Stats Paper Due Saturday, November 25, 2017

The purpose of this paper is to outline the topic for the proposed research on “The Impact of Organizational Leadership in Education with Respect to Their Attitude and Beliefs and the Crucial Role They Play. Several studies have been conducted to explain the impact that leadership has on education. Consequently, studies have shown the varying differences between three leadership styles. Specifically, it has been determined that the transformational style is the most effective in promoting employee satisfaction, student success, and organizational development in higher education.

Higher education has a strong influence in shaping the mental models of many of society's professionals and leaders and is a critical leverage point in creating a sustainable society. The American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) was launched in 2006 as a collective effort by higher education institutions to pursue climate neutrality in campus operations and integrate climate and sustainability into their education, research, and community engagement activities (Dyer, G., & Dyer, M. (2017).

In an effort for organizations to retain their position in today’s society, they must stay abreast of the trends in business, attract and employ great leaders, and assure that employees are satisfied with their jobs. This is especially important in higher educational organizations because there are so many universities open and seeking to increase their enrollment.

Trends in Development of Higher Education

In one research article, the writer makes reference to the transformational year with regards to the talent of management that is needed. It further states that there is currently a global change in the economy due to the change in demographics and the change in the use of technology in business. He speaks of the importance of these things in business and how leaders must be abreast of these changes to be effective leaders.

According to another writer, he states that organizations will not recover from the economic situation if they are not aware of the future trends of business and changes that are occurring in society today. For example, the workforce today is made up of about 75 percent of people who were born in the Millennium era. Therefore, leaders must understand that people of this era have different views, education, and values. They are not like individuals who were born during the Baby Booming era. Evolution is upon us and in order for an organization to remain profitable and sustainable in this competitive market, it must be abreast of new business trends which includes diversity, employee engagement and social responsibility. Today, there are so many people with higher education degrees that it has forced so many individuals to return to school to achieve advanced degrees as well.

The increased use of technology has also caused a shift in educational demands and the need for research to determine its position in business. As a result of this, researchers have begun to take into consideration how different generations impact organizational growth. Research has also evolved to include how leadership impacts employee satisfaction and, ultimately could lead to high attrition. This writer has determined that additional research is warranted to provide further studies on the effects of leadership and employee satisfaction.

The Importance of Leadership Compatibility

Although compatibility is starting to receive some attention in the business literature, definitions of compatibility in any of the academic literature are rare. Freedictionary.com defines compatibility as being “capable of existing or performing in harmonious, agreeable, or congenial combination with another or others.” In their examination of compatibility as it relates to job performance, Tett, Rothstein and Reddon (1999) report three levels of person-job fit: task-level fit occurs with respect to the immediate activities, goals, and duties that define a given job; group-level fit denotes a matching of the person to his or her co-workers; and organization-level fit results when a person's traits match the organization's culture. Importantly, compatibility is not the same as similarity. Similarity deals more with how closely two people resemble each other along a variety of factors. Compatibility is more about getting along. As Tett and Murphy (2002) conclude, co-workers may prove to be the most compatible when they are similar in some ways yet complementary in others. Shutz (1958, 1966) adds that compatibility exists if the behavior expressed by one person is congruent with what the other person wants to receive (Harrison-Walker, L. J. 2014).

The same principle holds true with regards to education. Leaders must be able show compatibility with their students. When leaders are not compatible with students, the students will not perform and, ultimately, either fail or withdraw from the institution all together. The end result is unfavorable for everyone. Universities are in business to promote education and to produce highly qualified individuals to fill positions within many organizations. This is explained further in the information below.

Of course, whenever customer satisfaction is affected, so may be consumer patronage and hence the success of the service operation. This phenomenon of customer compatibility is real and widespread, affecting a host of commercial and non-profit institutions, including schools and universities (Martin & Pranter, 1989). We can apply Tett, Rothstein and Reddon’s (1999) three levels of person-job fit to the higher education setting in particular as follows: task-level fit equates to the activities, goals, and performance that define being a student at a given institution; the group-level fit is the matching Page 61 Academy of Educational Leadership Journal, Volume 18, Number1, 2014 of the student to his classmates or team members; and the organizational-level fit approximates how the person’s traits match the institution’s organizational culture. In terms of differentiating compatibility and similarity within the context of higher education, it is not that students need to be similar to each other, but rather that they are similar in some ways and complementary in other ways such that their behaviors are congruent (Harrison-Walker, L. J. 2014).

