Ethical Leadership of the Female Leader or Manager - Statistics Project Example

Survey findings & analysis Section 1 Section 1 of the survey dealt with the ethical leadership of the female leader / Manager. It addressed questions in regards to adherence to policy & procedures, Proper conduct, ethical behavior, leading by example etc. Section 2 Section 2 of the survey dealt with the performance of the female leader / Manager in relation to the thought process of the employees. It addressed key questions such as fulfillment of the roles and responsibilities assigned to the leader, completing tasks and objectives & neglect in relation to many aspects of the job etc. Section 1 Results on Ethical Leadership in relation to female section. When it came to the question “Do you trust your supervisor” 40 respondents answered Not at all while there were only 4 respondents who said, “to a great extent”. The question “Does she listen to what you have to say” also revealed surprising answers as 60 respondents out of 100 said not at all. The question “Does she expect people to work more than the contracted hours” also revealed that supervisors were abusing their authority by making employees work more than they have to and probably don’t pay over-time payments as the questions yielded 24 responses that said sometimes, 20 responses that said Maybe and 28 responses that said yes. Surprisingly, the question that received more negative responses was “Does she make fair and balanced decisions” to which 60 people responded by saying “Not at all”. The question “Does she conduct her life in an ethical manner also yielded an overwhelmingly negative response as 64 people of the 100 respondents said “Not at all”. The question “Does she have the best interests of the company” yielded a major negative response as again 64 responses indicated “Not at all”. When it came to the question “Does she lead by example” 68 respondents of the 100 people said “Not at all. The below table illustrates the responses received for the section 1, from the people who answered the survey. Not at all Maybe Sometimes Yes To a great extent Do you trust your supervisor? 40 12 28 16 4 Does she listen to what you have to say? 60 20 12 4 4 Does she adhere to company rules and procedures? 40 20 24 8 8 Does she expect people to work more than the required hours as signed in the contract by you? 20 28 24 20 0 Does she conduct her personal life in an ethical manner? 64 16 8 4 8 Does she make fair and balanced decisions? 60 8 12 12 8 Does she have the best interests of employees in mind? 64 12 8 12 4 Does she lead by example on how things are to be done? 68 8 8 16 0 Does she define success by the way results are achieved? 62 18 8 8 4 Analyzing the entire information, it is evident that female leaders or managers did not meet the requirements and expectations of the employees. For example, most of the respondents highlighted that “not at all” meaning the female managers and leaders do not lead by example or advocate the variables associated with ethical leadership. For instance, effective leaders have to be trusted but the data indicates 40 respondents stated they did not trust the leaders while 60 respondents stated that the leaders were unfair and were not able to make balanced decisions. Generally, the unethical leadership that female leaders, based on the sample, advances affects the overall business obligations and other fundamentals associated with the effectiveness of employees such as motivation, competency, and performance. The below graphs break down the responses to each question in section 1 of the Survey. The Y-axis shows the number of respondents & the X axis shows the responses. The respondents were asked, “Do you trust your supervisor?” 40 respondents stated that they do not trust the supervisor, 12 said maybe, 28 said sometimes while a total of 20 respondents stated that they trust the supervisor. Since 20 respondents trusted the supervisor out of 100 respondents, it can be estimated that 20% of the employees trust female leaders/supervisor. The aspect of trust is integral and contributes to the positive performance of the employees. Based on the estimated 20% trust by the employees, it means the workings of these organizations are ineffective and the level of performance is poor because the employees may not embrace the views of the supervisor and tend to take a different perspective since these employees do not relate with the supervisors. Effective communication is an important component in ethical leadership because the leaders and the employees can engage. Communication enables discussing the direction in which the organization takes and other components that determine the effectiveness of the organization. However, only 8 respondents acknowledged that the supervisors listen to their views and suggestions. 60 respondents stated that the leaders did not listen at all, while 12 respondents stated may be while 12 respondents said maybe. These responses indicate female leaders do not appreciate listening and it may be associated with dictatorship type of leadership. Equitability is important since it is one of the components that defines ethical leadership. The company rules and procedures aim to create and advance an equitable working environment but the female leaders do not embrace adherence to company rules and procedures. The data indicates 40 respondents said the female leaders do not adhere to company rules and procedures, 20 may follow these rules, while 24 stated sometimes the female leaders adhered to rules and procedures. 8 respondents ascertained the leaders adhered to the rules and procedures while only 8 respondents appreciated the guidance that leaders provide through adhering to company rules and procedures. Ethical leadership requires upholding legal, regulatory and legislative requirements. Some of the components associated with legislative include the working hours and the contracts signed. Most of the respondents stated that the leaders observed time requirements. For example, only 20 respondents said that the leaders asked them to work more than the required hours. A similar sample said that the leaders did not require the employees to work beyond the signed time. Time management is important because a distinction exists between personal time and work time. If the employees understand that the leaders adhere to time regulations, these employees are able to plan for their personal activities such as picking children from school and other social obligations. Hence, observing time scheduling is crucial in ensuring personal time and work time is distinguished, which can motivate the employees to improve productivity and performance. The employees are supposed to work in an ethical manner. The ethical aspect includes time management, trustworthiness, reliability, and adhering to policies and rules. 64 respondents stated that the female leaders do not conduct their personal life in an ethical manner, which affects the work objectives. 16 and 8 respondents stated maybe and sometimes respectively while 4 respondents stated that the leaders observed ethical personal life and 8 respondents acknowledged that the leaders conducted their personal life in an ethical manner. The leaders have to lead by example, and personal life sometimes has an effect on professional life and if the leaders do not observe personal life in an ethical manner, it means the leaders do not embrace ethical behaviors. Leaders have to make fair and balanced decisions. Making unbalanced decisions means that some employees are disadvantaged and can create internal politics that may affect the dissemination of services. 