Managers Communication and Leadership Style on Employees Satisfaction and Motivation - Assignment Example

FINDINGS Demographic Information To study how communication and leadership styles of senior and middle managers affect the performance of the employees of an organization, the company chosen was Airport of Thailand (AOT) where the sample was collected from 26 managers and 180 employees of the company. All these managers and employees are from various departments of the organization like Administration, Supply, Airport service, Security, Rescue and Fire Fighting, Commercial and finance, Maintenances, Special affairs and Community relation, Legal and Human resources, Aerodrome standardization and occupational health. Out of 26 managers 14 (53.8%) were male and 12 (46.2%) were female. Among the employees 112 (62.2%) were male and 68 (37.8%) were female. The findings also took the age group, education and experience of both managers and the employees into consideration. 1. What are differences in the communication and leadership style of senior and middle managers in organisations? Leadership style The study showed 4 (57.1%) senior managers of AOT believe that they follow the transactional form of leadership and 3 (42.9%) of them follow transformational leadership. In case of the middle managers 6 (31.6%) showed that their leadership style is transactional type and 13 (68.4%) middle level managers believe that their leadership style is transformational type. Combining the data of the survey shows that in total 10 (38.5%) of both the levels of managers in AOT believe in transactional form of leadership and 16 (61.5%) managers believe that their leadership style is transformational. From the employee perspective it was seen 91 employees (50.6%) voted for transactional leadership and 89 employees (49.4%) chose transformational leadership for their motivation. Eighty two (45.6%) employees believe that their middle level managers’ leadership style is transactional type and 98 employees (54.4%) believe that their middle level managers follow transformational type of leadership. Communication style Among the middle level managers of AOT it was seen that only 2 (10.5%) of them believe that they are one way communicator and 17 (85.5%) believe that they use two way communication. When the data from both the levels of managers were combined it was seen that the one way communicators remained the same but the numbers of two way communicators got increased to 23 (92%). In employees perspective 113 employees (62.8%) believe that their senior managers use two way communication and 67 employees (37.2%) think that their senior level managers are one way communicator. When the study conducted for middle level managers the number changed to 128 employees (71.1%) for two way communication and 52 employees (28.9%) for one way communication. Managers’ interaction and communication can be regarded as being the main pillars of the organisation; however, different levels have different perception about job satisfaction (Dowling, 2009). The Hypothesis 1o says the communication and leadership styles of both senior and middle level managers are similar. But Hypothesis 1a says that the communication and leadership style of senior and middle level managers do not have any similarity. From the study it is seen that the leadership and communication of both the managers have direct effect on the motivation and job satisfaction of the employees. However, there are differences in the communication and leadership styles of senior and middle level managers. The middle level managers mainly act as the change agents in the organization. This is an important responsibility as the business environment changes every day and to keep the pace along with the time middle managers need to act accordingly and frame their communication in such a way the message reaches the employees in a constructive and positive manner. The employees feel empowered and motivated to accept the change and act accordingly to take the business to the next level. The middle level managers are mainly the bridge between the employees and all other levels of management leadership (Ober, 2006, Sinickas, 2005 & Sinickas, 2011). The relation between the middle managers and the employees play a critical role in influencing the communication between the two entities. The importance of the manager is fundamental to any organization when recognizing the rising disconnection between the workforce and the entire levels of management as a result of inefficient internal process of communication. As a matter of fact the middle level managers and supervisors are regarded as the most trusted communicator more than even the CEO of the organization. In the senior leadership front they are mostly responsible for more of strategic decision making for the benefit of the organization and how the business can be grown. Their focus is towards the strategic use of people as well as other assets of the organization in order to grow the business in a profitable way. The business environment is changing every day and it is important for the senior leadership to use both vertical and diagonal channels of communication in order to communicate to the larger group of the organization (Varbanova, 2013). Their communication generally focused on the organizational direction, support employee knowledge, and underpin relationships and achievements within the organization. The senior or the top level management uses three practices for effective communication – displaying comfort in physical situation, deliver direct clear speeches and presentation and a proper display of influence, interaction and effective communication to all the members of the organization. This kind of communication from the top leadership plays a great role in job performance of the employees as they are aware of the strategic direction of the organization and understand where the company is heading to. This clear communication helps the employees understand their role to be played in this strategic journey, which is again the role of the middle manager to answer any question. 