. (2010). The relationship between organisational climate and employee satisfaction in a South African information and technology organisation. South African Journal of Industrial and Psychology, 36(1), 1-9. Retrieved from http:// www.sajip.co.za

  • Gibson, J. L. (2007). Truth and reconciliation as social indicators. Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality of Life Measurement, 257-281. Springer: Netherlands.

  • Heifetz, R., Grashow, A., & Linsky, M. (2009). Leadership in a (Permanent) Crisis. Harvard Business Review, 87(7/8), 62-69.

  • Ireland, R. D., & Hitt, M. A. (2005). Achieving and maintaining strategic competitiveness in the 21st century: The role ofstrategic leadership. Academy of Management Executive, 19(4), 63-77.

  • Kanji, G. K. (2008). Leadership is prime: How do you measure Leadership Excellence? Total Quality Management, 19(4), 417-427.

  • Kanji, G. K. (2008). Measuring Business Excellence. In Routledge Advances in Management and Business Studies. London, Routledge.

  • Küskü, F. (2003). Employee satisfaction in higher education: The case of academic and administrative staff in Turkey. Career Development International, 8(7), 347-356.

  • Mintzberg, H. (1990). The Manager’s Job: Folklore and Fact. Harvard Business Review, 68(2), 163-176.

  • Mutsonziwa, K., & Serumaga-Zake, P. (2015). Ascertaining the role of leadership on employee satisfaction in Market and Social Research Industries in Gauteng Province of South Africa using qualitative research. International Journal on Leadership, 3(2), 20-31.

  • Mutsonziwa, K. (2013). A Statistical Model for Employee Satisfaction in the Market and Social Research Industries in Gauteng Province. Midrand: UNISA. DBL Thesis [Unpublished].

  • Nair, N. (2006). Climate studies and associated best practices to improve climate issues in the workplaces. Paper presented at Women in Engineering Programs and Advocates Network, Pennsylvania.

  • Nel, P. S., Gerber, P. D., van Dyk, P. S., Haasbroek, G. D., Schultz, H. B., Sono, T., & Werner, A. (2004). Human resources management (6th ed.). Cape Town: Oxford University Press.

  • Ponnu, C. H., & Tennakoon, G. (2009). The Association between Ethical Leadership and Employee

  • Outcomes- the Malaysian Case. Electronic Journal of Business Ethics and Organisation Studies, 14(1), 21-32.

  • Smith, P. C., Kendall, L. M., & Hulin, C. L. (1969). The measurement of satisfaction in work and retirement. Chicago: Rand McNally.

  • Storey, J. (2005). What next for strategic-level leadership Research? Leadership, 1(1), 89-104.

  • Tarasco, J. A., & Damato, N. A. (2006). Build a better career path. Journal of Accountancy, 201(5), 37. New York.

  • Thompson, A. A., Strickland III, A. J., & Gamble, J. E. (2007). Crafting and Executing Strategy (15th ed.).

  • Text and Readings. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

  • Tichy, N., & Devanna, M. (1996). The transformational leader. New York: John Wiley and Sons.

  • Van Saane, N., Sluiter, J. K., Verbeek, J. H. A. M., & Frings-Dresen, M. H. W. (2003).

  • Reliability and validity of instruments measuring job satisfaction. A systematic review. Occupational Medicine, 53, 191-200.

  • Voon, M. L., Lo, M. C., Ngui, K. S., & Ayob, N. B. (2011). The influence of leadership styles on employees’ job satisfaction in public sector organisations in Malaysia. International Journal of Business, Management and Social Sciences, 2(1), 24-32.

  • Wegner, T. (2007). Applied business statistics: methods and excel-based applications (2nd ed.). Juta and Company Ltd. Cape Town, South Africa.

  • http://www.unpost.org/mahatma-gandhi-soft-leadership


Abstract Views: 328

PDF Views: 0




  • Exploring Soft Attributes of Leadership within the Market and Social Research Industries in Gauteng Province using Statistical Analysis

Abstract Views: 328  |  PDF Views: 0

Authors

Kingstone Mutsonziwa
FinMark Trust, South Africa

Abstract


The purpose of this paper is to identify the 'soft' attributes of leadership within the Market and Social Research Industries in Gauteng Province, South Africa. A two-stage sampling procedure comprising of stratified random sampling and systematic random sampling were used to select a sample of 261 full-time employees for the quantitative phase of the study.An overall Cronbach alpha of 0.982 showed that the results are statistically reliable. The general concept of soft leadership was coined by Prof M.S. Rao who considered the 11C's characteristics. There are number of other variances of the soft skills in leadership literature and the soft skills concepts fall under the umbrella of Emotional Intelligence (EI).

The data was analysed using different statistical tools in SPSS software. Stepwise regression analysis was used to identify the soft attributes of leadership that drive overall leadership style. The attributes retained in the model clearly show the importance of good leadership practices and also point to the fact that the manager related attributes directly or indirectly influence proper execution of the job by their subordinates. The researcher also used confirmatory factor analysis to test the model that was produced in the exploratory factor analysis. The combination of different statistical analyses produced rich, powerful and complementary set of results that help to understand the drivers of overall leadership. Although the attributes referred to as soft in this paper, they are the most important salient attributes that any leader should have. The paper also lists some qualitative attributes that a leader should have.

This is extracted from a DBL awarded paper from School of Business Leadership; University of South Africa entitled 'A Statistical Model for Employee Satisfaction in the Market and Social Research Industries in Gauteng Province.'


Keywords


Leadership, Regression Model, Goodness of Fit, Confirmatory, Soft Attribute.

References