Higher Education and Impacts

Educational leaders are faced with many challenges in providing appropriate service to their employees and students. Some of the challenges are that they inadequately trained, do not possess the appropriate leadership style, and are not compatible with their employees and/or students. They have fewer resources available to meet the demands of the increasing student enrollment. There is also more competition today which requires organizations to be able to provide a better place to work while maintaining good service delivery. Additionally, there are so many universities and colleges available to provide education to those pursuing advancement. Unfortunately, little is being done to assure that leaders are equipped with the necessary skills to meet the increasing demands. Additionally, not many organizations have taken time to determine what type of leadership style is warranted to promote organizational growth and development.

Supporting Research on Leadership Styles and Job Satisfaction

This study was conducted to research two types of leadership styles and its effect on faculty job satisfaction. The three leadership styles included in this research were transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire. The leaders included principals and directors within a university. The expected outcome was to prove that faculty’s overall job satisfaction is directly attributed to the transformational leadership style. The second most effective leadership style that promotes faculty job satisfaction was transactional. The Laissez Faire leadership styles was the most effective in decreased faculty job performance.

A satisfied teacher/faculty member is more likely to deliver enhanced performance, and could be a prime element in improving the quality and performance of an educational institution (Chen and Silverthorne, 2005; Sharma and Jyoti, 2009; Toker, 2011; Woods, 2007; Karimi, 2008, see also Judge et al., 1995; Wright and Crapanzano, 1997). These researchers have concluded that the type of leadership utilized within a university directly affect performance.

Case Studies

Lucas, N. and Goodman, F. R. conducted a study to determine how leadership, individual well-being, and positive organizational scholarship can impact on leadership development in higher educations. Today, there are many colleges and universities that offer educational programs for individuals pursing secondary education. Consequently, many of these programs are not strategically designed to prepare students to be leaders within the organization or promote organizational growth and development to meet the needs of the organizations. In lieu of this, many organizations spend time restructuring to meet the needs of organizational capacity.

Zlate, S., & Enache, C. conducted a similar case study. Their research was conducted to determine if there was interdependence between human capital and organizational performance within a university. The compatibility between person and organization is encompassed in a research aimed to analyze the element of human capital in an organization, respectively the training and competences, expertise and experience and creativity and innovation. Considering the fact that universities are more and more interested in attracting and maintaining the most adequate personnel, able to obtain performances, the compatibility person-organization remains an open road in the researchers’ attention, since the individuals who want to join an organization will choose those organizations that are a match for them and have a compatible organizational culture. Success in a higher education organization depends on people's capacity of adapting themselves to the rapid rhythm of change and of assimilating the modern strategies.

Research Questions

The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to examine the relationship between perceived academic administrator leadership styles and job satisfaction of full-time faculty members. The design of the study was correlational and nonexperimental. The independent variables were the transformational, transactional, and passive/avoidant leadership styles of academic administrators as evaluated by faculty members. The dependent variable was job satisfaction of full-time faculty members. The population consisted of 567 full-time faculty members within the university, including professors, associate professors, assistant professors, instructors, and lecturers. The minimum number of participants required for significant study results was 81 as determined by a power analysis, and 104 participated. The location of the study was an institution within the State University System of Florida, which had experienced increased demand for new leaders since the launch of the New Florida Initiative (Bell III, T. J., Anderson, T. D., Conner, C., & Severance, J. (2016).

This writer would like to conduct a similar study with the universities in Illinois. The study will include the following questions:

· Is there a relationship between transformational leadership

· job satisfactions

· organizational performance

· How does the effects of transformational leadership attributes impact:

· job satisfaction

· employee retentions,

· organizational performance

· Is job satisfaction and organizational performance adversely impacted without the transformational type leader?

Hypothesis

We evaluated the relationship between academic administrator leadership styles and faculty job satisfaction within an institution in the State University System of Florida. We evaluated the relationship between academic administrator leadership styles using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (Bass, Avolio, Jung & Berson, 2012) and faculty job satisfaction using the Job Satisfaction Survey (Spector, 2011) within an institution in the State University System of Florida. Using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (Bass, Avolio, Jung & Berson, 2012) and the Job Satisfaction Survey (Spector, 2011), we sought to answer the following primary research question and secondary questions:

• Primary research question 1: What is the relationship between perceived administrator leadership styles and job satisfaction of faculty members?