2. What is the perspective of the effect of managers’ communication and leadership style of senior and middle managers and employees to job performance? After conducting the research on AOT Company employees, the researchers found that most of the participants from all the levels of employment believe that communication and leadership styles of both senior and middle level managers do have effect on the job performance (Hannaway & Gabriel, 2005). Communication Style The result shows 35 (19.45%) employees think that communication style may affect their job performance but were not sure and 56 (31.11%) were fair. It was evident from the result of the survey, which showed that 8 of the participants responded “Agree” and 4 of them responded “Strongly Agree”. Same result was from the senior manager level also where 4 participants’ response was “Agree” and 2 participants responded “Strongly Agree”. Hence from the findings it was evident that “Agree” received the highest response of 77 participants (37.75%) and the lowest score was for “Strongly Disagree”, which got only 12 responses (5.88%) out of 204. Leadership Style After conducting the survey among the employees it was seen that 29 people were in disagreement with this hypothesis and 56 respondents seemed to be fair. The result shows only 2 respondents were in disagreement of this hypothesis and 14 participants agreed that the leadership style influences the job performance of the employees in an organization. AOT Company also not any exception to that theory. In case of senior managers there was no one who disagreed to this hypothesis. When the research was conducted among the senior manager 1 responded as Fair, 3 responded Agree and 2 responded strongly agree. If all the responses are combined the result that we will get here is that Agree received the highest score with 78 and Strongly Disagree received the lowest response with 14 out of 205. Hypothesis 2o says that the communication and leadership style of both senior and middle level managers have effect on employee job performance. However, Hypothesis 2a says that it does not have effect on employee job performance. From the result of the study conducted in AOT it is seen that the company has the employees at different levels of experience and education who feel that communication and leadership style of their immediate managers and senior level managers have effect on their job performance. Whether and organization is big or small and profit or non-profit the communication and leadership styles of both middle and senior level mangers play a critical role in the job performances of the employees. The middle level managers more act as change agent and the senior level managers are more into strategic role. Since both the roles demand different functions the leadership and communication style will need to be different. However, both the leaders should be clear and transparent in their communication. The employees look mostly to the communication and leadership of the senior management in order to get a clear picture about where the organization is heading to and what is their future as an employee of the organization. It has been evident that employees put a great trust on the leadership of their immediate managers or supervisors since they are the ones who bring the real picture to the employees about the work that they do every day. Hence it is the duty and responsibility of these managers and supervisors to keep that trust with their effective leadership. Different leaders have different perspective in terms of communication and leadership. However, the employees look more to the senior leadership for strategic move of the company to grow the business and what role the employees going to play in that strategy. Transformational leader is the type of leadership that the middle level managers should always display with their team. In this type of leadership the effective communication and motivation help the team to go through the change and create a healthy competitive environment. Transformational leadership exists in four dimensions. These include idealized influence, individualized consideration, inspirational motivation and intellectual stimulation. These dimensions aid the management in adopting the most suitable leadership style that can be implemented within the organization. Inspirational motivation from the middle level managers inspires the employees to align themselves with the objectives and mission of the organization, which make them deliver the desired result for the benefit of the organization. 3. Do senior and middle managers’ communication and leadership style effect on employee satisfaction? According to the study maximum of the employees in AOT (113) believes that their senior managers choose two-way communication approach rather that one-way, which only 67 employees believe. According to the result of the study in AOT Company two-way communication style is preferable for employee satisfaction. The study also shows that 60 participants (53.1%) believe that communication style of both senior and middle level managers have influence on employee satisfaction whereas only 16 participants (14.1%) responded negatively to this question. One hundred and one employees (56.1%) agreed that there is a relationship between their managers’ communication style in both one way and two ways communication style and the employee satisfaction. When the study was conducted to the middle managers – the result looked to be similar. Most of the employees in AOT believe that their immediate managers and supervisors who are in the middle level of management use two ways of communication rather than the one way. Hence the employees are satisfied and feel motivated to give their 100% in production. The study shows 128 employees responded Yes for the question if their middle level managers use two-way communication and 52 employees choose to answer Yes for one way communication. When the study conducted the researchers saw that the number of respondents was same. Sixty two (34.4%) responded for both Fair and Agree responses and 24 (13.3%) seemed to disagree with this hypothesis. Hence from the above study the result came out that the employees of AOT believe that both senior and middle level managers use two-way communication style. In the study it also very much evident that more than half of the employees (101 respondents) agreed that the communication style of their senior managers has a direct effect on their satisfaction. Out of all the respondents 94 staffs (52.2%) responded that the communication styles of their immediate that is middle level managers do affect their job satisfaction. On the other side though the senior leadership does not have a direct effect on the employees day to day work, their clear and