Leadership 2

The Impact of Leadership Styles Upon Employee
Commitment: A case study of the Abu Dhabi

Police in the UAE
Mohamed Al Mansoori
A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Liverpool John

Moores University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
September 2017
i
Abstract
This study examined the extent to which leadership styles affect the organisational
commitment of the employees at Abu Dhabi Police in the UAE. The aim was to find out
whether there is a significant correlation between preferred leadership styles and
organisational commitment. It sought to assess the current leadership styles and
practices in order to identify patterns and trends that have a direct impact on employee
commitment within Abu Dhabi Police (ADP), as leadership styles drive employee
commitment which in turn leads to better organisational performance.
The leadership literature has both depth and breadth. It is a highly researched topic area,
which has been approached from many perspectives involving different organisational
settings. Much of the leadership debate focused on leaders’ characteristics and attributes,
while popular and common models, theories and styles are investigated to find out the
impact of leadership effectiveness in these organisational settings. The conclusion that
can be drawn from the broad and long leadership debate is that it has advanced the
understanding of leadership and its associated training, as well as generating useful
insights, all of which is positive, but the term ‘leadership’ remains a source of personal
interpretation. Today, the leadership topic is big business. Leadership gurus/business
celebrities compete to sell leadership wisdom and courses for transforming people into
effective leaders. Agencies, academic courses, etc. all claim leadership expertise on how
to nurture and develop leaders by providing ready-made packages, tool-kits and
guidelines for forward-thinking people who aspire to be leaders.
Based on the purpose of the study, the nature of the problem and the research questions,
this study adopted quantitative and qualitative data collection instruments. This allows the
researcher to address the multidimensional nature of leadership and employee
commitment by investigating the perspectives of the key stakeholders at ADP. Interviews
were conducted to obtain qualitative data in the form of words and meaning to address
issues that may not have been covered by the survey. The quantitative survey allowed
for statistical analysis and numerical evidence about leadership styles and their impact
on employee commitment at ADP.
The study findings revealed that there is a predominance of attributes of transformational

leadership rather than transactional leadership at ADP. Findings showed that the
leadership style is a strong driver of employee commitment. Employees are more
committed if the organisation meets their expectations and needs. The findings also
showed that the current levels of commitment at ADP are adequate; there is a sense of
loyalty at every level. Findings from interviews with key ADP stakeholders revealed that
levels of commitment are high but leaders must do more to address the particular needs
of employees to secure higher performance. Interviewees stated that the ADP has a
strong organisational structure which provides confidence and commitment for
employees. However, in order to achieve its mission objectives, there is a need for a
transparent policy committed to providing each employee with a sound working
environment, complete with clear reward schemes which inspire and motivate employees
to achieve a high level of performance.
The findings have practical implications as they will benefit the ADP leadership, initially
in understanding the drivers and challenges of employee commitment. The findings will
also help formulate a future strategy to enhance employee commitment by effectively
exploiting this study data. Finally, this study has expanded the existing literature and
provides a platform for further research on the impact of leadership styles on employee
commitment in the UAE.
ii
Declaration
This is to declare that this thesis is my original work. I am solely responsible for
the whole work. All the verbatim extracts have been highlighted and the sources
have been specifically acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that this thesis
has not been submitted to any other institution within a degree programme and
any mistakes in this thesis are of my sole responsibility.
Signed:
Mohamed Al-Mansoori
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Acknowledgements
Firstly, I would like to say Alhamdulillah for the blessings and kindness granted to
me which gave me the courage and determination to complete this long and
arduous PhD journey. This PhD thesis was completed thanks to the help and
support of many people; I would like to take this opportunity to express my
gratitude to them. I would like to thank my former supervisory team led by Dr Yusra
Mouzughi, Dr Karim Menacere and Dr Phil Kelly, for guiding and providing me
with a solid research platform for over three years. Their invaluable feedback,
knowledge, patience and experience helped me to persevere. I am also very
grateful to Dr Scott Foster who stepped in late as DOS and guided me and
supported me to complete my PhD.
I would like to express my deep appreciation and gratitude to H.H. Lt. General
Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior
of the UAE, and I am also grateful to Major General Mohammed Khalfan Al
Romaithi Commander in Chief General at ADP Headquarters for granting me a
scholarship for doctoral studies and the opportunity to enhance my knowledge
and research skills.
I would like also, to thank all the participants from Abu Dhabi Police GHQ who
took part in the field study. Finally, my gratitude and thanks to my father and my
mother for their constant support and encouragement throughout my life. My
thanks also go to my beloved wife and all my brothers and sisters.
iv
Table of Contents
Abstract .......................................................................................................................... ii
Declaration .................................................................................................................... iii
Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................... iv
List of Tables ................................................................................................................. xi
List of Figures ............................................................................................................... xii
List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................... xiii
Chapter One ................................................................................................................ 14
Introduction ................................................................................................................. 14
1.1 Purpose of the study .......................................................................................... 14
1.2 An overview of the literature ............................................................................... 14
1.3 Research Problem ............................................................................................. 18
1.4 The aim and objectives of the study ................................................................... 19
1.5 Research Questions........................................................................................... 20
1.6 Significance of the study .................................................................................... 20
1.7 Proposed methodology ...................................................................................... 21
1.8 Structure of this study ........................................................................................ 22
1.9 Summary ........................................................................................................... 24
Chapter Two ................................................................................................................ 25
Background to the Abu Dhabi Police ........................................................................... 25
2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 25
2.2 General study background ................................................................................. 26
2.3 Background to the UAE - geography and population .......................................... 28
2.4 The UAE Vision 2021 ......................................................................................... 30
2.5 The Abu Dhabi Police force: An overview .......................................................... 30
2.6 The five-year plan for strategic development ...................................................... 32
2.7 The new organisational structure and associated job description ....................... 33
v
2.8 Integrating a new strategy with the work of the Abu Dhabi Police ...................... 36
2.9 Summary ........................................................................................................... 40
Chapter Three ............................................................................................................. 42
Literature Review ........................................................................................................ 42
3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 42
3.2 Defining the leadership concept ......................................................................... 44
3.3 Distinguishing between management and leadership......................................... 51
3.4 Leadership Theories .......................................................................................... 56
3.4.1 The ‘Great Man theory’ ............................................................................................... 57

3.4.2 Trait theory .................................................................................................................. 59
3.4.3 The laissez-faire style of leadership ............................................................................ 61
3.4.4 Behavioural theories of leadership ............................................................................. 64
3.4.5 Situational theories of leadership ............................................................................... 72
3.4.6 Contingency theories of leadership ............................................................................ 77
3.4.7 The theory of leader-member exchange (LMX) .......................................................... 86
3.5 Neo-emergent leadership theory ........................................................................ 88
3.6 The environmental leadership theory ................................................................. 88
3.7 Theories of transformational and transactional leadership ................................. 89
3.8 Transformational styles of leadership ................................................................. 92
3.9 Transactional styles of leadership .................................................................... 100
3.10 McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y for leadership......................................... 101
3.11 Newly coined leadership styles and theories .................................................. 103
3.12 Limitations of leadership theories ................................................................... 106
3.13 Definitions of organisational commitment ....................................................... 107
3.14 Perspectives on organisational commitment .................................................. 109
3.15 Measuring organisational commitment ........................................................... 110
3.16 Relationships between organisational commitment and leadership ................ 112
3.17 Summary and gaps in the literature ................................................................ 113
3.18 Conceptual Framework .................................................................................. 118
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Chapter Four ............................................................................................................. 120
The Research Methodology and Methods ................................................................. 120
4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 120
4.2 Research as a concept .................................................................................... 121
4.3 Revisiting the research objectives .................................................................... 122
4.4 The research methodology ............................................................................... 123
4.5 Research philosophy........................................................................................ 125
4.6 Ontological and epistemological research philosophies ................................... 128
4.7 Positivist philosophy ......................................................................................... 130
4.8 Interpretivist philosophy ................................................................................... 131
4.9 Justifying choice of positivist and interpretivist research philosophies .............. 135
4.10 The research approach .................................................................................. 136
4.11 The inductive and deductive research approaches ........................................ 138
4.12 The quantitative and qualitative approaches .................................................. 140
4.13 The advantages and disadvantages of adopting a quantitative approach....... 142
4.14 The advantages and disadvantages of adopting a qualitative approach ......... 143
4.15 Justifying the selection of mixed methods ...................................................... 145
4.16 The triangulation technique ............................................................................ 150
4.17 The research strategy .................................................................................... 151
4.17.1 The various kinds of research strategy.................................................................... 153

4.17.2 The descriptive research approach ......................................................................... 153
4.18 Types of research .......................................................................................... 154
4.18.1 The exploratory research approach ........................................................................ 154

4.18.2 The explanatory research approach........................................................................ 154
4.19 Justifying selection of descriptive and exploratory research approaches ........ 155
4.20 The data collection methods .......................................................................... 157
4.21 The qualitative phase ..................................................................................... 160
4.21.1 The interviews ......................................................................................................... 160

4.21.2 The sample for semi-structured interviewing ......................................................... 163
4.21.3 The questions of the semi-structured interviewing ................................................ 163
vii
4.21.4 The interview procedures ....................................................................................... 165
4.21.5 Justifying the selection of the semi-structured interviewing instrument ............... 165
4.21.6 The analysis of the interview data .......................................................................... 167
4.22 The quantitative phase ................................................................................... 168
4.22.1 The questionnaires .................................................................................................. 168

4.22.2 Questionnaire types ................................................................................................ 170
4.22.3 Telephone interviews .............................................................................................. 171
4.22.4 The mailed questionnaire........................................................................................ 172
4.22.5 The personally-administered questionnaire ........................................................... 173
4.22.6 The design, distribution and administration of questionnaires ......................... 174
4.22.7 The question sequence and flow ............................................................................ 176
4.22.8 Types of questions................................................................................................... 177
4.23 The scaling process ....................................................................................... 178
4.24 The translation of the questions of the interviews and questionnaire .............. 182
4.25 Justification for choosing the research approach and data collection techniques
.............................................................................................................................. 182
4.26 The research population and technique of sampling ...................................... 183
4.26.1 Questionnaire sampling technique ......................................................................... 185

4.27 The pilot study................................................................................................ 188
4.28 The design for the scale ................................................................................. 188
4.29 Testing the pilot questionnaire ....................................................................... 189
4.29.1 The scale of measurement for the pilot test ........................................................... 189
4.29.2 The Pilot questionnaire survey ................................................................................ 190
4.29.3 Pilot test feedback ................................................................................................... 191
4.30 Study measurements used............................................................................. 192
4.30.1 Multifactor leadership questionnaire (MLQ) .......................................................... 192

4.31 Commitment................................................................................................... 193
4.32.The research validity ...................................................................................... 194
4.33 Reliability of the research ............................................................................... 195
4.34 Generalisability of the research ...................................................................... 195
4.35 Procedures for data analysis .......................................................................... 195
4.36 The descriptive statistical method .................................................................. 197
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4.36.1 The analytical statistical method............................................................................. 197
4.37 Ethical considerations .................................................................................... 200
4.38 Summary ....................................................................................................... 201
Chapter Five .............................................................................................................. 202
Quantitative Data Analysis......................................................................................... 202
5.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 202
5.2 Preliminary Data Consideration ........................................................................ 202
5.2.1 Data Screening .......................................................................................................... 203

5.3 Background and Demographic Profile of the Study Sample ............................. 208
5.4 Descriptive Analysis of Respondents’ Responses ............................................ 210
5.5 Demographic Characteristics of Respondents and Dependent Variable........... 221
5.5.1 Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) ................................................................................... 221

5.6 Factor Analysis ................................................................................................ 225
5.7 Confirmatory Factor Analysis ........................................................................... 232
5.8 The Measurement Model Enhancement........................................................... 235
5.9 The Structural Model Evaluation: Goodness-of-Fit ........................................... 239
5.10 Testing Research Hypotheses ....................................................................... 242
5.11 The Final Research Model ............................................................................. 245
5.12 Summary ....................................................................................................... 247
Chapter Six .............................................................................................................. 249
Discussion of Findings............................................................................................... 249
6.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 249
6.2 Discussion of the quantitative findings .............................................................. 249
6.3 The discussion ................................................................................................ 251
6.4 Are the leadership models of the west appropriate to the UAE? ...................... 255
6.5 The vision and impact of the transformational leadership approach................. 258
6.6 The limitations of the transactional leadership approach ................................. 260
6.7 Blending styles of leadership: Transactional and transformational combined .. 261
6.8 A positive relationship exists between the commitment of leaders and employees
263
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6.9 Determination of the dominant style of leadership at the ADP in accordance with
the MLQ instrument ............................................................................................... 264
6.10 Style of leadership and employee commitment.............................................. 270
6.11 Summary of quantitative analysis .................................................................. 271
6.12 Concluding remarks ....................................................................................... 272
6.13 Discussion of interview findings...................................................................... 273
6.13.1 The interview procedures ....................................................................................... 273

6.13.2 The participant profiles .......................................................................................... 274
6.13.3 Analysis of the results of the interviews ............................................................... 275
6.14 The qualitative findings .................................................................................. 275
6.14.1 Overview of the phase of semi-structured interviews ............................................ 275

6.15 Discussion of the interview findings ................................................................ 279
6.16 Summary........................................................................................................ 286
6.17 Concluding remarks ....................................................................................... 287
Chapter Seven ........................................................................................................... 289
Conclusions and Recommendations .......................................................................... 289
7.1 Introduction....................................................................................................... 289
7.2 Where does this study fit within the key leadership debate? ............................... 289
7.3 Linking key findings to the study objectives ....................................................... 293
7.4 Contribution to knowledge................................................................................. 298
7.4.1 Theoretical Contribution ......................................................................................... 300

7.4.2 Practical Contribution ............................................................................................. 301
7.5 Practical recommendations ............................................................................... 303
7.6 Recommendations for future leadership training ................................................ 308
7.7 Limitations of the study ..................................................................................... 309
7.8 Suggestions for future research ........................................................................ 311
References ................................................................................................................ 312
Appendix 1 ................................................................................................................ 347
x
List of Tables
Page
Table 2.1: Strategic Plan for the Abu Dhabi Police General Headquarters 38
Table 3.1: Definitions for leadership 47
Table 3.2: Differences between the concepts of management and leadership 54
Table 3.3: Leadership traits and skills 70
Table 4.1: Comparison of positivism with interpretivism 126
Table 4.2: Implications of positivist and interpretivist research philosophies 127
Table 4.3: Alternative terms for philosophies of research 132
Table 4.4: Strengths and weaknesses of positivist and interpretivist research
philosophies 133
Table 4.5: Assumptions behind the two main philosophies of research 134
Table 4.6: Comparison of deductive and inductive research approaches 137
Table 4.7: Major differences between deductive and inductive research
approaches 139
Table 4.8: Distinguishing between qualitative and quantitative research
approaches 142
Table 4.9: Comparison of quantitative, mixed methods and qualitative
research approaches 146
Table 4.10:The relevance of various research strategies to different
situations 153
Table 4.11: The strengths and weaknesses of various evidence sources 158
Table 4.12: The utilisation of different interview types 161
Table 4.13: The strengths and weaknesses of content analysis 168
Table 4.14: Example of the Likert-type scale using five points as used within
the study questionnaire 179
Table 4.15: Categorisation of leadership and associated traits 180
Table 4.16: The size of sample for each of the sub-groups 187
Table 4.17: The rate of response to the questionnaire of the pilot study 190
Table 4.18: The reliability test 191
Table 6.1: Discussion Themes 251
Table 6.2: The role and rank of the interviewees 274
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List of Figures
Page
Figure 2.1 Administrative and political map of the United Arab Emirates 28
Figure 2.2 Organisational structure of the Abu Dhabi Police 36
Figure 2.3 Abu Dhabi Police GHQ Strategy 38
Figure 2.4 ADP’s Customers’ Service Charter 39
Figure 3.1 Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Grid (1964) 70
Figure 3.2 Contingency theories of style of leadership 84
Figure 3.3: Conceptual Framework 119
Figure 4.1:The study structure based on a triangulation approach 151
Figure 4.2:The common techniques and types of sampling 186
Figure 5.1 ANOVA Results for Role of Employees 222
Figure 5.2 ANOVA Results for Experience Level of Employees 223
Figure 5.3 ANOVA Results for Education of Employees 224
Figure 5.4 Scree Plot for Factor Analysis 229
Figure 5.5 The Original Measurement Model Based on EFA Results 232
Figure 5.6 Confirmatory Factor Analysis Output Path Diagram (First Run) 234
Figure 5.7 Confirmatory Factor Analysis Output Path Diagram (Second Run) 238
Figure 5.8 GFI Model to Forecast DV (Employees’ Commitment to
Organisation) 241
Figure 5.9: The Revised Structural Model 246
Figure 5.10: The Final Research Model 247
xii
List of Abbreviations
ADP Abu Dhabi Police
DV Dependent variable
ANOVA Analysis of Variance
UAE United Arab Emirates
MLQ Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire
MOE Ministry of Economy
GCC Gulf Cooperative Council
NMC National Media Council
IB Idealised Behaviours
IM Inspirational Motivation
IC Individual Consideration
IA Idealized Attributes
TS Transactional Leadership
CR Contingent Reward
TF Transformational Leadership
LF Laissez-faire Leadership
MBEA Management-by-exception: Active
MBEP Management-by-exception: Passive
SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Sciences
xiii
Chapter One
Introduction
1.1 Purpose of the study
This study aims to examine the current leadership styles at Abu Dhabi Police
(ADP) and their impact on employee commitment. It will also assess the different
types of commitment of employees, focusing mainly on normative commitment,
affective commitment and continuance commitment at the General Directorate of
Abu Dhabi Police. Widespread change has been taking place across the Middle
East, with people not only protesting for better living conditions but also for
transparent decision-making and leadership accountability (Aina and Verma,
2016; Yukl, 2013; Sabri et al. 2011; Branine, 2004, Branine, and Pollard, 2010,
Saeed et al 2014). Clearly leadership has become an important topic, and one
that is likely to become more important as institutions and organisations aim to
enhance their leadership skills (Joseph and Winston, 2005; Northouse, 2014).
Yet, Branine and Pollard (2010) argue that the type of management that is
practised in Arab countries has very little to do with the cultural values and norms
of Islam that are supposed to dominate all aspects of society in these countries.
1.2 An overview of the literature
Leadership as a research area has been extensively debated and investigated in
academic literature over the last five decades, and continues to generate interest
from politicians, business experts and academics. In today’s world dominated by
economic and political instability and shortage of influential leaders, leadership is
14
in high demand and short supply. As a result, leadership has been at the forefront
of the political and business agenda as a growing number of agencies and
academic institutions are advertising courses for developing leadership skills. The
term leadership is a multi-dimensional and challenging concept to define concisely
and precisely.
This study was motivated by two main considerations. The first was the increasing
need and importance of developing leadership skills and boosting employee
commitment at ADP. The study of leadership has never been more pertinent in
the light of today’s volatile situation in the Gulf region. The second was concerned
with the benefits of providing ADP with the leadership skills fit for the 21st century.
Although leadership styles and organisational commitment as a topic area has
been extensively researched (Alyn, 2010), gaps still remain for further theoretical
and empirical study, particularly in the Middle East. Many studies within the fields
of organisational behaviour and organisational psychology have demonstrated
that the failure or success of an organisation largely depends upon the style of
leadership, which directly affects the level of employees’ commitment (Bass and
Bass, 2008; Lussier and Achua, 2013).
Throughout its long history, the topic of leadership has never been free from
inconsistent views at times and insightful at others. Leadership has preoccupied
theorists and experts and the leadership debate has brought about a split of views,
specifically into those who claim that leaders are born, suggesting that leadership
attributes are innate, and those who believe that leaders are made, believing that
15
leadership attributes are developed and learnt. As highlighted earlier, the
leadership debate has brought about a split of views, specifically into those who
claim that leadership is innate and those who believe that leadership is a skill that
can be learnt and developed. Zumitzavan and Michie (2015:7) support the view
that: ‘the literature is undecided about how leadership is formed. There have been
wide-ranging discussions on whether leadership is derived from ‘nature’ or
‘nurture’: Are individuals born as leaders, or trained in leadership (Shriberg and
Shriberg 2011)?’ Avolio et al. (2009) point out that preliminary evidence suggests
30% of leadership style is genetic. The other 70% depends on life context,
including your home life and those around you at work.
There is a plethora of definitions of the term leadership but although they are
formulated differently, most definitions share a common theme and have a
common denominator which is that of leading and showing a group of individuals
the way to achieving their targets. Kouzes and Posner (2007:24) argue that
“Leadership is a relationship between those who aspire to lead and those who
choose to follow”. Therefore, leadership can be broadly viewed as the relationship
between an individual and a group built around some common interest, wherein
the group behaves in a manner directed or determined by the leader (Avolio et al.,
2009; Shastri, et al, 2010). Leadership involves the process of influence (Vroom
and Ago 2007), therefore leaders can influence the behaviour of their followers
through the use of different styles, or approaches, to managing others (Keskes,
2014). Thus, theories and styles of leadership reveal different facets and
behaviours of leaders. In essence, they demonstrate that there are different ways
in which leaders use power and influence to get things done in order to achieve
16
their goals. However, the literature suggests that there is no one size fits all
leadership style. Effective leadership is a blend of a wide range of abilities and
approaches.
Marshall (2011) points out that organisations are comprised of both leaders and
followers who are motivated and inspired by various factors. Therefore,
understanding the factors that enhance the employees’ commitment is the main
challenge facing leaders of modern organisations. Bass (1997) attempts to
understand the leadership concepts and followership and how their relationship
could affect organisational commitment. In addition, Meyer et al., (2004) refer to
employees’ commitment as an important notion that helps leaders to motivate
their employees to have some degree of commitment in which the best of those
workers consider themselves as part of the organisation. The vision and goals of
employees are similar to the organisation itself, so they are committed to help the
organisation to achieve these goals (Meyer and Allen, 1997). However, Meyer
and Herscovitch (2009) stress that high commitment exists when employees feel
responsible for achieving the organisation’s goals.
Despite the proliferation of scholarly research on the topic of leadership over the
last few decades, resulting in the development of diverse and often conflicting
leadership arguments, leadership is still under-researched in the Middle East. This
study builds on previous leadership research by investigating to what extent
leadership styles have a direct bearing on employee commitment within the Abu-
Dhabi police Department. The expectations at ADP for higher organisational
performance and excellent employee commitment have focused attention on the
17
critical role of leadership to achieve the government 2030 vision for excellence in
everything. Almost everyone at ADP is aware that it cannot attain excellence
without effective leadership. Employees’ commitment and engagement is driven
by leaders creating the right working environment where trust, respect, recognition
and dialogue prevail. This study argues that employee-centred leadership leads
to more employee commitment.
1.3 Research Problem
The extensive literature suggests that the level of organisational commitment is
important to achieve organisational performance. However, in the case of ADP,
there is poor communication between leaders and followers which might minimise
the level of employee commitment. Moreover, some departments are
underperforming and fail to achieve their full potential due to lack of employee
commitment. In addition, the lack of a clear strategy for training programmes at
leadership level and for employees has contributed to decreases in levels of
motivation and retention. There is lack of research at ADP regarding the
relationship between leadership styles and followers’ commitment and this study
aims to address that. It also aims to make recommendations to help maximise
employees’ commitment within ADP.
Times are changing and organisations are following suit. In recent years, ADP
has been transformed for the better with regard to the structuring of work methods
and processes. ADP now needs to move away from the traditional hierarchical
system to developing flatter, leaner structures that support a more empowered,
team‐driven workforce. It follows that the leadership style needs also to change to
18
keep with the pace of change within the UAE. The majority of leaders at ADP
recognise the need for progress and appreciate the benefits it brings, but
somehow resist change. Building on the already extensive body of research that
has been conducted to investigate the nature and style of leadership, the current
study explores the various theories of leadership styles and their impact on
employee commitment.
1.4 The aim and objectives of the study
This study aims to investigate the relationship between various styles of
leadership and employee commitment to find out which is best fit for purpose at
ADP. It will also examine the different types of commitment of employees,
focusing mainly on normative commitment, affective commitment and
continuance commitment at the General Directorate of ADP. In order to achieve
the aim of this study, the following objectives have been set:
1. To critically review the literature on leadership styles and organisational
commitment.
2. To assess the perceptions of employees about leadership styles amongst
employees at ADP.
3. To examine the relationship between different styles of leadership and the
dimensions of employee commitment.
4. To make recommendations based on the findings of this study on how to
improve employee commitment at ADP.
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1.5 Research Questions
1. What are the perceptions of employees about leadership styles at ADP?
2. What are the challenges of employee commitment at ADP?
3. To what extent do styles of leadership influence the commitment of
employees?
1.6 Significance of the study
This study is significant in a number of ways: firstly, the study will examine the
correlation between styles of leadership and the commitment of ADP staff as there
is an urgent need to address the root causes of the falling level of commitment
within the organisation. It is important, therefore, in that the results of the study
can help raise awareness of the police force of the variables that influence
employee commitment levels. Secondly, the study’s findings will make a valuable
contribution to the knowledge that has been acquired from other studies of
employee commitment and leadership, and may help other individuals who might
wish to undertake further studies and be useful for different organisations that face
similar issues. Thirdly, the study will also contribute to increase the amount of
research related to styles of leadership and commitment within organisations
through its examination of three important styles of leadership and their impact
upon organisational commitment. It is considered that the study will be valuable
in that it adds to the literature on leadership styles and commitment, particularly
as there has been little research in the setting of the UAE.
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1.7 Proposed methodology
The study will be based on the collection of both primary and secondary data.
Initially a literature review and the nature of the problem will inform the
development of a research strategy which will serve as a guideline for the
empirical work in which primary data will be obtained. The research process will
occur through the literature review, data collection and data analysis. In the data
collection phase, both quantitative and qualitative data will be gathered, which
provides synergy to research, as noted by Remenyi et al. (1998) Saunders et al
2012), who advocate that ultimately it is more useful to see these two approaches
- quantitative and qualitative - as complementary rather than two opposite
extremes, and that a balanced approach is more realistic. Moreover, in line with
the intention to understand the entire context of leadership practices, an
interpretivist approach is useful in providing the means to understand practices,
thus allowing for the different meanings that managers give to the theoretical
framework to be achieved. The research will be divided into two stages: an
exploratory study conducted through an interview exercise used to generate
issues of importance to the main study. From the literature review and the
outcomes of the interview exercise, a questionnaire will be developed to be
administered to personnel within the ADP, seeking to identify the commitment
associated with the effective implementation of leadership and how it can help the
ADP to meet its targets, what benefits may be derived from leadership and how
the organisational culture would impact upon commitment.
21
1.8 Structure of this study
The aim of this research is to provide an investigation into the impact of the styles
of leadership upon commitment of employees within the ADP. As such, this
research consists of seven chapters.
Chapter One outlines the research study and introduces the thesis in terms of its
objectives, the research questions, a brief discussion on the concept of leadership
and the role that it plays in the organisation of today and its impact upon employee
commitment. The nature of the problem that is addressed by this study is
highlighted, along with the important implications for leadership.
Chapter Two provides a general overview of both the UAE and Abu Dhabi,
describing the history, political, economic, socio-cultural aspects of the UAE and
the features of the organisational context.
Chapter Three provides a critical literature review regarding the concept of
leadership, leadership styles and characteristics, leadership paradigms and the
theories of commitment and its definitions. It also provides an examination of the
relationship factors affecting commitment and leadership within a particular set of
circumstances, so that a fuller picture can be provided of the processes related to
both. This chapter has also the objective of focusing on styles of leadership and
commitment of employees within police organisations.
Chapter Four provides a discussion of appropriate methodologies for a study of
this nature and outlines the methods that have been used for the data collection
22
and analysis for carrying out this research. Within the context of the ADP, the
justification for the research philosophy will be given and the research instruments
and strategy that were adopted will be discussed. Details of how the researcher
has conducted the research for the achievement of the research objectives will
also be provided.
Chapter Five provides a description and analysis of the primary data that has
been collected. There will be a schematic analysis of the findings from the
questionnaires and interviews and a comparison of the data. There will be a
discussion of the quantitative findings that have been derived from the
questionnaire. Based on the study findings, a conclusion will be put forward of the
impact of the leadership styles upon commitment.
Chapter Six discusses the results of the analysis undertaken in order to achieve
the research objectives. Following a summary of the findings, these will then be
compared to the existing literature and a discussion then provided around the
important issues for leadership and commitment.
Chapter Seven presents the conclusion, with major findings that have been
drawn from the data and the key issues identified within the research. There will
also be a discussion of the limitations of the research. The chapter concludes with
a summary of the findings of the research overall, the contribution made to current
knowledge and an outline of the potential areas for future research in the field
along with reasoned implications and recommendations.
23
1.9 Summary
This chapter has provided the reader with an overview of the problem that ADP is
facing concerning leadership styles and commitment. The chapter also set the
aim, objectives and formulated the research questions. It discussed the proposed
methodology for the study along with how this study has the potential to contribute
to existing knowledge in the public sector and in particular ADP. The next chapter
will discuss the background of the UAE and Abu Dhabi to develop an
understanding of the context of the study.
24
Chapter Two
Background to the Abu Dhabi Police
2.1 Introduction
The primary aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of the socio-economic
and political background information regarding the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
which has a direct bearing on the type of leadership styles and its impact on
employee commitment at ADP. It contextualises the topic of the study under
consideration which deals with the relevance of determining the leadership styles
that influence employee commitment within a relevant organisational setting,
namely the Abu Dhabi Police Department. This chapter also provides general
background information about the ADP department including its history and
structure and outlining the role it currently plays in helping in the maintenance of
law and order for the Abu Dhabi region.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has developed rapidly in recent decades and
along with such rapid development, the elite Abu Dhabi Police (ADP) department
has also undergone significant change (AD Police, 2014a). With its responsibility
for maintenance of law and order within Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the UAE,
much of the credit for the ADP adapting to societal change lies with appropriate
leadership; this leadership has kept a constant focus on the maintenance of an
environment that enables state development goals to be successfully achieved
(AD Police, 2014b). The relatively recent boom times for the economy and rapid
25
population growth, however, have had an impact on everywhere in the UAE and
a particular impact upon Abu Dhabi; as such, police department responsibilities
have increased greatly. The ADP was created in 1957 and the sacrifices and
loyalty of its officers have facilitated regional development (Metcalfe and Mimouni,
2011). The development and implementation of new technologies and methods
have played a key role, along with the progressive thinking and support. The
organisation has developed to such a degree that a secure and safe environment
has been provided to Abu Dhabi national and non-national residents alike for
many years (AD Police, 2014c). Furthermore, the ADP department has continually
functioned effectively through maintaining friendly connections to other emirates
and countries within the Middle East (Rees and Althakri, 2008).
2.2 General study background
This study examines the impact that leadership styles have upon employee
commitment through the use of ADP as a case study. The underlying issue is
whether or not the style of leadership at the ADP is appropriate for these times.
Given the volatility of the political situation within the Middle East, any perceived
need to meaningfully change the style of leadership ought to be introduced as
soon as is practically possible. Security was considered to be an essential
responsibility of federal government when the UAE became established in 1971,
so that strength and unity, progress and prosperity could be promoted for the
state. The unification of the seven emirates of the UAE, in terms of its land area
and the people living there, was helped by the security service unification. The
establishment of the ADP was an initial priority for the federal authorities, and full
integration of the police and security services remains a target of vital importance
26
for the state (Ministry of Interior, 2013). The ADP has responsibility for establishing
and implementing rules and regulations so that Ministry obligations and duties can
be fulfilled efficiently for all the different areas of security. Recent years have
witnessed large scale development within the UAE which has led to a growth in
the duties and responsibilities of the police force and this, in turn, has led to the
need for development of new methods and capabilities. As a whole, there is a
need for modern policing systems to be established that enable crime to be fought
capably and effectively so that security and stability can be provided for all UAE
citizens and residents (Ministry of Interior, 2013). Stability and security are
believed to be the keystone for UAE society to enable progress and development
to be achieved.
Although numerous attempts have been made at developing the knowledge and
skills of ADP employees, it is notable that leaders at various levels of the ADP
hierarchy are unaware of any training schemes to drive the vision and strategies
of ADP forward or to achieve the development of the culture of the organisation.
If there was better understanding of the impact that leadership has upon employee
commitment, managers could develop an improved mission and action plan to
improve management skills and leadership and enhance the quality of decision-
making. With abilities enhanced for achievement of key performance targets,
further ongoing development of effective skills for leadership could be established.
There has been a reliance amongst managers upon their interpersonal skills and
experience within the organisation in the development of relationships to
employees. Within the ADP, however, there has been a recent decision to
establish a training programme with the aim of developing leaders within the
27
various departments of the organisation (Ministry of Interior, 2013). Research is
currently being done into the issue at the ADP and development of official
programmes of training is ongoing. A number of staff have been sponsored to
research leadership with, for example, visits to other countries to understand how
other similar organisations are addressing the issue. One recent example was an
exchange programme undertaken with the Singapore National Police force.
2.3 Background to the UAE - geography and population
The federation for the region was named as the Trucial States and with the
withdrawal of the colonial British administration, the UAE was founded in 1971.
The federal state was established on the 2nd December of that year and now the
UAE has seven sovereign emirates, i.e. the federal capital Abu Dhabi, Ajman,
Dubai, Fujairah Sharjah, Umm Al-Qaiwain and Ras Al- Khaimah.
Figure 2.1 Administrative and political map of the United Arab Emirates
Source: Political and Administrative Map of UAE. Google images
28
Economically, the UAE operates with oil as its main revenue and is an active
member of a number of organisations for the interests of energy and oil producers
such as the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the Organisation
of Arab Producing and Exporting Countries (OAPEC) and the Oil Producing and
Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Prior to oil being discovered, the population in the region had been made up of
pearl diving and fishing communities. In recent decades, however, the UAE has
had a huge amount of investment and a number of extraordinary changes in
political, economic and social terms have led, in particular, to massive industrial
activities geared towards the exportation of products from its oil industry. With
such a focus on exporting refined and crude oil and petrochemicals, and a 13.2%
annual growth rate of GDP, the open economy of the UAE has experienced one
of the quickest growth rates of all national economies of the world. The
International Monetary Fund (IMF) has stated that it is critical for the UAE to take
further steps for liberalisation of its economy with the pursuance of structural
reform; steps being encouraged include enhancement of national labour force
employability over the long term by way of vocational education programmes and
technical training, and the lifting of the barriers against foreign investment that lie
beyond the duty-free zones (Rees et al., 2007). The total population of the UAE
is composed of many foreign workers. Indeed, 60% of the population hail from
Southeast and South Asia with the remainder including a considerable number of
Arabian peoples, i.e. Egyptians, Yemenis, Jordanians, Omanis and Palestinians.
There are many Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Afghans, West Europeans,
Filipinos and Iranians also in the UAE. In fact, only 20% of the population are UAE
citizens. A case study of a contracting company of Fitch (2013) states that the
29
UAE foreign workforce is composed of 45% Indians, 20% Pakistanis, 20% Arabs
(originating from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt) and 15% Bangladeshis. The
official language of the UAE is Arabic; however, a number of other languages are
spoken in the country including English, which is widely understood and spoken,
Persian, Urdu and Hindi.
2.4 The UAE Vision 2021
The Prime Minister and Vice-President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, H.H.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, launched the UAE Vision 2021 at the
close of a meeting of the Cabinet in 2010. The vision has the aim of making the
country one of the best in the world by the time of the Union’s Golden Jubilee. So
that the vision could be translated into a reality, more than three hundred officials
from ninety local government and federal entities developed the National Agenda
of the UAE, with 6 national priorities mapped to represent primary sectors of focus
for governmental action within the years to come. The six priority sectors identified
were healthcare, education, police and security, economy, infrastructure and
government services, and housing (UAE VISION 2021).
2.5 The Abu Dhabi Police force: An overview
The ADP department was founded in 1957 and signified the start of a new period
in respect to the management of law and order. Prior to then, the region had
utilised traditional approaches and methods with regard to self-security. However,
from 1957, there was a clear move towards the formation of a modern police force
through the direct initiative of the late H.H Sheikh Shaikh Bin Sultan Al Nahyan
who was the ruler of Abu Dhabi at that time (AD Police, 2014a). Over the last
30
couple of decades, advances in methods and techniques of policing across the
world have influenced the region and further steps have been taken for the
improvement and modernisation of the ADP department. Equivalent to other
organisations of policing, the ADP department has seen improvements to its
working environments and the implementation of systems for recognition and
reward of employees (Elbanna, 2013). Such a focus upon organisational
improvement with the utilisation of practical experience and the accessing of
modern technologies has meant that the ADP department has a reputation within
the Middle East for ensuring safety of the citizenry and the facilitation of the
different state efforts at social and economic development (Alittihad newspaper,
2013); such a reputation has also extended to international recognition, accolades
and awards for the ADP department. A new approach has been adopted by the
ADP with the formation of a partnership with the community which seeks to build
relationships between the department and the general public that enables law and
order to be maintained smoothly and effectively (AD Police, 2014a). Huge efforts
have been made by the police department to create and build up the capabilities
of the institution and foster a culture within the organisation that both encourages
excellence and recognises it in staff performance (Rees and Althakri, 2008). The
ADP system for monitoring performance helps in decision-making with regard to
the steps that ought to be taken to overcome problematic situations, as well as
measuring departmental progress made towards the achievement of strategic
objectives. Furthermore, the ADP department also has an approach established
for setting up of a mechanism of external accountability for the measurement of
departmental effectiveness and the compliance to different regulations and laws
(Absal and Reporter, 2008).
31
2.6 The five-year plan for strategic development
In 2003, the ADP commenced the development of strategic policies for
improvement so that the department could better itself in becoming a
contemporary force for policing that was able to competently address modern
challenges stemming from the characteristics of the population and new forms of
criminality (AD Police, 2014b). As such, there was a significant development of
the General Command of the ADP between the years of 2003 and 2008 because
of the new five-year strategic plan. The phrase ‘Together towards a Safer
Community’ was adopted as the departmental logo and techniques were
developed for cooperative working between numerous bodies so that safety and
stability within society could be maintained. The plan sought to counter criminality
and bring down its rate so that Emirati residents had confidence and trust in the
work of the department (AD Police, 2014). Elbanna (2013) was of the view, that
since 2002, there had been significant use of strategic planning within all of the
practices of governance in the UAE. For strategic development and advancement
of the ADP, a 7-point plan was created that had a number of points, as follows:
a) A focus upon maintaining stability, the control of crime and the
enhancement of a sense of security and safety in society;
b) Creation of confidence and the maintenance of harmony amongst the
numerous communities in the area;
c) Improvement to the performance and service quality of the numerous
departments;
d) Improvement to the standards of policing services;
32
e) Development of the skills and competencies of members of staff at the ADP
department;
f) Maintenance of honesty, integrity and an ethical approach;
g) Maintenance of key resources such as technology and infrastructure to
enable the service to be effective.
In order to implement the new strategy, there were three key methodical
characteristics. Firstly, the dependability of the system was increased through the
effective handling of work issues and increases in accountability through activities
such as efforts at countering the rate of crime, enhancing community safety and
conducted patrols. Next, a focus was maintained on police work at the local level,
with decisions made locally and the available resources being used efficiently and
optimally. The third aspect was the provision of support from the General
Headquarters for local policing whilst, simultaneously, using integrated methods
of working that raised standards, developed procedures, improved strategies and
encouraged initiatives for the monitoring of performance (Rees and Althakri,
2008).
2.7 The new organisational structure and associated job description
The establishment of the General ADP Headquarters heralded a major step in the
modernisation of the police department. The organisational structure,
organisational culture and the various officer roles at the ADP Headquarters were
developed in such a manner that modern challenges could be effectively
addressed by the department. Also, several new general department branches
and sections were established by the ADP so that the organisation was able to be
33
in compliance with policy and to enable a modern, contemporary force for policing
could be developed (Zayed, 2014). Regulations were enforced by the ADP that
were dynamic and that could ensure the organisation was continuously
developing and able to achieve efficiency improvements throughout. As well as
using proven techniques and tools to enhance the functioning of the police force,
encouragement was given for creative thinking and the development of new
initiatives (Elbanna, 2013).
To enable implementation of the directions from the 5-year strategic plan, and to
accord with the Administrative Resolution No. 40, of 2004, the organisational
structure was changed and reformed and given the new name of the ‘General
Headquarters of ADP’ and several new departments were created (AD Police,
2014d). These investments in time and resources have developed the
organisational structure and infrastructure of the ADP to align with the rapid
transformations and development of the UAE, in general. In recent decades shifts
in technology and culture and society and the economy, in general, have occurred
as the establishment of numerous new industries and the rapid growth in GDP in
the UAE welcomes many new immigrants to the country from various parts of the
world. The restructuring and streamlining of the ADP organisational structure has
enabled resources to be allocated in a more efficient and effective manner whilst
maintaining more focus upon the departmental strategic goals and the pre-defined
roles and tasks of the various ADP units (Rees and Althakri, 2008). The
restructure meant that departmental power was more decentralised and the ADP
had the flexibility it needed for its specialised units to perform in a way that was
more effective and with greater autonomy. Within the new system, when required,
34
the ADP Commander could delegate some of his responsibilities and powers to
specific General Headquarters police teams that, usually, consisted of senior
police directors (AD Police, 2014e).
Moreover, the reformed system gave the senior directors that leeway for
delegation of executive responsibilities to more local directors who they
considered were able to handle the particular tasks in question. Also, within the
new system, integrated police units could be formed at various locations around
the country that could undertake tasks of up to 80% of departmental
responsibilities. Power and authority is given to local police commanders to
enable the effective carrying out of services and tasks, whilst the 20% of
responsibilities remaining, such as specific, critical, professional and technical
work and particular crime investigations, remained under the control of the ADP
Headquarters (AD Police, 2014b).
Following the organisational restructure at the ADP, the General Directorate for
Headquarter Affairs was established and six general departments: Police
Operations; Installations Protection; Security and Borders Affairs; Finance and
Services; Central Operations; and Human Resources.
35
Figure 2.2 Organisational structure of the Abu Dhabi Police
(Source: www.ADP, 2013)
2.8 Integrating a new strategy with the work of the Abu Dhabi Police
HH Sheikh Saif bin Zayed stressed that UAE leadership makes extensive efforts
and gives wise directives which result in achieving the happiness of the people
and provide whatever is necessary to ease their burdens in conjunction with the
elevation of decent standards of living levels, and the achievement of security and
prosperity to all. HH said that this was ascertained by different indicators and local
36
and international reports which put the UAE people at the forefront of the world’s
happiest peoples.
Unlike other countries within the Middle East, the stable nature of the UAE political
environment has been a significant factor in the success in developing the ADP
department. The stability has enabled various modern policing practices to be
formulated and implemented successfully (Absal and Reporter, 2008). A leading
UAE agency, the Central Executive Council of Abu Dhabi, has had a clear
intention of making the UAE into a world-class modern country able to match
international standards in its agencies and public services. The UAE Executive
Council undertook the drafting of a development plan with phases and measures
for enhancing various manners of working, and optimising the utilisation of the
resources and technologies used by the numerous public sector departments.
The Executive Council undertakes the development of a strategic plan every 5
years to apply to the following five years of operations. The strategic plan focuses
upon areas considered important for advancing the state towards a more modern
one; the development of the ADP department being one such area of focus (AD
Police, 2014c). The strategic plan for the years 2013 to 2017 for now includes
provisions for ADP development with a focus that mainly falls upon refinement of
the manner in which performance of the numerous departments are measured; it
is considered that performance monitoring can assist greatly in further enhancing
the levels of service and standards at the ADP to bring the organisation up to the
same level of operations as the best police departments in the world (Barnard,
2007).
37
Table 2.1 Strategic Plan for the Abu Dhabi Police General Headquarters
Vision Endeavours to provide high standard policing services to sustain

safety, and security for all citizens, expatriates and visitors.
Mission Striving to create a safe, stable and crime free society, and to make
a positive contribution to the execution of justice in order to establish
an environment of confidence between the public and the police.
Values Honesty and integrity Recognising achievements