• Secondary research question 2: What is the relationship between perceived transformational leadership styles and job satisfaction of faculty members?

• Secondary research question 3: What is the relationship between perceived transactional leadership styles and job satisfaction of faculty members?

• Secondary research question 4: What is the relationship between perceived passive/avoidant leadership styles and job satisfaction of faculty members?

We sought to answer the research questions by testing the following hypotheses: H1o: There is no significant relationship between leadership styles and job satisfaction of faculty members.

H1a: There is a significant relationship between leadership styles and job satisfaction of faculty members.

H2o: There is no significant relationship between perceived transformational leadership styles and job satisfaction of faculty members.

H2a: There is a significant relationship between perceived transformational leadership styles and job satisfaction of faculty members.

H3o: There is no significant relationship between perceived transactional leadership styles and job satisfaction of faculty members.

H3a: There is a significant relationship between perceived transaction leadership styles and job satisfaction of faculty members.

H4o: There is no significant relationship between perceived passive/avoidant leadership styles and job satisfaction of faculty members.

H4a: There is a significant relationship between perceived passive/avoidant leadership styles and job satisfaction of faculty members (Bell III, T. J., Anderson, T. D., Conner, C., & Severance, J. (2016).

Literature Review

An organization’s success depends on hiring and retaining satisfied employees (Cordeiro, 2010). Faculty members play a vital role in the success of higher education institutions (Cordeiro, 2010). Through increased job satisfaction, greater employee retention helps colleges and universities achieve adequate faculty allocations (Froeschle & Sinkford, 2009). Faculty job satisfaction and its relationship to retention in higher education are business-related issues, as a 5% increase in retention can lead to a 10% reduction in costs (Wong & Heng, 2009). A similar increase in retention can further result in substantial productivity increases, to as much as 65% (Wong & Heng, 2009).

Seventy-seven percent of employees in the United States have reported dissatisfaction with their jobs (Mardanov, Heischmidt, & Henson, 2008), and as DeConinck (2009) reported, job dissatisfaction eventually leads to voluntary turnover. The estimated salary premium required to replace one dissatisfied faculty member totals $57,000 (Finch et al., 2010). Since the State University System of Florida launched the New Florida Initiative, increased enrollments created the need for faculty members to assume administrative positions with leadership responsibilities (Austin, 2012). Some new administrators lack knowledge of how their leadership style impacts faculty member job satisfaction (Lawrence & Bell, 2012).

Leadership Style Personal Experience

I have had a personal experience with conflict. I am currently employed at Western Governor’s University as a Student Mentor. During my 8-1/2 month tenure, I applied for a Team Lead Evaluator’s position. Shortly after submitting my application, the director of the department contacted me to advise that she was considering me for the position. I was required to notify my manager that I had applied for another position. After meeting with him, initially he advised me that he would support my transition into the new position. Consequently, the next day, he called me to advise that he would no longer support my transition because he wanted to have the opportunity to supervise me for one year. Understandably, this created a conflict. The human resource policy mandates that an employee must be in their current position for at least 6 months prior to transitioning to another. I had met this requirement. Unfortunately, because he was my manger, he was allowed to disrupt my transition into the new position.

The action of my manager clearly demonstrated an imbalance of power. Legally he did not have the right to disrupt my transitioning to another department because I had me all requirements. Unfortunately, WGU allows its managers to misuse their powers whenever they chose to. Because my manager took it upon himself to contact the director for the new position to advise her that he would not support my transitioning into her department, she did not contact me anymore nor did she proceed with my transition. As a result, I contacted Human Resources to discuss his actions, and to request a transfer to another team. Subsequently, I was advised that there was other team that I could transfer to; therefore, I would have to remain on his team. The actions and responses of WGU clearly demonstrates an imbalance of power.