transparent communication keep the employees updated about the organization’s goal and strategic road map. This again help the employees to get motivated and they feel satisfied that their work is adding value to the core purpose of the organization. It is mandatory for the senior leaders to understand the vision and mission of the organization. The diverse leadership quality of the senior leaders plays an important role in the success of the organization. Though the leadership quality of the senior leadership does not directly affect the job satisfaction of the employees like the middle level managers but it is good to remain connected with the employees and keep the communication channels open. It is seen that if the employees receive communication and updates from the senior leadership at a regular interval – even though it is not affecting their job functions – the employees remain updated about the progress and future of the organization, which in turn motivates them to deliver more and weave the success story of the organization. It is necessary for the senior leadership to identify the areas where employee dissatisfaction is high and increasing. It is their duty and responsibility put forward corrective actions and the ways to reduce it. In order to provide solutions, the managers have ascertained that overall job satisfaction comprises of both intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction. Since today the business environment is changing and organizations are looking for more production from their employees it has become necessary for the organizations to keep their employees motivated and feel satisfied with their job. Studies have showed that employees that are about 6 months old in an organization rate their job satisfaction at 80 out of 100. For the employees who are in the company for the span of 1 to 5 years their rating is 69 out of hundred. Hence the managers have two different jobs in hand – one is to keep the job satisfaction level of the second set of employees up and at the same time maintain the job satisfaction level of the first set of the employees. To perform this task the manager should follow robust communication channel so that all the employees can place the complete trust on the manager. The manager should follow three most important managerial tasks to keep the employees motivated and satisfied, which are building a healthy relationship, need to have the sense of personal, group and organizational achievements and equality and respect practices by management and peers. Researches have shown that managers who can follow these three managerial tasks efficiently and effective can create a sense of job satisfaction among the employees. 4.Do senior and middle managers’ communication and leadership style effect on employee motivation? The study of AOT Company employees and managers shows that if there is gap between the employees and management that leads to poor internal communication between the two entities, which affects the employee motivation. It is seen in the research that differences in communication and leadership style of senior and middle managers in organisations and how does employees’ relationship with their manager affect their job performance and motivation (Wiley, 2006). In this hypothesis the researchers tried to study of there is any relation between the managers’ communication and leadership styles with that of employee motivation. The study revealed that the respondents who responded that the senior managers use two-way communication style has direct effect on their motivation. Among all the respondents 69 (61%) responded that they are agreed with this hypothesis whereas only 14 respondents (12.4%) said negative about the relationship between the communication style and employee motivation. From the survey it was also evident that participants who responded fair about the communication style of their senior managers were not sure if they agree with this hypothesis. However, the overall percentage of employees who agree who agree that it has a relationship between their managers’ communication style in both one way and two ways communication and leadership style and the workers’ motivation is 55.5% of total employees whereas the overall percentage of participant who selected “Fair” is lower than the agree side. In case of middle managers the percentages are 35.6% for Agree, 30.6% for Fair and 20.6% Strongly Agree. The Disagree response received 8.3% and Strongly Disagree received 5% of the responses. When the test was taken to see the effect of leadership styles of senior managers on the employee motivation of AOT it was seen that both Agree and Strongly Agree responses received almost equal responses. Furthermore when the researchers do a deep dive the result showed that 97 participants (53.9%) voted for the hypothesis and 34 participants (20%) voted against the relationship of any kind of leadership style of senior managers to that with employee motivation. When the research was done for the opinion of the AOT employees about the leadership styles of the middle managers the responses show that both types of leadership and employee motivation received the response as Fair. Twenty six participants voted that transactional leadership has motivating effect on the employees and 33 participants responded in favor of transformational leadership and motivation. If the overall result is seen it is evident that this hypothesis has received 32.8% responses for Fair. Moreover, there are about haft of all participants who agree with the researcher’s topic for both senior and middle managerial positions; 87 participants (48.4%) suggested that the leadership style of managers have affected on their motivation. Motivation to work depends majorly on the existing relationship between expectancy valence and instrumentality. Both transformational and transactional leadership has been linked to positively organizational consequences at both individual and organizational level. Transformational leaders cheer up and encourage their supporters to be autonomous and take more conscientiousness, therefore, enhancing employee sense of accomplishment and job satisfaction (Burns, 1998). However, transformational leadership demands constant communication of the vision to the employees. If there is any change in the organization and the employees need to accept that change it is very much important that they need to get motivated. Great leaders