Submitted by Gustavo Moreira Tavares (gustavo.gmt@hotmail.com) on 2016-05-05T20:25:08Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Gustavo Tavares - MSc Thesis 2016.pdf: 1175635 bytes, checksum: 195b027ba9e3ef81b9ebb9753d2fcd73 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by ÁUREA CORRÊA DA FONSECA CORRÊA DA FONSECA (aurea.fonseca@fgv.br) on 2016-05-20T15:43:37Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Gustavo Tavares - MSc Thesis 2016.pdf: 1175635 bytes, checksum: 195b027ba9e3ef81b9ebb9753d2fcd73 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marcia Bacha (marcia.bacha@fgv.br) on 2016-06-07T18:13:15Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Gustavo Tavares - MSc Thesis 2016.pdf: 1175635 bytes, checksum: 195b027ba9e3ef81b9ebb9753d2fcd73 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-07T18:13:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Gustavo Tavares - MSc Thesis 2016.pdf: 1175635 bytes, checksum: 195b027ba9e3ef81b9ebb9753d2fcd73 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-04-28 / Although research on Implicit Leadership Theories (ILT) has put great effort on determining what attributes define a leader prototype, little attention has been given to understanding the relative importance of each of these attributes in the categorization process by followers. Knowing that recognition-based leadership perceptions are the result of the match between followers’ ILTs and the perceived attributes in their actual leaders, understanding how specific prototypical leader attributes impact this impression formation process is particularly relevant. In this study, we draw upon socio-cognitive theories to explore how followers cognitively process the information about a leader’s attributes. By using Conjoint Analysis (CA), a technique that allows us to measure an individual’s trade-offs when making choices about multi-attributed options, we conducted a series of 4 studies with a total of 879 participants. Our results demonstrate that attributes’ importance for individuals’ leadership perceptions formation is rather heterogeneous, and that some attributes can enhance or spoil the importance of other prototypical attributes. Finally, by manipulating the leadership domain, we show that the weighting pattern of attributes is context dependent, as suggested by the connectionist approach to leadership categorization. Our findings also demonstrate that Conjoint Analysis can be a valuable tool for ILT research.

With the trend of globalization, competition on the 21st century’s global economy is complex and filled with challenges. More and more MNCs realize that effective leadership, as a foundation of competitive advantage, plays a crucial role in better performance of the organizations. Both practitioner and theorists thus pay numerous attention to the study of effective leadership in different countries. However, researchers still report noticeable absence of cross-cultural research in the field of the three major Western leaderships study, i.e. charismatic leadership, transformational leadership and transactional leadership. An urgent need raises to further investigate the major Western leadership styles in non-Western contexts. The study aims to explore the most effective leadership style in MNCs Chinese Subsidiaries and to answer the question “why it differs from the Western world?” through applying the Western leadership theories into Chinese business practices. Eventually, the causes behind these differences have been disclosed and discussed. By reviewing 18 peer-reviewed articles, the attributes of the three major Western leadership styles are identified. Subsequently, all dimensions of the three leadership styles are ranked in terms of effectiveness and activity. As a result of combining the rank and all the identified attributes, a theoretical model of the three leadership styles is proposed. Based on a multi-case study approach in the Chinese context, the empirical data is collected through semi-structured interviews with five Chinese managers and five Chinese followers. The result of qualitative data analysis suggests that the most effective Chinese leaders’ behaviors belong to the transactional leadership style. With reference to the proposed theoretical model, this finding differs from the Western leadership theories. The study further reveals the major causes that lead to the differences between the Chinese practices and the Western theories. Seven implications were thus concluded. The study contribute to better understanding the applicability and effectiveness of the Western leadership theory in non-Western contexts, particularly China, and further address the weakness of cross-culture research reported in existing literature. The implications of this study give advice to MNCs that are paying increasing attention to exploring effective leadership style in China.

This longitudinal study evaluates the role of a follower's self-concept and implicit leadership theories on the interpretation of transformational leadership behaviors and the development of leader-member exchange. Leadership behaviors were hypothesized as antecedents to leader-member exchange. The hypotheses draw upon the social cognition theory of self-verification. Implicit leadership theories were evaluated as absolute differences between actual and recognized leadership behaviors. Both implicit leadership theories and self-concepts were tested for moderation of the leadership behaviors and leader-member exchange. Additional dependent variables included turnover intentions, organizational identification, and perceived organizational support. A key contribution of this research is the application of these variables to new organizational entrants. Two-hundred and ten new followers at a single organization completed three surveys upon organizational entry, 30 days post hire, and approximately 90 days post hire. Structural equation modeling was utilized to conduct confirmatory factor analyses and the development of the measurement and structural models. Leadership behaviors were significantly related to the development of leader-member exchange. Leader-member exchange also fully mediated the leadership behaviors. The collective and relational self-concept levels were correlated with leader-member exchange but failed to reach significance in the full structural model. Implicit leadership theories and absolute difference scores were significantly related to leader-member exchange development. Neither the self-concept nor implicit leadership theories moderated the relationship between leadership behaviors and leader-member exchange. Leader-member exchange had significant effects on all of the outcome variables.