Effective communication Excellence
Source: www. Strategy. ADP, 2013
Lt. General H.H Sheik Saif Bin Zayed Alnahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of Interior, officially launched the AD Police plan for 2016-2020 which
entered into force last year with the support of H.H Sheik Khalifa Bin Zayed
Alnahyan, President of the State, and H.H Sheik Mohammed Bin Rashid
Almaktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. These
changes are intended to address the rapid global and national changes, and help
Abu Dhabi take its place as one of the world’s most developed capital cities.
Figure 2.3 Abu Dhabi Police GHQ Strategy
38
The GHQ of Abu Dhabi police regularly update their annual plan in line with the
requirements of the general secretariat of the executive council and the
achievements of Abu Dhabi government's outputs; which include the continuous
changes in the population structure and the urban expansion. The ADP’s
Customer Service Charter outlines the force’s values and expectations regarding
the service it offers to the citizens of Abu Dhabi:
Figure 2.4 ADP’s Customers’ Service Charter
39
2.9 Summary
It can be concluded from the above background information that, along with the
rapid development of the GCC region within recent decades, there have also been
major changes to the system of policing. There has been a long history of policing
in the area from its basic origins to the transformation to a contemporary, modern
police force that is now considered one of the best in the world. Within the ADP,
there is a constant endeavour towards development of standards and capabilities;
however, for continued maintenance of its status as a modern organisation, that
meets the expectations of the government and citizens and ensures public safety,
it is essential that the department utilises knowledge of modern techniques for
management and existing best practice.
Consequently, ADP is very keen in implementing the leadership styles that might
enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of its employees. Leadership and the
ability to deliver quality standards go hand-in-hand in the achievement of
excellence. This is due to leaders influence on their employees work and efforts.
However, there are underlying assumptions of leadership style and its impact on
the employees. As a government organisation, it has a typical authoritarian
leadership style. Yet, this style has begun empowering employees to do their work
confidently, especially those who work outdoors or with the public (Ministry of
interior, 2010). ADP has based its strategy on highlighting the priorities, objectives
and targeted time to improve the quality of its functions and roles in the society
through good communication with both the employees and the society. Moreover,
most priorities are designed to meet customer expectations, hence building
potentials, capabilities and qualifications of every member to make the maximum
40
use of each individual effort in performing tasks efficiently. In addition, the aim is
to improve the performance of ADP by focusing on the human component as a
successful key to overcome obstacles. This can be achieved by involving and
empowering the employees in order to facilitate the workflow through decision
making and providing the appropriate environment for this development.
41
Chapter Three
Literature Review
3.1 Introduction
This chapter aims to critically review, compare and contrast the literature relevant
to leadership styles and their impact on employee commitment focusing on Abu
Dhabi Police (ADP) as an organisational setting, in line with the research
objectives of this study. This literature review provides a critical evaluation and a
summary of previous works on leadership styles and employee commitment. It
explores whether the broad literature on leadership is producing the same rhetoric
and the same views or has provided fresh ideas regarding leadership styles. This
study seeks to find out whether there is any correlation between leadership styles
and employee commitment and to what extent this impacts on employee
commitment at Abu Dhabi Police (ADP). In other words, does leadership style
greatly influence and affect the working attitudes and commitment of employees?
Leadership has been viewed as the driving force which enables organisations to
be sustainable and gain competitive advantage. Leadership helps to optimise the
performance efficiency and to achieve organisational goals (Avolio, and Gardner
2005; Mumford and Gold, 2004; Northouse, 2014). Northouse (2014) suggests
that leadership styles provide useful insights and practical approaches on how to
develop team work, enhance group decision-making, start initiatives and improve
commitment of employees. Thus, leadership style plays a major role in boosting
employee commitment within the organisation.
42
Despite the fact that the term leadership has been omnipresent throughout
history, it remains complex and speculative. According to Vroom and Jago
(2007:1) ‘The term leadership is ubiquitous in common discourse. Political
candidates proclaim it, organisations seek it, and the media discusses it ad
nauseam’. Although, the meaning of leadership can be said to be a matter of
personal opinion, there is a consensus that leadership is viewed in terms of the
position, personality, responsibility and influence. Vroom and Jago (2007:1) go on
to argue that ‘Virtually all definitions of leadership share the view that leadership
involves the process of influence.’
There is a need for the development of better leadership skills and leadership
theories have been developed from an interesting and diverse range of
perspectives and have, over time, been influenced by many of different aspects
of politics and world affairs. Bass and Stogdill (1990) consider that leadership
theories have tried to offer explanation for the various factors that have a bearing
on emerging leadership, its nature and the consequences. Various models have
demonstrated the way numerous variables, that are believed to be involved,
interplay. Reality is replicated or reconstructed, and the use of models and
identification of trends can help political and social scientists define the significant
research problems; from this, with improved prediction, leadership can be
developed, applied and controlled in a better way (Bass and Stogdill, 1990).
Outcalt et al. 2001, argue that whilst several, scholarly leadership models and
theories have been put forward, there have, so far, obfuscated the facts; as such,
43
a great deal of effort is required to gain useful information from them. As Bennis
and Nanus (1985:4) point out:
Literally thousands of empirical investigations of leaders have been

conducted in the last seventy-five years alone, but no clear and
unequivocal understanding exists as to what distinguishes leaders from
non-leaders, and perhaps more important, what distinguishes effective
leaders from ineffective leaders.
Although leadership styles and organisational commitment as a topic area has
been researched at length (Alyn, 2010; Zaccaro, 2014; Sternberg, 2007; Daly, et
al. 2015; Northouse 2013), it still generates plenty of interest and is still pertinent
today particularly in the context of the Middle East, where the traditional Great
man theory is still prevalent in some countries.
3.2 Defining the leadership concept
Since ancient times, leadership has been practised in some form or other.
Etymologically the term ‘leadership’ stems from ‘lead’ which is an Anglo-Saxon
word meaning ‘path’. The leader is therefore viewed as ‘the one who shows the
way and paves the path.’ In simple terms, leadership may be defined as the
process of providing the path that others follow. Semantically, ‘leadership’ is
multidimensional and can invoke a variety of meanings. Leadership means
different things to different people ((Mullins and Christy, 2016, to the point that it
has become a common platitude that there are as many different definitions of
leadership as there are authors who wrote about the topic with no universal nor
standardised definition of leadership (Schedlitzki and Edwards, 2014, Daly, et al.
2015, Northouse 2015; Bass et al. 2003; Yukl 2010).
44
The concept, leadership has several, varied definitions and different
interpretations within much of the body of literature, some of which can be very
confusing (Mullins and Christy, 2016, Rost, 1993). Northouse (2012: 2) argues
that there are many ways to finish the sentence, “Leadership is. . . .”. Stogdill
(1974:7) points out in a review of leadership research,
there are almost as many different definitions of leadership as there are
people who have tried to define it. It is much like the words democracy,
love, and peace. Although each of us intuitively knows what we mean by
such words, the words can have different meanings for different people.
Similarly, Bass and Avolio, (1997:16) adopted Stogdill’s (1974) words to express
the same view that “there are almost as many different definitions of leadership
as there are persons who have attempted to define the concept”. Moreover, in a
way that complicates matters still further, it is often the case that leadership is
defined in a contextual way with, for example, its placement in regard to the
concept of management (Kotter, 2007).
There is no universally applicable and successful paradigm, therefore, for
leadership, yet it continues to be a widely known notion (Bolden et al., 2009). It
has been suggested by Bass 1997, Northouse, 2017).) that leadership studies run
hand in hand with the development of civilisation that has shaped, and continues
to shape, leaders. Bass et al. (2003) argue that as there is a great deal of breadth
and variety to leadership studies, therefore, it would be difficult to arrive at a
generic definition for the concept of leadership.
45
Appropriate terms that determine leadership include ways of thinking and
influence over others, various behaviours and forms of intelligence, relevant traits,
positions within administrations and issues surrounding supervision, control,
authority and power (Northouse 2013, Blau et al., 2010; Bodla and Nawaz, 2010).
Leadership has been defined in terms of describing the influence and personality
of a leader (Bass, 2010). Also, leadership has been considered as an art for
setting directions in order to achieve particular aims and influence (Bass, 1985).
In keeping with the uncertainty, Yukl (2002: 2) claimed leadership, as an
expression, is “a word taken from the common vocabulary and incorporated into
the technical vocabulary of a scientific discipline without being precisely
redefined”. However, a compilation of a number of the leadership definitions was
introduced by Yukl (2002) (see Table 3.1). Close examination of the tabulated
definitions shows that most definitions of leadership tend to agree that “leadership
is a process whereby intentional influence is exerted by one person over others
in order to guide, structure and facilitate organisational activities and relationships”
(Yukl, 2002:7). There are differences in the leadership focus, however, in terms
of how influence is exerted, who does the influencing and the outcome and
purpose of that influence. In contrast, Northouse (2013) views leadership as a
process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a
common goal. This suggests that there is an exchange process that takes place
between the leader and the followers. According to Bass and Bass, (2008) good
leadership is developed through a never-ending process of self-study, education,
training, and the accumulation of relevant experience. Table 3.1 below provides
a sample of various complex nuances that several authors put forward to convey
the perceived meaning of leadership. The consistent assumption that emerges
46
from the leadership debate is that leadership style effectiveness and success is
contingent upon the situation or the organisational culture. It is measured against
the leader’s capability to deal with the employee mind-set within a specific
situation. Moreover, leadership styles vary from situation to situation. Thus,
effective leadership is situational and contingent; what works in western countries
may not work in developing countries. Effective leader adapts their leadership
style and behaviour to fit the situation.
Table 3.1 Definitions for leadership
Leadership is …
Hemphill and Coons “the behavior of an individual … directing the activities of a group
(1957:7) toward a shared goal”
Katz and Kahn “the influential increment over and above mechanical compliance
(1978:528) with the routine directives of the organisation”
Burns (1978:18) “exercised when persons … mobilize … institutional, political,

psychological, and other resources so as to arouse, engage, and
satisfy the motives of followers”
Rauch and Behling “the process of influencing the activities of an organized group
(1984: 46) toward goal achievement”
Jacobs and Jaques “a process of giving purpose (meaningful direction) to collective

(1990:281) effort, and causing willing effort to be expended to achieve
purpose’’
Schein (1992:2) “the ability to step outside the culture … to start evolutionary
change processes that are more adaptive”
Drath and Palus “the process of making sense of what people are doing together so
(1994: 204) that people will understand and be committed”
“a dynamic process, where leaders mobilize others to get
Kouzes and Posner extraordinary things done. To do so, leaders engage five practices:
(1995:30) model the way, inspire a shared vision, challenge the process,
enable others to act, and encourage the heart”
House et al., “the ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and enable

(1999:184) others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the
organization…”
Source: Yukl, 2002
47
The conclusion that can be drawn from the extensive and diverse range of
definitions highlighted above, is that there are recurrent themes and similar
explanations of what leadership means. This leads this study to conclude that
leadership is an overarching term which overlaps in meaning. Whilst most
researchers have, in general, defined leadership according to their particular
personal perspectives and areas of interest, the majority of definitions tend to
agree that the process of leadership is one that happens when an individual has
an influence in order to try and facilitate performance within a group or
organisation (Yukl, 2002). Four central elements of the leadership concept have
been identified by Northouse (2010). These are:
a) leadership has involvement with goal attainment,
b) leadership is something that involves influence,
c) leadership can be thought of as a process and
d) leadership occurs within the context of a group.
In general, leaders can be considered those who can turn their visions and beliefs
into reality by exercising influence and controlling others (Bennis and Nanus,
2007). Also, as stated by Robbins (2008), leadership can be defined as the ability
to work towards achieving a goal through the influencing of a group It was stressed
by Cooley (1902:7, cited in Stogdill, 1974) that: “The leader is always the nucleus
of a tendency, and all social movements, closely examined, will be found to
consist of tendencies having such nuclei”. As a process, leadership moves people
in a way that has their genuine, long-term interests at heart (Lord and Hall, 2005).
Nel et al. (2004) point out that rather than coercion, leadership involved the
48
exercising of influence, with a leader who is attempting to change actions and
attitudes in relation to the achievement of particular goals. Likewise, Bass (2010)
saw leadership as the influencing of relationships amongst people, with followers
guided by communication into achieving particular goals. For Bass and Bass
(2008), leadership is considered a type of relationship for the application of
influence and power in order to get people to work together for the
accomplishment of common goals. Numerous authors agree that leadership
refers to a process by which a group is influenced towards achieving a goal
(Nahavandi, 2006; Avolio et al, 2009).
In addition, leaders can be considered as individuals capable of effectively
employing their influence over others for the transformation of their visions and
beliefs into forms of action (Northouse, 2007; Nohria and Khurana, 2010).
Hellriegel et al. (2004, 286) have described leadership as the “The ability to
influence others to act toward the attainment of a goal”. Similarly, Yukl (2010, 104)
stated: “Leadership is the process of influencing others to understand and agree
about what needs to be done and how to do it, and the process of facilitating
individual and collective efforts to accomplish shared objectives”. Mullins (2010),
for his part, defined leadership as a form of relationship that enables the behaviour
of people to be affected by an individual. The suggestion was made by Lussier
and Achua (2010) that leadership is a process in social terms that involves people
being directed by someone who is a leader through communication methods
towards attainment of certain goals within a particular context. An organisational
leader brings about change in the attitude and action of groups by way of a
process of exercising of influence through effective use of social skills for the
accomplishment of a goals (Greenberg and Barong, 2003; Callan et al., 2007);
49
Haslam et al. (2011) offered support to this view and categorised the social skills
involved into technical skills, interpersonal skills, and conceptual skills. Thus, it
can be argued, that effective leadership can be considered as involving a
combination of the use of skills, knowledge and influence for the facilitation of the
achievement of a goal or goals (Haslam et al., 2011). By way of response to the
criticism of the failure of scholars to offer an agreed definition of leadership, Yukl
and Van Fleet (1992,149) stated that:
Definitions are somewhat arbitrary, and controversies about the best way
to define leadership usually cause confusion and animosity rather than
providing new insights into the nature of the process. At this point in the
development of the field, it is not necessary to resolve the controversy
over the appropriate definition of leadership.
Whilst, there is disagreement and confusion surrounding the concept of
leadership, the various definitions and the manifestation of forms of leadership
seem to suggest that it is a concept that is universally accepted (Bolman and Deal,
1997). Bennis and Nanus (1997:1) quirkily stated that “Leadership is a word on
everyone's lips," and "Everyone agrees there is less of it than there used to be".
They proceed to highlight that whilst particular competencies in leadership have,
over time, stayed more or less constant, theories of how leadership works and
what it actually is have not remained as constant, with, over the years,
inconsistencies in consideration of how leadership is learned and applied.
It can be argued that the core leadership theories and styles that provide the
embodiment of the current understanding and knowledge of leadership tend to
overlap at times and the arguments appear to be the same over the last few
50
decades. Thus, the term leadership covers a range of meanings often
overlapping, depending on who defines it and it also comes under different labels,
demonstrating the different perspectives and purposes which they intend to serve.
The wide range of variations of the definitions also suggests that the different
stakeholders, are yet to agree on common ground regarding the future direction
of leadership, as the leadership debate needs to move and rise to a different level.
3.3 Distinguishing between management and leadership
Numerous authors have argued that effective managers need to have skills in
both leadership and management in order to manage people within a team
(Kwantes and Boglarsky, 2007; Waite, 2008; Hughes and Avey, 2009; Lussier
and Achua, 2013; Mullins, 2010; Brauckmann and Pashiardis, 2011). Leadership
has been considered to be a process for the influencing of others so that long-
term organisational goals can be achieved (Bartol et al., 2003). Pierce and
Newstram (2003: 162) stated that “Effective leaders take a personal interest in the
long-term development of their employees”. So that the goals of an organisation
can be achieved successfully, there needs to be the effective support of both
leaders and managers. There is often the presumption that organisational leaders
are the people sitting in top-level management posts, and for them to be effective,
such people have to have both leadership and managerial skills. It is clear, then,
that there is a need to discuss and define the differences and similarities that exist
between management and leadership. Distinguishing between management and
leadership is appropriate as managers have more of a concern with short-term
organisational problems, whilst leaders tend to have a much wider perspective
and have concern for the organisational context and environment, both externally
51
and internally (Nel et al., 2004). Kotter (1990b) adopted three criteria for
distinguishing between managers and leaders, with managers being those that
organise staff, problem solve and plan budgets, whereas leaders set
organisational directions, align people towards goals and inspire and motivate
them. At its most basic, managers aim to give an organisation consistency and
order whereas leaders seek to bring about movement and change, and so the
leader can be considered as complementary to managers rather than their
replacement (Kotter, 1990). Whilst Kotter (1990) described management and
leadership as conceptually different, he did not assert that they could not be the
same people. Management skills are focused on the facilitation of organisational
work, with the overseeing of work to be done and ensuring that it is undertaken in
a way that accords with the regulations and rules of the organisation. The
management skill lies in making sure the tasks of an organisation are done how
they should be; leaders, on the other hand, are involved in identifying the goals of
the organisation, with initiation of vision development related to what role an
organisation is to play in the first place. It was declared by Bennis and Nanus
(1985, 21) that “Managers are people who do things right and leaders are people
who do the right thing”. An important element of an organisational vision is the
idea of it being a ‘shared vision’, and some research has indicated that the sharing
of the personal vision of a leader in a way that organisational members adopt is,
perhaps, what distinguishes a true leader from someone who is just a manager
(Lunenburg, 2011). Successful leaders ought to have a certain degree of
emotional intelligence and be able to realise the significance of the role of
employees in the attainment of the goals of the organisation; as such, they should
be able to give them the motivation to willingly work towards achieving the goals
52
in question (Nohria and Khurana, 2010). It was explained by Heller (2002) that
whilst a manager tends to deal with planning, controlling and problem solving
during the lifetime of an organisation, leaders tend to deal with the behaviour of
the people within that organisation. For a manager to be effective, there is a need
for the right combination of skills of leadership and management for the particular
processes and situation (Marquis and Huston, 2009). Leaders are concerned with
motivation of the members of their team in order to have enhanced vision and
inspiration to make a reality of that vision. Furthermore, high levels of
management could be considered as being able to generate a vision though, in
order to achieve it, a sense of destiny has to be developed that the team shares.
Kouzes and Posner (1995:124) considered that: “Leadership is not about
imposing the leader's solo dream. It's about enrolling others so that they can see
how their own interests and aspirations are aligned with the vision and can thereby
become mobilised to commit their individual energies to its realisation”.
Management theories were classified into two primary categories by Heller
(2002), i.e. the democratic style and the directional style. A style of management
that is democratic can be said to be trying for a degree of engagement of the team
within organisational decision-making. A directional style of management, on the
other hand, would involve directing employees in their work in an attempt to fulfil
the task(s) in question. As those in positions of leadership are always known as
managers, however, such a classification has been rejected by numerous
authors. Sy et al. (2006) indicate that leaders and managers are alike in a number
of ways such as their establishment of relationships and networks in order for
goals to be reached. There can be a difference between the terms leader and
manager, however, as the former tends to focus upon the long-term strategies
53
and goals of an organisation, whereas the latter tends to concentrate upon the
short-term planning and budgeting for a number of months or years ahead (Sy et
al., 2006). the main differences that can be identified between leaders and
managers.
Table 3.2: Differences between the concepts of management and leadership
Management Leadership
Planning and budgeting – establishing Establishing direction - developing a vision

detailed steps and timetables for achieving of the future, often the distant future, and
needed results, and then allocating the strategies for producing the changes
resources necessary to make that happen needed to achieve that vision
Organising and staffing - establishing some Aligning people - communicating the

structure for accomplishing requirements, direction by words and deeds to all those
staffing that structure with individuals, whose cooperation may be needed so as
delegating responsibility and authority for to influence the creation of teams and
carrying out the plan, providing policies coalitions that understand the vision and
and procedures to help guide people and strategies and accept their validity
create systems to monitor implementation
Controlling and problem solving - Motivating inspiring and energizing

monitoring results, plan in some detail, people to overcome major political,
identifying deviations and then planning bureaucratic, and resource barriers to
and organizing to solve these problems change by satisfying very basic, but often
unfulfilled, human needs
Produce a degree of predictability and Produces change, often to a dramatic

order and has the potential of consistency degree and has the potential of producing
Producing key results expected by various extremely useful change (e.g. new
stakeholders (e.g. for customers, always products that customers want, new
being on time; for stockholders, being on approaches to labour relations that help
budget) make a firm more competitive)
Source: Kotter (1990)
Table 3.2 clearly shows how the various activities of leaders and managers can
be alike in a number of their elements, such as the reaching of goals by use of
establishment of relationships and networks. However, managers would tend to
have a better handle on operational deadlines and budgetary control, whereas
leaders tend to be more able to bring about effective change (Sy et al., 2006).
54
Also, as highlighted by Northouse (2010), leadership dimensions can accord with
various different classifications such as individual characteristics or a perspective
on personality, or having a focus upon group processes.
The role of leader has been defined by Kwantes and Boglarsky (2007) as involving
goal setting for the culture of an organisation and the shaping of the organisational
vision, mission and objectives through giving followers something to believe and
then helping them feel inspired and motivated to work towards the
accomplishments of the objectives. In contrast to that perspective, Hughes and
Avey (2009) considered that managers who are effective use their roles to ensure
all operations are working at the optimal level and that there is efficiency in
working towards the accomplishment of the goals of the organisation through the
integration and control of resources. There is a suggestion that poor leadership
may be in existence even if the management is effective, though without effective
management there cannot be good leadership. Whilst some theorists have given
the suggestion that leadership and management are interdependent or separate,
there seems to be agreement that there is a need for both effective management
and effective leadership for an organisation to be successful (Kwantes and
Boglarsky, 2007; Hughes and Avey, 2009). Moreover, there is a strong link
between leadership and whether management either succeeds or fails; however,
the relationship between leadership and management is inconclusive and still
debated.
Lunenburg (2007) states that many management definitions point to the key role
played by the effective utilisation of both material and human resources for the
55
achievement of common objectives and goals. The majority of scholars back the
idea that leading is an important aspect of being an effective manager (Buford et
al., 1995; Kibort, 2004; Yukl et al., 2008; Lussier and Achua, 2010). Within the AD
Police (ADP) in the UAE, there are five primary functions for management, i.e.
organisation, planning, human resource management and staffing, influencing
and leading, and controlling. The influencing and leading management function in
the ADP has been defined by Buford et al. (1995:7) as “the process of inducing
individuals (peers, superiors and subordinates) or groups to assist willingly and
harmoniously in accomplishing organisational objectives”. As such, whilst ADP
leaders may be expected to be organisational leaders, leadership is not
necessarily positional. According to Nohria and Khurana (2010), and as reflected
in the descriptions above, the leadership role is a challenging and demanding one,
and so there is a need for the development and encouragement of the natural
talents of potentially good leaders. The following section of this chapter has the
aim of discussing the various leadership theories, styles such as transactional and
transformational, for example, and showing their application within a public-sector
setting, within the UAE in particular, where leadership is often culturally orientated,
embracing traditional beliefs, norms and values.
3.4 Leadership Theories
Leadership has become a major area of interest in literature due to its pertinence
and urgency in addressing a complex management phenomenon, as
demonstrated by the proliferation of studies on this research area (Harris, Harris,
and Eplion, 2007, Yukl, 2002, 2006; Bass and Bass, 2013, Scouller 2011).
Leadership theories have evolved over the years. Some of the widely quoted
56
leadership theories can be grouped into two main streams. Early leadership
theories aimed at highlighting the traits and attributes of the individual leader. The
core argument of these theories suggest that great leaders are born not made.
They have innate traits necessary to lead people. Later leadership theories shifted
their investigation to situational and contingency leadership. The key argument of
these theories is that the leadership style of the individual leader must be
adaptable and their style matched to the specific situation or mind-sets of the
employees. As Bass and Bass, (2008:95) indicate: ‘an adequate analysis of
leadership involves a study not only of leaders but also of situations’. To put the
leadership debate in perspective, a review of the key leadership theories is
necessary.
The leadership literature is at times disjointed and inconsistent in the use
terminology. In discussion of leadership theories, styles and models are often
used interchangeably because it is often difficult to make a clear-cut distinction
between them. For the purposes of this study “style” and “model” will be used
interchangeably.
3.4.1 The ‘Great Man theory’
In the nineteenth century and prior to the Second World War, there was a great
deal of attention in leadership theory to the notion of the ‘Great Man’ (Zaccaro,
Kemp and Bader, 2004). Such theorising had the assumption that leadership
capacities were an inherent quality, and so great leaders were considered to be
people who were not nurtured but born that way. It was considered that a ‘great
57
man’ naturally held the skills that were essential to help him in performing a
leadership role. For Iszatt-White and Saunders (2014), an assumption that evident
characteristics or qualities that had been inherited underlay the notion of the
‘Great Man’, that potential leaders were born that way; furthermore, they
considered that there were assumptions that leaders were born a certain gender
and into certain societal classes. Such theories give the portrayal of a great leader
as someone with mythical, heroic qualities and destined to rise up to a leadership
role when the time calls for it. Wider societal factors were not up for discussion as
they would be nowadays and the term ‘Great Man’ itself was used as leadership
qualities were being considered to be, primarily, male (Outcalt, et al. 2001).
Thomas Carlyle undertook the most significant study of the theoretical
development of ‘Great Man’ theories in 1846 with research into a number of great
historical figures who had exhibited particular behaviours and seemed to possess
certain types of characteristics. He documented the successful outcomes of such
men, such as their affluence, political standing and prosperity and proposed that
not everyone has what is required to be great. As Carlyle, (1946, cited in Iszatt-
White and Saunders, 2014) states, everyone is different but "the Great Man was
always as lightning out of heaven; the rest of men waited for him like fuel, and
then they too would flame".
In accordance with such theories, often centred on gender and race of the
individual in question, emulation of the characteristics of such great men is
necessary if a person were to become a good leader themselves. An inordinate
amount of credence was given to particular variables that were immutable such
as height, race, oration and gender. Furthermore, as noted by Ledlow and

58
Coppola (2011), variables that were mutable, such as religion, education and
social class also featured heavily in early versions of the ‘Great Man’ theory. The
early work of Galton in 1869 also gave strength to the theory of the ‘Great Man’
with his study of the hereditary background to the lives of great leaders (Bass and
Bass and Stogdill, 1990). Also, the work of James (1880) gave emphasis to the
congruence of great men with their surroundings, and highlighted how there was
a reciprocal effect between individuals and environments (Ledlow and Coppola,
2011). The works of James, Galton and Carlyle although dated, have been very
influential and are even today considered to be the biggest body of leadership
research in existence.
In short, the Great Man theory of leadership is based on the belief that leaders
are a rare breed of people, born with innate attributes and destined to lead. The
deliberate use of the term 'man' suggests that leadership is a male dominated
field, military and Western.
3.4.2 Trait theory
Following the ‘Great Man’ theory phase, as evolution of research into historical
figures occurred, scholars were beginning to undertake examination of some of
the commonalities between some of the great men of the past and tried to develop
a finite list in relation to leadership traits. This central focus upon traits eventually
became a distinct discipline known as ‘Trait Theory’, with the premise being that
it ought to be possible to identify certain qualities that were superior and that
differentiated a leader from followers (Ledlow and Coppola, 2011). As such, an
assumption underlies ‘Trait Theories,’ that people may potentially become great
59
leaders if they were found to have such leadership traits. It was suggested by
Iszatt-White and Saunders (2014) that ‘Trait Theories’ were seeking to provide an
examination of the biological, behavioural and psychological characteristics that
differentiated a leader from a non-leader or follower. Several early twentieth
century researchers undertook research that sought to explain the notion of
leadership in terms of characteristics, personality and traits (see, for example,
Kohs and Irle, 1920; Bernard, 1926; Bingham, 1927; Tead, 1929; Page, 1935; and
Kilbourne, 1935). Other authors made compilation lists of common traits that had
been identified within numerous other studies and made suggestions of those
characteristics and traits that were considered vital for leadership (see, for
example, Smith and Krueger, 1933; Bird, 1940; and Jenkins, 1947). Up until the
1940s, the majority of leadership research had a focus upon the attributes and
traits of leaders and the difference of them to those of followers (Bass and Stogdill,
1990).
Lewin et al. (1939 cited in Ledlow and Coppola, 2011), undertook a major piece
of research into ‘Trait Theories’ with a study of a group of children aged ten and
eleven years of age in clubs for the making of masks, and discovered that leaders
can be classified into one of three styles of leadership, i.e. laissez-faire,
democratic and autocratic. The ‘laissez-faire’ style is where the involvement of the
leader in decision-making is at a minimum; this style works best when the people
involved are motivated and capable of their own decision-making and where
central coordination is not necessary. The ‘democratic’ style is one where a leader
ensures that people are involved in decision-making. However the final decision
process may vary from facilitation of group consensus to a process that,
60
ultimately, involves the leader making the decision. This approach can be
problematic if there is a big range of opinions and the way of arriving at a final,
equitable decision is unclear. Thirdly, the ‘autocratic’ style involves a leader
making decisions without having any consultation with other people. This
approach works effectively if the decision does not require any input, where input
would not change the decision even if given, and where there would be no effect
upon the motivation of other people to undertake subsequent actions, whether or
not they had had any involvement in the decision-making (Ledlow and Coppola,
2011).
3.4.3 The laissez-faire style of leadership
The laissez-faire style of leadership can also be considered as non-directive,
passive or permissive, and it is one where the leader lets followers set their own
goals and decide upon the ways in which they are to be achieved. As Catalano
(2012) points out, the leader is involved very little, either in terms of planning,
decision-making or directing. Masters and Wallace (2011) clarify that the French
phrase ‘laissez-faire’ refers to someone being allowed to do something of their
own accord. Responsibility is given to employees to undertake duties without a lot
of close supervision or direction; as such, the leader provides guidance, ideas and
information when necessary, though by and large exercises a policy in their
dealings with employees that is ‘hands-off’, whilst, simultaneously setting goals
and letting individuals decide upon how those goals are to be reached. It was
noted by Masters and Wallace (2011) that a leader adopting the laissez-faire
approach allows employees to make decisions independently, gives them
encouragement to be creative and to take initiative, allows them to have
61
independence in their work and, rather guides the employees on general job
‘know-how’, whilst avoiding the provision of precise directives. Bass (1997 cited
in Smothers, 2008) shares a similar view of laissez-faire leadership in suggesting
it is an approach wherein leaders avoid taking proactive steps or interventions
within a situation or even making any specific decisions at all. Meanwhile, Tulsian
and Pandey (2008) have referred to a laissez-faire style of leadership as one that
could be termed more of a ‘non-leadership’ approach given that members of the
group are allowed by the leader to establish their own goals and to make and
implement their own decisions. For Exantus (2012), the laissez-faire style of
leadership ought to be considered as different in that it is neither a representation
of a transactional or transformational style. Such a ‘hands-off’ approach is
certainly not appropriate for every organisational situation and Masters and
Wallace (2011) have stated it only operates well within organisations where
creativity is required from employees such as in architectural practices, fashion
design house and advertising agencies. It was suggested by Catalano (2012) that
this approach works well if group members are educated to the same level as the
leader and where he or she undertakes the same tasks as the members of the
group. Masters and Wallace (2011) have also noted that the laissez-faire
leadership style requires employees who are assertive, confident and creative and
able to establish their own particular goals and achieve them. The laissez-faire
style of leadership has received much criticism and, for Bass (1997 cited in
Smothers, 2008), in contrast to the transactional leadership style, the laissez-faire
approach is a representation of a non-transactional leadership style and,
therefore, is frequently considered to be ineffective. Some studies however,
including that of Bass, consider that the laissez-faire approach does actually lead
62
to enhanced performance of followers in some instances (Kunstler and Daly,
2010).
Likewise, the laissez-faire style of leadership has been characterised by Pride, et
al. (2008) as administrative, ‘management by exception’ or ‘passive-avoidant’.
Exantus (2012) described the laissez-faire style as having the avoidance of
leadership or it being absent, and argued that such leaders actively avoid
participation in the decision-making of groups or individuals. Tulsian and Pandey
(2008) acknowledged leadership that was laissez-faire did not involve direction or
the provision of inspiration as the leader did not provide any to the followers in
question.
It has been suggested by Northouse (2014) that since the leader was not involved
in the instruction or regulation of subordinates, the lack of direction can lead to the
whole environment becoming lacking in direction and purpose and becoming one
of chaos and frustration; in such a way, the author believes it is difficult for
followers to find meaning for the work and, with low motivation, productivity can
be lost. A noteworthy work by Kirby et al. (1992, cited in Smothers, 2008)
discovered that there was significantly less satisfaction with leaders amongst
followers in situations where the laissez-faire style of leadership was at work. Also,
various other research works have indicated that leaders who have a laissez-faire
style of leadership are more often dissatisfied themselves with the leaders over
them (Lirng et al., 2001; Stanfield, 2009). Both Whitehead et al. (2010) and
Catalano (2012) suggested that, in the majority of situations, because of a lack of
direction, guidance or goals, the laissez-faire approach can have people feeling a
63
sense of frustration or even at a loss. Furthermore, when situations become
difficult, leaders with a laissez-faire style have often been found to avoid decision-
making with a hope that the problem would have somehow worked itself out. So,
it seems that only certain mature workers operate well under the laissez-faire style
of leadership and in the majority of situations, the approach is unproductive and
fails to lead to success.
Examination of the effects of the three aforementioned styles of leadership was
undertaken by Lewin et al. (1939 cited in Ledlow and Coppola, 2011) who
examined the effect upon group tension, the effect on feelings of a sense of team
spirit and cooperation as opposed to individualism, and the effect upon
production. In modern times, the work is the most highly quoted and most
frequently cited in relation to leadership. The finding that was most significant
within the work was that the leadership style that was considered the most
effective was the ‘democratic’ approach; the ‘laissez-faire’ approach was
considered to lead to less coherence within the patterns of work and to less energy
being exerted, whilst the ‘autocratic’ style was considered to be excessive and
resulted in revolutions as evidenced by world history.
3.4.4 Behavioural theories of leadership
As Ledlow and Coppola (2011) indicate, the behavioural leadership theories
began to emerge within the 1950s. Iszatt-White and Saunders (2014) consider
that these theories have tried to concentrate upon leader characteristics,
demonstrated on a day-to-day basis that could be observed and measured. The
64
studies related to behavioural leadership that were most famous were the first two
undertaken in the later years of the 1940s and in the 1950s by the State
Universities of Ohio and Michigan.
Within the study by Ohio State University, leaders were evaluated by their
subordinates using a Leader Behaviour Description Questionnaire (LBDQ) that
had 150 different criteria that gleaned comments related to how often their leader
was actually demonstrating certain qualities. Following the analysis of the findings
and their categorisation, two dimensions arose, as follows:
1. Initiating Structure. A task focus whereby the leader concentrated upon the
organisational goals and the related planning, control and criticism to
ensure those goals were delivered (Landy and Conte, 2010). A leader that
had a high score for this particular element was believed to have more
effectiveness; however, a score for consideration that was not high meant
that there was a higher degree of discontent experienced amongst
employees and this frequently leads to higher levels of absenteeism and
grievance (Korman, 1966, cited in Iszatt-White and Saunders, 2014)
2. Consideration. For this element, there is a focus upon feelings and
relationships in which a leader seeks to involve followers and support them,
with mutual trust, team work and open communication valued qualities. If
the leader scored highly for consideration it also meant that there was a
high level of satisfaction amongst the associated subordinates (Landy and
Conte, 2010).
65
For the research undertaken at the Michigan State University, on the other hand,
there was an examination of the effect that the behaviour of leaders had upon
small groups. This also resulted in two primary categories for the behaviour of
leaders, i.e. a Production orientation and Employee orientation. The Production
orientation had a focus upon technical and production job aspects and the use of
employees, in the main, was considered a way of reaching a particular end. The
Employee orientation, on the other hand, focused upon human relations, respect,
trust and participation at the workplace (Robbins, 2009). At first, the study from
Michigan State University had considered the production and employee
categories as lying at ends of a leadership spectrum, with interest in goal
achievement automatically meaning there was less interest in relations with
employees. However, as the study from Ohio State University showed, it was
possible for leaders to have high scores for both relationship and task elements.
The categorisations were later developed into two dimensions that were
independent (Iszatt-White and Saunders, 2014; Yukl, 2010).
Lots more empirical research followed these two initial studies and, in the main,
they confirmed the conclusions that had been reached. Studies that had a focus
upon examination of the intersection of the two research approaches related to
leader effectiveness, however, were mainly inconclusive. So, the attention of
researchers has shifted towards offering more refined perspectives upon
behaviour that saw a complex behavioural interaction as having more relevance
to the effectiveness of leadership (Yukl, 2010). The Blake and Mouton
Management Grid was another noteworthy approach that came out of the original
research into the orientations of employee and production (Zeidan, 2009). The
66
belief that underlay this approach held that there is a sound consistent leadership
style that can be exercised in various situations. Two variables are utilised within
the grid which are concerned with production inspired by the production
orientation and the described employee orientation. These variables are viewed
as interdependent within the model; that is, at their connection point they stop
being variables that are separate and are combined into a new creation. The
implication is that if the score of a leader changes for one variable, there will be
an impact in the score in relation to another type of variable (Borkowski, 2011).
Blake and McCanse (1991, cited in Iszatt-White and Saunders, 2014) consider
there to be five main intersection areas, as follows:
 The Impoverished Management Leader (score of 1.1) does the minimum
necessary for completion of a job and can seem apathetic with regard to
tasks in question and has infrequent interaction with employees;
 The Team Management Leader (score of 9.9) is extremely pro-active and
has a high level of involvement with the task and with employees, who are
given responsibility and trust. The suggestion from the model is that this
type of leader is the best for all types of situations and is the type of person
who is approachable for the employees and offers clarity for the purpose
of the work;
 A Country-Club Management Leader (score of 9.1) has a high level of
concern for people though a low-level of concern for the production and,
as such, manages to facilitate a working environment that is very good,
however there is a degree of compromise for the speed of completion of
tasks;
67
 An Authority-Compliance Management Leader (score 1.9) is one who
minimises the relational aspects of management though has a belief in the
gaining of an efficient work tempo (Borkowski, 2011).
 The Middle-of-the-Road Management leader (score 5.5) has sufficient
balance to advance the organisation adequately.
Blake and Mouton (1964) made the important discovery in using their model that
leaders may, in fact, switch between different styles without an integration of them.
Furthermore, they had the recognition that for certain leaders, their main task was
their own personal advancement and that such people could use any of the
aforementioned styles if it helped them in their ambitions in some way; the term
for this style is ‘opportunism’ (Robbins, 2009).
Table 3.2: From 'Great Man' to 'Transformational Leadership’
Based on the belief that leaders are exceptional people,

Great Man Theories
born with innate qualities, destined to lead. The use of the
term ‘man’ was intentional since until the latter part of the
twentieth century leadership was thought of as a concept
which is primarily male, military and Western. This led to
the school of Trait Theories
The lists of traits associated with leadership exist in

