The success of the future for South African organisations relies heavily on its leadership,
rather than on its management. Transformational leadership is critical to modem business,
especially within the South African context. Transformational leadership is essentially about
instilling a sense of purpose. in those who are led, and encouraging commitment by
empowering employees through growth and development. This enables employees the
opportunity to adapt and grow within organizations. The leader promotes change by creating
a motivational climate which enhances growth, development, commitment, goal achievement
and enjoyment. In order to facilitate the requirements of such an environment the employee
needs social support that would enable job autonomy and ultimately job satisfaction.
The objective of this study was to investigate the moderating effect of social support between
job autonomy and job satisfaction, and to see if job satisfaction of employees in a large
banking group can be predicted by their experience of job autonomy and social support in the
workplace. The study was conducted within one of South Africa's leading financial
institutions. In order to achieve the study objectives, data was collected from a sample
(n=178) which consisted of employees ranging from junior management (CIT levels) to
middle management (MIP levels).
Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Stepwise multiple
regression analyses were carried out to determine whether the independent variables hold any
predictive value regarding the dependent variable (job satisfaction). The results of the
multiple regression revealed that gender had no effect in predicting participants' job
satisfaction, indicating that effects for the other variables may operate similarly for males and
females. It was found that participants' experience of autonomy, and the support they receive
from colleagues are important in predicting their experiences of job satisfaction. However,
the moderating effect of social support (from either colleagues or supervisor), was not
supported in this research. This finding indicates that social support does not play a role in
the translation of the experience of autonomy in job satisfaction. Further research into the moderating effects of social support between job autonomy and job
satisfaction is warranted. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/1370 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Ramesar, Shashika |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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