Business leaders often encounter difficulties in achieving sustainable employee engagement in the work environment, yet employee engagement is critical to an organization's financial success. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies business leaders use to overcome or mitigate the challenges of employee disengagement. A purposeful sample of 6 leaders employed at an insurance company participated in the study based on their knowledge and experience in implementing successful employee engagement strategies. The conceptual framework for the study was Kahn's personal engagement theory. Data were collected using semistructured interviews, company documents, and archival information. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Four themes emerged: leader–employee relationship; effective internal communication and feedback; compensation, awards, benefits, and incentives; and professional training and development to improve employee engagement. The implications for positive social change include the potential to provide leaders with strategies to increase employee engagement, which may create employment opportunities for community members, which could lead to the stability and general well-being of the community.

This study examines how school principals practice relational leadership for effective school-parental engagement in a multicultural setting. In South Africa, the post-apartheid education transformation created a situation in which schools are no longer allowed to discriminate against learners. As a result, a new multicultural setting has emerged in which schools are bound to accommodate learners from various cultural backgrounds. This shines the spotlight on school principals’ leadership and how they develop a school vision based on common values and redesign the school in a way that reflects the post-apartheid setting. The leadership role of principals is crucial for school-parental engagement in multicultural school settings. This is a qualitative study that used a case study design. The purposively selected sample consisted of 18 participants from six public schools in the Tshwane North and South. Data was collected using individual interviews. The theory of relational leadership was applied to examine how school principals can practice this leadership style to enhance parental engagement in multicultural school settings. Using thematic analysis, data was then grouped into themes in line with the research questions. The study found that the relational leadership by principals for school-parent engagement in a multicultural setting is limited and ineffective owing to a lack of multicultural sensitivity among most principals. The findings of the study also revealed that though many principals have tried practising different styles, such as instructional, distributive, collaborative and transformational leadership, to enhance parental engagement, these practices are seen as a limited solution. Therefore, the study suggests the need for principals to adopt a new leadership approach that creates a strong relationship between the principal and parents, taking into account the cultural context in which the school operates. The study recommends principals practice relational leadership for effective parental engagement in multicultural school settings. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria 2020. / Education Management and Policy Studies / MEd / Unrestricted

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This thesis investigated the leadership approach associated with sustained improved academic performance of principals heading National Strategy for Learner Attainment (NSLA) schools. The research problem addressed the leadership practices and personality traits that characterised the leadership approaches of principals heading high schools which have achieved long-term academic improvement amongst the schools undergoing the NSLA interventions. The main research question was: What leadership practices and personality traits characterised the leadership approaches of principals heading schools who have achieved long-term academic improvement amongst the schools undergoing the NSLA interventions? Thereafter, four subsidiary research questions guided this research.

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Past research on the emergence of leaders in groups has typically examined relationships between individual trait variables and emergence. The current study extends work of the past by pioneering a multi-variable pattern approach, along with the traditional examination of individual trait measures, in the domain of emergent leadership. The personality pattern examined in this study includes the variables dominance, intelligence and general self-efficacy. All three trait variables were significantly positively associated with leader emergence. Individuals high in all three traits (HHH) emerged significantly more frequently than all other individuals while those low in all three traits (LLL) emerged significantly less frequently than all other individuals. The study also examined non-leader group members and their perceptions of the emergent leaders; resulting in descriptions of leaders that were highly consistent with the traits of interest. Implications for the future research of emergent leadership are discussed. / Master of Science

Master of Science / Department of Psychological Sciences / Clive J. A. Fullagar / This mixed-methods study consisted of two phases. First, interviews were conducted with ROTC instructors responsible for organizational socialization of newcomers to the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force. This data shaped surveys given to organizational newcomers in phase II, which measured organizational culture and cognitive leadership schemas. It was hypothesized that implicit leadership theories (ILTs) would reflect respective organizational cultures. Although this was supported in the qualitative results from Phase I, it was not supported in the quantitative results from Phase II. However, analyses showed that leadership is still perceived as a masculine role in both the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force, as was hypothesized. It was also hypothesized that leaders in line occupations would be seen as better leaders than leaders in staff occupations. This was supported for the Air Force sample, but not the Army sample. During the interviews, ROTC instructors asserted that male and female leaders were equally capable, and that line and staff leaders were equally capable. However, questioning revealed that organizational stereotypes still defined the quintessential leader as a male in a line occupation, although females had more opportunities to fill those key occupations in the Air Force than in the Army, at the time of this study. This discrepancy, along with the discrepancies in results between the qualitative and quantitative data, indicate that organizational culture has perhaps changed at the levels of visible artifacts and espoused values with respect to diversity, but has not yet changed at the fundamental level of basic assumptions.