Trait Theories
abundance and continue to be produced. They draw on
virtually all the adjectives in the dictionary which describe
some positive or virtuous human attribute, from ambition to
zest for life.
68
Behaviourist
These concentrate on what leaders actually do rather than
Theories
on their qualities. Different patterns of behaviour are
observed and categorised as ‘styles of leadership’. This
area has probably attracted most attention from practising
managers.
Situational
This approach sees leadership as specific to the situation in
Leadership
which it is being exercised. For example, while some
situations may require an autocratic style, others may need
a more participative approach. It also proposes that there
may be differences in required leadership styles at different
levels in the same organisation.
Contingency
This is a refinement of the situational viewpoint and focuses
Theory
on identifying the situational variables which best predict the
most appropriate or effective leadership style to fit the
particular circumstances.
Transactional
This approach emphasises the importance of the
Theory
relationship between leader and followers, focusing on the
recognition in return for the commitment or loyalty of the
followers.
Transformational The central concept here is change and the role of leaders
Theory
in envisioning and implementing the transformation of
organisational performance.
Source: Bolden, et al. (2003, p.6)
Some leadership traits appear more frequently than others, including: technical
skill, friendliness, task motivation, application to task, group task supportiveness,
social skill, emotional control, administrative skill, general charisma, and
intelligence. Of these, the most widely explored has tended to be “charisma”.
The following table lists those identified by Stogdill (1974).
69
Table 3.3 Leadership traits and skills
Traits Skills
- Adaptable to situations - Clever (intelligent)
- Alert to social environment - Conceptually skilled
- Ambitious and achievement-orientated - Creative
- Assertive - Diplomatic and tactful
- Cooperative - Fluent in speaking
- Decisive - Knowledgeable about group task
- Dependable - Organised (administrative ability)
- Dominant (desire to influence others) - Persuasive
- Energetic (high activity level) - Socially skilled
- Persistent
- Self-confident
- Tolerant of stress
- Willing to assume responsibility
Source: Stogdill (1974)
The following figure illustrates Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Grid (1964) which,
although might be considered rather dated, is still a useful tool to evaluate
leadership style for change and improvement.
Figure 3.1 Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Grid (1964)
Source: The Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Grid (1964)
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The next significant approach to behavioural studies of leadership with a basis in
relationships and tasks was that developed by Likert (1977) who undertook more
than five hundred studies into over 350 companies, with a survey of 200,000
subordinates and 20,000 managers. Following analysis of the findings, four
significant managerial behaviour patterns were identified and formed into a 4-
system model (Ercetin, 2012). The first of these is the ‘Exploitative Authoritative’
which is an approach that is dictatorial from leaders who are autocratic; there is
minimal involvement and delegation of subordinates in the decision making with
this pattern of leadership. Work motivation comes by way of fear of punishment
or actual punishment. The next kind is the ‘Benevolent Authoritative’ wherein
delegation to and involvement of subordinates within decision-making remains
minimal. However, motivation come from reward rather than the threat or use of
punishments. The third type is ‘Consultative’ wherein there is information sharing
with subordinates and involvement of them in the processes of decision-making;
furthermore, there is a preference for teamwork and, therefore, more of the trust
can be maintained. Finally, the type known as ‘Participative’ is that where there is
active involvement of subordinates in the decision-making and where the
communication at all organisational levels, and between them, is open; such an
active involvement of the stakeholders leads to high trust levels within an
organisation (Swansburg, 2002). It was found by Likert that the closer that the
leadership and management of a company was to the ‘Participative’ type, then
the higher the company productivity levels and the greater were the potential of
earnings (Likert, 1979, cited in Iszatt-White and Saunders, 2014). The research
discovered that where that style of leadership was in evidence in an organisation,
productivity increases were reported as being at a level from 10% to 40% whilst,
71
simultaneously, levels of health, labour relations and employee satisfaction within
the companies were good too. So, as with the work of Blake and Mouton (1984),
there was the proposal from Likert that, across every situation, one leadership
way has a relevance (Bhatia, 2010).
3.4.5 Situational theories of leadership
Bass and Stogdill (1990) consider that the situational leadership theories are in
direct opposition to the trait theories and suggest that questions of leadership are
all a case of the demands of each situation, i.e. the emergence of a leader is
determined by situational factors. Fairholm and Fairholm (2009) argue that
situational theories emerged from a notion that behavioural theories are
inadequate for the complexities of society and work as particular behaviours tend
to be of most use only in particular types of situation. The idea has its basis in the
belief that what leaders do is determined by the situation and that behaviours have
to have congruence with the particular environment in question. As such, based
on these theories, the leader is not the relative of the leader before, but arises as
the result of the specific situation (Fairholm and Fairholm, 2009). From the late
1960s, leadership theories began to shift towards these perspectives and
throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, such approaches continued to be
developed further and refined (Vecchio, 1987, cited in Northouse, 2011).
Wren (1995) suggested that situational leadership theories are an attempt to show
the relationship that is appropriate between a particular situational aspect, namely
the level of readiness shown by followers, and the behaviour of the leader in
question. The suggestion is that a leader has to keep sensitivity towards the
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readiness levels of followers, which can be defined as their willingness and ability
to undertake a specific task. Also, as there is the assignment of new tasks, or the
establishment of new goals, or as personal problems emerge, leaders need to be
mindful of how the readiness levels may change. The ability here can be seen as
a function of the skills and/or knowledge that have been acquired from experience,
training and/or education. Willingness can be considered as a combination of
motivation, confidence and commitment. Lussier and Achua (2013) suggested
that a follower that is confident can perform a task adequately without the need
for a great deal of supervision; whilst they define motivation as the enthusiasm
and interest of a person in performing a task. So, there has to be an appropriate
adjustment in the behaviour of the leader. Northouse (2013) shared similar views
in stating a situational style of leadership requires that leaders match their
leadership style to the commitment and competence of their subordinates, and
that effective leaders are those able to recognise the needs of their employees
and are then able to adapt their leadership style in order for those needs to be
met.
There is a stress with situational leadership theory that leadership comprises both
supportive and directive elements and that each of them has to be applied to an
appropriate degree for any particular situation. In order to determine what is
required in any specific situation, leaders have to undertake an evaluation of the
employees and make an assessment of how committed and competent they are
for the performance of a particular task. With the basis in the assumption that,
over time, the motivation and skills of an employee vary, there is the suggestion
with situational leadership theory that leaders ought to alter the degree to which
73
their style is either supportive or directive in order to meet the changing
requirements of their subordinates (Northouse, 2013). Thus, the underlying notion
with situational leadership is an assumption that the style involves a dynamic
interaction where the level of readiness of followers could change and where the
behaviour of leaders has to also change to an appropriate degree so that the
follower performance can be maintained.
Hersey and Blanchard (1969) were responsible for one of the key works within
the development of the situational leadership approach. For them, follower
readiness could be split into four different levels: R1, where there are low levels
of both willingness and capability; R2, where there is a high level of willingness
though a low level of capability; R3, where the level of capability is high though
the level of willingness is low or moderate; and R4, where there are high levels of
both willingness and capability (Iszatt-White and Saunders, 2014). Based on this
situational leadership model of Hersey and Blanchard, styles of leadership can be
categorised into four distinct groups of supportive and directive behaviours:
a) S1, also known as a directive style, is one in which there is a high level of
direction and a low level of support and in which the communication from
the leader is concentrated upon the achievement of goals and in which very
little time is spent utilising supportive behaviour. Instruction is given to
subordinates about the goals and how they are to be reached, followed by
careful supervision (Bhatia, 2010). This leadership style may be
appropriate for groups lacking willingness and the necessary competence
to perform relevant tasks, i.e. R1 (Iszatt-White and Saunders, 2014);
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b) S2, also known as a coaching approach, is one in which there is both a
high level of direction and a high level of support in which communication
of the leader has a focus upon the achievement of the goals in question
and upon the meeting of the socio-emotional needs of the subordinates.
Such leaders have involvement with their subordinates, encourage them
and seek their input whilst, ultimately, keeping the final decisions over what
goals are to be reached, and how they are to be reached, to themselves
(Northouse, 2013). This style of leadership is most appropriate for groups
with a level of readiness of R2, where there is a high willingness to
undertake a task that has been assigned but a low level of competence
(Iszatt-White and Saunders, 2014);
c) S3, known as the supportive approach, is a style wherein the level of
support is high though the level of direction is low. When taking this
approach, a leader does not have an exclusive focus upon goals though
utilises supportive behaviour to encourage the employees to bring their
skills forward for the accomplishment of the task(s) in question. Such a
style involves listening, the taking of suggestions and feedback, and
praising, with the leader handing the control over everyday decisions to the
subordinates whilst remaining available to help with problem solving if
necessary (Northouse, 2013). This type of style of leadership is appropriate
when people have a variable degree of commitment toward the tasks
assigned to them though have a high degree of competence, i.e. R3 (Iszatt-
White and Saunders, 2014);
d) S4, the delegating approach to leadership is one where the style is low in
both direction and support where less social support and task input is
75
offered, though the leader facilitates the confidence of the employees and
their motivation for performing tasks. Such leaders tend to reduce their
involvement in the controlling of details, the planning of the work and the
clarifying of goals. Following agreement with a group over what tasks need
to be done, and how they are to be done, a leader leaves subordinates to
decide upon the manner in which they are to be accomplished. As such, in
adopting this style, control is given to subordinates by the leader who then
keeps from intervening with any unnecessary forms of social support
(Northouse, 2013). This type of leadership is most appropriate for groups
with a level of readiness of R4, that is, those groups comprised of people
with high levels of both competence and willingness to accomplish the
associated tasks (Iszatt-White and Saunders, 2014).
As Landy and Conte (2010) indicate there are several strengths with an approach
that has situational leadership. It is viewed by many experts as a standard by
which leaders can be trained. Also, it is an approach that is practical that is easy
to understand and apply (Robbins, 2009). Also, if a leader wishes to enhance the
effectiveness of their leadership, the approach lays out a distinct group of
prescriptions for action (Borkowski, 2011). A further strength of situational
leadership is that there is an emphasis on there being more than one appropriate
leadership style; leaders are instead encouraged to have flexibility and be willing
to adapt their leadership style to the particular situational demands (Northouse,
2013). There has, however, also been a degree of criticism of the approach. To
begin with, the theoretical underpinnings to the approach do not have the support
and justification of a large body of robust research; as such, there is a degree of
76
ambiguity with regard to how certain leadership aspects are conceptualised by
the approach (Northouse, 2013). There is a lack of clarity for explanation of how
subordinates develop from a low level of operation to a higher one, nor how, over
time, their level of commitment, changes (Ledlow and Coppola, 2011). Without a
sufficient body of research, the levels of development have to be questioned. Also,
there is a failure of the model to address how the demographic characteristics
have a bearing upon the preferences of employees with regard to leadership.
There are no guidelines provided for how the approach can be used by leaders
within the setting of a group rather than contexts that are one to one (Robbins,
2009).
3.4.6 Contingency theories of leadership
Contingency leadership theories emphasise the idea that leaders are not effective
in every situation. There will be success if the style of leadership of a leader
matches a work situation well; however, there is likely to be failure if the style does
not match the situation well (Landy and Conte, 2010). Fiedler (1974) suggests the
most important model for contingency in this study, involving a survey requesting
subordinates to give a description of leaders or managers with whom they had
enjoyed working. Bipolar adjectives were used for rating the person in question,
such as unfriendly or friendly and, by this method, the leader or manager was
judged to be either task focused or relationship focused (Robbins, 2009). The
Least Preferred Co-Worker (LPC) scale was developed by Fiedler (1974) based
upon his survey findings. There is the suggestion with the model that if a leader
has a LPC score that is low, they are a more task focused leader, and that a high
LPC score relates to a leader who has a relationship oriented focus. Those with a
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score that is high may have poor performance when under considerable pressure
as their focus is more upon people than the task in question. On the other hand,
those with a score that is low would be those who achieve a task without
considering others and this is emphasised further in stressful situations (Iszatt-
White and Saunders, 2014). There is the suggestion with contingency theories
that there can be three categorisations for situations, i.e. position power, task
structure and the relations between leader and member(s). Position power refers
to the degree of authority held by a leader to punish followers or reward them, and
includes power that is legitimately acquired by individuals because of their position
within an organisation. There is strong position power if someone has the authority
to award rises in pay or rank, or to employ or sack someone; conversely, there is
weak position power when someone does not have such authority (Borkowski,
2011). The task structure variable for situations refers to the degree to which
there is clear spelling out of the task requirements. When there is complete
structure to a task, there is a tendency for the leader to be given greater control,
whilst unclear, vague tasks would tend to lessen the influence and control of a
leader (Robbins, 2009). Thirdly, the leader-member relations comprise the loyalty,
confidence and sense of attraction that followers feel towards the leader
(Borkowski, 2011). When subordinates like, trust and cooperate with a leader and
the atmosphere of the group is positive, then leader-member relations can be said
to be good. On the other hand, when there is friction within a group and a lack of
friendliness, then the relations of leader-member can be said to be poor. The three
situational factors, when taken together, can be seen as determining whether a
situation within an organisation is favourable. Situations have the least favourable
rating when there are unstructured tasks, weak leader position power and when
78
the relations between leader and follower are poor. On the other hand, defined
tasks, strong leader position power and good relations of leader-follower would
tend to lead to situations with a most favourable rating. Circumstances between
those two extremes would tend to be more rated as moderately favourable. As
noted by Robbins (2009), certain styles of leadership have more effectiveness
within certain types of situation. Those people with a low LPC score, i.e. who are
task motivated, would tend to have greater effectiveness in situations that are both
very unfavourable and very favourable. As such, low LPC scorers would tend to
be effective when situations are out of control or, conversely, proceeding
smoothly. On the other hand, those who have a high LPC score, i.e. those who
have a relationship oriented motivation would tend to be effective in situations that
could be described as moderately favourable; as such, if there is a degree of
certainty though things are proceeding neither in a completely controlled way nor
in a way that is totally out of control, then high LPC scorers would tend to be
effective (Fiedler, 1974, cited in Northouse, 2013). It was argued by Fiedler and
Mahar (1979, cited in Iszatt-White and Saunders, 2014) that instead of a person
adjusting his or her motivation or personality to be suitable for a particular
situation, leaders find it easier to adjust a situation so that it suits his or her own
particular leadership style. Furthermore, in certain situations, for an organisation
to have the best possible result, it may be the most appropriate thing to change
the leader or the situation or both of them.
Path-goal theory is another important contingency theory which has the assertion
that for leaders to be have effectiveness, they have to engage in types of
behaviour that are complementary to the abilities and environments of
79
subordinates in a way that is compensatory for their deficiencies and also in a way
that is instrumental to the performance of the individual(s) and work unit, and that
facilitates the satisfaction of subordinates (House, 1971, cited in Wart, 2012).
Expressed another way, it is the responsibility of the leader to seek for the
alignment of the goals of the organisation and the worker, and to then make sure
that the path for the employee in trying to attain the goals is made clear. Social
exchange theory (see, for example, Hollander, 1978 and Homans, 1958) and
expectancy theory (see, for example, Vroom, 1964) are the theoretical foundation
from which path-goal theory has been developed. There is the assumption within
the theory that employees and workers are engaged in a relationship that is one
of mutually beneficial exchange and that it is the job of the leader to seek the
enhancement of the shared goals and sense of reciprocity; the leader has an
emphasis upon the two contingency types that can be seen within the
transactional model of leadership, i.e. a comprehensive focus on subordinate and
task characteristics. The numerous contingencies that could be deficient are
examined by the theory and there is the suggestion that a specific need would be
remedied by the particular leadership type (Fairholm and Fairholm, 2009). A key
contribution made by the theory is the conceptualisation it has of the requirements
for leadership. There is the suggestion that there is not always a need for
leadership; instead, it suggests that leadership supplies what is missing or needed
for a task environment and/or for subordinates. The theory has the argument that
when conditions are ideal, and when co-operative, highly motivated and well-
trained employees are in place who have suitable incentives and ample supplies,
there is very little need for leadership. However, such conditions are very rare and
so leaders are needed to improve conditions and maintain them (Wart, 2012).
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The appropriate style to adopt is mainly related to contingencies that are either
related to the followers or the task. Whilst in theory, there is an endless number
of contingencies that are task related, there are five primary factor types that are
identified by path-goal theory, i.e. task difficulty, task ambiguity, job quality (such
as monotonous, stressful and so on), worker control (autonomy or level) and
interdependency (such as need for a team approach) (Bhatia, 2010). Another type
of contingency groups those involving subordinates, i.e. the preferred fulfilment
types, work preferences and the training and experience of workers. So that such
contingent needs can be attended to, there is a suggestion that there are four
styles of leadership, i.e. achievement-oriented, participative, supportive and
directive (Griffin, 2011). Leadership behaviour that is achievement-oriented has
direction towards encouragement of excellence in performance through the
setting of goals that are challenging, through looking for improvement and having
an emphasis upon performance excellence. Also, the leader shows confidence
that the subordinates will reach the high performance standards required. A leader
that is participative, on the other hand, looks at encouraging influence of the
subordinates in the making of decisions and in the operation of work units, i.e. a
participative leader consults with subordinates and takes account of their
suggestions and opinions when decisions are being made (House, 1996, cited in
Wart, 2012). The third style, that of the supportive leader, involves behaviour
directed at satisfying the preferences and needs of subordinates, such as looking
to create a work environment that is psychologically supportive and friendly, and
through displaying concern for the welfare of the subordinates. Finally, the leader
who has a style that is directive is one that looks to clarify paths/goals and has
behaviour geared towards the provision of a structure for subordinates in
81
psychological terms, i.e. subordinates are informed what the expectations are for
them, the work is scheduled and coordinated, and specific guidance is provided
along with clarification of any rules, procedures or policies that are relevant to their
tasks (House, 1996).
So, based on the aforementioned contingencies, in accordance with path-goal
theory, and the present contingencies, various styles can be relevant to supply
that which is ‘missing’. When there is a lack of formalisation and clarity in the job
at hand, structure can be supplied by directive leadership and this is appropriate
when subordinates have had a lack of education or training and in situations
where, in general, workers prefer order and structure in their work (Whitney,
2007).
If there is job complexity and/or significant change, it is helpful to have leadership
behaviour that is participative, in addition to behaviours that are achievement-
oriented when there is a need for higher standards. Furthermore, if workers prefer
a high degree of control over their workload, a style that is more achievement-
oriented or participatory has a tendency to lead to better work (Griffin, 2011).
When jobs are unpleasant there is a call for leadership behaviour that is more
supportive. When jobs are highly interdependent, participatory leadership styles
are more appropriate. Meanwhile, directive leadership is preferable when high
security is needed. However, if the need for security is low, then a style that is
achievement-oriented may be more appropriate. Furthermore, if workers have a
greater degree of control of their work, there is a tendency for leadership
behaviour that is achievement-oriented to work better. So, leaders that have a
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strong wish for individualistic recognition have a tendency to prefer styles that are
achievement-oriented and supportive, whereas those leaders who tend to be
more interested in the success of the group tend to be more amenable to styles
that are participatory (Whitney, 2007).
There is the suggestion that there several advantages to the participative style of
leadership, as seen by path-goal theory and the situational theories and the
models hailing from Ohio and Michigan State Universities and Hersey and
Blanchard. However, as noted by Landy and Conte (2010), there are important
disadvantages; when members of a group lack the knowledge or ability for difficult
decision-making, or when a conclusion cannot be reached, either by the leader or
in working with each other, then there is potential that decision quality may
ultimately suffer in situations where a participative leadership style has been
adopted (Bass and Bass, 2008). There is an assumption with the model that the
leader has the important duty of making decisions and there is a suggestion of a
manner of choosing a strategy for decision-making. However, there is also the
equally significant implication that it is not always suitable to have an entirely
participative leadership style or decision-making by a group (Rigolosi, 2005).
Lunenburg and Ornstein (2012) consider that the model proposes a leader has to
adopt a style of leadership depending on the circumstances, the implication being
that a leader may have an autocratic style in one set of circumstances and a
participatory one in another. As such, it is considered that to administer effectively,
there is a need for an ability to diagnose a situation correctly and then select a
suitable style for decision-making.
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Figure 3.2 Contingency theories of style of leadership
Leadership Styles
 Directive
 Supportive
 Participative
 Achievement-oriented
Ideal conditions for each style

determined by situational factors
 Task: clarity of job, difficulty,
stressfulness and danger,
interdependency, worker
control, etc.
 Subordinates: experience
and training, work
preferences, types of
fulfilment desired, etc.
Strategies for success

 Ability to select correct style
Performance Goals
 Follower needs and
satisfaction
 Production efficiency
Source: House and Mitchell, (1974)
Vroom and Yetton (1973) developed another key contingency model in order to
address this matter, which presented seven rules that enabled leaders to select
the appropriate style of decision-making. The initial three rules have a focus upon
the decision quality. As such, if a decision is of importance and a subordinate
possesses the relevant information that the leader lacks, then it is not suitable to
have a decision made in an autocratic way as the leader would not be adequately
informed. If, on the other hand, the quality of decision is of importance, though
subordinates do not share in the concern for the goals of a task that the leader
has, then it would be inappropriate to have group decision-making as potentially
uncooperative or even hostile people would be given far too much influence. If the
quality of decision is of importance, and there is an unstructured decision problem
84
and a leader without possession of the required expertise and information for
making a sound decision, however, then the decision in question ought to be
made through the interaction of people in possession of the relevant information
(Lunenburg and Ornstein, 2012).
The following four model rules address the acceptance of decisions. An autocratic
style of decision is not suitable if it is important that a decision is accepted as it is
unlikely that subordinates will accept a decision that is autocratic. The
implementation of the decision may not be effective. Furthermore, if it is important
that a decision is accepted, which is unlikely with a decision that is autocratic even
though subordinates share the task objectives of the leaders, then subordinates
ought to be permitted to be equal partners in the decision-making process as there
would be a maximisation of acceptance without the quality being risked. When the
acceptance of the decision has importance and there is likely to be disagreement
amongst the subordinates about an important problem/issue and the best way to
solve it, then it is inappropriate to have individual consultation and autocratic
procedures as they fail to provide the chance of differences being resolved by way
of negotiation and discussion amongst the subordinates, or between the leader
and the subordinates (Yukl, 2006). Moreover, if the quality of decision is not of
great importance though acceptance of it is vital, which is unlikely with a decision
that is autocratic, then the only procedure that would be suitable would be to have
a decision from the group, as this would maximise acceptance without the quality
of decision being risked (Lunenburg and Ornstein, 2012). The value of the model
has been supported by further research. Upon adoption of a strategy for decision-
making through the suggestions of the model, there was a 62% success rate of
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decision makers as opposed to a 37% rate of success for taking other approaches
(Vroom and Jago, 1988)
3.4.7 The theory of leader-member exchange (LMX)
According to the leader-member exchange (LMX) theory, two kinds of relationship
exist between the leader and the follower. One of these has its basis in the formal
relationships that are established within an employment contract. This is also
known as ‘low quality leader-member relationships’ and related to the term ‘out-
group’. The other kind of relationship is based upon role responsibilities that are
negotiated and extended and that include respect, mutual influence and trust, and
these are also known as ‘high quality leader-member relationships and related to
the term ‘in-group’ (Winkler, 2010). It has been argued by Rainey (2009) that
employees within an ‘in-group’ are recipients of the benefits of being given
assignments that are of more interest and they participate within the making of
decisions of importance. However, when compared to members of an ‘out-group’,
members of an ‘in-group’ also have a greater number of obligations, such as
meeting the expectations of leaders, of working harder and the bearing of greater
responsibility. There are also corresponding types of benefit and obligation for the
leader in relationships such as these (O'Donnell, 2009).
A further suggestion by Winkler (2010) is that group members enter into one of
these two kinds of groups early on, with the distinction depending on how the
superior-subordinate relationship develops as the mutual role is defined, as well
as the assessment by the participants of the potential costs and advantages of
such relationships. According to Rowe and Guerrero (2011), personal
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characteristics and personality traits also play a significant role as they have a
bearing upon the attitudes and behaviours of both subordinate and leader. It was
proposed by Forsyth (2009) that in becoming a member of one of these two kinds
of groups, there is a dependency upon subordinate behaviour with regard to the
degree to which he or she has responsibility developing within that relationship of
leader to follower. The greater the degree of willingness to make a contribution to
group aims over and above the role that has been formally defined by the
hierarchy within the work contract, then the more likelihood that a subordinate will
enter into being a part of an ‘in-group’ (Leponiemi, 2008). A consequence of this
is that mutual relationships between the follower and leader include mutual
influence and trust as well as the more formal aspects (Larson, 2006). If, on the
other hand, a follower does not wish to assume greater responsibility, he or she
will become an ‘out-group’ member. According to LMX theory, leadership is
conceptualised into an interaction process between the follower and leader that
has a focus on the relationships between them. As noted by Van Breukelen et al.
(2006), within work groups, the relationships of leader to follower can be divided
into a working relationship set between the various work team members and the
leader. LMX theory emerged in the 1970s and had the underlying assumption that
various relationships develop between leaders and all of their followers, and so a
leader can have several different transaction types and relationship types with
various different followers (Rowe and Guerrero, 2011). The theory has the
proposal, therefore, that followers and leaders are engaged in an exchange type
of relationship wherein leaders lead the followers as they get something from
them, and followers follow as they are in receipt of something from their leader
(Messick, 2005).
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3.5 Neo-emergent leadership theory
The Oxford School of Leadership developed the theory of neo-emergent
leadership, with the suggestion that emerging information by a leader of another
stakeholder creates leadership, instead of it being because of the true leader
actions. Expressed another way, the basis of a perception of leadership amongst
a majority is formed by stories or information being reproduced. In modern society,
blogs, the mainstream press and other information sources have reports with their
own particular viewpoint with regard to a leader. A particular view may have a
basis in reality, though it could have a basis in a form of payment, the vested
interests of the media, a leader or the author, or be based upon a political
command. The inference from the theory is the perceptions of leaders are a
created thing that may, in reality, not be a true reflection of the leadership qualities
possessed by a person (Avolio 2009).
3.6 The environmental leadership theory
Leadership is described by the environmental leadership model from the
perspective of group dynamics that incorporates group psychology and self-
awareness for the nurturing of environments that promote a self-sustaining form
of group leadership, with a basis in the personal and emotional gratification taken
from the group activities. Environmental leadership theory states that a
psychological structure is created by an environmental leader through which the
employees are able to discover and attain gratification in their work or activities
(Williams, 2012). The theory has an insistence that all individuals have a variety
of environments that can bring forward various aspects of their identities. Each of
the various environmental facets is driven by perceptions within them that are
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emotionally charged. An environmental leader is one who is able to create a
platform, by way of awareness raising and education, from which an individual
can fulfil their emotional needs and from where he or she can be more consciously
aware of how and when they impact upon the emotional gratifications of other
team members and the group as a whole (Avolio 2009). So, rather than
environmental leadership being about changing the group ‘mind-set’ or changing
the mind-set of a particular person, it is more about cultivating an environment
that inspires individuals within a group and that brings out the best in them. Rather
than it being about having an ability to influence another to undertake an action to
which they are not committed, it is more a case of nurturing a working culture that
gives motivation and that benefits everyone. Rather than carrying other people
towards a particular end, it is rather the establishment of surroundings that help
in the development of qualities in people so that they are able to carry one another
(Carmazzi, 2013). So, environmental leaders are those who are able to instil
passion within their employees and who give a group and its dynamics appropriate
direction. A psychological support system is implemented within a group setting
by an environmental leader that enables the developmental and emotional group
needs to be filled (Carmazzi, 2013)
3.7 Theories of transformational and transactional leadership
Towards the end of the 20th century, two significant theories of leadership, namely
transformational leadership theory and transactional leadership theory, emerged
because of the challenges presented to organisations as they sought to cope with
change within modern society (Bertocci, 2009). The theory of transformational
leadership is taking a leading role within research related to leadership (Keskes,
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2014). The concept has the suggestion that it is insufficient for followers to be
dealt with by a leader just in terms of punishments and rewards. Transformational
leadership theory calls for leaders to be able to identify the changes needed, and
for them to create visions that can guide people as those changes are made
through active involvement of subordinates, inspiration and the execution of
processes in a committed way Western, (2008). Burns (1978) was the first to
introduce the concept in describing leadership that was transformational as having
a basis in a commitment to values that are shared, in which people engage in a
way that both followers and leaders raise the levels of morality and motivation in
each other to higher and higher levels (Burns 1978). It was suggested by Marshall
(2011) that transformational leadership requires emotional intelligence with values
systems, and with attention given to the spirit with which followers and leaders are
involved with one another, to raise spirits and provide inspiration.
For Neider and Schriesheim (2002), transformational leadership is a style that is
involved with an underlying process of influence that gives followers motivation
through encouraging self-interests to be transcended for accomplishing goals and
the good of the organisation. Followers are motivated to exceed original
expectations and to feel a sense of respect, loyalty, admiration and trust in relation
to their leader. The transformational style has a focus upon changing the beliefs,
interests, values and morale of employees in order for the performance to be
enhanced over and above initial expectations. This focus is achieved through
increased awareness and acceptance of the values and goals of the organisation
and through helping the employees have a perspective that goes beyond just their
personal self-interest (Spagnoli and Caetano, 2012). Leaders that are
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transformational have a tendency to be visionary, charismatic and inspirational so
that the results that some may perceive as extraordinary can be achieved
(Marshall, 2011). It was suggested by Neider and Schriesheim (2002) that
transformational leaders raise the consciousness and awareness levels of
followers with regard to the importance and value of significant accomplishments
and outcomes, and they are able to help and encourage their followers in
transcending their own personal interest so that the group may be enhanced
and/or the interests of the team, the organisation and even wider society can be
met (Bertocci, 2009).
Transactional leadership, on the other hand, was a concept that Max Weber first
described back in 1947 and that later re-emerged in the work of Benjamin Bass
in the early 1980s (Ledlow and Coppola, 2011). Gibson et al. (2003) consider
transactional leadership to be a kind of leadership whereby a leader identifies the
kinds of rewards that are wanted by followers, then helps them achieve a
performance level that leads to them receiving such rewards. Meanwhile, George
and Jones (2009) have defined transactional leadership as a type that involves
the motivation of followers through the noticing of the mistakes of subordinates
and the reprimanding of them for those mistakes and for performance that is
substandard, as well as the exchange of rewards when high levels of performance
are seen. If a transactional leadership approach is taken, a leader has a reliance
upon contingent rewards that have a dependence on a follower undertaking the
necessary actions in order to receive those rewards. So, for example, for a
follower to get a promotion, he or she may have to have an increased workload,
or sales may have to be increased by them in order to have a better salary or
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costs may have to be lowered in order to get a bigger bonus (Bertocci, 2009). For
a transactional leader, the concepts from path to goal act as a guiding framework.
However, a leader may also adjust directions, organisational missions and goals
so that effectiveness can be achieved. According to Hood (2007), it is very
important that both followers and leaders have flexibility within such an approach.
Leaders who are transactional tend to have a focus upon the establishment of
goals and the setting of rewards so that followers will work towards their
accomplishment. Transactional leaders also monitor progress towards the
achievement of the set goals, so that compliance to the rules of the organisation
and the instructions of the leaders is increased (Testa, 2011). Leaders with a
transactional style can be considered as those with a tendency to focus upon
control and efficiency within processes, with a preference for avoiding risk and a
preference for working with the system as it stands (Keskes, 2014). Transactional
leadership can be considered as having three dimensions, i.e. non-leadership
behaviour known as ‘laissez-faire’, management by exception, and contingent
reward (Hetland et al., 2011).
3.8 Transformational styles of leadership
Bertocci (2009) claims that the transformational style of leadership involves ten
different functions that work to give definition to the way in which a vision is
achieved by leaders by working with and through others to effect change. Firstly,
a leader who is transformational is one that looks out for opportunities, whether
they are leading an organisation, an organisational division or just a small
workgroup. The transformational leader continues to search for opportunities for
innovation and improvement to performance, for the group that is being lead, on
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an ongoing basis (Bush, 2011). Secondly, a transformational type of leader is
willing to take risks and to experiment in a way that challenges the status quo and
creates working environments that encourage subordinates to experiment and
take risks themselves. So, experimentation can involve challenges to the status
quo and the creation of a working environment that helps encourage subordinates
to experiment and challenge the status quo themselves whilst, simultaneously,
fostering creative thinking and making sure that success brings a greater reward
than the penalties that come forth for having failed. As such, a positive attitude is
encouraged that encourages subordinates to feel challenged and able to effect
change (Hood, 2007). Thirdly, a leader that is transformational develops a vision
of high performance that lets followers envision what the unit could be and that
helps followers share in a sense of common ground and common purpose
(Marshall, 2011). The fourth function of a transformational leader is that he or she
enlists the help of others in obtaining a commonly accepted vision or action plan
by placing an emphasis upon a sense of common purpose and through
communicating the vision effectively through showing faith in the followers and
through demonstration of his or her own belief in that organisational vision (Hood,
2007). The fifth function of a transformational leader is the fostering of
collaboration involving the coming together of people to work towards the
challenging goals of the vision. Group problem solving and cooperation is
promoted by a transformational leader instead of conflict and he or she creates
interaction mechanisms for the subordinates and builds trust amongst them
through trusting them in the first place until any reason for not trusting them
emerges (Lucas, 2005). A sixth function of a transformational leader is the
strengthening of others by, for example, enhancing the capacity of employees in
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the achievement of the goals of a vision by giving them the resources, knowledge
and tools for the job. Employees are empowered by a transformational leader
through the provision of the autonomy and authority for decision-making in their
work. Followers are provided with the information they need and the
transformational leader works to take away obstructions such as excessive
bureaucracy and ‘red tape’ (Marshall, 2011). The seventh function of
transformational leaders is example-setting, with them always trying to be a role
model for how one needs to think and behave in order to accomplish the
organisational vision. An eighth function of the transformational leader is that they
plan and establish series of small goals and wins that would make a contribution
to the overarching goals of the organisational vision (Bush, 2011).
Accomplishment of such small goals helps an employee to see how progress is
being made and this builds in him or her a confidence and a positive attitude with
regard to the vision as a whole (Lucas, 2005). The ninth function of a
transformational leader is that they make expectations known, are able to connect
the rewards to the performance, and they ensure that performance can be
measured. Transformational leaders remove any obstacles to the achievement of
the task goals and the consequent receipt of reward, and they provide rewards
that are valued by people and they seek to be consistent in their reward
distribution for good performance (Hood, 2007). Finally, a transformational leader
is one who is a kind of cheerleader for subordinates and would recognise
achievements and accomplishments and celebrate them in a public and visible
way (Bertocci, 2009).
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Burns (1978) was, in fact, the first to introduce a model of transformational
leadership; it was developed based upon research that described political leaders
(Hood, 2007). His model had a focus upon the interdependent, dynamic
relationships that existed between followers and leaders, and had a basis on an
assumption that it was difficult to differentiate between leadership and
management. However, Burns claimed that there were differences in the
behaviours and characteristics of leaders and managers and suggested the two
distinctive styles of leadership of ‘transforming’ and ‘transactional’ (Winkler, 2010).
In accordance with the model, ‘transforming leadership’ relates to change and
social justice and, to align with that perspective, a major role for leadership is
considered to be the bringing of self-awareness for followers in regard to their
values and needs. Rather than a transactional leadership approach based up a
relationship of give and take, transforming leadership is based upon the traits,
abilities and personality of the leader in working towards change through
articulation of challenging goals and an energising vision and through leading by
example (Bush, 2011). Moreover, the model has the suggestion that a leader who
is transformational is one that possesses three distinct characteristics to his or her
personality, as follows: i) individual attention, by which a leader pays attention to
the needs of followers and assigns them meaningful projects so that they grow
both as a professional and personally; ii) charisma, by which a leader instils a
sense of pride, respect and value in the follower and articulates a vision; iii)
intellectual stimulation, by which a leader helps a follower to rethink rational
approaches by way of examination of situations and encouragement so that they
become more creative in their work (Bertocci, 2009). Based on the model, a leader
can be thought of as someone using moral agency in facilitating emergent
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standards and perspectives that are both individual and shared, and who fosters
the essential utilisation of internal values and end values for bringing about
change (Lucas, 2005). The model has the suggestion that transactional and
transforming styles of leadership are mutually exclusive. The perspective taken is
that transforming leaders are innovative and have the belief that change of the
culture of an organisation is necessary to bring about enhanced output and
performance. Transactional leaders, on the other hand, have a preference for
continuing with ‘business as usual’, and do not tend to strive to change the culture
of an organisation (Marshall, 2011). Following considerable research in this field,
Bass (1985) built on the research of Burns (1978) and put forward a modified
transformational leadership theory that was more pragmatic. The psychological
mechanisms that underlay the concept were explained by Bass (1985). Also,
instead of the term ‘transforming’, as initially used in the work of Burns (1978),
Bass (1985) used the term ‘transformational’ and suggested that leadership that
was transformational could be defined in general terms in relation to the
behaviours of leaders and the effect they had upon followers. As noted by Neider
and Schriesheim (2002), Bass (1985) proposed four types of behaviours that were
transformational in engaging followers. Firstly, he considered there to be
‘idealised influence or charismatic leadership’, which he saw as behaviours that
aroused strong emotions in the follower and led to them identifying with a leader.
When behaving in such a way, the transformational leader turns into being a role
model that followers wish to emulate. For followers, the leader is someone who
takes risks, who they respect and admire and who presents a sense of purpose
and a clear vision to them to work towards (Marshall, 2011). The second
behaviour type, ‘inspirational motivation’, involves the communication of a vision
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that is appealing through the use of symbols to concentrate the efforts of
subordinates. In such a way, appropriate behaviour is modelled with
transformational leaders behaving in a manner that motivates other people,
challenges them, and that generates greater enthusiasm for the work at hand.
Simultaneously, the behaviour type involves clear communication of expectation
and demonstration of a commitment to shared visions and goals (Marshall, 2011).
The third type of behaviour is ‘intellectual stimulation’ which involves behaviour
that increases the awareness that followers have of problems and influences them
to view the problems from a different perspective. Without publicly correcting or
criticising others, the leader that is transformational actively tries to bring forward
new ideas about how to approach the work and to stimulate followers to have a
creative approach (Marshall, 2011). The fourth kind of behaviour is ‘individualised
consideration’ which includes the provision of encouragement, coaching and
support to followers by a transformational leader who puts attention on the needs
of others and their potential for development. A transformational leader
establishes a climate that is supportive and where respect is shown for individual
differences, acknowledgement is given of individual concerns and the followers
are, in general, encouraged in their work.
As Gabriel (2008) argues, if the aforementioned factors are exhibited by a leader,
then he or she is effective in the motivation of followers to higher engagement
levels. A number of researchers have, however, been reconsidering those four
dimensions, and a new model has been developed that has five dimensions:
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a) personal recognition, b) intellectual stimulation, c) supportive leadership,
d) inspirational communication, e) vision (Rafferty and Griffin, 2004; Keskes,
2014).
The main difference between the model of Bass (1985) and the earlier model of
Burns (1978) was that the earlier model viewed leaders as people who facilitated
awareness and self-actualisation as a way of, fundamentally, affecting change.
The model of Bass (1985), on the other hand, viewed leaders as people who
facilitated the support of followers for change that leaders had already defined
(Hood, 2007). Furthermore, the Bass (1985) model had less of a focus upon
exchanges between followers and leaders and more of a focus upon how
followers are motivated by leaders (Gabriel, 2008). Bass (1998) conducted further
studies that discovered evidence that leadership that was transformational could
have extreme power and had the capacity for inspiration beyond what people had
initially expected. Also, he discovered that transformational leadership could be
applied to many different domains including business, educational, medical and
military fields (Western, 2008).
Tichy and Devanna (1990) undertook another key work in the study of
transformational styles of leadership by proposing a 3-step model by which
leaders transform their organisations (Gabriel, 2008). This model first has an
emphasis upon the needs of the organisation before examining the behavioural
needs that cascade from them (Wart, 2012). The three assumptions upon which
the model is based are that i) a struggle exists between the forces for change and
the forces of stability; ii) a dramatic tension exists between acceptance and denial
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of reality; and iii) a struggle exists between fear and hope, and between the leap
of faith deemed necessary countered by a tension between change and stability
and a denial that change is in fact required at all (Welsh, 2007). Tichy and
Devanna (1990) asserted that issues of global competitiveness have meant that
it is ever more important that institutions across the world are capable of
continuous transformation; as such, they see that it is not only a matter for
dominance to increase excellence but a matter of survival (Wart, 2012). Using the
metaphor of a play with three acts, Tichy and Devanna (1990) linked the needs of
individuals and organisations to such acts. In Act 1, leaders, dissatisfied with the
current state of affairs, recognise changes that are triggered by pressures in the
working environment, and they then serve as agents of change through the
provision of an impetus for change inside their organisation. In Act 2, following
consideration of various viewpoints in the organisation, a vision is formed that
serves as a form of road map, in conceptual terms, to show the destination for the
organisation. The communication of the conceptualised vision by the leader is
essential as it must be accepted by sufficient employees who then work with the
transformational leader to bring it about. In the final act, Act 3, the structures of
the organisation that are outdated are demolished and the new structures are
founded so that the change can be institutionalised (Firestone, 2008; Wart, 2012).
The process needs a new form of culture to be shaped that is well-matched to the
organisation in its new reinvigorated state (Kiper, 2007). Tichy and Devanna
(1990) only provided for two alternative kinds of style, namely the transformational
style and the managerial style. They saw transformational leaders as being rare
though of increasingly vital importance to the success of an organisation. A
managerial leadership style was seen by them as being, on the other hand, a
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much more commonplace style within organisations (Wart, 2012). Their model
viewed leaders who are transformational as being principled and courteous
agents of change, who are authentic, value driven people who are oriented
towards learning and who are capable of the creation and articulation of a vision,
in addition to being able to reflect upon assumptions by consideration of cognitive
and emotional factors (Gabriel, 2008). Since change is a common aspect of the
dynamic environment for modern day business, a leader who is transformational
helps subordinates more smoothly cope with transition processes. Also, in
bringing about change for an organisation, a transformational leader coordinates
people through the successive stages of change as if in a theatrical play with
logically connected acts (Kiper, 2007).
3.9 Transactional styles of leadership
According to Bertocci (2009) the transactional leadership style is one in which a
leader, in taking into account the needs, self-conception and esteem of people,
helps the followers to see what has to be undertaken in order for the desired
results to be accomplished. The rewards for the performance expected are framed
by the transactional leader and path-goal conceptualisations are utilised in order
to show the followers how rewards can be achieved. The transactional style of
leadership is also known as ‘management by exception’ and it was suggested by
George and Jones (2009) that in using such an approach, a leader has a reliance
upon the contingent rewards. In other words, the situation has a dependency on
a follower doing what is necessary so that they will be rewarded for doing so. For
instance, a follower may have to lower costs in order to receive a larger bonus, or
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increase their workload so as to receive a promotion, or demonstrate an increase
in sales so that he or she may receive a greater salary. Whilst this leadership style
uses a path-goal conceptual framework, it also involves the leader adjusting the
organisational mission, goals and directives so that effectiveness can be
achieved. So, flexibility in both the leader and the followers is very important when
a transactional style of leadership is at work. It was suggested by Bush (2011)
that the transactional style has a close alignment to micro-politics in terms of its
relationships of exchange. For Miller and Miller (2001), transactional leadership
involves concentration upon proper resource exchange. Judge and Piccolo (2004)
consider transactional leadership to consist of three different dimensions. The first
dimension of ‘contingent reward’ relates to the degree that a leader establishes
constructive exchanges between them and their followers. The second dimension
of ‘management by exception-active’ relates to an active leader monitoring the
behaviour of followers, anticipating problems that could arise and the taking of
corrective action where considered necessary. The third dimension of
‘management by exception-passive’ relates to passive leaders waiting for the
behaviour of a subordinate to result in a problem rather than taking what they
consider unnecessary action.
3.10 McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y for leadership
McGregor was an early contributor to the theory of transactions in the 1960s with
his development of a Theory X and Theory Y for leadership (Ledlow and Coppola,
2011). His theory suggested that, in general, leaders have one of two sets of
contrasting assumptions with regard to subordinates, and these assumptions
have a considerable bearing upon the behaviour of the leaders. Based on the
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perspective of McGregor, a Theory X type of leader or manager considers
followers to be uncooperative, lazy and indifferent, and he or she takes a stance
that is usually very directive and autocratic and, as such, has characteristics that
are very similar to transactional leader characteristics. A leader or manager that
considers subordinates to be friendly, bright and energetic, on the other hand,
would tend to treat them in a different way using an approach that was more
oriented towards consensus-building and democratic; such behavioural traits
would be more akin to a leader who was transformational (Montana and Charnov,
2008). For instance, if subordinates arrived for work late, then a manager of the
Theory X type would consider that as irresponsible behaviour and consider the
situation as one that needs punishment and a stricter form of control. A Theory Y
type of manager, on the other hand, could possibly consider that subordinates
had been finding their jobs to be lacking in interest and so would consider further
inducements that could stimulate the subordinates into more timely and improved
performance (Mukherjee, 2009). Self-assessment by leaders of Theory Y type
may occur in the form of modifying internal factors, such as limitations, motives,
past experiences, and preferences with regard to style of leadership, as well as
modifying external factors, such as time constraints, norms of the organisation,
task characteristics, climate and structure of the organisation, history of
experiences with the group, legal and economic limitations, and the organisational
stability (Schermerhorn, 2011). After such a self-assessment, a Theory Y type of
leader selects a style of leadership, depending on the particular situation. A
Theory X type of leader, however, only has one style of leadership at their
disposal, an autocratic one, as his or her worldview is limited without consideration
for such modifiers (Miller, 2009). Comparison of laissez-faire leadership with
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Theory X with Theory Y by Northouse (2015) suggests that there is dissimilarity
of the former with both of the other two; this is because leaders who take a laissez-
faire approach would not attempt to control their subordinates in the way a Theory
X type of leader would and, by the same token, they would not attempt to guide
and nurture subordinates in the way a Theory Y type of leader would.
The above leadership theories and styles are broad and diverse in scope and
breadth; each tends to focus on different aspects of leadership. This study argues
that leadership is too multifaceted and multidimensional in content to be pinned
down to a single style or theory. In addition, there is clear evidence that the
definition of leadership remains a matter of the researchers’ individual
interpretation, and the purpose and context in which it applies. As a result, there
is no universal or one-size-fits-all leadership theory. While there is common
agreement on the general and generic meaning, there are still different nuances
of meanings of leadership. The boundaries in defining and delimiting leadership
styles and theories are often fuzzy. In short, leadership is still a term which is full
of spins and turns, often used to suit a particular agenda. Good leadership
remains in high demand and in short supply.
3.11 Newly coined leadership styles and theories
More recently, leadership has become a fertile area and has witnessed the
emergence of new labels of leadership styles and theories. Over the last two
decades the landscape of leadership has acquired a new jargon as a wide range
of new leadership styles and theories have been proposed. Some attribute this
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proliferation to the complex, volatile and versatile nature of today’s world. For
instance, leadership styles have been labelled as:
Everyday leadership Co-operative leadership
Dispersed leadership Concurrent leadership
Devolved leadership Co-ordinated leadership
Democratic leadership Relational leadership
Collaborative leadership Co-leadership
Collective leadership Ethical leadership
Authentic leadership Democratic leadership and

shared leadership
Servant leadership People-oriented leadership or

Relations-oriented leadership
Task-Oriented leadership Cross-Cultural leadership style
Emergent leadership style Team leadership
Distributive leadership The Facilitation Leadership

