The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership styles in a petrochemical organisation (represented by transformational, transactional and laissez-faire leadership styles) and to determine if emotional intelligence can predict an effective leadership style. Leaders (N = 161) were selected from a business within a South African petrochemical organisation. Self reports from the EQ-i and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ Form 5X) were analysed. Correlation analyses indicated statistically significant relationships between emotional intelligence and transformational and laissez-faire leadership. Findings indicated positive correlations between emotional intelligence (specifically adaptability) and transformational leadership. Negative correlations were obtained between emotional intelligence (specifically intrapersonal skills) and laissez-faire leadership. Theoretical implications and practical applications of these findings were discussed. / Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

This thesis examines my experience of leading leadership development. During the last three years I have been researching my role as Head of Leadership and Organisational Development at the University of Hertfordshire (UH), with a view to making sense of and rethinking leadership and approaches to leadership development more generally. This thesis considers how my own thinking and practice has changed and developed as a consequence of paying attention to and reflecting on personal experience, whilst at the same time locating my sense-making in the broader academic scholarship. Narrative accounts of the significant incidents and interactions that I have participated in during the past three years have been shared verbally with the participants on the programmes that I lead, and explored more extensively in written form with colleagues in the learning community on the Doctorate in Management (DMan) programme at UH, as a means of intensifying my sense-making and its generalisability to a community of engaged enquirers. My research was prompted by disillusionment with the dominant discourse on leadership and leadership development based as it is on theories, frameworks, tools and techniques that privilege a form of autonomous, instrumental rationality and deceptive certainty that did not reflect the social, non-linear, uncertain day-to-day realities faced by me and the managers with whom I worked. In this thesis, I draw on my experiences as a manager, leader of leadership development, and a student of leadership development, to problematise the mainstream managerialist conceptions of leadership and organisation that are now part of the organisational habitus (Bourdieu, 1977) in the UK. The rise and naturalisation of managerialist ideology across the private, public, and charitable sectors in the UK makes it an inordinately difficult perspective to contest without risking some form of exclusion. I contend that my experience of attempting to encourage radical doubt and enquiry rather than the mindless acceptance and application of conventional wisdom contributes to knowledge in the field of leadership and organisational development by providing insight into and an alternative way of thinking about and practising leadership and leadership development. In contesting dominant conceptions, I proffer a more reality congruent alternative to mainstream thought. I draw on the perspective of complex responsive processes of relating (Stacey et al, 2000, Griffin, 2002, Shaw, 2002), critical management studies (Alvesson and Willmott, 1996), social constructionism (Berger et al, 1966), and other thinkers critical of managerialist conceptions of leadership and leadership education (Khurana, 2007) to explore leadership as a social, relational activity where leaders are co-participants, albeit highly influential ones, in the ongoing patterning of relationships that constitute organisation. However, I argue that it is insufficient for management educationalists to snipe critically at managerialism from the sidelines, problematising one perspective and simply replacing it with another (Ford et al, 2007), leaving their participants ill-equipped to navigate the potentially destructive political landscape of day-to-day organisational life. While the dominant discourse on leadership and organisation is flawed, to avoid exclusion managers must still become fluent in the language and practice of managerialism, the ideology that has come to dominate the vast majority of organisational communities in which they find themselves. In this thesis, I argue that it is crucial for managers and leaders of leadership development to engage with a polyphony of perspectives, and develop the reflective and reflexive capacity to continuously explore and answer for themselves the questions who am I, and what am I doing, who are we, and what are we doing?

A need for a South African leadership-unit performance structural model, created from the performance index and second-order factor structure of the Leadership Behaviour Inventory was established. This study focuses on the creation of such a second-order factor structure. Theron and Spangenberg (2005) identified three plausible models and highlighted two for further analysis. Theoretical scrutiny supported the two proposed models. The two-factor model was created from the multifactor leadership questionnaire's transformational and transactional second-order factors (Avolio, Bass & Jung, 1999) and the three-factor model comprised the general leadership, management behaviour and supervisory leadership second-order factors of House (1995). Factor analysis, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted on the proposed models. Results indicated average-fitting models. The five-factor model proposed by Theron and Spangenberg (2005) comparatively has an improved fit and is viewed as the most plausible model for the creation of the leadership-unit performance structural model. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

This study explored the relationship between leadership styles and organisational climate by means of quantitative research. Data from an organisational climate survey was used during the analysis. The results indicate that there was a positive correlation (0,749 at the 0,01 level) between leadership styles and organisational climate, thus supporting the research hypothesis. A standard multiple regression analysis was conducted and three leadership styles were found to predict 55,6% of the variance in organisational climate. The Authoritative leadership style made the largest unique contribution to the variance in organisational climate. The interaction between biographical and organisational variables and leadership styles and organisational climate was studied by means of t-tests and ANOVAs. Although statistically significant differences were found, these terms were of little practical significance and the effect sizes were generally small. The study concludes with recommendations for Industrial and Organisational Psychology practices and further research. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