inspire and motivate their followers to see beyond the current hurdles and challenges. In that way communication plays a great role. The leaders need to keep the communication channel open so that not only they communicate the changes to the employees but also take the concerns and comments of the employees as well. Motivation is of interest in the work environment because it influences work performance and productivity. Employees can be motivated by an increase in salary, benefits or education; however, it is important to recognisze that individuals are motivated by different elements and it often difficult to determine what motivates each employee but above all, leadership qualities of their managers and supervisors supersedes all. Most managers do not know what motivates their employees because they do not realize that each of them has a unique motive for working. Conclusion Any organization is based not only upon the technological resources but also on the human work force as well. Hence it is very much necessary for the management of the organizations to create a sense of unity among the employees along with enhancement in the work related skills and ethics (Brewster & Harris, 2009). From the above study it is evident that maximum of the employees in an organization like AOT believe that senior and middle level managers play a great and pivotal role in the success of an organization. From the study it is also seen that employees in AOT believe that the way the senior managers and middle level managers communicate with the employees have direct effect on the work force motivation and satisfaction. It is not only the communication style but also the type of leadership style that the managers adapt to run the show. In AOT both senior and middle level managers follow transactional and transformational leadership methods. Though the result on the type of leadership in AOT received equal responses, it is the transformational style of leadership, which plays the important role in motivating the employees to deliver their 100% for the success of the organization. Transformational leadership nurtures the loyalty of their followers to that of the organization and inspires them to enhance their performance. In current dynamic and complex environment, transformational leaders are seen as ultimate agents of change who can steer their followers successfully in times of high risk taking and uncertainties (Shah, 2004). This holds good for the research that was done in AOT as well. From the result it is clearly evident that when it comes to motivation and employee satisfaction transformational leadership style took the driver seat. The leaders and managers who follow the transformational style of leadership they have the ability to inspire their followers to look for new and innovative ideas and methods to resolve old problems (Grid, 2004). However, according to Burns (1998) all the leadership styles are transactional type of leadership though these transactions are not only limited to short term rewards. From the study among the AOT employees it is seen that employees do look for open and transparent communication that not only help them perform their job but also give them a satisfaction as well. From this it can be conclude that the employees do look for open and transparent communication, which help them understand the present scenario of the business and the organization as whole. This information help them take a decision on their future course of action. Sirkin, (2005) observes that employees can suffer from stress if they work with a leader who does not support them. This topic is of great significant to this research as it offers critical literature pertaining to employee relation within the organization. It helps in analyzing how leadership styles affect employee relation within the organization. Recommendations This research is done to assess the influence of communication and interaction along with the leadership style of the managers in employee job satisfaction and motivation in AOT. Further researches are getting conducted in various sectors of the business and findings are publishes in the research papers. As this research is being conducted and concluded here are few recommendations that can be helpful. 1. Research to be conducted on some specific communication and interaction practices, which will help us to understand more better way the requirement of the employees. Similarly in leadership style if a study is conducted to see more specifically what aspects in the leadership style does have an effect of job satisfaction among the employees. There are chances that the rate of job satisfaction among employees can drop due to failed managerial communication practices. 2. It is recommended to conduct a research to explore the practices and experiences can influence thoughts of employees regarding work satisfaction. Through this research the researchers would understand if there is any requirement of developing the training curriculum and workshop and also help assess the thinking process of the human resource about the managerial practices. 3. Implement and encourage the employees for a self-report on job satisfaction and motivation of the employees, which will be prepared by employees themselves. The focus of this self-report should only focus on the influence of the managerial practices in the said aspects. This would help in understanding if there are any differences employee perceptions and experience under different internal work conditions. References Brewster, C. & Harris, H., 2009. International HRM. London: Routledge. Burns, J.M., 1998. Leadership. New York: Harper & Row. Dowling, P.J., 2009. Human Resource Issues in International Business. Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce, pp. 255-271. Grid., N., 2004. Employee survey: Detailed responses to all questions. Westborough, MA: National Grid. Hannaway, H. & Gabriel , H., 2005. The Management Skills Book. Chicago: Gower Publishing, Ltd. Hartman, S., 2007. Examining communication style and leader-member exchange: Considerations and concerns for managers. International Journal of Management, , 20(1), p. 92–100. Shah, J.Y., 2004. Handbook of Motivation Science. London: Sage. Sirkin, H.L..K.P..&.J.A., 2005. The hard side of change Management. Harvard business review, 2(1), pp.23-37. Wiley, J.W., 2006. Put your employees on the otherside of the microscope. Human Resource Planning, 29(2), p.15–21. Read More