Style (also known as the
Participative or Democratic style
Source: Compiled by the present researcher
Evidence shows that early leadership styles/theories essentially focused on
personal characteristics and attributes of leaders and the manner with which they
lead which is based on the command and control of both people and processes.
Leaders relied on power, position, or personality to exercise authority. The new
leadership styles are more enabling styles of leadership, where leaders are
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viewed as progress makers. Thus, it is clearly demarcated from more traditionally
individualistic models of leadership (Senge and Kaeufer 2001; Fletcher and
Kaeufer 2003; Fletcher 2004). Recent leadership styles advocate the sharing,
exchanging and brainstorming of ideas as a form of problem solving. It is a group
action to make sense of the challenges and obstacles that they face. It does not
depend on one individual arbitrary decision. The new leadership landscape is one
of dynamic, interactive processes of influence and learning which will transform
organisational structures, norms and work practices (Pearce and Conger 2003,
Turnbull James 2011). This makes sense as Pearce and Conger (2003:2) point
out: “Top leaders may not have sufficient and relevant information to make highly
effective decisions in a fast-changing and complex world”. Similarly, Turnbull
James (2011:1) echoes the same sentiment arguing that:
Many critical leadership issues cannot be addressed by single
leaders, even at the top. Such examples include: collaboration rather
than competition among senior business unit managers; changes
involving many teams or units rather than falling within any one
manager’s remit; breaking down ‘silo thinking’ and adopting cross
organisation processes.
According to Riley (2012:2) there has been a gradual shift away from autocratic
leadership. Possible reasons for this include:
 Changes in society’s values
 Better educated workforce
 Focus on need for soft HR skills
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 Changing workplace organisation
 Greater workplace legislation
 Pressure for greater employee involvement
In short, traditional leadership styles are individually driven actions while modern
leadership style is a collectively based process. As Ensley et al (2006: 220) state:
Hierarchical leadership is dependent upon the wisdom of an individual
leader whereas shared leadership draws from the knowledge of a
collective. Further, vertical leadership takes place through a top-down
influence process, whereas shared leadership flows through a
collaborative process.
3.12 Limitations of leadership theories
Some critics suggest that leadership has become just a ‘buzzword’, trendy but too
speculative, fragmented and unable to provide concrete and practical
implications. The shortcomings of leadership styles/theories can be summed up as
follows:
 There is a lack of real progress in leadership research due to the absence
of standard and universally acceptable leadership criteria.
 Much the leadership research focused mainly on leaders’ characteristics
and have overlooked the impact of the followers and the situation, and the
organisational culture
 They tend to ignore political and organisational structure and cultural
influencing factors
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 They fail to explain why certain leaders would be effective in certain
situations yet not in others.
 They suggest one-size-fits-all leadership style and are exportable,
compatible and teachable.
 Leadership styles have few practical implications.
 Empirical findings of leadership within the public sector in developing
countries remain limited; models have not been tested.
In summary, it is often the case that a leader must be flexible, adapting a
leadership style that fits in with the organisational and cultural setting to motivate
and engage with specific and culturally diverse groups.
3.13 Definitions of organisational commitment
There is an extensive and multifarious literature on employee commitment. To
achieve and sustain success, an organisation must retain its most valuable asset,
its employees and ensure they remain engaged and loyal for the long term. There
are numerous definitions of the term commitment in the literature providing
recurrent themes and similar explanations of what it means.
A definition of organisational commitment could be the strength of identification
and involvement of an individual with an organisation (Keskes, 2014). Also,
organisational commitment could be defined as a type of force for tying an
individual to a particular course of action that is relevant to an organisation (Meyer
and Herscovitch, 2009). Many organisations in the public sector in recent years
have changed to have greater similarity to the private sector. However, studies
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into the commitment to the methods and objectives of the public sector, as
reflected in an ethos of public service and its associated motivation, have shown
that the values of employees working in the public and private sectors are still very
different (Rayner et. al., 2011; Williams et al., 2012). It has been shown that
commitment is a very significant driver for whether an employee decides to leave
an organisation or stay with it (Shaw et al., 2008). Since high employee turnover
is very costly to an organisation, it is a cause for great concern; exit interviews
and severance pay, loss of productivity and the costs of hiring and training new
staff, all compound to increase costs for an organisation. To try and identify, take
on and retain employees who are dedicated, studies of organisational
commitment have looked into areas such as: a) personal attributes, such as time
spent working at the job and age; b) performance and behaviour; and c) concepts
that are related to emotion, attitude and logic, such as pay and job satisfaction
(Keskes, 2014; Panaccio and Vandenberghe, 2014). Research has also shown
that organisational commitment has a moderating effect on the relationship
between turnover of employees and pay satisfaction (DeConinck, 2009). As Kim
(2009) states, motivation in the public sector is affected by organisational
commitment. It has also been frequently argued that organisational commitment
is a more significant behavioural indicator within organisations than other aspects
such as job involvement and job satisfaction (Moon, 2010). Indeed, it has been
found that organisational commitment has a particular effect upon organisations
working in public services (Testa, 2011). In other words, employee commitment
with the organisation increases loyalty and reduces their intentions to quit the
organisation.
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3.14 Perspectives on organisational commitment
The definitions of organisational commitment that are usually adopted by theorists
of behaviour have three key aspects of attitude, as follows: i) belief in the goals
and values of an organisation and acceptance of them; ii) a willingness to exert
effort for the organisation in question; and iii) a desire to stay on as an organisation
member (Keskes, 2014). With a basis in the aforementioned conceptualisations,
Meyer and Allen (1991, cited in Smothers, 2008) developed the 3-component
model which has proven to be one of the more well-supported organisational
behaviour models in the field and certainly one that has been empirically greatly
scrutinised (Keskes, 2014). The 3-component model has recognition for three
separate organisational commitment components, namely: normative
commitment, continuance commitment and affective commitment (Keskes, 2014).
Distinguishing between the three kinds of organisational commitment is important
as they can have different relationships with other types of behaviour, even though
they all lead to a reduction in the turnover of employees (Meyer et al., 2004).
A normative type of commitment is one involving the perception of a moral
obligation to keep working for an organisation loyally and to maintain the
relationships and memberships that are associated with that (Hassett, 2012).
There could be a perception by an employee of a sense of obligation for
employment within an organisation or for a different reason such as the perceived
loyalty shown by the organisation or a perception of an employee that he or she
is being treated well (Keskes, 2014). Such perceptions have a basis in social and
moral practices and norms of reciprocity (Rafferty and Griffin, 2004). The
continuance type of commitment is one that involves the perception of the costs,
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be they economic or otherwise, of leaving an organisation; this may include
perceptions of organisational resources and effort, personal time invested and the
availability of other alternative employment opportunities that are acceptable
(Aladwan et al., 2013; Keskes, 2014). A number of empirical studies have divided
the continuance type of commitment into two further dimensions, i.e. commitment
because of investment sacrifice, and commitment because of a deficiency in
alternative opportunities for employment (Powell and Meyer, 2004; Bentein et al.,
2005; Vandenberghe et al., 2007). The third type, affective commitment is one
involving strong attachment to the organisation in emotional terms, with a
willingness to make special effort for the organisation (Alyn, 2010). There is a
tendency of employees with an affective commitment to their organisation to take
on the goals and values of the organisation as if they were theirs, and such people
tend to decide to remain working in an organisation because they wish to continue
working there (Avolio et al., 2004; Winkelmann-Gleed, 2012)
3.15 Measuring organisational commitment
The Organisational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) of Mowday, Steers and
Porter (1979) was the first measurement instrument of organisational commitment
to be accepted to a substantial degree (Mowday et al., 1979 in Napp, 2011; Alyn,
2010). It is a 15-item questionnaire that utilises a Likert scale with 7-points; the
item scores are then summated and then a summary score ascertained by
dividing the summated item score by 15. The OCQ was adapted a few years later
by Allen and Meyer (1990, cited in Winkelmann-Gleed, 2012) in their 3-component
model, with the argument that if there were three distinct psychological states then
independent measurement of them ought to be possible (Napp, 2011). As such
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three measures were developed by them, originally made up of 7-point Likert
scales with eight items on them, to be self-administered by the employees, and
these were the normative commitment scale (NCS), the continuance commitment
scale (CCS) and the affective commitment scale (ACS) (Napp, 2011). Meyer et
al. revised these measures in reducing the items in the questionnaire so that each
scale that it was possible to use a 5-point Likert scale without there being a
substantial impact upon their effectiveness (Meyer et al., 2004; Napp, 2011).
Meyer and Allen (1997, cited in Aladwan et. al., 2013) conducted an analysis that
showed reliability scores of 0.79 for the NCS, 0.75 for the CCS and 0.87 for the
ACS; all three of the scales are now widely used in research, with the ACS being
used the most often (Hayward et al., 2004). Meyer et al. (2004) conducted an
analysis that involved a thousand nurses over a two-year period and it showed
that there was a negative correlation for turnover intention with all three of the
scales. Further work by Meyer et al. (2004) showed that there was a positive
correlation of affective commitment with performance ratings received from
supervisors and promotion opportunity; however, no significant relationship was
shown when tested to continuance commitment (Napp, 2011). A study conducted
by Shore and Wayne (1993) investigated the relationship of both continuance and
affective commitment to perceptions of organisational support and other types of
behaviour showed that there was a positive relationship of affective commitment
to the altruism of employees and compliance with rules; their study also showed
that there was a negative relationship of continuance commitment with those
types of behaviour Shore and Wayne, (1993),
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3.16 Relationships between organisational commitment and leadership
Studies have demonstrated that numerous factors are precursors to, and reflected
within, organisational commitment, one of the most important being leadership
(Keskes, 2014). Within the literature on leadership, transactional and
transformational leadership are the two main leadership styles recognised
(Limsila and Ogunlana, 2008). Whilst a number of other differences are evident,
the main difference between the two styles of leadership is the system of reward
that leaders use. Transactional leaders tend to use rewards that are tangible whilst
transformational leaders, on the other hand, use rewards that are intangible. It
ought to be reiterated that there is no complete agreement amongst scholars with
regard to the terms transactional and transformational leadership styles, or
whether they are perceived to have mutual exclusivity or whether they are
complementary (see, for example, Lee, 2005; Walumbwa et al., 2005; Keskes,
2014).
Research has shown that there is no significant correlation between
organisational commitment and transactional leadership (Hayward et al., 2004).
However, other research has shown that there is a significantly positive correlation
between organisational commitment and transformational leadership (Limsila and
Ogunlana, 2008). There have been numerous studies that have proven types of
relationship between organisational commitment and transformational leadership
(see, for example, Dvir et al., 2002; Walumbwa and Lawler, 2003; Avolio et al.,
2004; Walumbwa et al., 2005). A general pattern that emerges from the findings
in the research is that transformational leaders tend to have followers who become
more involved and motivated and that express less behaviours related to
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withdrawal (Keskes, 2014). This state of affairs is accomplished by
transformational leaders through their promotion of values that are supportive to
the accomplishment of goals and effectively linking them with employee
performance, and through the creation and development of a sense of joint
commitment between both leaders and followers for the achievement of the goals
and visions of the organisation (Dava, 2014). Moreover, transformational
leadership motivates followers through attempts at understanding follower needs
and encouraging them to engage in finding innovate solutions to organisational
challenges (Gürbüz et al., 2014).
3.17 Summary and gaps in the literature
Although the interest and popularity of leadership as a research area is still
unabated, empirical data related to leadership studies with practical implications
are in short supply and still lack concrete evidence. Moreover, harsh criticism has
been levelled at leadership theories, models, and styles. The dominant situational
leadership models have been continuously questioned and challenged.
The literature review related to leadership clearly shows that the leadership
concept has been understood and investigated from many different perspectives.
The concept was first analysed by scholars through early theories such as that of
the ‘Great Man’ and then theories related to traits. Following this, approaches
were developed related to ‘behavioural’ and ‘situational’ perspectives and then
‘contingency’ theories were developed before, finally, theories related to
‘transformational’ leadership. Importantly, it was observed that the different
approaches used by various scholars have altered over time. Initially, theories
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only had a focus upon leaders renowned for their impact in warfare and politics,
and attempted to understand their characteristics and traits. Later, however,
scholarly efforts shifted towards trying to understand the situational and
behavioural factors that had an effect upon both followers and leaders and to also
actively consider the nature and context for leadership and the role that followers
were playing. Leadership styles that work best in today’s world need to be
adaptable to the situation at hand; good leaders make judicious choices
dependent on the context within which they are working.
The literature related to organisational commitment, or in other words, loyalty to
the organisation in question, reveals that leadership style has a significant impact
upon the commitment of followers to the organisation. Tabassi and Abu-Bakar
(2010) stated that the degree of commitment to an organisation was relatively
higher in those sorts of organisations where subordinates could be involved in the
process of decision-making when compared to organisations where leaders alone
made the final decisions. It was clearly indicated by Banerjee and Perrucci (2010)
that the quality of supervision was significant in influencing the organisational
commitment level within an organisation. Luechinger et al. (2010) considered that
a feeling of being in receipt of fair treatment and support was also responsible for
enhancing commitment to an organisation. Bass and Bass (2008) had a similar
perspective and argued the commitment to an organisation by followers was very
dependent upon feeling like the leader was showing consideration towards them.
The literature review has supported the merit in associating leadership style to
organisational commitment. The majority of research into these fields is founded
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on the perceptions and feelings of employees’ organisational commitment and
leadership within various types of organisation, and has a primary focus on those
at work at a variety of levels and in various departments. A significant literature
gap can be noted from the comments made by several authors that state that
literature in the field of leadership has failed to clearly focus upon the mechanisms
and processes that transformational leaders use in influencing the motivation and
performance of followers (see, for example, Bono and Judge, 2003; Avolio et al.,
2004; Yukl 2006). These processes and mechanisms have great significance for
understanding the impact that a transformational style of leadership has upon the
behaviour of employees, such as commitment to their organisation, for example
(Bass, 1999). Also, a further gap can be seen from the literature review in that
scholars have not given clear definitions of how organisational commitment and
leadership work together in helping to transform processes of operation.
Thus, this research has examined how employee commitment and leadership
work together and have an effect upon performance and help in improving the
processes of operation of an organisation. Furthermore, whilst extensive research
has been undertaken into the field of organisational commitment and leadership,
and readily-available literature has evolved in relation to various theories about
leadership style and organisational commitment, there is a dearth of studies
undertaken in the Middle East. This lack of Middle Eastern research is important
as the region is different from the west in numerous ways, such as
demographically, culturally and ethnically. In particular, there does not appear to
be much research on this topic undertaken within the UAE. At present, the
leadership literature mainly involves organisations within developed countries
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where the government legislation, working conditions and nature of the
employees are all different from the UAE context. It is well known that over the
last three decades the UAE has been dependent on expatriates to sustain its
booming economy and maintain its citizens’ standard of living. Over 87% of the
UAE workforce in the UAE consists of expatriates from more than 200 nationalities
worldwide (Maceda, 2014). The UAE economy is such that more than 60% of
GDP comes from industries related to oil. Also, the country follows Sharia law as
well as a civil law system. Factors such as these make the working environment
within the UAE very different from the west, and they have an impact upon
selection of leadership style and the levels of organisational commitment.
Furthermore, the literature review related to organisational commitment and
leadership styles suggests that most of the research conducted to date has been
undertaken within the private sector. In contrast, leadership studies that have
been conducted within public sector settings are limited. With such a shortfall in
public sector studies, investigation into the impact of style of leadership upon the
commitment to the organisation within the Abu Dhabi Police force is ever more
appropriate as it seeks to fill a gap within the literature for this particular field.
A key point to consider is that leadership and various aspects to it are often very
different within organisations in the private sector from those in the public sector.
In the majority of cases, leaders working in the public sector have a greater level
of authority and use their power to control subordinates with rather strong methods
and penalise them if they believe it to be necessary. Another point to consider is
that leaders working in the private sector tend to have goals focused on benefitting
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the organisation such as achieving increases in production and the generation of
more sales and revenue. However, with organisations in the public sector, leaders
have objectives that are different as there is responsibility for providing society
with services as well as the organisational advancement in itself. Furthermore,
since this study has a focus upon an organisation in the public sector within the
UAE, it has a unique context; the Abu Dhabi Police force operates within an
environment that is culturally very different from western countries, as outlined
above, with significant cultural and demographic differences, a high proportion of
immigrants within the population and the existence of directives to follow Islamic
laws that guide leaders in treating subordinates in a way that corresponds to the
values of Islam. At present, there is a lack of clear details or information in the
ADP department related to how the behaviours of supervisors have an impact on
officers whilst they work within the constraints of regional, changing
demographics, local culture and so forth. Furthermore, there are no details related
to the impact upon organisational commitment of ADP officers from the
behaviours of leaders. The majority of research to identify the impact on
organisational commitment from participative decision-making has been
undertaken on organisations based within western countries (Meyer and Allen,
1997). By way of contrast, however, this study has the aim of discovering whether
or not an approach that uses participative decision-making has a positive effect
upon the organisational commitment of ADP employees. In doing so, the study
fills a gap in the literature through the means of comparison of its findings to those
in similar research studies undertaken on comparable organisations based in the
west. It is widely known that leadership has a significant bearing upon employees
in terms of the direction they receive, and the overall sense of well-being and
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satisfaction amongst them. This study provides further investigation of an under-
researched field within the literature, with its aims of establishment of a link
between organisational commitment and style of leadership and other such
aspects of organisational life particularly within the UAE.
3.18 Conceptual Framework
The conceptual framework summarises the research by capturing all the elements
that form part of the study under consideration and is substantiated by previous
studies. This research examines the extent to which leadership styles affect
employee commitment, focusing on employee commitment and identifying ways
the organisation can increase the loyalty of its employees that would sustain its
success and give it the competitive edge. The present literature review has shown
that there is a broad range of views related to leadership styles, demonstrating
conflicting and inconsistent views at times. The literature reveals a lack of clarity
regarding the definition, scope and overall goals of leadership. It is evident that
there is no one size fits all style of leadership. The existing research evidence
focusing on leadership styles has been criticised for not being adequately
informed by theoretical perspectives.
The following conceptual framework addresses and fills a knowledge gap by
linking the literature findings of leadership styles and their impact on employee
commitment to the empirical findings of this study. The conceptual framework
shows the different leadership styles that influence employee commitment. The
framework aims to make recommendations in order to inform policy and decision
makers on how to effectively enhance employee commitment:
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Figure 3.3: Conceptual Framework
Leadership Organisational
Styles Commitment
Lead to
Transformational Affective employee
Leadership Style Commitment Commitment &

loyalty
Enhanced
performance &
Transactional Continuance
Leadership Style Commitment Long-term
success and
sustainability
of organisation
Laissez-faire Normative
Leadership Style Commitment
Independent Variables Dependent Variables
Source: Designed by the present researcher
The above conceptual framework acts as the link between the literature, the
methodology and the findings of this study.
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Chapter Four
The Research Methodology and Methods
4.1 Introduction
Selecting a methodology and methods for any study is a key matter that involves
consideration of a variety of factors such as the nature of the problem, the
research questions, aims and objectives, as well as the findings from the review
of the literature. The degree towards which any methodology for research is
considered appropriate is not a matter that can be judged without also giving
consideration to the manner in which it would be applied to the particular research
problem in question (Morse et al., 2008). This chapter has the aim of discussing
the relevant types of methodology and methods for the research as identified
within the literature, before describing and justifying the research methodology
and research designs that were employed within this current research study into
the impacts of leadership upon commitment in the ADP. The chapter has an
analysis of the challenges encountered due to the police reform agenda and
modernisation, and the degree to which these had an impact upon employee
commitment. The manner in which the pilot study was undertaken is highlighted
and there is a discussion within the chapter of the plan for analysing the data. The
aim is to show how key decisions were made for the meeting of the research
objectives. The chapter has a concluding discussion of the main issues raised in
relation to using the chosen methodology.
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Over the last ten years or so, the UAE has seen a major ethnic transformation,
with a huge number of immigrants moving to the country from a very wide range
of cultural and social backgrounds. As such, UAE decision-makers are faced with
new and emerging challenges, and there is a need for competent, successful
leadership to address those challenges as the modern society of the UAE
continues to change. As the west has a clear leadership culture, various sectors
have widespread and formal training to help foster effective leadership. Such, a
supportive culture for staff development and leadership has yet to be founded
within the Middle East. This research, therefore, has value in that if focuses on
the sensitive public sector within the UAE and takes a particular look at the impact
that leadership has upon commitment of employees.
4.2 Research as a concept
It is important that the research purpose is examined before more finely examining
the research methodology adopted. Research was defined by Walliman (2005, 8)
as “a term loosely used in everyday speech to describe a multitude of activities,
such as collecting masses of information, delving into theories and producing
wonderful new products”. The key research objective is seen as being the
acquiring of useful or interesting knowledge (Walliman, 2011). For Burns (2000,
3), research can be considered as “a systematic investigation to find answers to
a problem”. Kumar (2005, 6) considers research to be a term for “one of the ways
to find answers to your questions”, and Kumar (2005: 6) also highlighted that when
a study is considered to be a way of answering certain questions, the following
implications ought to be considered within the research process:
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a) Research is done within the framework of a set of research philosophies;
b) Methods, techniques and procedures are employed that have been tested
for validity and reliability;
c) Research design has to be unbiased and objective in nature.
It can be seen then that research does not have one comprehensive and clear
definition. Hussey and Hussey (1997) indicated, however, that there is agreement
that research is something that utilises suitable methods to collect and analyse
data, that it is used to address a particular problem or issue (the research problem)
and that is systematic. As this research study has identified a particular kind of
problem, and given the associated questions that are raised, the main research
areas could be considered to be within the exploratory and descriptive research
categories. Change and development of society could be seen as driving forces
behind the need for social research. Research framework acts as a structured
way to understand and develop research.
4.3 Revisiting the research objectives
This current research study intends to achieve four specific objectives, as follows:
1. To critically review the literature on leadership styles and organisational
commitment.
2. To assess the perceptions of employees about leadership styles amongst
employees at ADP.
3. To examine the relationship between different styles of leadership and
the dimensions of employee commitment.
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4. To make recommendations based on the findings of this study on how to
improve employee commitment at ADP.
It also set the following research questions:
1. What are the perceptions of employees about leadership styles at ADP?
2. What are the challenges of employee commitment at ADP?
3. To what extent do styles of leadership influence the commitment of
employees?
4.4 The research methodology
The terms research method and research methodology are often used
interchangeably though they are, in fact, different notions, with the former term
having the lesser scope of the two (Saunders et al., 2009; Kothari, 2010).
Research methodology has been defined by numerous authors, and whilst the
definitions may differ in their details, there is agreement that research
methodologies encompass more than just a single application of a method
(Easterby-Smith, et al., 2008; Collis and Hussey, 2009; Saunders et al., 2009).
Research methodology has been defined by Saunders et al. (2009) as being a
theory of how research ought to be done and, given the assumptions upon which
the research is founded, the implications of the use of the particular methods by
a researcher. Research methodology has been defined by Kothari (2010) as an
approach that is systematic in finding the solution to a problem in research, and
he states that methodologies also include a logic for the numerous steps taken in
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conducting the process of research. Likewise, Hyde (2008) also stated that a
research methodology was a scientific manner of acquiring knowledge through
the application of various systematic methods and approaches. Collis and
Hussey (2009) consider the methodology to be the overall approach employed
when conducting research.
To overcome the confusion between the terms research method and research
methodology, Saunders et al (2009) suggested that the methodology can be seen
as the theory for undertaking the research, whilst the method can be seen as the
instruments and procedures that are put to work in order to gather qualitative or
quantitative data and analyse them. Kothari (2010) argued that a research
methodology helps in determining what methods could be relevant and informs
the decisions over why and where a particular method ought to be applied. On the
other hand, Kothari considers the research method to be related to the particular
techniques by which the specific data are collected and analysed, such as the
calculation of the standard deviation. By way of summary, the research
methodology can be seen as the scientific approach that researchers use, in order
to address a particular research problem that involves the application of
techniques and methods in order to identify what issues need to be look into, the
undertaking of the data collection and analysis, and the working towards the
relevant conclusions. Collis and Hussey (2009) stressed that the research
methodology gave an explanation of the overall approach taken by study
researchers during the research process. Easterby-Smith et al. (2008) described
the research methodology as the particular combination of techniques employed
for the specific circumstances being examined.
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4.5 Research philosophy
Briggs et al. (2012) consider the research philosophy to be a description of the
assumptions behind knowledge itself, the fundamental perspective taken upon
the nature of what knowledge is and how it ought to be developed. Lots of authors
have made the distinction between the two key alternative philosophies for
research known as positivism and interpretivism (Collis and Hussey, 2009).
Positivism is founded upon the approach taken for studying natural science
(Saunders et al., 2009). Research that has its basis in a positivist philosophy has
concern for facts that can be observed rather than just impressions. Also, a
positivist researcher does not affect the research subject in question nor is he or
she affected by it (Saunders et. al., 2009). In relation to the social sciences, a
positivist philosophy has the assumption that it is possible to objectively measure
social reality, in the same way the natural sciences can be studied, and, thus,
there is no need for subjective deduction (Easterby-Smith et al., 2008).
On the other hand, interpretivism was developed in response to criticism of the
weaknesses of positivism when it came to the study of the social sciences (Holden
and Lynch, 2010); in particular, there was objection to the way a positivist
approach enabled cause and effect relationships to be identified between
variables without being able to understand how people interpreted their social
worlds (Zoogah, 2014).
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Table 4.1: Comparison of positivism with interpretivism
Positivism Interpretivism
The observer Must be independent Is part of what is being observed
Human interests Should be irrelevant Are the main drivers of science
Explanation Must demonstrate causality Aim to increase general
understanding of the situation
Research progresses Hypotheses and deductions Gathering rich data from which
through ideas are induced
Concepts Need to be operationalized Should incorporate stakeholder
so that they can be perspectives
measured
Units of analysis Should be reduced to May include the complexity of
simplest terms whole situations
Generalisation Statistical probability Theoretical abstraction
through
Sampling requires Large numbers selected Small numbers of cases chosen for
randomly specific reasons
Source: Easterby-Smith et al., (2008)
This study has a main basis in positivism in facilitating a more objective subject
treatment as with the approach taken to the natural sciences (Collis and Hussey,
2009). So, the positivist approach enables the research project to be applied in a
systematic way with scientific methods for the gathering and analysing of data
from the research population sample, i.e. ADP employees, and to undertake
generalisation of the findings gathered to the entire research population
(Saunders et al., 2009). The rationale for selection of a positivist approach was
based upon consideration of the nature of the problem and the research study
questions that were set. The mainstream literature has been split into those two
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key research philosophies or paradigms, and the implications of adopting one
philosophy or another are shown in Table 4.2.
Table 4.2: Implications of positivist and interpretivist research philosophies
Positivism Interpretivism
The observer Must be independent Is part of what is being
observed
Human interests Should be irrelevant Are the main drivers of science
Explanation Must demonstrate Aim to increase general

causality understanding of the situation
Research Hypotheses and Gathering rich data from which
progresses through deductions ideas are induced
Concepts Need to be Should incorporate stakeholder
operationalised so that perspectives
they can be measured
Units of analysis Should be reduced to May include the complexity of
simplest terms whole situations
Generalisation Statistical probability Theoretical abstraction
through
Sampling requires Large numbers Small numbers of cases chosen
selected randomly for specific reasons
Source: Easterby-Smith et al., (2008, 59)
Later there is discussion of these philosophies in the context of management
research, with explanation and justification of the research methodology selected
for this particular study.
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4.6 Ontological and epistemological research philosophies
Ontology is a term for the reality that researchers investigate, whereas the
epistemology refers to the relationship between that reality and the researcher.
The research methodology, then, refers to the particular techniques that the
researcher uses for investigation of the particular reality (Torchim, 2006). For this
research, a positivist approach and an interpretivist approach are the possible
ones for facing the research question. Hanson et al. (2005) stated that a social
science ontology is those key principles that people have about the issue under
consideration and its nature; ontology relates to the beliefs that a researcher has
in predicting the manner in which social behaviour will occur as with the operation
of nature. The argument is whether society is believed to be a living thing or not,
or whether social behaviour is thought to be potentially shaped in accordance with
a social structure or whether behaviour results from personal social actors and
their decisions. So, as highlighted by Johnson et al. (2007), the way such
questions are considered by a researcher frames the way in which social studies
would be conducted by him or her.
Morse et al. (2008) viewed the term ‘epistemology’ as being related to proof; the
type of it and the quality of it. If something is to gain acceptance as being true, a
lot of good quality evidence is required. Proof can potentially relate to trust,
personal experience, and faith, as well as logic and empirical evidence. The
perspective taken by Clark et al. (2008) was to refer to epistemology as the branch
of philosophy that unearths answers to questions such as ‘How do researchers
obtain the knowledge desired?’ and ‘What is the meaning of knowing?’ Powell et
al. (2008) considered there to be four kinds of knowledge source. As stated by
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Tashakkori and Creswell (2007), with epistemological issues, the first sort,
intuitive knowledge, is that based more upon the feelings, beliefs and the faith of
people rather than upon facts. A second knowledge sort is authoritative
knowledge which depends on source quality as to the degree of any weaknesses
or strengths. A third sort of knowledge, as also highlighted by Picken (2007), is
logical knowledge, which is based upon the notion that new knowledge is created
from reasoning, in a general accepted way, from one point to another. A fourth
kind of knowledge, as presented by Feilzer (2010), is empirical knowledge which
is founded upon demonstrating facts via different research methods, such as
observation and experimentation.
Research methodologies, as applied to sociological projects, have concern for the
methods used to obtain reasonable knowledge of social worlds by definition of
reliable and valid knowledge considered replicable, consistent and representative
of the population sample within a positivist and quantitative world (Catterall, 2000;
Galbraith, 2010). Fiegen (2010) noted that validity is linked to the accuracy and
extent of the measurement done, i.e. is the measure used in the research
measuring what it is supposedly measuring. For a particular sociological
methodology to be considered reasonable, it has to have both reliability and
validity. In general, the ontology establishes the epistemology and the
epistemology then determines the sociological methodology. Once a sociological
methodology has been established, then the research methods for data collection
can then be determined. As Mangan et al. (2004) state, various sociological
concepts often intertwine in ways that bring forward new ideas on how social
science research can be undertaken.
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4.7 Positivist philosophy
Positivist philosophy takes the same perspective as naturalism and is most often
used for research into observable social realities. Creswell (2005) noted that
studies that are positivist have final outcomes in a way that is similar to the findings
of physical and natural studies with results that can help the creation of
generalisations that are like laws. The positivist paradigm, by way of empirical
study, aims to shape theories with assumptions, in regard to the relationship
between two variables or more, being developed by the researcher through the
use of literature and/or research studies (Remenyi et al., 2002). Empirical means
are then used, with gathered data tested, to see if there are significant links
between variables. A perspective is taken with a positivist paradigm that considers
scientific methods to have consistency within all knowledge fields and, as such,
the method acts as a foundation for a form of scientific unity. Positivist researchers
tend to look for facts in relation to social phenomena and to establish their causes,
whilst not having regard for the individual state, in subjective terms, of the people
in question (Mangan et al., 2004). Saunders et al. (2009) argue that a positivist
philosophy is related to natural science with, as with the physical and natural
sciences, the observation of the social reality resulting in the production of
generalisations that are law-like. Saunders et al. (2009) also pointed out that the
positivist researcher has the primary aim of generalising findings to a broader
population. So, if a piece of research reflects a positivist philosophy, it has adopted
traditional methods from natural science to scientifically study social reality in
order to develop knowledge through the use of appropriate approaches to
research and appropriate procedures and methods for analysis of the collected
data (Bryman and Bell, 2007).
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4.8 Interpretivist philosophy
It is considered by Denzin and Lincoln (2008, 222) that “An interpretivism believes
that to understand this meaning of the world one must interpret it”; as such,
interpretivist philosophy makes a distinction between the social and natural
worlds. For researchers advocating an interpretivist position, various methods can
be applied to study of the social world so that reality can be understood and
explained (Bryman and Bell, 2007). This approach sees the world as socially
constructed and subjective with an observer also being a part of that which is
under observation. A consciousness that is interpretivist has concern for all
manner of experiences and events and aims to find the answer to questions such
as how?, why? and what?. So, an interpretivist approach investigates the nature
and detail of social phenomena (Dew, 2007; Saunders et al., 2007; Collis and
Hussey, 2009). It has been emphasised by a number of authors that interpretivist
approaches, also known as social constructionist and phenomenological
approaches, have an important role to play in research for business and
management (Easterby-Smith et al., 2002). Remenyi et al. (2002, 95) noted that:
“Interpretivism is a theoretical point of view that advocates the study of direct
experience taken at face value; and one which sees behaviour as determined by
the phenomena of experience rather than by external, objective and physically
described reality.” Remenyi et al. (2002) stated the importance for interpretivists
of understanding emerging literature as well as studying the problems of real life.
Instead of being a reductionist approach, interpretivist research philosophy is
holistic in nature and allows complex situations to be more fully examined.
Interpretivist philosophy aims for a focus upon the context for a study and relates
to a research paradigm for conducting the collection of qualitative data that has a
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stress upon the experiences subjectively felt by people (Denscombe, 2007; Rubin
and Babbie, 2009). An element of the context of the research study is the research
nature and the characteristics of the setting. Remenyi et al. (1998) consider that
interpretivist approaches achieve similar results to those that positivist
researchers have acquired. It is possible to conclude that an interpretivist
philosophy, as an epistemology, acts in supporting the notion that a researcher
needs to understand differences between roles that people play as social actors.
Summaries for the alternative terms for the philosophies are shown in Table 4.3:
Table 4.3: Alternative terms for philosophies of research
Positivist philosophy Interpretivist philosophy
Quantitative Qualitative
Objective Subjective
Scientific Humanistic
Experimentalist Interpretivist
Traditionalist --
Source: Collis and Hussey (2003, 58)
Philosophies of research are thought of as having assumptions that are
fundamental and which, therefore, have implications for how a piece of research
should be conducted (Creswell, 2005). Easterby-Smith et al. (2008) assert that,
taken as a whole, there is still considerable debate amongst researchers with
regard to establishing the most appropriate philosophies for a particular type of
study. It is important there is an understanding of the weaknesses and strengths
of the various research paradigms and their suitability for various research
contexts. Table 4.4 offers a guide for how quantitative and qualitative research
philosophies have weaknesses and strengths in different respects.
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Table 4.4: Strengths and weaknesses of positivist and interpretivist
research philosophies
Philosophies Strengths Weaknesses
Positivist 1-May provide broad 1-Methods employed tend to be rather

coverage of the range of a artificial and inflexible.
situation. Can be 2-Not very effective for understanding
economical and fast. processes or the significance that
people attach to actions.
3-Not very helpful in generating
theories.
2-Where statistics are 4-In having a focus on what is, or
aggregated from large what has been recently, positivist
samples, they can be of approaches make it hard for policy
considerable relevance to makers to infer what actions and
policy decisions. changes ought to take place in the
future.
Interpretivism 1-Data-gathering methods 1-Collection can be tedious and

seen as natural rather than require more resources.
artificial. 2-Analysis and interpretation of data
2-Ability to look at change may be more difficult.
processes overtime. 3-Harder to control the pace, progress
3-Ability to understand and end-points of research process.
people's meaning. 4-Policy makers may give low
4-Ability to adjust to new credibility to results emerging from
issues and ideas as they qualitative approach.
emerge.
5-Contribute to theory
generation.
Source: Amaratunga et al. (2002, 20)
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If the two different research approaches are assessed, it can be appreciated that
they do not necessarily oppose each other. It is necessary to understand the
assumptions behind each approach so that a more informed decision be made
with regard to how to proceed with a piece of research and what research methods
and techniques ought to be used. Collis and Hussey (2009) compared the
fundamental assumptions upon which each paradigm is based under headings
for ontological assumptions, epistemological assumptions, axiological
assumptions, rhetorical assumptions and methodological assumptions; these are
explained further here:
Table 4.5: Assumptions behind the two main philosophies of research
Assumption Questions Quantitative Qualitative
Ontological What is the Reality is objective and Reality is subjective

nature of reality? singular, apart from the and multiple as seen
researcher by participants in a
study
Epistemological What is the Researcher is Researcher interacts
relationship of independent from that with that being
the researcher to being researched researched
that researched?
Axiological What is the role Value-free and unbiased Value-laden and
of values? biased
Methodological What is the Deductive process Inductive process
process of Cause and effect Mutual simultaneous
research? Static design-categories shaping of factors
isolated before study Context-bound
Context-free Emerging design-
Generalisations leading categories identified
to prediction, during research
process
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explanation and Patterns, theories
understanding developed for
Accurate and reliable understanding
through validity and Accurate and
reliability reliable through
verification
Source: Collis and Hussey, (2009, p.58)
In research for management and business, there is often a combination of
approaches that are interpretivist, positivist or realist (Saunders et al., 2009). So,
if a realistic approach is taken to studying people, as with this research, there is a
recognition of the importance of having an understanding of the socially
contracted interpretations and meanings that people have of their particular,
subjective reality. Saunders et al. (2009) stressed how important it was to
understand wider societal forces, processes and structures that impact upon, and
possibly constrain, the behaviours of views of people.
4.9 Justifying choice of positivist and interpretivist research philosophies
There are important assumptions with regard to the perspective on the world
within the research philosophy to be adopted in this study, and the strategy and
methods selected will be based upon those assumptions. The appropriate
philosophy for adopting when conducting a piece of research is, in part, influenced
by practical consideration; however, the most influential aspect is likely to be the
perspective the researcher has of the relationship between knowledge and the
knowledge development process (Saunders et al., 2007). As Easterby-Smith et
al. (2012) noted, it is very important, therefore, to have a sound understanding of
the matters involved as there is a need to consider what evidence type is needed
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and how it should be gathered and analysed/interpreted; ultimately, the approach
taken during an investigation has to facilitate the provision of sound answers for
the research questions. Gilbert (2008) suggested that, in many circumstances,
there may be a need to generate a range of different types of data. Collis and
Hussey (2003) made the claim that neither of the paradigms for research can be
considered the best one; instead, they consider it more useful to see the
paradigms as sharing the same continuum. In keeping with that perspective, both
interpretivism and positivism will be used within this research project.
4.10 The research approach
A research study involves a theoretical perspective on a particular research
question; however, the theoretical stance is not always apparent within the
research design or may not even be known at the early stages of the research
process. It is often the case that there is an explicit discussion of the theoretical
stance when the findings are presented (Saunders et al., 2009). Deductive
reasoning and inductive reasoning are the two alternative key logic systems
employed within scientific research. A deductive approach is one where a
researcher develops theory and hypotheses and tests them with an appropriately
designed research process. In contrast, the inductive approach, involves data
collection and analysis so that a theory can be developed (Sanders et al., 2009).
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Table 4.6: Comparison of deductive and inductive research approaches
Deductive Reasoning Inductive Reasoning

Premises Stated as facts or general Based on observations of specific cases
principles
Conclusion Conclusion is more special Conclusion is more general than the
than the information the information the premises provide
premises provide.
Validity If the premises are true, the If the premises are true, the conclusion
conclusion must be true. is probably true
Usage More difficult to use (mainly Used often in everyday life (fast and
in logical problems). One easy). Evidence is used instead of
needs facts which are proved facts.
definitely true
Source: Klenke (2008)
A deductive approach can be very highly structured with testing of specific
hypothesis with large samples and the use of controls and operationalised
definitions; these controls and definitions help to isolate the study variables from
other effects and potential influencing factors, and they help to give precise
measurement of the variable effects. As such, the generalisation of the findings of
the research is facilitated (Anderson, 2013). In comparison to a deductive
approach, an inductive research approach usually uses a sample size that is
smaller and the inductive approach is more likely to have a focus upon the context
to allow for an investigation of social and business issues to a greater depth and
that goes beyond merely observable facts (DePoy and Gitlin, 2015). This research
project employs an approach that is deductive and that is based upon existing
literature with application of leadership theories that have been well-established,
i.e. laissez-faire, transactional leadership and transformational leadership. In
doing so, the research seeks to answer questions with regard to the relationship
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between organisational commitment and style of leadership within the particular
context, the ADP. Given that there is a lot of literature available that validates the
research theories and methods employed in this research, there is no need for
the development of new theory, an approach that would have been well suited to
inductive research (Townsend and MacBeath, 2011).
4.11 The inductive and deductive research approaches
It is important to give consideration to the approach taken to research in order to
make explicit the theories that lie behind the design of the research project. A
researcher is then able to make more informed, better quality decisions and
identify what approach would work and utilise an appropriate research design that
can cope with research constraints. Deduction and induction offer two differing
research approaches for building theories that help a researcher to understand,
explain and predict business phenomena (Sekaran, 2003). An inductive research
approach is one that involves a data observing process so that a theory can be
generated (Ghauri and Gronhaug, 2005). Rubin and Babbie (2009, 39) concluded
that either an inductive or deductive approach may be employed for theories that
have an influence on the process of research and stated:
An inductive approach is a research process based on inductive logic,
in which the researcher begins with observations, seeks patterns in
those observations, and generates tentative conclusions from those
patterns. A deductive approach is a research process based on
deductive logic, in which the research begins with a theory, then derives
hypotheses, and ultimately collects observations to test the
hypotheses.
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The deductive research approach involves gathering data that can either confirm
or reject the relationships that have been hypothesised between variables that
have already been deduced from extant knowledge. According to Trochim (2006),
a deductive research approach commences with concepts that already exist, with
hypotheses and theories then formulated for testing through use of the empirical
data collection; inductive research, on the other hand, commences with the
empirical data collection from which there is then derivation of associated models,
concepts and theories. The major differences between the two key research
approach types are demonstrated in Table 4.7 below. Inductive approaches are
also referred to as building theory and they allow a researcher to acquire a greater
understanding of the nature of the particular phenomenon under consideration by
way of data collection and analysis.
Table 4.7: Major differences between deductive and inductive research

approaches
Deductive approach Inductive approach
Scientific principles Gaining an understanding of the meaning

humans attach to events
Moving from theory to data A close understanding of the research
context
The need to explain the causal The collection of qualitative data
relationship among variables
The collection of quantitative data A more flexible structure to permit changes
of research emphasis as research processes
The application of controls to ensure A realisation that the researcher is part of
validity of data the research process
The operationalisation of concepts to Less concern with the need to generalise
ensure clarity of definition
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A highly structure approach
Researcher’s independence of what is
being researched
The necessity to select samples of
sufficient size in order to generate a
conclusion
Source: Saunders et al. (2009, 127)
It was suggested by Saunders et al. (2009) that there are advantages to
combining both inductive and deductive approaches and in this research, both are
indeed employed; deduction is used to develop the theoretical framework to study
the literature, whilst the aims of the research are addressed later through the use
of an applied inductive approach.
4.12 The quantitative and qualitative approaches
To determine data, two main approaches can be used in research, i.e. a
quantitative approach and a qualitative approach (Bryman and Bell, 2007; Patton,
2008). The quantitative approach refers to numerical data collection or the
collection of data that it is possible to usefully quantify, and that can be used within
all kinds of research strategy. Qualitative data, on the other hand, is all types of
non-numeric data, or data that have not undergone quantification, and that can
be utilised within suitable strategies of research (Saunders et al., 2007). Denizen
and Lincoln (2003, 13) noted that: “The word qualitative implies an emphasis on
the qualities of entities and on processes and meaning that are not experimentally
examined or measured in terms of quantity, amount, intensity, or frequency.”
Creswell (2005) considered that there is a choice for researchers between three
different approaches to research methodology, i.e. the quantitative and qualitative
140
approaches, and the mixed methods approach. It was claimed by Rudestam and
Newton (2007), however, that there is usually an ‘objectivist’ convention that acts
as a foundation to quantitative research, with the understanding having a basis in
observing an external reality. As described in the work of Ragin (1994), a
quantitative approach can be considered as more scientific than a qualitative
approach. Creswell (2009) and Saunders et al. (2009) have proposed numerous
criteria for the determination of the appropriate research approach to adopt; the
key criteria they identified are as follows:
A) The research topic. If a lot of literature exists to help a researcher develop
a framework of theory and associated hypotheses, then it may be suitable
to use a deductive/quantitative approach. It may be more suitable to use
an inductive/qualitative approach when studying in relation to a new topic
for which few pieces of literature exist.
B) The time constraints. It may be less risky to adopt a quantitative research
approach as it can be much less time consuming than qualitative research.
C) The respondent preference. Most managers are familiar with quantitative
approaches and there is more likelihood that they will have faith in any
conclusions that result from quantitative data.
The key differences between qualitative and quantitative approaches, as
summarised by Ary et al. (2009), are demonstrated in Table 4.8 below.
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Table 4.8: Distinguishing between qualitative and quantitative research
approaches
Quantitative approach Qualitative approach

Purpose Study relationship, cause Examine a phenomenon as it is,
and effect has rich detail
Design Developed previous study Flexible, evolves during study
Approach Deductive: tests theory Inductive: may generate theory
Tools Preselected instruments The researcher is primary data

collection tool
Sample Large samples Small samples
Analysis Statistical analysis of numeric Narrative description and

data interpretation
Source: Ary et al. (2009, 25)
4.13 The advantages and disadvantages of adopting a quantitative approach
The quantitative approach, with its data aggregation of mainly numerical assigned
values, holds a number of advantages for a researcher (Muijs, 2011). Since it uses
accepted classifications that are fixed, generalised statements can be built by the
researcher. It has been shown by Patton (2002) that the approach enables
reaction of a limited number of questions to be measured and facilitates easy
collection and comparison of data. Quantitative research challenges or eliminates
the influence of a researcher upon a phenomenon being investigated (Robson,
2002). Furthermore, using a quantitative approach with a limited amount of
questions, a researcher is able to collect a lot of data from a big number of
participants; as such, the collection and comparison of data is simplified with a
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quantitative approach. A number of advantages of quantitative research have
been put forward by Johnson and Onwuegbuzie (2004) and Onwuegbuzie and
Leech, (2007). as follows:
i) Research hypotheses can be built and tested;
ii) The research findings can be generalised;
iii) Quantitative predictions can be obtained;
iv) Using quantitative tools enables quicker research data collection;
v) The analysis of data is considered to consume less time.
Within the UAE context, there may be a reluctance of participants to participate
within a qualitative research process due to perceived cultural barriers; so, a
quantitative approach could help gain access to participants. There are several
potential disadvantages to a research approach that is quantitative that, as
Robson (2002, p.23) noted, can limit "first by directing research to what is
perceived by the senses; and second by employing only standardised tools,
based on quantifiable data, to test hypotheses". Furthermore, it was argued by
Onwuegbuzie and Leech (2005) that, by having a focus upon testing research
hypotheses rather than generalisation of hypotheses, a researcher could be
missing out on a more holistic appreciation of a phenomenon.
4.14 The advantages and disadvantages of adopting a qualitative approach
There is a tendency for qualitative research methods to have a stress upon
inductive approaches that concentrate on the generation of theories (Bryman,
2004). A qualitative approach is, in part, composed of the examination of, and
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reflection upon, the perceptions of participants within a study in order to gain an
appreciation of the rationale that lies behind their workplace activities (Easterby-
Smith et al., 2008). As Smith (2008) also noted, qualitative research approaches
are often considered appropriate for research that is inductive and exploratory.
Qualitative research methods can also prove to be helpful if a researcher has the
intention of describing complex, though limited phenomena; qualitative
approaches can help in getting a grasp on phenomena when very little is
understood about them (Johnson and Onwuegbuzie, 2004; Easterby-Smith et al.,
2008).
There are a number of disadvantages to qualitative approaches, however,
including the influence that the perception of a researcher of a situation has upon
the data collection and interpretation process. Qualitative research is considered
by Smith (2008) to be limited in the degree to which it observes people and
develops an understanding of the attitudes and behaviour of them. Since
qualitative research involves, in the main, engagement through personal contact,
it has been criticised as being rather subjective in nature; there is a need to take
the outcomes of qualitative research on trust without them having been tested
(Flick, 2007; Patton, 2010). Bergman (2008) suggested that employing mixed
methods approaches can help the weaknesses of qualitative and quantitative
approaches to be overcome. The above discussion highlights reasons for why
research into management can benefit from positivist and interpretivist
approaches being used together. In relation to this study, the philosophy for the
research links to the research objectives and has been selected based upon
scrutiny of previous research. As such, in order to achieve the research purposes,
a mixed methods approach has been adopted.
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4.15 Justifying the selection of mixed methods
Johnson and Onwuegbuzie (2004: 17) provided a definition for the mixed methods
approach to research in stating it is: “the class of research where the researcher
mixes or combines quantitative or qualitative research techniques, methods,
approaches, concepts or language into a single study”. If both quantitative and
qualitative methods are employed in the collection of data, the approach is also
known as triangulation (Easterby-Smith et al., 2012). Triangulation has been
defined by Denzin (1978, p.291) as: “the combination of methodology in the study
of the same phenomenon”. A mixed methodology is thought to be helpful in
making research fuller and enables a deeper understanding to be developed of
changes to systems for accounting. No particular method should be seen as being
perfect (Morse, 2010; Thyer, 2010). Collis and Hussey (2003, 77) put forward the
proposal that: "A questionnaire survey providing quantitative data could be
accompanied by a few in-depth interviews to provide qualitative insights and
illuminations". More specifically, research can be shaped as a mixture of
quantitative and qualitative research in a concurrent, parallel, sequential or
conversion manner (Tashakkori and Teddlie, 2003; Kritzinger and Michalowitz,
2008).
Whilst numerous researchers have considered that qualitative and quantitative
methods ought not be combined together due to the vast differences in the
assumptions underlying them, several researchers, such as Creswell (2009) and
Teddlie and Tashakkori (2009), have noted that using various methods within the
same research project could potentially keep limitations to a minimum. If both
qualitative and quantitative research methods are employed, a researcher may
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be able to identify and justify the components of a model within just one study.
Moreover, if results are taken from the use of one method, they can then be used
in informing and developing the use of another; furthermore, the nesting of one
method within another method can help in the provision of insights into several
unit analysis levels (Greene, 2007; Saunders et al., 2007). Cameroon and Molina
(2010) state that it seems that mixed methods approaches are employed more
often within studies of strategic management and international business. Table
4.9 below, from the work of Creswell (2003), has a comparison of quantitative,
qualitative and mixed methods approaches.
Table 4.9: Comparison of quantitative, mixed methods and qualitative research

approaches
Quantitative Mixed Qualitative

Research Methods Research
Scientific Deductive or “top- Deductive and Inductive or “bottom-up”
method down” The researcher inductive The researcher generates
tests hypotheses and new hypotheses and
theory with data grounded theory from
data collected during
fieldwork
View of Behaviour is regular Behaviour is Behaviour is fluid,
human and predictable somewhat dynamic, situational,
behaviour predictable social, contextual, and
personal
Most Description, Multiple Description, exploration,
common explanation, and objectives and discovery
research prediction
objectives
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Focus Narrow-angle lens, Multilens focus Wide-angle and “deep-
testing specific angle” lens, examining
hypotheses the breadth and depth of
phenomena to learn more
about them
Nature of Attempt to study Study Study behaviour in
observation behaviour under behaviour in natural environments.
controlled conditions more than one Study the context in
context or which behaviour occurs
condition
Nature of Objective (different Common-sense Subjective, personal, and
reality observers agree on realism and socially constructed
what is observed) pragmatic view
of world (i.e.
what works is
what is “real”
or true)
Form of data Collect quantitative Multiple forms Collect qualitative data
collected data based on precise (e.g. in-depth interviews,
measurement using participant observation,
structured and field notes, and open-
validated data ended questions) The
collection instruments researcher is the primary
(e.g. closed-ended data collection instrument
items, rating scales,
behavioural responses)
Nature of Variables Mixture of Words, images, categories
data variables,
words, and
images
Data Identify statistical Quantitative Search for patterns,
analysis relationships and qualitative themes, and holistic
features
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Results Generalisable findings Corroborated Particularistic findings.
findings may Representation of insider
generalize (i.e. “emic”) viewpoint.
Present multiple
perspectives
Form of Statistical report (e.g. Eclectic and Narrative report with
final report with correlations, pragmatic contextual description and
comparisons of means, direct quotations from
and reporting of research participants
statistical significance
of findings)
Source: Creswell, (2003)
In order to achieve the research objectives, since separate use of qualitative or
quantitative methods would have not been adequate for providing a full answer
for the research questions of the study, a mixed method was employed. Use of
an approach that used mixed methods was considered more suitable to enhance
the understanding of the phenomenon under investigation (Teddlie and
Tashakori, 2009). It was stated by Swanson (2011, 329) that: “the mixed methods
research methodology is also suitable when the objective of the methodology is
to use the results of one method to elaborate on the results of the primary method
used for the investigation”. The quantitative method is the primary approach for
the data collection and analysis for this research, with a type of qualitative method
employed for elaboration of the quantitative research findings and enhancement
of the level of understanding of them within the context at hand. As noted by
Saunders et al. (2009), when mixed methods approaches are used in research,
the various approaches can have complementarities that increase finding validity.
As the processes for quantitative and qualitative analysis are not reliant upon each
other, they are autonomous and, as shown by Flick (2006), phases of a study may
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be kept apart until the final stage of a study when findings are being compared to
give a fuller understanding of the phenomena under investigation. For this study,
the qualitative research results are able to offer further information that enhances
an understanding of the impacts of style of leadership that were gleaned from the
quantitative research findings. A primary feature of taking a positivist research
approach is that several different variables can be measured. As the researcher
has a background of working within the ADP, his experience may have an effect
when interpreting and analysing findings; so, the adoption of a positivist approach
gives the research more credibility and validity. The data and findings that came
out of the qualitative research gave confirmation or triangulation of the findings
from use of the quantitative method (Bryman and Bell, 2008). An approach that is
interpretivist/qualitative was also used in order to clarify and confirm findings of
the initial phase of the research through the analysis of the findings from the semi-
structured interviews with ADP managers, and through use of the previous
observations and knowledge of the study researcher. Given the size of research
sample is small and the depth sought in analysing the meanings of the research
findings, the approach reflects the suitability of using an approach that is
interpretivist. A mixed methods research approach is also employed as it has the
aim of uncovering the underlying mechanisms to the particular reality. Given the
peculiarities of the working environment for the ADP, the key aims of the study,
however, are to enable leaders at the ADP to gain a better appreciation of the
circumstances and perspectives of ADP employees so that more effective
leadership styles that are ‘employee-friendly’ can be established. The specific
protocols employed by the methodology in the collection of data, triangulate the
worldviews and perspectives of the ADP staff (Patton, 2010).
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4.16 The triangulation technique
Increasingly, the employment of multi-methods for the acquiring and analysis of
data is being favoured (Saunders et al., 2009). In this research, then, as the
purpose of the study is determining the impact that leadership has upon the
commitment of ADP employees, triangulation was considered appropriate for
addressing the objectives of the research. Triangulation is enabled by the mixed
methods approach in supporting the reliability and validity of the findings of the
research (Sekaran and Bougie, 2010). When it comes to research in the field of
business, triangulation refers to information that has been gathered from various
sources which then undergoes analysis to try to ensure that there is no bias to the
view acquired from a participant (Ghauri and Gronhaug, 2005; Saunders et al.,
2009). The most common type of research approach of mixed methods is the
triangulation design (Creswell, 2009). Indeed, Creswell and Clark (2007, 18)
stated that: “Triangulation research is important today because of the complexity
of problems that need to be addressed, the rise of interest in qualitative research,
and the practical need to gather multiple forms of data for diverse audiences”. The
strategy of employing various methodology types together adds depth and rigour
to research (Denzin and Lincoln, 2008). If a restricted research approach had
been taken for the study of the ADP, then the opportunity would not have been
taken to develop a detailed comprehension of the organisational issues. If just
qualitative research had been used, then there would have been insufficient data
to gain a full picture of the processes currently at work within the organisation. A
triangulation methodology was used for this research, therefore, in order to
minimise the disadvantages and maximise the advantages of employing each
kind of approach to research (Creswell, 2009; Saunders et al., 2009). At first, the
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collection of data is in the form of a review of literature which is then followed by
the questionnaire (self-administered) and then the interviews (semi-structured).
Further follow-up interviews let the researcher probe for more detail and obtain
data that supports and confirms the findings that came from the questionnaire that
was initially conducted. The structure of the study, based upon a triangulation
approach, is shown in Figure 4.1 below:
Figure 4.1: The study structure based on a triangulation approach
Quantitative Method Qualitative Method
Data Collection Data Collection

Self-Administered Semi-Structured
Questionnaires Interviews
Data Analysis Data Analysis
Integration of Findings
4.17 The research strategy
The research strategy is an overall plan for addressing the questions of the
research including the approach taken to acquiring and analysing the data needed
to address the questions (Zoogah, 2014). There are a number of general research
strategy types that are given attention within the literature and that are employed
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within research which include, though are not restricted to, surveying,
experimentation, the use of case studies, grounded theory, action research,
ethnography, research of archives and history (Saunders et al., 2009; Yin, 2009).
This research employs a survey type of research, with both an exploratory
purpose and a descriptive one in having a description of the organisational
commitment and the current styles of leadership within the ADP and in developing
a greater understanding of how the type of leadership has a bearing upon the
commitment of employees. To answer the questions of the research, there is a
need to gather unambiguous and specific data with minimal researcher interaction
and in a form that is standardised. It is appropriate to use a survey strategy for a
number of reasons. Firstly, a survey allows a researcher to acquire the kind and
amount of data required in order to answer the question(s) of a piece of research
(Anderson, 2013). Secondly, a survey is perceived as having authority and is
relatively easy for a researcher to explain and for the participant to understand
(Saunders et al., 2012). Thirdly, a survey is an effective, economic and efficient
way of gathering a large amount of data from a big population (Sanders et al.,
2012).
The research strategy should indicate the objectives of the research, pointing to
the required collection of data, the resources required, the estimated restrictions
and research boundaries, and a declaration of how the particular strategy was
selected by the researcher (Creswell, 2009). There has to be an emphasis upon
adopting appropriate strategies for the particular questions and objectives of the
research without them having mutual exclusivity. Research methods for
management and business studies have been arranged by Yin (2009) into five
different kinds of research strategy as Table 4.10 below shows.