This research comprised an investigation into the relationship between transformational leadership and organisational creativity. The overall aim of the research was to determine whether creativity in organisations can be linked to transformational leadership behaviours. A literature review was done to conceptualise transformational leadership and organisational creativity and to identify the theoretical relationship between these concepts. During the investigation it was found that a relationship does exist between transformational leadership and organisational creativity. A one-way ANOVA analysis and post hoc analysis were performed to address the empirical research questions. The descriptive statistics were analysed in terms of senior management and middle management, and their raters. The data analysis revealed that the research results were largely supportive of the theoretical research findings on the relationship between transformational leadership and organisational creativity. With regard to senior management, it was found that most raters rated their teams as creative, despite the fact that a relationship between transformational leadership and organisational creativity could not be determined due to the small sample size. With regard to middle management, it was found that a correlation existed between inspirational motivation, idealised influence (attributes and behaviour) and organisational creativity. It was further found that there was a correlation between senior management’s perceptions of their transformational leadership attributes and their direct reportees’ perceptions. There were significant differences between middle managers’ perceptions of certain elements of transformational leadership and that of their direct reportees. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The study sought to establish the effect of age, gender, job level and race on attitudes towards affirmative action. A research was conducted in a government organisation in the security cluster in one of the provinces in South Africa. Findings indicated that men and women’s disposition towards affirmative action was positive. Employees at different job levels and varying age groups were also positive towards affirmative action in general. There were significantly lower numbers of white participants and those on senior management levels such that this cannot be objectively reported. The generally positive regard employees have towards affirmative action is good for the organisation if it wants to build a cohesive culture that is non sexist and does not discriminate on the basis of job level and age. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / (M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology))

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership styles in a petrochemical organisation (represented by transformational, transactional and laissez-faire leadership styles) and to determine if emotional intelligence can predict an effective leadership style. Leaders (N = 161) were selected from a business within a South African petrochemical organisation. Self reports from the EQ-i and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ Form 5X) were analysed. Correlation analyses indicated statistically significant relationships between emotional intelligence and transformational and laissez-faire leadership. Findings indicated positive correlations between emotional intelligence (specifically adaptability) and transformational leadership. Negative correlations were obtained between emotional intelligence (specifically intrapersonal skills) and laissez-faire leadership. Theoretical implications and practical applications of these findings were discussed. / Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

This study investigated the relationship between leadership style and group processes and dynamics with due consideration of the role of related systems in the context of organisational change. The theoretical assumptions and practical implications of the full range model of leadership were discussed. This model emphasises the transactional-transformational paradigm. In addition, approaches to studying and working with groups were covered, focusing specifically on group processes and group dynamics. In the case of the latter, the systems psychodynamic perspective was emphasised. The present study was conducted in a plant of a South African production organisation that had been experiencing transformation. An intervention was done at management level to identify behavioural and operational issues and to sensitise the members of the management team in terms of individual and group functioning. The conceptualisation of leadership styles in terms of the full range model of leadership was largely supported by means of associations with certain personality traits and behaviours. The latter also provided a profile of desired characteristics, especially in terms of interpersonal styles and work and social ethics. The theory on group processes and dynamics was used to explore group and organisational functioning. The context of change and the related insecurity resulted in efforts to deal with anxiety by means of excessive reliance on structure. Centralised leadership and a dynamic of control and dependency characterised all levels of the organisation. Cooperation in an interdependent manner was therefore problematic and there was also a struggle in terms of interrelatedness in and between systems. The unconscious defence strategy was related to the general reliance on transactional behaviours and the lack of authorisation of leadership in terms of transformational behaviours. Despite the successful application of theory in the present study and the contribution made by the results, it was concluded that the uniqueness and the realities of each situation need to be explored and provided for, and a system should be allowed to determine the progression in the system. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

This study investigates transformational leadership at a higher education institution. The systems paradigm serves as the point of departure, while the construct `leadership', which forms the driving force of change in the organisation, and the concept `transformational leadership', are integrated to yield a mechanism for the optimal positioning of the organisation in the ambit of transformation. The results indicate that the leadership style at the higher institution in question is transformational in nature. From the literature review it became evident that although it is possible for transformational leaders to fail in the transformational strategy, the transformational leader may exhibit the most `ideal' leadership style for the higher education institution engaged in a turnaround strategy. Based on the results of the study, additional proposals are made regarding further study in the area of transformational leadership as well as possible decisions regarding human resource management for the higher education institution in question. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The general purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a difference in self-perception between male and female leaders. The sample group included male and female leaders in a few companies (e.g Fluor, Human Dynamics, The Munt, Rand Merchant Private bank etc) companies. Each manager's self-perception was tested against the way in which others (managers, peers, subordinates) perceive him or her. The difference between the self-rating and that of the others was measured to establish the difference in perception between self and others. The results showed that men were slightly more self-aware than the females. It is recommended that it would be beneficial to find ways in which the environment can be prepared to limit the impact of gender differences on the implementation of the 360 feedback system (or any other performance management system) and to investigate variables such as cultural differences, age and the concept of self-perception. / Indust & Org Psychology / MA(IND AND ORG PSYCHOLOGY)