This issue could have been resolved amicably through mediation. Through mediation all persons involved would have had the opportunity to sit down and discuss the appropriate manner in which to proceed even if my manager decided that he did not want me to transfer. Instead of he made an inappropriate decision without offering justification for his decision, and I was mandated to accept it and move forward without questioning it. This situation and similar situations, if not handled appropriately, opens the door for conflict. WGU does not offer mediation nor does it try to resolve any issues. This is problematic for the institution because any time there is conflict that has not been resolved amicably, it promotes low job performance and the organization loses the trust of the employee. Whenever there is an imbalance of power, conflict is definitely going to arise.

Research Methodology

This will be a quantitative study that will predict variables to indicate whether or not there is a parallel between leadership styles and employee satisfaction. This study will be emulated using a study conducted by Bell in Florida to study participants in Illinois. The goal will be to provide an estimation of how satisfied employees are with the jobs. Qualitative analysis will also be used to determine the results of the varying types of leadership styles.

Data Collection Approach

A survey will be used to conduct the collect data. The population will include full time employees working in a university in the State University Education System in Illinois. Surveys will be mailed to the participants for the study. Data collection will be strategic and will include a different demographic locations and employee ethnicities. This will alleviate the possibility of collecting biased data.

Data Strategies

The researchers developed two questionnaires. Once questionnaire which was called, “MLQ”. The MLQ measured leadership styles. The other questionnaire was called, “MCMJSS” which measured job satisfaction. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) captures the full range of leader behaviors, which include those that distinguish among transformational leadership, transactional leadership, and laissez-faire leadership (Bass & Riggio, 2006). Bass and Riggio’s (2006) factor analysis of the MLQ showed significant correlations between individualized consideration and transactional contingent reward leadership. Transactional leadership can serve as a foundation for building transformational leadership (Bass & Riggio, 2006). Bass and Riggio also stated that contingent reward leadership molds expectations for performance and fairness and works to build trust between the leader and followers. Contingent reward is implicit in the role of fair and competitive salary and compensation in the satisfaction of college faculty (Bass & Riggio, 2006). (Bell III, T. J., Anderson, T. D., Conner, C., & Severance, J. (2016).

This writer would like to use the same MLQ and MCMJSS questionnaires to collect data from the participants of the study in Illinois.

Ethical Treatment of Humans Ensured

After receipt of approval to conduct the study, a confidential introductory message will be sent to all participants. The population will be includes of several demographic areas to prevent any biases. The sample participants selected will consist of management, staff members, and other employees with the organization. The participants will be assures that all responses will be kept confidential. They will be assured of the confidentiality of theirs answers; therefore, they can answer the questions with honesty. They will be advised to think of their managers when answering the questions.

Conclusion

Comparison and contrast of transformational and transactional leadership offers a valuable perspective on leadership theory. Historically, theories of leadership focused exclusively on the characteristics of the leader (Bennis, 2010; Derue, Nahrang, Wellman, & Humphrey, 2011; Yukl & Mahsud, 2010). According to Li and Hung (2009), transformational leadership shifted the emphasis from the leader to the quality of the relationship between leaders and their followers. Li and Hung noted that transformational leaders show similar values and inspirational motivation. High-quality workplace relationships are fundamental to positive work outcomes (Li & Hung, 2009). Transformational leadership seems to foster “the building and maintenance of social networks in the workplace, on both vertical and lateral levels resulting in higher levels of task performance and active participation in citizenship behaviors” (Li & Hung, 2009, p. 1141). Joo and Lim (2013) found that employees showed higher career satisfaction when they (a) perceived high meaning, competency, self-determination, and impact from their work and (b) perceived idealized influence from their leaders (i.e., a dimension of transformational leadership). Invoking Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Bass and Riggio (2006) pointed out that transactional leaders secure and maintain power by focusing on their followers’ lower order needs while transformational leaders encourage their followers toward self-realization. In contrast, transactional leadership puts emphasis on administrative issues and assesses the needs of subordinates to satisfy those needs in exchange for work (Zembylas & Iasonos, 2010).

Faculty members play a vital role in the success of higher education institutions (Cordeiro, 2010). Increased job satisfaction and better retention of faculty reduce the need for costly faculty selection and hiring, and higher retention adds financial stability to the institution (Froesche & Sinkford, 2009). Faculty job satisfaction and its relationship to retention in higher education are business related issues, as a 5% increase in retention can lead to a 10% reduction in costs (Wong & Heng, 2009). A similar increase in retention can further result in substantial productivity increases, to as much as 65% (Wong & Heng, 2009).

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