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Table 4.10: The relevance of various research strategies to different
situations
Strategy Form of research Requires control Focuses on

question over behavioural contemporary
events events
Experiment How, why Yes Yes
Survey Who, what, where, how No Yes
many, how much
Archival Who, what, where, how No Yes/No
analysis many, how much
History How, why No No
Case study How, why No Yes
Source: Adapted from Yin, (2009, 8)
4.17.1 The various kinds of research strategy
Collis and Hussey (2009) showed classifications of research strategy, with a basis
in its purpose as being: the descriptive approach, the exploratory approach, the
explanatory approach and the analytical approach. The three research purposes
used in each of the strategies are the descriptive approach, the exploratory
approach or the explanatory approach (Yin, 2009).
4.17.2 The descriptive research approach
If descriptive research is being used, there should be a sound structure and a
sound understanding of the problem being researched (Ghauri and Gronhaug,
2005). The purpose behind the use of a descriptive research approach is, it is
said, for the provision of a description of the phenomena in question so that an
overview can be gained of an industry, an organisation or an individual, or
alternative perceptions; in doing so, researchers tend to try and find answers to
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the simple question ‘What is happening?’ (de Vaus, 2002; Sekaran, 2003). It has
been argued by Collis and Hussey (2009) that descriptive research approaches
can be employed in discovery of exacting problem characteristics and gaining
knowledge of them. Often, the collected data is of a quantitative nature and it is
usual for information to be summarised by means that are quantitative and
statistical.
4.18 Types of research
4.18.1 The exploratory research approach
The exploratory research approach is in relation to circumstances where there is
little available information or insufficient in relation to how problems in research
that are similar may have been addressed in the past (Zikmund et al., 2010). As
Collis and Hussey (2009) noted, exploratory studies have often used case studies,
historical analyses and observation, which draw on both quantitative and
qualitative data. Zikmund et al. (2010) highlighted three exploratory research
purposes, i.e. discovery of new ideas, the screening of alternatives and diagnosis
of a particular situation.
4.18.2 The explanatory research approach
Explanatory research approaches are those types wherein there is establishment
of the relationships between different variables so that they can be explained.
Collected data are subjected to statistical tests like correlation, for example, in
order for results to either confirm the existence of a relationship or to confirm a
relationship does not exist (Thomas, 2009). The research design is the
combination of the plans and procedures in relation to research assumption as
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well as the detailed methods by which data is to be collected and analysed; it is
based on the nature of the research issue, the participants to the study and
researcher experience (Creswell, 2009).
4.19 Justifying selection of descriptive and exploratory research

approaches
Based upon the above discussion, this research can be thought of as both
descriptive and explanatory in its attempts at investigating the impact that
leadership has upon the commitment of employees by way of assessing suitable
models that may be used by effective ADP leaders. The strategy may be used for
exploring all types of roles, relationships and events at the level of the individual,
the social group or the community (Robson, 2002). To accord with the primary
aim of the study, the research can be thought as exploratory; with regard to the
further research objectives, this research can be thought of as being descriptive.
Descriptive research has the aim of providing explanation for the characteristics
of the participants of a study and estimating the unit percentages in relation to a
specific population that are seen to exhibit a particular kind of behaviour; as such,
the descriptive approach seeks to systematically provide a description for a
particular situation, problem or the attitudes of people with regard to an issue
(Robson, 2002; Kumar, 2005). Exploratory research approaches use pilot studies
in order to explore certain areas for which there is a dearth of previous research.
In this study, a pilot study is employed in enhancing the reliability of the research.
Exploratory research has the purpose of developing preliminary ideas prior to
embarking on the investigation of the research question(s) (Neuman, 2011;
Kumar, 2005). Also, exploratory research projects aim to discover new ideas and
investigate the processes that lie behind problems, experiences and meanings in
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relation to certain contexts (Ghauri et al., 2005; Zikmund et al., 2010). For this
research project, it is crucial that a mixture of quantitative and qualitative research
methods are used. As mentioned above, the study has the primary aim of
investigating the impact that leadership styles have upon employee commitment
based upon perspectives taken from examples of best practice. Therefore, there
needs to be a profound understanding of phenomena which should come from
the efforts at finding answers for questions such as ‘how?’, ‘why?’ and ‘what?’.
The combination of research techniques can give more robust and rich findings;
there are, however, several reasons why this research project uses quantitative
research. Firstly, since the study is a comparative one, quantitative data
comparison is more easily done. Secondly, objective data avoids the issue of data
collection ambiguity. Thirdly, it is easier to analyse large amounts of quantitative
data than equivalently large volumes of data that is qualitative. For the
aforementioned reasons, conversion is undertaken of attributes that are
qualitative into a format that is quantitative for analysis.
The research population targeted was all middle and junior managers and
employees in the hierarchy of the ADP. Various methods of sampling were
employed during both the quantitative and qualitative research phases. In the
qualitative phase, there was a purposeful sample of leaders from the ADP, and in
the quantitative phase there was a random sample of employees and managers
from the ADP. Some types of research can tolerate examination of a whole
population, whilst other types of research cannot. However, sampling is able to
be done quickly and efficiently when limits to resources and other constraints
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foreclose the possibility of examining an entire population. Moreover, in
comparison to examination of the whole of a population, higher accuracy overall
may be provided in certain cases by sampling (Cohen et al., 2011; Bryman, 2008).
The ADP has a relatively large number of staff and a comprehensive survey would
be extremely difficult to do; so, to acquire an insightful and broad view, an easier
selection of workers at various profiles was undertaken.
4.20 The data collection methods
The methods for collection of data for researchers are to explore, define,
understand and describe phenomena and analyse the relationship between their
various aspects (Cohen et al., 2011; Cerit, 2009). Yin (2009) suggested six
primary sources of evidence to utilise within a case study type of approach. Table
4.11 below shows the various strengths and weaknesses of the six different
sources. Yin (2009) believed there to be no complete advantage of one type of
data source when compared to another, and so the use of multiple sources of
evidence can help clarify the genuine meanings that have been attributed to the
phenomena being investigated. Silverman (2013) and Denzin and Lincoln (2008)
encourage researchers to use more than just one research method as they
recognise that corroboration of findings has value in improving the validity of data.
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Table 4.11: The strengths and weaknesses of various evidence sources
Source of Strengths Weaknesses

evidence
Documentation Stable: Can be reviewed Retrievability: can be low
repeatedly Biased selectivity, if collection
Unobtrusive: not created as a is incomplete
result of the case study Reporting bias: reflects bias of
Exact: contains exact names, the author
references and details Access: may be deliberately
blocked
Archival Same as above Same as above
Records Precise and quantitative accessibility may be limited for
privacy reasons
Interviews Targeted: focuses directly on Bias due to poorly constructed
case studies questions
Insightful: provides perceived Response bias
causal inferences Inaccuracies: interviewees say
what they think interviewer
wants to hear
Direct Reality: covers events in real Time consuming
observation time Selectivity: poor, unless broad
Contextual: covers context of coverage
event Reflexivity: events may be
processed differently
Participation / Same as for direct Same as for direct observation
direct observation Bias due to investigator’s
observation Insightful into interpersonal manipulation of events
behaviour and motives
Physical Insightful into cultural Selectivity
Artefacts features Availability
Insightful into technical
operations
Source: Yin, (2009, 102)
So that the research objectives can be achieved, the data collection was
conducted simultaneously to the questionnaire dissemination to the managers
and employees of the ADP and to the conducting of the semi-structured interviews
with the ADP managers. The data collection methods are those instruments and
mechanisms used to acquire the research data, such as questionnaires,
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interviews and observation; some techniques are qualitative whilst others are
quantitative (Saunders et al., 2007). The researcher tailors the research strategy
and methods in such a way that there is a tendency for research to be either
quantitative, qualitative or a combination of the two of them (Creswell, 2009). A
quantitative method is made up of procedures and techniques for the collection
and analysis of data involving numeric data generation and it has been broadly
described as involving the collection of numeric data and illustration of
relationships between theory and the research findings (Bryman and Bell, 2007;
Saunders et al., 2009). Both the questionnaire survey and the semi-structured
interview were developed from a thorough literature review that concentrated
upon leadership theories and the commitment of employees. Existing literature
was used to formulate questions and these were integrated so that the objectives
of the research could be achieved through identification of the impact that the style
of leadership has upon the commitment of ADP employees. Whilst it had originally
been developed for investigating natural phenomena, this kind of research has
also been used widely within management and business research studies.
Laboratory experiments and surveys are examples of the use of quantitative
approaches (Berry and Jarvis, 2006). Qualitative methods, on the other hand,
involve social inquiry processes that aim to help arrive at a more holistic and
sophisticated understanding of a social reality. The bases for objectives of
qualitative method are description, discovering and understanding and hypothesis
generation. This method was discussed by Bryman and Bell (2007) who believed
it could be difficult to employ as it was subjective and impressionistic with a heavy
reliance upon unsystematic researcher views and it was often the case that the
research was unstructured with reliance upon researcher ingenuity. Since this
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research adopts both kinds of methods, it benefits from having the advantages of
both quantitative and qualitative research approaches. Multiple sources of data
allow for data triangulation; there is an assumption that a single method of
research alone would not manage to capture the reality under investigation in all
its complexity (Creswell 2003; Creswell, 2009). The data collection procedure for
this research study, therefore, involved the questionnaire survey, which is often
found within quantitative research projects, and interview methods, commonly
used within purely qualitative research projects. Data reliability and validity can be
increased through use of both kinds of research method together; hence, that
combined approach is employed within this research (Bryman and Bell, 2007).
4.21 The qualitative phase
4.21.1 The interviews
The qualitative type of research interview has been defined by Amaratunga et al.
(2002, 4), as being an approach “whose purpose is to gather descriptions of the
life-world of the interviewee with respect to interpretation of the meaning of the
described phenomena”. Saunders et al. (2009) consider an interview to be simply
a discussion with purpose that is held between two or more people. The interview
gives valid and reliable data with relevance for the research purposes and, as Yin
(2009) noted, the interview is one of the key sources of information within case
studies. It is a valuable technique for obtaining data, especially within a qualitative
study approach. Saunders et al. (2007) classified three interview types; the links
to research types and strategies of the three kinds of interview are shown in Table
4.12 below.
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Table 4.12: The utilisation of different interview types
Types of interview Exploratory Descriptive Explanatory

Structured √√ √
Semi-structured √ √√
In-depth √√
√√ more frequent √ less frequent
Source: Saunders et al. (2007, 314)
Bryman and Bell (2011, 574) provided a definition for the structured interview by
stating it is: “a research interview in which all respondents are asked exactly
the same questions in the same order with aid of a formal interview schedule”.
When an interview is structured, the participant is asked a previously prepared set
of questions and the responses are then recorded in a standardised schedule.
The questions can vary depending on the context of the organisation and the
conditions of the interviews (Easterby-Smith et al., 2008). A researcher could
leave out some questions within a certain interview or add other questions for the
purposes of acquiring supplementary information or in order to explore the
research questions and objectives still further. Data are collected by the
interviewer using a tape recorder and/or taking notes (Yates, 2004). The
structured interview method or quantitative research interview is able to provide a
deeper level of information with regard to particular variables that have aroused
interest; however the method may miss a more comprehensive picture (Kumar,
2008). An interview that is unstructured or in-depth interview does not have a pre-
determined list of questions or themes. Normally, unstructured interviews are
used for acquiring clear ideas of what issues may be applicable or important in a
specific situation or in relation to a particular problem. An unstructured or in-depth
interview is, in essence, a discussion that is informal that has no strict guidelines
and so it lets open discussion flow (Saunders et al. 2009)

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In unstructured interviews, there may also be the eliciting of repressed feelings
that participants may have not known that they had or were, perhaps, unwilling to
admit they had. This interview type is entirely informal and it is occasionally
referred to as non-directive (Saunders et al., 2007). On the other hand, an
interview that is semi-structured is one where the questions have been pre-
determined with the interviewees possibly requiring explanations for objectives of
the research and the questions being put to them (Saunders et al., 2009).
Uncertainties can also be clarified by the researcher who helps to ensure that the
questions are understood and that the responses from the participants are
recorded clearly. Modifications can also be done to the interview to make it more
suitable, with some questions added or omitted where considered appropriate,
and further explanations given when necessary (Saunders et al., 2009; Saunders
et al. (2007) indicated that semi-structured and in-depth interviews may be
employed within qualitative research studies to unearth and provide deeper
understanding of the ‘How?’ and ‘What?’ of a particular situation, in addition to the
placement of greater emphasis upon the ‘Why?’ of the situation. It was stressed
by Hesse-Biber and Leavy (2011) that interviews had the strength of allowing the
researcher to explore the processes ambiguities, complexities, and contradictions
that an interviewee may face. A researcher may explore and then negotiate the
questions and answers in terms of their potential meanings, with the respondent
perspective being explored by the interviewer. The interview method is, however,
both time consuming and expensive, especially if a big number of respondents is
involved. In addition, the validity and reliability of the questions with the interview
process could also be affected because of the interaction between the interviewee
and interviewer.
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4.21.2 The sample for semi-structured interviewing
Individual interviews that were semi-structured were undertaken face-to-face with
a sample of managers in the ADP working in various departments; as such, the
perceptions and attitudes towards the current practices of the style of leadership
at the ADP could be gleaned. Upon analysis of the findings, several ‘grey areas’
were found and so the researcher had to seek clarification through interviews with
the managers. A variety of views were collected in regard to various kinds of
leadership and, once opinions were gathered from a variety of dimensions,
triangulation was done to the research sample. The study targeted participants
with four years of work experience or more and a random selection of managers
(middle managers and senior managers) was made from several grade levels
within the relevant groups within the structure of the ADP. It was considered that
the outcome of the research could potentially be enriched through a selection of
employees at various managerial levels. Also, it was possible to have confidence
in the accuracy of the process of interviewing and in the reliability of the research,
in general. Overall, interviews were believed to be a data collection technique that
would be efficient in collecting a large volume of research data for consideration
and analysis. Interviewees were told of the importance placed on gathering
insights into the role being played by the current practices of leadership for
enhancement of the knowledge sharing levels amongst employees.
4.21.3 The questions of the semi-structured interviewing
Semi-structured interviews were considered by Wengraf (2001, 52) as having “a
number of interview questions prepared in advance but such prepared questions
are designed to be sufficiently open that the subsequent questions of the
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interviewer cannot be planned in advance but must be improvised in a careful and
theorised way”. The discussion of the interview concentrates upon three primary
themes that emerged from the questionnaire and the review of literature. The
researcher introduced the themes to the research interviewees in order to ensure
that the questions asked of them, and the research aims, were fully understood
by the respondents. In doing so, discussions between respondents and the
researcher were prompted with regard to the study importance. As such, the
following highlighted areas were put forward to be investigated:
Theme No.1: Do you believe that the current social, economic and cultural
changes that are occurring within the UAE impact upon the style of leadership?
Theme No.2: What is the current leadership style at the ADP? Which type of
leadership is needed in order to drive the commitment of employees required to
meet challenges faced at the ADP?
Theme No.3: What are the views/perceptions with regard to the leadership of the
ADP, its structure and the levels of commitment to the organisation?
The questions allowed participants to indicate those factors that contributed the
most in regard to employee commitment and leadership so that they could be
discussed, in addition to the identification of the leadership style practice that was
preferred amongst employees at the ADP. The researcher was helped by an
expert on the topics of qualitative methodology and quality in order to enhance
the quality of the questions of the semi-structured interviews. As a number of
fellow PhD students were engaged in working in related fields, their help was
received to enhance the validity of the interview questions and to ensure all main
areas of enquiry were being addressed.

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4.21.4 The interview procedures
The following procedures were used to undertake the interviews:
a) Telephone calls and emails were used for arranging the participant
interviews.
b) A total of ten interviews were held face-to-face with leaders from of a variety
of departments in the ADP, with participants chosen based on them being
from a range of departments and levels of job within the ADP hierarchy;
c) Efforts were made to help participants feel comfortable and at ease whilst
the interviews were being conducted, with an informal style to encourage
them to feel able to freely talk about the issues in question. The interviews
were conducted in the offices of participants and they lasted from about 30
to 45 minutes. Information was kept in note form by the researcher;
d) Through using open-ended questions, in following-up on responses, the
researcher was able to ask more probing questions. Open-ended
questions afford interviewees a certain amount of flexibility for the
responses they give (Patton, 2002);
e) Participants were thanked for co-operating and offering their time and
contributions.
4.21.5 Justifying the selection of the semi-structured interviewing

instrument
The techniques of using interviews is believed to be very effective when collecting
complex data as it helps in generating a rapport between researcher and
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participant and boosts the response rates and the data quality (Saunders et al.,
2009). The researcher had a focus upon the open questioning of participants in
order to describe the opinions they and in order to acquire complex and
comprehensive answers from participants. Semi-structured interviews, as a more
commonly used qualitative research method, are frequently easy when it comes
to collecting qualitative data (Heaton, 2004). The semi-structured interview with
qualitative research is seen as non-standardised and has a list of themes or
questions for the interviewer to cover during the time, with sufficient flexibility for
exploring interesting areas were they to arise (Easterby-Smith et al., 2008;
Saunders et al., 2009). More obtained insights may have relevance to the
research objectives; semi-structured interviews are, indeed, considered the
primary source of research data from case studies (Yin, 2003). It has been
highlighted that interviews can generate more confidence than responses
gathered from questionnaires, and can have the benefit of non-verbal
communication (Hussey and Hussey, 1997). The particular usage of interviews
for seeking to acquire semi-structured information behind participant experiences
was noted by Saunders et al. (2007). An expectation for this research is that the
interviewing of leaders will provide professional perceptions in relation to the
cultural organisational dimensions and the way in which employee commitment is
altered. The semi-structured interview has been carefully designed so that bias
can be reduced. It is typical for the semi-structured, openly framed interview to
allow for communication that is two-way, informal and focused, and that has a
gradual shift from questioning of a general nature to a focus that is more specific
(Barrio, 2000). The semi-structured interview offers flexibility and enables new
areas to be explored if and when they crop up; overall, the semi-structured method
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is considered appropriate for this research project as it can help explore subjective
meanings (Yates, 2004; Janckowicz, 2005).
4.21.6 The analysis of the interview data
Concentrating upon analysis of the content, measurement was done for the
semantic content that was associated with each leadership style. Content analysis
is a very particular type of thematic analysis useful as a presentation technique
for interview data (Cooper and Schindler, 2014; Zikmund et al., 2010). The words
and emergent themes of the participant descriptions were investigated. Instead of
using the NVivo tool for analysis of qualitative data from the in-depth interviews,
the researcher decided to manually analyse the data as the NVivo tool is not
workable for Arabic, and also the volume of collected information from the
interviews was, in relative terms, quite small.
When it comes to qualitative data, the analysis of content requires a coding
process whereby an initial process of open coding proceeds the formation of
frames of coding that involve breaking text down into categories that are more
easily managed; as such, the information is broken down into phrases, sentences
and words and this is then followed by the researcher comparing the statements
made by participants, including determining whether participants who made a
particular statement also made another, as shown in Appendix 2. The findings
were subjected to a mechanism for quality control, with analysis of the data
sample by another researcher (fellow PhD student) in order to confirm that there
was consistency in use of the assigned meanings. Table 4.13 shows the
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advantages and disadvantages of content analysis according to the perspective
of Babbie (2004). After the suggestion from Patton (2010), the answers were
subjected to content analysis with the cross-interview type of approach employed
in the manual analysis of the collected data and its classification.
Table 4.13: The strengths and weaknesses of content analysis
Advantages Disadvantages
Advantages
 It is a socially-oriented Disadvantages
 It affords the researcher less control than
research method, capturing individual interviews.
real-life data in a social  Data are difficult to analyse.
environment.  Moderators (interviewers) require special
 It offers flexibility. skills.
 It offers high face validity.  Differences between groups can be
 It gives speedy results. troublesome.
 It is low in cost.  Groups are difficult to assemble.
 The discussion must be conducted in a
conducive environment.
Source: Babbie, (2004)
4.22 The quantitative phase
4.22.1 The questionnaires
In management and business research, it is common to use a survey strategy; on
the other hand, there is a tendency for experimental studies to dominate within
psychological research. It was noted by Remenyi et al. (1998) that surveys collect
data from a big population, and it is commonly the main source of quantitative
data within management research. Surveys are used in description, explanation
and/or the testing of hypotheses. In the social sciences, this is more
conventionally carried out through interviews and questionnaires, however in-
depth interviewing, structured observation and the analysis of content may be
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incorporated as well (Bryman, 2008). Sarantakos (1998, 223), in offering a
description of the survey, highlighted that: “Surveys are the most commonly used
method of data collection in the social sciences, especially in sociology; so
common, that they quite often are to be the research method of social sciences”.
It is common for surveys to be used in the measurement of the frequency of
attitudes, behaviour and beliefs, with the survey being either analytical or
descriptive. An analytical survey is used in investigating relationships that may be
present between a number of variables, whilst descriptive surveys are intended to
identify and measure the frequency of population that has been specified (Collis
and Hussey, 2003). In this current research, it is relevant to use a descriptive
survey to address the questions and objectives of the research, and especially
the questions of a ‘What?’ type (Yin, 2003). In general, the considerable popularity
of the survey comes from its ability to allow large volumes of data to be collected
from a large population, in a way that is extremely economical, through use of
written techniques (questionnaire) and/or oral techniques (interview). In devising
a strategy for surveying, there are important variables that have to be known; so,
the survey is only employed within situations that are understood reasonably well.
This study has mixed methods, however, which means that information that is
insightful may first be generated through the use of a qualitative approach for the
identification of predominant leadership styles and identification of the factors that
are crucial for employee commitment. It is then possible to construct a theoretical
model that permits result testing through use of a quantitative approach.
Employee interviews or questionnaire completion were considered by Spector
(1997) as being the main way of undertaking the measurement of the satisfaction
of employees. In this research, the research strategy of using a survey has been
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employed mainly because it is an efficient and cost-effective way in which large
volumes of data from a big population can be collected in order to answer the
research questions (Yin, 2009). A questionnaire is thought to be the most
probable way in which a standardised set of data can be achieved; the regular
comprehension of questions by the participants enables quantitative instruments
to then be used for analysis (Bryman and Bell, 2007; Saunders et al., 2009). For
this study, the questionnaire has enabled the collection of data from a wide range
of participants from diverse ADP departments. It is easy to administer
questionnaires that have been formulated well, and the survey strategy has given
the researcher a greater degree of control over the research process and it has
helped in suggesting causes for variable relationships (Janckowicz, 1995; Yin,
2009).
4.22.2 Questionnaire types
The researcher undertook the survey in order to examine current ADP leadership
styles and to examine the impact that they were having upon employee
commitment; by doing so, the research questions were able to be answered.
According to Haimon (1998), advanced methods of analysis employed within
social investigation have become a primary procedure for survey data processing.
In measuring the characteristics of a population, the survey can be a very valuable
way to help in describing a population and formulating models to analyse the
characteristics of them. In considering the values of a taking a survey approach,
Gilbert (2008 95) states that: “sociologists also regard surveys as an invaluable
source of data about attitudes, values, personal experiences and behaviour”.
Gilbert (2008) acknowledges the benefits of conducting survey through a
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telephone interview, through the sending of questionnaires through the post, or
through conducting them face to face. The beliefs, feelings and views of people
that are acquired could be adequate in themselves or they could be utilised in
adding weight to an argument that has been put forward (Jankowicz, 1995). A
comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of the aforementioned methods now
follows.
4.22.3 Telephone interviews
Fricker et al. (2005) estimate that it costs about half the resources to do telephone
interviews than face to face interviews. Telephone interviewing has several clear
advantages:
a) There is a bigger chance of gaining access to an interviewee;
b) It is cheaper than undertaking personal, face-to-face interviews;
c) The period of data collection tends to be shorter;
d) They can be administered more easily than surveys posted within the mail
system;
e) Fewer people are needed in order to conduct the survey.
Telephone interviewing also has some disadvantages including:
a) When there are sensitive questions, there is less reliability;
b) It may be more difficult for respondents to answer complicated and long
questions in a telephone interview.
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4.22.4 The mailed questionnaire
The technique of mailing questionnaires involves questionnaire distribution
through the postal service with a covering letter. The self-administered
questionnaire is believed to be the most commonly used method. A postal
questionnaire has limited interference and less time is taken from the researcher
in comparison to interviewing and questionnaires that are administered personally
(Collis and Hussey, 2003; Sekaran, 2003). Mailed questionnaires are also
advantageous due to:
a) Cost effectiveness. There is no need for trained interviewers and the
process nature and the data analysis also keep the approach cost effective.
When participants are located over a broad area, then it is clear that mailing
questionnaires is likely to be much cheaper than other types of approach
(Collis and Hussey, 2003; Sekaran, 2003);
b) Accessibility. Respondents distributed over a broad area can be mailed
with ease;
c) Anonymity. As noted by Sekaran (2003), mailed questionnaires lend
themselves to the maintenance of anonymity and respondents can send in
their responses at a time that is convenient to them. Without
personalisation in the survey, there is more likely to be a truer opinion
offered when the participant is faced with a controversial or sensitive
question;
d) There is a reduced degree of error from bias. When using a mailed
questionnaire, personal matters or variable skills in the interviewer play
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less of a role; as such there may be more consistent, stable and uniform
measurement (Remenyi et al., 2002);
e) The possibility of collecting large amounts of data. As Babbie (2004)
stressed, a mailed questionnaire allows a large amount of data to be
acquired within a relatively short timeframe from a large number of
participants.
A mailed questionnaire can also have a number of significant disadvantages,
however:
i) There is a need for simple questions. To ensure questions are
comprehensible and simple, there is a need for printed definitions and
instructions;
ii) Once the questionnaire has been posted, there is no further control the
question over who is the person completing the questionnaire;
iii) The rate of response can be low.
4.22.5 The personally-administered questionnaire
If just local surveying is done, with an aim of having focused gatherings in a
workplace or in the homes of people, then it is considered appropriate to use the
personally-administered questionnaire tool for the collection of data. In the works
of both Collis and Hussey (2003) and Sekaran (2003), advantages of personally-
administered questionnaires are highlighted and include the following
considerations:
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a) There is the possibility of a high rate of response as the researcher is able
to collect responses personally and does not have to rely on a postal
service;
b) It is possible to remove interviewer bias;
c) Any confusion can be clarified by the researcher;
d) It is possible to explain the topic and themes of the research to participants
to encourage and motivation them to give franker responses;
e) Administration of questionnaires to a big number of participants can be
quicker and cheaper when interviews are conducted in the same place;
f) Less skill is required to administer a questionnaire than to conduct an
interview;
g) When being collected, a questionnaire can be examined to see if it has
been completed fully.
For the current research, both personally-administered and mailed questionnaires
were utilised.
4.22.6 The design, distribution and administration of questionnaires
It is crucial to have a suitable questionnaire design in order for the required data
to be obtained that addresses the questions and objectives of the research. So,
for careful formulation of the questionnaire questions, a researcher should give
consideration to the following:
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a) Each item in the questionnaire should have a particular role that is made
clear;
b) For each of the 4 scales, each group of questions should have the aim of
testing a particular variable;
c) Before an item is included, there should be decisions made in respect to
how the analysis of the responses will be undertaken and through the use
of which statistical methods, in addition to consideration over how data will
be presented and/or published.
All of the survey questions have to be given consideration in order to ensure that
the responses given have validity; the language and wording of the questions
have to relate to the perceptions and attitudes of the participants. Saunders et al.
(2003) suggest the guidelines below to ensure that questionnaires have suitable
wording:
a) Questions should use familiar vocabulary, terms and concepts, and be
straightforward and clear;
b) There should be a simple scale employed from which a participant can
select an answer;
c) Questions with bias that could encourage a particular response to be given
should be avoided;
d) Questions should be direct and short so that participants are more likely to
be willing to be involved and so that misunderstandings are more likely to
be avoided;
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e) There should be an avoidance of using leading questions that employ
language that is emotive and that could lead a participant to respond in a
certain way. Kumar (2014:120) defines a leading question as “one which,
by its contents, structure or wording, leads a respondent to answer in a
certain direction”;
f) There should be avoidance of ambiguity in question wording;
g) Questions that are negative and confusing should also be avoided.
So that the best possible instrument for the research was created, the researcher
followed the above guidelines when designing the questionnaire.
4.22.7 The question sequence and flow
On a subconscious level, respondents may have more readiness for questioning
when the questions are considered to have an appropriate sequence and flow. A
‘funnel’ approach was recommended by Sekaran (2003) whereby questions
moved from being general to have a more specific focus, and questions went from
easily answered ones to questions that had progressively more difficulty. Certain
key principles were applied in the questionnaire construction, as follows:
a) With similar topics being grouped together, there was a logical flow; the
first questionnaire element was related to information of a demographic
nature and this was followed by a second element with 4 sections that
related to the addressing of the questions of the research;
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b) Following the initial broad questioning, more specific questioning then
followed based upon the initial participant response;
c) The likeliness of hesitation was reduced through the careful construction of
the questions at the start of the questionnaire;
d) An emphasis was placed by the researcher on a keen interest in participant
views rather than having them feeling like they were under some sort of
intense scrutiny. Also, the initial questions were drafted in a way that made
them easy to answer;
e) Every one of the questions was drafted in a way that it had relevance to
the participants;
f) Open questions were used only minimally and those that were included
were used towards the end of the questionnaire.
4.22.8 Types of questions
As an instrument of surveying, there are particular disadvantages and advantages
to the use of closed and open questions (Sekaran, 2003). It was observed by
Remenyi et al. (2002) that questions that are open are best used within
exploratory studies since the researcher is unable to specify the response
categories beforehand. It is easy to ask open questions and they allow
participants to provide more opinions and information in the way they want to
express them. Open questions are disadvantageous in certain respects, however,
since they increase the duration of the study and this may discourage participation
and lead to an increase in the number of responses that are incomplete and
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unusable. Another disadvantage is that much of the acquired data may present
difficulties when it comes to analysis and/or the data may be useless or irrelevant
(Remenyi et al., 2002; Collis and Hussey, 2003; Sekaran, 2003). Closed
questions, on the other hand, require either an answer that is either yes or no or
is a choice from several presented alternatives. Closed questions can be
completed by a respondent quickly, however the creation of a design that is clear,
and that considers all possible responses, is a difficult thing to do. Also, closed
questions are limiting in their range of options and there may be frustration for the
participant in feeling that they are unable to give a response that is an accurate
and true reflection of their beliefs (de Vaus, 2002; Denscombe, 2007). Closed
questions do, however, prove useful for the collection of certain types of data and,
given the range of answers is limited, the data analysis can be much more
straightforward. It can be quick and easy to ask a large number of questions, and
since the responses are standardised, comparison is straightforward too; as such,
the decision was made to mainly employ closed questions with the research study
questionnaire.
4.23 The scaling process
A scale has been defined by Sekaran (2003:185) as: “a tool or mechanism by
which individuals are distinguished as to how they differ from one another in the
variables of interest to our study. The scale or a tool could be a broad one in the
sense that it would only broadly categorise individuals on certain variables, or it
could be a fine-tuned tool that would differentiate individuals on the variables with
varying degrees of sophistication”. The study used dichotomous questions to offer
participants only two alternatives when gathering gender information, and
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questions in a multiple-choice style with a range of options when gathering
information in relation to age, qualification and experience in auditing. Further
ordinal scales were employed for gathering evidence into numbered categories to
indicate order (Remenyi et al., 2002). For measurement of the extent of the
perceptions of individual participants in relation to each of the statements, a 5-
point Likert scale was designed (Saunders et al., 2009). In order to help remove
bias from the research, a neutral option in the middle meant that participants could
select that option if they had no emotional response to the research (Sekaran,
2003).
Table 4.14: Example of the Likert-type scale using five points as used within
the study questionnaire
1 2 3 4 5 6
Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Don’t Know
Agree Disagree
For analysis of participant responses, the researcher chose to use the specialist
package for statistics and analysis known as SPSS. Statements related to current
perceptions in regard to the dominant leadership styles and their impact upon
commitment in the ADP.
For the study purpose, the questionnaire designed by the researcher comprises
three main sections. The first section caters for demographic information about
the participants, with information used for differentiation of respondents using
various methods. The second questionnaire section has reference to the leader
characteristics based on categorisation within the Multifactor Leadership
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Questionnaire (MLQ). The MLQ comprises nine main leadership traits categorised
into three primary styles of leadership (Meyer and Allen, 1991). Table 4.15
demonstrates how this second section was developed to accord with the division
of the MLQ.
Table 4.15: Categorisation of leadership and associated traits
Questionnaire
Leadership styles Leadership Traits question
number
Transformational Idealized Attributes (IA): which refers to the 10, 18, 21, and 25
Leadership instilling of pride in others for being
associated with them. This person displays a
sense of power and confidence
Idealized Behaviours (IB): this attribute 6, 14, 23, and 32
indicates that the person talks about his/her
most important values and beliefs. In
addition, this person has a strong sense of
purpose.
Inspirational Motivation (IM): this person 9, 13, 26, and 34
always talks optimistically about the future.
And talk enthusiastically about what needs
to be accomplished.
Intellectual Stimulation (IS): this person 2, 8, 35, and 36
suggests new ways of looking at how to
complete assignments, while seeking
different perspectives when solving
problems.
Individualized Consideration (IC): this 15, 19, 29, and 30
attribute indicates that this person spends
time in teaching and coaching their
employees in order to help them develop
their strengths.
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Transactional Contingent Rewards CR: this person offers 1, 11, 16, and 33
Leadership assistance in exchange for their efforts and
expresses satisfaction when they meet the
expectations.
Management by Exception (Active) MBEA: 4, 24, 27, and 22
this type of leader focuses on irregularities,
mistakes from the standard. So they always
direct their attention toward failure to meet
standards.
Management by Exception (Passive) MBEP: 3, 12, 17, and 20
this attribute of the leader indicates that s/he
does not interfere until problems become
serious. So, s/he waits for things to go
wrong before taking action.
Laissez-Faire LF Laissez-Faire LF: this type of leaders always 5, 7, 28, and 31
avoids getting involved when important
issues arise, absent when needed, and
always avoids making decisions.
Source: Compiled by the present researcher
As Table 4.15 shows, each leadership trait is associated with a number of
questionnaire questions. Such repetition has the purpose of ensuring reliability of
the data that the questionnaire helps to gather. In analysing this questionnaire
section, each question group is gathered into a mean figure which undergoes
analysis rather than analysis of all the individual questions. The third
questionnaire section was also based on the model of Meyer and Allen (1991),
considered one of the most empirically scrutinised of all models of organisational
behaviour. The model comprises three primary sections requiring the participant
to give answers to a number of questions in relation to normative commitment,
continuance commitment and affective commitment (Keskes, 2014)
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4.24 The translation of the questions of the interviews and questionnaire
The researcher translated the questionnaire and interview questions from English
into Arabic to enable the sharing of the objectives. Senior lecturers in linguistics,
who had knowledge of Arabic and management, offered their assistance. Fontana
and Frey (1994, 371), in giving their recommendation of such an approach,
considered that “use of language is very crucial for creating sheerness of
meanings in which both interviewer and respondent understand the contextual
nature of the interview”. With further help from a senior linguistic lecturer, the
interview transcripts and answers were translated to English.
4.25 Justification for choosing the research approach and data collection
techniques
Consideration of all potential data collection techniques before the questionnaires
are adopted, as recommended, ensures the application of the suitable one for the
context of the research (Bryman and Bell, 2007; Easterby-Smith et al., 2008;
Saunders et al., 2009).
The validity of the data may be enhanced through combination of the
questionnaires with other techniques into a mixed methods or multi-method
approach. So, for this research, in combination with questionnaire, a semi-
structured interview method was used in order to enhance the validity of the data
and to cut out the ‘method effect’ on the results of the research (Saunders et al.,
2009, 154).
It would be difficult for the researcher to conduct in-depth interviews or observation
whilst residing out of the country, with international phone calls also being costly
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and inefficient. (Tejeda et al., 2001; Smith 2006). The management of the ADP
gave their prior approval following delivery to them of a pre-distribution sample for
them to review. All information gathered from participants is to be kept
confidentially.
4.26 The research population and technique of sampling
The research population is the group of things or people that a researcher is
investigating (Sekaran, 2003); it relates to all the elements or cases of a piece of
research collectively. Robson (2002: 60) considered that: “A sample is a selection
from the population”. Whilst the sample has the attributes of the population of the
research, it is just a segment of all potential components or cases (Saunders et
al., 2009). Saunders et al. (2000, 150) noted that: “Sampling techniques provide
a range of methods that enable you to reduce the amount of data you need to
collect by considering only data from a sub-group rather than all possible cases
or elements.” All of the cases in the research are known as the research
population, whereas the sample refers to a subset of the population that is made
up of a selection of the members of that population (Robson, 2002; Sekaran,
2003). Whilst some pieces of research involve the collection of data from an entire
population, there should not be a presumption that the data collected is
necessarily more useful than if only a representative sample had been used
(Saunders et al., 2009). Saunders et al. (2009) outlined the situations when
researchers have to employ a sample:
1. When data collection from an entire population would be difficult to achieve,
e.g. when a researcher is only able to get permission for the gathering of
data from a sample of the population;
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2. When it may be a possibility for the researcher to collect data from an entire
population but the cost would be prohibitive;
3. When restrictions of time foreclose the possibility of collecting data from an
entire population, such as when there is a tight deadline for the researcher;
4. When a researcher needs to have some results quickly.
In terms of sampling, there are both non-probability and probability techniques;
the latter of these known to have a probability of non-zero for selection for each
element of the population. Stratified sampling and random sampling are typical
probability techniques. Non-probability sampling uses non-random selection, with
examples including quota sampling and snowball sampling (Bryman and Bell,
2007). To ensure an acceptable quality level, there has to be strict adherence to
sound principles of sampling. There are disadvantages and advantages to using
each technique depending upon the circumstances. One disadvantage is that it
helps in discovering only predictions or estimates of population characteristics,
and so there is the potential of the researcher making an error in the estimation.
Key advantages, however, are the low costs involved, the need for less human
resources and time savings (Kumar, 2008). Random sampling has been adopted
for this research so that there is an equal chance of inclusion for all of the units
and so the sampling can be said to have greater representativeness. The study
population that was targeted was all employees and middle and junior managers
in the hierarchy of the ADP who had a position for leading people. Different
methods of sampling were employed in the quantitative and qualitative phases of
mixed methods research approach. The qualitative phase of the study involved
the purposeful sampling of the leaders of the ADP, whilst the quantitative phase
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used random sampling of the managers and employees of the ADP. Whilst it may
be extremely difficult to conduct an examination of a whole population, sampling
may be efficient if there are issues and constraints and if there is a need for quick
results; there can also be, in some instances, a greater degree of accuracy if
sampling is used (Bryman and Bell, 2007). As there is a large number of workers
in the ADP, selection from various profiles of them can be easier and enable a
broader and more insightful view to be acquired.
4.26.1 Questionnaire sampling technique
If studying a specific research problem, there has to be a decision over the scope
and size of the group of cases or members of the group targeted for canvasing.
In certain cases, it may be financially and technically feasible to have coverage of
nearly all possible members of a group or nearly all cases, as with the taking of a
census, for example (Townsend and MacBeath, 2011). In general, there are two
sampling types, i.e. non-probability and probability (Bryman and Bell, 2011). Non-
probability sampling results in the acquisition of a sample that is not fully
representative of the population in question, such as the use of the technique of
snowballing sampling (Bryman and Bell, 2011). With probability sampling, on the
other hand, there is known probability of non-zero for all elements within the
population to appear within the sample; examples being stratified and random
sampling (Zoogah, 2014).
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Figure 4.2: The common techniques and types of sampling
Sampling
Non-
Probability
Probability
Random Systematic Stratified Cluster Quota Purposive snowball self- convenience

selection
Typical
Case
Multi- Extreme Hetero- critical
stage Homoge case
geneus
-neous
Source: Saunders et al., (2009, 213)
For the purpose of this study, a probability sampling was used with the selection
of random samples from five positions within eight different departments so that a
representative size of sample could be selected for the entire population in order
that any relationship between organisational commitment and the existing styles
of leadership could be highlighted. Random sampling that is stratified is a method
of information gathering from a sub-group of respondents to help ensure that the
sample selected covers the entire population in a size of group that is relatively
consistent. So, the researcher used a ratio method for selection of the size of the
sub-group sample with all the people having a chance of selection in accordance
to a ratio given to his or her department; this has the purpose of enhancing the
sample representativeness (Brigham, 2010). The aim of using the strategy of
selected sampling is to have representativeness of the characteristics of the entire
population. Therefore, three steps were followed for the selection of the size of
sample: i) prediction of the size of sample for each sub-group, ii) computation of
the sample size proportion in accordance with its category and iii) adjustment of
the sampling size to the rate of response.
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Table 4.16: The size of sample for each of the sub-groups
Sub-groups according to their Weight Sample Selected

Population
departments percentage size sample
Commander General of Abu Dhabi
470 0.12 43 68
Police
Deputy Commander General 420 0.11 39 61
General Directorate for Finance