60 respondents stated that the female leaders do not make fair and balanced decisions. 8 respondents state “maybe”, and 12 says sometimes. 12 respondents state that the female leaders make fair and balanced decisions while another 8 respondents support the effective decision making to a great extent. These data indicates that the decision making may extend to decisions affecting the business apart from employees. Making unfair and unbalanced decisions affect the morale of the employees, formulate poor strategies, and negate the implementation of organization objectives. In many organizations, the employees are important assets. The management should treat the employees fairly since these employees determine the effectiveness of the organization. 64 respondents stated that the female leaders did not have the best interests of employees in mind, 12 said maybe the leaders have best interests while 8 said sometimes the employees have the best interest. 12 respondents acknowledged the female leaders have best interests while 4 respondents said the leaders have to a great extent best interest of the employees in mind. Ethical leaders have to appreciate the role and responsibilities of employees in contributing to productivity and other output requirements. As the name indicates, leaders have to lead through example. An individual is given the position to lead because of the experiences and capacities that an individual has. 68 respondents said the leaders do not lead by example while 8 said the leaders may lead while another 8 said sometimes they lead. 16 respondents said the leaders lead by example meaning the leading component of ethical leadership is minimal in the organizations that female leaders lead. The aspects that should be indicated through examples include time management, how to engage customers, communication requirements and other factors that determine the way organizations operate. For example, if the leaders are rude, the example is borrowed by the employees, and the entire organization takes a “rude” approach in addressing the customers’ needs and requirements. The aim of any management team is to achieve defined and proposed goals. Achieving the goals requires engagement with the employees, discussing the expected outcome, and provision of general approaches to achieve the goals and objectives. 62 respondents stated that the leadership did not define the success, 18 said maybe while 8 said sometimes. 8 respondents said that the female leaders defined success while also 4 respondents asserted that success was defined “to a great extent.” The lack of communication about the success means that the employees do not know what to expect and measures. The employees are required to work without knowing the end goals or expected outcomes. Such situations affect employee behavior because the employees are not able to make appropriate decisions, or provide supportive assistances in the achievement of goals. Section 2 of the Survey dealt with the performance of the employees who worked under the female supervisor. The below graph shows responses to the questions as a bar chart. In terms of performance related questions, the question “Do you adequately complete the tasks assigned by the supervisor?” 80 respondents from the 100 people who took part said “Yes”. The second question “Do you fulfill responsibilities assigned by the supervisor?” yielded 92 “yes” responses. The third question “Do you perform tasks that are expected from you by the supervisor?” yielded 60 yes responses and 40 “To a great extent” responses. The researcher could adequately assume that most of the respondents were responsible and dutiful workers from the responses received as this reveal a task-oriented and responsible approach towards work from those who responded. The question “Do you think decisions would be different if you had a male supervisor” yielded interesting responses. 32 respondents said “Not at all” while 20 people responded by saying “Maybe”. 8 respondents thought that sometimes, having a male supervisor would be different. 28 Respondents said “Yes” and 32 respondents said that decisions would be different if they had a male supervisor. The below table showcases the responses received for the section 2 of the survey. Performance Not at all Maybe Sometimes Yes To a great extent Do you adequately complete the tasks assigned by the supervisor? 0 0 12 80 8 Do you fulfill responsibilities assigned by the supervisor? 0 0 0 92 8 Do you perform tasks that are expected from you by the supervisor? 0 0 0 60 40 Do you think decisions would be different if you had a male supervisor? 32 20 8 28 32 The below graphs show a breakdown of responses received for each question in Section 2 The respondents were asked, “Do you adequately complete the tasks assigned by the supervisor?” 80 respondents said yes while 8 respondents said to a great extent and 12 said sometimes. It means that a high percentage of the employees understand their roles and tends to accomplish the assignments in an ethical manner. For example, time scheduling is important especially in the manufacturing industry where the next step relies on the previous step. In addition, customer satisfaction is important and completing the assignments on time means the customers are satisfied. It can be argued the employees follows ethical principles when it comes to completion of assignments. All the respondents said that they fulfill responsibilities assigned by the supervisor. 92 respondents said yes while 8 said to a great extent. It indicates the employees understand their responsibilities and adheres with the supervisor’s directives and proposals. The aspect of ethics requires moral obligations, respect to the leaders and team members, and following the regulations and instructions. All the respondents stated that they performed tasks that are expected from them by the supervisor. 60 respondents said yes while 40 respondents said to a great extent. The information indicates that the employees follows instructions, and implements directives from the supervisor. It also indicates the difference from the leaders because the leaders do not want to engage the employees but the same employees follow proposed directives. These differences affect the performance of duties since the employees may not commit their time but aim to complete the assignments without required concentration or motivation. The respondents were asked, “Do you think decisions would be different if you had a male supervisor?” The response was different and balanced. 32 said not at all, 20 said maybe while 8 said sometimes making a total of 50 respondents stating the situation would not have changed. 28 respondents said yes while 32 respondents said to a greater extent totaling 50 respondents. It indicates the views of the respondents on the role of female leaders and male leaders are the same in lacking in ethical leadership skills. The argument is the presence of unethical leadership is common in Saudi Arabia. Read More