280 0.07 26 41
and Services
General Directorate for Human
180 0.05 17 26
Resources
General Directorate for Guards and
280 0.07 26 41
Establishments Protection
General Directorate for Policing
560 0.15 52 81
Operations
General Directorate for Central
250 0.07 23 36
Operations
General Directorate for Security
1350 0.36 124 196
Affairs and Ports
Total 3790 1 349 550
(Compiled by the researcher)
The ADP is the population in question for this research study. With a manpower
of 3,790 employees, it is not a small organisation, and the additional security
concerns make it a difficult proposition to do a thorough canvasing of the
employees of the organisation.
The researcher calculated the sample by using Yamane’s (1967) formula:
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According to Yamane (1967), n is the sample size, N is the population size, and
e is the level of precision. Instead of a full survey, then, samples were taken from
various different employee groups from within the organisation, with selection
from various departments and offices. Table 4.17 shows the minimum size of
sample for each of the departments.
4.27 The pilot study
The pilot study was considered by Daniel and Turner (2010) to have potential
benefit to a researcher as it helps to ensure that the methods employed are not
imbued with any weaknesses that could have been avoided. So, this research
part includes an essential pilot study to help ensure that the various study
instruments are consistent and valid prior to conducting the second study phase.
4.28 The design for the scale
The scale design exercise is one with the purpose of ensuring that it is developed
to be effective in addressing the research objectives. In order to increase
confidence and motivation, three principles were employed by the researcher, as
put forward by Dillman (1978, 123-125), which consisted of:
a) Questions placed in descending order of their importance and
usefulness, with that order being that which was agreed following the
convening of a focus group and the piloting;
b) The questions were grouped together based on them having similar
content, grouping based on area, and grouping based on type of
question. During scale construction, there was grouping based on
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subject, and grouped with the title of the participant, were questions in
relation to leadership style, rewards and recognition, the salary and any
fringe benefits.
4.29 Testing the pilot questionnaire
Conducting a small number of questionnaires could benefit researchers in the
minimisation of difficulties and problems that could be faced by participants as
they try to understand the questionnaire questions (Saunders et al. (2012). Yin
(2009) emphasised upon the importance of undertaking a pilot study before
conducting the actual questionnaire survey, so that the researcher has a chance
of redesigning both the questionnaire and procedures that should be followed
during the collection and analysis of the data. To help the researcher in the
development of the questionnaire, the draft version was distributed to several PhD
students of the Liverpool Business School for their comments. An Arabic version
of the questionnaire was then distributed to five members of the ADP with a
request for feedback with regards to how understandable the questionnaire
questions were. Following this, a final version of the questionnaire was developed
by the researcher.
4.29.1 The scale of measurement for the pilot test
With the use of the literature, and in order to address the study purpose, a division
was made into three main leadership styles, i.e. laissez-faire, transactional and
transformational; each of these three divisions was then further divided into sub-
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groups containing four questions. Each leadership trait had several questionnaire
questions with the repetition purpose being to ensure the questionnaire gathered
reliable data.
4.29.2 The Pilot questionnaire survey
A total of 40 questionnaires were distributed by the researcher in the pilot study
phase, from which thirty were returned. Three of the questionnaires were taken
out due to them being incomplete. As such, there was a rate of response of 66%.
Table 4.17 below shows the rate of response for the pilot study. So, to accord with
this rate, the researcher decided to distribute a total of 550 questionnaires so that
the targeted size of sample was likely to be achieved.
Table 4.17: The rate of response to the questionnaire of the pilot study
Total
Missing Incomplete Valid Response
Distributed
Questionnaires Questionnaires Questionnaires Rate
Questionnaires
40 10 3 27 66%
Hair et al. (2010) stated that the level of reliability may be measured through use
of Cronbach’s Alpha, with the recommendation that it has a figure of over 0.70.
The questionnaire pilot study showed that the Cronbach’s Alpha for questions
related to leadership to be acceptable at 0.783; the reliability level, then, was
increased for the data collected from the respondents.
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Table 4.18: The reliability test
Cronbach’s Alpha
All questions 0.783
Leadership questions 0.743
Organisational commitments questions 0.727
The researcher analysed the questionnaire returned through use of SPSS
software for the further benefit of verifying the validities of the different variables
and scales employed in the questionnaire; once this was done there was
reassurance that the survey was a valid one for the further phase(s) of the PhD.
4.29.3 Pilot test feedback
There was general agreement that the questionnaire could be clearly understood,
however a number of issues were raised by respondents and so minor
adjustments were made as follows:
a) An additional three questions were put into the questionnaire;
b) Two of the questions had been repeated and so they were deleted;
c) There were slight variations in two questions when comparing their Arabic
and English versions and so they were reworded to facilitate
understanding;
d) In order for participants to use the questionnaire easily, the scale rating
direction was changed to a low to high direction from a high to low direction.
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Some reviewers thought the questionnaire was too long, and some made the
suggestion that logos of Liverpool John Moores University and ADP ought to be
placed on the questionnaires to give them a formal appearance.
4.30 Study measurements used
4.30.1 Multifactor leadership questionnaire (MLQ)
The study purpose was, through the use of a MLQ approach, to seek to determine
the styles of leadership of different managers at the ADP in order to acquire the
perceptions of individuals working under/with the management approaches of the
various managers (Bass and Avolio, 2000). The MLQ was first developed in the
work of Bass and Avolio (1997) and following that, there have been improvements
that have resulted in the development of many different versions. The version
known as MLQ Form 5X comprises eleven statements of rating that use a 5-point
Likert type scale to identify and measure the main attributes of the styles of
leadership. The scale was designed with 1 equating to ‘Strongly Agree’, 2
equating to ‘Agree’, 3 equating to ‘Neutral’, 4 equating to ‘Disagree’, and 5
equating to ‘Strongly Disagree’. Lots of studies have shown the MLQ reliability
with a Cronbach’s Alpha of greater than 0.90, such as the study of Avolio and
Bass (2004) and their MLQ scale; the instrument is considered to be one of the
best available instruments for evaluation of styles of leadership, and it was
adapted for this research project because of its extensive nature and scale
validation. Also, the instrument is the most commonly used one for the
measurement of style of leadership and its effects or outcomes. The Short-form
5X (revised) is the recent version of the MLQ and it is employed in this research
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to gauge ADP employee perceptions of managerial styles of leadership, such as
transactional and transformational styles.
4.31 Commitment
One of the questionnaire parts was related to commitment, which has a
description in this research as being the exchange of skills, experiences and
knowledge amongst ADP staff members. There were originally five items within
the Van den Hooff and de Ridder (2004) instrument that have been shown to be
reliable and valid. Commitment is the dependent study variable, with a reflection
of the acceptance of new ideas or their development. Commitment measurement
was done through building upon the work of previous studies and modifying it so
that is was appropriate for the context of the ADP. A further commitment measure,
reflected the utilisation of new approaches to services and their delivery by way
of developments in new technologies and their use, as well as the implementation
of reward systems and incentives for staff members.
To ensure both content and face validity, and the definition of the construct, the
initial item pool was presented to three experts in the academic field of
commitment and leadership (DeVellis, 2003). They were asked to give each item
a rating, in comparison to the provided definition, as being either ‘clearly
representative’, ‘somewhat representative’ or ‘not at all representative’. Also, the
review involved the checking of the clarity of the items and dimension, the ranking
scale of the questions and the overall scale layout. Modified items of the scale
construct were deleted as they were considered ‘somewhat representative’ or ‘not
at all representative’.
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4.32. The research validity
The research validity refers to the degree to which the findings of a research work
are truly representative of what they are supposedly about (Saunders et al., 2009).
The validity of research is also known as internal validity (Zoogah, 2014). As
Anderson (2013) noted, it is a validity error type for a causal relationship to be
identified when there is not really a relationship. Several threats to validity were
identified in the work of Robson (2011), in which they were referred to as testing,
history, maturation and mortality. So as to ensure that the instruments of collection
for the survey data measure the variables of the research accurately, the design
of them was based upon instruments that had already been used within relevant
pieces of research. Furthermore, all the survey questions were linked directly to
organisational commitment, a leadership style dimension or to a relationship that
exists between the two. Instructions on how to complete the questions are
incorporated in the survey instruments, and so there was an increased likelihood
that participants would answer the questionnaire appropriately. An introduction to
the research was also incorporated into the instruments, along with an explanation
of the research purpose, explanation of how the data gathered from them will be
utilised, and confirmation that privacy would be protected. The introduction had
the purpose of obtaining the support of the potential participants of the research
sample, so that the probability of withdrawal from the research was reduced. Also,
the likelihood of misstatement of truths or deliberate concealment of information
was reduced.
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4.33 Reliability of the research
The reliability of research is the degree to which the collection of data or the
techniques for analysis will be consistent in producing the same findings
(Anderson, 2013). Research studies are considered to have reliability when the
results produced are the same even when the research is undertaken by another
researcher or at another occasion (DePoy and Gitlin, 2015).
4.34 Generalisability of the research
The generalisability of research is the extent to which the findings of research can
be applied to other settings, such as within another organisation (Briggs et al.,
2012). This current study relates to the relationship between organisational
commitment and the style of leadership in the ADP and, it is important to note, no
claims are made with regard to other populations. The sample of the research is
composed of ADP employees from different departments and offices however,
and as the ADP is a government organisation that is centralised, and with its own
schools for training, the study findings could have the potential for generalisation,
to a degree, to other organisations of government that have the same cultural
values. Values such as loyalty to the monarchy and public service may be shared.
However, given the particular ADP concerns for security, there is likely to be a
limit to the degree the findings can be generalised to another organisation.
4.35 Procedures for data analysis
A key part of a research study such as this is the preparations that are done in
readiness for successful data analysis; this depends on whether the data is
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quantitative or qualitative (Collins and Hussey, 2003). In this research, the
acquired data from questionnaires was used for the performance of appropriate
analysis of the quantitative data. Once the responses had been collected, the next
stage was the coding of them. Upon completion of the coding, data were entered
in the SPSS on a computer. The researcher entered the data from hard copy form
into the computer over a period of around a month. There are considered to be
four critical steps to successful result analysis (Watling and James, 2007); these
steps are a) having statistical tools available, b) ensuring each tool has the use of
conditions, c) acquisition of the meanings of the statistical results, and d) having
the knowledge to conduct statistical calculations. Both non-parametric and
parametric tests for statistics were given consideration. Several conditions were
put forward for using parametric tests by Field (2009); these conditions are as
follows:
I. Data ought to come from populations that have a normal distribution;
II. The same variance should be present throughout data, i.e. variance
stability should exist at all levels;
III. Data measurement should be at an interval level, i.e. the distance between
scale points of attitude should be equal;
IV. There should be independence of the data of individual participants so that
the response of one person is not influential to another person.
Whilst there is a need for parametric statistical tests to have data that is normally
distributed, there is a suggestion from central limit theorem, in relation to large
samples, that sampling distributions are themselves normal even if there is no
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normality for raw scores (Tabachnick and Fidell, 2007). So, this study employed
parametric tests and statistical analysis of both descriptive and analytical
methods, and analytical methods were given top priority.
4.36 The descriptive statistical method
Descriptive statistical techniques were used to describe the data collected from
the various sources of relevance; these techniques were mainly founded upon
calculation of a mean, a median, a frequency distribution of mode, and
distributions of percentages and standard deviation (Maykut and Morehouse,
1994). The study has sample characteristics, including sex, age, education level
and rank, which are described through use of the descriptive method.
4.36.1 The analytical statistical method
The analytical statistical technique is used to make inferences from the statistical
sample of the population parameters (Hair et al., 2007).
Significance level: There is considered to be a level of significance that is
statistically acceptable when the p value is below 5% (0.05). If there is a lower
level of significance, then there has to be more divergence of the data away from
the null hypothesis in order for it to have significance; as such, a 0.01 level is a
level of significance that is more conservative in nature than a 0.05 level. That
significance level means there is below a 5% chance that the result may have
been produced by chance; a smaller p value equates to a greater likelihood that
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the result expressed has not just come about from chance. Ronald Fisher (1925,
cited in Field, 2009, 25) suggest that choosing a 0.05 level of significance means
that if there is only a 5% chance of the probability of an event happening then
statistical significance or truth can be attached to that finding. As Bryman (2008)
noted, a level of significance of 0.05 is often used within research for business.
Independent t-test: A so-called independent t-test can be employed to establish
where a significant difference exists between two means collected from samples
that are independent (Field, 2009). As a test of the inferential type, the
independent t-test was designed to help researchers decide whether or not there
should be acceptance or rejection of their null hypothesis. This research study
used a t-test for testing a number of personal variables such as job level, sex and
nationality.
Analysis of Variance: The one-way analysis of variance test, commonly known
as ANOVA test, is like the t-test notion except that it is employed in comparing
more than two groups; it is chosen for utilisation if there is a need for comparison
of at least two means to see if between them there is the existence of differences
of statistical significance (Tabachnick and Fidell, 2007). The ANOVA uses the F-
ration to test the overall linear model fit; with it being inferential, its design helps
researchers to a decision over whether there should be acceptance or rejection
of their null hypothesis. ANOVA was employed within this research to test position,
age group, education level and department.
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Pearson's Correlation Coefficient: A correlation is the extent by which a
relationship exists between two different variables, and the test of a correlation
discovers the direction of the association, i.e. non-existent, negative or positive
(Saunders et al., 2007). To accord with the research of Field (2009), Pearson’s
correlation coefficient can have a value from +1 (change in a variable results in
the same change in the same direction in another variable) through 0 (when a
variable changes, another variable remains the same) through to -1 (when a
variable changes, another variable changes by the same magnitude though in the
direction that is opposite). To evaluate the research questions, Pearson’s
Correlation Coefficient was employed in the examination of bivariate analyses of
a number of the leadership style dimensions and factors.
Multiple Regression: Multiple regression analysis was defined by Frankfort-
Nachmias and Nachmias (1996, 445) as being “a method used when there are
several independent variables, each of which may contribute to our ability to
predict the dependent variable”. The objective of multiple regression analysis is to
summarise data as well as quantify variable relationships; it is expressed by way
of an equation for predicting values that are typical for a variable given the other
values of a variable. Analysis by multiple regression involves, then, discovery of
best straight-lined relationships for explanation, for example, of how variation in Y
(a dependent variable) is dependent upon the variation in other variables X1, X2
and X3 (independent variables). There is a regression coefficient (bi) associated
with each of the predictors with, as noted in Field (2009), b0 being the outcome
value when predictors are at zero. Once the relationship has been estimated,
calculation of the equation can be done as below:
199
Y= (b0+ b1X1 + b2X2 +…+ bnXn) + i
So that the independent set of variables can ensure the maximum level of
prediction, each of the independent variables is given a weight through the
regression analysis procedure (Hair et al., 2010).
4.37 Ethical considerations
The general ethical consideration in relation to the design of research is to try and
ensure that a study does not lead indirectly or directly to harm, embarrassment or
material disadvantage to the population being researched (DePoy and Gitlin,
2015). For research to be ethical, there are lots of considerations such as
information confidentiality, informed consent, the right for the participants to
withdraw at any point without having to explain why, ensuring information is used
appropriately and, in general, ensuring protection of the rights of the organisations
and individuals involved (Briggs, et al., 2012). Ethical approval was given for this
research by the Liverpool John Moores University Ethics Committee, and so this
study accords with the ethical code for research of LJMU. The ethical code has
procedures to ensure the research standards are ethical and so the chance of the
study project resulting in any harm to participants is minimised. The procedures
include having to read the code, the obtaining of appropriate skills for the design
and use of the instruments of surveying, the seeking of approval from the
management of the organisation under investigation, and the acquiring of
individual consent from everyone involved in the research.
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4.38 Summary
Chapter Four provided details of the research methodology employed to achieve
the study objectives. The research philosophy and background to the research
was covered within the first section to highlight issues of theory and to justify why
the researcher chose the approach that he did for investigation of the research
problem. The second part of the chapter had an overview of the methods chosen
for the research in order to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. The
section then also had an explanation for the techniques used, i.e. the initial pilot
study for the questionnaire, the questionnaire survey itself, and the interviews.
Description is given of the need for reliability and the statistical analyses for
internal reliability, along with discussion of replicability and the need for validity.
Explanation was given for ethical considerations when gathering data within such
a process of research. By carefully utilising the methods described for a case
study of the ADP, the researcher has envisaged that there will be greater
understanding of the impact that various styles of leadership have upon the
commitment of employees.
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Chapter Five
Quantitative Data Analysis
5.1 Introduction
In order to achieve the research aim and objectives, this chapter aims at
analysing and uncovering the relationships between independent and dependent
variables. The previous chapter provided the details about the research
methodology and methods used in the study. Since phase one of the study
adopted a quantitative method in which a survey questionnaire was distributed to
obtain the data, this chapter presents results relating to the questionnaire that
forms the basis of the phase one investigations. Based on the quantitative data,
various statistical techniques including Statistical Package for Social Sciences
(SPSS 23) and structural equation modelling (SEM) based on AMOS software
(version 23) were used to analyse the data. This chapter comprises the following
sections: introduction, data management, data screening, demographic
characteristics, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, structural
equation modelling and conclusions.
5.2 Preliminary Data Consideration
Out of 500 distributed questionnaires, 333 questionnaires were returned and
considered valid for subsequent quantitative analysis. Although 333
questionnaires were returned, 24 of these were unusable, for the following
reasons: respondents had put the same answers on all the Likert scale items (16
cases), missing demographic data (2 cases), and too many missing responses (6
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cases). Accordingly, only 309 questionnaires were considered valid for further
data analysis, thereby giving a high response rate of 61.8% of the original sample
size. It is worth mentioning that such a high response rate might be the outcome
of the systematic probability sampling technique.
5.2.1 Data Screening
To ensure the accuracy of the statistical techniques used in the study, it was
necessary to screen and clean the raw quantitative data collected. According to
Hair et al. (2010), data screening and cleaning is considered an important concern
when the intention is to use multivariate analysis. Similarly, Byrne (2010) states
that data screening is very important when the researcher decides to employ SEM
before testing the measurement model, so as to ensure that no assumptions of
the model are violated which may cause problems with the estimations. Whilst it
might be time-consuming and exhaustive, the decision not to follow this process
can result in wrong model estimations and poor fit. Therefore, when the data were
entered in the SPSS spreadsheet, they were screened to ensure that there were
no errors during data entry. This was done by identifying data located outside the
range specified by using descriptive and frequency commands in SPSS. The
results of descriptive analysis showed that the means and standard deviation for
continuous variables were in the appropriate range, which indicates that the
variable data were clean (Meyers et al., 2008). For the purposes of data cleaning,
initially two types of analysis were applied. These were missing data and outliers.
This study further confirmed the data by screening the normality, linearity and
reliability before inferring results from the data.
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Missing Data
Missing data refers to the valid values of variables which are not available for the
analysis (Hair et al., 2010). Missing data have effects on data analysis, in terms
of the results of analysis, sample size, generalisation, and bias when data are not
random and the application of the remedies is inappropriate. Hence, to avoid
missing data, an immediate approach was taken such as checking the answers
of respondents at the time of survey collection to ensure respondents answered
all questions. If there were any questions unanswered, the respondents were
either asked at the end of the briefing session, met in person during the survey
collection or asked by telephone for clarification. However, several parts of the
questionnaire were still not answered by some respondents. Thus, six cases were
excluded due to missing data per case. In line with the recommendations from
Hair et al. (2010), questionnaires that had missing data were then no longer
considered for further analysis, which related to less than 5% of the total
responses (N=309), and Malhotra (1999) describes this procedure for removing
missing data as case-wise deletion. Therefore, only completed questionnaires
(with no missing data) were considered to be usable for further analysis.
Outliers
After treating the missing values, the next logical step was to consider outliers
(univariate and multivariate), representing those cases with odd and/or extreme
scores from other dataset observations. Errors in data entry, erroneous sampling
techniques, missing values in calculation, and extreme responses on multi-point
scales are among the many causes of outliers.
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Univariate outliers were identified from the value of z-scores from the data set of
the questionnaire. Tabachnick and Fidell (2007) suggest that if the value of z-
score is more than ± 3.29, the data are considered as univariate outliers, and will
be eliminated from further analysis. They further suggest that extremeness of a
standardized score depends on the size of the sample; with a very large N, a few
standardised scores in excess of 3.29 are expected.
For the purposes of multivariate analysis, Mahalanobis distances (D²) test was
used across all sets of variables. In this test, if D²/df (degree of freedom) value
exceeds 2.5 in small samples and 3 or 4 in large samples it can be nominated as
a possible outlier (Hair, at el., 2006).
Based on the z-score and Mahalanobis distances test, only one item was
identified as having multivariate outliers (D² > ± 2.5) and no item was found to
have univariate outliers (z-score > ± 3.29). This one item was removed from
further analysis.
Normality
In statistics, normality refers to the data distribution which is a fundamental
assumption in measuring the variation of variables. For analysing the data, it is
not always required but is found better if the variables are normally distributed
(Tabachnick and Fidell, 2007). According to Hair et al. (2006), if the variation from
the data normal distribution is sufficiently large, all resulting statistical tests are
invalid, because normality is required to use the F and t statistics.
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Skewness and kurtosis (K-S) are two most common ways of considering data that
will indicate the normality of a given dataset distribution (Doornik and Hansen,
2008; Thulin, 2014). Skewness demonstrates the symmetry of distribution, while
kurtosis refers to how much the distribution is peaked or flat compared with the
normal distribution (Hair et al., 2010). However, scholars provide general
guidelines about when skewness and kurtosis values might become problematic.
For example, Hair et al. (2010) suggest that any skewness and kurtosis values
falling outside the range of -1 to +1 represent a potential normality problem. On
the other hand, many researchers are less conservative, recommending that
skewness less than an absolute value of 3, and a kurtosis index with an absolute
value of less than 8 do not indicate a significant normality problem (West et al.,
1995; Doornik and Hansen, 2008; Kline, 2011).
Table 5.1 Collapsed Variables Normality Assessment
Items/Constructs Skewness Kurtosis

Idealised Attributes (IA) -.846 .257
Idealised Behaviours (IB) -.730 -.123
Inspirational Motivation (IM) -.703 -.024
Intellectual Stimulation (IS) -.974 .084
Individualised Consideration (IC) -.581 -.752
Contingent Rewards (CR) -.712 -.833
Management by Exception (Active) MBEA -.699 .138
Management by Exception (Passive) MBEP -.961 .681
Laissez-Faire (LF) -.760 -.280
Organisational Commitment (Dependent Variable) -.843 -.034
In the current study, all individual measured items were tested for normality using
skewness and kurtosis statistics as shown in Table 5-11 above, which reveals that
for all the items, the maximum absolute value of skewness and kurtosis were -
0.846 and -0.833 respectively, thereby indicating no significant deviation from
normal distribution.
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Reliability
In order to assess the internal consistency of all measurement items in the survey
(all scale measures), Cronbach’s Alpha test was performed by running the data
using SPSS 23.
Table 5.2 Preliminary Reliability Test Results
Constructs Cronbach’s Accepted > 0.7

Alpha Rejected < 0.7
Idealised Attributes (IA) .950 Accepted
Idealised Behaviours (IB) .875 Accepted
Inspirational Motivation (IM) .912 Accepted
Intellectual Stimulation (IS) .890 Accepted
Individualised Consideration (IC) .948 Accepted
Contingent Rewards (CR) .911 Accepted
Management by Exception (Active) MBEA .862 Accepted
Management by Exception (Passive) MBEP .882 Accepted
Laissez-Faire (LF) .760 Accepted
Organisational Commitment (Dependent Variable) .892 Accepted
Overall Reliability .907 Accepted
The results shown in Table 5.2 above indicate that Cronbach’s alpha scores for
all individual constructs are in the range of 0.760 to 0.950, the overall score being
0.907. Hence, all were above the recommended level of 0.7 (Nunnaly,1978;
Sekaran, 2003; Field, 2009; Hair et al., 2010). Consequently, it could be said that
no internal consistency problem was revealed up to this stage of data analysis.
Linearity
Linearity means the correlation between variables which is represented by a
straight line. In data analysis, it is important to know the level of relationship of
variables. An implicit assumption of all multivariate techniques based on co-
relational measures of association, including multiple regression, logistic
regression, factor analysis, and structural equation modelling, is linearity (Hair et
207
al., 2010). Thus, examining the relationships of variables is important to identify
any departures that may affect the correlation. In statistics, linearity can be
measured by Pearson’s correlations or a scatter plot (Field, 2009; Tabachnick and
Fidell, 2007; Hair et al., 2010).
Table 5.3 Pearson’s Correlations with DV (Employees’ commitment to the

organisation)
This study applied Pearson’s correlations and found all independent variables
significantly positively correlated to the dependent variable (Table 5.3). Results of
this test also showed that all variables are linear with each other.
5.3 Background and Demographic Profile of the Study Sample
Demographic information provides data regarding research participants and is
necessary for the determination of whether the individuals in a particular study are
a representative sample of the target population for generalisation purposes
(Salkind, 2010). Demographic variables are independent variables by definition
because they cannot be manipulated. In research, demographic variables may be
208
either categorical (e.g., gender, race, marital status, psychiatric diagnosis) or
continuous (e.g., age, years of education, income, years of experience).
In this study, the demographic characteristics of the respondents such as age,
gender, rank and education were sought in the questionnaire. Demographic
characteristics of the participants (Table 5.4) show that participants of different
age group, gender, educational level and years of experience were included to
represent the target population.
Table 5.1 Demographic Characteristics of Survey Participants
209
As shown in the above table, out of 309, 73.8% (n=228) of participants were males
and 26.2% (n=81) were females. This result reflects the overall gender diversity
of the workforce in the police force of Abu Dhabi. Similarly, participants of different
age groups were included in the study. However, demographic results suggest
that the majority of participants 50% (n=170) are 21-40 years old. This result
reflects the ground reality of the police force where the minimum recruitment age
is 21 and age of retirement is 60. In terms of educational levels, most participants
(n=220) are degree holders or above. The implication is that majority of the
respondents are well educated. This result is understandable as most government
employees (police force) are well educated in general. Finally, the participants
represent different pay scales and years of experiences. This is a further indication
that the researcher included participants from various backgrounds as shown in
Table 5.4 above.
5.4 Descriptive Analysis of Respondents’ Responses
This section presents a descriptive analysis of the data obtained from the sample.
The aim is to report responses from the sample on the major constructs of the
present study in the form of central tendency and dispersion.
The questionnaire consists of 10 major constructs which were measured by 42
different items (statements) using a five-point Likert scale ranging from ‘strongly
disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’. Respondents were asked about their agreement or
disagreement with each statement. An overview of the participants’ responses
using the frequency analysis method is presented in the following section.
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Idealised Attributes (IA)
As discussed in the literature review, Idealised influence attributes (IA) refer to the
social charisma of the leader and whether he or she is perceived as confident and
powerful, and focused on the higher-order ideals and ethics of their followers.
Respondents were asked to indicate the extent to which they comprehend the
presence of IA in their leadership. The results show the mean scores of the four
items used to measure IA are between 3.70 and 3.80 with standard deviation
ranging from .645 to .681. It could be concluded that most of the respondents
(mean score is more than the midpoint of 3) tend to agree with the presence of IA
in their leadership within Abu Dhabi Police.
Table 5.5 Descriptive Analysis of Items related to IA
Std.
Items Related to IA
Mean Deviation
In exchange for my efforts, s/he provides me with

3.71 .669
assistance.
S/he re-examines critical assumptions to question

3.80 .645
whether they are suitable or not.
S/he does interfere when problems become serious. 3.70 .681
S/he focuses attention on irregularities, mistakes,

3.77 .650
exceptions and deviations from standards.
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Idealised Behaviours (IB)
The literature review suggests that Idealised influenced behaviours (IB) refer to
the charismatic actions of the leader that are cantered on values, beliefs, and a
sense of mission. Respondents were asked to indicate the extent to which they
comprehend IB among their leadership. The findings reveal that the mean scores
for IB were between 3.54 and 3.61, thereby indicating that a significant number of
respondents tend to agree with the presence of IB among their leadership.
Moreover, the descriptive statistics for IB also revealed that the respondents were
not very dispersed around their mean scores on individual items (standard
deviations between .762 and .801).
Table 5.6 Descriptive Analysis of Items related to IB
Std.
Items Related to IB
Mean Deviation
When important issues arise, s/he gets involved. 3.55 .744
S/he clearly expresses his/her strongest values and

3.61 .801
beliefs.
When I need him/her, s/he is always there. 3.58 .763
In case of problems, s/he investigates different options

3.54 .762
to solve them.
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Inspirational Motivation (IM)
Inspirational motivation (IM) refers to the behaviours that leaders use to energise
followers by viewing the future optimistically, stressing ambitious goals, projecting
idealised vision, and communicating a vision that is obtainable. Survey
participants were asked to indicate the extent to which they see IM as behaviour
of their leadership. Results of descriptive analysis (Table 5.7) suggest that the
mean scores of the four items used to measure IM are between 3.61 and 3.75
with standard deviation ranging from .774 to .900. It could be concluded that most
of respondents (mean score is more than the midpoint of 3) tend to agree with the
presence of IM in their leadership within Abu Dhabi Police.
Table 5.7 Descriptive Analysis of Items related to IM
Std.
Items Related to IM
Mean Deviation
S/he Talks optimistically about the future. 3.75 .861
I feel confident being associated with him/her. 3.67 .774
S/he clearly explains who is responsible for

3.75 .900
attaining performance objectives.
S/he does take action before things go wrong. 3.61 .825
213
Intellectual Stimulation (IS)
Intellectual stimulation (IS) is the leader's actions that appeal to the follower's
sense of logic and analysis by challenging followers to think creatively and find
solutions to challenging problems. Survey participants were asked to indicate the
extent to which they saw IS present in their leadership. The mean score of
respondents’ responses (above midscale 3) suggests that IS exists among the
leadership of Abu Dhabi police institute.
Table 5.2 Descriptive Analysis of Items related to IS
Std.
Items Related to IS
Mean Deviation
S/he is always keen to explain what needs to be achieved. 3.62 .796
S/he signifies the importance of having a strong sense of

3.67 .834
purpose.
S/he always teaches and coaches me and others. 3.47 .881
S/he clearly explains how a person will be rewarded when

3.67 .883
performance targets are attained.
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Individualised Consideration (IC)
Individualised consideration (IC) refers to the behaviour of leaders that contributes
to the satisfaction of followers by advising, supporting, and paying attention to the
followers' individual needs, and allowing them to develop and self-actualise.
Respondents were asked to indicate the extent to which they saw IC present in
their leadership. The results as shown in the following Table 5.9, show the mean
scores of the four items used to measure IC are between 3.64 and 3.68 with
standard deviation ranging from .797 to .818. It can thus be concluded that IC is
part of leaders’ behaviour within Abu Dhabi Police.
Table 5.9 Descriptive Analysis of Items related to IC
Std.
Items Related to IC
Mean Deviation
S/he believes in the notion “If it is broke, fix it”. 3.66 .797
S/he priorities the good of the group according to his self-

3.68 .789
interest.
S/he deals with me as an individual rather than just as a

3.65 .818
member of a group.
S/he presents that action should be taken when problems

3.64 .801
become chronic.
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Contingent Rewards (CR)
Contingent reward (CR) refers to leader behaviours that are focused on clarifying
role and task requirements and providing followers with material or psychological
rewards contingent on fulfilment of contractual obligations. The findings reveal
that the mean scores for CR were between 3.59 and 3.65, thereby indicating that
a significant number of respondents tend to agree with the presence of CR among
their leadership. Moreover, the descriptive statistics for IB also revealed that the
respondents were not very dispersed around their mean scores on individual
items (standard deviations between .822 and .972).
Table 5.3 Descriptive Analysis of Items related to CR
Items Related to CR
Mean Std. Deviation
S/he treats me respectfully. 3.65 .822
S/he mainly focuses on addressing mistakes,

3.56 .842
complaints and failures.
S/he takes into consideration the moral and

3.59 .981
ethical aspects of decisions.
S/he follows up all mistakes. 3.62 .972
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Management by Exception (Active) (MBEA)
Management-by-exception, active (MBEA), refers to the vigilance of a leader
whose goal is to make sure that standards are met. Respondents were asked to
indicate the extent to which they saw MBEA present in their leadership. The
results (Table 5.11) show the mean scores of the four items used to measure
MBEA are between 3.50 and 3.61 with standard deviation ranging from .824 to
.999. It can thus be concluded that MBEA is part of leaders’ behaviour within Abu
Dhabi Police.
Table 5.4 Descriptive Analysis of Items related to MBEA
Std.
Items Related to MBEA
Mean Deviation
S/he demonstrates his/her power and confidence. 3.50 .999
S/he expresses with force their vision of the future. 3.51 .836
S/he guides me to meet standards. 3.49 .924
S/he always makes the decisions. 3.61 .824
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Management by Exception (Passive) (MBEP)
Management-by-Exception (MBEP), passive, refers to leader who intervene only
after noncompliance has occurred or when errors have already happened.
Respondents were asked to indicate the extent to which they saw MBEP
behaviour present in their leadership. The descriptive results displayed in the
following Table 5.12, show the mean scores of the four items used to measure
MBEP are between 2.62 and 2.73 with standard deviation ranging from .742 to
.861. It can thus be concluded that leaders within Abu Dhabi Police do not possess
MBEP characteristics. It was expected, since most of the respondents tend to
agree with the presence of MBEA style leadership within the police department of
Abu Dhabi.
Table 5.12 Descriptive Analysis of Items related to MBEP
Std.
Items Related to MBEP
Mean Deviation
S/he takes into consideration my different needs,

2.63 .742
abilities, and aspirations from that of others.
S/he supports me to develop my strengths. 2.71 .748
S/he always answering in responding to compelling

2.62 .850
questions
S/he stresses a collective sense of mission. 2.73 .861
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Laissez-Faire (LF)
Laissez-faire leadership (LF) refers to the absence of a leadership, where the
leader avoids making decisions, abdicates responsibility, and does not exert
authority. Survey participants were asked to indicate the extent to which they see
LF as behaviour of their leadership. Results of the descriptive analysis (Table
5.13) suggest that the mean scores of the four items used to measure LF are
between 2.29 and 2.45 with standard deviation ranging from 0.840 to 1.014. It
could be concluded that most of the respondents tend to disagree with the
presence of LF behaviour among their leadership within Abu Dhabi Police.
Table 5.13 Descriptive Analysis of Items related to LF
Std.
Items Related to LF
Mean Deviation
S/he acknowledges when I meet expectations. 2.32 0.840
S/he demonstrates his/her trust that objectives will

2.33 0.818
be attained.
S/he is effective in meeting my job-related needs. 2.29 0.818
S/he encourages me to complete assignments in a

2.45 1.014
different way.
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Organisational Commitment (OC)
Organisational commitment is the dependent variable (DV) of the current study.
Respondents were asked to indicate the extent to which they saw OC behaviour
present in their leadership. The results (Table 5.14) show the mean scores of the
six items used to measure OC are between 3.71 and 3.89 with standard deviation
ranging from 0.655 to 0.717. It can be seen that most of the survey participants
showed a positive response to the items related to organisational commitment.
Table 5.14 Descriptive Analysis of Items related to OC
Std.
Items Related to OC
Mean Deviation
It would be very hard for me to leave my job at this

3.85 0.717
organisation right now even if I wanted to.
Too much of my life would be disrupted if I left the

3.75 0.668
organisation.
Right now, staying in my job at this organisation is a

3.83 0.694
matter of necessity as much as desire
I believe I have too few options to consider leaving

3.71 0.655
this organisation.
One of the few negative consequences of leaving my
job at this organisation would be the scarcity of 3.80 0.715
available alternatives elsewhere
One of the major reasons I continue to work for this
organisation is that leaving would require 3.89 0.714
considerable effort
220
5.5 Demographic Characteristics of Respondents and Dependent Variable
As mentioned above, the dependent variable (DV) in this study is ‘employees’
commitment to the organisation’. The researcher included five statements aimed
at measuring the responses for DV. Respondents were asked to indicate on a
five-point scale about their level of commitment to the organisation (Abu Dhabi
Police). With regard to the DV, it was then used to investigate the difference if any
between demographic groups such as age, grade, department, level of education
and years of service. The results of ANOVA are presented in the next section.
5.5.1 Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
Demographic variables can be explored for their moderating effect on dependent
variables (Salkind, 2010). In this study, One-Way ANOVA was used to analyse
the relationships between demographic variables such as age, level of education,
pay grade and experience and the dependent variable.
The ANOVA results suggest that age and gender groups have no significant
difference in relation to the DV i.e. P > 0.05. However, level of education, grade
and level of experience showed significant difference (P<0.05) when factored with
the DV (See Figures 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3).
221
Figure 5.1 ANOVA Results for Role of Employees
222
Figure 5.2 ANOVA Results for Experience Level of Employees
223
Figure 5.3 ANOVA Results for Education of Employees
As shown in the above figures, One-way ANOVA analysis suggested that there
are significant differences between levels of independent variables when
compared with dependent variables. Therefore, a Post Hoc test was used to
identify these differences.
Post Hoc comparisons using Duncan’s test for DV (Employees’ commitment to
organisation) revealed that respondents in the higher positions (Captain and
above) had a significantly higher mean (above neutral) than those in the lower
positions such as policeman, corporal, sergeant and warrant officer (below
neutral).
224
Likewise, Post Hoc comparisons using Duncan’s test for DV revealed that the
experienced employees (11 years and above) showed more commitment than
less experienced employees, who were below neutral (Figure 5.2).
Similarly, Post Hoc comparisons using Duncan’s test for DV revealed that the
well-educated employees (Degree holders and above) had a significantly higher
mean for commitment to organisation than the less educated employees, who
were below neutral (see Figure 5.3).
5.6 Factor Analysis
Factor analysis (FA) refers to all the correlated items in the same group or
separate from other variables. Byrne (2010) defined factor analysis as a statistical
procedure for investigating the relation between a set of observed and latent
variables. It is concerned with the extent to which the observed variables are
generated by the underlying latent constructs, which in turn depends on the
strengths of the regression paths from the factors to the observed variables.
Factor analysis provides and specifies the unit of analysis, helps with data
summation, and the reduction of the data (Hair et al., 2010). However, it is
necessary to take a few steps and make certain decisions before conducting
factor analysis. Firstly, the matrix of association must be identified, followed by
the methods of factor extraction and rules of factor retention. Because all classical
statistical analyses are fundamentally correlations (Cohen, 2011; Knapp, 1978),
the idea of factor analysis is to derive factors by analysing the pattern of
covariation (or correlation) among items. In each factor, the items that form the
factor are those with stronger interrelation. Thus, a higher interrelation among
225
items reflects the same construct (convergent validity) and a low interrelation of
items reflects a different construct (Spector, 1997). The interrelated items also
have effects on the issues of interrelated sets of variables (multicollinearity).
Sufficient interrelation of variables is important to produce representative factors.
The researcher applied exploratory factor analysis SPSS version 23 for Windows
to extract factors in which numerous methods are available for factor extraction
and rotation. Among these, the principal component extract method which is the
most common and default in the SPSS programme was used to extract the
minimum set of variables which accounted for the maximum variance in the data
(Tabachnick and Fidell, 2007). Several ways are available to assess the adequacy
of extraction and the number of factors but most the common are Eigenvalues
greater than one and Scree plot. Before going to extract factors, it is important to
calculate the variability in scores (the variance) for any given measures (or
variables) (Field, 2006). According to Hair et al. (2010), communality is the total
amount of variance original variables share with all other variables included in the
analysis. A variable that has no variance would have a communality of 1; a
variable that shares nothing with other variables would have a communality of 0
(Field, 2006). Communality can be calculated from factor loading in which a model
containing multiple constructs with communalities of less than 0.5 are required
and for a larger sample size less than 0.7 is required (Hair et al., 2010). This
research applied variables with a communality value above 0.5.
In order to achieve the best possible interpretation of the factors, the varimax
rotation method was used. Rotation is important to select for improving the
226
interpretability and scientific utility of the solution. It is used to maximise high
correlations between factors and variables and minimise low ones. Rotation
means discriminating between factors exactly where it implies (Hair et al., 2010).
This study applies a varimax of orthogonal techniques which is most commonly
used in rotation for maximising variance. According to Tabachnick and Fidell
(2007) the goal of varimax rotation is to maximise the variance of factor loading
by making high loadings higher and low ones lower for each factor. The factor
loadings above +/- .50 were considered practically significant (Hair et al., 2010).
In this study for reliability assessment, Cronbach’s Alpha technique was applied
to the factors derived from the exploratory factor analysis to test the internal
consistency of factors (Churchill, 1979; Peter, 1979; Litwin, 1995; De Vaus, 2002).
Result values equal to or above 0.70 were considered to be an acceptable level
of reliability as shown in Table 5.2 (Nunnally, 1978; De Vaus, 2002). Later, the
factorability of all independent variables was examined. Several well-recognised
criteria for the factorability of a correlation were used. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin
(KMO) measure of sampling adequacy was .755, above the recommended value
of .6, and Bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant (2 (630) = 11614.287, p <
.05) as shown in the following Table 5.15:
Table 5.15 KMO and Bartlett’s Test
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Varimax rotation technique was developed by Kaiser (1960). This produces
factors that have large pattern/structure coefficients for a small number of
variables and near-zero or very low pattern/structure coefficients with the other
group of variables (Kieffer, et al. 1988). According to Tabachnick and Fidell
(2007), the goal of Varimax rotation is to maximise the variance of factor loading
by making high loadings higher and low ones lower for each factor. Hair et al.
(2010) suggest that if the factor loadings are .50 or greater, they are considered
to be very significant, and can be used for further analysis.
In this study, eleven factors were initially extracted and all items had factor
loadings of more than 0.50. However, as certain components had cross loadings
or only had one item loaded, problematic items/variables were identified and
excluded, resulting in nine final factors (with stronger correlation) that were subject
to further analysis. The results of exploratory factor analysis using Varimax are
shown in Table 5.17.
The Scree test, which displays the eigenvalues for each factor, was used as part
of the decision criteria for retaining factors. In addition, only factors with a loading
above 0.5 were retained. The following figures shows results of scree plot and
total percentage of variance explained by each factor.
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Figure 5.4 Scree Plot for Factor Analysis
Table 5.16 Percentage of Variance Explained by each Factor
229
A popular and intuitive index of goodness of fit in multivariate data analysis is the
percentage of explained variance: the higher the percentage of variance a
proposed model manages to explain, the more valid the model seems to be
(Lorenzo-Seva, 2013). As shown in the above table, first two factors are the most
explanatory factors. Factor one alone explains 25.81% of the total variance in the
empirical data. Similarly, factor two explains 10.61% of the total variance. Total
percentage of variance explained by the final nine factors is 81.48%.
Table 5.17 Factor Loadings
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Based on the findings of the EFA, nine latent factors (constructs) were retained.
Furthermore, reliability is also determined using Cronbach Alpha for each new
construct. Reliability and factor analysis are complementary procedures in scale
construction and definition (Coakes and Steed, 2007). Therefore, after defining
the name and label for each of the components, the final step in the factor analysis
was to determine Cronbach’s Alpha for each component for the reliability
measurement (see Table 5.18 below).
Table 5.18 Factor Loading and Cronbach’s Alpha for Final Components
As shown in the above Table 5.18, reliability was assessed for the nine final
factors that resulted from EFA using Cronbach’s Alpha. All values of Cronbach’s
Alpha were above 0.70 as suggested by Hair et al. (2010) and all corrected item
total correlations were above 0.35 (Field, 2009), which indicates the internal
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reliability of the components. Moreover, the percentage of variance shown in
Table 5.18 explains the explanatory power of each factor. It can be seen that
factor one (TFLIC) is the most explanatory (21.814%) and factor nine (TFLIB) is
the least explanatory (3.685 %) factor.
5.7 Confirmatory Factor Analysis
Following EFA, CFA was employed in order to validate the underlying structure of
the main constructs in the study, examine the reliability of the measurement
scales, and assess the factorial validity of the theoretical constructs. AMOS 23
software was utilised to create the measurement model shown in Figure 5.5 below
based on the EFA findings.
Figure 5.5 The Original Measurement Model Based on EFA Results
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According to Perry et al. (2015), the most important part in conducting CFA is to
learn the extent to which the measurement model fits the empirical data.
Statistically, a measurement model is said to fit the observed data when its
estimated covariance matrix is equivalent to the covariance matrix of the sample
data (Cheung and Rensvold, 2002; Schermelleh-Engel et al., 2003). Schermelleh-
Engel et al. (2003) indicate that since there are no clear guidelines in the literature
for assessing structural equation models, a multiple criteria approach should be
adopted instead of depending on a single-straightforward indicator. Hair at al.
(2010) however recommend reporting Chi squared statistics in addition to another
absolute index such as RMSEA and an incremental index such as CFI. When
comparing models of varying complexity, they recommend adding PNFI measure.
Others report GFI or more recently, SRMR, instead. This study used the ‘Rule of
Thumb’ criteria for a structural equation model fit:
Table 5.5 ‘Rule of Thumb’ for Measurement and Structural Models Fit Indices
Subsequently, to test the measurement model, CFA through AMOS 23 was
conducted using the Maximum Likelihood (ML) method, which is the most widely
used method for parameters estimation in SEM (Schermelleh-Engel et al., 2003).
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Figure 5.6 below shows the output path diagram of the CFA first-run, and is
followed by the overall goodness-of-fit statistics in Table 5.20.
Figure 5.6 Confirmatory Factor Analysis Output Path Diagram (First Run)
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Table 5.20 Measurement and Structural Models Fit Indices
As shown in the above table, values for CFI, RMR and RMSEA are acceptable.
However, the model fit summary showed unsatisfactory results for GFI, AGFI, NFI
and TLI. Therefore, the model was considered unstable and unacceptable values
particularly of CFI, GFI and AGFI suggested that there was a room for further
model adjustments in order to achieve a good model. The following section
explains the process of the model enhancement used in the study.
5.8 The Measurement Model Enhancement
To improve the measurement model goodness-of-fit, several modifications were
introduced to the original model shown in Figure 5.5. The following paragraphs
provide more details about the procedures applied for those adjustments, which
were based on guidelines from Schermelleh-Engel et al. (2003), Hooper et al.
(2008), Hair et al. (2010), and Byrne (2010):
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- Standardised Regression Weights (SRW): known as factor loadings in EFA,
these regression weights represent the correlation between the observed and
latent variables. These weights are recommended to be above .05, but higher
values (close to one) are much better. Any measurement variables less than .05
would be considered for elimination due to the weak correlation with their latent
variable.
- Squared Multiple Correlations (SMC): these values represent the percentage of
variance in the latent variable that can be explained by each individual observed
variable. While values above .05 are considered acceptable, higher values (close
to one) are more favourable.
- Standardised Residuals (SR) matrix: since standardised residuals represent the
differences between the data covariance matrix and the model-estimated
covariance, observed variables with high-standardised residuals are considered
to be a poor fit in the model. A good model should generate standardised residuals
close to zero. Therefore, standardised residuals of more than +2.56 or less than -
2.56 are usually indicators to determine the causes of the model misfit.
- Modification Indices (MI): these indices indicate the effect of freeing pre-fixed
parameters on Chi-square (χ²). Therefore, checking these values would help the
researcher to determine which path should be added to the model in order to
decrease the Chi-square (χ²) statistic, which in turn improves the model fit. Large
modification indices (usually more than 6.63) determine which parameters should
be set free in order to achieve better model suitability. A common practice in this
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regard is to correlate parameter errors that are part of the same factor. Moreover,
parameters that show high covariance between their errors and at the same time
have high regression weights, are candidates for deletion.
In line with the above guidelines provided by Schermelleh-Engel et al. (2003),
Hooper et al. (2008), Hair et al. (2010), and Byrne (2010), the following
modifications were made in order to enhance the measurement model goodness-
of-fit:
 Deletion of TLIC1 and TLIC2 based on SR analysis.
 Deletion of TLIB2, TLIB3 and TLIB4 based on MI analysis.
 Covariance of error terms related to LFL construct such as (e22 with e23)
based on MI analysis.
 Deletion of two whole constructs (TFLIA and TSLMEP).
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Figure 5.7 Confirmatory Factor Analysis Output Path Diagram (Second Run)
As can be seen, in order to achieve a stable model, the researcher identified and
removed the weaker and problematic items/constructs from the model. Generally,
less correlated items from each construct are removed to achieve suitable results
and a stable model (Hair et al., 2010). The second run of CFA model after deleting
weaker correlated items and problematic constructs is shown above (Figure 5.7).
Table 5.21 shows the overall goodness-of-fit statistics that resulted from the
second-run of CFA.
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Table 5-6 Model Fit Summary (second run)
Goodness of Conceptual Criterion Acceptable/ References

Fit (GOF) Model Unsatisfactory
Measure (First Run)
X2 / Degree 2.957 ≤3 Acceptable Hair et al., 2010
of freedom
GFI 0.940 >0.8 Acceptable Etezadi-Amoli and Farhoomand,
1996
AGFI 0.958 >0.8 Acceptable Etezadi-Amoli and Farhoomand,
1996
CFI 0.973 >0.8 Acceptable Lau, 2011; Kline, 2010
RMR 0.045 <0.05 Acceptable Hair et al., 2001
NFI 0.946 >0.9 Acceptable Wang and Wang, 2012
TLI 0.938 >0.9 Acceptable Hair et al., 2010
RMSEA 0.082 <0.10 Acceptable Devaraj et al., 2002; Byrne, 2001
It can be seen from Table 5.21 that introducing the above mentioned modifications
improved the overall goodness-of-fit of the model to an acceptable level. All
Goodness of Fit (GOF) Measures were at acceptable level. Values of GFI (0.940)
and CFI (0.973) are most important to note in this regard. Therefore, since the
revised model was confirmed to fit the empirical data adequately, it was decided
that no further modification was necessary.
5.9 The Structural Model Evaluation: Goodness-of-Fit
Based on the stable CFA model (Figure 5.7), a structural model was constructed
as shown in Figure 5.8 for further SEM analysis. It can be seen that the structural
model consists of one endogenous variable (DV), and seven exogenous variables
(TFLIC, TSLCR, TFLIM, TFLIS, LFL, TBLMEA and TFLIB).
According to Hair et al. (2010), SEM analysis usually involves testing two types of
theoretical models - measurement and structural. The measurement model
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represents the theoretical knowledge of the underlying structure of a latent
variable through specifying the nature of the relationships among the observed
variables that construct a particular latent variable. The major interest here is to
examine the regression structure paths between the latent variable and its
observed variables. On the other hand, the structural model examines the
theorised direct and indirect relationships among the latent variables and it is
usual for this to be employed for hypothesis testing purposes.
After CFA, in line with the advice from Hair et al. (2010), SEM using AMOS 23
was performed in order to assess the goodness-of-fit between the structural
model output and the empirical data. The results indicated that the structural
model provides a good overall fit with the data as displayed in Table 5.22.
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Figure 5.8 GFI Model to Forecast DV (Employees’ Commitment to
Organisation)
As can be seen from the following table, the SEM is a stable model with adequate
Goodness of fit (GFI) and meeting other criteria.
241
Table 5.22 Goodness of Fit Summary for SEM Predicting DV

Measure (First Run)
of freedom
GFI 0.945 >0.8 Acceptable Etezadi-Amoli and Farhoomand,
1996
AGFI 0.929 >0.8 Acceptable Etezadi-Amoli and Farhoomand,
1996
RMSEA 0.052 <0.10 Acceptable Devaraj et al., 2002; Byrne, 2001
5.10 Testing Research Hypotheses
Having successfully validated the structural models’ goodness-of-fit to the data,
the next step was to examine the research assumptions using path measurement
coefficients (regression weight estimates and critical ratios) from the SEM
analysis performed with AMOS 23. Table 5.23 summarises these results, from
which it is seen that only 6 of the 9 hypothesised causal paths in the structural
models were found significant at the 0.05 level.
Table 5.23 Path Coefficient Weights for Structural Model
Path Estimate C.R. P Comments
DV <--- TFLIC .226 4.944 *** Significant
DV <--- TSLCR .246 6.897 *** Significant
DV <--- TFLIM .287 6.001 *** Significant
DV <--- TFLIS .128 3.189 .001 Significant
DV <--- LFL -.047 -1.507 0.18 Insignificant
DV <--- TSLMEA .177 4.063 *** Significant
DV <--- TFLIB .194 5.582 *** Significant

*** p< 0.001, *Cut off (C.R >±1.96) (Hair et al., 2010)
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As it can be seen from Table 5.23 and final model (Figure 5.8), TFLIC, TSLCR,
TFLIM, TFLIS, TBLMEA and TFLIB showed significant positive influence on
employees’ commitment to the organisation as p < 0.05. Therefore, these six
constructs are good predictors for the DV (employees’ commitment to the
organisation). However, in an attempt to secure a decent and stable model that
would better fit the empirical data, problematic constructs such as TSLMEP and
TFLIA were deleted to achieve good model fit for the DV (see Figure 5.8).
Moreover, in the case of LFL, p value was greater than 0.05 which means no
significant influence of LFL on DV (organisational commitment).
Table 5-24 Hypothesis Summary
Hypothesis Comment
H1: TFLIA has a significant positive influence on employees’ commitment Rejected
H2: TFLIB has a significant positive influence on employees’ commitment Accepted
H3: TFLIM has a significant positive influence on employees’ commitment Accepted
H4: TFLIS has a significant positive influence on employees’ commitment Accepted
H5: TFLIC has a significant positive influence on employees’ commitment Accepted
H6: TSLCR has a significant positive influence on employees’ commitment Accepted
H7: TSLMEA has a significant positive influence on employees’ commitment Accepted
H8: TSLMEP has a significant positive influence on employees’ commitment Rejected
H9: LFL has a significant positive influence on employees’ commitment Rejected
The following paragraphs present in detail the results of hypotheses testing:
The causal path between TFLIC and DV revealed a significant positive impact
(path coefficient= 0.226, p< 0.001, and critical ratio= 4.944). This result inferred
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that TFLIC has a strong positive impact on employees’ commitment to the
organisation.
As presented in Table 5.23, the path coefficient and critical ratio estimates for the
causal path between TSLCR and DV were 0.246 and 6.897, respectively. The p
value was less than 0.001 showing strong and positive influence of TBLCR on
employees’ commitment to the organisation.
Results of regression weight and critical ratio estimates for the causal path of
TFLIM to DV were 0.287 and 6.001, respectively with p<0.001. These results
indicate that TFLIM has a significant positive effect on the employees’
commitment to the organisation.
causal path between TFLIS and DV were 0.128 and 3.189, respectively. The p
value was 0.001 (p<0.05) showing positive direct effect and strong influence of
TFLIS on employees’ commitment to the organisation.
causal path between LFL and DV were -.047 and -1.507, respectively. The p value
was greater than 0.05 (0.18) showing negative effect and weak influence of LFL
on employees’ commitment to the organisation. The causal path between
TBLMEA and DV revealed a significant positive impact (path coefficient= 0.175,
p< 0.001, and critical ratio= 4.065). This result inferred that TBLMEA has a strong
positive impact on employees’ commitment to the organisation.
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causal path between final construct (TFLIB) and DV were 0.183 and 5.411,
respectively. The p value was 0.001 (p<0.05) showing positive direct effect and
strong influence of TFLIB on employees’ commitment to the organisation.
Finally, in order to assess the explanatory power of the research models shown
in Figures 5.7, Squared Multiple Correlations (SMC) estimates for the
Endogenous Factors were analysed. The SMC results (0.702) suggest that the
final model explains a total of 70.2 % of the variance.
5.11 The Final Research Model
Subsequently, in an attempt to secure a parsimonious model that would better fit
the empirical data, an insignificant regression path such as the LFL construct was
excluded from the model due to its ineffectual impact (P > 0.05) as noted earlier.
The final structural model is shown in Figure 5.9 below.
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Figure 5.9: The Revised Structural Model
In addition, Table 5.25 below shows that the overall goodness-of-fit for the revised
structural model was slightly improved as a result of excluding the non-significant
regression paths.
Table 5.25: Structural Model Goodness-of-Fit Indices (SEM second-run)

Measure (First Run)
of freedom
GFI 0.965 >0.8 Acceptable Etezadi-Amoli and
Farhoomand, 1996
AGFI 0.939 >0.8 Acceptable Etezadi-Amoli and
Farhoomand, 1996
RMSEA 0.052 <0.10 Acceptable Devaraj et al., 2002; Byrne,
2001
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Overall, after removing insignificant paths from the original model, a more
parsimonious revised model was obtained, indicating a better fit with the collected
empirical data. The following figure, 5.10, displays the final research model.
Figure 5.10: The Final Research Model
5.12 Summary
In conclusion, this chapter has presented the findings from the final purified scales
and theory testing. Initially, data was screened by highlighting missing data and
data outliers in order to prepare for further analysis. Accuracy of data was
assessed through linearity, normality and reliability tests to infer accurate results
portrayed by the data. This section was followed by an explanation of factor
loading to identify the groups or clusters of variables. An exploratory factor
analysis technique was used to show the relationship of items/variables to factors.
In this section, factors were extracted with the help of eigenvalues and scree plot.
Applying the Varimax of orthogonal technique in principal component analysis,
factors were rotated which showed maximum variance of factor loading. The
finding showed significant results in which 9 factors were extracted. The
measurement scale for this research was subjected to confirmatory factor analysis
(CFA) after the exploratory factor analysis. The measurement model and
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structural model was assessed in AMOS 23 software on the basis of 309 cases.
Before inferring results, reliability and construct validity tests were also conducted
in which all measurement scales were found satisfactory. Standardised estimates
and t-values showed statistically significant positive relationships between
independent variables and the dependent variable. Most independent variables
related to leadership styles were found positively and significantly correlated to
the DV. However, two factors – TSLMEP and TFLIA – were not found significantly
related to DV. The results of significant relationships between constructs were
nearly as theoretically expected. However, more detailed discussion of the
findings will be provided in Chapter Six. The following chapter presents the semi-
structured interview findings.
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Chapter Six
Discussion of Findings
6.1 Introduction
This chapter aims to analyse and interpret the main findings acquired from the
survey questionnaires and the semi-structured interviews that were conducted to
reach the study objectives. There will be discussion in relation to the findings that
will link them to previous research and there will be identification of gaps that exist
in the knowledge of the topic. It is worth mentioning at this point that the study
purpose is to undertake an empirical examination of the impact that styles of
leadership have upon the commitment of employees at the ADP of the UAE, with
a particular focus on acquiring information with regard to the specific questions of
the research. The findings have been organised into two primary headings, i.e.
the dominant styles of leadership practice within the ADP, and the relationship
between style of leadership and commitment; these two aspects form this
discussion chapter framework. In seeking to acquire a deeper understanding of
the situation, semi-structured interviews findings aim to support the quantitative
results.
6.2 Discussion of the quantitative findings
In recent years there has been a growth of interest in studies of leadership and
the impact that it has upon the commitment and performance of employees.
However, through conducting empirical studies, only limited insight can be
gleaned about a particular style of leadership and the impact that it has upon
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commitment. Also, previous research of this nature has almost always been
undertaken in advanced, industrial countries. The research seems to have had
little if any positive influence upon the status of leadership; debate appears to
remain a theoretical matter with few implications for its practical application. This
research study has the contention that the majority of previous leadership studies
have been too narrowly concentrated upon settings in western organisations or
related to western business, contexts that, for many years, have relied upon a
tradition of accountability, democracy, stability and transparency. A leadership
role in such circumstances can be relatively easier than in the Middle East as
employees are aware of their rights and how to defend them and tend to be
manageable people working within a structure that has been made clear to them.
Hunter (2004, 28) noted that “Anyone could lead perfect people, if there were any.
The real challenge is to learn to develop the imperfect people we are”. Such a
perspective is appropriate for the Middle East as, on the one hand, there are
particular culture influences and, on the other, the workforce is so diverse and
multinational. Often, employees can be unaccustomed to strict discipline, strictly
imposed rules and work ethics, and they could believe they have the best
attributes to lead or even politically govern themselves. The discussion with
regard to style of leadership and its bearing upon the commitment of employees
is founded upon the themes as illustrated in the following Table 6.1.
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Table 6.1: Discussion themes
Objective 1 The dominant styles of leadership at the ADP
Objective 2 Investigate the extent to which leadership styles (such as

transformational, transactional) have significant impact on
Objective 3 The perceptions of employees regarding commitment at
the ADP
Objective 4 Factors for improving commitment at the ADP
Objective 5 The suitability of applying western models of leadership

styles at the ADP.
6.3 The discussion
There is a significant link between various styles of leadership and commitment
levels with regard to age. Interestingly, it was discovered that the findings shown
in Chapter Five reflected a general trend for the age groups. As with most
populations in the Arab world, young people in the UAE constitute the biggest
proportion of the population. The local culture is such that the young tend to be
brought up with a code of conduct that is strict, and tend to treat more senior
people in a very respectful way; these behaviours translate into a logical whereby
older people are more likely to be given leadership positions. This study does not
openly criticise the current practices and appointment of elderly leaders; it is
suggested from the styles of leadership at the ADP that lots of the traditional
manners of thinking and conducting business have already been undergoing far-
reaching changes. This research takes the perspective that relatively young
employees and more senior aged leaders working in the ADP do not have an
apparent generational clash but rather complement one another. Each style of
leadership has its own advantages and disadvantages.

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There is a need for the ADP to capitalise upon its human capital so that it can be
used effectively for handling the potential crises and challenges ahead. In general,
there is a shortage of leadership within the Arab world, and within the UAE in
particular. Styles of leadership may impact directly upon the failure or success of
an organisation with some styles more appropriate in particular circumstances
than in others, depending on the magnitude and type of challenge(s) being faced.
As regards the ADP and the dominant leadership styles at work, the findings from
the perspective of the employees indicated that there is a predominance of
attributes of transformational leadership rather than transactional leadership. The
findings from the data from the employees indicated that there were marginally
higher transformational leadership attribute means than transactional ones.
Analysis of the data collected from ADP leaders also shows that the
transformational leadership style mean has a higher value than that for the
transactional style of leadership. For instance, the four items employed in
measuring the Idealised Attributes have mean scores from 3.70 to 3.80 with
standard deviations with a range from .645 to .681. The suggestion from these
findings is that employees had the perception that the style of leadership of their
manager was largely transformational. The perception was, then, that leaders are
in possession of practical leadership skills to face up to everyday issues in their
work.
The ANOVA test was also employed in gauging if any difference existed between
the data of the employees. The findings showed a number of significant
differences between the views of employees with regard to their qualifications,
age group, position, department, the experience of the employees and the total
employee number at work in each department. The two styles of leadership within
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the ADP highlighted that the relationship between employees and their leaders
was good, and it was clearly shown that it was important for leaders to have self-
awareness and moral and ethical principles, and to display integrity and honesty.
The example of the leadership of the ADP shows how the local culture influences
the leadership. Also, ADP leadership values are committed to the entire ministry
system, with managers empowered to show leadership at all ADP levels; these
results align with those findings in the work of Bass and Bass, 2008; Lussier and
Achua, 2013
The findings also showed a number of significant insights for the development of
leadership. As the sense of uncertainty grows within the UAE, along with the rapid
rate of change, evidence suggest that senior managers are, indeed, acting in the
manner of leaders. Essentially, this research discovered that organisational
leadership can be considered as the leading of others for the achievement of the
goals of the organisation in question, and the delivery of its vision; the research
findings showed that this statement is true at the ADP from the perspectives of
the leaders. The leadership of the ADP has awareness that its role is more than
just status and job titles; it is recognised that there is a need to have the necessary
attributes of leadership to win over the minds and hearts of people and to establish
relationships that are founded on mutual respect and trust for the benefit of UAE
citizenry as a whole. There is no clear-cut difference, however, between the
varying degrees of transformational, transactional and laissez-faire practices of
leadership in the ADP. There are many different contexts within which leadership
can apply, and the style of leadership itself, is not a consistent and static form of
behaviour; leadership is a behaviour that is profoundly influenced by the culture
and setting of an organisation. In regard to the first question of the research, the
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current study findings align with those of similar studies that were undertaken in
different parts of the world, particularly Europe and the United States (Bass and
Riggio, (2006). It is suggested from the debate on leadership that the main priority
of leaders is the future success of their organisation and the creation of new
opportunities for people. Often, such leadership requires the initial addressing of
extremely challenging circumstances, such as threats to the stability and security
of the UAE. The current research findings also have consistency with several
other studies from various countries and educational settings; examples of such
studies are a study from Thailand of Dastoor et al. (2003), studies from the USA
of Stumpf (2003), Webb (2003), Moore and Rudd (2006), Bragg (2008) and
Grosso (2008), a study from Tanzania of Nguni et al. (2006), a study from Pakistan
of Bodla and Nawaz (2010), and a previous study from the UAE of Talal (2011).
The aforementioned studies are in broad agreement with the findings of this
current research since they highlighted a general trend that shows that
transactional styles of leadership are less in evidence than transformational styles
of leadership. These findings could lead to an inference that, overall, the laissez-
faire style of leadership is the style practised least by leaders across the world,
with more leaders practising the transactional style of leadership and the most
practised leadership style is the transformational approach. Those findings also
have consistency with those of a study across cultures undertaken by Ardichvili
and Kuchinke (2002) from business settings in Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Russia,
Kazakhstan, Germany and the USA. From the aforementioned findings, a
conclusion can be reached that the transformational style of leadership seems to
be predominant in the ADP, even though the leadership within the UAE is often
bound and undermined by the existing organisational culture and deeply
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embedded tradition practices, and practices of management that can be
unpredictable. It may appear paradoxical, however, that leaders working for the
ADP do lead by example and give others inspiration for the achievement of
success through encouraging their employees to take initiative and to be
innovative and proactive. In a political climate where there is an increasing doubt
in the leaders of the Arab world, the research findings are encouraging. The
research findings clearly show that most employees in the ADP feel that leaders
welcome suggestions and frequently take ideas on board. Cynics may argue that
the views of employees contradict reality and that they are merely being positive
in the responses as they are being defensive as they can ill afford to criticise their
leaders. However, as Western (2008, 120) pointed out: “the insidious facet of
transformational leaders is normative control which comes from within the
individual themselves through the internalisation of the leader’s organisational
culture. This makes constant surveillance unnecessary, requiring no external
policing”. The study findings show that the leaders of the ADP set an example
through behaviour that aligns with the Islamic values of the UAE, and through
adoption of positive attitudes and consistent motivation of employees to promote
progress and consolidate a sense of loyalty and commitment.
6.4 Are the leadership models of the west appropriate to the UAE?
Data analysis of the information gathered from both employees and leaders,
through the use of descriptive, t-tests and ANOVA tests, revealed that the vast
majority of staff in the ADP are not keen for a leadership model ‘imported’ from
elsewhere. The suggestion is that the only option for a leadership style is a ‘home-
grown’ one that incorporates an understanding of local issues and can deal with
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them. Such a view aligns with the literature wherein there are ample examples
and evidence that emphasise that institutions and organisations should have a
model for leadership that is clearly defined and that accords with the
environmental and cultural setting within which it is operating. A model of
leadership has to be suitable to the workforce and also be consistent with the
culture of the organisation rather than imported freshly and/or conceptualised from
outside. The research findings suggest that it is likely that a style of leadership
that has been conceived abroad will be incompatible and fail to achieve its
purpose; it seems that a model for leadership ought to emerge from within the
UAE so that it is in harmony with the native development strategies and the
particular economic, political and social context. A style of leadership should have
relevance, be meaningful and be suitable for the institution or organisation in
question and its people; as such, there has to be alignment with the culture of the
organisation and consistency for those being managed. In accordance to
significant findings from the literature, it can be argued further that a model or style
of leadership is not a generic thing, but is instead particular to the organisation
type, the nature of the business environment and/or the particular service being
provided. Styles of leadership have their basis in the competences and skills
available to address local issues as and when they arise. The main goal of
leadership is to provide expertise in decision-making and effective direction for an
organisation or institution; leadership styles are not standardised and applicable
to every situation. Everyone has a different leadership style depending on the task
in question, the particular environment, and the background of the workers and
their capabilities. The successful performance of an organisation is dependent to
a large degree upon the leadership style undertaken. All leadership styles or
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models have their own strengths and weaknesses, and so adoption of a particular
leadership style is determined by taking into account the environment and whether
it fits in with the organisational culture. The research findings show that the
development of an appropriate style of leadership in-house within an institution or
organisation is preferable to the importation of one, even when such an external
style is considered successful. Leaders who are working on the ground with inside
knowledge of the organisation tend to have the skills needed to deal with crises;
leadership within the Middle East involves being equipped to deal with the ever-
changing nature of the political environment. Furthermore, there ought to be
consideration given to the particular aspects and nature of society with, for
example, the Middle East having strong family connections and ‘Wasta’.The UAE
data give clear evidence that the country is paradoxical in relation to styles of
leadership. On one hand, there are transformational styles of leadership that
encourage the involvement of participants within the process of decision-making,
and on the other an old-fashioned, leadership style persists wherein people are
expected to follow the example set. Since the ADP is a very sensitive sector, the
leadership ought to be considered a beacon of responsibility and authority, and
this results in the expectation that leaders act and behave as leaders. Rather than
just exerting power from a position within a hierarchy, leaders are seen as people
with status, as well as being in a position of power, to help an organisation operate
competently and effectively for the best interests of the nation.
One of the key themes of the literature focuses upon highlighting and describing
the attributes and characteristics of leaders and people’s perceptions of what a
leader actually is. Another involves examination of the influence that leaders have
upon the way people act and think, and the way in which people are spurred
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towards action with the belief that a clear vision exists for their efforts. Leadership
success has a close link to the followers embracing what they see as a realistic
vision. There is also a strong suggestion from analysis of the data that most
respondents recognised that, as a large institution of government, the ADP has
very diverse personnel and there is also diversity in the styles of governance and
leadership. The findings of the survey show that a consensus exists, in general,
that the key purpose of the different departments of the ADP is to ensure effective
police response to threats to, and concerns of, the public, and to increase the
confidence of the public in how policing is delivered and how crime is being
eradicated. Most respondents also made the indication that leadership styles
differ considerably from one ADP department to another. The conclusion can be
drawn, therefore, that, in order to be effective, the adoption of a leadership style
that is transformative, in respect to the process of decision-making and its role, is
sensible for the ADP. The current environment in the UAE calls for leaders able
to manage complexity and volatility and able to face up to imminent challenges
issues. Nowadays there is broad acknowledgement that skills for leadership are
not innate, i.e. they can be learned; it is clear, then, that leaders who tend to be
successful are people who are adaptable and flexible in their approach and able
to draw upon a range of approaches when considered necessary. The leadership
style adopted is dictated by the particular environment and challenges that the
organisation faces.
6.5 The vision and impact of the transformational leadership approach
The study findings confirm that a transformational style of leadership of leaders at
the ADP plays a significant part in promoting the commitment of employees. The
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perceptions of employees of the leaders did provide reactions that were positive.
Higher need levels and feelings of commitment tend to be stimulated by
transformational qualities in a leader; these findings are supported by the work of
other researchers that examined leadership (for example, Bass et al., 2003). The
attention that employees receive from managers is reflected within the generally
positive view of their work and the workplace conditions and these, in turn,
increase commitment and enhance performance of the ADP staff. The research
findings showed that the leaders of the ADP have the abilities and skills to
influence, motivate or interact with employees.
As Kotter (1990, 62) noted “Management controls people by pushing them in the
right direction; leadership motivates them by satisfying basic human need.” The
argument of Kotter leads to the explicit recommendation that the balance to strike
for leaders is between controlling and encouraging people to perform willingly
rather than with reluctance. This line of argument from the literature does align
with the study findings. One conclusion that can be made is that employees are
naturally uneasy with a controlling leadership style, but in view of the nature of the
job at ADP it goes with the territory. No societies seem to approve of leaders who
seems fanatically controlling everything. A number of the respondents in this
research, however, noted that, in certain cases, a degree of control and
overseeing may be necessary. This finding gives further endorsement to the claim
of Drucker (1996) that a lack of control can lead to negligent workers. This
research has the view that a leader has to tread very carefully in balancing skills
for controlling and transformational styles of leadership in accordance with the
type of problem and the nature of the situation.
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6.6 The limitations of the transactional leadership approach
Clearly, within the current critical political climate of the Middle East, there has
been a decline in the popularity of transactional styles of leadership. These study
findings demonstrate that the transactional style of leadership does not have full
relation to the commitment of employees. There seems to be more of a positive
response from employees towards a system of work if the tasks are clearly defined
and the performance expectations and targets are spelled out unambiguously.
Also, respondents appeared to favour performance being related to reward.
Furthermore, a leadership style that is transactional could seem out of place or
irrelevant for the environment of the ADP where most duties are normally
regimented and uniform. The result is that employees tend to seek flexibility and
variety within the performance of tasks; these sorts of process aspects tend to be
complemented by a more balanced transformational style rather than a
transactional one. It was interesting to note, however, that a number of
respondents stated that the transactional style of leadership may be useful within
the Middle East, in general, and in neighbouring Bahrain, in particular. It was
argued by them that the uncertain political climate for the ADP calls for leadership
that is both transformational, when addressing change issues, and transactional
when ensuring public priorities are addressed and dealing with the enforcement
of regulations; this balance is considered essential if the important public
organisation is to be able to more effectively deliver the changes required, with
minimal resistance through appreciation of employees and recognition of their
work and the achievement of set targets. The empowerment of staff and
recognition for individual efforts are considered to be strong leadership attributes.
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6.7 Blending styles of leadership: Transactional and transformational
combined
In broad terms, the study findings have shown that transformational leadership is
likely to be the effective style for leadership within the twenty-first century in the
ADP. In the context of a politically volatile Middle East, being proactive in
introducing meaningful changes within governmental organisations is preferable
to such changes being forced upon the government. The study results show
clearly that only a transformational style can directly impact upon the performance
and commitment of employees. A clear relationship exists between the
performance of ADP employees and employee commitment. One way in which
this result can be interpreted is that the mission and role of the ADP have been
set clearly. Tasks have been defined well, and the working environment has been
well organised too, so little scope exists for leadership of a transactional nature.
On the other hand, a considerable contribution to the commitment of employees
comes from a transformational leadership style. It was perceived by employees of
the ADP that their commitment was not affected by the transactional type skills of
managers. A major element of employee commitment was attributed by them to
the transformational skills of managers. In a work environment that is programmed
and routine, the commitment of employees results from appeal to needs that are
higher, that help the work overcome the boring nature of certain chores.
Commitment also comes from recognition of when different incentive types ought
to be administered; this research finding contrasts with those of the study of Bass
(2010) which had shown that both styles of leadership are in close relationship
and are effectively complementary in nature. The current research findings
support instead the position of Burns (2007) which had the two leadership styles
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as being at opposing ends of a spectrum. It is perhaps the case that the findings
of this research are specific to the situation and only represent an exception to the
conceptualisation of Bass (2010). Based on the findings of this research, and the
findings of numerous other researchers, it could be argued that a leader has more
chance of succeeding, when it comes to enhancement of the commitment of
employees and achievement of their organisational and personal targets, when
there is a combination of the two leadership styles (see, for example, Bass and
Avolio, 1997; Yousef, 2000; Mosadegh and Yarmohammadian, 2006; Al-Hussami
2008; Gooty,et al. 2009; Voon et al., 2011).
It seems, then, that the management of the performance of employees drives the
commitment of the employees and this helps operational and strategic goals to
be delivered effectively. It seems clear that different circumstances require
different styles of leadership. The argument of this study is that a description for
a leader who has ideal qualities is one who is adaptable, i.e. uses their leadership
style(s) to fit the particular circumstances in order to optimise success, flexible,
i.e. is able to employ any effective style at any given place or time and reflective,
i.e. is able to identify the various demands that a situation presents.
Often leadership is a careful balancing act between the changing demands and
challenges of a situation and personal needs. So, it seems that the ADP requires
some form of permutation lying between a transformational style of leadership and
a transactional one; as such, a form of leadership is needed which has the vision,
thought and reflection of a transformational leader who can assess situations and
be aware of the feelings and needs of employees, along with the determination
and organisational skills of a transactional leader who is grounded in reality.
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6.8 A positive relationship exists between the commitment of leaders and
employees
An important relationship was also discovered between the commitment of
leaders and employees. This discovery means that if respondents have a
commitment to the competencies of their leaders, then they tend to have job
commitment. As there are few studies dedicated to examination of the influence
of style of leadership upon commitment within the UAE, the current research
findings make a contribution to the argument that style of leadership has a direct
bearing upon the commitment of employees. This is a useful insight for decision-
makers, and shows consistency with the previous research of Ahangar (2009)
which revealed a strong relationship between commitment and transformational
leadership factors. Also, the findings are consistent with those of Givens, (2008)
and Voon et al. (2011) which both revealed positive correlation between the
commitment of subordinates and transformational leadership. The research
findings showed that leaders who listen, adjust to circumstances, process
information, think creatively, build-up personal relationships, take action where
necessary, communicate effectively, motivate successfully, inspire trust, delegate
responsibilities, and cultivate individual talents, have more effectiveness when it
comes to enhancement of the commitment of employees and helping them
achieve performance standards at a high level. These findings correlate with the
findings of the previous work of a number of researchers (see, for example,
Hamidifar, 2009; Gill et al., 2010; Talal, 2011) who supported the view that it is of
vital importance for leaders to communicate effectively, build relationships and
solve problems so that the commitment levels of employees are increased and
their performance efficiency enhanced. The relationship between employee
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commitment and the style of leadership of managers was studied by Rad and
Yarmohammadian (2006) in Iran in the Isfahan University Hospital. Two
questionnaires were distributed amongst 814 employees who were senior, middle
and first line manager selected in a stratified sampling of selected hospitals. Their
study showed that the dominant style of leadership amongst managers was a
transformational approach. So, a so-called ‘ideal leader’ is a person who can
adapt their approach to accord with the demands and needs that the situation
presents. Good leaders have awareness of the significant relationship between
their management approach, in terms of style of leadership, and the attitudes of
employees towards their command, specifically, and their work, in general. Such
a self-awareness comes with the implication that leaders ought to continue to try
and improve and seek to have the competencies of leadership that befit the variety
of situations and characteristics of people that they encounter. It is quite often the
case that when the leadership skills are poor, inconsistency and a lack of fair
treatment can quickly lead to employees becoming demotivated.
6.9 Determination of the dominant style of leadership at the ADP in

accordance with the MLQ instrument
This question was answered through survey data analysis based upon 5X-Short
Form version of the MLQ. A total of 36 items were used in the MLQ for the
measurement of the styles of leadership as reported by the individual leaders
(Bass, 2010). The effective leadership style for a particular environment is,
however, less effective in another environment. The findings demonstrate that the
managers of the ADP that exhibit the qualities of a transformational leader, such
as good communication and inspirational motivation, tend to provide clear aims
and focus for future action, and make their employees feel valued.
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Transformational leaders show an interest in people, and their needs,
perspectives and views, and they tend to communicate the vision and strategy of
the ADP in such a way that support and commitment to its delivery is generated.
A mixture of transactional and transformational leadership styles seems to be the
suitable approach for leadership at the ADP as it has been discovered in the
literature that such a combination is indicative of managerial success within
organisations (Bodla and Nawaz, 2010). Since it would be impossible to have one
leadership style that is suitable for all ADP departments, this research has shown
that the styles of leadership at the ADP are, indeed, diverse and lots of leaders
are shifting towards the adoption of more western styles of leadership. As such,
many leaders have been becoming more consultative and less authoritarian;
however, significant differences in culture obviously remain. The evidence
demonstrates that a number of leaders impose themselves initially through the
provision of guidance and direction before becoming much less visible so that
space and distance is created for employees to just proceed. It seems the ideal
for the managers of the ADP to have a suitable mixture of transactional and
transformational leadership qualities, as such a blend of leadership styles has
effectiveness within a diverse range of cultures and types of organisation. As Bass
(1997: 130) stated: “Transformational and Transactional view leadership as either
a matter of contingent reinforcement of employees by a transactional leadership
or the moving of employees beyond their self-interests for the good of the group,
organisation, or society by Transformational Leadership”.
The population of the study sample still indicates, however, that the transactional
leadership style is still common among the managers of the ADP. Transactional
styles of leadership were seen as having three aspects, i.e. contingent reward,
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management by exception (passive), and management by exception (active);
taken in turn, the first aspect means that commitment is expressed when
expectations are met by others, the second aspect means that action is only taken
when something has gone wrong, and the third aspect means that attention is
directly towards failures so that standards can be met (Bass and Avolio 2004).
Several respondents criticised transactional styles of leadership as they were
often perceived to result in the demotivation of staff. A degree of consensus exists
with regard to the issue of whether the leadership structure of the ADP was top
down. The mean for the employees has an indication that they felt the existing
approach of the leadership of the ADP operates in a structure that is top down.
The reason for this may be because lots of people in the ADP are considered to
be powerful leaders with the capacity to give guidance to others for the
achievement of a target by way of their own means.
In a way, there is a need for leaders in the ADP who are able to understand
complex issues and solve them, as well as know how to provide a quality service
that can generate the commitment of employees. Likewise, it was demonstrated
that employees had mixed feeling with regard to the third statement, i.e. ‘the
ADP’s leadership structure is democratic’; the mean for these responses was not
so conclusive. The interpretation for this could be that numerous leaders at the
ADP can be single-minded in paying excessive attention to objectives that are
short-term. There is a fear amongst them of changing direction, even when a
strategy is not actually working as desired.
Leaders with a laissez-faire style tend to avoid decision-making and they also
avoid involvement if an important issue arises. Interestingly, it is noteworthy that
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managers in the ADP with laissez-faire leadership styles are sometimes accepting
of the involvement of employees within the process of decision-making, though
always make decisions themselves. Leaders who are transformational always
tend to permit the participation of employees within decision-making, and this may
boost the confidence of subordinates (Bass et al., 2003; Bass and Avolio 2004).
Both transactional and transformational styles of leadership are effective;
transaction leaders tend to have more effectiveness in exploiting organisational
level knowledge, whereas transformational leaders tend to have more
effectiveness in the creation and sharing of knowledge at the level of groups and
individuals (Voon et al., 2011). Also, previous research has shown that leadership
of the transformational style was the style that was most effective for work within
the hospitality industry (Mosadegh and Yarmohammadian, 2006). The research
findings of this study seem to align with the findings of previous research of
scholars who have claimed that a transformational style of leadership is required
in order for organisational goals to be achieved by leaders; the transformational
style of leadership supports staff in working harder, enhances the effectiveness of
staff and also leads to an increase in the commitment of staff within organisations
(Bass and Avolio 2004). An understanding of the styles of leadership of the
leaders is key for people training and developing programmes of higher education
for training leaders of the future within the context of the ADP. In addition, the
result findings are also an addition to the relatively limited amount of knowledge
in regard to the styles of leadership within the business and cultural context of the
UAE.
The question is an investigation of the degree to which the transformational style
of leadership has an impact upon employee commitment. The statistics
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demonstrated that the transformational style of leadership influenced commitment
in a positive way. The research demonstrates that if transformational type of
leadership skills are applied within the organisation, employees will be led into
having more commitment to the organisation. This shows that the influence is
significant in terms of the relationship between the commitment of employees and
transformational leadership. In terms of the impact upon commitment of
employees from transformational leadership, it was discovered that the full model
indicated that the variable led to a higher determination coefficient. This showed
the fact that significant influence exists in the relationship between employee
commitment and transformational leadership. The relationship is founded on the
assumption that through explanation of what is wanted by the leader, and then
through appropriate behaviour being rewarded, the followers are directed by the
leader towards the desired level of performance (Bass & Avolio, 1990).
This research had the main purpose of providing an examination of the role that
styles of leadership and commitment of employees had in making a link between
the employee commitment and transactional and transformational leadership. The
research findings have provided considerable insight into the perceptions of
commitment of the employees that work towards promotion of affective responses
to the ADP on the part of employees. The findings confirm that transformational
leadership has a link to the commitment of employees; these findings are
consistent with those of previous research (Lok and Crawford, 2004; Emery and
Barker, 2007; Nielsen and Daniels 2012;). The current research findings also
echo the findings of the work undertaken by Chen et al. (2011) and Nguni et al.
(2006) that discovered evidence of the influence that transformational leadership
approaches had upon the commitment of teachers, and the relationship of
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transformational leadership to several key outcomes for an organisation including
commitment, organisational citizenship behaviours and perceived extra effort
(Trottier et al., 2008). Research undertaken by Bartram and Casimir (2007) and
Gill et al. (2010) gives support to this study in that they discovered that follower
commitment was predicted by the transformational model. Bass et al. (2003) gave
a plausible explanation for the results in suggesting that leaders who are
transformational tend to encourage employees to think of new ways of doing their
work and to take a reflective, critical approach to what they are doing.
Transformational leaders then challenge and motivate employees to have more
involvement in their work, and this results in commitment levels increasing, both
in respect to their work and to the organisation as a whole. These study findings
offer support to the situation of the ADP where a link exists between the
transformational style of leadership and the level of commitment; there is the
suggestion that there seems to be a positive for the issues of result validity or
generalisation of the study.
This argument may be extended still further in respect to the relationship amongst
individual attributes of transformational leadership and the relationships they have
to commitment and associated facets of it. The results demonstrated that there
was the existence of a relationship that was strong and positive amongst the
transformational leadership attributes. The study results also align with those of
Nguni et al. (2006), Hamidifar (2009) and Hu et al. (2010) which showed strong
relationships between commitment and transformational leadership attributes. In
general, it is evident that a form of interdependency exists between the variables.
Indeed, a combination of all of the different attributes would have a significant
impact upon employees. Charisma for a leader is important so long as does not
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come at the expense of being considerate to individuals and being able to
stimulate employees intellectually. Employees have a positive response to the
charisma of a leader if, at the same time, they can play a reasonable part within
decision-making. So, leaders have to pay an equivalent amount of attention to the
skills, talents and individuality of employees. Charisma has been shown, in fact,
to be an attribute with a strong form of relationship to commitment; this result
aligns with the work of Nguni et al. (2006) who showed that the dimension of
charismatic leadership within transformational leadership demonstrated
significant influence upon the commitment of teachers. So, the current leaders of
the ADP have to be facilitators of change and in possession of critical judgement
and excellent skills at an interpersonal level; ADP leaders need to be people able
to adhere to rigorous ethical codes whilst also being able to motivate their
employees through the effective sharing of a strategic vision.
6.10 Style of leadership and employee commitment
It widely acknowledged that employees are the asset of an organisation. The
employees are the lifeblood of a business; it seems that an organisation becomes
successful through the ability of a leader to make adjustments with an
understanding of employee needs. A style of leadership that is flexible drives
employees on to engagement with the values and vision of an organisation and
this results in staff who are more loyal and productive; qualities for which the ADP
strive. Research has clearly shown that a greater degree of engagement of staff
results in positive impacts upon performance and competitiveness. The results
demonstrate that lots of employees attach great value to a good culture at work
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and transparency; as such, employees like the workplace to be welcoming and
they want to sense that they are valued.
6.11 Summary of quantitative analysis
A recurring view that came out of the findings was that there was agreement
amongst all of the participants that, as an issue, leadership is complex; however,
there was not a general consensus upon a single definition for leadership. Various
theories of leadership have been shown to improve a general understanding of
the concept and to give in-depth analyses of the various leadership styles and
models. Leadership has been examined by researchers from lots of different
angles and within various organisational and cultural settings. There has been
good documentation of the strengths and weaknesses of the various leadership
studies, and this current research goes some way to widening the debate on
leadership with the provision of fresh insights from the ADP. Without a doubt, the
turbulent and volatile political events throughout the Arab world have had an
enormous impact upon the thinking around the concept of leadership. ADP
leaders found it to be interesting to be able to reflect for a while on their own styles
of management; indeed, the issue of leadership and readiness to bring about
change is very topical within the region. There is a great deal of interest on the
debate over leadership considering the current political and economic
circumstances and the calls being made for sweeping changes throughout the
Arab world. It has been clearly seen that lots of the traditional leaders of the world
have not been fit for the job as they have failed to lead by example and/or failed
to provide the inspiration and direction needed.
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6.12 Concluding remarks
There has been extensive research undertaken on leadership, with lots of theories
taken on board within practice throughout the western world. It is noteworthy that
lots of these leadership theories have given insights that have proved beneficial
to both decision-makers and researchers; however, it does seem that may
theories are inconsistent, recurrent, duplicated and with a basis in evidence that
is anecdotal. Also, the theories may be applicable to other parts of the world,
especially in cultural terms as, for example, there are considerable differences
between the Middle East and the culture of the west. The style of a leader has
deep roots within his or her culture. As this current study has shown, there can be
considerable constraints from the cultural clash between the background of a
leader and the claims made for new styles of leadership such as the
transformational and transactional leadership styles.
This current research has discovered that leadership involves the engagement of
employees in a harmonious way. Much has changed with regard to attitudes
towards leadership in recent years in the UAE and this has, in part, been driven
by the many uprisings throughout the Arab world.
As a whole, the research evidence has shown that ADP leaders have adopted a
proactive and flexible leadership style, with the approaches taken to decision-
making dependent upon the situation in question. Decision-making in the ADP is
neither undertaken through a prescriptive process nor has it been defined clearly.
Whilst the actions and style of leaders can be variable, there is an eagerness and
expectation for some type of process and agenda to be followed when there is a
need for decisions to be made within board meetings; however, no master plan
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exists to which people can adhere. The aforementioned and described style of
leadership could seem fictitious to those familiar with the culture in the UAE and/or
to those with views that are contradictory. However, the fact remains that, in the
light of upheaval in the Arab world and the calls for change, the leaders of the
ADP have begun to bring about changes within the public-sector organisation at
both the national and local levels; the implementation of these changes is aimed
at reflecting the vision contained in government policy and at providing services
that meet evolving public needs. There has been the introduction of reform
throughout the public sector including the introduction of measures to bring about
key changes to the modus operandi of the civil service.
6.13 Discussion of interview findings
6.13.1 The interview procedures
This study includes the use of semi-structured interviews so that information can
be acquired from managers of the ADP. To be more precise, the process of
interviewing was designed in order for the findings for the study of objective 2 to
be enhanced and confirmed; as such, the objective was to provide an analysis of
the challenges and problems that are currently constraining development of ADP
leadership styles. The conducting of the interviews had the key purpose of
supplementing the questionnaire responses and enhancing the overall reliability
and credibility of the findings of the study. The decision was made, therefore, that
semi-structured interviews be conducted with ten managers in order to get a better
appreciation of the potential constraints upon the adoption of certain styles of
leadership within the ADP. It is possible to justify the decision to include
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qualitative research for the study as it is a means by which questions can be raised
that would not have been if only survey questioning was done. The semi-
structured interviews aim at asking questions of a ‘why?’ and ‘how?’ nature, and
this would not be possible within a typical quantitative type of study.
6.13.2 The participant profiles
So that the attitudes and perceptions in relation to leadership programmes could
be obtained, a sample of individual managers from different departments within
the ADP was taken and interviews of a semi-structured nature were conducted.
Details from the interviews are listed within Table 6.3:
Table 6.2: The role and rank of the interviewees
Interviewee Grade Department Length of service

in Organisation
A General General Directorate of Human 20 Years

Resources
B Colonel General Directorate of 17 Years
Finance and Service
C Lieutenant Deputy Commander General 15 Years
Colonel
D Consultant General Directorate of 13 Years
Finance and Service
E Major Commander General of AD 11 Years
Police
F Captain General Directorate of 9 Years
Finance and Service
G Captain Deputy Commander General 8 Years
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H First General Directorate of Human 7 Years
Lieutenant Resources
I Lieutenant Commander General 6 years
J Lieutenant General Directorate of Policing 5 years

Operations
6.13.3 Analysis of the results of the interviews
The semi-structured interviewing of ADP managers was conducted in 2016. The
open-ended and semi-structured questioning within the interviews had the aim of
addressing the key themes, as follows:
Theme No.1: Do you believe that the current social, cultural and economic
changes that are happening within the UAE are having an impact upon the style
of leadership?
Theme No.2: What is the current leadership style at the ADP and what leadership
style do you believe is required for delivering changes for meeting challenges
faced by the UAE?
Theme No.3: What are the views/perceptions of the leadership of the ADP with
regard to commitment of employees and structure?
6.14 The qualitative findings
6.14.1 Overview of the phase of semi-structured interviews
The key objective for conducting of qualitative, semi-structured interviews is to
have an understanding and insight into the specific phenomena under
investigation (Sekaran, 2003; Saunders et al., 2009). This chapter section has the
275
purpose of discovering in greater depth the issues that came forth from the
questionnaire survey findings. The interviews were undertaken to acquire
opinions on matters that could not be elicited properly if the study was limited to a
strategy that was solely quantitative. This chapter section has the objectives for
the interviews, their key outcomes and findings, and interviewee profiling. The
semi-structured interviewing was undertaken with leaders that held 10 different
positions within the ADP management departments that were chosen for study.
The questions were founded upon questions found in the sub-scales of MLQ and
the Employee Commitment Survey (ECS). The instruments were appropriate for
the study as they elicited responses that had details that would not have been
captured through use of questionnaires alone. Also, the approach was suitable for
participants as they had busy schedules and there was reluctance to take the time
to complete a questionnaire. The researcher introduced the interviewees to the
following three themes so that it could be ensured that there was understanding
about the questions and research aims amongst the participants. The approach
prompted discussion between the participants and the researcher in relation to
the important role played by the study. Areas for investigation were outlined as:
Theme No.1: Do you believe that the current social, cultural and economic
changes that are happening within the UAE are having an impact upon the style
of leadership?
a) What key challenges are currently being faced by the ADP?
b) Are you able to explain the effects upon employee commitment and
leadership behaviour from internal changes, such as new objectives, new
issues, and new legislation and so on?
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c) Are you able to explain how the leadership performance has been changed
by external changes, such as political, social and economic factors and so
on?
d) What pressures currently face the leadership team of the ADP whilst the Arab
world goes through such changes to leadership? What concerns do you
have?
Theme No.2: What is the current leadership style at the ADP and what leadership
style do you believe is required for delivering changes for meeting challenges
faced by the UAE?
e) What is the key style of leadership within the ADP? Are the current styles of
leadership effective for the achievement of the objectives of the ADP?
f) Can you tell me what you think are the main attributes of leadership that are
required to deliver change for meeting challenges being faced by the ADP?
g) Is there a commitment in the ADP to the commitment of its employees and
do your employees have an awareness of the relationship between expected
rewards and their performance?
h) Which mechanisms do you believe could be introduced by the ADP for the
enhancement of the commitment and performance of employees?
Theme No.3: What are the views/perceptions of the leadership of the ADP with
regard to commitment of employees and structure?
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i) Do you believe that the channels of communication and the styles of
leadership in the ADP are transparent and open with engagement of staff at
all organisational levels which allows employees to be active participants?
j) Do you have discussions about changes for the organisation, for instance,
at managerial briefings, with staff able to listen and be given active
encouragement to provide feedback of any issue, question or information
they may wish to raise?
k) Do you believe that offering your employees the chance to participate in
decision-making will give them encouragement to work towards the
achievement of better results?
l) Do you believe that continual recognition of employees by leaders shows
that the leadership style is good?
m) What do you believe to be the best way that leaders ought to consider when
they are dealing with employees in order to build up their commitment and
trust?
n) So that targets and aspirations could be met, do you think that the ADP
would consider the implementation of recommendations based upon the
findings of this research study?
Interviews were held with a few personnel that represented five different ADP
departments or directorates based upon their experience and expertise and their
ability to offer broad, valuable information to a deep level with regard to the themes
of style of leadership within the whole of the organisation. It was considered
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conducive to the research objectives to have a one to one, private discussion
between the researcher and personnel in relation to styles of leadership and
associated aspects; that way frank and clear responses could be obtained that
had the potential to highlight issues that may not have surfaced otherwise if just a
questionnaire was used.
6.15 Discussion of the interview findings
In order to support the questionnaire findings, the interviews had a focus upon
how leaders were defining their roles, building relationships and coping with
changes. Questions included within the themes, for the evaluation of the leader of
their own style of leadership, were as follows:
a) Do you think the social, cultural and economic changes that are occurring
within the UAE are having an impact upon style of leadership?
b) What leadership style is currently used in the ADP and, given the
changes facing the UAE, what leadership style do you think is required
to deliver the necessary changes?
c) What are your views/perceptions of the ADP leadership with regard to
employee commitment and structure?
The component of interview was undertaken so that depth could be added to the
questionnaire result interpretations. Follow-up interviews were conducted to give
support to, and to complement, the quantitative research finding interpretations.
Analysis of qualitative data has the aim of identifying common patterns and trends.
Questions that were open-ended, that the questionnaire did not cover, had a focus
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upon the perceptions and meanings that were held by participants in regard to
employee commitment and leadership. The interactive data collection process is
helpful as a strong value is placed upon the contribution of stakeholders to the
debate. So, the leaders of the ADP were given the chance to give expression to
their thoughts in an open way that enhanced the study findings. Involvement of
stakeholders in research dialogue leads them to being active participants within
the inquiry (Creswell 2009). The involvement enhances the understanding of the
practices of the ADP leadership in a holistic way. Once the follow-up interviews
had been analysed, multiple themes began to emerge from the ten interviews
conducted with employees from various positions with the departments of the
ADP. A key theme that emerged from the semi-structured interviewing was that
every respondent was in agreement that the current ADP leadership is facing
significant challenges, mainly because of the growth of both the domestic and
foreign populations. Also, the fast pace of development of the UAE is leading to
radical change, and whilst a degree of cultural openness has come with progress,
there are many complexities that have challenged the stable and peaceful style of
life in the UAE; as such, trouble spots are increasingly difficult to identify. Indeed,
as one interviewee stated:
R (B) ‘There is no doubt that the changes in society affect negatively or positively
on the leadership style, therefore it leads to the challenges of how to cope with
the culture of change’.
Another interviewee raised the same important points in echoing the idea with the
suggestion that recent changes affect all citizens of the UAE not only the leaders.
The importance lies in making preparations for the unknown and unexpected and
their undesirable consequences. As another interviewee stated:
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R (D) ‘complete openness to all cultures and the displacement of hundreds of
thousands of foreign workers annually to the State or - The presence of advanced
technology in the hands of even the children at affordable prices making it
imperative that the ADP has to pre-empt to avoid the worst-case scenario’
The comment serves to highlight a level of awareness and apprehension with
regard to the pace of societal change that is being experienced in the UAE;
however, a general consensus exists that, ultimately, the ADP can deal with
potential threats if proactive strategies are used and the organisation is ready.
The answers of participants showed there to be very mixed views over whether
external factors had been having a bearing and led to the adoption of special roles
for leadership. No consensus was evident for this. Some interviewees made the
suggestion that, in the context of new development(s), new approaches were
necessary. A suggestion was made by one respondent, as follows:
R (C) ‘Leaders need to focus and address certain type of issues and give them
priority. 2 – They should deal with some of the issues with sensitivity. 3 - Emphasis
should be on dealing with a particular type of attitude and the application of certain
policies’.
A general feeling exists that there is efficient and level-headed leadership at the
ADP, and that there is a vision and clear direction to enable the ADP to handle
change as there is a suitable structure to address significant issues in relation to
recent development.
R (G) ‘Through performance of leadership Excellence it can ensure the
continuous development and improvement and raise the efficiency of operations
and external services, being able to respond efficiently to external changes and
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the development of performance indicators, which gives a positive reflection on
those dealing with it, as well as optimum utilisation of human resources; which
enhances the value of excellence in leadership and staff’.
From the data acquired from the in-depth interviews, it can be seen that leaders
of the ADP emphasised that it is a duty of leadership to have action planning for
dealing with all possible eventualities. Action planning and a degree of
preparedness is seen as a key priority and participants were in agreement that
the ADP leadership establishes the priority of the workload based upon urgency
and importance. The leadership of the ADP is fully aware that unforeseen events
can happen. As such, the degree to which the leadership is psychologically,
mentally and physically prepared and in a state of readiness to address
challenging events is what matters. One participant stated:
R (F) ‘Spend more time on issues which were not important previously. – There
is increase of pressure and fears of destabilisation of the security of citizens and
residents alike, while the state enjoys a high level of security which is not available
in the neighbouring country. – Closely monitoring the political and social security
requires more effort from leaders and their concern leaves them to focus on
human development, and neglect issues that may be important in the near future’.
There is an acceptance amongst the leadership that there is complexity and
diversity to the challenges that could be being faced by the ADP. These
challenges will undoubtedly place the leadership under enormous pressure to
adapt and manage change effectively. The study findings suggest, however, that
most participants perceived that the leadership of the ADP had a strategy and the
competence and direction to deliver change and to progress the organisation.
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Further to this, the government has a determination of keeping security as a top
priority. Participants acknowledged that the role for leadership and its
development are turning out to be of crucial importance for the ADP within the
current political climate because of recent political demonstrations and regime
change within a number of Arab countries; however, an overwhelming message
emerged that a positive environment and resource sharing was being facilitated
by the leadership practices and the leadership nature within the culture of the
ADP. Lots of participants were not overly concerned and had the belief that the
strategy, structure and resources were in place at the ADP for the significant
issues to be addressed if and/or when such challenges arise. As was argued by
the following participant:
R (I) ‘The achievements of the ADP in building a modern police force which is able
to address the various risks and unparalleled views, despite the pressures faced
by the leaders, do not make me think that there are concerns worth taking into
account in our consideration’.
A similar sentiment was echoed by other participants, with the indication being
that the ADP has to carefully watch developments throughout the Arab world, and
prepare for delivery of changes thought necessary to address future challenges.
The ADP has, in the main, a transformational leadership style and leaders have
the attributes needed for the creation of a vision and for guiding followers through
a process of change through inspiration and the securing of employee
commitment. As a further interviewee stated;
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R (B) ‘We need to keep abreast of developments and events experienced by the
Arab world and work to make changes in what is in the interest of citizens and
face the challenges of any plans and strategies with the current situation’.
All the interviewees who were leaders said they were consultative and innovative,
with an interest in serving the nation and working in such a way that employee
suggestions are welcomed. These findings gave further confirmation of the
quantitative survey results. There was an overall indication from the participants
that there was a considerable degree of commitment amongst their employees,
and the argument was made that communication is a primary feature for a style
of leadership to be successful. Employees are regularly engaged by the leaders
of the ADP within the process of decision-making, with such involvement
developing a feeling them that they belong in the organisation. Employees felt that
they were being supported in their work when leaders acknowledged talent and
competence, their contribution and, overall, gave them affirmation in their job. As
noted by the following participant:
R(C) ‘Through the clarity of rights and duties and responsibilities, the nature of the
relationship between leadership and employees has contributed significantly to
the achievement of organisational justice and knowledge and awareness of
employees about their rights. Increased communication with the command and
following the style of the new assessment have all contributed to increasing staff
commitment and affected the behaviour of the leader.
The study findings are in alignment with the results of the quantitative study with
a significant correlation being discovered in relation to the success in
implementation of the legislation of the ADP, its vision and its action plans.
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Employees felt acknowledged and supported and this created a working
environment that was positive and which boosted their confidence levels enabling
them to influence others; as such, the supportive environment helped develop the
potential and skills for leadership. A clear trend that was seen from the
interviewing was that a debate that was open and frank with key stakeholders of
the ADP was an experience that was meaningful. Lots of participants emphasised
the comfortable nature of the workplace atmosphere due to there being good
relationships amongst staff working at every level of the ADP. Also, emphasis was
placed on the sense of a collective vision, and increases in the empowerment of
employees, the sense of ownership and commitment and a sense of enhanced
teamwork. All of the leaders also acknowledged personal growth within
development and leadership, in particular within the strategic areas of
transformational styles of leadership. The interviews gave forth the view that
leadership is not something that just happens but rather a leader is someone who
has to be nurtured along for them to build and develop competence in leadership.
As one of the interviewees highlighted:
R (D) ‘We need to focus on leadership styles and qualities of the leader and
enhance training for personal growth and leadership, to achieve the goals and
aspirations because such courses aim at developing the skills of group leadership,
development and planning in the ADP and in commitment of its employees also’.
The interviews gave the impression that people considered a leader to be
someone reliant upon followers. As an interviewee stated:
‘We are each leaders, servants, participants and stewards when the people
around us respect and acknowledge us as such. Then we can concentrate on
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what it takes for others to grow and learn. In so doing, leadership becomes a
privilege we all share’.
6.16 Summary
A recurring view that came out of the research findings was that all of the
respondents were in agreement that leadership, as an issue, is a complex one
and there is no general consensus over a definition for it. Various theories of
leadership have been proposed to enhance the understanding, in general, of the
issue and in-depth analysis has been provided of the various models and
leadership styles. Leadership has been examined by researchers from lots of
different angles and within various organisational and cultural settings. The
weaknesses and strengths of these various studies have been well-documented;
however, this current research project has broadened out the debate over
leadership with its provision of fresh insights. The recent turbulent events within
the Arab world have had a massive impact upon thinking with regard to leadership,
and it is interesting for leaders of the ADP to reflect upon their own personal styles
of management. The exercise of going through an interview was eye opening for
some of the ADP leader participants. The majority of participants considered it to
be a useful and helpful development activity that could possibly be employed in
addressing weaknesses within current practices of the leaders of the ADP. Within
the region as a whole, the issues of leadership and a readiness to change
practices are very topical. There is a lot of interest being generated within the
current political and economic context. Traditional leadership structures, based
upon ‘great leadership’ are beginning to be challenged by people; there are
greater calls for moves to be made towards having working environments where
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employees are able to participate and act as engaged and valued stakeholders
within their organisation. Throughout the world, it has been seen that lots of
traditional leaders have failed to be fit for the purpose of leadership by failing to
lead by example and by not providing the inspiration and direction required. The
interviews conducted with the leaders of the ADP within this research project
support findings that addressing the challenges currently experienced by the UAE
and the implementation of change are difficult to achieve; however, there ought
not to be undue concern nor overreaction. Clearly, the numerous warning signs
ought to prompt leaders to thoughtfully address problems and face up to any
discontent. Under the circumstances, it is virtually impossible to outline measures
of readiness or advance a framework for dealing with all forms of eventuality;
instead, it appears more appropriate to adopt a pre-emptive approach.
6.17 Concluding remarks
Extensive research has been done into the issue of leadership and this boom has
led to the generation of numerous theories which are often researched further
within the west. It is noteworthy that many of those theories have been beneficial
in providing helpful insights and benefitting both decision-makers and
researchers. It is fair to note, however, that a number of those theories of
leadership are recurrent, duplicated and/or inconsistent and are frequently
founded upon anecdotal evidence. Also, they may lack relevance for other places
across the world, especially when the local culture differs somewhat from a
western culture. Styles of leadership are deeply rooted within the local culture and,
as this research has shown, the cultural background of a leader may act as an
obstacle to progress. Often, there is a clash of cultures when looking at the
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principal, wide claims made for new styles of leadership such as transformational
leadership and transactional leadership. This research discovered that leadership
involves harmonious involvement with the followers. Much has changed with
regard to attitudes towards, and styles of, leadership in recent years within the
UAE; such changes are clearly driven by the uprising that have occurred across
the Arab world. Based on the interviewee statements, it seems that there is
general agreement that strong leadership is essential for directing a workforce
through transitional periods and for driving change processes. A flexible style of
leadership is essential for ensuring that the objectives of the ADP can be achieved
within the timeframe that has been established. ADP leaders seem to have
awareness of the demands of the public, and an understanding of the varied ways
in which change is occurring; as such, ADP leaders to appear to be awake to the
social realities of the changes being experienced.
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Chapter Seven
Conclusions and Recommendations
7.1 Introduction
This chapter provides an overall conclusion of the study which was undertaken to
examine the extent to which leadership styles influence and drive the commitment
of the employees at Abu Dhabi Police in the UAE. It sought to find out whether
the current leadership styles have a direct impact on employee commitment within
ADP. The key findings have been interpreted and linked to the research questions
which were formulated in order to achieve the research objectives. Subsequently,
recommendations are made based on the findings of the study. This chapter also
highlights the contribution to knowledge and identifies the limitations of this study,
and suggests areas for future research.
7.2 Where does this study fit within the key leadership debate?
The interest and pertinence of the concept of leadership is demonstrated by the
number of publications on leadership theories, styles and models. Similarly, there
is an entire leadership industry which prescribes leadership training and offers
quick fix solutions to would-be successful leaders and managers. Evidence shows
that the leadership literature is extensive and diverse. However, there are still many
questions which remain unanswered regarding ‘leadership’. Leadership is elusive
and hard to pin down as it has many shades of meaning. According to Burns
(1978:45) leadership is “one of the most talked about and yet least understood
social phenomena on earth.”
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The key literature on leadership is polarised around two streams. The first stream
presents the different traditional theories, styles and models of leadership. It is
hierarchical and vertical top down leadership style. The conclusion that can be
drawn from the broad and long history of debate over conventional leadership
theories, is that it has generated many useful insights and perspectives but times
are changing. This type of leadership is seen as outmoded, with limited
effectiveness and not fit for purpose in many societies. The second stream consists
of newly coined labels of leadership styles. There is a shift from the more
traditionally individualistic models of leadership styles to participative, collaborative
style of leadership due to the complex nature of today’s world. Today society
expects leaders to be facilitators, motivators and a driving force, for people and
organisations to perform and develop. A leader aims to align people's needs, and
the organisation’s objectives. Each leadership theory is open to criticism and each
leadership style has its strengths and weaknesses and there is no perfect
leadership theory.
Moreover, what transpires from the leadership literature suggests that although the
development of leadership is a research area that has covered plenty of ground
and is continuously evolving, the basics and core elements of leadership have not
changed much over the last hundred years. In other words, the main arguments of
leadership have remained largely the same. On the whole leadership research
appears to be overlapping and disjointed and many studies on leadership lack
substance. There is clear evidence that the definition of leadership remains a matter
of interpretation, and depends on the purpose and context in which it applied. As a
result, it is unsurprising there is no universal or one-size-fits-all leadership theory.
While there is common agreement on the general and generic meaning, there are
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still different nuances of meanings of leadership. Different environments and
different cultural settings require the use of different leadership styles. Moreover,
the broad literature on leadership predominantly focuses on the business, political
and military sectors but gives limited attention to the public sector, particularly the
police sector. The boundaries in defining and delimiting leadership styles and
theories are often vague. It is probably fair to say that despite the long history and
evolution of research on leadership, it is rather short on originality.
The key theme that emerges from the wide ranging and diverse leadership
definitions is that each definition is subjective and open to personal interpretation:
the individual author puts their spin on the term to serve their own agenda or
purpose. Some definitions provide fresh insights and perspective on the complexity
and nature of leadership in context, others are merely saying what is already
evident. For some a leader is someone who is expected to set direction and vision,
build and inspire confidence and motivate followers to success. For others, a leader
ensures that people follow procedures and obey orders precisely. Some may be of
the opinion the latter is more fitting and in line with the role of the ADP.
Leadership influences organisational culture and so it is important that the
necessary leadership skills and qualities are continuously nurtured and improved.
With regards to ADP, the findings suggest that some leaders are struggling to move
on with time and it is difficult to change mind-sets. The traditional style of leadership
was intended to address a very different set of circumstances. This study takes the
view that it is difficult to find a clear-cut and evident style of leading an organisation
or group of people. An individual leadership style which works in one setting is often
inspired and shaped by cultural identity, personal values, beliefs and experience. A
leadership style at an organisational level is strongly influenced by the

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organisational culture. Leading a public-sector organisation such as the ADP
requires a different leadership style than for leading a private company.
The terms ‘management’ and ‘leadership’ are often confused or used
indiscriminately and interchangeably. Clearly, they are not. Management and
leadership are distinct concepts, albeit there is a natural overlap between the skills
and attributes they require. Leadership is not simply a one man show; it needs to
be collegial, collaborative and participative. In the workplace of today, a
managerial position implicitly involves a leadership role. A more collective,
collaborative and dynamic style of leadership is imperative for the sustainability of
ADP, given the instability of the region and the pressures from outside the
organisation. ADP possess a more highly educated workforce than ever before, it
has greater potential in skills and knowledge to offer.
In addition, the leadership research has rarely managed to move beyond a review
of the classical theories and styles of leadership despite the emergence of a new
terminology such as adaptive, authentic, ethical, collective, dispersed, devolved,
democratic, distributive leadership styles, etc. To be sustainable, the leadership
debate needs to be innovative with a wider scope in search of a dynamic and
evolving leadership fit for the 21st century. A new leadership pattern is needed, one
that makes use of all of key successful attributes that have been covered
extensively in the vast literature, a leadership style which could be subject to an in-
depth investigation to find out whether it is suitable in the context of the 21st century.
Today’s leaders are often expected to be facilitators, enablers, multi-taskers, with
multicultural awareness. Regional instability in the GCC countries is challenging the
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way leadership is viewed and practised. ADP must be prepared to handle all kinds
of situations.
In summary, the leadership literature has contributed significantly in enlightening
and providing understanding and knowledge about the various layers of leadership
in terms of models, theories and styles. This study argues that leaders should be
flexible and adaptive. In other words, leaders must possess varied leadership styles
in addition to the ability, the flair and the intuition to assess and provide a solution
based on the merit of each situation or event. Leadership as a traditional position
of authority has been overtaken by events and the need for change is triggered by
the will of the people.
The results of this study show that the ADP has a clear leadership structure but
there is evidence which suggests that the organisation’s leadership structure is top
down rather than transformational. It was evident that transformational leadership
practices are better developed in some departments than others. The analysis of
employee commitment results was taken as one example. Respondents’
perceptions of transformational leadership and the current practices in the ADP
differ from department to department. This explains why some respondents’
understanding of transformational leadership is not matched by their experience of
transformational leadership practice.
7.3 Linking key findings to the study objectives
It could be argued that the findings of this study are unique to the police sector,
based on the fact that the sample population surveyed and interviewed were police
staff at ADP. A typical leader in ADP settings, has a particular leadership style over
others.
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In line with this study’s findings, the broad theme that emerged from the literature
is that a transformational leadership style approach is more effective for sustaining
and building trust and loyalty among followers. Transformational leaders inspire and
encourage their followers to support the mission objectives and vision of the
organisation. Transformational leadership encourages followers to work as a team
and, at the same time, provides them with responsibility and a degree of control
(Waite, 2008). One of the limitations of previous research is that it is largely based
on of-the-shelf and pre-existing data collection instruments for measuring
leadership styles’ effectiveness which may not reliably translate into the UAE
setting. Similarly, previous studies have generally relied mainly on questionnaires
rather than mixed methods including interviews which tend to streamline reality and
may generate suitable rather than realistic answers. In addition, the majority of
leadership studies have been conducted in the west with a strong democratic
tradition and vast cultural and organisational differences between these countries
and the UAE which makes the generalisability of findings or adaption of leadership
models incompatible.
While this study’s findings revealed that in general, the ADP leadership is seen by
the employees as fulfilling its role positively, this is not always matched by their
experience of leadership practices. The findings also indicate that leadership styles
at the ADP and leadership practices in general suggest that many people in
positions of power have left some of the traditional ways of thinking and autocratic
leadership behaviour behind. The ADP leaders in this study were found to uphold
Islamic values in their behaviour while being seen as having a transformational
leadership style. However, the ADP leadership has been criticised by some
participants for adopting traditional leadership approaches. These were considered
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to be inadequate to meet the new challenges facing the UAE. The literature
contains numerous leadership styles as potential alternatives, but the ADP-related
departments need an approach fitting with the values of the institution and the UAE
culture as well as allowing for the use of other leadership practices and styles.
Transformational leadership has been proposed as a viable leadership model for
the ADP.
Most interviewees considered that developing a leadership style from within the
organisation is more appropriate than adopting an external model. For this reason,
this study takes the view that to select the best people for future leadership roles
within the ADP, there is a need to establish succession schemes and talent
management systems to ensure that the institution will have the right leaders in the
future. A succession framework ensures that individuals’ leadership skills are
recognised and supported. If there is any lesson to be learnt or something useful to
be retained from western leadership studies and leadership practices, it is that they
are limited in scope and often incompatible with Middle Eastern values and culture.
Western leadership models and styles are presented as given to be received in
total, a ready-made package to be used and applied to boost staff morale and
enhance performance. Research reveals that leadership styles are not made or
learnable but are the product of enduring power structures in which there are
attempts in different economic, historical, political, and social contexts to settle what
is and is not effective leadership.
The results largely show that at the ADP, despite a clear preference for
transformational leadership style, in reality there is a fine line between the old
fashioned ‘follow me’ type of leadership and transformational leadership. Some
leaders lack the competencies required to deliver change within the organisation.
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The observation that can be made today is that, there is a leadership vacuum and
lack of leadership skills. This phenomenon is not specific to the Arab world; it is a
global issue. But the case of the Arab world is particularly exacerbated by the fact
that for each of the awakening countries making the transition from an autocratic
and despotic regime to a democratic one will not happen overnight but requires
going through turbulent and uncertain times. It is a world which still relies on top
down management style. There is little democratic debate as there is insufficient
tradition and culture for such debate. There is little political diversity where most of
the population is often excluded from the political process. Leaders are viewed as
people with sufficient vision to guide followers on the outcome and the big picture.
In order to deal with the new challenges facing the UAE, the ADP must opt for
distributed leadership rather than a single leader, and of having leaders that are
multi-taskers. Thus, new leaders and new kinds of leadership are called for.
Leadership does not need to be a one man show and there needs to be recognition
of the need for interpersonal and communication skills development.
Current leadership studies have supported the positive influence of leadership
styles on enhancing commitment in a variety of organisations, but there is a lack of
empirical research regarding the UAE particularly within the police sector. The
results of the data analysis indicated that there are some differences in commitment
due to employees’ demographic characteristics, but that overall employees were
moderately satisfied with their leaders. The findings also show that the current
levels of commitment are adequate; there is a sense of purpose at every level.
Some respondents expressed high levels of commitment but leaders can do better
to meet the demands and needs of employees to secure higher performance. Not
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everyone can fit in the leadership role comfortably; it does not come naturally. It is
important to spend some time determining which style of leadership will work best.
The data found that the ADP has organisational strengths which stimulate and
motivate employees. However, in order to achieve the mission objectives and the
future vision of the ministry, operating a totally transparent policy committed to
providing each employee with a working environment complete with clear reward
schemes which inspire and motivate staff to achieve a high level of performance is
needed. The ADP employees expressed strong appreciation for the positive
aspects of their leaders, including continuity and stability of the organisation,
recognition by their leaders of their commitment, a sense of achievement, and being
able to work as part of a team. To enhance performance in the ADP workplace, the
respondents recommended reducing red tape and better communication, and more
rewards and promotion based on productivity.
To sum up, the findings of this study are in line with findings in several similar
research studies over the years. One of the key themes to emerge is that all
respondents agreed that leadership is a multifaceted topic and it is difficult to draw
a clear-cut conclusion whether a common leadership style prevails across the ADP
and whether all departments within this important public sector display comparable
leadership characteristics. Respondents did, however, agree that the ADP must
lead by example to deliver first class public services. The key to leadership success
is in having the right mix of people and skills and striking the right balance between
traditional and modern leadership styles.
Maintaining high levels of commitment by keeping the ADP employees informed
about what is going on and the decision process and how they can contribute will
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motivate and encourage staff to work towards the organisation goals. Results show
that several some employees suffer from lack of experience, knowledge or
expertise and regularly find themselves struggling to achieve their targets; this has
translated in some employees voicing their discontent about their leaders. Today’s
challenges require complex and exceptional ADP leadership to deal in particular
with areas outside the knowledge or comfort zone of the current management team.
In these circumstances, it is the role of the leader to work well with the team, be
open on long-term objectives, define roles for key projects clearly and update
everyone regularly so they understand the status and on-going vision of the ADP.
It is thus suggested that a leadership style that focuses on involving employees in
the decision-making process and supporting them to develop greater initiatives is
key to employee commitment and to creating a happy work environment. The
challenge is to switch from obey and conform and listen and execute, to innovate
and create, which is admittedly easier said than done within the police sector.
7.4 Contribution to knowledge
This study has contributed to increasing the currently limited empirical research on
the styles of leadership and commitment within the public sector of the rapidly
developing countries of the Middle East. In academic terms, there has been a lack
of research undertaken of the context of public security in the UAE. Even across
Middle Eastern countries in general, there has been little research on the impacts
of styles of leadership and commitment in the sectors of public security and policing.
There have been some limited studies involving public sector organisations.
Currently, most of the literature related to organisations for public security, and their
management, has focused upon developed, western countries. This study aims to
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extend the currently limited body of knowledge related to public security
organisations and increase the developing knowledge of public sector operations.
This study, in particular, will seek to develop a conceptual model of commitment
and leadership in the ADP, which could then be extended and adapted for use in
other contexts in the Middle East. Also, this particular academic study which is
related to the management of public security in the ADP is under-researched. As
such, it provides practical assistance and knowledge for the organisation that
employs the researcher. The knowledge of best practice gained will benefit the ADP
and can be implemented and transmitted so that its impact will be felt in a number
of different organisations for public security, such as emergency services and
policing. Also, there is the anticipation that the study findings will be useful for future
research and constitute a basis for future studies amongst employees, helping
expand their skills, knowledge, work practice and experience.
Furthermore, this study is expected to be of value for policy and decision makers
within the case study organisation, to help in understanding how current styles of
leadership have an effect upon the commitment of employees. Also, the
shortcomings of current styles of leadership practices can be identified, so that
leadership skills can be used to foster a culture within which employees maintain
an enhanced level of performance. Increased efficiency and productivity amongst
the employees of the ADP would in its turn lead to an enhancement of
organisational performance. The findings will have implications for the mentoring
and coaching of employees in such a way that creates a clearer picture of the
leadership role within an organisation aiming to be a more effective one. Leaders
may also be encouraged to provide greater motivation to their employees so that
their performance is enhanced.
299
The outcomes of this research have the potential to contribute to knowledge in the
field of the leadership styles of leaders in the ADP. Firstly, previous research has
suggested that the dominant leadership style of Middle East leaders was autocratic.
Autocratic leadership does not allow staff to participate in decision making
processes and the leaders are in control and command mode all the time.
Admittedly, this style of leadership was and is still prevalent in some parts of the
Middle East. In contrast, this research found that the dominant leadership style of
ADP leaders is more inclined towards leadership styles which combine
transformational leadership and transactional leadership. This style always allows
employee to participate in making decisions and these leaders are admired,
respected, and trusted (Bass and Avolio 2004). Secondly, this research also makes
a contribution as being one which focuses on the influence of leadership styles of
the ADP leaders within the public sector. Thirdly, this research also makes a
contribution by contributing to the debate and by expanding the leadership
literature, an area which is under-researched in the UAE in particular and the Middle
East in general. Therefore, the leadership findings might be useful for the ADP
leaders in implementing change to face the complex challenges ahead. Thus, the
above research has practical implications for academic research, the ADP senior
leaders and employees and other public sectors in the UAE.
7.4.1 Theoretical Contribution
The development and testing of the leadership styles model was a significant
theoretical contribution of the study because it was the first use of this type of model
in leadership styles studies at the organisational level. The model proved to be
300
extremely useful in understanding the factors influencing the relationships among
individuals from various dimensions of employee commitment within the ADP who
are forced to interact with each other and with leaders accustomed to ADP
leadership methods. The model demonstrated that leadership styles are an
important variable for managing individuals from different levels in the ADP. The
successful application of the leadership styles framework to the UAE context
implies that it would be valuable in future leadership styles studies in environments
other than the UAE. The model would also be suitable for use with different
variables related to leadership styles substituted for some or all of the variables
used in this study. As a result, the leadership model provides an empirically verified
framework for the testing of theoretical propositions related to leadership attributes
in many different contexts in developing and industrialised nations. An additional
significant contribution to leadership styles theory is by demonstrating that leaders
in ADP used different approaches to leadership based on cultural differences with
employees, their personal leadership development experiences, and the
circumstances determined by their position and the organisational objectives.
7.4.2 Practical Contribution
An important practical contribution of the study was the information provided to
leaders faced with the problems associated with leading employees in the ADP.
Among the specific study population of ADP leaders, the leadership expectations
and norms in the ADP culture influenced their instinctive approach to leadership
styles. Many leaders, however, recognised that additional leadership development
training and knowledge was necessary to enhance employee commitment.
301
Leaders can obtain information from their employees about leadership expectations
to guide them when faced with a leadership issue, which is consistent with
distributed leadership theory. Because the study focused on the ADP, it also makes
a practical contribution to human resources planning for the organisation in the UAE
and other Middle Eastern nations. Perhaps one of the most challenging issues
facing the ADP today is preparing a generation of leaders capable of maintaining
the stability, peace and welfare of the Emirati citizens and making the UAE ‘built to
last’.
The study made a methodological contribution through its use of a mixed methods
approach to investigating the impact of leadership styles on employee commitment
within the public sector in the case of the ADP in the UAE. Previous research
examining leadership styles has adopted either an exclusively quantitative
approach using surveys to collect and compare data from a broad range of subjects
or a qualitative approach to collect data from a small group of subjects. By using a
mixed methods approach to the research, this study demonstrated that qualitative
data about leadership styles obtained from respondents in the ADP is useful for
providing a broader understanding of quantitative findings. An additional
methodological contribution was a research design that enabled the collection of
data related to leadership styles from a single country in the Middle East. The
mixed methods approach used in this study demonstrated the effectiveness of
using both qualitative and quantitative methods for answering the research
questions. By combining the qualitative and quantitative approaches, this study
demonstrated that objective and subjective methods are effective for answering
research questions involving the complex phenomenon of leadership styles
programmes and practices.
302
7.5 Practical recommendations
This study set out to examine the impact of leadership style on employee
commitment using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Leadership
styles within the ADP were explored and the results presented and analysed. From
the followers’ perspectives, the predominant ADP leadership style within the
organisation is ‘semi transformational’ for want of a better term. This means it is
neither fully transformational nor completely autocratic. In order to deliver the
changes and meet the challenges ahead, the employees recognise that the
organisation needs to change by being more proactive and adopting a different
style of leadership, and many respondents indicated that transformational
leadership would be ideal.
Leadership styles are shifting slowly from closed, remote and autocratic to adaptive,
servant, open and distributed. This shift in leadership style is driven by a number of
key motives. Firstly, the Middle East economic boom has completely transformed
the nomadic landscape to modern and affluent cities with skyscrapers. Secondly,
there is regional turmoil and signs of instability in the Gulf. Everything is moving too
fast for old fashioned leadership to cope by itself with the changing events. Thirdly,
expectations of what constitutes ‘leadership’ are changing and people’s aspirations
are growing; leaders are required to make a difference by influencing far more and
controlling far less than in the past. Fourthly, leadership in the twenty first century
has to take a far broader role than ever before, managing a larger number of diverse
relationships across departments as well as involving multi-tasking. Within ADP, a
leadership style needs to be consistent with the goals, mission, and philosophy of
the organisation. An ADP leadership style is often dictated by specific factors: the
303
type of the organisation and the nature of the task involving hierarchy, direction,
formal organisational structure and cooperation.
Although many respondents claim that transformational leadership is predominant
at the ADP, broadly speaking in the UAE the ‘command and control’ leadership
style is deeply rooted in culture and is difficult to shift. This style is not entirely
incompatible; it is in line with the nature and type of the organisation. In addition,
most local companies and organisations owned by the Emirati citizens are run by
expatriates, therefore, the command and control mode of leadership is prevalent.
The transition to openness, transparency and democracy is slowly progressing but
it will take time to establish, because fostering the trust and building relationships
and loyalty is a time-consuming process. The culture as a whole must change for
these kinds of leaders to thrive and survive. As Shapiro (2005:1) points out,
“Leadership is an action, not a title, and the ability to lead can be found in every
person. Each of us must claim our authority to lead at the right time and in the right
place”.
There is growing information on leadership development programmes which
provide valuable perspectives and useful insights and reflections on leadership
development in support of government bodies and organisations in the UAE.
Leadership is high on the agenda in the UAE and its development is a booming
industry worldwide. The UAE has been undergoing radical economic, social and
cultural changes. Consequently, the UAE leaders today face the challenge of
accommodating themselves to a world of rapid change, especially in Dubai and
Abu Dhabi which are struggling to maintain a sense of balance between retaining
what is most important from the past while moving forward into a stable and
304
harmonious future. So far, ADP leaders have begun to adopt a continuous
improvement style with which most employees are comfortable.
Many studies explored the role of leadership which has a direct bearing on
followers. For instance, the traits, behaviour, situational perspective and the
charisma of leaders became the focus of interest for many researchers, who sought
links between previous leadership theories and the treatment and management of
the followers within a group. Transformational leadership dominates the research
and has been heralded as the means by which leaders can respond to the demands
of reform to achieve appropriate and effective outcomes through turning the
organisation into a highly performing machine. Inspiring and motivating the
subordinate through charisma are deemed to be the key features of this leadership
style. Transformational leadership style was also deemed to be a more suitable
model by various authors who adopted, adapted and applied it into all types of
cultures and organisational settings. However, studies that examine the impact that
different leadership styles have upon the performance of followers in Middle East,
and in particular within the public sector, are rare. Instead, various studies have
attempted to fit Western leadership models into a developing country setting, with
the focus being upon the cultural and organisational differences, rather than upon
the development of new models of leadership suitable and applicable within a
challenging developing country environment.
A study into the UAE leadership requires an inside knowledge and understanding
of the synergy between tradition and modernity in the region as it adapts to a
globalised world. Despite the significant pace of modernisation, change and the
development of modern governance, holding to traditional and Islamic values is still
305
predominant. A strong grasp of the dynamics of this rapidly changing country
requires a fine appreciation of culture and identity and the political machinery.
The following recommendations stem from the quantitative and qualitative findings.
The ADP should:
1. Develop a clear vision and mission objectives which are consistent and
aligned across every level of every department. Working in a coordinated
effort towards achieving the federal government’s agenda must be clearly
understood by both leaders and employees.
2. Carry out critical assessment of the current structures and prevailing cultures
of services within each department to ensure that leaders and organisational
cultures are fit for purpose to respond to the challenges ahead.
3. Promote a greater coordination among key departments to share knowledge
and good practice.
4. Provide a stimulating working environment for leaders and followers to meet
periodically to discuss persistent problems and make recommendations for
any action plan.
5. ADP leaders should use transformational leadership practices to create and
sustain a healthy work environment.
6. The transformational leadership style is appropriate in different situations
and should be promoted.
7. Positive rewards like praise, recognition and benefits need to be provided in
a personalised way to sustain performance.
8. Leaders should build relationships and trust in order to create a friendly work
environment.
306
9. ADP leaders should support and promote career development by providing
opportunities for growth, advancement and leadership.
10. The most important recommendation for the ADP leadership is the training,
mentoring and coaching of today’s junior officers. Often, senior officers fail
to provide the necessary mentorship and coaching for their junior officers.
11. ADP leaders must lead and sustain change.
12. ADP must cultivate the culture of updating and enhancing their leadership
skills. They must take responsibility for the growth and development of their
own leadership expertise and mentor others to develop leadership expertise.
Leaders reflect on and work to develop their individual leadership attributes.
13. ADP must develop policies and provide resources that support effective
leadership.
Leadership is all about good communication channels, transparent reports as well
as being in touch with everybody else within the organisation. Leaders who explain,
in very simple and understandable language, their vision of the organisation with
clear targets that each of the employees aims to reach, really drive employee
motivation to work towards the goal. They must establish a good relationship early;
leaders must not stay in their ivory towers, getting information whispered to them
by some trusted agents. The findings of this study significantly contribute to
researchers’ understanding of a successful model of organisational and social
change within the ADP in the UAE, in addition to the relationships between the
traditional Arab leadership styles which are being phased out in favour of
transformational leadership.
307
7.6 Recommendations for future leadership training
The ADP needs well-trained and experienced leaders to meet the challenges that
the UAE are facing. In a time of volatility and insecurity, it is essential that the ADP
have the capacity to train leaders fit for the 21st century that can drive the employees
to achieve the mission objectives of the federal government, to prepare leaders who
are able to overcome future challenges through fresh insights and intellectual
leadership. As demonstrated in the research findings, there is only a moderate level
of transformational leadership behaviour. Bass's (1998) leadership theory suggests
that transformational leadership skills can be taught and improved over time as long
as leadership training is provided early on in an employee’s career. Based on the
transformational leadership theory, formal education and skill building programmes
would help to develop effective leaders. Therefore, to improve the quality of
leadership skills within the ADP, it is strongly recommended that the Police College
Academy curriculum incorporate more training that focuses on leadership skill
development in students prior to their graduating.
Other theories suggest that to develop an effective leader it takes time and
experience. For example, Maxwell (1993) suggests that individual leadership skills
develop over the course of an employee’s career, and to develop more effective
leadership skills requires both training and exposure to a role model with strong
leadership skills. Therefore, in addition to improving the training for future leaders,
it would be beneficial to assess and improve the quality of leadership among
currently employed supervisors within the ADP. The implementation of in-service
seminar trainings on transformational leadership development and commitment
throughout the ADP might significantly improve the overall quality of leadership and
management within the ADP organisation. If the ADP increases leadership and
308
commitment training options, the organisation may ultimately experience a sizable
reduction of managerial problems and personnel issues across the entire
organisation.
7.7 Limitations of the study
Any research has its limitations and this study is no exception. This study
acknowledges the following shortcomings:
Firstly, the data was collected using a sample population confined to Abu Dhabi
Police Department (ADP). The findings might not be generalisable to other police
departments within the UAE. It is possible that the results of the survey may vary if
the study was conducted using other populations.
Secondly, the questionnaire designed to measure ADP leadership style and its
impact on commitment produced useful information and the results showed a high
level of reliability for the whole questionnaire with a wide range of validity between
the low levels and high levels, but it is by no means flawless. The Multifactor
Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) has been criticised as containing dimensions
which are too broadly defined. Although many studies have demonstrated support
for the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and its predictive validity, it is criticised
because it does not incorporate key theoretical elements of transformational
leadership adequately. Based on these limitations of the Multifactor Leadership
Questionnaire it may be difficult to draw any firm conclusions (Tracey and Hinkin,
1999).
Thirdly, another limitation of this study was the possible loss of meaning in the
translation process. The data collection instruments used by this study have been
309
translated from Arabic into English. Although loss of meaning has been minimised
by checking its accuracy by translation experts, it is inevitable as Arabic and English
are each deeply embedded in their own specific culture, and the distance that
separates the linguistic and cultural systems is not always easy to bridge.
Fourthly, the researcher is an insider-researcher and therefore not entirely
independent of the study, having an active role in the ADP force. The researcher
believes that the study findings may have been different if employees felt that they
could be more open and critical of their experience of leadership styles practised at
ADP and how they are affected. As such, the results are susceptible to bias.
Fifthly, this study adopted a theoretical leadership paradigm and a survey
instrument that were developed in the Western context to define the leaders’
leadership styles and employee commitment. Therefore, it is suggested to
investigate and develop more locally relevant understanding of leadership and
commitment that arises through more inductive, open-ended and exploratory
modes of enquiry.
Finally, another limitation was time constraints and physical distance between the
UK and the UAE. In many cases this is a common limitation. With greater time
available it would have been possible to collect and analyse larger sets of data. A
more expanded scope of the data would potentially provide deeper and broader
insights into ADP leadership styles and employee commitment to enhance staff
retention.
310
7.8 Suggestions for future research
In the present study, both the quantitative and qualitative sets of data were collated
by involving the ADP employees as participants. Some relevant suggestions
regarding leadership styles and the related employee commitment are provided as
follows:
1. This study has covered plenty of ground in the literature related to leadership
styles and their impact on employee commitment and has provided a useful
platform to build on for further research studies. Further research is
necessary to understand the importance of employee commitment within a
sensitive sector such as a police department in the UAE
2. In-depth research needs to be conducted in order to understand the mind-
set among ADP leaders, especially the new generation in order to determine
the overriding leadership practices.
3. This study was conducted in the ADP. Future studies should attempt to
make a comparison with Dubai Police Force (DPF). This study should also
be extended to other GCC countries in the future. More research should be
conducted to investigate the relationship between leadership styles and
4. It is worth pointing out that the ADP needs to develop a suitable human
resource strategy to achieve high levels of commitment among employees,
which in return will lead to higher levels of organisational performance.
5. Another key area of the impact of leadership styles and their impact on
employee commitment that has somewhat been overlooked and received
little attention, is how expatriates view and experience leadership styles in
order to gauge their perceptions and experiences.
311
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Appendix 1
AN EVALUATION OF THE IMPACT OF LEADERSHIP STYLES ON

ORGANISATIONAL COMMITMENT AT ABU DHABI POLICE
SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE
Part A: Demographic Information
1. What is your position?
□ Senior Manager
□ Middle Manager
□ Policeman
□ Police Officer
□ Captain
□ Other
2. What is your age group?
□ 18 - 24.
□ 25 - 39.
□ 40 - 50.
□ 50 or over.
3. What is your gender?
□ Male
□ Female
4. What is your highest qualification?
□ High school certificates.

□ Bachelor
□ Masters or equivalent
□ Ph.D. or equivalent
□ Other (please specify……………….
347
5. In which department are you currently working?
□ Commander General of Abu Dhabi Police.

□ Deputy Commander General
□ General Directorate for Finance and Services
□ General Directorate for Human Resources
□ General Directorate for Guards and Establishments Protection
□ General Directorate for Policing Operations
□ General Directorate for Central Operations
□ General Directorate for Security Affairs and Ports
□ Other (please specify
6. How long have you been working in your department?
□ Under 3 years.
□ 3-5 years.
□ 6-10 years.
□ Over 10 years.
7. What is the total number of years of work experience you have at AD Police?
□ 1-3 years.
□ 3-5 years.
□ 6-10 years.
□ Over 10 years
8. How many members are in the team you are working with?
□ Under 10.
□ 10-30 members
□ 31 or over.
348

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The Impact of Leadership Styles Upon Employee

Commitment: A case study of the Abu Dhabi

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Liverpool John

The study findings revealed that there is a predominance of attributes of transformational

any mistakes in this thesis are of my sole responsibility.

support of many people; I would like to take this opportunity to express my

knowledge, patience and experience helped me to persevere. I am also very

supported me to complete my PhD.

of the UAE, and I am also grateful to Major General Mohammed Khalfan Al

Romaithi Commander in Chief General at ADP Headquarters for granting me a

scholarship for doctoral studies and the opportunity to enhance my knowledge

and research skills.

mother for their constant support and encouragement throughout my life. My

thanks also go to my beloved wife and all my brothers and sisters.

Declaration .................................................................................................................... iii

List of Tables ................................................................................................................. xi

List of Figures ............................................................................................................... xii

List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................... xiii

Chapter One ................................................................................................................ 14

1.1 Purpose of the study .......................................................................................... 14

1.2 An overview of the literature ............................................................................... 14

1.3 Research Problem ............................................................................................. 18

1.4 The aim and objectives of the study ................................................................... 19

1.5 Research Questions........................................................................................... 20

1.6 Significance of the study .................................................................................... 20

1.7 Proposed methodology ...................................................................................... 21

1.8 Structure of this study ........................................................................................ 22

1.9 Summary ........................................................................................................... 24

Chapter Two ................................................................................................................ 25

Background to the Abu Dhabi Police ........................................................................... 25

2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 25

2.2 General study background ................................................................................. 26

2.3 Background to the UAE - geography and population .......................................... 28

2.4 The UAE Vision 2021 ......................................................................................... 30

2.5 The Abu Dhabi Police force: An overview .......................................................... 30

2.6 The five-year plan for strategic development ...................................................... 32

2.9 Summary ........................................................................................................... 40

Chapter Three ............................................................................................................. 42

Literature Review ........................................................................................................ 42

3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 42

3.2 Defining the leadership concept ......................................................................... 44

3.3 Distinguishing between management and leadership......................................... 51

3.4 Leadership Theories .......................................................................................... 56

3.4.1 The ‘Great Man theory’ ............................................................................................... 57

3.6 The environmental leadership theory ................................................................. 88

3.7 Theories of transformational and transactional leadership ................................. 89

3.8 Transformational styles of leadership ................................................................. 92

3.9 Transactional styles of leadership .................................................................... 100

3.10 McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y for leadership......................................... 101

3.11 Newly coined leadership styles and theories .................................................. 103

3.12 Limitations of leadership theories ................................................................... 106

3.13 Definitions of organisational commitment ....................................................... 107

3.14 Perspectives on organisational commitment .................................................. 109

3.15 Measuring organisational commitment ........................................................... 110

3.16 Relationships between organisational commitment and leadership ................ 112

3.17 Summary and gaps in the literature ................................................................ 113

3.18 Conceptual Framework .................................................................................. 118

The Research Methodology and Methods ................................................................. 120

4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 120

4.2 Research as a concept .................................................................................... 121